Category: News

Today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan disseminated yet another cynical statement turning obvious facts upside down in an attempt to put the responsibility for military actions, unleashed on April 2 by itself against Nagorno-Karabakh, on the Armenian side, the purpose of which is to avoid responsibility for the committed war crimes.

It is not for the first time that Baku makes futile attempts to distort the obvious reality. During communications our international partners have also confirmed that, beyond any doubt it was Azerbaijan, which initiated the large-scale offensive along the entire Line of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in hundreds of killed and maimed, and committed war crimes.

Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s futile attempts to cast doubt on the trilateral ceasefire agreement of 1994, signed by Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, that does not have time limitations. It is a dangerous step which threatens with further destabilization of the situation in the region. The aggressive military actions launched by Azerbaijan at the beginning of April could not result in the cessation of the 1994 agreement, rather they raise the liability of the party which violated it.

All of this shows that, despite the calls of the international community to continue the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, Baku’s real intention is to undermine the settlement process. The fact that the lengthy statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry does not contain any reference not only to the statements of the heads of the Co-Chair countries on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution but it also lacks any mentioning of the only internationally mandated mediation format of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs whatsoever, clearly demonstrates that.

Azerbaijan strives to portray the negotiations as a kind of a process that discusses solely those issues which fit Baku’s interests.

It is obvious that calls and appeals are not sufficient anymore to bring Baku back to senses. Decisive steps are needed to bring Azerbaijan to order and into a constructive mood.

Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon Samvel Mkrtchian laid the responsibility for recent violence in Nagorno-Karabakh squarely at the feet of Azerbaijan, urging the Azeri leadership to respect the cease-fire and re-engage in the peace talks administered by the OSCE. “These recent events, unfortunate and very deplorable events, at the beginning of April, the so-called Four Day War, was undoubtedly launched by the Azeri side in order to impose its will yet another time on Nagorno-Karabakh’s people,” Mkrtchian told Wednesday in an interview at the Armenian Embassy in Mtaileb.

“It has been already quite some time since Azeri leadership at the top level, including the president himself, have [used] very harsh rhetoric, and during the last [few] years Azerbaijan has increased its military budget 10 to 20 times and acquired and purchased new armaments. They were not making any secret that they might resort to a military solution of this conflict,” the Ambassador said.

Mkrtchian said Azerbaijan may have breached the cease-fire out of a desire to divert attention from problems at home created by falling oil prices.

“The danger which has been … pointed at by different experts is that if the Azerbaijani revenues from oil decline, they might resort to a military solution. Probably it is linked now also to the recent escalation, because with the drop of the price of oil in international markets, Azerbaijan is experiencing really hard problems with its economy, with its financial situation, which are further exacerbated with the restrictions on human rights and freedoms in the society,” he said.

“The recent events might indicate that the Azeri leadership tried for this escalation on the line of contact to deviate the public opinion form those internal problems.”

Mkrtchian also said that the recent fighting overlapped with revelations of massive corruption involving Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and his family.

“The coincidences in this are exemplary. The recent escalation came exactly on those dates when the Panama Papers became public,” the ambassador remarked.

Mkrtchian said he was pleased the international community moved quickly to call for the violence to stop. “There was a unanimous reaction coming [from] around the world that this conflict has no military solution and the only way to move forward and have lasting peace is to go back to the table of negotiations.”

The ambassador said he did not know if the recent deterioration of relations between regional powers Turkey and Russia played any role in the clashes, but called Turkey’s absolute support for Azerbaijan detrimental to negotiations.

“With their unequivocal backing of the Azerbaijani position, Turkey directly or indirectly encourages the other side to stick to a harsh position during the negotiations and not be inclined to make the required and necessary compromises in order to have a solution,” Mkrtchian said.

He had kinder words for Moscow, an Armenian ally that ultimately facilitated a halt to the fighting. “The Russian Federation never shows any unequivocal support for the Armenian or for the Azeri side, they try to keep the balance.”

Russia is the primary arms supplier for both countries, and has said it would continue to provide such military support, citing the value of deterrence and maintaining an equality of arms. Its position precipitated protests at the Russian embassy in Yerevan last week.

“That made the Armenian side extremely unhappy. … We expressed our concern in regard to Russia’s selling armaments to the other side, especially when those armaments are of offensive nature,” the ambassador said. “That’s a real concern for the Armenian side.”

Mkrtchian repeatedly emphasized Armenia’s support for the conflict resolution efforts pursued by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Minsk Process.

