15:28,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Artsakh Davit Babayan thinks that the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh will be extended.
At a meeting with reporters in the permanent representation of Artsakh in Armenia, FM Babayan said that Russia bears also moral responsibility for the region.
“I think that the mission of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh will be extended. There is just no alternative because the conflict is not resolved yet”, he said.
09:49,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. Senator Gustavo Petro, leader of the left-wing “Historic Pact” coalition, wins the second round of presidential elections in Colombia, according to the results of counting of 98.22% of ballots, reports TASS.
According to the National Civil Registry, 50.51% of voters favored Petro. His rival Rodolfo Hernandez received 47.22% of votes.
“It is a celebration for the people today. Let the people celebrate the first popular victory. Let so much experienced suffering be softened by the joy that fills the heart of the homeland,”Petro tweeted after the vote outcome was announced.
Hernandez has not yet commented on the outcome of the vote that took place Sunday.
14:34,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. The ruling Civil Contract faction of the Armenian Parliament nominated Anna Vardapetyan’s candidacy for the position of the Prosecutor General of Armenia, the Parliament said in a statement.
Civil Contract faction head Hayk Konjoryan recently told reporters that they are going to nominate Anna Vardapetyan for the Prosecutor General of Armenia.
The term of office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan ends on September 16.
The Prosecutor General of Armenia is elected by the Parliament for a 6-year term.
16:40,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. This year more than 250 foreigners, most of them from Ukraine, have applied for asylum and refugee status in Armenia, the Migration Service of Armenia said.
In January-March 2022, the Migration Service received applications for asylum from 13 countries of the world, including Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Lebanon, Syria, etc.
Over the past ten years Armenia has provided a refugee status to more than 1500 asylum seekers. In the past five years the Migration Service has been receiving an average of 220 applications for asylum per year.
During the 2020 war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, the Migration Service collected the data of the displaced persons from Artsakh, which it processes and sends to other agencies if necessary.
The data was obtained through home visits: in Yerevan accompanied by representatives of territorial staffs of the Yerevan City Hall’s Department of Children and Social Protection, and in provinces through representatives of staffs of local self-government authorities.
Nearly 91,000 persons, 88% of whom are women and children, have been registered in the electronic database.
Housing program for refugees forcibly displaced from Azerbaijan
Based on the 2019 November 21 decision of the government, the Migration Service carries out a housing program for refugee families who were displaced from Azerbaijan in 1988-1992 and have been left without shelter for 30 years. 270 families have been provided with apartment purchase certificates – with a total cost of 3.7 billion drams. Nearly 200 of these families (around 75% of those who received apartment purchase certificates) have already purchased an apartment.
On March 10, 2022, the government of Armenia adopted the decision N283 according to which the program will start to be implemented in the provinces. According to the studies conducted in 2013, 254 families in provinces are potential program beneficiaries. Currently, a process of re-registration of potential beneficiaries living in provinces is underway.
June 20 is celebrated around the world as the World Refugee Day.
An Iranian flag in Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick start works on a second reactor at the facility, Iran, Nov. 10, 2019. (AFP Photo)
Iran plans to install two new cascades of advanced centrifuges that will allow Tehran to rapidly enrich more uranium, the United Nations’ nuclear agency said Thursday, the latest escalation in the standoff over the country’s atomic program.
The decision to add the two IR-6 centrifuges cascades at its underground Natanz nuclear facility comes as countries at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in Vienna voted Wednesday night to censure Iran. The rebuke deals with what the watchdog refers to as Iran’s failure to provide “credible information” over human-made nuclear material found at three undeclared sites in the country.
But even before the vote, Iran shut off two devices the IAEA uses to monitor enrichment at Natanz. Iranian officials also threatened to take more steps amid a yearslong crisis that threatens to widen into further attacks.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, criticized the censure as a “political, incorrect and unconstructive action.”
“Iran condemns the adoption of the resolution presented by the United States, Britain, France and Germany at the Board of Governors meeting of the IAEA as a political, unconstructive and incorrect action,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
An Iranian official earlier warned IAEA officials that Tehran was now considering taking “other measures” as well.
