Category: News

US President Barack Obama has said the UK vote to leave the EU raises “longer-term concerns about global growth,” the reports.

He said Brexit would “freeze the possibilities of investment in Great Britain or in Europe as a whole”.

He appealed to the UK prime minister and other EU leaders to ensure an orderly process for the British exit.

Mr Obama was speaking at a summit in Ottawa with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, aimed at strengthening economic ties between North American countries.

He said the preparations by central banks and finance ministers indicated that “global economy in the short run will hold steady”.

But he added: “I think there are some genuine longer-term concerns about global growth if in fact Brexit goes through and that freezes the possibilities of investment in Great Britain or in Europe as a whole.

“At a time when global growth rates were weak already, this doesn’t help,” the president said.a

Photo: AP

Taliban bombers have attacked an Afghan police convoy outside the capital Kabul, killing at least 30 people and wounding 50 others, officials say, the BBC reports.

Two bombs hit a convoy of buses carrying graduates from a ceremony on the city’s western outskirts.

Paghman District Governor Musa Khan told the BBC that all but two of the dead were police cadets.

The bombing was claimed by the Taliban and follows an attack on a bus just over a week ago that killed 14 people.

During a special audience for jubilee pilgrims at St Peter’s Square in Rome today  Pope Francis reflected on his recent  journey to Armenia.

“This past weekend I made a pastoral visit to Armenia, the first nation to embrace the Christian faith and a people which has remained faithful even in the midst of great trials,” he said.

“I also plan to go to Georgia and Azerbaijan in the near future, to encourage peace and reconciliation in a spirit of respect for all.”

“With gratitude for the welcome and fellowship showed me by the Armenian Apostolic Church, I ask the Virgin Mary to strengthen Christians everywhere to remain firm in the faith and to work for a society of ever greater justice and peace,” he concluded.

On 30 June Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan had a meeting in Yerevan with OSCEChairman-in-Office, German minister for foreign affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Issues relating to the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict resolution and regional processes were on the discussion agenda.

President Sahakyan noted that the official Stepanakert remained adhered to the peaceful settlement of the conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, underlining the imperative of restoring the full-fledged negotiation format with the direct participation of Artsakh.

Bako Sahakyan highlighted elaborating and introducing mechanisms for investigating incidents of the ceasefire violation in the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict zone, which would foster maintaining peace and stability in the region and exert a constructive influence on the further pace of the negotiation process.

NKR foreign minister Karen Mirzoyan, personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and other officials partook in the meeting.

Lusine Avanesyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Stepanakert

“It’s time for the Nagorno Karabakh to return to the negotiating table and represent its interests as an independent state,” former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans told reporters in Stepanakert.

Mr. Evans is visiting Nagorno Karabakh with the delegation of the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF).

“I think that Nagorno Karabakh should participate in the negotiation process,” the ex-Ambassador said, reminding that Nagorno Karabakh was a party to the 1994 ceasefire agreement.

Asked about the negotiation process, John Evans said: “I do not participate in the process directly, but I respect the activity of US Ambassador James Warlick and the other Co-Chairs.”

He hailed the activity of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, noting that “he always stresses the need to solve the issue in a peaceful way.

John Evans is the Adviser to the COAF Board of Directors. “Together with COAF Chairman Dr. Garo Armen we are ready to help the people of Artsakh, because they have been experiencing difficulties with the whole Armenian nation for more than a century now. We know there have been tragedies. The latest events have further strengthened the people, but we are confident we can achieve even more together. I mean the humanitarian programs,” he said.

The ex-Ambassador has already been blacklisted by Baku for his visit to Nagorno Karabakh.

The Armenian National Assembly voted 102 to 8 today to ratify the Agreement on Joint Air Defense with Russia, a bill that had stirred controversy among the public.

The concerns were connected with the fear of sharing the control of one of the most important elements of the country’s defense with a second country.

The agreement between the two countries was signed in Moscow in December 2015.

Speaking about the agreement yesterday, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyanb said “it will provide us with an opportunity to involve the fourth-generation multi-purpose fighter jets of the 102^nd Russian military base in Armenia, as well as all capacities of the aerospace to solve air defense issues in the Caucasian region.”

He assured that “all capacities of the Joint Air Defense System, the aviation forces and means will be planned and used under the leadership of RA Armed Forces and the aviation.”

Manchester United are set to pay €42.5 million for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, according to multiple reports in Germany, reports.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke confirmed on Tuesday that United had “significantly improved their offer” and , and all report that the Premier League side have nearly doubled their initial €24m (£19.9m) bid to €42.5m (£35.2m).

The reports said Dortmund are set to accept the offer — which would be the biggest transfer fee ever paid for a player entering the final year of his contract in Europe — and the deal will be completed in the coming days.

Kicker said that minor details in the contract are yet to be negotiated and Dortmund want the approval of all bodies of the club before accepting, while Mkhitaryan will have to pass a medical, but a deal appears imminent.

Holding talks with Georgia and Armenia is among top priorities of Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC) to increase exports of the country’s oil products, an official in the company told Shana news agency on Monday, eports.

Amir Vakilzadeh, the manager of exports and imports department of NIOPDC, noted that Georgia, which stands among the customers of Iranian oil, can be Iran’s gateway to European market. He added that negotiations with Armenia to enter the Georgian market are underway.

Vakilzadeh said that NIOPDC seeks new markets for its products, while preserving the market of its neighboring countries.

Export of gasoil, as Iran’s strategic oil product, to neighboring countries and the Middle East region is on the agenda.

“The military-technical cooperation between Armenia and Russia is developing. All agreements are being implemented on due level,” Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told reporters at Yerablur Pantheon.

Speaking about the interstate loan agreement, the Minister said “it allows Armenia to purchase modern weapons at internal prices in Russia and the CSTO.”

As for the new Joint Air Defense System with Russia, Minister Ohanyan said “it will provide us with an opportunity to involve the fourth-generation multi-purpose fighter jets of the 102^nd Russian military base in Armenia, as well as all capacities of the aerospace to solve air defense issues in the Caucasian region.”

“This will allow to collect all reconnaissance data in one place and prevent all violations, including the ones committed by our rivals. We do not see a more reliable partner than Russia in this respect,” the Minister added.

He assured that “all capacities of the Joint Air Defense System, the aviation forces and means will be planned and used under the leadership of RA Armed Forces and the aviation.”

Seyran Ohanyan dismissed the reports that it could lead to the worsening of relations with NATO.