Category: 2022

Sports: Tsarukyan Explains Why He’s The Best Lightweight, Not Makhachev

Garo Vardanian
June 23 2022
ByHarvey Leonard

Rising UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan believes he has every attribute needed to sit above Islam Makhachev as the promotion’s best 155lber.

While Charles Oliveira most recently sat on the throne and was only unseated by a weight-miss prior to UFC 274, many have named surging contender Makhachev as the best fighter in the division, including the Dagestani’s mentor and former dominant champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The sentiment is shared by the man himself, who’s made it clear that he’s willing to “smash” any and all opposition on his way to the top, where he believes he is destined to make his way to.

But while Makhachev could well have the opportunity to ascend the lightweight mountain next time out, one man outside the top 10 believes his skills inside the Octagon are ahead of the #4-ranked contender’s.

Tsarukyan, who sits at #11 on the lightweight ladder, has been making a splash in his recent fights. After finishing Christos Giagos last September, the Russian-Armenian firmly established his name as a potential future champion when he battered Joel Álvarez on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green earlier this year.

The only blemish on Tsarukyan’s 5-1 UFC record? A debut loss to Makhachev.

But despite falling to the Dagestani on the scorecards back in 2019, Tsarukyan believes his game has developed leaps and bounds since, even to the point where he’s confident in staking his claim as the UFC’s best lightweight.

“I feel I am the best in this division. I’m the youngest fighter, I’m in top 15,” Tsarukyan noted during an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto. “Yeah, we have big names in this division, but for me, it doesn’t matter. I know I can beat everybody there, like (Dustin) Poirier or (Justin) Gaethje or Conor (McGregor).”

While Oliveira’s resurgence and championship success has been impressive, many expect Makhachev to get the better of him when they collide, perhaps later this year for the vacant gold.

But although the AKA product’s 10-fight win streak and work with Khabib has left him at the top of many’s 155-pound order, Tsarukyan thinks he has the edge, something he’s hoping to show in a rematch with Makhachev soon enough.

“I don’t think he is the best lightweight. I know I am the best lightweight. I am the youngest and my skills is better, you know, my boxing, my striking,” suggested Tsarukyan. “I didn’t have enough experience when I fought him, I know that, for sure. It was my first fight… I know me, I train very hard and I improve my skills every day. I’m learning every day… I feel like I’m the best in the division.

“If I fight with Islam Makhachev (again), I will show you who is the best lightweight,” added Tsarukyan. “After this fight, if the UFC gives me the opportunity to fight with Islam, I will sign.”

Tsarukyan will have the chance to move closer to a second collision with Makhachev this weekend when he features in his very first UFC main event.

After a struggle to secure a higher-ranked opponent, the Russian-Armenian will meet Poland’s Mateusz Gamrot, who is ranked one place below him, in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 57 headliner.

https://www.mmanews.com/2022/06/tsarukyan-best-not-makhachev/ 


Opinion: Restoring communication links is an important confidence-building measure but the focus on where to start needs to change

Emil Lazarian
June 20 2022
20-JUN-2022
BENYAMIN POGHOSYAN


There is broad consensus in the region and in the international community on the need to restore communications in the South Caucasus and on the possibility of finding mutually accepted solutions for this to be achieved. However the constant focus on the routes passing via the Syunik region and connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan has made the whole process of restoration of communications a bone of contention for both sides, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. The restoration of communications may still play a positive role in the establishment of good neighborly relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by creating conditions from which both societies can benefit. However, if the sides continue this tit-for-tat discussion around the “Zangezur corridor,” blaming each other for violating previous agreements, the restoration of communications issue will only deepen the mistrust between them, he adds. Starting instead with a railway connection between Armenia and Nakhijevan via Yersakh on the other hand, requires only a further 1 km of railroad to be constructed, and will serve as a significant confidence-building measure between Armenia and Azerbaijan and will make it easier for Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree on the modalities for the restoration of other routes. 

Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiations are focused on three main tracks – the restoration of communications, the launch of the border delimitation and demarcation process, and the signing of a bilateral relations agreement or peace agreement. These issues are being discussed in Moscow and Brussels. There is a no common view if the sides should seek to achieve agreement on all issues, discussing them as one package, or whether the main efforts should be directed to the restoration of communications, and the launch of delimitation and demarcation process. a bilateral “peace agreement”, including a common understanding on the status of Nagorno Karabakh appears still far from reach. However, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, the EU, and the US all agree that the restoration of communications is an area where mutually accepted solutions can be found.

