Category: News

Artsakh Defense Ministry reports 65 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side on May 8 and the night of May 9.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 970 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The Azeri forces also used a 60 mm mortar (11shells) and an automatic grenade launcher (3 shells) in the southern direction of the line of contact.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army resorted to response action and confidently continued with their military duty.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has issued a message on the Day of Victory and Liberation of Shushi:

From the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, we extend our Pontifical blessings and congratulations to our faithful people, on the occasion of the day of the glorious victory of May 9, the Liberation of Shushi and the foundation day of the Defense Army of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

This triple wonder and celebrations of May, again fill our souls with joy. Today, we reflect on and reevaluate the significant efforts that our people have made, which contributed to the victory in the Great Patriotic War and the establishment of peace in the world. This victorious day during the Artsakh Liberation struggle, our heroic sons, with unbending will and a brave spirit, liberated Shushi, which was of important strategic significance, and the center of our national culture. During those decisive days, the Defense Army was established which is the guarantee of peace and security of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh).

Today, despite the peace-loving spirit of our people, the defense of the frontline continues to be urgent. Facing these war challenges, we are pledged to national unity, the prospering of the homeland is an necessity for us, as well as the strengthening of the Armenian Army, which is the guarantee of our security.

We pray that Almighty God grants comfort to the souls of our hero sons who died for the homeland, grants peace to the world, and strengthens and keeps our people and our native statehood secure, now and forever. Amen.

On 9 May President Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory address in connection with the Victory Holiday, the 25th anniversary of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Defense Army and the Liberation of Shushi.
The address runs as follows:

“Dear compatriots,

Dear veterans of the Great Patriotic and Artsakh Liberation wars,

Respected generals, officers and soldiers of the Defense Army,

On behalf of the republic’s authorities and personally myself I cordially congratulate you on the Victory Holiday, the 25th anniversary of the NKR Defense Army and the Liberation of Shushi, glorious victories that our people carved in various crossroads of history due to the bravery and courage of their brave sons, their selfless love towards the Motherland.

The feat of our legendary fathers and grandfathers in the Great Patriotic War, their lives have always granted us pride and become a landmark for us leading to new victories. We have liberated Shushi having in sight their heroic example that instilled unshakable faith towards our own strength and victory of justice, taught to be steadfast and resolute, ready to struggle and determined.

The Artsakh Liberation War has become one of the greatest victories of the Armenian people in the range of our heroic battles.
Today we are twice proud as we have a worthy shift, generation of aweless young people who place above all the defense of homeland’s borders and the security of the native people. They continue the work of their ancestors with great dignity leaving new examples of selflessness in the history.

Honor and glory to all our heroes!

Honor and glory to our martyrs, who have sacrificed their lives for the sacred mission of defending the Motherland!
Dear compatriots,

On this festive day I congratulate all our people in Mother Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora. Together we have carved this cherished triple holiday, together we have overcome all the difficulties and trials, paving our heroic path. It was so in the past, and so it will be forever!

I once again congratulate all of us, wishing peace, welfare and all the best!”

Dear Compatriots,

I cordially congratulate you on the occasion of Victory and Peace Day.

I first of all congratulate the veterans whose ranks, regrettably, diminish by year. This holiday is the perfect occasion for us to show them our profound respect and admiration. It is also an opportunity to express our gratitude to the heroic generation which went through the superhuman challenges and secured prospects of peaceful work and development for our country.

The World War II was a grave trial for many peoples of the world, including the Armenians.

Our warriors at the battlefield and our workers in heartland here in Armenia as well as our compatriots abroad withstood that trial with honor. For us, it became the Great Patriotic War indeed. We toiled with all our ability, accomplished heroic tasks  which were above our abilities and brought the victory and desirable peace closer.

After May 9, 1992 this date acquired additional meaning for us.
Liberation of Shushi saved not only Stepanakert but the entire people of Artsakh from physical annihilation. This epic deed of the Armenian warriors and its compound historic significance are so overarching that are still being studied and analyzed by the researchers.

