Category: News

A lobbying firm that’s a registered agent of the Turkish government is trying out a new argument during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the U.S. this week: the Russians are coming, and Armenia is helping them, the reports.

Representatives from Mercury LLC have contacted multiple congressional offices to argue that Russia’s presence in Armenia, a small country on Turkey’s border that has tensions with the Turks lingering from the 1915 genocide of Armenian Christians, makes it important for the U.S. to close ranks with fellow NATO member Turkey, according to two Capitol Hill aides.

Mercury, which registered to work on behalf of Turkey last month, hopes to convince lawmakers to attach their names to two separate documents, an aide told The Huffington Post.

One is a letter addressed to Secretary of State John Kerry that focuses on the “growing military alliance between Russia and Armenia” — citing the flow of Russian fighter jets, helicopters gunships and drones to Armenia. It calls the Russia-Armenia relationship “deeply concerning.”

Asked for comment, Mercury shared a statement from an organization called the Turkish Institute for Progress, the Huffington Post says.

“The Turkish Institute for Progress along with U.S. security experts and officials are calling on Armenia to expel the two Russian bases in Armenia and to sever its military ties with [President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia. The close relationship between Russia and Armenia speaks for itself,” said Derya Taskin, the institute’s president.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to make his first official visit to Azerbaijan and Armenia and a second visit to Georgia at the end of April, a source from the UN Secretariat told on Thursday.

The source could not give the exact dates, but said the trip would be made shortly after the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement convened by Ban Ki-moon on April 22.

Secretary-General’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric neither confirmed nor denied the information on Thursday.

On March 11, Georgia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said Ban Ki-moon was planning an official visit to his country.

“The Georgian Foreign Ministry is paving the way for this visit, it is a working process, the concrete date will become known shortly,” he told reporters, marking the importance of the visit for Georgia.

Ban Ki-moon visited Georgia in June 2007, making a short stopover in Tbilisi on his way from Afghanistan to Europe and meeting with the then president, Mikhail Saakashvili.

According to information on the website of the UN Secretariat, Ban Ki-moon has never visited Azerbaijan and Armenia since he took office in 2007.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is attending the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington at the invitation of UN President Barack Obama. The summit featured more than 50 heads of state and government.

The goal of the two-day event is to come up with strategies for preventing would-be attackers against nation states from obtaining or building nuclear weapons capable of inflicting mass casualties.

On March 31 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who is in the US within the delegation headed by the President of Armenia, met James Warlick, the US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia drew the attention of the US Co-Chair to the continuous violations of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan. “Ignoring the joint statement of the Co-Chairs and the OSCE Chairmanship Special Representative to respect ceasefire during religious holidays, Baku has intensified the gross violations of ceasefire in the wake and during the Easter.”

Edward Nalbandian emphasized: “Such provocations of Azerbaijan have become routine. The same is happening during the negotiation process. If previously Baku was undermining the negotiations through various means, attempting to shift the issue to other fora, now, probably witnessing the inefficiency of its steps, it has not made up anything but rejecting meetings with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.” Minister Nalbandian underlined that this is indeed a futile attempt to exert pressure on the negotiation process and the Co-Chairs.

The sides exchanged thoughts on the possibilities of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement through exclusively peaceful means.

The Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of Merrimack Valley (AGCCMV) will join with the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Merrimack Valley in jointly sponsoring its 101^st observance, the  reports.

The combined event will take place Sat., April 23, beginning at 10 a.m. with a procession along downtown Lowell to City Hall, where events will take place.

A proclamation will be issued by the mayor with pertinent remarks from government and state officials. A flag-raising ceremony will be conducted by the youth.

A light luncheon and cultural program will follow at the historic Masonic Center, across from City Hall. Children from the various church schools will combine their talents.

“Please join us and let your voices be heard for genocide recognition and justice and to celebrate our priceless Armenian heritage that will be so beautifully expressed in the youthful voices of our children,” said Sossy Jeknavorian, AGCCMV chairman.