The restoration of communication links was included in the November 10, 2020, trilateral statement. According to article 9 of the statement, all regional economic and transport links should be unblocked. Armenia guaranteed the safety of transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to organize the unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles, and goods in both directions, while control over transport communication should be exercised by the Border Guard Service bodies of the Federal Security Service of Russia.

This issue was further discussed during January 2021 Moscow meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, and President Putin. The three countries agreed to establish a trilateral commission chaired by their Deputy Prime Ministers. The commission started its work immediately after the signing of the January 11, 2021 statement. However, the ambiguous wording of the November 10 statement resulted in different interpretations from the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. Azerbaijan argues that the wording “unimpeded movement” means that no Armenian passport or customs control should be implemented in the Syunik region when Azerbaijani citizens and goods pass Syunik to reach Nakhijevan from Armenia. According to the Azerbaijani logic, the routes connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan via Syunik should have the same legal modalities as the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh and which has been solely under the control of Russian peacekeepers since November 2020 without any Azerbaijani passport or customs control. The comparison with the Lachin corridor brought about in circulation by the Azerbaijani side the term “Zangezur corridor.” Meanwhile, Azerbaijan never discusses the possibility of implementing no passport or customs control for Armenian citizens and goods that may pass Nakhijevan to reach Iran or pass through mainland Azerbaijan to reach Russia.

The Armenian side strongly rejects the term “Zangezur corridor,” claiming that it will establish an extra-territorial route on the territory of Armenia. Armenia argues that in the November 10, 2020, statement, the term corridor was used only once – describing the Lachin corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh. Thus, all attempts to equal the routes via Syunik with the highway passing via Lachin violate the November 10, 2020 statement. Since December 2021 EU has fostered its efforts to reach a solution in this area. The restoration of communications was among the main issues discussed during December 2021, April, and May 2022 meetings held in Brussels. However, despite optimistic statements after the meetings, no breakthrough has happened. The trilateral Armenia – Azerbaijan – Russia commission held a meeting on June 3, 2022, after a 6-month  pause, but no breakthrough was registered in that meeting either.

Azerbaijan has already started the construction of a railway and highway from Horadiz to the Armenia – Azerbaijan border, and according to several estimates, it may reach Armenia – Azerbaijan border in the Summer of 2023. However, Armenia has not launched the construction of a 44 km railroad in the Syunik region along the Araks River. According to the Armenian government, it will take two years and cost approximately 200 million USD, but Armenia will start the construction only after clarifying all legal modalities concerning the functionality of routes. Given the current stalemate on legal issues, even in the best-case scenario, the railroad in the Syunik region will be ready by the end of 2024.

Focusing solely on the routes passing via the Syunik region and connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan has made the whole process of restoration of communications a bone of contention for both sides, creating negative feelings among the expert community and society in general. Nevertheless, the wider objective of restoration of communications may still play a positive role in the establishment of good neighborly relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, by creating conditions from which both societies can benefit. However, if the sides continue this tit-for-tat discussion around the “Zangezur corridor,” blaming each other for violating previous agreements, the restoration of communications issue will only deepen the mistrust between them. It will make any long-term regional stability even less likely.

One of the ways to overcome this vicious circle is to concentrate efforts on areas where the restoration of communications needs much less time and money, and is less contentious. The railway connection between Armenia and Nakhijevan is one such area. Currently, there is only a missing link of up to one km of a railroad to connect the Armenian village of Yeraskh in the Ararat region with the Nakhijevan border, while Yeraskh has a working railway connection with Yerevan. The restoration of a 1 km railroad requires only a few million USD investment and may be finished within two months. The launch of the Yerevan – Nakhijevan railway via Yeraskh, in parallel with the opening of the Armenia-Turkey (Gyumri-Kars) railway, will open several international routes. Nakhijevan will have a railroad connection with Turkey via Gyumri-Kars railway and with Georgian Black Sea ports via Yerevan-Tbilisi-Poti/Batumi railroad. Iran will have a railway connection with Turkey via Nakhijevan-Yeraskh-Gyumri-Kars line, with Russia via Nakhijevan-Yeraskh-Yerevan-Gyumri-Tbilisi-Baku line, and with the Georgian Black Sea ports via Nakhijevan-Yeraskh-Yerevan-Tbilisi-Poti/Batumi railway. It will effectively launch the Persian Gulf-Black Sea transport corridor, connecting the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas with the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi.

