Category: News

The presidents have expressed commitment to the normalization the situation along the line on contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and agreed to an increase in the number of OSCE monitors there, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following a trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, reports.

About 600 journalists have applied for accreditation to cover the Pope’s visit to Armenia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

Around 600 journalists applied for accreditation to cover visit to 1st nation.

— MFA of Armenia (@MFAofArmenia)

Pope Francis will visit Armenia June 24-26. Pope Francis has asked the faithful to pray for his upcoming trip to Armenia.

“I ask you to pray for me, who in a few days will go as a pilgrim to an eastern land, Armenia, the first among the Nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus,” he said at an audience for the Reunion of Aid Agencies For the Eastern Churches.

A trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan has started in St. Petersburg, Armenian President’s Spokesman Vladimir Hakobyan informs in a Twitter post.

The agent of Henrikh Mkhitaryan said it would be wrong to abandon attempts to get the Borussia Dortmund midfielder a move to Manchester United, the reports.

The Bundesliga club are refusing to let the 27-year-old leave following the departures of both Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundongan this summer.

“It would be a sin to stop talking,” said agent Mino Raiola.

“I am a positive guy. If I wasn’t confident of reaching some kind of conclusion, I wouldn’t try.”

The Armenian has a year left on his contract and has told Dortmund he will not sign another deal, with United his preferred option.

Raiola added: “I am very proud Manchester United want him and the talks are being held in a good atmosphere, but at the moment Dortmund are still saying no.”

New United manager Jose Mourinho is attempting to improve his squad after replacing Louis van Gaal.

“Manchester United is a great club, with a great coach,” said Raiola.

 

The presentation of the English-language book titled “Armenian Pilgrims in Rome” by Vardan Devrikyan will be held in Yerevan on June 21.

The book was published by the “Scientific bridges” NGO under a competition announced by the Armenian Youth Fund is dedicated to the Pope’s visit to Armenia.

During a visit to any country, the Pope is usually accompanied by a number of clergymen, journalists and pilgrims. The historical-cultural links between the Roman Church of the country and the Holy See are usually being stressed. The book presents all this based on historic sources.

The book will introduce foreign readers and media on the links between Armenian and the holy sites in Rome and the Roman Church.  it emphasizes the idea that despite tragic times, the Armenian nation has always been part of the European society and value system.

On June 19, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, received the delegation headed by Martine Vassal, President of Bouches-du-Rhône Department of France.

Welcoming Ms. Vassal, Edward Nalbandian commended the high-level friendly relations of Armenia and France and attached importance to Martine Vassal’s personal input in the deepening of bilateral cooperation.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the dynamic development of the Armenian-French decentralized cooperation along with the inter-state one, and regular mutual visits and jointly implemented projects implemented are the best prove of that. The interlocutors attached significance to the role of the French Armenian community in enhancement and expansion of friendship between the two states.

Martine Vassal presented purpose of the visit paid by representative delegation of the Département Bouches-du-Rhône of France, the initiatives aimed at the intensification of cooperation between Bouches-du-Rhône and marzes (provinces) of Armenia.

Minister Nalbandian presented to the guests the consequences of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in early April and efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs exerted for overcoming those consequences.

Turkey’s Permanent Delegation to the EU Friday rejected the European Parliament’s Turkey Progress Report over its request for recognition of the  Armenian genocide, Anadolu Agency reports.

The report, which the EP passed in April by 375 votes in favor and 133 against, arrived at Turkey’s Permanent Delegation to the EU on Friday.

According to diplomatic sources from the delegation speaking anonymously due to restrictions on speaking with the media, the report was rejected over its remarks calling for recognition of the 1915 events “genocide”.

Turkey also returned a previous report in spring 2015 for the same reason.

“Turkey will reject the European Parliament Progress Report on Turkey to be voted on Thursday if it includes any mention of an ‘Armenian genocide,’” Turkey’s then-EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said.

On June 16, the working visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan to the Kingdom of Denmark started.

