Category: 2023

Authorities to announce timeframe of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in Washington D.C. soon

Dabaghian Diana

 12:33,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. The new timeframe of the Armenia-Azerbaijan foreign ministerial talks in Washington D.C. will be announced soon, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan told reporters on June 19. 

He said that discussions are underway regarding new timeframes of the postponed meeting.

“I think we will be able to provide public information in this regard soon,” Kostanyan said.

Kostanyan said that Azerbaijan’s actions – the tension on the border, the gunfire targeting sovereign territory of Armenia, as well as escalation in Nagorno Karabakh – are not conducive to building peace and stability in the South Caucasus region and question Azerbaijan’s statements claiming that they are truly interested in peace and stability.

The foreign ministerial meeting in Washington D.C. was supposed to take place on June 12th but was postponed by Azerbaijan.

Erdogan Criticizes Iran for Opposing Zangezur Corridor

Eduard Nalbandian
Financial Tribune, Iran
June 16 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Iran on Wednesday for opposing the Zangezur Corridor, which would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia.

“Iran’s approach to this issue disappoints us and Azerbaijan,” Erdogan said while speaking to reporters on his way back from Baku.

“I wish that we can overcome this problem soon. If Iran would approach this positively, then Turkey-Azerbaijan-Iran would be linked to each other, and we can have a ‘Beijing-London’ line through land and railroads,” he added.

Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei emphasized this stance when he met with Erdogan in Tehran last July. The Turkish leader claimed that unlike Tehran, Yerevan does not object to the idea of the “Zangezur Corridor,” which he discussed with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during his visit to Baku.

Erdogan praised the visit by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Ankara to attend his inauguration as the 13th president of Turkey in early June.

“Pashinyan’s acceptance of our invitation was an important step. Mr. Pashinyan attended our ceremony after overcoming a lot of obstacles stemming from the opposition in his country,” he said.

Pashinyan’s government regularly rejects Azerbaijani demands for such a corridor and says it can only agree to conventional transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has specifically made clear that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo passing through Syunik Province cannot be exempt from Armenian border controls.

Pashinyan and Aliyev openly argued about the matter during a Eurasian Economic Union summit in Moscow on May 25. Nevertheless, the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia reportedly made major progress on practical modalities of a rail linkup between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan during a subsequent meeting held in the Russian capital.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk met with Pashinyan and his Armenian counterpart, Mher Grigorian, in Yerevan on Wednesday for further discussions on the thorny issue. An Armenian government statement said they focused on the restoration of railroad linkup and “border and customs controls based on the sovereignty and equal jurisdiction of the parties,” but it did not elaborate.

"In the Mountains" Immersive Festival of Syunik History and Legends will take place in Tatev

Khondkarian Raffi

 12:48,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. On 24 and 25 June, days rich in historical and cultural events are expected in Tatev; the immersive festival of Syunik history and legends “In the Mountains” will be held.

Theatrical performances, master classes, music, national dances and games, traditional dishes and a tour of historic old villages. The two-day festival program includes various events aimed at the development of cultural and gastronomic tourism in Syunik.

The guests and tourists of the festival will have the opportunity to participate in various events, and at the same time enjoy the mountain panorama of Syunik and the spectacular flight of the “TaTever” aerial tramway over the Vorotan gorge, the destination of which is one of the significantspiritual, educational and architectural monuments of the Middle Ages, Tatev monastery complex of the 9thcentury.

“Festivals play a significant role in the tourism industry. The Tourism Committee of the Republic of Armenia is promoting tourism in four main directions: adventure, culture, gastronomic and nature. All these 4 directions will be present in the festival “In the Mountains”, which is key in attracting tourist flows. We are always eager to organise interesting events in order to make Armenia an attractive destination for international tourists. Emphasizing the international market, the Committee implements the program of educational visits, within the framework of which we host media representatives and bloggers from different countries. Representatives of popular periodicals from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Austria will attend the festival “In the Mountains””, said the Head of The Tourism Committee of the Republic of Armenia Sisian Boghossian. 

The festival will have several directions, including interests of different age groups.

“History of Syunik. travel through time” interactive performance about Syunik’s historical events and prominent figures will take place near Tatev Monastery after which the visitors will take part in national games and dances.

A fair will be organized throughout the day at the Halidzor station of the Wings of Tatev aerial tramway, where craftsmen will demonstrate traditional crafts of the region and hold master classes for visitors. As part of the musical program, the group Tarup Trio by Miqayel Voskanyan will perform.

A dance floor with a DJ, a large children’s entertainment and leisure zone is also planned.

During the festival actors from Syunik will be involved in staging of the special dinner-performance “Medieval dinner with the noble Orbelian family”.