In that scenario, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and Turkey may sign an intergovernmental agreement fixing simplified transit procedures for the passage of goods, facilitating the trade along these railways. Launching these routes will serve as a significant confidence-building measure between Armenia and Azerbaijan and contribute to regional stability and economic connectivity. The success of this project will make it easier for Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree on the modalities for the restoration of other routes, including Azerbaijan-Nakhijevan via Syunik.

Sports: SADA Cup։ Winning start of Armenian team

Khoyetsian Rose
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 22 2022

Armenian men’s basketball team got off to a winning start at SADA Cup international tournament held at Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex.

The Armenian team led by Rex Kalamian defeated Team USA with a score of 94-59.

Armenia’s next opponent will be Iran. The game will take place on 25 June. The Syrian team also takes part in the tournament.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan starts asphalting new road bypassing Lachin city (PHOTO)

David Nargizian
Economy Materials 23 June 2022 15:42


Economy Materials 23 June 2022 15:42

BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 23. The restoration of road infrastructure is among the main priorities in reconstruction and restoration process in the Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian occupation, Trend reports via the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads.

According to the agency, one of the road infrastructure projects implemented by instructions of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic regions is the construction of a new highway bypassing the city of Lachin.

Design of all roads in the above regions envisions their construction bypassing large settlements. As part of the construction process, asphalting of sections of the road bypassing Lachin city has already started, the agency said.

The length of the new road is 32 km. The width of the carriageway is 7-10.5 meters, the width of the subgrade – 12-15 meters, and the width of the shoulder sections – 2×2.5 (5 m) meters, the agency noted.

At the site where the road base is ready, installation of the asphalt concrete pavement has begun. The construction of ring pipes and various artificial structures is also underway in order to ensure the drainage of water. Construction work on the 22-nd kilometer of the road is at the final stage.

The construction of the road is carried out in accordance with the schedule. The necessary labor force has been attracted to the territory to complete the construction work this year.



Azerbaijani press: Baku hosts discussions on meetings between Azerbaijani and Armenian young people in Strasbourg (PHOTO)

Ani Kharatian
Politics Materials 22 June 2022 20:23


BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 22. The discussions on the follow-up of meetings between Azerbaijani and Armenian youth representatives took place in Strasbourg with support of the German and French embassies in Baku, Trend reports.

The meeting was attended by French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross, Deputy Head of the German Embassy Mission in Baku Heiko Schwarz and young Azerbaijanis, who shared their experiences.

One of the participants underscored the fruitfulness of the meetings, as well as the usefulness of French and German experience in establishing lasting peace.

Furthermore, the French ambassador noted the significance of such meetings between young people of the two countries.

“Even though peacebuilding is a very long and complex process, such kind of meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian youth should be held on a regular basis,” Gross said.

He also emphasized the necessity to involve other countries and representatives of the world’s thinktanks in accelerating the reconciliation process.

In his turn, the German official expressed hope for future organization of such meetings, which will promote further development of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations.

Meetings of Azerbaijani and Armenian young people were held on June 6-10 in France within the framework of FGYO (Franco-German Youth Office) program “New areas of cooperation within the EU’s Eastern Partnership”.

CivilNet: Armenia’s top judicial official formally dismissed

Emil Lazarian
CIVILNET.AM

23 Jun, 2022 10:06

  • Ruben Vardazaryan, Armenia’s former top judicial official, was formally dismissed from his post after he published a recording that appears to show his successor pressuring him to resign.
  • Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan called for a “realistic” approach to Karabakh negotiations in a wide-ranging interview with public television.
  • U.S. President Joe Biden nominated Kristina Kvien to be the next ambassador to Armenia.
  • The Armenian government approved a cooperation agreement with USAID worth $120 million.
  • CivilNet sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Anthony Barsamian, the head of the Armenian Assembly of America.

Armenia, Greece, Cyprus to cooperate on Diaspora issues

Aram Torosian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –


 1 minute read

On June 24, a memorandum on trilateral cooperation on diaspora issues was signed between Armenia, Greece and Cyprus in Athens.