Armenian Preisdent Serzh Sargsyan has congratulated the Assyrian community on New Year, President’s Press Office reports. The message reads:

“I cordially congratulate the Assyrians of Armenia on the occasion of Assyrian New Year – Kha b’Nisan.

I wish that this holiday, which symbolizes the revival of nature, bring our brotherly Assyrian nation new success and become a beginning for the implementation of new programs.

Let this spring holiday of love and bounty stay with you the entire year, and let wars and hardships stay away.

I wish the Assyrian community of Armenia happiness and prosperity.”

Legendary French Armenian singer Charles Aznavour will participate in the “Aurora” Award ceremony in Yerevan on April 24, the singer’s spokesperson Christina Sargsyan told Armenpress.

“We are planning to visit Armenia to be present at the award ceremony of the “Aurora” Prize,” she said.

The co-founders of 100 LIVES and the Aurora Prize Selection committee – co-chaired by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney – will honor the Aurora Prize finalists for their exceptional acts of humanity with a weekend of events from April 22 through April 24, 2016.

On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide, and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Prize celebrates the strength of the human spirit that compels action is the face of adversity.

Recipients will be recognized for the exceptional impact their actions have made on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate will be honored each year with a US$100,000 grant as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating an organization which inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award.

The Aurora Prize will be awarded annually on April 24 of each year in Yerevan, Armenia.

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden met on Thursday with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit.

In addition to bilateral relations, the sides discussed the regional situation in the South Caucasus, international problems and challenges. In this context, the sides exchanged views on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement within the OSCE Minsk Group process and developments in the Middle East.

“The Vice President stressed that the United States is committed to a democratic, prosperous, and secure Armenia at peace with its neighbors. The Vice President thanked President Sarkisian for welcoming more than 20,000 Syrian refugees. Addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Vice President expressed concern about continued violence, called for dialogue, and emphasized the importance of a comprehensive settlement for the long-term stability, security, and prosperity of the region.”

President Sargsyan assessed current Armenian-American partnership as being on the highest level in the history through joint efforts, which is evidenced by the visits of different levels of recent years. The President praised the United States’ contribution to the economic development and implementation of reforms in various fields of Armenia.

Sargsyan stressed the importance of the US role in regional security and stability, especially the active involvement of the US in the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Photo: Getty Images

 

Oil prices have fallen below $40 a barrel after Saudi Arabia said it would freeze production only if other major producers did the same, the BBC reports.

The comments by deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman are seen as a challenge to Iran.

It has vowed to increase oil production following the lifting of Western sanctions.

In the Bloomberg interview, the prince also spoke about his plan for a giant public investment fund.

Worth more than $2 trillion, it would be designed to reduce Saudi Arabia’s reliance on income from oil.

Part of the plan would be a sale of shares in the state-owned oil firm Aramco, which could start as soon as next year, according to the interview.

An all-star tribute concert to David Bowie, announced shortly before he died, has been held in New York, the BBC reports.

The concert in Carnegie Hall was announced on 10 January as a retrospective of Bowie’s life.

But hours later, the singer’s family announced his death from cancer. The concert then quickly sold out.

Among the acts performing were the Flaming Lips, Pixies, Debbie Harry, Cyndi Lauper and former REM singer Michael Stipe.

Such was the demand, a second concert was added for Friday night at Radio City Music Hall that will be broadcast online.

The annual tribute concerts, that have previously focused on acts including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell, were set up to raise money for charity.

Organisers were overwhelmed by requests by performers keen to take part after Bowie’s death.

“We felt kind of awkward because we are usually so humbly grateful to anyone who wants to participate in this,” producer Michael Dorf said.

One scheduled act, hip-hop band The Roots, pulled out of the shows on Thursday, after accusing another unnamed group of refusing to allow them to use their equipment.