Friday,
Deal On Karabakh’s Status ‘Key To Lasting Peace’
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair James Warlick gave a press conference at
the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, 26 October, 2015
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh will remain unresolved as long as there is no
agreement on the disputed territory’s status, according to James Warlick, a
former U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.
In an interview with Infoco.am, Warlick also said that Armenia can benefit from
the opening of its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey “once there is that kind
of settlement in place.” “This can be a big change but it does require a lasting
settlement,” he stressed.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has repeatedly stated that transport links with
Azerbaijan and Turkey will significantly benefit the Armenian economy and help
to usher in an “era of peaceful development” in the region.
Pashinian’s critics point to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s regular claims
that Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 war resolved the conflict and demands for
Armenian recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over the territory through a
bilateral “peace treaty.”
“I think that Baku does need to understand that there needs to be a way to
address the issue of status for Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Warlick. “There will be
no permanent, lasting settlement without the issue of status being addressed.”
“I think that the way to do that is to have a negotiating process that the sides
can trust, that has international guarantees from the OSCE, perhaps
international peacekeepers of some sort, that provides a status for
Nagorno-Karabakh, that clarifies the borders, that deals with issues such as
refugees,” added the former diplomat, who led the Minsk Group, together with
fellow envoys from Russia and France, from 2013 to 2016.
In his words, the United States, Russia and France should conduct such a process
“at the foreign ministers’ level and higher.”
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, has likewise repeatedly stated that
Washington believes the Karabakh conflict remains unresolved. “We do not see the
status of Nagorno-Karabakh as having been resolved,” she said last September in
remarks condemned by Baku.
Aliyev mocked the Minsk Group co-chairs and questioned the wisdom of their
continued activities last month. “They must not deal with the Karabakh conflict
because that conflict has been resolved,” he said.
Warlick suggested that Russia, which helped to stop the six-week war, can play a
key role in reviving the Karabakh peace process.
“Frankly, Russia should welcome the kind of lasting settlement that really and
truly brings a lasting peace to the South Caucasus,” he said. “Does Russia
really want to have continued instability in the region? I don’t believe so.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in June that the mediators should
not rush to broker an Armenian-Azerbaijani deal on Karabakh’s status. He
insisted that confidence-building measures in the conflict zone must be their
top short-term priority.
Rising Energy Prices Hit Greenhouse Farming In Armenia
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - A greenhouse in Ararat province,
Greenhouse owners in Armenia have warned that rising prices of electricity and
natural gas will further push up the cost of their agricultural produce and
could also drive many of them out of business.
Greenhouse owners in Armenia have warned that rising prices of electricity and
natural gas will further push up the cost of their agricultural produce and
could also drive many of them out of business.
Armenian utility regulators raised the electricity prices by an average of about
10 percent in December. The steepest price hike (12 percent) was set for
businesses.
The retail prices of gas are widely expect to go up on April 1, less than two
years after the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) raised the gas
tariff for corporate consumers by roughly 4.5 percent.
Greenhouses, which now account for a sizable share of fruits and vegetables
grown in Armenia, are especially reliant on gas and electricity in winter
months. Their owners say that they will struggle to remain afloat after the
upcoming price hike.
“If gas becomes more expensive, we won’t burn it anymore [for heating purposes.]
Let people buy stuff grown abroad,” said Samvel Harutiunian, a farmer from
Hovtashat, a village in Armenia’s southern Ararat province.
Armenia - Samvel Harutiunian, a greenhouse owner in Hovtashat village, February
18, 2022.
Harutiunian, who built his greenhouse more than a decade ago, said that he
already had trouble operating at a profit last year.
“We’ll have to think about leaving this country or doing something else here,”
he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “We can’t do agricultural work anymore.”
According to Poghos Gevorgian, the head of the Armenian Greenhouse Association,
natural gas accounts for at least half of the production costs incurred by
farmers like Harutiunian.
“People already don’t have money to buy [greenhouse output,] and so greenhouses
are now collapsing little by little,” said Poghosian.
Greenhouse farming in Armenia has expanded rapidly since the early 2000s, making
it the most dynamic segment of domestic agriculture still dominated by
subsistence farming. Greenhouses were built across the country not only by
village but also large export-orient companies.
