Category: News

Armenia agrees with the Co-Chairs that ceasefire violations are unacceptable, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said, commenting on the .

“The Co-Chairs refer to what we have been consistently talking about. We agree with them that the ceasefire violations are unacceptable. We agree that the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg should be unequivocally implemented. The mechanism of investigation of border incidents should be implemented as soon as possible,” Edward Nalbandian said in comments to Armenpress.

“The co-chairing countries have mentioned on many occasions which party has been turning down the implementation of the mechanism. Therefore, that party bears full responsibility for the incidents and ceasefire violations. Such mechanisms will allow, as the Co-Chairs say, to avoid reciprocal accusations. However, the fact of an Azerbaijani saboteur being neutralized at the Armenian military posts makes it clear who’s the attacker even without any mechanism,” Minister Nalbandian said.

“We hope the Co-Chairs will be consistent in strongly responding to any use of force or the threat of force in the conflict zone, especially considering that ceasefire violations result in human losses. We must not allow a delayed response to be accepted by the violators of the ceasefire as tolerance towards their actions. As the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have mentioned on many occasions, the unconditional implementation of the 1994-1995 trilateral agreements on ceasefire is a must, the incidents that result from their violation are unacceptable and cause a huge damage to the settlement process,” Edward Nalbandian stated.

“Under the conditions, when Azerbaijan hampers the implementation of an investigation mechanism and the expansion of capacities of the team of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman0-in-Office, the Co-Chairs remain the only format, which can and should continue its preventive activity in compliance with its mandate,” the Armenian Foreign Minister stated.

 

 

 

There have been no changes in the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the process of settlement of the Karabakh issue, says Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Caucasus Institute.

“They are busy with minimizing the risks, rather than resolving the conflict,” Iskandaryan told a press conference today.

According to the political scientist, the reason is the difference between the stances of the parties on the conflict settlement, which makes it impossible to propose a solution acceptable to all.

“The latest fit into the logic of avoiding tension,” Iskandaryan said.

According to political scientist Stepan Grigoryan, the Co-Chairs’ statement can inspire Azerbaijan to resort to new provocations, because they see that their actions go unpunished.

According to Alexander Iskandaryan, there are two ways Azerbaijan can have an influence on the Karabakh conflict settlement. “The first option is lobbying and propaganda. The second means for Azerbaijan to attract the attention of Armenia and the international community is to shoot,” the political scientist said. Therefore, he’s concerned that the situation will still continue.

As for the perspectives of resumption of military actions, Alexander Iskandaryan says “it depends on oil prices, on whether Azerbaijan can afford it or not, because the country spent huge sums in April.”

The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) has called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to obtain the Attorney General nominee Senator Jeff Sessions’ (R-AL) commitment to enforce the letter and spirit of laws already on the books to end Azerbaijan’s caviar diplomacy tactics.

In a letter to United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) on the upcoming nomination of Sen. Sessions for Attorney General, Assembly Board of Trustees Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian identified several issues of concern, particularly as related “to the undue influence of foreign governments on America’s democratic institutions and the need to fully enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and ensure compliance of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).” Assembly members and Armenian Americans are also pursuing this issue in their home states, considering the increasing commitment of President-Elect Donald J. Trump with the “drain the swamp” campaign.

“When it comes to the integrity of America’s constitutional system, the rule of law and our governance process, we must ensure that the law is duly enforced and that any attempt by foreign governments and their agents are roundly condemned and promptly prosecuted,” Assembly Co-Chairs added. “Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have circumvented our laws and bought influence without repercussion for many years now.  That has to stop.”

The Assembly stressed their concern about President Ilham Aliyev constantly buying foreign influence, citing many instances in the letter. For example, in a Bloomberg News article published last week entitled “Azeri Oil Money Got a Pass From This Ethics Committee,” the columnist writes about the illegally funded congressional trips to Baku discovered by the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), which included expensive gifts given to U.S. legislators. Barsamian and Krikorian noted in the letter that such reported activities “constitute a flagrant disregard for the law and strike at the core of our constitutional government through blatant foreign influence peddling.”

The Assembly previously urged the Department of Justice to investigate these foreign trips illegally funded by Azerbaijan. “We respectfully request a full and thorough investigation by the Department of Justice into these groups and the full application of the law. The reported activities constitute plainly illegal behavior and strikes at the core of our Constitutional government through blatant foreign influence peddling,” the Assembly said in its letter to then Attorney General Loretta Lynch. A recent publication has tied Turkey to hacking of the Armenian National Institute website, and requests to the FBI since 2000 to follow up have not been effective in stopping that pattern of behavior.

The Justice Department has brought some cases involving Azerbaijan through the FCPA, but the Assembly points out that much more is needed. The Assembly Co-Chairs said, “We prefer not to think that Azerbaijan’s retention of the Podesta Group at hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to lobby for Azerbaijan is preventing such investigations.” The Bloomberg News columnist noted: “It’s hard to tell whether it’s this creativity and generosity or any real U.S. strategic interest that makes the U.S. overlook the country’s brutal dictatorship. A combination of both is likely: Without the ‘caviar diplomacy,’ Azerbaijan might be considered too small to defy declared U.S. values and principles for its sake.”

Last month, the European Stability Initiative (ESI) denounced Azerbaijan’s lobbying tactics and reported that expensive watches, jewelry, computers, and large sums of money, among other gifts, were provided to several politicians from a number of countries in Europe. ESI stated that “the ease with which democratic institutions and safeguards can be undermined has emerged as a fundamental threat to European democracy.”

“The Aliyev regime is also engaged in this type of foreign influence buying to distract from its efforts to continue violating its ceasefire agreements with the Republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh – to avoid democracy and human rights issues there by eliminating the Christian Armenians,” Assembly Co-Chairs said. “Azerbaijan’s activities in the United States come at a time when the Aliyev regime continues to deprive its citizens of basic human rights and freedoms,” they continued.

