Category: 2022

Bill on occupied territories of Artsakh to be an important document – FM Babayan

 09:35,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The bill on the Occupied Territories of Artsakh, which has been recently put into circulation in the Parliament, is going to be an important document and is a very significant step in terms of settling the Artsakh issue and clarifying the approaches on determining the international status of Artsakh, Foreign Minister of Artsakh Davit Babayan told Armenpress, highlighting the importance of the draft law from political, historical and moral perspectives.

“It, of course, is going to be a very important document. And this is our vision, it’s important both from political, historical and moral perspectives. It’s an important step in general, and this process itself is very important. Therefore, these discussions will take place in the National Assembly of Artsakh, and we are preparing that active discussions are going to happen. Of course, that will be a comprehensive law involving different aspects”, the Artsakh FM said.

According to him, the law is highly likely to be adopted, and this view is shared also by all parliamentary factions and political forces of Artsakh.

All factions represented in the parliament of Artsakh put into circulation a draft law on the Occupied Territories of Artsakh, according to which there will be a ban on those foreign companies which will want to carry out activity in the territories of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan, without the permission of the Artsakh government.

 09:39,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh will be a priority in the activities of the Armenian community of France during 2022, Co-Chair of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), ARF Bureau member Murad Papazian said in an interview to ARMENPRESS.

He said this year as well they will continue their active works towards the recognition of the independence of Artsakh.

Commenting on the recent annual dinner of the Armenian community held in Paris, which was attended also by the top officials of France, Mr. Papazian said it’s an annual good occasion to gather the friends of Armenians.

“We are working with French authorities so that the pro-Armenian position is maintained. It’s known that they have quite a firm stance on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the denialism of genocide. We want to see that pro-Armenian nature of France also over the Artsakh issue. We are working on this direction, and the result was the vote by the French Senate in favor of a resolution calling on France to recognize Artsakh. The same happened in case of various large cities, communities of France. 85 cities, regions voted in favor of the resolution calling on France to recognize the independence of Artsakh. This shows the result of works done over the past years. We have shown to our colleagues, friends that the Armenian community is really strong and is defending the Armenian Cause based on positive principles”, Murad Papazian said.

This year the President of France didn’t attend the annual dinner because of his foreign visits, however, the Prime Minister attended the event instead.

Papazian said that they managed to present the demands of the Armenian community during the event.

“We have addressed strong assessments over the war and its consequences. We presented our views about Artsakh and the preservation of the Armenian cultural heritage. We plan to boost the ties focusing also on cultural issues. UNESCO has a lot to do to ensure the preservation of the Armenian cultural monuments”, he said.

He also highlighted the importance of intensifying activities aimed at the cooperation between France and Artsakh at a political level. According to him, there is a need to adopt a new form of works in legal domain, which will be more secure and the French cities should be encouraged to continue helping the towns of Artsakh.

Murad Papazian said Artsakh is a priority for them, but they also want to boost the Armenia-France economic ties and cultural cooperation.

France will hold presidential elections this year. Mr. Papazian said they have worked with all presidential candidates. The elections will be held at two stages – on April 10 and 24. Candidates passing the second stage will have a chance to present their position to the Armenian community.

Interview by Anna Gziryan

 10:55,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. It’s still unclear who is going to represent Armenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 as the Public TV is at a discussion stage, Head of Public Relations and Digital Communication at the Public TV, Anna Ohanyan, said.

“We haven’t yet reached the final stage. The name of the participant is not decided yet. We will officially announce his/her name when there is a final decision”, she said.

According to her, there is still time, and the Public TV is using it to reach the working discussions to the final phase.

Anna Ohanyan said Armenia’s representative will be announced in early March.

Earlier some media outlets reported that singer Rosa Linn (Rosa Kostandyan) will represent Armenia at Eurovision 2022.

Turin will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The first semi-final will take place on May 10, the second one on May 12 and the final will be held on May 14.

 11:07,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. 1307 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one day, the ministry of health reported.