The Armenian government is now facing growing calls to shore up the greenhouse
industry in the face of the rising energy costs. Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian
said last month that the government is helping farmers offset the price hikes
with higher productivity. But he did not elaborate.
Armenia - Workers at a commercial greenhouse in Ararat province, 19Apr2017.
The Ministry of Economy said on Friday that it will not to comment on the impact
of a higher gas price until the utility regulators make a “final decision” next
month.
Razmik Hambarchian, a farmer who owns a 2-hectare greenhouse in another Ararat
village, Ghukasavan, said he will raise the prices of his vegetables by around
15 percent if gas does become more expensive. He said he has already laid off
some of his workers and switched to new crops in response to the increased
living costs.
“Electricity, water and food have become more expensive,” complained
Hambarchian. “What can we do? Rise up? If we rise up, where should we go? To
Paris or Berlin? Things have become more expensive all over the world.”
According to official statistics, food prices in Armenia soared by an average of
almost 13 percent last year, reflecting a global trend. They pushed up overall
inflation to 7.7 percent, the highest rate in many years.
Opposition Activist May Face Trial For ‘Insulting’ Pashinian
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Political activist Shahen Harutiunian speaks with RFE/RL's Armenian
Service, Yerevan, .
Law-enforcement authorities have launched criminal proceedings against a young
political activist who has branded Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian a
“nation-destroying scourge” and accused him of treason.
Shahen Harutiunian, the 22-year-old leader of a small party called Shant
Alliance, is one of several hundred individuals investigated by the authorities
under legal amendments condemned by Armenian and Western human rights groups.
The amendments to the Criminal Code passed by Armenia’s government-controlled
parliament last summer made “grave insults” directed at individuals because of
their “public activities” crimes punishable by heavy fines and a prison sentence
of up to three months. Those individuals may include government and
law-enforcement officials, politicians and other public figures.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor-General, 31 Armenians faced such
criminal charges by January 1. Many of them are thought to have been accused of
offending Pashinian.
Harutiunian may also be indicted. He was summoned to a police station in Yerevan
on January 20 just days after denouncing on his Facebook page “yet another act
of high treason and manifestation of indignity” by Pashinian. He also echoed
former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s famous characterization of the prime
minister as a “nation-destroying scourge.”
Harutiunian publicly repeated his comments before being questioned by police
officers for a second time.
“I refused to give any explanations and left the police station and then made
the written comment for a third time,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on
Friday. “Maybe they will summon me again in the coming days.”
The activist argued that he did not swear at Pashinian and simply expressed his
political views. He accused the authorities of trying to muzzle him and other
vocal critics of their policies.
Armenia - Opposition activist Shahen Harutiunian invades the pitch during an
Armenia-Portugal football game at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan, 13Jun2015.
A spokesperson for Armenia’s Investigative Committee said, meanwhile, that he
has not been formally charged yet.
Harutiunian had risen to prominence during former President Serzh Sarkisian’s
rule when he campaigned for the release of his father Shant, a fringe
nationalist politician jailed for organizing a violent anti-government protest
in 2013.
Shant Harutiunian was set free six months after Sarkisian was toppled in 2018
mass protests led by Pashinian. His son actively participated in the “velvet
revolution” and worked in 2019 as an aide to a pro-Pashinian parliamentarian.
Shahen Harutiunian began openly challenging the current government after
Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. His party helped to defeat
Pashinian’s Civil Contract in at least two local elections held last fall.
All forms of slander and defamation had been decriminalized in Armenia in 2010.
The Pashinian administration’s decision to restore criminal liability for such
offenses drew criticism from local and international human rights groups as well
as the Armenian opposition.
ARMENIA -- Police detain an opposition demonstrator during an anti-government
protest in Yerevan, February 23, 2021
Opposition leaders say that Pashinian himself has relied heavily on slander and
“hate speech” before and after coming to power in 2018.
The U.S. democracy watchdog Freedom House has repeatedly called a repeal of the
controversial amendments, saying that they highlight a “clear degradation of
democratic norms” in Armenia.
Vladimir Vartanian, a senior pro-government lawmaker, again defended the
amendments last week. “We have to understand that freedom of speech has limits,”
he said.
