TASS reports that Patrushev particularly said:
“After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and its satellites deployed a network of biolaboratories in the territory of the former Soviet republics – in Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Armenia, where, under the guise of scientific research, they conduct military biological activities.”
Mediamax reminds that in May 2021 Armenia and Russia signed Memorandum of Understanding on Ensuring Biological Safety.
Armenian Genocide commemorated during plenary session of the Mexican Senate
On April 26, a commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 107th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was held during the plenary session of the Mexican Senate, the Armenian Embassy in Mexico informs.
Senator Alejandra León spoke about the massacres of the Armenian population during the Ottoman Empire, urging the Senate of the Republic and the Mexican Government to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
At the invitation of the President of the Senate, Olga Sánchez Cordero, those present observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
During a press conference that followed the session, Ambassador Armella Shakaryan stressed that the recognition and commemoration of the genocides of the past is of utmost importance for the prevention of recurrence of this type of crime anywhere in the world.
The Ambassador pointed out that the impunity of the Armenian Genocide currently inspires those who plan to commit new international crimes. The war waged by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2020, which was accompanied by war crimes and other acts of ethnic cleansing, made it clear that impunity for crimes committed in the past can have irreversible consequences.
PanARMENIAN.Net – World-famous violinist Ara Malikian has arrived in his historical homeland of Armenia to tell the Spanish public about his trip later.
Malikian is in town with the crew of the travel show Planeta Calleja of the Spanish TV channel CuatroTV, along with host Jesús Calleja and has already managed to post a short video to his Instagram, Sputnik Armenia reports.
“Don’t forget to watch the next edition of Planeta Calleja. Together with Jesus and his cool team, we went to Armenia and discovered the homeland of my grandparents,” Malikian captioned the post.
Footage published online shows the musician and the film crew traveling in different parts of Armenia. In Dilijan, for instance, Malikian is seen playing right on the street, jokingly pretending to be a street musician, as a crew member begins to collect coins from passers-by.
Planeta Calleja is an adventure program by Calleja who, together with famous people, travels the world to explore its fauna and flora and the dangers that it entails.
PanARMENIAN.Net – National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan believes peace in the region can only be achieved through the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which should include the determination of the Artsakh status.
Simonyan made the remarks Wednesday, April 27 at a meeting with an OSCE/ODIHR delegation headed by Eoghan Murphy, who noted that they are in Armenia for presenting the final report prepared by the organization about the 2021 snap elections in the country.
At the meeting they talked about the importance of the parliamentary diplomacy in Armenia, also discussing the ways of government-opposition partnership and interaction in the parliaments of democratic countries.
The President of the Parliament touched upon the legislative amendments on the period followed the June 20, 2021 elections and issues relating to the current state of democracy in Armenia.
Referring to the security problems of the region, Simonyan said he highly appreciated the role of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly as an important platform for strengthening the trust in the OSCE region, drawing the attention of the OSCE representative to the aggressive announcements by the representatives of Azerbaijan in the OSCE PA. He documented that it could be possible to reach peace in the region only through the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which should include the specification of the Artsakh status on the basis of the execution of the right to its self-determination by the people of Artsakh.
The sides also spoke about the international standards of the electoral systems, in this context observing the achievements recorded by the nationwide elections in Armenia.
The Azerbaijan Boxing Federation has announced it will not send athletes to next month’s European Championships in Armenia, with the relationship between the two nations remaining in a long-standing conflict.
The Azerbaijan Boxing Federation said the decision not to attend the men’s event was made at a recent board meeting.
Preparations for the World Boxing Championships were cited as a contributing factor, as well as “other sensitive issues”.
The men’s World Championships is not scheduled to take place this year, although the women’s event will be held from May 6 to 21.
“As a result of the discussions, it was decided not to participate in the European Championship in May, taking into account the upcoming elections to the International Boxing Association in May, the training sessions and training programmes of our athletes for the World Boxing Championship, as well as other sensitive issues,” a statement read.
“It should be noted that Azerbaijani boxers were remembered for their successful performances in the last two European Championships in March and April this year.
“They repeated the record of our boxing history 10 years ago, winning one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the U-22 continental championship.
“At the European Junior Boxing Championship, our team won the championship after a three-year break.
“Our team finished the competition with one gold and one bronze medal.”
