Category: 2021

Kamo Vardanyan appointed Defense Minister of Artsakh

Maral Chavushian
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 11 2021
, 21:41

 

Major General Kamo Vardanyan has been appointed Minister of Defense of the Artsakh Republic, Commander of the Defense Army. A relevant decree has been signed by president Arayik Harutyunyan.

Born March 18, 1966 in the village of Norshen, Martuni region, Kamo Vardanyan has been serving in the Defense Army of Artsakh since February 1, 1992. From 1992 to 2012 he held a number of command positions in different military units of the Defense Army.

From 2007 to 2012 he was the commander of the Defense Army mountaineering unit. On November 12, 2012, by the decree of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, he was appointed First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Defense Army.

On May 6, 2011, by the decree of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, he was awarded the military rank of Major General. Participated in the 1992-1994, 2016 and 2020 combat operations.

He has been awarded the Combat Cross Order of the 2nd degree of the Republic of Artsakh, the Medal of Courage of the Republic of Armenia, the Vardan Mamikonyan Order of the Republic of Armenia, the 1st degree Medal For Services to the Motherland of the Republic of Armenia, other state and departmental medals of the Republic of Artsakh.

He is married, has two daughters and one son.

The status of Karabakh yet to be resolved – US Ambassador to Armenia

Mary Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 11 2021
, 16:09

 

The US is doing everything to bring the parties together under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy told reporters in Yerevan today.

She noted that the fundamental issues of peace and security require negotiation and diplomacy.

“Secretary Blinken has made our commitment to this process very clear on several occasions,” Amb. Tracy emphasized.

“It’s obviously a very tough environment, 30 years of war and tensions are not going to be resolved overnight, but we understand that there are some fundamental issues that have to be addressed, and one of them is that we do not consider the status of Karabakh resolved,” the Ambassador added.

She noted that the US will continue to keep that on the agenda of the Minsk Group.

Asked about the perspectives of dialogue, Amb. Tracy noted: ” I don’t want to speak for the parties. The Government of Armenia has made clear that the issue of prisoners held by Azerbaijan is to be resolved before it’s possible to talk about wider issues.”

“As you know, the United States has made efforts in this regard, our Russian colleagues have made efforts in this regard with some success. We hope to get to a place where we have all the prisoners returned, and it is certainly the call that we have been making,” she added.

She noted that there is no perfect platform, but the Minsk Group is a platform that has a mandate and legitimacy and can still play a role in the process.

Azerbaijani names of Armenian towns make their way to Baku transport

Ophelia Vardapetian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Sept 11 2021
– 15:13 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan has devised a new wave of aggression against Armenia, this time using public transport in capital Baku, Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin reveals.

He published a photo taken on a bus or a subway car in Azerbaijan, which shows a screen with the name of the Armenian city, and the name of the same city used in Azerbaijan next to it.

“A friend sent this from Azerbaijan, they are propagating a new aggression against Armenia in public transport,” Lapshin wrote on social media.

“The guy photographed the one including Vardenis, but as far as I understand, they have already renamed Yerevan, Vanadzor, Echmiadzin, Stepanavan and claimed [those towns as] their territory. This propaganda is being disseminated on all buses, in the metro and on the streets of Baku.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently made fresh false historical claims against Armenia, charging that certain regions and settlements in Armenia should be called by their “original Azerbaijani names.” Aliyev has claimed on numerous occasions that Yerevan, the province of Syunik and Lake Sevan in Armenia are all “Azerbaijan’s historic lands”. Back in April, while claiming that his statements didn’t mean Azerbaijan had territorial claims against Armenia, he did say “we’ll return there, why not?”

Chess: Champions Showdown: Armenia’s Levon Aronian takes 7th place

Chatinian Lara
News.am, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

Levon Aronian (Armenia) placed seventh, with 4 points out of 9, in the Champions Showdown Chess 9LX tournament that ended in St. Louis, USA.

In the last two rounds, the Armenian chess grandmaster played a draw with Sam Shankland (USA) and lost to Leinier Dominguez (USA), who took the first place, with 6 points.

The prize fund of this chess competition is $150 thousand, and the winner will receive $37,500.

Chess: Champions Showdown: Armenia’s Aronian defeats Azerbaijan’s Mamedyarov

Jhanna Virabian
News.am, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

Levon Aronian (Armenia) beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) in the seventh round of the Champions Showdown Chess 9LX tournament in St. Louis, USA.