There will also be a tour to the Old Halidzor village to watch the interactive performance “Local lifestyle in the 17th century”, and on the second day of the festival a visit will be paid to the Old Khndzoresk village.

“Our goal is to boost,through the festival “In the Mountains”, the flow of tourists to Syunik, Tatev, as well as to present the rich history and culture of Syunik through theatrical performances and games. We hope that guests will appreciate the hospitality of the people of Syunik, enjoy the beautiful mountain views and have a fun weekend. The festival is also significant in that the new flow of tourists to Tatev will have a positive socio-economic impact on the entire community”, says Ani Davtyan, project manager of the festival.

The festival “In the Mountains” is held with the support of the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia. Festival organizers are Tatev Revival Foundation, Ruben Vardanyan Foundation, Impulse Management Company and TaTeveraerial tramway.

***

“TaTever” is the longest passenger aerial tramway in the world, included in the Guinness Book of Records. The aerial tramway is a part of the non-profit project “Tatev Revival” Foundation, the profit from which is directed to the restoration of the Tatev Monastery and the development of the surrounding areas.“TaTever” aerial tramway project is managed by Impulse Management Company.

“Tatev Revival” Foundation is a non-profit organization the main goals of which are the restoration of Tatev Monastery, the development of the communities of the region, the creation of new jobs and necessary infrastructure in the region, the development of the tourist destination of Tatev and the provision of support to local entrepreneurs.

9 November statement envisages Russian monitoring, not control in unblocking – deputy FM

Kalantarian Kevo

 12:59,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. The 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and the order signed by the Russian president afterwards stipulates Russian monitoring and not control, however the details on unblocking are still under discussion, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan told reporters.

Speaking about the unblocking of regional connections, the Deputy Foreign Minister said that before going into details it is highly important for Armenia to record that unblocking will take place based on the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the parties, taking into account reciprocity of the unblocking process. He said that Armenia has always been constructive and eager to implement the unblocking process.

“Armenia has been displaying constructive approach ever since the statement was signed on January 11, 2021, and will continue to be constructive, because we are interested in unblocking of regional infrastructures and transport routes, because we believe that the Armenian Crossroads project has great potential, given also the geopolitical developments, logistic issues facing the world today,” Kostanyan said.

All details on unblocking, including security-related, must take place within Armenian sovereignty and jurisdiction. “If until now we haven’t been able to record on paper that unblocking will take place within the framework of sovereignty and jurisdiction, naturally the unconstructive side is Azerbaijan,” Kostanyan said.

Asked whether control of the road should be exercised by Russia under the 9 November statement, Kostanyan said: “The 9 November statement and the order signed by the Russian president afterwards speaks more about a monitoring function that the Russian FSB should implement, and not a specific control. But details on unblocking are still in the discussions phase.”

French-Armenian Resistance hero Missak Manouchian to enter Panthéon

Garo Vardanian
France –

Armenian genocide survivor and French Resistance hero Missak Manouchian will enter France’s Pantheon mausoleum of revered historical figures next year, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Sunday.

“Manouchian carries a part of our greatness”, Macron said in a statement, adding the French-Armenian poet and communist embodied France’s “universal values” of liberty, equality and fraternity.

He is to be inducted into the Panthéon – which already honours eight other French Resistance heroes, including Jean Moulin – on February 21, 2024.

“It is not just him who will be entering the Pantheon; it is the flame of the entire Resistance,” said his great niece Missak Manouchian.

According to the wishes of his family, his wife Mélinée – also part of the resistance – will join him in the mausoleum, although she will not receive the “pantheonisation” of her husband.

After arriving in France as a stateless refugee in 1925, Manouchian led one of the most active armed groups against the Nazis.

The Manouchian group of foreign resistance fighters was made up of about 60 men and women, including a number of Jews, and was close to the French Communist Party (PCF).

Manouchian carried out nearly a hundred armed and sabotage operations in the Paris region, including the execution of SS General Julius Ritter, head of the compulsory labour, in September 1943.

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In 1944 the group was put out of action when 23 of its members were rounded up and sentenced to death by a German military court.

They were sentenced to death in 1944, with Manouchian shot by the Nazis on 21 February, 1944.

By entering the Pantheon, Manouchian will become both the first foreign and communist Resistance fighter to be awarded the honour.

Other major French figures to be reburied in the Pantheon, which sits on a hill in Paris’s Left Bank, include Victor Hugo, Voltaire and Marie Curie.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20230618-french-armenian-resistance-hero-missak-manouchian-to-enter-panth%C3%A9on

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Russia wants to open consulate-general in Kapan

Chalian Meline

 13:12,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. Russia wants to open a consulate in Kapan, Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan has said.

“The issue of opening a consulate-general in specifically Kapan is being discussed,” Kostanyan said.

