Category: News

The Azerbaijani side resorted to provocative actions hours after failing to lead the OSCE monitoring mission to its frontlines. The rival shelled the military posts located in the eastern direction of the NKR Defense Army between 17:00 and 8:50 today, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The Azerbaijani forces used cannons and mortars of different calibers in the eastern and northern (Talish) directions.

The Armenian side reports no losses as a result of the heavy shelling.

The NKR Defense Ministry has declared that “the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the provocative actions and their consequences.

“Should the provocations continues, the NKR Defense Army reserves the right to take relevant measures to ensure the security of Artsakh’s state border,” the Ministry said.

The Supreme Court of Belarus ruled today to leave the decision of the Prosecutor General’s office on blogger Alexander Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan in force, RIA Novosti reports.

On December 15, 2016, police in Belarus detained Mr. Lapshin, a popular travel blogger based in Moscow, for his prior visits to the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and for his criticism of the Aliyev regime.

Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, was detained in Minsk in December 2015 at the request of Azerbaijan for his prior visits to Nagorno Karabakh.

On 20 January 2017  the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus decided to have Mr. Lapshin extradited to Azerbaijan.  An appeal to the ruling was recently denied by Minsk City Court.

Thus, the decision on Lapshin’s extradition comes into force, as the Supreme Court is the highest instance, where the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office could be appealed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh Karen Mirzoyan sent a congratulatory message to Rex Tillerson on his appointment as Secretary of State of the United States of America.

The Foreign Minister expressed his confidence that Tillerson would definitely facilitate the mediation efforts of the US, as one of the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, to find a long-term and peaceful settlement to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.

The Foreign Minister also expressed his gratitude for the assistance the US renders to the Artsakh Republic and its people.

“We are looking forward to continued cooperation, built on shared values of democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as a vision of stable and peaceful South Caucasus”, reads the congratulatory message of Karen Mirzoyan.

On February 7, 2017, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, in the direction of the NKR Hadrut region, to the north of Horadiz.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and Jiri Aberle (Czech Republic), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain).

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), and staff member of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side did not lead the OSCE mission to its front-lines.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

Photo: Marina Lystseva/TASS

 

Russia may supply two-four Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft to Armenia in 2018-2019, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on the sidelines of the meeting of the United Russia faction on Tuesday, reports.

“I think in total it concerns supplying not more than 10 aircraft in five years, but we will start with two-four aircraft,” the minister said.

“If we form a sound program this year and find ways of its implementation, including the sources of financing, than, taking into account the production cycle, the delivery of aircraft will be in 2018 – early 2019 in the best case. But I think it would be more realistic in 2019,” Manturov added.

In January, it was reported that Russia and Armenia are in talks on establishing a new airline in Armenia. It was planned that SSJ-100 aircraft would form the core of the fleet of the new company. Currently, Armenia has only one airline that was created in 2016 and began to carry out flights last summer. The airline’s main airport is Zvartnots (Yerevan).

Agencia Prensa Armenia – The Armenian National Committee of South America delivered a letter to the Ambassador of Belarus in Argentina in protest for the decision to extradite Russian Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan.

“We wish to convey our most sincere concern over the decision of the Republic of Belarus to grant the extradition of the digital journalist Alexander Lapshin to the Republic of Azerbaijan,” said the letter signed by the Armenian National Committee of South America and Armenian Youth Federation of South America.

“Due to his trip to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2012 he was included in the ‘blacklist’ made by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Subsequently, he was accused of violating two clauses of Azerbaijan’s criminal law 281.2, which punishes those who damage the territorial integrity of that country, and 318.2 that prohibits crossing Azeri borders without the required documents. Both laws have prison terms of up to eight years.”

“As Argentine citizens descendants of Armenians we need to transmit you that we consider extremely dangerous for Lapshin to be handed over to the Azerbaijan authorities, and we hope to be able to arrange a meeting as soon as possible so that we can discuss the matter,” the text reads.

Reuters – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will stand trial over allegations of illegally financing his failed 2012 re-election bid, a judicial source said on Tuesday.

The source added that 13 others would also face trial over the so-called ‘Bygmalion Affair’, which has involved charges of spending overruns and funding irregularities.

The decision to put Sarkozy on trial comes as French politicians face growing scrutiny over their personal finances in the build-up to this year’s presidential election in April and May.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski. The parties discussed cooperation in the fight against corruption, Government’s Press Service reports.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan introduced the steps taken by the Armenian government to that effect, including legislative reforms, decisions and activities carried out by the Anticorruption Council. Talking about the future plans, the Prime Minister said a new legislative package has been developed to create an independent preventive anti-corruption authority based on the terms of reference of the High-Ranking Officials’ Ethics Commission.

The new package implies full revision of the applicable system of income statements and conflict of interest. Work is underway to improve investigation of corruption offenses. Based on the discussions held by Anticorruption Council, a number of important bills are being developed aimed at reducing the risks of corruption in all spheres of public life.