Ruben Melikian, a pro-opposition lawyer representing over a dozen persons
prosecuted for insulting Pashinian and other officials, suggested that the
criminal cases run counter to the Armenian constitution.
“The stories I hear are so ridiculous that they are enough to declare these
articles [of the Criminal Code] unconstitutional,” he said.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Category: 2022
40,000 families in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan receive support as ERC winter aid campaign continues
Feb 18 2022
A-AA+
ABU DHABI, 17th February, 2022 (WAM) — Over the past couple of days, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) distributed winter aid, including means of heating, blankets, winter clothing, food and children’s supplies, to 40,000 families in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
This is part of ERC’s ongoing efforts to provide winter aid to people affected by harsh weather conditions in several countries.
Dr. Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, Secretary-General of the ERC, said the aid is part of the ERC’s winter aid campaign launched upon the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the ERC, to assist people affected by harsh weather conditions in 26 countries.
“The ERC has intensified its recent relief efforts, to meet the aspirations of the UAE’s leadership with regard to easing the suffering of people affected by winter weather conditions and enhancing their living conditions,” he added.
Al Falahi stressed the ERC’s response was rapid in light of the harsh weather conditions, thus relieving the suffering of thousands of refugees and displaced people.
WAM/Amjad Saleh
Fragile promise: The prospects for Turkish-Armenian normalisation – Gönül Tol
Feb 18 2022
The current round of normalisation talks between Turkey and Armenia has a better chance of success since it has widespread support across the political spectrum in Turkey and could result in improved relations with the West, Gönül Tol, the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey Program, wrote on Thursday. However, she also points out there are still concerns in the region about normalisation, with Georgia worried about losing its role as a vital transit hub and Iran concerned it could lose out from new transport connections that could be formed if normalisation succeeds.
Tol’s article is fully reprinted below. The original can also be read here.
Just over a year ago, Armenia suffered a bitter defeat in a war against the Azerbaijani army, which was supplied, trained, and supported by Turkey. Ankara not only sold drones and other military equipment to its ally, Baku, but also sent over 1,000 Syrian mercenaries to fight for Azerbaijan in the conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Now, after decades of animosity, Turkey and Armenia are taking steps to normalise ties, and the prospects for restoring relations and reopening the border have never been brighter.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic or commercial ties since 1993, when the former closed the two countries’ shared land border in solidarity with Azerbaijan, following Armenian forces’ occupation of the Azerbaijani region of Kalbajar. Recently, however, Ankara and Yerevan named special envoys to lay the groundwork for normalisation. The two countries’ envoys held their first round of talks in Moscow last month and agreed to meet again without preconditions. The next round of talks is scheduled to be held in Vienna on Feb. 24.
This effort to restore relations between Turkey and Armenia is the first since 2009, when the parties signed protocols to establish diplomatic relations, only to suspend them six months later. Several factors led to the failure in 2009. Key among them was Baku’s opposition to establishing diplomatic ties and opening the border before Yerevan withdrew from the occupied territories. Another factor was the nationalist backlash against the protocols in Turkey. Finally, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan worried that, if the process succeeded, Turkey’s then-President Abdullah Gül — who led the normalisation efforts — would score political points at his expense.
Circumstances are different this time around
The current initiative has a better chance at success. This time around, all opposition parties are in favour of repairing ties. Even Erdoğan’s hard-right allies in the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), who severely criticised the previous effort, seem to be on board. Azerbaijan’s recapturing of the seven districts around Nagorno-Karabakh and one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself in the latest war played a big role in the nationalists’ change of heart. The prospect of Turkey’s deeper cooperation with the Turkic republics through the transportation connectivity opportunities that normalisation with Armenia would offer ensures the nationalists’ continued backing. They are particularly excited about the cease-fire agreement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, following the latest Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020, that seeks to connect Azerbaijan proper to its exclave, Nakhchivan, on Turkey’s border. They hope that such a corridor could help Ankara’s ongoing efforts to cultivate closer ties to the Turkic republics in Central Asia. Opening the Turkish-Armenian border would further boost these relations by enhancing trade between China, Central Asia, and Turkey.
