Category: 2022

[Press] From U.S. Embassy – Pfizer donation press release

Alex Jidarian 
NEWS RELEASE:
March 14, 2022 306 thousand doses of "Pfizer" vaccine were provided to Armenia
The US Embassy in Armenia reports that on March 14, Armenia was infected with COVID-19 
306 thousand doses of "Pfizer" vaccine. This is a donation from the US government 
to Armenia by the Biden-Harris administration, "Vaccines Globally Available 
within the framework of the "making initiative". In addition to the Pfizer vaccine, the US government for the COVID-19 pandemic 
provided more than 15 million to the RA government in order to mitigate the impact 
USD support, namely:
• 12 thousand PCR tests, testing equipment, related to testing 
disposable items of RA Ministry of Health "Disease Control and 
for the National Center for Prevention,
• oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, X-ray and ultrasound 
equipment, ventilators, diagnostic and other essential for treatment 
equipment for medical institutions,
• personal protective equipment: KN95 type masks, surgical masks, 
outerwear, protective glasses for frontline healthcare workers,
• alcohol and chlorine based disinfectants and dispensers 
for medical facilities,
• training and technical support for work related to COVID-19 
in procedure design, management, laboratory and clinical issues 
for staff involved, support for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic 
request to support the organization of the visit of a group of 7 doctors from France 
in order to
• support to the RA government in the organization of crisis communication, 
namely, the development, dissemination and communication of relevant materials 
regarding the provision of equipment,
• psychological, food and non-food support for vulnerable people,
• Evidence-based, including information related to COVID-19 
dissemination of information aimed at promoting vaccination. "We are happy to provide a vaccine for COVID-19 within the scope of our cooperation 
donation of this batch to Armenia. A safe and effective vaccine 
It is very important to end the epidemic. Being vaccinated, we reduce 
the risk of contracting and spreading the infection with COVID-19. Being vaccinated also 
helps to avoid acute course and death in case of infection", he said 
Ambassador Tracy. The United States of America continues to fight COVID-19 domestically 
and around the world, and President Biden is committed to supporting vaccination internationally 
to coordinated efforts. "To overcome the epidemic here, we must be able to overcome it everywhere." 
- President Biden said. United States of America to meet global needs 
will provide 1.2 billion doses of safe and effective vaccine. March: 
As of 3, the United States of America has more than 110 through various mechanisms 
countries provided more than 480 million doses of the vaccine. Follow us for more detailed information about the donation 
on the following platforms: 
Facebook:<

, 

Instagram<

, 

Twitter<

։
###
          
The United States Donates 306,000 Doses of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine to Armenia
YEREVAN – The United States Embassy in Armenia is pleased to announce the 
arrival of 306,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Armenia on March 14, 
2022. This is a gift from the United States Government to the people of Armenia 
and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s global vaccine sharing 
framework.
The 306,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are in addition to the more than $15 million 
in total assistance that the U.S. government has provided to Armenia to mitigate 
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
● 12,000 PCR tests, PCR equipment, and test-related consumable goods for the 
National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) of the Ministry of Health of Armenia.
● Oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, x-ray and ultrasound machines; 
ventilators, and other essential diagnostics and patient care medical equipment 
for medical facilities.
● Personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers, such as KN95 
masks, surgical masks, gowns and caps, and protective goggles.
● Alcohol-based and chlorine-based decontaminants and dispensers for medical 
facilities.
● Training and technical assistance on COVID-19 management for policy, 
managerial, clinical and laboratory personnel, including the deployment of seven 
medical professionals from France to support the COVID-19 pandemic response.
● Crisis communications support throughout the Armenian government with surge 
staffing, content and materials for public distribution, and communications 
equipment.
● Psychosocial, food, and non-food support to vulnerable people.
● Nationwide COVID-19 related information communication, including 
evidence-based information to address barriers to vaccine uptake.
“We are pleased to present COVID-19 vaccines as a gift to the people of Armenia 
as part of our partnership,” said Ambassador Tracy. “A safe and effective 
vaccine is key to ending the pandemic. Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 can 
lower the risk of getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. Vaccines 
can also help prevent serious illness and death.”
As the United States continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at home and works 
to end the pandemic worldwide, President Biden is committed to leading an 
international and coordinated vaccination effort. “To beat the pandemic here, we 
need to beat it everywhere,” Biden said. The United States will provide 1.2 
billion doses of safe, effective vaccines to meet global needs. As of March 3, 
the United States, through various mechanisms, has delivered more than 480 
million vaccine doses to over 110 countries.
To learn more about the donation follow us on: 
Facebook<

