Category: News

On June 29, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, met in Yerevan with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany and the OSCE Chairperson-in-office.

The meeting started in a tete-a-tete format, and proceeded in the extended format with the participation of delegations.

Welcoming the guests, Edward Nalbandian stressed, that regular high-level visits create a solid basis to discuss perspectives of the development of multilayer Armenian-German relations.

The Ministers commended the dynamic development of bilateral cooperation. The interlocutors shared the view, that it derives from the mutual aspiration to further develop and deepen relations between the two friendly countries.

Edward Nalbandian and Frank-Walter Steinmeier reflected on the process of implementation of agreements reached between the President of Armenia and Chancellor of Germany in April in Berlin.

The sides also praised the high level of the Armenian-German inter-parliamentary ties and attached importance to the cooperation established within the international parliamentary assemblies.

Edward Nalbandian mentioned that Armenia highly values the adoption of Resolution on the Armenian Genocide by German Bundestag on June 2, which complimented the Statement made by the Federal President Joachim Gauck on April 23, 2015. “By this step, Germany not only makes a remarkable contribution to the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, as well as to the efforts of the international community for prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity, but also recognizes its part of responsibility for the Armenian Genocide”, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

The Ministers attached importance to the regular consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and further strengthening the cooperation within international organizations.

Ministers discussed numerous issues of bilateral agenda, including the expansion of legal framework, steps towards the development of cooperation in the fields of trade and economy, education, culture, healthcare. The sides emphasized the role of the Office of German Business Association, opened in Yerevan in April, in the advancement of bilateral trade and economic relations.

Edward Nalbandian and Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed steps aimed at further strengthening of relations between Armenia and the European Union, and in particular, the process of negotiations over the new comprehensive agreement with the EU.

Ministers addressed issues related to the OSCE agenda. Edward Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenia’s support to the priorities of the OSCE German Chairmanship. It was mentioned that Armenia appreciates the support of the German Chairmanship to the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Edward Nalbandian also valued the activities of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, and emphasized that the Office is the only OSCE full fledged mission in the region, which yet again demonstrates Armenia’s commitment to cooperation within the OSCE.

At the end of the meeting, Edward Nalbandian and Frank-Walter Steinmeier signed an Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Republic of Germany on Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital.

Veteran Iranian Armenian composer Loris Tjeknavorian has successfully undergone balloon angioplasty at Day General Hospital in Tehran, the Persian media reported on Monday, reports.

Tjeknavorian was admitted to the hospital last week.

Several colleagues and a number of cultural officials, including Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani, visited him at the hospital.

Tjeknavorian, who is of Armenian origin, has widely performed across the world, having conducted international orchestras in Austria, Britain, the United States, Canada, Hungary, Iran, Finland, Armenia, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Africa and Denmark.

His own compositions have also been performed by major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra in New York and the Tehran Symphony Orchestra.

The French government  has  tabled an under the Equality and Citizenship bill submitted to the National Assembly, reports.

The bill envisages punishment for those who have denied the fact of genocide, crime against humanity, crime of enslavement or exploitation of a disabled person in slavery or war crimes.

The  Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) has welcomed this initiative, “which is consistent with the commitments of the President of the Republic.”

CCAF also welcomes the willingness of the government to include the defense of the truth of the Armenian Genocide in the values of the French Republic.

Video published by Pope Francis (@franciscus)Jun 27 2016 at 5:04 PDT

A photo report of Pope Francis’ three-day visit to Armenia has been posted on the Pope’s page on Instagram.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic should complete his long-anticipated move to Manchester United by the end of the week, the reports.

The Swedish striker, 34, is a free agent after leaving Paris St-Germain and is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Old Trafford club.

He will become the second signing for United boss Jose Mourinho, who replaced Louis van Gaal as manager in May.

Ivory Coast defender Eric Bailly, 22, has already completed a £30m move to United from Spanish side Villarreal.

United have also made an improved offer for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 27, and are now waiting for his German club, Borussia Dortmund, to make a decision on the Armenian playmaker’s future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the moment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, TASS reports.

According to the spokesman, the compensation for Russia’s Su-24M bomber downed by Turkey depends on the agreement following today’s conversation.

“I invite you to be oriented exclusively towards the results of the contact between the heads of state,” Peskov told the media.

On July 5 the Knesset will hold a debate on the Armenian Genocide,” Israeli historian Yair Auron said in an interview with the Zoryan Institute.

“Israel refrained from allowing a public debate to have a free vote on the subject of the Armenian Genocide for fear of alienating the Turkish government, a key ally to Israel and the United States,” Dr. Auron said.

“On May 15, 2016, Jerusalem Post, reported that the Knesset speaker, Yuli Edlstein, had called on the government to recognize the 1915 genocide of Armenian people, by the Ottoman Turks, at a special debate on the subject in the parliament. ‘It is no secret that Israel has taken too ambivalent of a stance on the Armenian Genocide,’ Edlstein said. ‘There are many reasons, diplomatic and otherwise, for the Israeli stance being too hesitant and restrained, which downplayed the magnitude of the historical event. We Jews who are still suffering from the impact of the Holocaust cannot minimize the tragedy,’ he added.