“We hope that they come to their senses and respond to Iran’s cooperation with cooperation,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. “It is not acceptable that they show inappropriate behavior while Iran continues to cooperate.”
The IAEA said Thursday that its Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi told members that Iran informed the agency that it planned to install two new cascades of the IR-6 at Natanz. A cascade is a series of centrifuges hooked together to rapidly spin uranium gas to enrich it.
An IR-6 centrifuge spins uranium 10 times as fast as the first-generation centrifuges that Iran was once limited to under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. As of February, Iran already had been spinning a cascade of IR-6s at its underground facility at Fordo, according to the IAEA.
At Natanz, located some 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital, Tehran, Iran earlier said it planned to install one cascade of IR-6s. The IAEA said it “verified” the ongoing installation of that cascade Monday, while the newly promised two new cascades had yet to begin.
Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents.
Talks in Vienna over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal have been stalled since April. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran runs advanced centrifuges and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium.
Nonproliferation experts warn Iran has enriched enough up to 60% purity – a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% – to make one nuclear weapon should it decide to do so.
Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though U.N. experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003.
Building a nuclear bomb would still take Iran more time if it pursued a weapon, analysts say, though they warn Tehran’s advances make the program more dangerous. Israel has threatened in the past that it would carry out a preemptive strike to stop Iran – and already is suspected of a series of recent killings targeting Iranian officials.
Iran already has been holding footage from IAEA surveillance cameras since February 2021 as a pressure tactic to restore the atomic accord.
The censure resolution at the IAEA meeting in Vienna, sponsored by Germany, France, the U.K. and U.S., passed with the support of 30 of 35 governors. Russia and China voted against, Russian ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on Twitter. India, Libya and Pakistan abstained.
After the vote, a joint statement from France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. said the censure “sends an unambiguous message to Iran that it must meet its safeguards obligations and provide technically credible clarifications on outstanding safeguards issues.”
Meanwhile, a drone exploded in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil in its Kurdish region Wednesday night, slightly wounding three people and damaging cars and a nearby restaurant, officials said. While no one immediately claimed the attack, Iran has targeted Irbil in the past amid the regional tensions.
19:50,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. Russia has lifted all restrictions on entry of Armenian citizens across the land border, which will contribute to the development of tourism and economic ties, ARMENPRESS reports Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Minsk.
“According to the government’s decision, all restrictions for Armenian citizens entering Russia by land have been lifted. We expect that tourist flows will be restored in the near future. It is very important for the peoples of Armenia and Russia,” Mishustin said.
The Russian Prime Minister also stressed that the Russian side gives priority to the unblocking of economic and transport ties in the Caucasus.
“Practical work is being actively carried out within the framework of the trilateral working group chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers. (ed. Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan). The regular meeting took place during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum,” Mishustin said.
The Kargı kamikaze UAV is showcased as part of the EFES-2022 drill, Izmir, Turkey, June 6, 2022. (AA Photo)
The new Kargı kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the Turkish defense industry was showcased for the first time as part of the EFES-2022 military drill.
One of the largest planned exercises of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the EFES-2022 field exercise is ongoing in the Seferihisar district of western Izmir with the participation of friendly and allied country elements.
Within the scope of the exercise, local defense industry company Lentatek is exhibiting the UAVs it has developed with domestic and national resources.
The Kargı project was initiated by Lentatek with the support of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK).
Kargı can suppress and destroy the radars of the enemy’s integrated air defense and surface-to-air weapon systems. With preparations now complete, Lentatek is counting the days before the UAV enters serial production.
The ground systems, navigation and automatic flight control system design and production were all developed domestically, as was the system’s software.
In 2018, Kargı made its maiden flight with Lentatek’s nationally developed aircraft and ground systems as a result of the localization of foreign components, which also applied to the RF seeker and destruction system, the flight engine and launch engine (rocket engine), link system, propeller and fuel tank subsystems, which were all developed within the country as well.
The Kargı project is being carried out under the leadership of Lentatek in cooperation with other leading defense industry companies, namely Aselsan, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and TÜBITAK’s Defense Industries Research and Development Institute (SAGE).