, 

Instagram<

, and 

Twitter<

.





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Fifth President of Armenia Vahagn Khachatryan takes office


								

					   Hovhannisian John
				
				

							


						


				








  Kevin Robin










The fifth president of Armenia, Vahagn Khachatryan, took the oath and took office during a special meeting of the National Assembly, broadcasted by local news portals.


Khachatryan swore an oath, placing his hand on a special copy of the Armenian constitution and the 7th century Gospel Vekhamor Avetaran.


Let us add that earlier the Armenian parliament elected the country’s minister of high-tech industry Vahagn Khachatryan as the country’s president, Narek Babayan, head of the counting commission, announced the decision of the parliament. For Khachatryan, who was the only candidate, 71 deputies voted.


The former president of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, announced his resignation , explaining this decision by the lack of powers that allow him to influence the fundamental processes of foreign and domestic policy.




















							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
Vahagn Khachaturyan takes office as Armenian president


								

					   Baghdasarian Karlen
				
				

							


						


				


CGTN, China












CGTN



















Khachaturyan’s predecessor, Armen Sarkissian, resigned in January, saying he did not have the necessary power to deal with the country’s political problems.Vahagn Khachaturyan, the new president of Armenia, was sworn into office during a special meeting of the National Assembly on Sunday, according to local news portals.






























































							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
Armenian, Turkish foreign ministers meet amid efforts to normalise ties


								

					   Jalatian Sonya
				
				

							


						


				


 














    

  • JAMnews
    • 



    

  • Yerevan
    • 




















The first meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey took place. Negotiations between Ararat Mirzoyan and Mevlut Cavusoglu were held within the framework of a diplomatic forum in Antalya. As the Armenian minister said at the end of the meeting, the parties confirmed their readiness to continue the process of normalizing relations without any preconditions. This refers to the ongoing efforts to establish diplomatic relations between the countries and opening borders. The Turkish Foreign Minister praised the talks as “extremely effective and constructive”.






In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, Turkey de facto recognized Armenia, but still refuses to establish diplomatic relations. Since 1993, Turkey has unilaterally closed its air and land borders with Armenia. Through the efforts of the world community, the air border was opened in 1995, but the land border remains closed.








    

  • Opinion: Armenia is stuck between the West and Russia
    • 

  • “Peace treaty is a priority” – statements of Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministries
    • 

  • Armenia-Turkey negotiations: “The goal is complete normalization”
    • 





According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, both ministers confirmed their readiness to establish good neighborly relations without preconditions.






After the Karabakh war in the early 1990s, Turkey put forward a number of preconditions for opening the land border and establishing diplomatic relations. One of them was the return of the areas of the unrecognised NKR under the control of Azerbaijan. This condition is no longer valid, since these territories are already under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the second Karabakh war in 2020.


Turkey’s other condition has always been the rejection of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This refers to the massacre in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. Prior to that, about two and a half million Armenians lived in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. As a result of the killings and mass deportation, more than half of them died. Armenia, several Western countries and international organizations officially recognize these events as genocide. Turkey categorically rejects such a formulation.






During the meeting, Mirzoyan and Cavusoglu “agreed that normalization is necessary for the entire region”. In this regard, both ministers expressed readiness to support the work of the special representatives of the two countries, who are entrusted with negotiations on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.


In an interview with journalists after the meeting, the Armenian Foreign Minister said that he hoped for positive results in the Armenian-Turkish talks in the near future.