The memorandum was signed by RA High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, Greek Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Andreas Katsaniotis and the Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots, Fotis Fotiou.

The signing ceremony was preceded by a face-to-face meeting between the two sides and a “2+1” meeting between the delegations.

Armenian Ambassador to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan was also present at the meetings and the signing ceremony.

The Memorandum sets the directions of cooperation between the three countries in the Diaspora, including the exchange of experience, inter-community cooperation, joint educational and cultural events, youth initiatives and more.

During the press conference that followed the signing, Zareh Sinanyan stressed the importance of historical friendship and common values of the three countries. “I would like to stress that our Diaspora communities in the different countries are cooperating with each other and it is our commitment to encourage them to more actively collaborate and exchange best practices and know-how and finally to take actions toward promoting common values and interests to the greatest extent possible.” said the High Commissioner.

During his working visit, Zareh Sinanyan also met with the Armenian community in Greece and presented the activities, programs and policies of our Office. Then, they discussed the repatriation process, integration programs, the establishment of the first Repatriation and Integration Center in Armenia, and investment policy.

During the meeting, Zareh Sinanyan also touched upon the domestic policy of the Republic of Armenia, external and internal challenges, and the development of the regions of Armenia.

Armenian, Russian, Azerbaijani Prosecutor Generals discuss ways to solve humanitarian issues caused by 44-day war

Parkev Tvankchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –


A trilateral meeting took place in Minsk between the Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan, the Prosecutor General of Russia Igor Krasnov and the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Kamran Aliyev.

They discussed the possibility of finding new opportunities for resolving the existing humanitarian and legal issues arising as a result of the war unleashed against Artsakh within the competence of the prosecutor’s offices of the three countries. Issues related to the implementation of the agreements reached during the previous two meetings were discussed.

The parties stressed the need to maintain the tripartite format of the meetings of the Prosecutors General as an effective platform for continuing legal contacts to ensure stability, legitimacy, de-escalation, basic human rights and security in the region.

Armenian Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan noted that despite the agreement reached during the previous trilateral meetings on the incidents on the contact line of the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces and on the mediated exchange of operative information on the ongoing investigations, the criminal ceasefire violations continue, resulting in human losses, new threats to the realization of vital rights and security of the civilian population.

As a vivid example, the Armenian Prosecutor General referred to the actions carried out by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the direction of Parukh settlement, which left 16 servicemen killed and 16 wounded. Artur Davtyan stressed the need to properly investigate these actions in the village of Parukh, as well as other cases of gross ceasefire violations.

These realities also prove the urgent need to increase the efficiency of the operative exchange of information by using the resources of the representatives of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office located in Artsakh.

Artur Davtyan raised the circumstance that the 8th point of the trilateral statement on the November 10, 2020 ceasefire was especially imperfect. He noted that the speedy return of 38 Armenians held in Azerbaijani is crucial to restoring trust between the parties, establishing peace in the region and extending security guarantees, with particular emphasis on the full implementation of the humanitarian requirements of the trilateral statement by Armenia.

As a result of the meeting, an agreement was reached with the mediation of the Russian side to continue the talks in order to fully resolve the humanitarian issues in a short time.

Biden waives Section 907 restrictions on US military aid to Azerbaijan

Antonian Lara
Panorama
Armenia –



President Joe Biden has again waived Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Section 907, enacted in 1992, establishes statutory restrictions on US assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan “until the President determines, and so reports to the Congress, that the Government of Azerbaijan is taking demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.” Congress included a Section 907 waiver in the FY2002 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. US presidents – Republican and Democrat – have waived Section 907 annually ever since.

During his run for office, on October 14, 2020, then-candidate Biden stated that the United States must “fully implement and not waive requirements under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan.”

In a public post on Facebook on Friday, political analyst Suren Sargsyan claimed after the 2020 war in Artsakh there was a “real opportunity” to stop the process.

“Then presidential candidate Biden urged Trump to end U.S. aid to Azerbaijan and no longer waive Section 907. The Armenian community and lobbyists did everything possible to make use of this window of opportunity. In this regard, they do not receive any assistance from the Armenian authorities. They are fighting alone in Washington against Turkish-Azerbaijani lobbying, embassies and petrodollars,” he wrote.