It bears the PG50 engine developed by TAI’s engine producing subsidiary TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI).
The aircraft is launched from canisters, which are also used as storage, thanks to the rocket engine. The Kargı forces the air defense radars to remain passive by navigating the enemy airspace for a long time and will be able to find its target and successfully destroy it with the RF seeker and destruction system.
The kamikaze UAV is expected to replace the Israeli-made Harpy already in the TSK’s inventory.
The IAI Harpy is a loitering munition produced by Israel Aerospace Industries and is designed to attack radar systems and optimized for the suppression of enemy air defenses.
It carries a high explosive warhead.
The Harpy has been sold to several countries, including South Korea, Turkey, India and China.
10:50,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan will pay a working visit to Belarus on June 20-21, his Office said.
The Armenian PM will participate in the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — AYF Camp Haiastan is proud to announce that it will host its 70th anniversary gala on Saturday, July 23rd. Over the last 70+ summer seasons, AYF Camp Haiastan has brought together thousands of campers, counselors and staff from all over the world to explore all aspects of Armenian culture and history while building lifelong friendships.
This year’s gala will include the first ever presentation of the “Forever Tornig” award. Honorees of this award have shown unconditional love and devotion to AYF Camp Haiastan and are exemplary members of the camp’s community. Each of the honorees began their relationship with the camp as an enthusiastic camper, then a devoted staff member, followed by a tenure as a conscientious Camp Board member. Their unwavering dedication to the camp is both admirable and highly appreciated by all who love the camp. The first three honorees for the “Forever Tornig” award are Peter Jelalian (New Jersey), Richard Krikorian (New Jersey) and John Mangassarian (Rhode Island). The three honorees serve as examples to current and future generations of campers and staff.
Circled left to right Richard Krikorian, Peter Jelalian and John Mangassarian, 1974
Jelalian has held the mantle of summer director many times, serving as a mentor to generations of campers. He has been a sounding board for new summer directors and has regularly stepped in to help when needed. Jelalian most recently served on the Camp Board until 2019. He continues to serve on the recruitment committee and has been instrumental in the recruitment and retention efforts.
Krikorian has been a longtime advocate of Camp. During his tenure on the Camp Board, he helped establish the camp’s current endowments and investment strategies. Without his efforts, camp would not be in the favorable financial position it is today. Krikorian still serves on the camp’s finance and investment committee.
Whenever a helpful hand is needed at Camp, Mangassarian is the first person to step up to the plate. A lifetime supporter of camp enrichment, you can find Mangassarian volunteering at Camp several times a week. He is no stranger to hard work and has helped keep the campgrounds looking pristine over the years. Mangassarian is an essential community member who devotes his time to any of Camp Haiastan’s needs.
“We are excited to announce this award to honor individuals who have been committed to Camp since their camper days,” said Hratch Najarian, Camp Haiastan Board chair. “We are even more excited to present this award for the first time at AYF Camp Haiastan’s 70th anniversary gala while we also celebrate all of Camp’s successes over the past 70 years.”
The Gala will be held on Saturday, July 23rd at the Gillette Stadium Putnam Club in Foxborough, MA. The evening will feature a program highlighting the Camp’s achievements over the last few years as well as a look into future projects. Musical entertainment will be provided by Mike Gostanian, Mal Barsamian, Richie Berberian, Bruce Gigarjian, Paul Mooradian and Ron Tutunjian. Tickets can be purchased online.
20:08,
YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. During the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Minsk, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the problems at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, as well as the unblocking of transport and economic communications in the region. ARMENPRESS reports Ria Novosti informs that PM Pashinyan thanked the Russian side for solving the problems rising at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, reminding that this is the only land route connecting Armenia with Russia.
“There were concerns related to that issue, as there are certain problems related to the increase of economic flows. It is very important what we have agreed on, including with our Georgian partners. It is important that the trade turnover between Armenia and Russia does not face artificial obstacles,” said Prime Minister Pashinyan, expressing support for the unblocking of the entire region.
“I hope that as a result of the already done work we will come to concrete solutions. Unblocking transport and economic communications in the region is of special importance in the current situation,” said Nikol Pashinyan.