In December 2021, Yerevan and Ankara announced their readiness to take steps to normalize relations. Ankara has appointed former Turkish Ambassador to Washington Serdar Kilic as a special representative. Armenia is represented by Vice Speaker of the Parliament Ruben Rubinyan. Two meetings of Rubinyan-Kylych have already taken place – on January 14 in Moscow and on February 24 in Vienna.






“I am glad to see that all the peoples and states of the region are trying to build peace and stability. I want to say that Armenia is ready to establish peace in the region”, Mirzoyan said during a joint briefing with Cavusoglu.


The Turkish Foreign Minister said that he considers the meeting productive and constructive. At the same time, he stressed that Azerbaijan also has a positive attitude towards the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations:


“Recently I was in Baku. Azerbaijan also supports this process. Peace and stability in the region is in the interests of all. We will continue our efforts in this direction”.


Discussions regarding the participation in the diplomatic forum of Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Special Representative for the Normalization of Relations with Turkey Ruben Rubinyan continued for more than a month.


At the end of January, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the possible participation of Mirzoyan and Rubinyan in the forum in Antalya, which was scheduled for March 11-13. As a result, the special representative from Armenia did not go to Turkey.


The participation of Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan was confirmed by the Armenian Foreign Ministry only on March 7.


In early February, Mirzoyan stated from the rostrum of the parliament that the decision to participate in the forum “will largely depend on the results of the meeting on February 24 in Vienna”. He was referring to the second meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey.


A day after the confirmation of the participation of the Armenian minister in the forum, official Ankara welcomed this decision. On the page of the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Twitter, a statement was published by the press secretary of the department:


“Such reciprocal steps will contribute to the expansion of dialogue between the two countries, as well as the discussion of steps aimed at building confidence for a full-fledged settlement”.


The diplomatic forum is being held in Turkey for the second time at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The second forum is held under the title “New Diplomacy: New Time, New Views”.


Among the guests of honor of the event are the secretaries general of NATO and the Council of Europe, as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In general, more than 2,000 people take part in it. These are diplomats, politicians, representatives of international organizations, scientists and businessmen.


The topic of discussion was “Recoding Diplomacy”. The agenda included issues of regional and global importance: the fight against terrorism, climate change, food and energy security, artificial intelligence, and the fight against discrimination.


Political scientist Areg Kochinyan believes that one should not place great hopes on one meeting of ministers. However, in his opinion, the visit of the Armenian Foreign Minister to Antalya should be considered as an important link in the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations in general.


“The normalization process itself is the most important post-war initiative [he is talking about the second Karabakh war in 2020]. He can change the difficult situation in which Armenia finds itself”, the political scientist emphasized in an interview with JAMnews.


Moreover, according to the expert, it is naive to believe that Armenia will be able to normalize relations with Turkey without normalizing them with Azerbaijan first:


“Turkey will strive for a package solution, that is, it will strive to ensure that the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations are improved in parallel and at the same speed, and at the same time will link one to the other”.


The normalization of relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, according to the political scientist, should be seen as an opportunity for Armenia:


“These are the most important problems for the statehood of Armenia at the moment. These are opportunities that will pave the way for the preservation of our statehood. Otherwise, our statehood will be under threat in the medium term”.


At the same time, the expert believes that Armenia needs more normalization of relations than Turkey or Azerbaijan.


Since the beginning of the negotiations, the Armenian society has been discussing the issue, which means the more than once repeated formulation of “normalization of relations without preconditions”. Does this statement suggest that Armenia has presented its “red lines” in the negotiations? This, in particular, is about the international recognition of the Armenian genocide, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Political scientist Areg Kochinyan believes that Armenia cannot include in its “red lines” what it cannot influence:


“During the 44-day war, Azerbaijan, at least, achieved that there are no more armed forces of the Republic of Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. And this means that Armenia has almost zero impact on the future political status of Artsakh.


As for the international recognition of the Armenian genocide, I don’t think Turkey will put forward a demand to renounce it. The driving force behind this process is not Armenia, but the Armenian Diaspora abroad”.