In the framework of the visit, the Foreign Minister had meetings with representatives of various political circles, at which the current situation in the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement was touched upon, in particular, in the context of the military venture unleashed by Azerbaijan in early April.

The sides exchanged views on a range of issues related to the regional security. The Foreign Minister also briefed the participants about the state building process in Artsakh, as well as the steps taken by the people and authorities of Artsakh towards the establishment of a free and democratic society.

On the same day, Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan participated in the reception organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the Kingdom of Denmark on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

RA Ambassador to Denmark Hrachya Aghajanyan delivered a welcoming speech, attaching great importance to the first ever event dedicated to Artsakh in friendly Denmark. The Ambassador noted that Artsakh’s independence was based on the unshakeable aspiration of Armenians to achieve freedom, manage their own lives without oppression and preserve their centuries-old culture and identity.

In his speech, Minister Karen Mirzoyan briefed on the way passed by the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, noting that Artsakh’s achievements would be impossible without the continuous support by Armenia and the Diaspora. He stressed that not only our compatriots, but also many people around the world, including in Denmark, were standing by Artsakh, sharing with its people the same values and ideas based on the imperatives of democratic freedoms and the realization of peoples’ right to self-determination. Karen Mirzoyan expressed confidence that the achievements of the people of Artsakh on their path to independent state building didn’t go unnoticed, and sooner or later, Artsakh would become a full member of the civilized world.

He urged to work for the vision of peaceful and stable South Caucasus region, which would ensure the security and peaceful coexistence of all the peoples of the region.

Vox Viva male choir, which gave a concert in the NKR in 2015, participated in the reception. The choir performed works by Armenian and Danish composers. After the performance, the choir’s artistic director Mette Rimer shared his impressions of the trip to Artsakh, expressed gratitude for the cordial reception, and noted that he looked forward to the opportunity of hosting Artsakh’s choir in Denmark.

The reception was attended by diplomats, political and public figures, representatives of the expert community, journalists, and members of the Armenian community of Denmark.

On 17 June Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received minister of education and science of the Republic of Armenia Levon Mkrtchyan and delegation headed by him.

The meeting addressed issues related to the development of education and science in Artsakh and correlation between the two Armenian states in this field.

Artsakh Republic minister of education, science and sport Slava Asryan and other officials partook in the meeting.

 

 

 

Pope Francis will arrive in Armenia on June 24.  Ahead of the visit the Pope asked the faithful to pray for his upcoming trip to Armenia. “I ask you to pray for me, who in a few days will go as a pilgrim to an eastern land, Armenia, the first among the Nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus,” he said at an audience for the Reunion of Aid Agencies For the Eastern Churches.

“The Pontiff’s visit is a remarkable event for any country and any country he enters tries to best comprehend the meaning of the Pope’s messages,” theologian Vardan Khachatryan says. According to him, Armenia has always been seen in the Christian world as a key country, and it’s not accidental that the pope describes the visit as “pilgrimage to the first among the Nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus.” He considers that the visit at a time of turmoil in the region is not a coincidence, either.

The Pope will pray in a country, which shared the destiny of Jesus Crist by dying and rising again after the genocide. “This also contains an important message,” Vardan Khachatryan says. “Today Europe faces the challenge of restoring the Christian value system, a value system, which the Western civilizations are actually build upon.

Fr. Shahe Ananyan, Director of the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, says the Prayer of Peace by the Pope and His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and the Catholicos of All Armenians can serve a brilliant message of establishment of peace and religious tolerance in the region.

“I think this visit is first and foremost a sort of pilgrimage: the Pope’s gesture is one of affection and admiration for this ancient Church with its century-old Christian tradition; it is an act of devotion towards this country, the first to adopt Christianity in 301 when St. Gregory the Illuminator led the entire nation to conversion and baptism,” Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches said in an interview with La Stampa.

“The Pope will bring his gratitude and esteem for a people who were molded by the Christian spirit and managed to protect the precious treasure of faith and their own identity for centuries. This is the spiritual power upon which Armenia can build a future of peace and hope,” the Cardinal said.