Category: News

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs hope the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsayn and Ilham Aliyev will agree to hold the next meeting on Karabakh conflict settlement, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“We hope the Presidents will agree on a next meeting. The date and place have not yet been set for a meeting,” Warlick said.

According to him, the Co-Chairs are working with the sides to solve the conflict.

“During the UN General Assembly session in New York the Co-Chairs held separate meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to discuss the agreements reached in Vienna and Saint Petersburg and to outline the future steps,” the diplomat said.

“We plan to hold meetings and discuss issues with the parties during our visit to the region by the end of the month,” Warlick stated.

Pope Francis on Sunday called for a “stable peace” as he visited mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, several months after pushing for an end to a festering territorial feud while in arch-foe Armenia, AFP reports.

The pontiff met in private with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev – who is accused by rights groups of ruthlessly stamping out dissent in the energy-rich country – before addressing a gathering of government officials.

The Pope – on the last leg of a Caucasus tour that also took him to Georgia – reiterated calls for peace to he made three months ago in neighbouring Armenia, with the two country’s locked in a long-simmering conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh.

“There is no alternative to patiently and assiduously searching for shared solutions by means of committed and sustained negotiations,” he said in a carefully worded statement that did not mention the disputed territory explicitly, expressing sympathy “to the many people who suffer the effects of bloody conflicts.”

Calling for “a new phase for stable peace in the region”, the pope invited all players “to grasp every opportunity to reach a satisfactory solution.”

Photo: Reuters

Fifty-two people were killed and many more injured in Ethiopia’s Oromia region during a protest at a religious festival, the government says, the BBC reports.

Some died in a stampede after police employed tear gas, rubber bullets and baton charges, witnesses said.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said rioters had caused “pre-planned mayhem” that led people to fall to their deaths in ravines.

He denied reports that the security forces had opened fire.

In a national address on state TV, he praised their “great efforts” to protect the public and blamed “evil forces” for the deaths, vowing to bring to justice those responsible..

Thousands had gathered for the religious festival in Bishoftu, 40km (25 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa.

Some reports said police responded after anti-government protesters threw stones and bottles, but others said demonstrators were entirely peaceful.

By today’s decree of President Serzh Sargsyan, Vigen Sargsyan was relieved of his duties as the Chief of the Presidential Administration and appointed the RA Minister of Defense. Edward Nalbandian was appointed the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs. By another decree of the President of Armenia, Armen Gevorkian was relieved of his duties as the Secretary of the National Security Council and appointed the Chief of the Presidential Staff. By the Presidential decrees Yuri Khatchaturov was relieved of his duties as the Chief of Staff of the RA Armed Forces and appointed the Secretary of the National Security Council. Movses Hakopian was relieved of his duties as the Deputy Minister of Defense and Head of the Logistics Department and appointed Chief of Staff of the RA Armed Forces.

Today, the President of Armenia introduced the newly appointed Chief of the Presidential staff Armen Gevorkian to the leading staff of the Presidential Administration and informed about Vigen Sargsyan’s new position. “I would like to thank Vigen Sargsyan for the works conducted at his already former position and would like to add sincerely that the managerial abilities of Vigen Sargsyan at this position were revealed at their best, and nobody will deny that the manifestation of the best abilities was made possible through your direct participation and assistance,” said President Sargsyan.

The President highly valued works carried out by Vigen Sargsyan in recent years related to the coordination of multiple events of the pan-Armenia import and expressed confidence that as Minister of Defense he will be able meet all expectations. “Vigen, I once again congratulate you and wish you success. No need to say that the advancement of our country will be also conditioned by your work as will certainly the further enforcement of our defensibility.” With regard to the appointment of the new Chief of Staff, the President of Armenia said that Armen Gevorkian at the new position, just as on the previous position, will undoubtedly display his strong-willed qualities. “Armen Gevorkian will be able to further amplify capabilities of the staff working here and of our country in general. Armen, my congratulations and wishes for success,” said the President of Armenia.

Vigen Sargsyan thanked the President of Armenia for the great trust invested in him in carrying out in the last five years for the organization and coordination of the works of the Presidential Staff. He noted that considerable work has been done in recent years together with the professional and dedicated staff of the Presidential Administration, which comprises one team.

“These years, we have been able to coordinate and regulate even some automated processes which are related to the works of the President of Armenia such as issues related to citizenship, staff management and issues related to the organization of foreign visits and receiving foreign delegations. By your decision Mr President, Armen Gevorkian will again be working at the Presidential Staff. During his previous tenure, foundations for the works that were carried out later were laid. Part of the staff remained at their places as it should be with the civil service. I believe this is a splendid display of how the guarantees presented by the civil service can be augmented by the political dedication at the staff which should be manifested by everyone present here. Even though there exist political appointees and a group of civil servants, we always worked as one team, for one goal,” said the former Chief of the Presidential Staff Vigen Sargsyan.

