Author: Adrine Hakobian

Sports: EUBC: Armenia wins third place with 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal

Adrine Hakobian
News.am, Armenia
Oct 24 2021

Armenia ended the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Budva with 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal and won third place as a team, as reported on the Facebook page of the Armenian Boxing Federation.

Henrik Tchghrikyan (86 kg) also scored the champion title. Tchghrikyan, who is a student of the boxing school in Gyumri, scored an impressive victory over Czech boxer David Polak in the final and knocked him out in the third round.

Henry Sahakyan (51 kg) also became a champion. Elida Kocharyan (60 kg) and Manvel Petrosyan (57 kg) scored silver medals, while Erik Israelyan (60 kg) scored the bronze medal.

Russia plans to invest $1 bln in the Armenian economy in the near future

Adrine Hakobian
TASS, Russia
Oct 19 2021
Business & EconomyOctober 19, 13:57

YEREVAN, October 19. /TASS/. Russia plans to invest $1 billion in the Armenian economy in the near future, Deputy Economic Development Minister Dmitry Volvach said at a briefing on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 8th Armenian-Russian Interregional Forum.

"Our mutual trade is recovering quite well — a 17% growth in 2021. This is despite the fact that it fell by almost 4% in the pandemic year. Our investment cooperation is growing: there are more than $2.2 billion of jointly accumulated investments from Russia to Armenia. We know that there are specific projects to the tune of more than $1 bln, which will soon go to the Armenian economy," he said.

According to Volvach, the investments will become a significant contribution to the development of economic, social, and cultural relations between Russia and Armenia. In particular, they will contribute to the creation of new high-tech jobs and facilitate exchange in various areas of the economy, culture, and infrastructure development.

"According to statistics, currently, Russian investments account for 40% of foreign investments in the Republic of Armenia. It seems to me that it is quite logical at least to maintain this share. It is clear that there are investments from other countries, from other partners, but I hope that Russia and Russian business will retain their role and significance in the Armenian economy," he added.

In turn, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov confirmed that in the coming years, Russian companies are ready to invest about $1 billion in the Armenian economy. "Our trade turnover has already exceeded the pre-covid indicators, and Russian companies are among the largest taxpayers in Armenia," he added.

The forum is sponsored by Russia’s Economic Development Ministry and Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia. Russian-Armenian interregional forums have been held since 2011 to expand cooperation between the regions of the two states.

Armenia asks UN court to protect it from ‘hatred’ of neighbor Azerbaijan

Adrine Hakobian
Oct 14 2021

Azerbaijan has countersued Armenia in a separate case over an antidiscrimination treaty that will be heard next week.

MOLLY QUELL / October 14, 2021

A forest burns in October 2020 after shelling by Azerbaijan's artillery during a military conflict with Armenia outside Stepanakert, in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. (AP Photo)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The United Nations' top court heard opening arguments Thursday in Armenia's request for temporary protective measures against its neighbor Azerbaijan.

Officials in Armenia's capital of Yerevan have complained to The Hague-based International Court of Justice, or ICJ, that Azerbaijan's government based in Baku violated a treaty outlawing racial discrimination during the 2020 conflict over the breakaway region Nagorno-Karabakh that left 6,500 people dead. 

“It is ethnic discrimination pure and simple,” lawyer Pierre d’Argent said on behalf of Armenia. Both countries are party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial intolerance. 

The disputed 1,700-square-mile area technically falls within the borders of Azerbaijan, but 90% of its 150,000 inhabitants are ethnically Armenian. The area had been under the control of Armenian forces since an earlier war over the territory. Hostilities broke out again last year after a skirmish in a border region. 

Armenia wants the ICJ to order Azerbaijan to stop “espousing hatred of people of Armenian ethnic or national origin,” and specifically to close down a park created to celebrate Azerbaijan's victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The Military Trophy Park opened in Azerbaijan’s capital in January 2021, displaying seized equipment and even the helmets of dead Armenian soldiers. 

Lawyers for Armenia cited multiple remarks made by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, calling Armenian people barbarians and vandals and claiming they are unable to build their own state so instead leech off of other nations.

"Generations upon generations are indoctrinated into this culture of fear and hate of anything and everything Armenian," Armenia's agent Yeghishe Kirakosyan told the court Thursday. 

Azerbaijan has countersued Armenia under the same treaty and has also requested provisional measures in a separate case that will be heard next week. In its rebuttal, its lawyers argue that it was Armenia, not Azerbaijan, that has engaged in ethnic cleansing. 

