Category: News

There has been a long-standing support from the US to the region and supported for the Minsk Group process to try to find a resolution to the Karabakh conflict, Bridget Brink, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters in Yerevan.

She said the support has been consistent and voiced hope it would continue after Donald Trump’s election as US President.

Bridget Brink said the US supports the agreements on two confidence-building measures on expansion of Andrzej Kasprzyk’s monitoring mission and implementation of an investigation mechanism reached in Vienna.

Bridget Brink said the status quo has been unstable for a long time, and the April events came to prove that. “We would like to see those confidence-building measures implemented. The resolution of the Karabakh conflict would be very positive for the region,” the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State said.

The exterior walls of the Bomonti Mkhitarian Armenian School of Istanbul were vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti recently. “One night, we suddenly will be in Karabagh,” read the graffiti in Turkish, reported Istanbul’s Agos bilingual newspaper, the reports.

On Nov. 15, former Republican People’s Party (CHP) Member of Parliament Aykan Erdemir shared an image of the vandalized wall on social media with the caption: “Hate graffiti on the walls of Istanbul’s Bomonti Mkhitarian school. Third Armenian school targeted [in] the last three months.”

The person or persons responsible for the crime have not yet been identified.

“We’re not afraid, we’re not going anywhere,” read a part of a statement that the Istanbul based Nor Zartonk movement published on social media on Nov. 16.

The vandalism of the Bomonti Mkhitarian School walls comes about three months after the walls of the Uskudar Surp Khach Seminary and two months after the walls of the Uskudar Kalfayan School were defaced with anti-Armenian graffiti.

Some 58 young people from Armenia gathered today in Yerevan for the start of a two-day simulation of the OSCE’s Permanent Council, one of the key decision-making bodies of the Organization, to build their skills in negotiation, diplomacy, conflict prevention and to learn more about the OSCE.

Organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the two-day Model OSCE Conference will see participants discuss the diplomatic relations between the hypothetical countries of Dalutia and Varbia, which need to solve questions related to territorial disputes and cyber-security. The aim of the exercise is to give young people hands-on experience on dealing with some of the most important issues that states face in the era of information technology.

“The Model OSCE Conference has become a good tradition in Armenia, providing participants with an opportunity to practice and improve their negotiating skills,” said Ambassador Argo Avakov, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “The Conference has proved to be a productive way to promote OSCE values among youth. It also enables young people to come together and try to reach consensus through peaceful negotiations.”

Prior to the Model OSCE conference, the participants attended practical trainings in negotiation skills, public speaking, as well as lectures on the OSCE, its activities and cyber-security. The simulation aims to promote the engagement of Armenia’s youth in  issues that are important for the country. It gives them a chance to act as ambassadors and to discuss an agreement that meets the interests of all.

Last month a Model OSCE Conference was organized for students of the Russian-Armenian University. The focus of that simulation exercise was to find a solution to challenges relating to national minorities between two hypothetical states. The OSCE Office in Yerevan has been organizing Model OSCE Conferences since 2008.

President Serzh Sargsyan received today EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

The Armenian President and the EU Commissioner emphasized the qualitative progress in the Armenia-EU cooperation and the intensified political dialogue.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed that Armenia attaches importance to the participation in the Eastern Partnership Program, and has done its best for the development of that format. The Armenian President voiced hope that the discussions of the Ministers of Education, Science and Research will contribute to the reinforcement of cooperation between EU member and partner countries ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit to be held in Brussels in 2017.

President Sargsyan and Commissioner Hahn exchanged views on regional issues and challenges, the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian National Assembly voted 102 to 3 with no abstentions today to pass the proposed changes to RA Law on Social Security of Servicemen and their Families at first reading.

The draft proposes to make a one-time payment amounting to 10 mln AMD to the families of the servicemen killed in action or during combat duty, and 5 mln AMD to handicapped servicemen.

The amendments also envisage annual social security benefits in the course of 20 years.

Manchester United will trigger a financial penalty in their £750 million kit deal with Adidas if they fail to secure a top four finish this season, but the club will avoid an instant £22.5m black hole in their finances, reports, quoting its sources.

Jose Mourinho’s United face fourth-placed Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday currently lying six points adrift of Arsene Wenger’s team in the race for Champions League qualification.

Having failed to finish in the top four under Louis van Gaal last season, the terms of the 10-year agreement with Adidas ensure that United will suffer a cut of 30 percent to their annual £75m payment from the sportswear giant if they miss out on the Champions League for consecutive campaigns.

However, it has now emerged that, rather than see their Adidas payment drop to £52.5m immediately after two failed attempts to qualify for the Champions League, the £22.5m deduction figure will instead be spread over the full 10 years of the contract.

As a result, United will pay a catch-up penalty fee of £4.5m for years one and two of the agreement and then suffer a deduction of £2.25m from the annual £75m payment if Mourinho’s team are unable to finish in the top four.

United will then continue to receive £72.75m from Adidas on an annual basis for the remainder of the deal, unless further failures to reach the Champions League trigger additional cuts to the figures banked by the club.

During a conference call to investors on Thursday, following publication of the club’s first quarter accounts, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward confirmed the details of the financial penalty looming at the end of the season.

United spent in excess of £145m on new players during the close season, adding Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and £89.3m world-record signing Paul Pogba to the squad.

But despite the team’s slow start under Mourinho,i n which they have only won five of their opening 11 Premier League fixtures, Woodward insisted to investors that there is still reason for optimism.

“On the pitch, it is still early in the season,” Woodward said. “We have 27 more Premier League games to play and have advanced to the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup.”

Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan hosted members of the Public Council today.

The Defense Minister presented the proposed program of compensation for damage caused to the life and health of servicemen and the provisions of the “Nation-army” idea.

The participants exchanged views on the expediency of the proposed program, the need to create mechanisms for its effective implementation and transparent oversight, the willingness of the public to support servicemen and their families.

Members of the Public Council emphasized the importance of such discussions and exchange of views, taking into consideration the public interest towards the project.

Armenia and EU have achieved progress in the six rounds of negotiations on a new framework agreement, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalabndian told a press conference after the 8^th informal meeting of the informal meeting of the European Partnership Foreign Ministers.

The Minister informed that the next round of talks is set to be held in December and added that the talks will be completed after 2-3 rounds.

“Both Armenia and the European Union want the new framework agreement to fully express the new quality, depth and volume of relations we have,” Minister Nalbandian said.

Minister Nalbandian said the implementation of the provisions of the Riga Declaration has been in the spotlight over the past two years.

“We have held six rounds of talks on a new framework agreement and have registered progress. We have joined a number of programs, such as the COSME program of SME development, the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. We have kicked off the process of joining the Creative Europe program, which will provide an opportunity to expand the framework of cultural exchange. In the near future we expect to start negotiations towards joining the European Common Aviation Area. We also hope to start the dialogue on visa liberalization soon,” Minister Nalbandian said.