Restoring ties with Armenia would also help Ankara improve its badly frayed relations with the West. Although Western countries have been sidelined in the post-Karabakh war arrangements, they would welcome the rebuilding of ties between Turkey and Armenia in the hopes that such a move would reduce Russia’s influence in the South Caucasus and decrease Armenia’s dependence on Iran. In a sign of Western support, President Joe Biden recently urged President Erdoğan to open the country’s borders with Armenia.
Repairing relations with Turkey would be beneficial for Armenia as well. The country has been isolated since Turkey and Azerbaijan closed their borders in the 1990s. It has been excluded from regional energy and transportation projects like the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and has had to rely on lengthier trade routes, through Georgia and Iran, to reach world markets. The 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, which disrupted the latter’s rail communication, underscored Armenia’s dependence on its northern neighbour. The delays in Armenian exports to Russia, which go through Georgian ports, did considerable damage to the country’s already struggling economy. More recently, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war also showed that Armenia could not count on Russia, either.
Hemmed in on all sides by closed borders with its eastern and western neighbours — and dependent on Georgia, Iran, and Russia — Armenia desperately needs to open the border with Turkey. It would break Armenia’s isolation by offering a direct route to Black Sea ports and boost bilateral trade with Turkey. Armenian nationalists and opposition have been critical of the government’s efforts to normalise ties with Ankara, but given the economic challenges the country faces, their resistance is not as intense as it once was.
But there are still concerns in the region
Georgia is worried about the possibility of a reopened Armenia-Turkey border. Its closure over the past three decades has enabled Georgia to serve as a vital transit hub in the South Caucasus. If new transport connections are built, Tbilisi might lose that status. Another concern is a change in the status quo concerning the country’s relations with Armenia. Georgia hosts a sizable Armenian diaspora. For many years, due to its dependence on Georgia, Armenia pursued a cautious policy vis-à-vis the Armenian community there. Tbilisi worries that restored ties with Turkey would embolden Armenia to be more responsive to its community in Georgia. However, Yerevan is unlikely to dramatically change its Georgia policy. And, in the long run, it is in Georgia’s best interest for its southern neighbour to be less dependent on Russia.
Iran is equally concerned about what it has to lose from any potential new transport connections. Currently, Iran provides the only land bridge between Azerbaijan proper and its exclave of Nakhchivan, and a vital route for Turkish goods destined for Azerbaijan.
From Erdoğan’s perspective, both domestic and regional dynamics have aligned to make now the perfect time to restore ties with Turkey’s historic foe. Opening the border offers him economic, political, and geostrategic benefits. Baku seems to have softened its stance as well, with several Azeri officials expressing support for normalisation efforts. Whether that support will endure is far from certain. Although the 2020 hostilities changed the dynamics on the ground in Azerbaijan’s favour and the cease-fire ended the fighting, troops still exchange fire and there are unresolved issues, including over Nagorno-Karabakh’s political status. The continued tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan poses a risk to Ankara’s normalisation efforts.
Russia is another wild card. Russian officials expressed support for Turkey-Armenia normalisation, yet Moscow has benefited greatly from the status quo. The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute has provided Moscow leverage over both Yerevan and Baku, and Armenia’s isolation has increased its reliance on Russia. These considerations translated into a Russian diplomacy that voiced support for 2009 Turkey-Armenia talks, but preferred them to continue ad infinitum without producing any tangible results. The post-Nagorno-Karabakh war dynamics provide Russia further incentive to maintain the status quo and keep Armenia-Azerbaijan relations tense. The Russian-brokered cease-fire following the latest war enabled a Russian military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh — and Russian President Vladimir Putin wants his peace-keeping troops to stay there. This new dynamic strengthens Russia’s ability to complicate any normalisation effort.
The potential for Turkish-Armenian normalisation has never been more promising, but it is also fragile. Russia’s and Azerbaijan’s calculations will determine whether this will be another failed attempt or a historic step that will benefit both countries.
Human rights activist asks UNESCO to ensure protection of Nagorno-Karabakh’s historic Christian sites
Feb 18 2022
Feb 18, 2022 • 3 Min Read
Dadivank, an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery in the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. (Armen hay/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via CNA)
A British human rights campaigner asked the U.N.’s culture agency this week to ensure the protection of historic Christian sites in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Caroline Cox (Baroness Cox), an independent member of the British House of Lords, made the appeal in a Feb. 15 letter to Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of UNESCO.