The total number of confirmed cases in the country has reached 408,381.

The COVID-19 recoveries rose by 3514 in a day, bringing the total to 379,126.

The death toll has risen to 8201 (15 death cases in past day).

5359 COVID-19 tests were conducted on February 14. 

The number of active cases is 19,479.

 13:03,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Acting President Alen Simonyan received the United States Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy on February 15.

Simonyan and Tracy congratulated each other on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the United States.

Simonyan’s visit to Washington D.C. in January as Speaker of Parliament was discussed at the meeting, the presidency said in a press release. Attaching importance to the visit, Simonyan touched upon his meeting with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. He presented details to the Ambassador from his visit, stressing the productivity of a number of meetings with US colleagues and readiness to develop continuous programs.

Views were exchanged over organizing joint projects within the framework of the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the United States.

 13:13,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The Russian troops of the Southern and Western Military Districts are returning to their permanent deployment locations after holding military exercises, RIA Novosti reported citing a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense representative Igor Konashenkov.

He said the troops will start moving to their military garrisons today.

 13:30,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. A 10-year-old jaguar at the Yerevan zoo has died, the zoo’s administration said in a statement on February 15.

Yerevan Zoo Director Arevik Mkrtchyan said the jaguar did not display any clinical symptoms other than “difficulty breathing” in the past days.

The jaguar was found unresponsive in the morning and was put on antibiotics treatment, after which the animal became active and started to eat, but then suddenly died.

Specialists from various inspection agencies were called in to look into the cause of death.

According to the zoo director the preliminary cause of death could be bronchopneumonia.

Laboratory studies, including histopathology results will come back in 3-4 days.

The jaguar was brought from Georgia in 2013.

 13:42,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The process of normalizing the relations with Armenia will be touched upon at the February 16 meeting of the government of Turkey, Hurriyet reports.

The session will also cover issues relating to the ongoing developments in the Turkish economy, particularly the high inflation, the current tension in the Russia-Ukraine relations and Turkey’s steps on this matter, the preparation works for the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey, etc.

The current situation in the talks at the level of special representatives of Armenia and Turkey will also be discussed.

 14:44,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Representatives of the Kurdish community of Armenia held a demonstration outside the United Nations office in Yerevan, calling on the UN to convene a special session and demand Turkey to release political prisoner Abdullah Ocalan, the co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who is widely considered by Kurds around the world as their leader.

After being forced to leave Syria, Ocalan was abducted in Nairobi in 1999 by the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT)  and taken to Turkey,  where after a trial he was sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed organizations. The sentence was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment when Turkey abolished the death penalty. 

Kurds demonstrate around the world calling for Ocalan’s release on February 15, the day of his arrest.

Member of Parliament Knyaz Hasanov (Civil Contract) representing the Kurdish community of Armenia was leading the demonstration. He said that the 72-year-old Ocalan is being tortured for 23 years in the İmralı prison, but the international community has simply assumed the role of an observer.

“The Turkish government shows that their goal is the destruction of both the Kurdish leader and the Kurdish people,” MP Hasanov said. “Up to this day the 25 million Kurds living in Turkey aren’t recognized as a nation in Turkey by the constitution, even their language isn’t recognized. Our children are deprived of education and are subjected to pressure there. For 12 years already, Turkey-backed Islamic groups are subjecting the 4-5 million Kurds of Syria to genocide. The Turkish authorities have already captured 3-4 cities in Rojava and have forced the people out of their settlement. This shows that the Turkish authorities are doing everything to eliminate the Kurdish people,” MP Hasanov said.

The MP called on the international community to take special measures against Turkey’s genocidal policy.

“The superpowers should first of all take these steps, but unfortunately today every superpower has its own interests and pursuant to these interests they are ignoring both the Kurds, Armenians, and the rights of all oppressed peoples,” he said.

The Kurdish community then conveyed a letter to the UN Armenia Office containing their demands to the international community.