Category: News

The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the MH17 probe biased and politically motivated, the ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, TASS reports.

“Russia is disappointed to see the situation involving the air crash is not changing. The Dutch prosecutors’ conclusions confirm that the investigation is biased and politically motivated,” she said.

“Until now, the investigation keeps ignoring conclusive proof from Russia, in spite of the fact that Russia actually was the only side that channels trustworthy information and discloses new data,” Zakharova said.

International prosecutors investigating the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 say the missile that hit the plane was fired from territory controlled by Russian-backed rebels.

On September 27, in the framework of the working visit to Belgium Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan met with the leadership of the EU-Armenia Friendship Group headed by the President of the group Eleni Theocharous.

During the meeting, a range of issues related to Artsakh-Europe relations, settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and regional processes were discussed.

On the same day Karen Mirzoyan met with the President of the Friendship group with Artsakh in the European Parliament Frank Engel and other members of the group. During the meeting, a number of issues related to the activity of the friendship group were discussed. The sides highlighted the importance of deepening ties with various European structures, including the European Parliament.

Later in the day, Karen Mirzoyan, as a keynote speaker, delivered a speech at a round-table organized by Frank Engel entitled “Nagorno Karabakh Republic: 25 years of state-building in a volatile region” at the premises of the European Parliament.

In his speech, the NKR Foreign Minister stated, in particular, that 25 years ago the people of Nagorno Karabakh voted for independence on a nation-wide referendum which became the logical continuation of Artsakh liberation struggle in response to decades of discrimination and oppression by Azerbaijan.

“In spite of the peaceful and legitimate nature of the Karabakh movement, from the very beginning Azerbaijan rejected any dialogue and resorted to the language of threats and intimidation which led to a large-scale war against Nagorno Karabakh and its peaceful population”, Karen Mirzoyan said.

The NKR Foreign Minister stressed that even today the people of Artsakh literally have to defend the young democracy in the conditions of constant attempts of Azerbaijan to return Nagorno Karabakh to the past. Karen Mirzoyan noted that the NKR had repeatedly spoken out publicly about Azerbaijan openly preparing for the resumption of war by, however, the international community did not react to these warnings. The impunity enjoyed by Azerbaijan led to the resumption of hostilities against Nagorno Karabakh on April 2, 2016.

Karen Mirzoyan stressed that the people of Artsakh cannot remain hostage to the destructive policy of Azerbaijan and will continue to develop even in the conditions of the unresolved Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict. In this regard the Foreign Minister mentioned that the NKR authorities attach great importance to the expansion and deepening of foreign relations of the NKR at all levels, its integration into the international processes.

Karen Mirzoyan expressed confidence that expansion of the international cooperation will be an important contribution to strengthening peace and security in the region.

“We believe that the time has come for the international community to support our struggle. It’s time to recognize and support the reality – existence and consistent development of the free and democratic Nagorno Karabakh Republic”, Karen Mirzoyan concluded.

The NKR Foreign Minister answered questions of participants.

Members of the NKR National Assembly delegation, members of the European Parliament and experts attended the discussion.

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a telegram of condolences to President of the State of Israel Reuven Rivlin on the demise of prominent politician of the Jewish people, former President of the State of Israel, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres.

Linguist and writer Sevan Nishanian has been awarded  William Saroyan Medal of the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora, reports. 

Linguist and writer Sevan Nishanian has been awarded William Saroyan Medal by Armenian Ministry of Diaspora. Sevan Nishanian has been under arrest since January 2014 on the ground that he carried out “unlicensed construction work” in his private property. His lawyer Ergin Cinmen accepted the medal on behalf of Nishanian.

At a ceremony held in Istanbul on September 23, Aragats Akhoyan, an independent deputy from Armenian parliament, handed over the medal.

Armenians from Armenia, diaspora and Turkey, CHP Istanbul MP Selina Doğan, human right defenders, journalists and writers attended the ceremony.

Hrant Kasparyan, member of International Committee for Freedom and Justice for Sevan Nishanian gave the opening speech. After that, lawyer Ergin Cinmen provided information about the lawsuits against Nishanian and the ongoing legal progress.

Nishanian’s mother Sona Nishanian also spoke through video call. She said that she wants to consider this medal as a promising development in terms of his son’s release. Selina Doğan stated that she hasn’t received any response to her parliamentary question about Nishanian, which was addressed to Ministry of Justice.

In the ceremony, solidarity messages from Armenian National Committee of America. (ANCA), European Armenian Council, German historian, scholar and author Prof. Dr. Tessa Hofmann and historican Taner Akçam were also read.

Independent Armenian Deputy Aragats Akhoyan:

“Armenian writer, linguist, intellectual and thinker Sevan Nishanian is in prison now. The body can be imprisoned, but is it possible to confine free thinking and a free heart?

Today, we are here to award a freedom-loving person with a medal of another freedom-loving thinker carrying the name of William Saroyan. Therewith, the Ministry of Diaspora duly appreciates Sevan Nishanian’s devoted activities, aiming to preserve and develop Armenian language and culture.”

Taner Akçam:

“Today, Sevan Nishanian is awarded with a really meaningful prize. William Saroyan is not only a prominent figure in Armenian literature, but also in world literature. He was one of the last sons of Armenian motherland, Anatolia. Now, an award named after him is given to another Armenian intellectual of these lands.

Sevan is not only a writer, he is also a historian, linguist, sociologist and political scientist. His works in these areas, as can be seen his Turkish dictionary and the books on history of Turkish language, are more valuable than the works by the official institutions working in these fields. His sophistication and immense creativity give him an “uncontrollable” quality.