“I write to express my deep concern about the fate of Armenian Christian churches, Khachkars (carved stone crosses), and cultural heritage sites in Nagorno Karabakh, which are now under Azerbaijan’s control,” she wrote.
“The sites include 161 churches, including the historic monastery at Dadivank, Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, the ancient city of Tigranakert, Azokh Paleolithic Cave, and the Nor Karmiravan tombs.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan, neighboring countries in the South Caucasus region, engaged in a 44-day war in 2020, resulting in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes in the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh.
Azerbaijan regained control of a number of cities, towns, and villages before a ceasefire agreement was signed on Nov. 10, 2020.
Armenia, the world’s oldest Christian nation, has a population of almost three million people, 92% of whom belong to the ancient Armenian Apostolic Church.
Azerbaijan is a country of 10 million people, 99% of whom are Muslim.
The region of Nagorno Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan close to the Armenian border. The area is recognized by the U.N. as belonging to Azerbaijan but is administered by ethnic Armenians.
Cox, the founder and president of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, said that UNESCO had repeatedly sought access to the historic sites since the ceasefire, but without success.
“In December 2021, the International Court of Justice said Azerbaijan should ‘take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries, and artifacts,’” she wrote.
“Yet in February 2022, Azerbaijan set up a new working group to ‘remove fictitious traces written by Armenians on Albanian religious temples.’”
“This is historical revisionism — a campaign of appropriation that dates back to the 1950s, whereby Azerbaijani authorities continue to rewrite history and replace the word ‘Armenia/Armenian’ with ‘Caucasian Albania/Caucasian Albanian.”
Local media reported on Feb. 3 that Azerbaijan’s culture minister Anar Karimov announced the creation of a working group to restore what the government claims are “Armenianized” Albanian places of worship.
ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner, explained that the claims relate to a theory advanced by the Azerbaijani historian Ziya Bunyadov in the 1950s that Armenian inscriptions on churches in Azerbaijan date back only to the 19th century.
According to the theory, the churches are the remnants of the ancient kingdom of Caucasian Albania, which existed in the territory of present-day Azerbaijan until the beginning of the 9th century.
The thesis is rejected by most historians, but championed by the Azerbaijani government.
In her letter, Cox described the creation of the working group as a “serious cause for concern,” given what she said was the “previous systematic erasure of centuries-old Armenian religious sites” in Nakhichevan, an exclave of Azerbaijan located to the west of Armenia.
“I was present in Nakhichevan in the early 1990s when Azeri military forces were driving tens of thousands of Armenians from their homes in their ancient homeland, a policy of religio-ethnic cleansing that was revived in the autumn of 2020,” she wrote.
“Between 1997-2006, Azerbaijan destroyed tens of thousands of UNESCO-protected Armenian monuments in Nakhichevan. Every visible evidence of their presence was eradicated so there is now no visible testimony to their existence.”
Azerbaijani officials reject suggestions that they are failing to safeguard historic sites. ACI Stampa said that the Ministry of Culture has criticized “biased foreign media” reports and stressed that Azerbaijan has always “treated its historical and cultural heritage with respect, regardless of its religious and ethnic origin.”
Cox concluded her letter by asking Azoulay to “raise these urgent concerns with your network and supporters.”
“I would also be grateful for your advice about how we could work together to ensure the protection of these historic Christian sites,” she wrote.
https://angelusnews.com/news/world/human-rights-activist-asks-unesco-to-ensure-protection-of-nagorno-karabakhs-historic-christian-sites/
Sports: Qarabağ [Azeri] to complain to UEFA following pro-Armenia chants during Marseille game
Get Football News France
Feb 18 2022
RMC Sport report this afternoon that Azerbaijani side Qarabağ are set to complain to UEFA following their 3-1 defeat to Marseille yesterday over alleged pro-Armenia chanting.
Marseille – whose city holds a historically large Armenia diaspora – also saw several Armenian flags displayed by fans at the stadium.
The OM fans were ostensibly showing their support for the country in the wake of the conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh region between the two Caucasus nations. One of the banners held up read “Artsakh is Armenia”.