One thing became clear on May 9, 1992 and the same thing is clear today: We have not and we will not sacrifice our life and our freedom, our rights and our dignity.

Dear Compatriots,

I once again congratulate you all on the occasion of Victory and Peace Day. This is the holiday of those who stood against misanthropic propaganda and violence, and the heroes who won in that fight. The immortals are with us, and this is our common holiday.

I wish you all peace and creative work.

First semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will be held today at the International Exhibition Center (IEC) in Kyiv, Ukraine. Acts from 18 countries will give the performance of a lifetime to impress millions of viewers, hoping to earn one of the 10 slots in Saturday’s Grand Final.

Viewers from the 18 countries participating in the first Semi-Final, as well as from Italy, United Kingdom and Spain, can vote.

Artsvik represents Armenia with the song Fly With Me.

Running order:

01. Sweden: Robin Bengtsson – I Can’t Go On;
02. Georgia: Tako Gachechiladze – Keep the Faith;
03. Australia: Isaiah Firebrace – Don’t Come Easy;
04. Albania: Lindita Halimi – World;
05. Belgium: Blanche – City Lights;
06. Montenegro: Slavko Kalezić – Space;
07. Finland: Norma John – Blackbird;
08. Azerbaijan: Diana Hacıyeva – Skeletons;
09. Portugal: Salvador – Amar Pelos Dois;
10. Greece: Demy – This Is Love;
11. Poland: Kasia Moś – Flashlight;
12. Moldova: SunStroke Project – Hey Mamma;
13. Iceland: Svala Björgvinsdóttir – Paper;
14. Czech Republic: Martina Bárta – My Turn;
15. Cyprus: Hovig – Gravity;
16. Armenia: Artsvik – Fly With Me;
17. Slovenia: Omar Naber – On My Way;
18. Latvia: Triana Park – Line.

Three soldiers of the Artsakh Defense Army drowned in Sarsang Reservoir following a car accident in the morning of May 8 in the northern direction of the Defense Army.

The Ministry identified the soldiers as Ruben Barseghyan (born in 1998), Rafael Bisharyan (born in 1997) and Ruben Mnatsakanyan (born in 1998).

Bodies of the two have been recovered, the search for the third body continues.

Probe into the details of the incident is under way.

The Artsakh Defense Ministry shares the sorrow of the heavy loss and expresses its support to the families and friends of the servicemen.

President Serzh Sargsyan participated today in the festive events in Stepanakert and Shushi dedicated to Victory Day, the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Defense Army of Artsakh and liberation of Shushi.

This morning, together with the Artsakh authorities, members of the governmental delegation from Armenia, people of Artsakh and guests, who have arrived to Artsakh to participate in the festivities, at the Revival Square in Stepanakert Serzh Sargsyan marched with the participants of the event to the Stepanakert Memorial and paid tribute to the memory of those who had fallen in the Great Patriotic War and heroes of the Artsakh Liberation War.

In the framework of the festive events, Serzh Sargsyan visited also Shushi and laid flowers at the pedestal of the Tank-Memorial and later at Vazgen Sarkissian’s statue paid tribute to his memory. President Sargsyan was present at the concert held at the V. Sargsyan Square in Shushi and observed the Town of Arts and Crafts exhibition.

Festive events in Artsakh continue.

The 25th anniversary of Shushi liberation and the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War were marked in Yerevan.

His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended the event at the Victory Park.

They laid flowers at the memorial to the Unknown Soldier and paid tribute to the memory of heroes that fell in the Shushi Liberation War and the Great Patriotic War.

Following a military parade the Catholicos and the Prime Minister had dinner with veterans.

Karen Karapetyan congratulated all veterans and freedom fighters and wished them robust health.

“Any victory is important in state-building process. As a civilian, as Prime Minister, I want to stress that we, as civilians, have a debt before the Armed Forces, which we can never pay. The maximum we can do is to succeed on the economic domain to advance the victories,” PM Karen Karapetyan stressed.