Azerbaijan’s withdrawal will mark the first time since 2008 the nation will not win a medal at the men’s European Championships.
The European Championships will take place from May 21 to 31.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan that is also known as Artsakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is inside Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since 1994.
It has been the subject of a longstanding conflict between the two nations, with several flare-ups in recent years.
The conflict intensified in 2020 when Azerbaijan claimed its second-largest city, Ganja, had been attacked by Armenian missiles.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan of firing missiles into the capital of the disputed territory in response.
Over 6,000 casualties were reported from the 2020 conflict.
A ceasefire was agreed in November 2020, with Russian peacekeeping forces deployed to the region.
Armenia filed a case against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice last year, with hearings held at The Hague in October.
Azerbaijan has been accused of mistreating prisoners of war.
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1122433/azerbaijan-european-boxing-champ-armenia
A protest against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was held outside the Armenian parliament on Wednesday morning.
Several employees of the National Assembly held posters reading “Stop Nikol” on the stairs of the parliament building, were photographed and shared their photos on social media.
Earlier on Monday, Armenia’s opposition groups started coordinated protests and marches in Yerevan to topple Pashinyan and his cabinet in a bid to thwart “new concessions” to Azerbaijan.
The report of the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of the Artsakh Republic “On the Violations of the Rights of Artsakh People by Azerbaijan in February-March 2022” was disseminated as an official document in the United Nations (UN), Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said on Wednesday.
The report highlights that for almost one year and a half after the end of the large-scale hostilities and the establishment of the ceasefire on November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan has violated the rights of the Artsakh Armenians, including the right to life, health, physical and psychological integrity, through various means.
It points to the deliberate disruption of gas supplies to Artsakh by the Azerbaijani military in March.
The full report is available here.
A group of young activists continued their awareness campaign in Yerevan on Wednesday, urging students to join the opposition fight for the future of Armenia and Artsakh.
The activists organized a flashmob in front of the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinematography, dancing Kochari, a traditional Armenian dance, and chanting “Struggle!”.
Actor and Honored Artist of Armenia Davit Hakobyan joined them.
The activists were holding the national flags of Armenia and Artsakh.
The protests being held by the Armenian opposition groups to topple Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet have not yet reached their peak, Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the opposition Homeland Party and the With Honor parliamentary faction, told reporters on Wednesday.
Vanetsyan, who formerly headed Armenia’s National Security Service, started an open-ended sit-in in Yerevan’s Liberty Square along with a group of opposition activists on April 17.
The opposition announced the start of the “second phase” of its “decentralized” campaign on April 25, holding small-scale protests and marches in Yerevan every day.
“We have not yet reached the decisive stage, everything is still ahead,” Vanetsyan said, adding the movement is attracting more public attention with each passing day.
“At first, there was an atmosphere of fear, as people were afraid to be targeted on social media or at work. But people have already made their decision and it remains for us to correctly wrap it up and bring it to an end,” the opposition leader said.
He says that many people coming to Liberty Square call attention to social issues.
“The incumbent authorities have failed in all spheres. They say that Nikol Pashinyan came to power promising a better life for the people. Instead, he handed over Artsakh and undermined the security system of Armenia. People realize that they cannot live well without long-term security guarantees in place,” the opposition politician said.
MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition With Honor faction has dismissed the authorities’ claims that more weapons have been purchased under the current government than in the past two decades.
In a public post on Facebook on Wednesday, he stressed that they referred to the arms deals which were struck before Nikol Pashinyan came to power in 2018, but their deliveries were made later.
“The matter primarily concerns the state loan of $100 million signed with the Russian Federation after the hostilities in April 2016. Not to mention the fact that the Su-30 fighters they purchased and praised were without ammunition and did not help solve any problems during the 44-day war. According to various estimates, between $140 million and $160 million were spent to acquire 4 aircrafts,” the lawmaker wrote.
“How much free weaponry Armenia received before Pashinyan came to power, and why the army did not receive the necessary weaponry during Pashinyan’s time is a subject for another discussion,” Abrahamyan said, adding the authorities “have no moral right” to talk about their “achievements”.
“You are not only responsible for the devastating war, thousands of casualties and wounded, which, as Pashinyan admitted, he could have prevented but did not do, you are also responsible for the deliberate disintegration of the military and the reduction of the defense capabilities of Armenia and Artsakh, thus preparing the ground for concessions,” the MP said.