In the past year, additional news came to light indicating Azerbaijan’s violations to international human rights standards, which were reported by international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

By Chad Pawson, – Ara Strak says he and his family are marking Orthodox Christmas with prayers of gratitude even while the memory of fleeing from his bombed-out apartment in Aleppo is still fresh in his minds.

He and a handful of other Syrian refugees sponsored by Richmond B.C.’s St. Gregory Armenian Church attended services there this weekend.

“We are here … safe, and that’s the biggest thing that we needed in our life,” said Strak.

The church has sponsored 35 families over the past year.

“A lot of adjustments that they have to do, culture is different, the language is different, education system is different, settling really nicely, a lot of them are relieved they are out of Syria,” said Eddie Papazian who works with the sponsorship committee for the church.

The church hopes to support more refugees and has plans to welcome another 20 people in the next few months.

“If you live in the war, you see that the important thing in your life is your safety and your family’s safety is the first,” said Strak in thanks to his new congregation.

He along with other refugees hope they can play a role in welcoming the next wave of refugees sponsored by the church.

“To help others and feel comfortable, like others, how they helped us,” said Rita Koujian.

Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov is leaving for Iran to day to attend the funeral of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Parliament’s Press Service reports.

Mr. Rafsanjani died on Sunday in a hospital in Tehran after suffering a heart attack.

His body was taken to Jamaran prayer hall, the residence of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini, where relatives, politicians and religious figures gathered to pay their last respects.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has led tributes to former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has died at the age of 82, the BBC reports.

Ayatollah Khamenei hailed a “companion of struggle” despite their differences, saying this was a “difficult” loss.

President Hassan Rouhani praised Mr Rafsanjani as a great man of the Islamic revolution.

The government has announced three days of mourning, making Tuesday a public holiday for his funeral in Tehran.

Mr Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989 to 1997, was pivotal in the 1979 revolution. But later in life he became a counterpoint to hardline conservatives.

“The different opinions and interpretations at time in this long period could never entirely break up the friendship between us,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

Mr Rafsanjani died on Sunday in a hospital in Tehran after suffering a heart attack.

His body was taken to Jamaran prayer hall, the residence of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini, where relatives, politicians and religious figures gathered to pay their last respects.

The CSTO Secretary General’s statement on the incident at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border was very clear, Armenian Defense minister Vigen Sargsyan has said.

The comments come after CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha issued a on an Azeri infringement attempt at the Armenian border. “We consider these actions on the territory of a CSTO member state as a provocation, especially against the background of a rather serious incident in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic with application of heavy weapons and armored vehicles in April this year,” the then Secretary General said, in part.

“The CSTO member states gave their assessment of the Karabakh issue in a statement adopted during the summit in Yerevan,” Vigen Sargsyan said, adding that “the Secretary General’s statement on the incident was quite clear.”

“The Secretary General is one of the most important institutions of the CSTO and expresses the opinion of the organization between summits,” the Defense Minister added.

Speaking about the appointment of a new Secretary General, Minister Sargsyan said the issue will be discussed at the next summit.

An exhibition of works by Armenian artists opened at Tehran’s Maryam Gallery on Friday.

Entitled “Sodality”, works by Lilitte Therian, Serjh Avakian, Edman Aivazian, Simon Aivazian and Garnik der Hacoopian have been put on display, reported.

In the Armenian tradition, the holy birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated on January 6.

The ceremony was attended by the Armenian Archbishop of Tehran, Sebouh Sarkissian, and director of the Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality Mahmud Salahi.

In his brief speech at the ceremony Salahi said that the Christian artists of Iran narrate the history of Iran through their arts, adding, “I see no separation between my compatriots, we have been together and fought against the enemy during the (Iran-Iraq) war and some of the martyrs are Iranian Christians.”

“Now, the relations between Iran and Armenia are good and visa requirements for both citizens have been lifted. Iran emphasizes peaceful coexistence with all the people in the world. I hope the artists can help draw the attention of the world to peace and friendship,” he added.

Armenian Archbishop of Tehran Sebouh Sarkissian expressed his congratulations over the arrival of the New Year and the birth anniversary of Jesus.

He also thanked the organizers of the exhibit and said that the Armenians have made good progress in art with over 90 masters of art.

The opening ceremony ended by honoring the artists whose works are on display.

The exhibit has been arranged in collaboration with the Ardak Manoukian Museum in Tehran and will be running until January 11.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world’s best player at the inaugural Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich, the BBC reports.

Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, 31, beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to the prize.

Ronaldo also with both honours recognition for success in the Champions League with Real and Euro 2016 with Portugal.

Carli Lloyd of the United States was named the world’s best female player.

Leicester’s Claudio Ranieri was named best men’s coach, ex-Germany boss Silvia Neid won the female coach award, while Penang’s Mohd Faiz Subri received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2016.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today the Ambassadors of Iran and Turkmenistan to Armenia, Seyed Kazem Sajadi and Muhammad Niaz Mashalov.

The Prime Minister said the high level of relations with Iran and Turkmenistan allows to further deepen the economic ties and launch cooperation in trilateral format.

“We are interested in developing the Armenia-Iran-Turkmenistan trilateral economic cooperation. We have the capacity to increase the volume of commodity turnover between our countries and this meeting is a testament to the importance we attach to our cooperation,” he said.

The Ambassadors, in turn, reiterated the willingness of their respective countries to expand the cooperation with Armenia and discuss the future steps in that direction.

During the meeting reference was made to the perspectives of trilateral cooperation in the energy field, the supply of energy resources and joint projects.

The parties reached an agreement to set up a joint task force to discuss concrete programs.