The newly appointed Chief of the Presidential Administration Armen Gevorkian also thanked the President for trust and assured that he was fully aware of the tasks before him, their importance and significance for the development of the country, its progress and stability because we are entering a rather important period of time. “Please be assured that I will do my best to hold high the role and place of this institute for everybody to feel it. With your permission, I would also like to assure Mr. Vigen Sargsyan that we will do our best so that at his new position he feels our support and assistance at the daily level. I would also like to thank my colleagues present here today for carrying out their duties for years at a rather high level and with high quality. I hope we will continue our work together, preserving all the good traditions. As you have noted, Mr. President, we will do our best to raise it one step more and to justify your trust. Thank you. I hope that all of us have a very interesting and efficient road to travel,” said the Chief of the Presidential Administration Armen Gevorkian.

On 3 October 2016, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a project cooperation agreement for the project “Support to Migration and Border Management in Armenia” (MIBMA) in Yerevan. The project is fully funded by the European Union and implemented by ICMPD in partnership with UNDP.

Integrated border management is vital for the expansion of Armenia’s economic, trade, and cultural ties with the countries of the region, but also to manage and control the flow of travellers efficiently with full protection of their rights,” stated senior representatives of the EU, ICMPD, and UNDP who took part at the signing ceremony of the project cooperation agreement.

The overall objective of the project, which is financed by the European Union and implemented by ICMPD in partnership with UNDP, is to improve the approximation of migration and border management in Armenia to the European standards of governance in order to increase security and facilitate trade. UNDP will also support the government in preparation for the modernisation of the southern border crossing with Iran.

“ICMPD and UNDP have vast experience in the integrated border management sector and contributed greatly to adopting and implementing integrated border management concepts and principles in Armenia, such as the Border Security and State Border Integrated Management Strategy and Action Plan. UNDP has also worked extensively on infrastructure upgrades, on sharing knowledge and expertise in transparency, accountability and integrity, as well as in trade facilitation. Together with our partners, we will build on these results and continue supporting Armenia’s efforts in this area,” said Mr. Bradley Busetto, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia.

Ambassador Świtalski, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, shared that: “Expanding and improving regional connectivity is a global priority for the EU, which is manifested in large investments in economic and infrastructure development in the European Neighbourhood Region. I am very pleased with and proud of the strong EU support to increasing Armenia’s trade, economic cooperation and wider relations with Iran through the MIBMA project. This represents an enormous current-day development potential for Armenia while re-establishing an important historic cultural and economic corridor that has influenced Armenia, Europe and Asia for centuries”.

“Although ICMPD has established a permanent presence in Armenia in April of this year, we have been working with the Government of Armenia on improvement of border management at a technical level since 2010. Throughout, ICMPD’s activities in this area have been implemented in partnership with UNDP, thus, we are happy that the EU has granted us the financial means to continue and build on the success of this partnership,” said Mr. Carel Hofstra, Team Leader of the MIBMA project.

The EU is financing the 3-year MIBMA project with a grant of close to EUR 4.000.000. As a project partner UNDP will lead the implementation of the border management component with a price tag of EUR 880,000 to be spent before the end of 2017.

Kim Kardashian has been held at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room, the BBC reports. 

Her husband, rapper Kanye West, abruptly left his set early at the Meadows Festival in New York on Sunday night after learning of the news.

“Kim Kardashian West was held up at gunpoint inside her Paris hotel room this evening, by two armed masked men dressed as police officers,” a spokesperson said.

“She is badly shaken but physically unharmed.”

A Paris police official confirmed that there was a robbery involving Kardashian but she was unharmed, and that an investigation was underway.

The 35-year-old reality TV star is currently in the French city attending Paris Fashion Week, with her mother Kris Jenner and her sister Kendall Jenner.

West told his concert audience that he had to leave early as he had a “family emergency”.

A number of fans caught on video the moment he announced he was cutting the gig short.

In a later statement they added: “Due to a family emergency, Kanye West was forced to end his performance towards the end of his set.

“We appreciate the great show he put on for fans to close the inaugural Meadows Festival.

“Our thoughts are with West and his family.”

President Serzh Sargsyan has congratulated the Jewish community on Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah. The message reads:

Dear members of the Jewish community of Armenia,

I congratulate you on the occasion of the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah.

Let this year become a year of peace, prosperity and success for the Jewish community of Armenia and the entire Jewish nation. Let centuries-long relations and mutual understanding between our two nations become stronger.

On the occasion of this glorious holiday, I wish all the best and advancement to our Jewish compatriots and the Jewish people.

Armen Jigarkhanyan, the renowned actor and director, is marking his 81st birthday anniversary today.

In 1954, he was admitted to Yerevan Institute of Theater and Arts. His debut was in January 1955, in Viktor Gusev’s play “Ivan Rybakov” at the Russian Drama in Yerevan.

Armen Jigarkhanyan’s debut in cinema was in 1960. But it was “Hello, That’s Me!”, a 1966 Armenian drama film directed by Frunze Dovlatyan, that made him famous.

Armen Jigarkhanyan played in about 300 films, thereby becoming one of the Russian actors that have played in the largest number of movies.

In 1996, on the basis of his course, he established Moscow Drama directed by Armen Jigarkhanyan, which ranks high among Moscow’s small theaters.

Armen Jigarkhanyan is in the Guinness Book of Records as the Russian actor that has played the largest number of film roles.