The Nagorno-Karabakh region has been a source of conflict since war first broke out over the territory in 1988, following the fall of the Soviet Union. A ceasefire was negotiated in 1994 after some 30,000 were killed, but the peace was fragile. Thirty soldiers were killed when more fighting broke out in 2016.

In an interview last week with France 24, President Aliyev said Azerbaijan was ready to "work on a future peace agreement." 

Representatives for both countries will be allowed to respond in court Friday.

Brent oil price on the ICE exchange up over $ 85/barrel

Adrine Hakobian

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 13:45,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The cost of a Brent crude oil futures contract for December 2021 delivery on the London ICE exchange went up by 1.23% and reached $ 85.03 per barrel, according to data from the trading floor at 10:50 Moscow time on Friday.

The last time the price of Brent exceeded $ 85 per barrel was in October 2018. By 10:05 Moscow time, the price of Brent crude oil slowed down its growth to $ 84.74 per barrel (+ 0.88%), reports TASS.

The cost of a WTI crude oil futures went up by 0.73% to $ 81.36 per barrel.

Asbarez: Gulbenkian Foundation Launches New Online Children’s Program in Western Armenian

Adrine Hakobian
 by Contributor

 

 October 6, 2021

 

in Latest, News, Top Stories
 
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Armenian Communities Department logo

A new, high-quality creative program has been launched for children in Western Armenian. Entertaining, humorous and educational, the online videos can be found on Yertik.com and on the Yertik Youtube channel.

Through songs, stories, games, puppets, puzzles, sketches, and more, Yertik creates a playful and safe environment where children up to 12-years-old can have fun while developing their communication skills. Children acquire new vocabulary, learn or improve their knowledge of Western Armenian, and, most importantly, find a new and exciting world in the language that speaks to their daily lives in the Diaspora.

Yertik produces two original weekly videos. «Ակուլ Տուկուլ» (Agool Doogool) is for two-to-six-year-olds. Both Armenian-speaking and non-Armenian-speaking children are able to watch and follow the program. They will become familiar with unique characters, allowing children to develop their listening skills, observational skills, creativity, and memory.

«Ալնիս Բալնիս» (Alniss Palniss) is for seven-to-twelve-year-olds. The program covers different daily subjects, allowing children and preteens to improve their communication skills in the Armenian language, as well as to develop their analytical skills. The videos allow for moments of creative brainstorming and foster debates over a variety of themes using new vocabulary. The program encourages children to build upon their curiosity and investigate the “why” and the “how.”

Yertik is a new program funded by the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Its creative content and execution are ensured by a group of young men and women, inspired by the Foundation’s Zarmanazan language immersion initiative. The Yertik team is composed of Vahan Kerovpyan, Sevana Tchakerian, Kayane Gavrilof, Hrayr Kalemkerian, Anouche Mekhsian, Vahakn Keshishian and Dzavy Bilalian.

Yertik.com can be used by educators, parents and grandparents to enrich their efforts to teach Western Armenian and to live in the language. It is an educational tool that is based on the philosophy of language acquisition through fun activities and an enjoyable environment.

For more information about this project and other initiatives visit the website and subscribe to the newsletter.

Armenia "doesn’t know what Baku transports through its airspace"

Adrine Hakobian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Oct 7 2021
October 7, 2021 – 18:49 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Head of the Civil Aviation Committee Tatevik Revazian has said the Armenian side does not what or whom Azerbaijani planes are carrying to Nakhijevan when using Armenia's airspace.

Revazian made the remarks in an interview with the Public Television on Wednesday, October 6, in response to a statement from Baku, according to which Azerbaijan has begun to use the airspace of Armenia for domestic passenger flights to Nakhijevan․

Weighing in on concerns about the contents of the aircraft, Revazian said Azerbaijan has no right to transport weapons using a civilian plane. The official added that Armenia has never closed its airspace to Azerbaijan who stopped using it in 2014.

On 12 November 2014, an Armenian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down by Azerbaijani Armed Forces during a training flight in Nagorno-Karabakh, killing all three crew members.

"Azerbaijan has never, in fact, closed its border for Armenian aircraft either, except during the 44-day war. We have never used Azerbaijan's airspace because it was not commercially justified," Revazian added.

Armenia’s Pashinyan congratulates Russia’s Putin on birthday

Adrine Hakobian

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 12:57, 7 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on birthday, the PM’s Office said today.

