Category: News

President Serzh Sargsyan on Friday met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of a NATO summit being held in Warsaw, Poland. The Armenian President first offered condolences to Secretary Kerry over the.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the  Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution. President Sargsyan hailed the efforts of the US, in its capacity as a Minsk Group co-chairing country, towards ensuring peace and stability in the region.

President Sargsyan praised Kerry for the practical steps targeted at overcoming the situation established in the conflict zone as a result of Azeri aggression against Nagorno Karabakh in April this year As a result, he said, meetings were held in Vienna and St. Petersburg and joint statements were adopted.

Serzh Sargsyan and John Kerry referred to issues discussed during a recent phone conversation between the Presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation.

The parties stressed the importance of unconditional implementation of the agreements reached at the summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg.

– The leaders of Germany and Turkey sought on Saturday to clear the air in their first private talks since the German parliament infuriated Ankara by branding the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide, but they did not overcome their differences.

Chancellor Angela Merkel met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw to discuss the tensions in their often prickly but strategically important relationship.

Ties between Turkey and Germany – vital partners in efforts to curb mass migration to Europe – have been strained since the Bundestag passed the Armenian resolution on June 2. Ankara recalled its ambassador and threatened unspecified retaliation.

Turkey has since denied German parliamentarians access to the Incirlik airbase where 250 German soldiers are taking part in NATO operations against Islamic State militants in Iraq, causing anger in Berlin.

“We discussed all outstanding issues,” Merkel told reporters at a brief news conference. “The atmosphere was constructive … and very businesslike in an effort to solve the existing conflicts.”

Asked whether the issues had been resolved, she said: “The differences don’t just disappear through such a discussion. But I believe it was important that we talked them through.”

A source close to the Turkish presidency said Erdogan had expressed his disappointment over the Bundestag resolution to Merkel, who said she would do her utmost to ensure this event would not harm German-Turkish relations.

The source said Merkel also expressed satisfaction with the way Turkey was keeping its word in preventing refugees and migrants crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece after more than one million flooded into Europe last year, most ending up in Germany.

The Turkish source said Merkel had raised the issue of the Incirlik airbase and had asked Erdogan to restore access for lawmakers, who approve all military spending and investment in infrastructure at the base.

Erdogan replied that the airbase was not a place for “public shows and marketing” but Turkey would consider the request in the light of German statements on relations, the source said.

The two leaders also discussed intelligence cooperation in the fight against foreign fighters recruited by Islamic State in Syria, some of whom have returned to carry out attacks in Europe.

The 17^th sitting of the Armenian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was held in St. Petersburg today under the chairmanship of Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov.

Issues related to the economy, energy, transport and legal framework, humanitarian cooperation, education, culture and other fields were discussed.

In a statement following the sitting the Armenian PM stressed the positive move in the field of trade-economic cooperation. He hailed the results of the meeting and the agreements reached within that framework.

Maxim Sokolov noted, in turn, that a 10% growth was registered in the commodity turnover between Armenia and Russia, reaching $450 mln this year. He said the Armenian exports to Russia exceeded $125 mln.

“It’s obvious that despite the strained economic and political situation, Russia has been and remains Armenia’s main economic partner,” he stated.

Manchester United new boys Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly posed for pictures after returning from training as they continue to prepare for life at the Red Devils, according to .

Jose Mourinho was also snapped outside the Lowry Hotel with the United stars not involved at Euro 2016 back for pre-season.

Mkhitaryan and Bailly have joined Zlatan Ibrahimovic as new recruits at Old Trafford following the appointment of Mourinho as manager.

Mkhitaryan has joined on a four-year deal from Borussia Dortmund after United splashed £26.3million for the winger.

The Armenian told MUTV: “ I am very excited – it’s a big opportunity for me to play for Manchester United, a new challenge for me. I will try to do my best.

The official trailer for “Earthquake” – a movie about the devastating 1988 earthquake in Armenia, which claimed several thousand lives, has been released.

Directed by Sarik Andreasyan, the movie was shot on the territory of an old Moscow factory, where the decorations of ruined Leninakan (now Gyumri) were constructed.

The crew first focused on the documentary materials, but things changed after the authors spent time talking to people affected by the tragedy. “Emotionally, this project is a very complex one,” Production Designer David Dadunashvili said.

The director said in one of the interviews that the “Earthquake” is a film about people and about the uniting factor of the tragedy.

The movie will be released in Russia and Armenia at the end of 2016. Armenia will probably nominate it for the Oscar in the “Best Foreign Language Film” nomination.

On 8 July Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received chairman of the Pan-Armenian Games’ International Committee Ishkhan Zakaryan, Armenian Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Gabriel Ghazaryan and a group of officials representing these two structures.

Issues related to the organization of the 7^th Pan-Armenian summer games to be held in Artsakh in 2019  were discussed during the meeting.

President Sahakyan highlighted holding the Pan-Armenian games in Artsakh from the viewpoints of developing the sphere of sports and culture, as well as cementing the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity underlining that everything possible would be done for organizing the games at the highest level.

National Assembly chairman Ashot Ghoulyan, prime-minister Arayik Haroutyun and other officials were present at the meeting.

The International Weightlifting Federation says three more weightlifters have tested positive for anabolic steroids at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in retests of their doping samples, the Associated Press reports.

The IWF said the retests of 2008 samples from Sardar Hasanov of Azerbaijan, Tigran Martirosyan of Armenia and Sibel Ozkan of Turkey came back positive.

Hasanov is the third Azeri weightlifter whose retest from the Olympics is positive, following reigning world champion Boyanka Kostova and Intigam Zairov, which could prevent the team from competing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Three or more positive results from sample retesting can lead to an Olympics ban.

Azerbaijan is already appealing the loss of two Olympic quota places after six of its team members also failed drug tests at last year’s world championships.

Suicide bombers and gunmen have killed at least 35 people at a Shia shrine in Iraq, which so-called Islamic State (IS) said it carried out, the BBC reports.

At least one bomber blew himself up outside the mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, in Balad, which was then stormed by gunmen, officials say.

Another bomber blew himself up among fleeing worshippers, reports say.

Meanwhile the death toll from Sunday’s suicide bombing in Baghdad has again been raised, from 250 to 292.

The NATO summit is an opportunity to continue discussions on Nagorno Karabakh, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in a Twitter post.

“Just arrived in Warsaw for the NATO summit. It’s an opportunity to continue discussions on Nagorno Karabakh peace process with Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Warlick said.

The summit will be held in Poland July 8-9.

Four Dallas police officers have been killed and seven wounded by sniper fire during protests against the shooting of black men by police, authorities say, the BBC reports.

Police are in a standoff with one armed man in a garage. Three other people have been detained.

Gunfire broke out at around 20:45 local time on Thursday (01:45 GMT Friday) as demonstrators marched through the city.

The protests were sparked by the deaths of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.