Armenian Defense Minister brings Azeri war crimes to the attention of Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan met with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, James Warlick and Pierre Andrieu, and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The meeting was dedicated to the recent Azerbaijani aggression against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Minister Ohanyan referred to the military actions at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan and the current situation.

Seyran Ohanyan drew the attention of the Co-Chairs to the peculiarities of Azerbaijan’s obvious aggression, including the war crimes against Armenian servicemen and civilians, as well as other violations of provisions of the law of armed conflict.

The Defense Minister noted that the Azeri military aggression was rebuffed and the further actions were prevented thanks to the heroic and skilled actions of the NKR Defense Army.

The Minister said Armenia is still ready to continue negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The Armenian Minister stressed the need of reinforcing any ceasefire with a legally binding agreement as a prerequisite for easing the military confrontation in the conflict zone.

Henrikh Mkhitrayan wears Armenian armband in Europa League match against Liverpool

Henrikh Mkhitrayan wore an Armenian armband during Borussia Dortmund’s Europa League match against Liverpool.

“Played plenty of thoughts for my motherland tonight ‪#‎Armenia,” Henrikh wrote on social media after the match.

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Challenge taken up! Lets make it a success next week #UELPlayed plenty of thoughts for my motherland tonight #Armenia

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Liverpool held Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal as Jurgen Klopp made an emotional return to Signal Iduna Park.

Divock Origi opened the scoring for Liverpool. The hosts’ equalizer came within three minutes of the restart when Mats Hummels was allowed a free run at Mkhitaryan’s right-wing cross to power a header past Mignolet.

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs meet with NKR Pesident

On 7 April Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russian Federation), Pierre Andrieu (France), James Warlick (USA), personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The meeting addressed issues related to the large-scale military operations launched Azerbaijan against the Artsakh Republic.
President Sahakyan called the treacherous aggression of Azerbaijani as one of the greatest perils to stability and peace in the South Caucasus and the neighboring regions, qualifying it a serious challenge to the civilized world too.

Bako Sahakyan underlined that the Artsakh Defense Army averted and would always rebuff any encroachment on our republic’s independence, sovereignty and security, adding that he expected from OSCE Minsk Group tough and targeted response and steps towards the destructive policy of Azerbaijan.

Russian PM arrives in Armenia

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Mdvedev has arrived in Yerevan at the invitation of Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

The delegation headed by the Russian PM comprises a number of government representatives, as well as the Director General of “Roskosmos” State Corporation Igor Komorov and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.

Hovik Abrahyan welcomed his Russian counterpart at Zvartnots Airpors.

Immediately after the official welcome ceremony the Russian delegation left for Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian genocide victims.

French lawmaker calls for recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic

In an article published by , French MP Valérie Boyer insists that it’s time to recognize the de facto independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

She reminds that the night of April 2 Azerbaijan launched a major military offensive against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in what became the worst escalation since the conclusion of cease-fire in 1994.

“Azerbaijan  mobilized assaults tanks, combat helicopters, drones and even Grad missiles that targeted the cities of Nagorno-Karabakh and caused casualties among civilians, including children. The attack was pushed back so that dictator Aliyev had to agree on a ceasefire. With more than 200 dead, about twenty tanks destroyed and no territorial gain, this inept offensive has indeed shown the military weakness of Azerbaijan,” Boyer writes.

“How come that Azerbaijan stuffed with petrodollars is unable to triumph over tiny Nagorno Karabakh? Because no one in Azerbaijan, except Aliyev is interested in waging war,” the lawmaker writes.

“The Republic of Nagorno Karabakh has been de facto independent for nearly twenty-five years. For 25 years it has been striving to make each day even more democratic, while Azerbaijan sinks into the most desperate dictatorship,” she continues.

“The international community believed that postponing the question of the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh would favor negotiations and the establishment of peace. Experience shows, however, that it is not so and it only encourages the bellicose ardor of Baku. We must put an end to this situation. We must now recognize Nagorno-Karabakh,” Valerie Boyer concludes.

Valerie Boyer is a Member of French National Assembly. She represents the Bouches-du-Rhône department and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.

Russia cuts gas price for Armenia

Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev agreed new tariffs on the Russian natural gas supplied to Armenia, Abrahamyan said on Thursday after completion of talks.

“We thoroughly discussed reduction of prices for supplies of Russian natural gas to Armenia,” Abrahamyan said. An agreement reached “was fixed by signing the relevant document,” he added.

“We agreed energy issues, including natural gas supply, which is definitely critical to ensure stable energy consumption in Armenia and normal development of the Republic of Armenia on the whole,” Russian Prime Minister said in his turn.

The natural gas price for Armenia will be reduced from $165 to $150 per 1,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of 2016.

Kremlin spokesman: Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh far from stable

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is far from stable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday, TASS reports.

“The situation is certainly far from stable,” Peskov said. “That’s why it is impossible to stop at what has already been achieved, and no one is going to do this,” he added.

Talking about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh in general, “a setback has occurred,” Peskov said. “Very good progress was made before the resumption of heated clashes. Now, unfortunately, a setback occurred, and there’s a lot of catching up that will need to be done,” he concluded.

Moscow will continue its efforts to assist the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s peaceful settlement, Peskov went on to say.

“Certainly, this time again very prompt and major efforts have been exerted with a view to stopping the fire,” he said. “These Russia’s efforts have been welcomed by the parties concerned. Of course, Moscow will continue its consistent policy.”