The Premier stressed that the effectiveness of measures for the fight against corruption is largely dependant on the stance of civil society. Set to activate feedback from society, the Government will give new impetus to the activities of the anticorruption Council of the Republic of Armenia. Noting that his government is open to suggestions and recommendations, Karen Karapetyan stressed the importance of cooperation with EU partners.

Welcoming the Government’s efforts in the fight against corruption, Piotr Switalski extended a vote of thanks on behalf of the business community for the Government’s decisions and legislative initiatives. He noted that the EU Delegation to Armenia is prepared to continue cooperation with the Government as part of the priorities and anti-corruption reforms outlined by the Prime Minister.

Taking the opportunity, the Prime Minister and the Head of EU Delegation to Armenia exchanged views on the possibilities for implementing joint projects within the framework of the Center for Strategic Initiatives.

company that acquired the Vorotan Cascade in 2015. The package includes a loan of $45 million for IFC’s own account and parallel loans of $65 million from FMO, the Dutch development bank, and $30 million from DEG, the German Investment and Development Corporation.

The loans will help ContourGlobal upgrade the 404-megawatt Vorotan complex, parts of which are almost four decades old. As a result, the project is expected to generate around 1,150 gigawatt hours of electricity annually and will help combat climate change by preventing the release of more than 55,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. The financing is expected to boost electricity reliability, providing a steady supply of clean power to additional 60,000 residential customers.

“We are very pleased to have completed this innovative long-term financing package for Vorotan and we would like to thank our partners at IFC, FMO, DEG, for their commitment to the project,” said Ara Hovsepyan, General Manager of ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade. “We would also like to thank the Government of Armenia for its work in facilitating these transactions. They provide a stable, long-term capital structure, which allows us to continue our work while making sure that the operational performance, safety, reliability, and efficiency of this plant are maintained at world-class standards.”

This financing package also marks IFC’s first debt investment in Armenian infrastructure. In addition to the loan, IFC is a sole provider of an interest rate swap, which will help ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade hedge the interest rate risk on the financing package, protecting it from any fluctuations in the interest rate. IFC is one of the few development finance institutions to offer hedging instruments to its clients—private sector companies in emerging markets—to better manage interest and currency risks.

“Supporting renewable energy is IFC’s top priority and is part of our commitment to address climate change,” said Wiebke Schloemer, IFC Regional Industry Head of Infrastructure for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. “Globally, we have seen how private businesses can help spur the development of energy infrastructure. The upgrade of Armenia’s Vorotan complex will help provide clean energy for tens of thousands of people. This investment is also expected to open the door to additional private investment in the country’s vital infrastructure.”

The Vorotan Cascade includes three hydropower plants and provides 15 percent of Armenia’s electricity. Increasing its capacity is key for Armenia, a country that imports fuel to cover around 90 percent of its
energy needs.

In 2015, IFC bought a minority stake in ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade to support the entry of an established private sector power developer and operator in Armenia, helping the company acquire, operate, and rehabilitate the Vorotan Hydro Cascade.

Armenia became an IFC member in 1995. Since then, IFC’s long-term investment commitments have totaled $480 million, including nearly $118 million mobilized from other lenders. That has financed 49 projects across a range of sectors, including financial markets, manufacturing, agribusiness, services, and mining. IFC has also supported trade transactions worth more than $130 million through its trade finance program, and implemented advisory projects focused on private sector development.
In fiscal year 2016, IFC invested almost $19 billion in developing countries worldwide.

Massis Post – Dr. Umit Kurt, currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, will give a talk entitled “The Curious Case of Ali Cenani Bey: The Story of a Genocide Perpetrator During and After the 1915 Armenian Genocide,” on Thursday, February 23, 2017 at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) Center.

Within the scholarship on the history of Armenian Genocide, studies of the perpetrators have received and continue to receive special attention. Seen from a wider perspective, it is important to conduct research on the executors of the Armenian Genocide, for even when the agents of genocide are not explicitly mentioned, the consequences of their deeds remain all too visible. Yet case studies of individual perpetrators remain rare.

In this lecture, Dr. Umit Kurt will focus on Aintab—situated on the boundaries of Cilicia and Syria, near both the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Alexandretta—and reveal the activities of the perpetrators and their involvement in the destruction of Armenians at the local/provincial level.

Presenting a wide range of people, functions, actions, and motives that highlight the complexity of the persecution process, but without neglecting the crucial element of personal responsibility, Kurt will explain who these perpetrators were and what their roles and motivations were. The lecture will focus especially on one major perpetrator, Ali Cenani Bey (1872-1934), his background, deeds, active and involvement in the 1915 Armenian deportation and genocide as well as his life story in the post-genocide period in modern Turkey.

Umit Kurt received his Ph.D. in history at Clark University in 2016, with his dissertation focusing on the confiscation of Armenian properties and the role of local elites/notables in Aintab during the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1921. He is the author of numerous historical and political articles in scholarly journals and newspapers, several books in Turkish, and co-author with Taner Akçam of The Spirit of the Laws: The Plunder of Wealth in the Armenian Genocide.