 

There is no military solution to the conflicts that exist in our region and the world, at large, Armenia’s Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan has said.

“We proceed from the fact that there is simply no military solution to the Karabakh conflict. We do hope that this is very well understood in Azerbaijan. We do hope that decision-makers in Baku realize that it’s very easy to open the doors to chaos, large-scale military actions and escalation in the whole region, which will be very difficult to stop. This will definitely strengthen the role of terrorist groups in the region and will boost the role of non-regional players, which will try to make use of the situation,” Minister Sargsyan said in an interview with Russian agency.

“Nagorno Karabakh is a country (although unrecognized), not a conflict,” the Defense Minister stated. He stressed that “there will be no settlement unless there is full understanding of this fact.”

“Real people have been living there for over a quarter a century under the conditions of de facto independence. They are responsible for making decisions, forming their government based on democratic principles through free elections,” Vigen Sargsyan stated.

Speaking about the measures taken after the April escalation last year, Minister Sargsayn said “Retooling of the Army is a constant process. We analyze the results and change priorities after any event, even planned military exercises, it’s a natural process.”

“Of course, such analysis is always of a deeper nature after military actions and is based on the assessment of effectiveness of the equipment used by the rival.  We’ve implemented a number of changes in the control system at the line of contact, in the types of weaponry needed to keep the balance and prevent the possibility of such escalation in the future,” he added.

The Armenian Defense Minister stressed that “any violation of the ceasefire regime is a violation of international commitments of the parties – in this case Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh, the signatories of these agreements, and Armenia. Any divergence from the agreements is fraud with threats of escalation.”

“We stand for introduction of mechanisms of monitoring and control over the line of contact. Such agreements were reached at meetings held in Vienna and St. Petersburg under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Russian President respectively,” he noted.

“Unfortunately, yet again Azerbaijan is refusing from commitments, which leaves a negative imprint on the whole process of search for ways of settlement. Every party is making its own choice. But we consider that the situation that exists today (with regular violations of the ceasefire regime) does not provide for perspectives of conflict settlement,” Vigen Sargsyan stated.

Today was the official start of the Artsakh phase of the TUMO Army program, a joint initiative between the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies and the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Armenia. The launch was announced at the TUMO Center in Stepanakert by Minister of Defense for the Republic of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan and TUMO CEO Marie Lou Papazian, with the participation of President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Minister of Defense for the Republic of Artsakh Levon Mnatsakanyan and AGBU representatives Lena Baghdasaryan and Sasoon Baghdasaryan.

The Stepanakert center, which was founded and operates through a partnership between TUMO and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, hosts over 100 army conscripts stationed in nearby bases. They are acquiring skills in computer programming, robotics, graphic design and digital music composition.

The program, implemented through a partnership between TUMO and the Ministry of Defense, has been running since February, having started in TUMO Dilijan. Participating soldiers have already completed the TUMO program’s initial self-learning stage and have entered the first level workshops of their choice.

Marie Lou Papazian gave further details about the TUMO Army program to the President and Minister and, based on previous discussions with Vigen Sargsyan, suggested options for future expansion of the initiative. Vigen Sargsyan, in turn, affirmed the Defense Ministry’s intent to have a TUMO center at every major army base throughout the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh. He also welcomed the plans to build a TUMO center in the border town of Koghb, noting its importance in the context of the TUMO Army program.

The guests also viewed the display of Shushi-related infographics created during a joint project between TUMO and the Artsakh Ministry of Culture; the infographic designs were created by TUMO students during a learning lab with Lebanese specialist Ahmad Gharbieh. The minister is sure that once the soldiers have passed through the graphic design workshops, they will also gain such important skills in the field and will be able to create graphic design pieces for the army.

TUMO Army will give draftees the opportunity to acquire aptitudes that will make them more competitive both while they are serving in the Army and once they return to civilian life. The program will help discover the full potential of soldiers who might not otherwise have the possibility of developing their areas of interest outside of formal educational institutions.