When asked why Russia has chosen specifically Kapan, Kostanyan referred the reporters to the Russian embassy.

“The procedures will be fully maintained. We welcome the interest and desire by our international partners on having a diplomatic representation in Syunik, with the purpose of getting to know the situation on the ground better,” Kostanyan said.

Earlier Iran also opened a consulate-general in Kapan.

"The document on unblocking roads is almost completely agreed" – Overchuk

Karagyozian Lena
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Restoration of transport between Armenia-Azerbaijan

“The draft document has been formed and almost completely agreed at our level.” This statement was made by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, talking about the unblocking of transport between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In an interview with TASS, he said that the trilateral working group has been working for almost 2.5 years. There is no clear schedule of meetings; the date of the next meeting is also not known. According to Overchuk, negotiations are slow due to a lack of trust.

The members of the working group are the vice-premiers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. Mher Grigoryan and Shahin Mustafayev are simultaneously representatives of their countries in the commission on state border delimitation and border security. Grigoryan invited his Azerbaijani counterpart to meet in the near future and discuss “actual problems that cause tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.” So far, there has been no response from Baku to this proposal.

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The last meeting of the working group took place in Russia on June 2. Both Yerevan and Moscow considered the meeting constructive. It was reported that “mutual understanding has been reached regarding the restoration of the railway along the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz route.”

However, Armenia and Azerbaijan make conflicting statements regarding road control. Official Yerevan claims that if communications are unblocked, the border service on the territory of Armenia will be under the control of the Armenian side. Baku, referring to a tripartite statement dated November 9, 2020, announces that Russian border guards should control the road.

According to Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, the November 9 statement and the subsequent decree signed by the Russian president speak “more about the monitoring function entrusted to the Russian FSB, rather than about specific control.” He claims that the details are still in the process of being discussed.

Frank answers from the Prime Minister of Armenia in the Prima News program about the geographical and geopolitical problems of the country, relations with neighbors and even personal questions

Overchuk, referring to the draft document discussed by the vice-premiers, said that the unblocking of transport in the region will begin with the restoration of the railway, which will run along the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz route. He also presented the approaches of the parties regarding the procedure for crossing the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, based on “respect for the sovereignty of the parties”:

“None of the parties doubts that certain sections of this road will be under the jurisdiction of the country on whose territory they will be located. Thus, in relation to this road, Azerbaijani legislation will be applied in Azerbaijan, and Armenian legislation in Armenia. It would seem that these are obvious things, but taking into account the relations that have developed between the two states and peoples, all this must be stipulated.

According to Overchuk, the group has yet to work out the main issue: who will ensure the security of Armenians and Azerbaijanis using these routes. He announced that negotiators should answer this question in such a way as to be sure that “nothing bad will happen to these people on the territory of another country.”

“And of course, we are all influenced by what is happening now at the border. It would be much easier to find solutions if the shooting stopped,” he stressed.

According to the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, no one intends “for the sake of the speed of signing the document to put in second place the safety of people and goods” that will move along the road.

“This is a very important point, which does not yet answer the question of when the unblocking will occur,” he stressed.

Overchuk also said that “any proposals and decisions are subject to a very thorough and verified analysis” via experts.

The aim of the group is to reach solutions that will make things work “as they should between countries entering, hopefully, a new peaceful phase of relations.”

Yerevan is discussing the visit of the Armenian Prime Minister to Moscow, in particular, the moment when the Armenian Prime Minister interrupted the Russian President to react to Aliyev’s speech

Overchuk noted that it is difficult to find examples in the world when the opposing sides almost immediately after the cessation of hostilities sat down at the negotiating table and started talking about restoring transport:

“In our case, everyone understands that there is no alternative to peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the best way to achieve peace is to open up the opportunity for people to interact peacefully, build a common road, along which people and goods will then go, normal life, trade will begin, and gradually the old resentment will fade into the background.”

https://jam-news.net/restoration-of-transport-between-armenia-azerbaijan/

Tensions rising at Armenia, Azerbaijan borders

Maral Chavushian
MEHR News Agency, Iran

TEHRAN, Jun. 19 (MNA) – Tensions have increased recently in the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as Armenia accused the Azeri side of attacking its positions.

The Armenian defense ministry said that Azeri forces targeted the military positions of Armenia in the villages of Sotk and Yeraskh early Monday.

No one was injured during Azerbaijan’s artillery attack, the Armenian ministry said.

Reacting to the issue, Azerbaijan’s defense ministry rejected the accusations made by the Armenian side.

The decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh flared up in September 2020, marking the worst escalation since the 1990s.

Hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered trilateral ceasefire declaration signed in November 2020. The two former Soviet states agreed to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region. Since then, there have been occasional clashes along the border.