Ararat Mirzoyan became the first high-ranking Armenian official to visit Turkey in more than 10 years. Prior to him, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visited Turkey, who at that time came up with the initiative to normalize relations with Turkey. The process he started in 2008 was called “football diplomacy”.


First, at the invitation of Serzh Sargsyan, Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Armenia. Together with the President of Armenia, they watched a football match between the national teams of the two countries. Then, in 2009, the Armenian president went to Turkey, where the match between the teams was again held.


The result of “football diplomacy” was the so-called Zurich Protocols, signed in 2009 by foreign ministers. These were protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and on the principles of mutual relations. However, the documents were not ratified by the parties.


In December 2009, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara would not ratify the protocols until the Karabakh conflict was resolved. In the Turkish parliament, the process of ratifying the document was frozen. In response, the Armenian side stated that the protocols should have been signed without preconditions, and on April 22, 2010, it was decided to suspend the process of ratifying the protocols.


Five years later, the President of Armenia withdrew the Armenian-Turkish protocols from the National Assembly. And on March 1, 2018, Armenia announced their annulment.














							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
No Russians left? Militants from Syria, Libya and Karabakh on their way to Ukraine


								

					   Jane Topchian
				
				

							


						


				


























Root Nation








–






13/03/2022














 














The Russian Federation transfers a military contingent from Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan) to Ukraine to compensate for the losses and attracts a large number of mercenary fighters from other countries like Syria and Serbia. This is reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine




 


The General Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence reports that Russia continues to recruit mercenaries in Syria and Libya. In Syria, 14 mercenary recruitment centers have been opened in the territories controlled by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.


Read also:


    

  • Invasion of Ukraine: LINX to disconnect Russia from fast Internet
    • 

  • Invasion of Ukraine: Chinese drone manufacturer DJI secretly aids the Russian army?
    • 

  • Thoughts from the bomb shelter: Why is Putin losing out to technology and the 21st century world
    • 



After a short preparation, they are to be sent to Russia on two Tu-134 aircraft (up to 80 passengers) and Tu-154 (up to 180 passengers) to Chkalovsky airbases in the Moscow region.


“In recent days, Russia has gathered thousands of Syrian mercenaries into the occupying forces… It is envisaged that the Syrians will use heavy artillery and sniper weapons against Ukrainians,” the Ministry of Defense noted.


Information on Russia’s training of mercenaries from Libya has also been confirmed. Russia will pay foreign mercenaries a monthly salary of $300-600. 


According to available information, on March 9-10, 800 servicemen of 102 military bases (Gyumri, Armenia) of the Southern Military District were moved to the Russian Federation for further transfer to the combat zone.


Up to 1,500 people of the 40th separate Marine Brigade (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) of the Pacific Fleet are sent in trains to Belarus.














							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
EP creates tension by leaking Azerbaijan diplomatic letters to Armenia diaspora


								

					   Talar Tumanian
				
				

							


						


				


 eureporter 










PUBLISHED


 


ON


 MARCH 13, 2022




By


 EU Reporter Correspondent


Twitter appears to be showing tension in Brussels between the EU and Azerbaijan. Whilst Josep Borrell tweets his appreciation of Azerbaijan’s provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine & readiness to expand gas deliveries to Moldova & south east Europe, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan is unhappy that the European Parliament has leaked diplomatic letters from him to members of the Armenian community.


In a tweet the Ambassador of Azerbaijan expresses his displeasure at the European Parliament, saying “UNBELIEVABLE, BUT POSSIBLE: How @Europarl_EN deliberately leaked letters received from AZE ambassador to ARM diaspora. I wonder if other letters addressed to EP on many sensitive issues were similarly passed to lobbyist and pressure groups in and around EP?”


https://www.eureporter.co/politics/european-parliament-2/2022/03/13/ep-creates-tension-by-leaking-azerbaijani-diplomatic-letters-to-aremenian-diaspora/












							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
Sports: Armenian attacker Adamyan scores twice for Club Brugge


								

					   Edgar Tavakalian
				
				

							


						


				
































Adamyan scored the first two goals for Club Brugge. Frederik Jäkel signed for the equalizer of Ostend (1-1). The match lost a lot of tension when Kjell Scherpen, the Dutch goalkeeper of the home team, worked a bet by Andreas Skov Olsen into his own goal (1-3).














