Category: News

On December 28, the annual press conference of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan took place.

Karen Mirzoyan briefed on the activities of the Foreign Ministry during the year and noted that in 2016, too, the priorities of the NKR foreign policy agenda were the international recognition of the independence of Artsakh and the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.

The Foreign Minister noted that during the year, the most serious challenges facing the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in general and the Foreign Ministry in particular were the large-scale aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan on April 2 and the elimination of its consequences. In this context, the Foreign Ministry has taken consistent steps to inform the international community about the causes and consequences of the April aggression, to reach the condemnation of the aggression, blatant violations of international humanitarian law, and the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces during that period. In particular, the NKR MFA circulated relevant notes in different international organizations, as well as contributed to the dissemination of the information provided by other state agencies and institutions of the NKR. Thanks to the work carried out with the mass media, the situation on the ground caused by the aggression and the stance of Artsakh on the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict were presented to the international audience.

Touching upon the process of the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, Karen Mirzoyan noted that, first of all, the efforts should be focused on ensuring stability and predictability on the Line of Contact, as well as creating necessary conditions for resuming the negotiations. Realization of the agreements, reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg, will become a serious step in this direction.

The NKR Foreign Minister reiterated that real progress in the process of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement can only be reached if the trilateral format of the negotiations is restored and the NKR, as a full-fledged party, directly participates in all its stages. Karen Mirzoyan also noted that against the background of the April aggression it had become especially evident that any proposal, which can pose even a minimal threat to the independence and security of the country, is unacceptable for the NKR people and authorities.

Karen Mirzoyan also noted that the international recognition of Artsakh is the imperiatve of time as an efficient means of preventing another aggression by Azerbaijan. The Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the international recognition of the NKR would also positively impact the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, ensuring its irreversibility, and allow to focus on the development of necessary mechanisms and conditions for the peaceful coexistence of two independent and sovereign states.

Karen Mirzoyan assured that in 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to work consistently for the international recognition of Artsakh and expansion of international cooperation on different levels.

Jose Mourinho has advised Anthony Martial to follow the example of Henrikh Mkhitaryan to force his way into Manchester United’s starting line-up, Sky Sports reports.

Martial has found himself on the fringes of Mourinho’s first-team plans, having made four of his 11 Premier League appearances from the bench this season.

However, the United manager has no plans to sell the 21-year-old French striker who has been linked with a loan move away from Old Trafford next month.

Mourinho said: “Anthony is very, very young. People forget that and last season Manchester United played completely differently. He was basically playing up front.

“The team had lots of passive ball possession, just waiting to put it into space for Anthony to go and score a goal. This season is more difficult. He needs a little bit of time to improve.”

Armenian Mkhitaryan initially struggled to earn first-team opportunities this campaign but is now thriving, scoring three goals in his last three games including a goal of the season contender in the Boxing Day win over Sunderland.

Mourinho added: “Every player is different. I had this season a situation that was more difficult than Anthony – Mkhitaryan.

“Mkhitaryan was completely open and understood the difference between me and other coaches he had.

“There is a difference between the demands of the Premier League and the Ukrainian League, or the Bundesliga – a completely different philosophy of play.

“And he worked a lot without playing, but he worked a lot to try to reach the level.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined Manchester United only six months ago but his knowledge of the club goes back much further, accoridng to the club’s official website. 

The Armenian who scored on Boxing Day was asked by United Review earlier this month which Reds stars he used to enjoy watching. During the following ‘Football and Me’ interview, he gave an interesting answer to that and several other questions…

Which United player from the past did you most enjoy watching?
I started watching United at the time when Eric Cantona was in the team, and I loved watching him play. Andrei Kanchelskis was another who I’d keep an eye out for – as he was a Russian player I found that very interesting. But, in terms of a United idol, that would have to be Sir Alex Ferguson.

Who was your football hero when you were growing up?
Zinedine Zidane, not just for his vision on the pitch but for the fact he was such a leader. He was always talking to his team-mates and helping them.

Do you have any pre-match superstitions?
No, I don’t. I used to do certain things before a game when I was younger but, as I got older, I realised that everything I needed to perform as a footballer was in my head.

Which goal have you celebrated most as a player?
It was a goal for the Armenian Under-21 team against Turkey in 2009. It was a very important game for us, and I scored the winner in the last minute. It was the most emotion I’ve ever felt after scoring a goal.

And the best goal you’ve ever scored?
I couldn’t answer that one, as I’ve scored a lot [laughs]. Hopefully, there are a lot more goals to come for me at United.

Since taking part in the Q&A, Mkhitaryan has netted what he now considers to be – his acrobatic finish against Sunderland on Boxing Day.

On December 27 Tigran Mkrtchyan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Lithuania had a meeting with Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas.

