Category: News

There is no alternative to the recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by the international Community, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan says.

“The Resolution adopted by House of Representatives of Georgia proves the very fact that amid Azerbaijan’s destructive policy the international recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic has no alternative,” the Deputy FM said in a Twitter post.

The State of Georgia honoring and recognizing the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

President Serzh Sargsyan today held consultations on issues of Armenian-French economic cooperation. Taking into consideration that the relations between Armenia and friendly France are on a high level and are described as privileged by both countries, the discussions focused on the current state of economic ties, the perspectives of development of mutually beneficial cooperation in different spheres.

Attending the meeting were Armenia’s Ambassador to France Vigen Chitechyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Head of the Armenia-France Deputy Friendship Group, MP Ara Babloyan, Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan, other officials.

The President noted that more than 140 companies with French capital are currently operating in Armenia, playing an important role in the country’s economic development.

He noted, however, that the trade-economic relations are on a high level and added that the commodity turnover between the two countries is not satisfactory.

Ambassador Vigen Chitechyan presented a detailed report on issues on the agenda of Armenian-French economic cooperation, the steps being taken in that direction, the existing problems and the future plans.  He noted that the bilateral economic ties intensified after 2007, making France Armenia’s second partner in term of foreign investments.

Barcelona broke a 27-year old Spanish record by going 35 games unbeaten in all competitions with a 5-1 thrashing of nine-man Rayo Vallecano.

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick – his 35th – as the hosts fell apart after Ivan Rakitic’s opener.

Diego Llorente and Manuel Iturra were both dismissed for Rayo, whose only goal was scored by Manucho.

Luis Suarez also had a penalty saved before Arda Turan completed the rout to move Barcelona eight points clear.

This season’s Greek Cup has been cancelled by the government after the semi-final first leg between PAOK Salonika and Olympiakos was abandoned because of crowd violence, the BBC reports.

PAOK fans threw flares and clashed with riot police after their team was denied a penalty with Olympiakos leading 2-1.

Greece’s deputy minister for sport Stavros Kontonis recommended the suspension of all competitive football.

But the Super League and other professional leagues will continue.

Charles Aznavour has responded to photographer Hayk Barseghyan’s call to raise funds for the homeless families in Gyumri.

Aznavour shared Barseghyan’s video on his Facebook page and added the following inscription: “27 years after the terrible earthquake in Armenia that left 25 000 dead, thousands of families are still homeless and hopeless in what is now the second largest city of the independent Republic of Armenia: Gyumri! This program is meant to help the most disadvantaged families.”

US President Barack Obama will host and convene the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit beginning on March 31 at the Washington Convention Center. Among the scheduled attendees are two leaders who rarely get together because their nations have been at loggerheads for decades.

“While it is important for world leaders to agree on how best to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of rogue nations or terrorist groups, the presence of Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia offers a rare yet historic moment for President Obama to take the lead in solving one of the most troublesome conflicts left from the break-up off the Soviet Empire,” S. Rob Sobhani writes in an article publsed by the Washington Times.

According to the author, President Obama may well be in a position to craft a breakthrough while the two leaders are in Washington that could create a new beginning for the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan by leading a robust diplomatic initiative to find a permanent solution fair to both sides.

“Mr. Obama needs to persuade the presidents of both Armenia and Azerbaijan that the United States won’t turn its back on them and that a workable solution can satisfy both nations, allow their citizens to live in peace and allow them to at long last develop the trust to be good and cooperative neighbors in a troubled region of the world,” the article reads.

Seventeen magnitude 0.5-1.4 earthquakes hit Armenia between 07:03 and 09:24 a.m. today, the National Survey for Seismic Protection reports.

The quakes measured 1-2 at the epicenter (10 km southwest of Gavar), according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Asbarez – On Tuesday night, undergraduate  student government bodies at both the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) overwhelmingly voted to divest over $74 million dollars of University of California bonds and investments in the Republic of Turkey for its continuous denial and perpetuation of the Armenian Genocide. UCSD and UCSB, within an hour of one another, became the seventh and eighth UC campuses to pass this resolution, respectively.

