Category: 2022

 Mohammad Ali

Russia and Armenia will not provide their territories to third countries for use against each other’s interests in the field of biological security, according to a joint statement following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 19th April, 2022) Russia and Armenia will not provide their territories to third countries for use against each other’s interests in the field of biological security, according to a joint statement following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“The leaders stressed the importance of further implementation of the agreements reached between Moscow and Yerevan in the field of ensuring biological security, including on the basis of a memorandum of understanding on issues of ensuring biological security dated May 6, 2021. It was confirmed that the territories of both states will not be provided for the use of third countries in order to carry out activities directed against each other’s interests in the field of biosecurity,” the statement says.

Assadourian’s Mexican Armenian roots have helped him book all flavors of ethnic comedy showcases at his home spot, the Haha Comedy Club in North Hollywood. This weekend he brings together a roster of Middle Eastern comedians on Friday at Vertigo Event Venue in (where else?) Glendale. Veteran stand-up comics Maz Jobrani and Nemr will anchor the night along with Assadourian, Mary Basmadjian, Melissa Soshahi and special guests. The comedy night is combined with a full Middle Eastern-style mezze of authentic dishes and an all-night dance party presided over by DJ Hye FX.

Jobrani, a seasoned veteran who created a popular Middle Eastern comedy showcase at the Comedy Store called Axis of Evil in the late ‘90s, says that being part of a local comedy show post-lockdown, especially one with a Middle Eastern wedding theme, is very fulfilling — and not just when it comes to the food.

“I’ve really felt people being of the mind-set that they are ready to laugh now,” Jobrani says. “Around December of last year, when Omicron was really surging in the country, we had some shows where I could tell the audience was hesitant to even be there and I didn’t blame them for it. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be in here!’ But lately crowds have been laughing a lot harder. It feels like this nationwide exhale that people are having.”

Like most comics, Basmadjian, who is Armenian American, did a lot of performing via Zoom and Instagram during the pandemic. For Brochella, she’s looking forward to performing her set as her character Vartoush, a loudmouthed, stereotypical Armenian aunt, for a live audience — especially for a crowd full of loud Armenian aunts in Glendale.

“I created this character about eight years ago on Instagram where I show up in that character, and this is the perfect place to do it because everybody’s going to be dressed up the same as me. I just go and kind of riff on them and, like, mess with them a little,” Basmadjian says.

It’s common at Middle Eastern weddings for family members to give speeches that could go on till the next day. Assadourian says this kind of long-winded torture at weddings is what inspired his event.

“Most of the time when people are making these speeches at weddings, they have no experience in public speaking, they’re just talking, they’re drunk and it’s annoying,” Assadourian said. “So I said, ‘What if we put a comedian up there?’”

Though this weekend marks Assadourian’s first Brochella, he said he’s hoping to pull it off twice a year, already on a mission to be as successful as the Indio mega-festival counterpart.

Regardless of how big it gets, the first Brochella will give the Arab and Middle Eastern audiences something to come together and laugh about.

“I do this joke about how a lot of these like Armenian weddings or birthdays or whatever, that they’re huge events, are basically like going to a rave but your grandma’s there,” Basmadjian says. “And I think adding the comedy show aspect to it is even going to make it better .… I think it is really elevating the tradition of Middle Eastern gatherings.”

A Georgian delegation led by Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze is visiting in Armenia .The meeting of the prosecutors general of the two countries took place Tuesday at the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia.

Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan stressed that the high level of trust between the prosecutor general’s offices of the two countries enables to resolve urgent matters related to mutual legal assistance and extradition processes.

The contribution of the Georgian side in the solution of humanitarian issues was especially stressed amid the consequences of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenia in the fall of 2020.

Georgia’s Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze noted that the brotherhood of the Armenian and Georgian peoples has a history of centuries, trade between and mutual visits of the citizens of the two countries are growing dynamically, and Georgia is viewing Armenia as an important pillar in the region.

Also, Shotadze invited Davtyan to Georgia to participate in the international conference of prosecutors to be held in the capital of Tbilisi in September.

In particular, issues related to increasing the effectiveness of protection of the rights of citizens of the two countries in each other’s countries—especially at border checkpoints—were discussed during the meeting.

As a result of the meeting, Artur Davtyan and Irakli Shotadze signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the prosecutor’s offices of Armenia and Georgia.

https://mrenquirer.com/georgian-delegation-prosecutor-general-visits-armenia/

TASS reports that Aliyev particularly said:

“After the end of the second Karabakh war, Azerbaijan’s position has always been that we should start negotiations on a peace treaty. I believe that the official starting point was registered on April 6 in Brussels. Since then we have been working, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been working, my administration has been in contact with your team, and, as agreed, we are ready to start.”

Aliyev described Armenia’s acceptance of the five principles put forward by Azerbaijan for the normalization of relations between the two countries as a “turning point”.

“This is really a turning point in the process. After official statements from both sides, we must prove the seriousness of our intentions at the table of negotiation,” he said. Aliyev stressed that Baku hopes for the efforts of the EU here, in particular of the President of the European Council Charles Michel, who, as he said, “is already deeply involved in the process.”

Aliyev stressed that one of the issues requiring clarification with the Armenian side is the issue of communications between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through the territory of Armenia, including railway and motor roads.

He said that next year Azerbaijan will complete the construction of the railway to the border with Armenia. At the same time, Aliyev expressed regret that Armenia has not yet started work on the feasibility study of its part of the railway line, which, he said, could delay the process. In addition, according to him, Baku plans to complete the construction of a highway to the border with Armenia by the end of 2023. Aliyev said that Baku is waiting from Yerevan the geographical coordinates of this road in the territory of Armenia.