MP/FNA14020329000378

https://en.mehrnews.com/news/202198/Tensions-rising-at-Armenia-Azerbaijan-borders

Deputy FM reveals key issues of disagreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Liana Toganian

 13:02,

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan has revealed the key points that Armenia and Azerbaijan still disagree on as part of peace talks.

Kostanyan told reporters that Armenia and Azerbaijan have disagreements regarding principled issues.

“Including regarding stipulating the map, as to which map must be the basis of the future delimitation process, regarding the institution of guarantors, regarding the security guarantees for the people of Nagorno Karabakh, regarding the Baku-Stepanakert international mechanism for dialogue, unfortunately as of this moment there is no agreement, the views of the parties are rather distant from one another,” Kostanyan said.

The work continues, he added.

Missak Manouchian, Hero Of The Resistance Of Armenian Origin, Will Enter The Pantheon

Emil Lazarian
FRANCE
By David Sadler Last Updated Jun 18, 2023

President Emmanuel Macron will bring Missak Manouchian, a Resistance figure of Armenian origin, into the Pantheon, thus saluting his “bravery” and his “quiet heroism”announced Sunday the Elysée in a press release. “Missak Manouchian carries part of our greatness”he “embodies universal values” of liberty, equality, fraternity in the name of which he “defended the Republic”declares the Presidency of the Republic.

Military leader of a group of foreign resistance fighters in the Paris region, this survivor of the Armenian genocide was arrested in November 1943 and shot by the German army, at the age of 37, on February 21, 1944 at Mont-Valérien. He becomes the first foreign and communist resistant to enter the Pantheon. Since 2017, Emmanuel Macron has already pantheonized Simone Veil, Maurice Genevoix and Joséphine Baker.

Missak will enter the Pantheon “accompanied by Mélinee”, his wife of Armenian origin, resistant like him, who survived him 45 years and rests at his side in the cemetery of Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne), specified the presidency. It was the wish of the family, as for Simone Veil and her husband Antoine, who entered the Pantheon in 2018. The Manouchian couple thus remain united in death, even if Mélinée is not herself pantheonized.

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This announcement coincides with the 83rd anniversary of the Appeal of June 18, which the President will commemorate as every year in the morning at Mont-Valérien, near Paris, where a thousand resistance fighters and hostages, including Missak Manouchian, were executed by the German Army during the Occupation.

A survivor of the Armenian genocide, stateless, a refugee in France in 1925, Missak Manouchian joined the communist resistance in 1943 where he distinguished himself at the head of a very active network before being arrested and shot by the Germans on February 21, 1944. Celebrated by Aragon and Léo Ferré, Missak Manouchian also entered the collective memory with “The Red Poster”plastered all over Paris by Nazi propaganda during his trial to designate his group for punishment.“The Red Poster” is also the title of a film released in 1976 which immortalized the history of the Manouchian group on screen.

Before him, eight members of the Resistance have already been honored since the transfer of the ashes of Jean Moulin in 1964, including four – Pierre Brossolette, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Germaine Tillion and Jean Zay – under François Hollande in 2015.

“I am sure that the French people and all freedom fighters will be able to honor our memory with dignity”wrote Missak to Mélinée, just before dying, also proclaiming to have “no hatred against the German people”.

The pantheonization of Missak Manouchian was ardently desired by the French left, in particular the Communist Party.

“For us, the main thing is that it is a foreigner who died for France who enters the Pantheon”underlines the communist senator Pierre Ouzoulias, whose grandfather, Albert, was the leader of Missak Manouchian in the Resistance. “It says a lot about what the French Nation is”it’s a “a strong message of integration for young people today”he told AFP.

At the same time, 91 resistance fighters and foreign hostages shot like him at Mont-Valérien are also recognized “died for France”. At Mont-Valérien, the Head of State must collect his thoughts in the middle of the morning in the clearing of the Fusillés, where resistance fighters and hostages were executed.

He will decorate a former resistance fighter, Robert Birenbaum, who, like Missak Manouchian, came from the Francs-tireurs et partisans – Immigrant workforce (FTP-MOI) group. Georges Duffau-Epstein, son of resistance fighter Joseph Epstein who was arrested with Missak Manouchian during a clandestine meeting, will also be present.

The president will be accompanied by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Thierry Burkhard.

The Head of State will then hear the Appeal of June 18 and the Song of the Partisans before a time of meditation in the crypt of Mont-Valérien, where 16 resistance fighters, officers and soldiers who died for France in 1939-45 are buried. as well as Hubert Germain, the last Companion of the Liberation.

The tribute paid on Sunday is part of a long memorial sequence around the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War which will continue in 2024 with the Normandy landings and the Liberation of Paris.