Category: 2021

Toivo Klaar accompanies captives returning from Azerbaijan to Armenia

Arbi Tashjian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 19 2021
14:38, 19.12.2021

The captives who have been returned to Armenia from Azerbaijan Sunday were accompanied by Toivo Klaar, the European Union (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia. 

“Happy to have been able to repatriate 10 Armenia servicemen. Important gesture by Azerbaijan in the process of addressing humanitarian issues. The European Union will continue to work with both countries to build on the successful meetings of EU European Council president with president of Azerbaijan and [Armenia’s PM] Nikol Pashinyan,” Klaar wrote on Twitter, and posted some respective photos. 

As reported earlier, ten Armenian captives—two of whom are from Gyumri—have returned to their homeland Sunday—and through the mediation of President Charles Michel of the European Council.

Turkey, Azerbaijan FMs discuss cooperation within ‘3+3’ format

Tambiyan Samvel
News.am, Armenia
Dec 19 2021
15:46, 19.12.2021

The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Jeyhun Bayramov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, discussed on Sunday the implementation of the "3+3" regional cooperation platform (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia – Russia, Turkey, Iran), TASS reported.

Their talk took place in the Pakistani capital Islamabad—and within the framework of 17th Session of the Emergency Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

"The parties [in Moscow] discussed the results of the first meeting of the ‘3+3’ cooperation format, whose initiators are the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey. There is an interest in developing this mechanism of cooperation," the respective statement reads.

Also, the ministers discussed the current situation in the South Caucasus, the implementation of the trilateral agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh), and the normalization of relations between the countries of the region in the post-conflict period.

The first session of the ‘3+3” regional consultative platform was convened—at the level of the deputy FMs of Armenia, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan—on December 10 in Moscow.


Next meeting of ‘3+3’ platform on South Caucasus may be held in Turkey

Tambiyan Samvel
News.am, Armenia
Dec 19 2021

The next meeting of the "3+3" regional consultative platform on the South Caucasus is expected to take place in Turkey. The statement came from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday in Islamabad, Pakistan, following the 17th Session of the Emergency Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, TASS reported.

"[Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan] Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov and I discussed the meeting between [President of Azerbaijan Ilham] Aliyev and [Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol] Pashinyan in Brussels, the meeting of the ‘3+2’ platform in Moscow, which was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers. Georgia did not attend it, but we hope that it will attend the next meeting, which, as we expect, will be held in Turkey," the latter's FM said.

Cavusoglu's speech was broadcast on his official Twitter account.

Malena of Armenia wins Junior Eurovision 2021

Lara Chatinian
TASS, Russia
Dec 19 2021
Russia’s Tanya Mezhentseva is 7th

PARIS, December 19. /TASS/. Malena of Armenia has won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Paris with the Qami, Qami (Wind, Wind) song.

Malena, 14, scored 224 points in the contest’s finals on Sunday.

It is Armenia’s second win. An Armenian junior singer won the contest in 2010.

The majority of the professional jury member from 19 nations participating in the contest went to France’s Enzo but spectators’ votes helped Malena outstrip him.

Russia’s Tanya Mezhentseva, 12, took the seventh place with the song Mon Ami.

The contest was aired by Russia’s Karusel television channel from Paris’ La Seine Musicale concert hall.

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest has been organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 2003. Competitors are aged from 9 to 14 on the day of the contest.

Russia’s Polina Bogusevich, who was 14 years old, won the contest in 2017, with 188 points.

The contest was held online in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pashinyan orders to build a railroad to Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian
Vestnik Kavkaza
Dec 18 2021
 16 Dec in 12:20

Armenia should begin construction of its section of the Yeraskh-Horadiz railway, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting on Thursday.

According to him, Yerevan and Baku have agreed on the construction of a railway through the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz route.

"At a meeting with Azerbaijani President [Ilham Aliyev] in Brussels, we reiterated the agreement on the construction of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway," Pashinyan told a government meeting.

"This agreement was reached within the framework of a trilateral working commission at the level of the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. This agreement was fixed at a meeting in Sochi on 26 November with the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Brussels, at a meeting mediated by the head of the European Council Charles Michel, this agreement has been confirmed," the Armenian PM added.

Pashinyan noted that the agreements on the construction of the railway, reached with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, will change the political, economic as well as security environment in the region during their implementation.

Take a look at Maléna’s rehearsals and the voting details for Armenia in Junior Eurovision 2021

Karlen Baghdasarian
ESCXTRA
Dec 18 2021




Nathan Picot 

Voting is now open for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021! Once again, fans from all over the world can cast their votes for this year’s contest right now. But who should you vote for? To help you decide, let us take you through a review of each artist’s rehearsals and their voting details!

Performing 9th in this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest live final will be Maléna from Armenia with the song “Qami Qami”. The track’s music and lyrics were written by Vahram Petrosyan, tokionine, Maléna and David Tserunyan.

An ethereal space disco. Not three words you would naturally put together but that is what we’re going to get! Maléna’s vocals are absolutely on point, the choreography is slick and professional and the song is a banger for the ages. The performer and the song are a perfect match. Maléna has the gravitas and the captivating performance skills that some of her adult counterparts struggle to achieve.

All in all, this is a performance that really backs up the “winner” claims that have been thrown about! Armenia have really done themselves proud. Even if she doesn’t win, I am sure this performance and song will go down as one of the best Junior Eurovision songs of all time.