Club Brugge took over Adamyan on a rental basis from Hoffenheim at the end of January. Alfred Schreuder, the trainer of the Belgian top club, got to know the Armenian attacker when he worked for the German team. Schreuder had Noa Lang start on the bench. The attacker recently showed his dissatisfaction when his Dutch trainer had replaced him. Lang came in for Adamyan in the 80th minute. Bas Dost and Ruud Vormer remained on the bench for the entire match.














Club Brugge remains the number 2 in the Belgian league, 7 points behind Union. The leader already won the match against Leuven (1-4) on Friday.














							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
Bayramov: Azerbaijan has sent 5-point proposal to Armenia for normalizing relations


								

					   Antranik Varosian
				
				

							


						


				




 NEWS.am 


Armenia – 
















10:04, 12.03.2022

























Azerbaijan has sent a document, consisting of five points, to Armenia on normalization of relations, and is waiting for a response. The statement came from Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in an interview to Anadolu Agency.


“If Armenia sincerely wants to normalize relations [with Azerbaijan], this is a very good opportunity for them,” he added. “It has been about a year since there is no response from Armenia to our proposal. In order to show its good will, the Azerbaijani side has recently made a new proposal to Armenia. The proposal is a comprehensive document … We have proposed to the Armenian side some basic principles which, in fact, include the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We have expressed and confirmed our opinion in accordance with the basic principles and traditions of normalization of relations between the states.”


Noting that this proposal was sent recently, Bayramov said: “The document is one page long. If the Armenian side wants the relations to be normalized, it must express its approach to this proposal. I must say that all the principles enshrined in this document are principles of international relations; there is nothing unusual [in it].”
















							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
Opposition MP: Armenia authorities’ silence over Azerbaijan proposals raises large number of questions


								

					   Vanyan Gary
				
				

							


						


				




 NEWS.am 


Armenia – 
















11:26, 12.03.2022

























The minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan stated that a 5-point proposal aimed at the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations was addressed to Armenia. Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from the opposition “With Honor” Faction in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia (RA) and a security expert, wrote this on Facebook Saturday morning. He added as follows:


“One of them refers to the delimitation/demarcation process of the borders, but the Azerbaijani diplomat did not provide details on the other points.


Armenia’s authorities have not conveyed any information, have not clarified about, have not informed the Armenian society about their approaches to this proposal.


If the statement of the minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan on the proposal being passed to the RA corresponds to the reality, then the RA authorities’ maintaining silence on it raises a large number of questions.


Most likely, there is or has been a process between Azerbaijan and Armenia behind the scenes, the course of which has left its impact on the events—in particular, the sharp tension—being observed in Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] these days,.


The immediate publicizing of these proposals is important just because it will reveal a lot about the situation around RA and Artsakh and Azerbaijani ambitions.”
















							

					

	






	

				
							
		

			


				
Newspaper: Armenia parliament committee of inquiry into 44-day war unable to carry out its work


								

					   Bedik Zaminian
				
				

							


						


				




 NEWS.am 


Armenia – 












10:20, 12.03.2022

























YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of Armenia writes: Zhoghovurd daily was informed that the committee—established in the National Assembly—of inquiry investigating the circumstances of the 44-day [Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war [in the fall of 2020] is unable to carry out its work.


The thing is that anyone from the MOD or another organization shall be invited to each [committee] session and answer the questions. [But] so far, only the founder of the Artsakh DA [(Defense Army)], Samvel Babayan, has come to the committee.


And, according to the information we have received, those at the committee of inquiry still do not know where to start and who to invite. Moreover, they have decided to hold a secret session to find out where they should start from.