As a result, UEFA could sanction Marseille as a result of its regulations regarding neutrality and political symbols.
https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2022/qarabag-to-complain-to-uefa-following-pro-armenia-chants-during-marseille-game/
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Spark Chronicle
Feb 18 2022
Olympique was a clear favorite of the clash with Karabakh Agdam. Arkadiusz Milik, who came out in the first line-up of his club, had an appetite for the next goals. The first action was created by Konrad de La Fuente, who, however, scored next to the goal. Cengiz Under tried, but his shot was also inaccurate.
After 7 minutes, the home side’s defenders made an eyebrow as Abdellah Zoubir nearly made it one-on-one with the goalkeeper. However, Pol Lirola returned at the last moment to avert the danger by stealing the ball from his opponent. In a moment, Zoubir shot menacingly and unexpectedly at Steve Mandanda’s goal. Goalkeeper OM was at his post and caught the ball.
Karabakh still played without complexes. In the 12th minute, Ibrahim Wadji broke off Alvaro Gonzalez and gave a flat cross. Filip Ozobic’s blow did not threaten the hosts’ goal. Milik tried at the second goal. The ball was stopped by Luka Gugeshashvili.
Marseille shook itself quite quickly. She began to attack bolder and bolder until the lead came out. Arkadiusz Milik gave them to her. In the 40th minute after the throw-in, the Polish striker shot his head, but the defender stopped his shot on the line. The Polish representative kicked the ball into the goal with his foot.
Milik was also the author of the second goal, which Papa Gueye found perfectly. The Polish striker did not make a mistake on his own and probably ended up in the net. Marseille was leaving with a two-goal advantage during the break.
Karabakh attacked again in the second half. He hit the post, but his defense also had to be careful. The Georgian goalkeeper of the visitors saved Gueye’s shot from the 54th minute in a manner known to him. Mandanda was also under fire. In the 64th minute Wadji scored strongly against the crossbar, but the Marseille goalkeeper effectively carried the ball over the crossbar.
In the 68th minute, Milik left the pitch and the audience cheered him on. Marseilles stepped back and gave the field to rivals. However, the visitors from Azerbaijan were unable to hit the target. Until then, however. OM caught up. In the end, the combined action of the 85th minute resulted in a goal for Karabakh. Patrick Andrade got the ball in the penalty area and played along the goal line, and Kady hit the net from close range.
In the last seconds of the match, Dmitri Payet was the most active, who replaced Milik. First he scored so that the goalkeeper parried the ball to the corner, then he hit the crossbar. In the end, however, in added time, he hit the net and set the score at 3: 1.
The next meeting of both teams will be held on February 24. His favorite will be OM.
Olympique Marseille – Karabakh Agdam 3: 1 (2: 0)
Goals: Arkadiusz Milik (41, 44), Dmitri Payet (90) – Kady (85)
Yellow cards: Ünder, Peres, Dieng
Olympique Marseille: Mandanda – Lirola, Balerdi, Kamara, Álvaro González, Peres – Ünder (69th B. Dieng), Gerson (69th Guendouzi), P. Gueye, de la Fuente (69th Bakambu) – Milik (68th Payet).
Karabakh Agdam: Gugeszaszwili – Vesović, Medina, Medveděv, T. Bajramov – P. Andrade, Garajev (90. Ibrahimnli) – Kady, Ozobić (74. Šejdajev), Zoubir – Wadji (89. Gurbanli)
https://sparkchronicles.com/olympique-marseille-karabakh-milik-gave-om-a-victory-europa-league/
Sports: Paris FC announce new Armenian shareholder
Get Football News France
Feb 18 2022
Ligue 2 side Paris FC have today released a statement announcing the arrival of Armenian investors Noah Football Group as minority shareholders.
Currently second place in the league, the club has pointed out that Pierre Ferracci remains the majority stakeholder with 57%. Noah Football Group join the Kingdom of Bahrain and BRI Sports Holding as the third foreign investor in the club. The group is represented by Roman Gevorkyan on the board.
The group adds Paris FC to its portfolio after already investing in Armenian side Noah FC as well as Siena in the Italian third tier.
India, Armenia hold 9th Foreign Office Consultations, discuss bilateral cooperation
Feb 18 2022
New Delhi [India], February 18 (ANI): India and Armenia on Friday virtually held the 9th round of Foreign Office Consultations (FoC) and discussed bilateral cooperation in diverse areas including political, economic between both countries.