His limitless creativity baffled the ones who attacked him. This was such a bafflement that they couldn’t find a reason to arrest Sevan and they accused him of “violation of construction law”. He is sentenced with 17 years in prison and other sentences are coming…”

Aram Suren Hamparian, Executive Director of ANCA:

“Though we are outraged by your unjust imprisonment, we are not surprised by the way they treat you, since the head of this government performed the greatest violation of construction law in Turkish history with his presidential palace; not to mention his other countless crimes.”

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received a delegation led by Head of IMF Armenia Mission Hossein Samiei.

The Prime Minister and the Head of the IMF Mission discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation, current state of Armenia’s economy, upcoming changes in the tax code, improvement of the business environment, attracting investment, as well as fiscal and monetary policy.

Karen Karapetyan and Hossein Samiei stressed the importance of continued implementation of steps and programs aimed at improving the business environment and infrastructure.

Referring to the 2017 State budget bill, Prime Minister Karapetyan stressed that the Government is going to propose a realistic budget, without exaggerating the existing difficulties or overestimating the possibilities. Karen Karapetyan highlighted the need to ensure proper control and increased predictability from the perspective of effective functioning of government.

During the meeting, the interlocutors touched upon a number of other issues of mutual interest.

Armenia is ranked 79th (up from 82nd last year) in the released by the World Economic Forum today.

Switzerland tops the ranking followed by Singapore and the United States. Armenia’s neighbors in the region are placed as follows: Georgia – 59h, Azerbaijan – 37th, Turkey 55th, Iran – 76th.

Armenia’s partners in the Eurasian Economic Union Russia and Kazakhstan are ranked 43rd and 53rd respectively. Kyrgyzstan is 111th, no data is available for Belarus.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.

This year’s edition highlights that declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity. It also highlights that monetary stimulus measures such as quantitative easing are not enough to sustain growth and must be accompanied by competitiveness reforms. Final key finding points to the fact that updated business practices and investment in innovation are now as important as infrastructure, skills and efficient markets.

Zorya Luhansk visit Old Trafford as virtual unknowns to Manchester United fans on Thursday, yet Henrikh Mkhitaryan knows all about the Europa League foes from his time in Ukraine, according to . 

The summer signing played for Shakhtar Donetsk across three seasons from 2010, before moving to Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund to continue his personal ascension through the European leagues.

Mkhitaryan did not feature in two matches against Zorya during his debut season with Shakhtar, but his first appearance against them in 2011/12 was a great success, scoring twice in a thumping 5-1 away win at Avanyard Stadium that contributed to his team-mates winning the title that campaign.

The 2012/13 season was also particularly fruitful for Mkhitaryan in both home and away matches against Zorya as he netted in consecutive 3-0 wins. Those two finishes helped him to break the record for the most goals scored by a single player in a Ukrainian Premier League season (25).

In total, Mkhitaryan has scored four goals in three matches against Thursday’s Europa League opponents and the Armenian will undoubtedly hope to improve his impressive tally at Old Trafford, if fit and selected.

Henrikh has not featured for the Reds since the Manchester derby on 10 September, but Jose Mourinho suggested he is close to being available and may update that situation during his pre-match media conference on Wednesday at 13:30 BST, which you can follow live on ManUtd.com.

MKHITARYAN’S RECORD V ZORYA LUHANSK

Zorya Luhansk 1 Shakhtar Donetsk 5 | 16 April 2012 | Two goals
Zorya Luhansk 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 | 15 September 2012 | One goal
Shakhtar Donetsk 3 Zorya Luhansk 0 | 13 April 2013 | One goal

Member of the House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox and her delegation visited the military positions located in the eastern direction of the NKR Defense Army.

At the frontline they asked about the frequency of the ceasefire violations, examined the living conditions of the servicemen and the peculiarities of military duty.

Lusine Avanesyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Stepanakert

Member of the House of Lords, Baroness Caroline Cox is visiting Artakh accompanied by pilgrims. This time the Baroness and her delegation visited the frontlines and talked to the soldiers, who, she said, are protecting the border of Artsakh and not only.

“I’m not Armenian, but people like me should be grateful to the Armenian soldiers, who protect this border. They protect it not only for the Armenian people, but also for all Christians in the world. They are also grateful to the Armenian soldier,” the Baroness said.

This is the first time Caroline Cox is visiting Nagorno Karabakh after the April assault unleashed by Azerbaijan. Speaking to reporters in Artsakh, she denounced the work of western media.

“The international media work as they want, but we know what has happened in reality, and it’s our task to inform the world that Azerbaijan remains an aggressor. We know that Armenian soldiers have been brutally decapitated, some have been tortured. This is a harsh violation of international law,” Baroness Cox said.

The former Israeli PM and president, Shimon Peres, has died aged 93, the BBC reports.

He suffered a stroke two weeks ago and his condition improved before a sudden deterioration on Tuesday.

His son Chemi led tributes to “one of the founding fathers of the state of Israel” who “worked tirelessly” for it.

Mr Peres, who was one of the last of a generation of Israeli politicians present at the new nation’s birth in 1948, served twice as the country’s prime minister and once as president.

He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1994 for his role negotiating peace accords with the Palestinians a year earlier.

He once said the Palestinians were Israel’s “closest neighbours” and might become its “closest friends”.

Mr Peres died in a hospital near Tel Aviv early on Wednesday, with his family at his bedside.

He had been in the intensive care unit of the Sheba Medical Centre after suffering a major stroke on 13 September.