The first round of voting is open right now and will close at 3.59pm CET on Sunday 19th December, just before the beginning of the live broadcast. Then, voting will reopen during the show for approximately fifteen minutes following the final performance so further votes can be cast.

https://escxtra.com/2021/12/18/take-a-look-at-malenas-rehearsals-and-the-voting-details-for-armenia-in-junior-eurovision-2021/



RFE/RL – Georgian Service – 12/18/2021

Maral Chavushian 
                                        Saturday, 


Independent Medics Say Georgian Ex-President's Health Compromised By 'Torture' 
In Prison
 21:14 GMT
        • By RFE/RL's Georgian Service

Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili delivers a speech in the defendant's 
dock during a court hearing in Tbilisi on December 2.


TBILISI -- An independent group of doctors has examined jailed former Georgian 
President Mikheil Saakashvili and determined that his health has been seriously 
compromised as a result of "torture" and mistreatment he had allegedly 
experienced since his arrest in early October.

The doctors reported on December 18 that Saakashvili, 53, had developed several 
neurological conditions "as a result of torture, ill-treatment, inadequate 
medical care, and a prolonged hunger strike."

One member of the group, psychiatrist Mariam Jishkariani, told the AFP news 
agency that the health problems were the result of "Saakashvili's psychological 
torture in prison, which could lead to his incapacitation if he is not given 
proper medical care."

She added that he had been wrongly given unspecified "antipsychotic drugs," 
which amounted to "pharmacological torture."

The examination by a group of seven physicians was organized by the 
nongovernmental Empathy Center.

Saakashvili himself has said he was subjected to death threats, sleep 
deprivation, and physical abuse while in custody.

Last week, the Georgian State Inspectorate announced it had opened an 
investigation into Saakashvili's allegations.

The NGO Amnesty International has said Saakashvili’s treatment was "not just 
selective justice, but apparent political revenge," while the U.S. State 
Department has called on the Georgian government to "treat Saakashvili fairly 
and with dignity."

Saakashvili served as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. He was arrested 
shortly after returning to Georgia from self-imposed exile in Ukraine.

He conducted a 50-day hunger strike to protest his convictions on charges of 
abuse of office, which he says were politically motivated.

His arrest, coming amid a political crisis stemming from disputed parliamentary 
elections in 2020, spurred the largest anti-government protests in Georgia in a 
decade.




With reporting by AFP
        • RFE/RL's Georgian Service
RFE/RL's Georgian Service is a trusted source of politically and financially 
independent journalism in a country where much of the media is aligned with the 
government or the opposition.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-saakashvili-prison-torture/31615598.html?fbclid=IwAR0XxHroTOLwERUv8MNhT7LTQrxJUIoSPtX8-DQPk2hwRpExx0OL3YgbD7c__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!85JgB25F_es1reo_m7sjhuBEOA94JvN3ppwTzmPXyaco5fgAHQNI1d-jIz2AJQ$

Turkish press: Armenia appoints special representative to lead dialogue with Turkey

Talar Tumanian
 ANKARA DEC 18, 2021 – 9:07 PM GMT+3

Armenian national flag flying at the spire of the railway station building in Yerevan, Armenia, Apr. 18, 2018. (Getty Images)

Armenia on Saturday appointed its special representative for dialogue with Turkey, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

“Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan will be the special representative of the Republic of #Armenia for the process of the dialogue between Armenia and #Turkey,” the spokesperson said on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Turkey appointed Serdar Kılıç, former ambassador to the United States, as a special envoy to discuss steps for the normalization of ties with Armenia.

Kılıç was appointed with the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said.

Çavuşoğlu said that positive statements for the normalization of relations were recently made from both sides, adding that there is a need to take confidence-building measures.

The borders between the two countries have been closed for decades and diplomatic relations have been on hold.

Armenia and Turkey signed a landmark peace accord in 2009 to restore ties and open their shared border after decades, but the deal was never ratified and ties have remained tense.

Relations between Armenia and Turkey have historically been complicated. Turkey's position on the events of 1915 is that Armenians lost their lives in eastern Anatolia after some sided with the invading Russians and revolted against the Ottoman forces. The subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties, with massacres by militaries and militia groups from both sides increasing the death toll.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission made up of historians from Turkey and Armenia and international experts to tackle the issue.

During the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict last year, Ankara supported Baku and accused Yerevan of occupying Azerbaijan’s territories.

Armenpress: ARMENPRESS marks 103rd birthday

Samvel Nahapetian

ARMENPRESS marks 103rd birthday

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 11:15,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the 103rd birthday of ARMENPRESS, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Vahram Dumanyan congratulated the state news agency’s staffers and readers, describing ARMENPRESS as a “unique depository of multi-sector events of Armenia’s historical past.”

ARMENPRESS was founded on December 18 in 1918. Back then, it was known as the Armenian Telegraph Agency.

“For more than a century ARMENPRESS is covering with high professional responsibility the most important issues of public life,” Dumanyan said in a message.

He praised ARMENPRESS for its “dedication and professionalism in fulfilling its mission of documenting the important events of the country and duly presenting to the public the news and issues in politics, economy, education, culture, sports and other areas.”

“ARMENPRESS’s role is invaluable also in presenting Armenia in the information world, in international arenas, reaching our voice worldwide.”

In turn, academician Ashot Melkonyan described ARMENPRESS as the “heavyweight” and one of the most esteemed news agencies in the Armenian media sectors.

Melkonyan, the Director of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences said that ARMENPRESS has become “one of the most important attributes of Armenian statehood.”

He praised the news agency for maintaining its principles and esteem despite the widespread problematic impacts of yellow press and social media in the news media sector.