“Genocide and genocide denial go way past murder- it is a heinous act that aims to degrade an experience of a whole people and ethnicity,” remarked Seda Byurat, chairperson of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee (AGCC) at UCSD, during her presentation to the Associated Students government body.

The resolution at UCSD, titled “A Resolution to Divest from the Republic of Turkey to End the Perpetuation of the Armenian Genocide,” passed with a unanimous vote of 25-0-0 at the Price Forum Center at around 7:45 PM. It was presented and lobbied for by the UCSD AGCC and received overwhelming support from official UCSD student organizations. Student organization co-sponsors at UCSD included the Asian Pacific Islander Student Alliance, Black Student Union, Kaibigang Pilipin@, Movimiento Estudiantiol Chican@ de Aztlan, Muslim Student Association, Native American Student Alliance, Queer People of Color, Students with Disabilities Coalition, and Multicultural Greek Council.

The resolution at UCSB passed with an overwhelming 21-0-1 vote at the Flying A Studio of the University Center at around 8:25 p.m., and was presented and lobbied for by the UCSB ASA and Armenian students on campus.

“We need to act as Armenian diasporans and use the resources that we have as college students to do something. It is our duty as diasporans to fight for our global Armenian community,” said Sose Abraamyan, vice-president of UCSB’s Armenian Students’ Association. “I’m so proud of our divestment team at UCSB but also the Armenian Youth Federation and All-Armenian Student Association for giving us this opportunity.”

These resolutions are part of a larger initiative called #DivestTurkey, which calls on all institutions to divest from the Republic of Turkey until Armenian genocide justice is realized, which is spearheaded by the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States (AYF), which is a grassroots community organization dedicated to social justice and empowerment of youth, the All-Armenian Student Association, campus Armenian Students’ Associations (ASAs), and other local activists.

AYF Central Executive chairperson Gev Iskajyan stated, “The #DivestTurkey initiative began in order to connect and provide resources for university students and activists on campuses across America to divest all holdings in the Republic of Turkey’s government until reparations for the Armenian genocide are met and until genocide is no longer a profitable venture.”

Within 13 months, undergraduate student government bodies at UC Los Angeles, Berkeley, Irvine, Davis, Riverside, Santa Cruz, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, and the UC Student Association, the official voice of over 240,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, have passed official resolutions calling on the UC to divest all financial holdings in the Republic of Turkey immediately and refrain from making any further investments in the Republic of Turkey in order to remove the UC’s complicity in the perpetuation of the Armenian Genocide.
“The AYF plans to continue building on the momentum of the #DivestTurkey initiative, working with colleges and universities in order to introduce similar resolutions in the coming weeks and months,” confirmed Iskajyan.

lists Armenia’s capital Yerevan among Europe’s 16 oldest continually inhabited cities.

While many of the world’s oldest cities, settled around the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East, are off-limits to travellers at present, Europe’s most ancient settlements are very much open to visitors.

The Telegraph reminds that Some 30 years before Rome was founded, the city that is now Armenia’s capital was serving as an important stop along the caravan routes from Asia to Europe.”

“It was invaded by Assyrians, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, Seljuks, Mongols and Turks, and later by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the capital of the Republic of Armenia has seen the growth of cultural institutions (it is home to a bewildering number of museums). Tourism is also developing slowly – a handful operators currently offer guided trips to the country.”

Other cities in the list include: Zadar, Croatia; Mtskheta, Georgia; Cádiz, Spain; Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece; Lisbon, Portugal; Chalcis, Greece; Larnaca, Cyprus; Kutaisi, Georgia; Thebes, Greece; Trikala, Greece; Patra, Greece; Chania, Crete; Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Athens, Greece; Argos, Greece.

Samvel Mkrtchyan will replace Ashot Kocharyan as Armenia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Lebanon.

A corresponding decree was signed by President Serzh Sargsyan today.