The Indian side was led by Reenat Sandhu, Secretary (West), and the Armenian side was led by Mnatsakan Safaryan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Ministry of External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said in a statement.
During the consultations, both sides had comprehensive discussions on bilateral cooperation in diverse areas including political, economic, commercial, defence, development partnership, capacity building, consular matters and cultural cooperation.
The ministry said that both sides also reviewed the implementation of decisions taken during the first-ever visit of the External Affairs Minister to Armenia in October 2021.
The sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and agreed to strengthen cooperation in the UN and multilateral fora, MEA said.
The talks were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both sides agreed to hold the next consultations at a mutually convenient date, it added. (ANI)
New industrial greenhouse complex worth €48m to be built in Armenia
Feb 18 2022
– 10:43 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – The Armenian government on Thursday, February 17 approved the sale of land plots for a new industrial greenhouse complex in the Gegharkunik province. The investment project is set to cost €48 million.
According to Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, these are agricultural land plots in Lchashen and Varser communities, with a total area of 51.4 hectares.
Sanosyan noted that as a result of this transaction, AMD 22 million (some €40,000) will be transferred to the community budget.
“The program for the construction of a greenhouse complex will be implemented on the territory of 125 hectares and will cover the lands of the communities of Lchashen and Varser. A large production greenhouse complex and a plant nursery will be built on 45 hectares, while infrastructure will be located on the remaining plot of land,” the minister said.
According to him, the project will be implemented within 60 months, during which 350-400 temporary jobs will be created, but once the complex is fully launched, 400-450 people – 70% of them women – will be employed there on a permanent basis.
Baku’s prosecution of Karabakh President "seeks to intimidate civilians"
Feb 18 2022
– 11:47 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijan’s prosecution of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan is aimed at concealing Baku’s own war crimes, misleading the international community and intimidating the peaceful population of Artsakh, the Human Rights Defenders of Armenia and Karabakh, Armen Tatoyan and Gegham Stepanyan, said in a statement on Thursday, February 17.
“The Azerbaijani authorities have always pursued a policy of isolating Artsakh from the outside world, concealing human rights violations and war crimes against peace by falsifying facts. In doing so, they continue to grossly violate the absolute international requirements of human rights and humanitarian law. The practice of targeting Armenia’s, Artsakh’s, as well as international public figures, experts and journalists; blackmailing and persecuting them with so-called blacklists is the best proof that the calls and statements of the Azerbaijani authorities about peace are false, are veiled to the outside world with the purpose of concealing their real intentions,” the two said in a statement.
“In reality, for years a policy of sponsoring hatred and hostility towards Armenians has been carried out with ethnic and religious pillars as two main grounds, with deep intolerance.
“In fact, a genocidal policy has been carried out, which is still going on. Even in the education system there is a policy of hatred and enmity towards Armenians, ensuring similar reproduction in the future, the spread of hatred in the society (based on facts).”
According to Tatoyan and Stepanyan, such a policy is the source that nurtured and encouraged the atrocities and torture by the Azerbaijani armed forces against the civilian population of Armenia and Artsakh; the ethnic cleansing of the civilian population during the 44-day Artsakh war, with various armed attacks and criminal acts before and after that war.
“These are the Azerbaijani authorities that are directly responsible for war crimes against humanity, including destruction of almost all civilian communities in Artsakh, using terrorists and mercenaries to deliberately target, kill 80 and injure 165 civilians, torture Armenian captives; for mutilation of the killed servicemen’s bodies; for depriving the 40,000 civilian population of Artsakh of their homeland and houses, for forcibly displacing them, for desecrating the Armenian historical and cultural monuments in Artsakh, for vandalizing them,” the statement said.
“The Azerbaijani authorities are responsible for the internationally unacceptable armed attacks during the Covid-19 pandemic, which paralyzed healthcare systems of Armenia and Artsakh and resulted in sharp increase in deaths.
“In the same way, by initiating criminal cases against various public figures, human rights defenders and journalists (including international ones), they tried to cover up the atrocities committed and future atrocities against the peaceful Armenian population of Artsakh.”