Category: News

Armenia has welcomed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Belgium.

“Seventeen years ago the Belgian Senate recognized the Armenian Genocide by a special resolution. On June 18 this year the Prime Minister of Belgium reaffirmed the position of the Government on the unconditional recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

“The resolution recognising the Armenian Genocide adopted by the Chamber of Deputies completes the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Belgium,” the Foreign Minister said.

“We welcome the unconditional recognition of the Armenian Genocide by legislative and executive authorities of the Kingdom of Belgium” Minister Nalbandian concluded.

The Belgian Chamber of Deputies voted to adopt a Resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide. An overwhelming majority of deputies, (124 out of 132) voted in favor of the measure, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) reports.

The Resolution was filed by MP Peter De Roover (N-VA) and passed the Foreign Relations Commission earlier this month.

In June Belgian  on behalf of his government that the tragic events committed between 1915-1917 in the Ottoman Empire should be “considered a genocide.”

The Belgian Senate recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1998.

The Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, where Russia holds the largest share, will provide a $300 million privileged credit to Armenia, Russian Deputy Minister of Finance Sergey Storchak told reporters. Armenia had applied for more, he said.

“The Council of Fund, which convened recently, made a political decision on the provision of the credit,” Storchak said, TASS reports.

Belarus was the first country to receive a privileged credit from the Fund.

Storchak said the loan will be granted on standard terms. “As far as I understand, it’s about 1% annually,” he noted.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime at the Line of Contact between Karabakh-Azerbaijani forces for about 130 times on July 22 and over the night.

More than 1500 shots were fired in the direction of the Armenian defense guards from weapons of different caliber including mortars and grenade launchers.

The Defense Army frontline units keep the operational situation under control and take appropriate actions, if necessary.

Greece has taken a crucial step towards a bailout after its parliament passed a second set of reforms, the BBC  reports.

The passage of the measures means that negotiations on an €86bn European Union bailout can begin.

The reforms include changes to Greek banking and an overhaul of the judiciary system.

Thousands demonstrated outside of parliament as the bill was debated, with protests briefly turning violent as petrol bombs were thrown at police.

 

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) traveled to Yerevan and Baku to meet President of Armenia Serzh Sargsian and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.  The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in the meetings.

The Co-Chairs have issued the following statement:

During our visit to Yerevan and Baku, we noted recent high-level meetings and discussed with each President current proposals to advance negotiations towards a lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  We welcomed the readiness of the Presidents to meet each other later this year, and they instructed their Foreign Ministers to continue their work with the Co-Chairs on an agenda for the presidential summit.

We also welcomed the period of relative stability along the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border that coincided with major international events in both countries over the last several months.  However, we are concerned about the recent rise in tensions, and we urged the Presidents to avoid a deadly escalation of violence and take all measures to adhere strictly to the ceasefire.

The Presidents repeated their commitment to exchange data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Co-Chairs also traveled to Vienna to brief the members of the Minsk Group.

At least 15 people have been killed on in a crash between a cargo vessel and a passenger boat on Egypt’s River Nile.

Family and friends of a young couple had hired the boat for an engagement party and were sailing north of Cairo when the crash happened, according to AFP news agency.

An Interior Ministry statement said 15 bodies had been found and six people were still missing.

The captain of the cargo boat has been arrested.

Five people were rescued from the water, but at least two children were killed.

It is not clear if the couple thought to be celebrating their engagement were among the dead, said AFP.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward ‪‎Nalbandian‬ received the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (‪‎CSTO‬) Nikolay ‪‎Bordyuzha‬.

Welcoming the guest, Minister Nalbandian stressed that Armenia attaches great importance to the cooperation within the CSTO as an important component of its security, and will continue its consistent efforts towards the strengthening of allied collaboration within the Organization.

A delegation representing leading Armenian American organizations met with senior State Department officials this week to seek workable solutions to gaps in the delivery of U.S. and international aid to vulnerable Armenians, in Syria, Armenia and Lebanon.

In a high level meeting held on Monday with officials of three key State Department bureaus – Population, Refugees and Migration; Near Eastern Affairs, and; European and Eurasian Affairs – the Armenian delegation underscored the urgent humanitarian needs faced by at-risk Armenians who remain – due to ongoing gaps in existing aid-delivery models – in great measure without the benefit of international assistance.

The Armenian American delegation included Chairman of the ANCA, Ken Hachikian; Chairman of the ARF Eastern United States, Dr. Hayg Oshagan; Chairman of the ARF Western United States, Dr. Viken Hovsepian; Talin Daghlian, Chairperson of the Armenian Relief Society of Eastern USA, representing the ARS; ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, and; ANCA Governmental Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian. Speaking on behalf of Armenian Americans, and reflecting the sense of urgency among Armenians worldwide, they stressed the need for U.S. policymakers to ensure the delivery of aid to at-risk Armenians in Aleppo and elsewhere throughout Syria, to provide humanitarian and housing support for Armenian refugees in Lebanon, and to leverage bilateral and international assistance to help those in Armenia transition toward self-sufficient citizenship in their homeland.

For their part, State Department officials, during the course of an hour-long meeting, offered their assurances regarding the commitment of the United States to the protection of the Armenian community in Syria, and expressed an eagerness to engage with the Armenian American community in addressing any gaps in the delivery of aid to Syrian Armenians – in Syria, Armenia, and Lebanon . On behalf the Department, they voiced their appreciation for the opportunity to meet with Armenian American leaders, welcomed the exploration of constructive means of addressing the community’s concerns, and encouraged Armenian American organizations to submit grant proposals to implement government-funded programs to assist Syrians refugees and internally displaced persons.

The ANCA is working with Congress to expand U.S. assistance for Syrian Armenians as part of the FY 2016 foreign aid bill, and has consistently encouraged the Obama Administration to prioritize such assistance. In March of this year, twenty-five U.S. Representatives formally called on the leadership of the House Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Armenian, Assyrian and other at-risk minorities in Syria, as well as targeted aid to help Armenia support thousands fleeing from Syria.

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has reportedly said Vladimir Putin wants to grant him Russian citizenship and appoint him the country’s economic minister, Agence France-Presse reports.

“In Italy, I have been relegated to the sidelines, but Putin has told me he is willing to give me citizenship, and entrust me with running the economy ministry,” La Stampa newspaper quoted Mr Berlusconi as saying at a dinner party.

“My future? Becoming minister for my friend Putin,” the 78-year-old reportedly said.

Mr Putin and Mr Berlusconi are longstanding friends.