“This year, on July 5th, the Knesset will hold another debate on this subject. This debate comes almost a month after Germany’s parliament voted to recognize the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman forces as ‘genocide.’ The Bundestag resolution admitted Germany’s historic role, as a military ally of the Ottoman Empire, in aiding the ‘organized expulsion and annihilation of the Armenians’ from their ancestral homeland and failing to stop ‘these crimes against humanity.’ The resolution also acknowledged ‘the German Reich’s complicity in the events,’” Yair Auron said.

“When we look at the recent German recognition of the Armenian Genocide against that background, a few lessons stand out. The modern Republic of Turkey is not the perpetrator state of the Armenian Genocide, but it is the legal inheritor of all rights and responsibilities of the Ottoman Empire. Rather than acknowledge that genocide, every successor administration of the Turkish Republic has gone out of its way to obfuscate and deny it. Moreover, it has used its considerable geo-political, military and economic leverage to coerce and co-opt other countries to go along with its denial policy, the historian added.

“Two of the most notable countries that have acquiesced in this are the United States and Israel. United States officials so thoroughly documented the Genocide, and the American peoples’ response was a massive and unprecedented outpouring of humanitarian aid for the ‘starving Armenians.’ Furthermore, the US has gone out of its way to honour the memory of another genocide, the Jewish Holocaust. Unfortunately, even today, certain academics and governments insist on the uniqueness of the Holocaust. I cannot accept that because the Holocaust is not unique, and needs to be studied as one example of genocide and not in isolation. Israel, a state born out of the Holocaust, is expected not to barter with the memory of the genocide of another people. In fact, there are moral strictures in the Talmudic tradition against ‘standing idly by the blood of your neighbour.’ (Leviticus 19:16) Yet, Israeli officials have explicitly denied that what happened to the Armenians is anything like what happened to the Jews,” he said.

“American presidents have produced high-sounding statements for April 24 every year, ostensibly to acknowledge the memory and lessons of the Armenian Genocide, but studiously avoid using the word ‘genocide.’ Israel has gone even further, not only denying the status of the Armenian Genocide, but honouring the tragic killing of a small group of Azerbaijanis at Khojaly during the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at a commemoration in 1915, ‘We are gathered here today to talk about the necessity to combine the experience of Israel and Azerbaijan in order to prevent such tragedies in the future,’” the scholar said.

According to Dr. Auron, “when modern Germany admits the complicity of Imperial Germany in the Armenian Genocide, how can anyone go along with Turkish denial? Indeed, legally, this denial would make modern Turkey an accessory after the fact.”

He said “it’s past time that Israel officially recognizes the Armenian Genocide, if, as Foreign Minister Lieberman claims, we need to combine Israeli experience with that of others in order to prevent genocide in the future. Every year now, the Knesset debates this issue. The votes are there, but the government does not allow it to come to a vote. Let this year be different. Let the Knesset have a free vote on whether or not to recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

Dr. Auron completed his interview by stating: “Now that Israel and Turkey have mended fences and are about to renew their diplomatic ties, the Knesset must give a clear message that Israel’s relations cannot be held hostage to Turkey’s denial of these incontestable historical facts, especially after Germany’s admittance of its complicity, as an ally of Ottoman Turkey. It should further emphasize that Armenian Genocide recognition by Israel is not about friendship or enmity towards Turkey, but it is rather a moral responsibility of Israel. Furthermore, after Germany’s admittance of complicity, the failure of the Israeli Knesset to openly label the ‘events of 1915’ as ‘genocide’ is no longer only a simple moral issue, it is also a matter of credibility.”

Yair Auron is an Israeli historian, scholar and expert specializing on Holocaust and genocide studies, racism and contemporary Jewry. He is a board member of The Zoryan Institute of USA & Canada.

The Karabakh issue will be high on the agenda during German Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit to the region. Official Stepanakert hopes the discussions will have a positive impact on the efforst to maintain peace and stability in the region.

“We hope that in its capacity of OSCE presiding country Germany will take important steps toward development and implementation of the mechanism of investigation of border incidents,” Spokesman for the NKR Pesident David Babayan said in an interview with .

He added that “if Germany manages to register progress in that direction, it will be a great achievement.”

David Babayan said the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is in the interest of all three co-chairing countries. “There is no confrontation or even competition between the mediators. Moscow always informs the other co-chairs about the results of discussions with the parties, and invites their representatives to participate in meetings.”

“No one is interested in large-scale war in the region. Peace and stability are in everyone’s interest both from the humanitarian perspective and from the point of view of the national interests of the three countries,” the Spokesperson said.

“All co-chairing countries have overlapping views on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,” he concluded.

Pioneering rock guitarist Scotty Moore, who was a member of Elvis Presley’s original band, has died aged 84, the BBC reports.

He died in Nashville on Tuesday after several months of poor health.

He is credited with helping Elvis shape his music that came to be called rock ‘n’ roll, and inspired generations of guitarists.

Moore was the last survivor of Elvis’s original band which included Presley, bassist Bill Black and producer Sam Phillips.

As part of The Blue Moon Boys Moore backed Presley on many of his legendary songs including Heartbreak Hotel, Blue Suede Shoes and Jailhouse Rock.