The Seimas Speaker commended the level of bilateral political dialogue and the progress achieved in economic cooperation.

The interlocutors noted that the trade turnover over the last years has greatly increased and there are sufficient conditions for its improvement.

The sides highlighted the development of cooperation in the format of inter-parliamentary friendship groups. The Speaker in his turn underlined that the Armenia-Lithuania inter-parliamentary friendship group, re-convened following the Seimas elections, is one of the three biggest groups of the Lithuanian parliament, containing 48 MPs and consisting of one-third of the Seimas members.

The interlocutors touched upon the process of negotiations on Armenia-EU new framework agreement, the visa liberalization perspectives. The Speaker underlined, that Lithuania supports Armenia’s cooperation with the EU.

Talking about the Artsakh issue, Ambassador Mkrtchyan presented to his interlocutor the continuous destructive behavior of official Baku, the anti-Armenian propaganda conducted on the top level.

The Seimas speaker reaffirmed Lithuania’s stance in Nagorno-Karabakh issue, expressing support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at a peaceful resolution of the issue.

On December 28 the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia will be heading on tour to China, where the musicians will celebrate the New Year.

The Youth Orchestra received an invitation from the Beijing Culture and Entertainment Corporation. The orchestra will have two concerts on December 31 and on January 2 in Haikou (China).

The Armenian musicians will present arias from well-known Italian operas (Verdi, Puccini), as well as pieces by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Bizet and Chinese composers.

Another flight recorder of the ill-fortunate Tupolev-154 that crashed near Sochi last Sunday morning has been recovered from the seabed, TASS reports.

“The second flight recorder of the Tupolev-154 plane was spotted and recovered less than 30 minutes ago,” the Defense Ministry’s report runs.

Earlier, the plane’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was delivered to the Russian Aerospace Force’s research center in Lubertsy, near Moscow. Primary analysis of the data already retrieved from the first recorder has allowed for narrowing the range of likely causes of the plane’s crash.

Divers have retrieved a total of 15 bodies and 239 body parts from the bottom of the Black Sea, the ministry said.

The Armenian General Benevolent Union’s (AGBU) 110^th anniversary celebrations came to their symbolic end with a donation of two 110 year-old documents of national historical significance.

On Wednesday, December 21st, Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and Gabriel Djambardji, benefactor and Honorable President of Pyunik Benevolent Foundation, visited the AGBU Armenia HQ to hand over two valuable documents to AGBU Armenia President Vasken Yacoubian.

The first document dated May 22, 1906, is the original letter hand signed by AGBU Founding President Boghos Noubar Pasha, encouraging all the world-spread Armenians to establish AGBU chapters in the countries of their residence.

The other document is the printed copy of the AGBU’s famous “Call to all Armenians” historical document with the stamp of AGBU Cairo Chapter. This document first published on May 1, 1906, had announced the official establishment of the newly formed Union, its activities and objectives.

These emblematic documents were found by Hayk Demoyan, and with the financial support of Gabriel Djambardji, were acquired and donated to AGBU.

We are very grateful to both of our compatriots for this priceless gift on the occasion of AGBU’s 110^th anniversary. The documents will be preserved with great care at AGBU’s rich archive.

Serbia will initiate the procedure of abolishing visas for ordinary passport holders in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, also as for diplomatic and official passport holders in a group of countries, reports.

The visa policy of the Republic of Serbia was discussed in a meeting held in Belgrade on Tuesday, the Serbian government announced.

The meeting was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the holders of Serbian passports can currently travel without a visa to 64 countries.

An agreement was reached to continue the policy of liberalization of the visa regime with as many countries as possible in order to improve bilateral political relations, attract foreign investment and intensify economic and tourist cooperation.

At least two people are dead and more than 40 injured following the derailment of a train in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state, the BBC reports.

Fourteen carriages of the Ajmer-Sealdah Express derailed near Kanpur in the early hours of Wednesday.

Officials said that all passengers had been rescued from the derailed carriages. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

More than 140 people died last month in another train crash near Kanpur.

Train accidents are fairly common in India, where much of the railway equipment is out of date.

Photo: Timur Abdullayev/News Team/TASS    

Turkey and Russia have reached an agreement on the plan of a comprehensive ceasefire in Syria, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday.

The agreement envisages establishing ceasefire from midnight on December 29, does not cover the terrorist organizations and is in the framework of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2254.

The plan will be in force in all areas of Syria where the fighting is underway between the government forces and armed opposition groups. It will be presented to the parties to the Syrian conflict.

According to the report, if the ceasefire deal is implemented, the talks on political settlement of the conflict will be held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. Moscow and Ankara will act as guarantors of the settlement.

Over the past several days, the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, have held intense phone conversations devoted to the Syrian crisis and the meeting of representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition in Astana.