The trilateral meeting between the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement was constructive, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said Monday, reports.
“Today’s meeting was quite effective, and I can say with some caution that it was held in a constructive atmosphere,” Nalbandian told reporters.
A trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan was held in St. Petersburg Monday.
Kazakhstan has always backed the peaceful settlement of all conflicts in the region, including the Karabakh issue, the newly appointed Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Timur Urazayev told reporters in Yerevan.
“We want there to be no shooting along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan and want to see the ceasefire observed. We regret the loss of life on both sides during the four-day war in April,” the Ambassador said. He added that it’s unacceptable in the 21st century.
He refrained from further assessment of the Karabakh conflict, saying that Kazakhstan is not a member of the OSCE Minsk Group. Assessment can be given only by countries authorized by the international community, he said.
“Under the conditions of the information war it’s difficult to understand the motives and grounds behind this or that event,” he said.
The President of Kazakhstan is ready to help the parties reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict, Timur Urazayev concluded.
The ceasefire was mostly observed along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh an Azerbaijan last night, NKR Defense al Ministry reports.
The rival used firearms in some directions of the frontline.
The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army refrained from response actions and confidently continued with their military duty.
Photo: DPA
A German court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan after he was denied an injunction to prevent the chief executive of Europe’s largest newspaper publisher Axel Springer from repeating an insulting poem, reports.
In an open letter published in April, Mathias Doepfner expressed his support for German comedian Jan Boehmermann, who is being investigated by prosecutors for reading a crude satirical poem about Erdogan on television in March.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been widely criticized for allowing German prosecutors to pursue a case against Boehmermann at the behest of Erdogan, a key partner in her effort to stem the flow of refugees from Turkey into Europe.
German-Turkish ties have also been strained by Turkey’s outrage over resolution passed by Germany’s parliament declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide..
The appeals court in Cologne said it had upheld the ruling in May from the lower court which rejected a preliminary injunction against Doepfner, saying his comments constituted acceptable expressions of opinion and were protected under German freedom of speech laws.
The court said no further appeals were possible, although Erdogan could still file a constitutional complaint. Such complaints are seldom upheld.
Photo: AFP
A court in Turkey has charged three people with “terrorist propaganda”, including a representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
It ordered the arrest of RSF representative Erol Onderoglu, journalist Ahmet Nesin and academic Sebnem Korur Fincanci.
RSF said it was “an unbelievable low for press freedom in Turkey”.
The arrests come despite the EU pressuring Ankara to stop prosecuting academics and journalists.
The three had reportedly participated in a solidarity campaign in support of Ozgur Gundem, a pro-Kurdish newspaper.
Turkish media say they each acted as chief editor for a day.
The European Union’s Brussels envoys agreed on Tuesday to extend until the end of January the energy, financial and defence sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, diplomatic sources said, Reuters reports.
The bloc’s ministers have yet to formally approve the six-month roll-over but diplomats said there was no doubt they would. France and Britain asked for time to receive comments from their parliaments, though these have no power to block it.
Diplomats said formal ministerial approval had been pencilled in for a meeting in Luxembourg on Friday although it could be held over until an EU leaders summit next week, or even later.
“The only fact that meetings are taking place and dialogue aimed at implementation of confidence-building measures is under way is a positive sign by itself,” French Ambassador to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier told reporters in Yerevan.
“Without dialogue there can be no political solution,” the Ambassador said, adding that dialogue is a chance to get acquainted with each other’s positions.
Ambassador Charpentier hailed the commitment of the parties to continue the periodic meetings and pledged France’s willingness to support the process.
Speaking about the Armenian-French relations, the Ambassador said those have always been on a high level. He said the activity of the French Embassy in Armenia is based on three pillars, the most important of which is the development of economic relations.
“It’s important to intensify the economic ties. The €50 mln commodity turnover is too little for the two countries, and does not correspond to the level of the French-Armenian political and cultural relations,” the Ambassador added.
According to Mr. Charpentier, another important direction is the promotion of social dialogue and any cooperation targeted the protection of human rights.
Iran’s Paykan football team has completed the signing of Armenian international defender Levon Hayrapetyan, reports.
The 27-year-old defender has joined Paykan on a one-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
Hayrapetyan is a graduate of the German school of football. He played in the youth team of Hamburger SV from 2004 to 2008.
Hayrapetyan has also played for Pyunik Yerevan, Lechia Gdansk, and Widzew Lodz.
The international left back was a member of Armenia U-19 and U-21 football teams and currently plays for his country national team.
Today’s meetings with the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will help to build trust between the parties, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said in a Twitter post.
“Today’s meetings with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Aliyev build trust between the parties, accelerate confidence-building, and create conditions for a framework document on peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict,” Warlick said.
Photo: Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Creating a mechanism to investigate truce violations would lay a good basis for talks on a settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, TASS reports.
“Our position on the Karabakh issue is known to all. We wish this issue to be settled exclusively by peaceful means. And I would like to thank Russia as a co-chair of the Minsk Group for the understanding and efforts it pays to this issue,” Sargsyan said.
“Regrettably, such conflicts are never settled at the wish of one party. We would be glad if we managed to make progress today towards the implementation of the agreements that we have achieved, in other words, to create mechanisms of investigating truce violations. This would create a good working climate for talks,” Sargsyan said.
For his part Putin agreed to discuss all these issues.