Aronian is currently seventh, with 3.5 points, in this competition where two rounds have remained.

The tournament will conclude on Saturday.

The prize fund of this chess competition is $150 thousand, and the winner will receive $37,500.

MP Tigran Abrahamyan meets with parents of missing Armenian soldiers

Aram Torosian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

I Have the Honor bloc MP Tigran Abrahamyan, who is also a member of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security, met with the citizens who applied to the committee in regard to different problems.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the lawmaker said meetings in such a format assume discussions on and clarifications of the issues raised by citizens. In some cases, the competent authorities are asked to provide clarification and solutions.

He said the issues raised by citizens are various, ranging from personal ones to institutional arrangements.

“I also met with the parents of the servicemen who went missing during the military operations in Artsakh in 2020.

“During a meeting that was very difficult, but was held in an atmosphere of mutual trust, the parents presented to me and the committee very remarkable observations of the situation around the missing and fallen soldiers, which I will always keep focus on during my activity,” Abrahamyan said.

Court accepts Serzh Sargsyan’s lawsuit against MP Khachatur Sukiasyan for proceedings

Antranik Varosian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

A defamation lawsuit filed by Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan against ruling Civil Contract faction MP Khachatur Sukiasyan has been accepted for proceedings by the Yerevan First Instance Court, according to DataLex judicial portal.

In addition to Khachatur Sukiasyan, the respondents in the case include the Republic of Armenia, represented by the National Assembly staff.

The lawsuit demands that Sukiasyan publicly renounce his “slanderous” statements made in the parliament and compensate for the damage caused to Sargsyan’s honor and dignity.

The case has been assigned to judge Sergey Sahakyan.

It’s yet unclear when the trial will start.

In a speech delivered in the National Assembly on 25 August, Khachatur Sukiasyan claimed that the former president had “gambled away millions of dollars” at Baden-Baden casinos.

Speaking to reporters on 6 September, Sargsyan’s lawyer, Amram Makinyan, said the lawsuit was rather extensive, expressing confidence the court would satisfy their request and oblige the lawmaker to refute his statements.

Armenia records 731 new Covid-19 cases on September 11

Andranik Taslakhchian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

Armenia has confirmed 731 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 248,397 as of 11 a.m. Saturday, September 11, the Ministry of Health reports.

635 more patients have recovered from the disease with the total number of recoveries now standing at 232,041.

The Covid-19 death toll has increased by 16 to 4,995. The figure does not include the deaths of 1,173 other people carrying the virus. According to the health authorities, they were caused by other diseases.

Armenia now has 10,188 active cases. As many as 1,607,444 tests have been performed in the country since the disease outbreak.

Film: Artsakh war film ‘Gate to Heaven’ opens Salento International Film Festival

George Mamian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

CULTURE 12:42 11/09/2021 ARMENIA

The solemn opening ceremony of the Salento International Film Festival took place with the screening of “Gate to Heaven”, a film about the April 2016 war in Artsakh by Jivan Avetisyan, the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia reported on Friday.

“Gate to Heaven” centers around 50-year-old Robert Stenvall, a European journalist, who returns to Artsakh in 2016 to cover the war which has been reignited after a 22-year ceasefire. During his time in Artsakh, Stenvall meets Sophia Marti, 35, a young opera singer, who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish in 1992. Robert and Sophia’s frequent rendezvouses ignite a passionate romance.

The film features Tatiana Spivakova, Sos Janibekyan and Naira Zakaryan in lead roles and its Armenian and Artsakh premiere took place in 2019.

“Gate to Heaven” is a co-production of Armenia, Lithuania, Finland and France.

Robert Kocharyan invited to Moscow for political consultations

Ara Felekian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 11 2021

Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, who leads the opposition Armenia alliance, has been invited to the Russian capital for political consultations, Past.am reported on Saturday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

“According to our source close to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a principled decision has been made in Moscow to comprehensively strengthen Armenian-Russian relations, giving them a new impetus, apparently, to counter the growing Turkish-Azerbaijani influence in the region,” the media outlet said.

“In particular, the ruling United Russia party has sent an invitation to Armenia’s second President, leader of the Armenia alliance Robert Kocharyan to visit Moscow and hold political consultations,” it said.

According to the source, during his upcoming visit to Moscow, Kocharyan is expected to meet with the party leaders to discuss “possible developments in the region”.