He blamed Azerbaijan for not embracing the framework outlined in the peace talks and for rejecting overtures from both the OSCE and Armenia to provide for the independent monitoring of cease-fire violations. But the ambassador said he was confident that the 22-year-old process was the best way to bring resolution to the conflict.

“It is really our hope that the peaceful negotiation process will be revived, and a new impetus will be brought into this process,” he said, citing the upcoming visit of U.N. General-Secretary Ban Ki-Moon to the area as a sign of increased international engagement.

Mkrtchian sounded an optimistic note on the long-term prospects for peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “We are neighbors; we are not going to go away from this area. It’s extremely unfortunate that we cannot live peacefully side-by-side and to normally trade and normally interact, because we are natural economic partners and both sides will benefit from that kind of relationship.”

Prince has died aged 57 at his estate in Minnesota.

Sources told TMZ that his body was found this morning at his Paisley Park studio.

Paramedics were called out at 9.43 this morning and Carver County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that there had been a fatality.

Prince – full name Prince Rogers Nelson – was hospitalized six days ago with flu symptoms.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to the South Caucasus, including Armenia has been postponed, the Organization’s office in Armenia said.

“The Secretary-General has a keen interest in the South Caucasus region so his visit will be rescheduled,” Officer-in-Charge at UN Department of Public Information Armineh Haladjian said.

It was earlier reported that Ban would arrive in Armenia on April 25 as part of his official visit to the South Caucasus countries.

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt has held meetings with the heads of Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations to PACE.

“Met with Azeri and Armenian chairs of delegations in PACE. No conflict can be solved without dialogue,” Agramunt tweeted.

Met with and chairs of delegations in : no conflict can be solved without .

— Pedro Agramunt (@PACE_President)

A UK-based magazine has offered a prize to the author of the most offensive poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is suing a German comedian over a satirical verse, the BBC reports.

The Spectator is offering £1,000, donated by a reader.

It comes after Germany opened the door for a comedian to potentially be prosecuted over a TV broadcast.

Jan Boehmermann had recited a satirical poem on the TV channel ZDF which made sexual references to President Erdogan.

Mr Boehmermann is now under police protection and Angela Merkel’s government has approved a criminal inquiry, under a little-used law concerning insults against foreign heads of state.

Mrs Merkel stressed that the courts would have the final word, and it was now up to prosecutors to decide whether to press charges.

The French government plans to extend a state of emergency imposed after the Paris attacks in November to cover the Euro 2016 football tournament, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said, the BBC reports.

Given the scale of the event, security has to be ensured, he said in a radio interview.

The proposed two-month extension will require parliamentary approval.

The European football competition involves 24 national teams and runs from 10 June to 10 July.

Armenia has improved its media freedom ranking and is currently placed 74th in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index released by the Reporters Without Borders.

Other countries in the region are placed as follows: Russia – 148th, Georgia – 64th, Turkey – 151^st, Azerbaijan – 163^rd, Iran – 196th.

The 2016 World Press Freedom Index reflects the intensity of the attacks on journalistic freedom and independence by governments, ideologies and private-sector interests during the past year.

Seen as a benchmark throughout the world, the Index ranks 180 countries according to the freedom allowed journalists.

Three north European countries head the rankings. They are Finland (ranked 1st, the position it has held since 2010), Netherlands (2nd, up 2 places) and Norway (3rd, down 1).

At the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, in last place, were the worst performers.

The Index is based on an evaluation of media freedom that measures pluralism, media independence, the quality of the legal framework and the safety of journalists in 180 countries.

The Index is not an indicator of the quality of the journalism in each country, nor does it rank public policies even if governments obviously have a major impact on their country’s ranking.

Prominent musician and political activist, Serj Tankian has composed a special track called “Aurora’s Dream.” The composition will be the theme music for the upcoming inaugural Aurora Prize ceremony to be held in Yerevan, Armenia on April 24, 2016. The Aurora Prize was born of the 100 LIVES initiative, which is rooted in the inspiring stories of courage and survival during the Armenian Genocide one hundred years ago.

Rep. Adam Schiff took to the house floor to present an open letter to President Obama:

I dearly hope, as do millions of Armenians descended from genocide survivors around the world, that he will take this final opportunity as President to speak plainly about the genocide. To say that the Ottoman Empire committed the crime of genocide when it sought to wipe out the Armenians, and very nearly did. That their campaign of extermination nonetheless failed. And that, above all, we will never forget and we will never be intimidated into silence.

Mr. President, there is no higher moral calling than speaking the truth in the face of genocide denial. Please, this year, add your voice to the millions who speak out for those who died in the desert, for the victims of the Armenian Genocide.