“Dear Mr. President,

Accept my sincere congratulations on your birthday.

The rich experience of state and political activity aimed at implementing the goals deriving from the interests of development of Russia, as well as your consistent efforts aimed at further strengthening the country’s role in the global field, have ensured worthy respect to you in the homeland and abroad.

Your personal contribution to the strengthening of the allied relations between Russia and Armenia is indisputable. We are grateful for your efforts on establishing lasting and stable peace in South Caucasus.

I sincerely value our mutual understanding and reliable relations.

Dear Mr. President, I wish you good health, happiness and new achievements in your responsible position”, reads the PM’s letter.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian FM highly appreciates position of Czech Republic on NK conflict settlement

Adrine Hakobian

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 20:24, 1 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met on October 1 with Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jakub Kulhánek, who is in Armenia on a working visit. The meeting started in the format of a private conversation, followed by an expanded-format meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, the Armenian FM expressed satisfaction with the high level of political dialogue with the Czech Republic and the format of consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries.

Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of the Armenian-Czech Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation as an effective platform for practical discussions and outlining activities for fully realizing the existing potential in the trade and economic sphere. Renewable energy, financial and banking sector, tourism, agriculture and healthcare were pointed out as promising directions for the development of cooperation. In this context, the holding of the Armenian-Czech business forum in Yerevan on the same day was also discussed.

Ararat Mirzoyan noted that the Eastern Partnership is a key platform in the Armenia-EU relations, it is necessary to make efforts to further strengthen the cooperation based on inclusion, equality and shared values of the EaP.

In the context of regional stability and security issues, the sides exchanged views on the humanitarian situation in Artsakh resulted by the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression. Ararat Mirzoyan drew special attention to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war, civilian hostages being held in Azerbaijan, emphasizing the need for their immediate, unconditional repatriation.

The Armenian FM praised the Czech Republic's position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, that is, support for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Minister Mirzoyan reaffirmed Armenia's readiness to resume the full process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the basis of the well-known principles and elements.

At the end of the meeting Ararat Mirzoyan and Jakub Kulhánek made a joint statement for the press.

Ombudsman’s proposal to create demilitarized zone around Armenia’s borders included in PACE resolution

Adrine Hakobian

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 11:15, 28 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The proposal of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan to create a demilitarized zone between Armenia and Azerbaijan is being actively circulated within the international community. The proposal has been submitted to the special rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) with proving facts.

Particularly, the PACE resolution on the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was adopted yesterday in Strasbourg, which, among other issues, calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate on a process of delimitation and demarcation of the border and examine the possibility of creating a demilitarized zone with the presence of a peacekeeping or military monitoring force.

The Office of the Ombudsman reports that the meetings and discussions of Arman Tatoyan of the past one year with the representatives of various international organizations were aimed at proving that the only efficient option to prevent the criminal acts of the Azerbaijani armed servicemen is to create a security (demilitarized) zone.

“The deployment of Azerbaijani troops on the roads between the Armenian communities, their flags and banners, have no legal ground, they must be removed and a security zone must be created.

Moreover, only the demarcation and delimitation with Azerbaijan without the creation of a security zone not only would not ensure the rights of the Armenian citizens and especially the border residents, but will become a reason for new violations of rights and new tension”, the statement made by the Office of the Ombudsman says.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

PACE sets out steps to address humanitarian consequences of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh

Adrine Hakobian
Council of Europe
Sept 29 2021
PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY SESSION STRASBOURG 29 SEPTEMBER 2021

Following the recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan / Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, PACE has set out a series of recommendations to both countries to address the humanitarian consequences in the short and long term, and move towards a process of peace and reconciliation.

Approving a resolution and recommendation on the basis of a report by Paul Gavan (Ireland, UEL), who visited both countries, the Assembly said it was “concerned about the many allegations of crimes, war crimes and other wrongful acts,” during the six-week war, listing the most serious. It called on both countries to “fully investigate the allegations and bring to justice anyone, including at command level, found to be responsible” and to co-operate fully with the European Court of Human Rights on the complaints lodged against them. “Unless there is accountability and some form of truth and reconciliation, these allegations will poison relations between the two countries for generations, and the consequences of the conflict will linger,” the parliamentarians pointed out.

While welcoming the recent release by Azerbaijan of 15 Armenians on 12 June 2021 and a further release of 15 persons on 3 July 2021, bringing the total of those repatriated to above 100, the Assembly also called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all remaining captives and return them to Armenia without further delay.