Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

Armenian representative gets acquainted with detention conditions of Istanbul-Armenian intellectual Sevan Nishanian

Andranik Taslakhchian

Save

Share

 18:13, 3 January, 2022

YEREVAN, JANUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. The representative of the Embassy of Armenia in Greece got acquainted with the detention conditions of Istanbul-Armenian intellectual Sevan Nishanian, ARMENPRESS reports the Embassy said on its Facebook page.

“Today, the representative of the Armenian Embassy in Greece visited the police department of Samos island where Istanbul-Armenian intellectual Sevan Nishanyan is located, got acquainted with the conditions”, the Embassy said.

Earlier, the embassy reported that it was aware of the process taking place around the Armenian intellectual from Istanbul, citizen of the Republic of Armenia Sevan Nishanian, and was taking all possible steps to resolve the issue.

Sevan Nishanian was sentenced to 17 years in prison in Turkey in 2014, but escaped from prison in 2017. On July 25, 2017, Nishanian applied to the Greek authorities for asylum. The Greek government has not extended the residence permit for Nishanian on the occasion of her marriage to a Greek citizen, which expired on December 29. According to the media reports, Nishanian was arrested on December 30 due to the expiration of his residence status. It is mentioned that a decision will be made to deport Nishanian.

Nishanian was arrested for allegedly some “construction frauds”. However, the media had stated that he was imprisoned because of publicly criticizing the Turkish Government. He always raised the issue of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey.




Armenia, Azerbaijan could "soon" create border commission – Russia

Andranik Taslakhchian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Dec 29 2021
December 29, 2021 – 16:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A commission on the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be created "soon", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

He recalled that the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on November 26 to create a bilateral commission on the delimitation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with advisory assistance from Russia.

“We presume that this will happen soon. We do not see any insurmountable obstacles to the implementation of this agreement at the highest level,” said the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Rudenko noted that from the very beginning of the escalation of the situation on certain sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in May, Russia has been acting as a mediator, offering its assistance in launching the corresponding negotiation process.

According to the Deputy Minister, the incidents are not directly related to the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers. The problem was inherited from Soviet times and is due to the lack of proper international legal registration of the state border between the two countries.

Azerbaijani forces violated Armenia’s border in several sections in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik on May 12 and 13 and are still refusing to withdraw their troops from the area. On November 16, the Azerbaijani side launched a fresh offensive in the province of Syunik, during which Armenian soldiers were killed and taken captive.

Carpet production drops sharply in Armenia in ten months

Andranik Taslakhchian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 29 2021

The production of carpets continues declining in Armenia, the latest official statistics show.

The country manufactured a total of 2.6 tons of carpets and carpet products in January-October 2021, which was a drop of 59.4% compared to the same period of 2020, the Statistical Committee said.

Incidentally, 6.4 tons of carpets were manufactured in Armenia in January-October last year and 26.2 tons of carpets in the same months of 2019.

Pécresse reception was official, while no request was made for Zemmour – Armenian presidency explains

Andranik Taslakhchian

Save

Share

 15:08,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Recently, the delegation led by the Head of the Île-de-France Regional Council and French presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse, visited Armenia.

A few days prior to that visit another French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour had arrived in Armenia.

If the President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received Mrs. Pécresse at his Residence, in the case of Zemmour, such a reception or meeting did not take place.

In response to the question of ARMENPRESS , the Office of the President informed the following: “The RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France Mrs. Hasmik Tolmajyan applied to the Office of the President with an offer and request to officially organize the meeting. The RA Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan accompanied the delegation led by Mrs. Pécresse and was present at the official meeting with the RA President Armen Sarkissian. It should be noted that this is not a matter of meeting with a presidential candidate of the French Republic, but the visit of an official delegation from France headed by Mrs. Valérie Pécresse, the current head of the regional council of Île-de-France, one of the largest regions in France. We have decades of effective cooperation with that region. In the case of the French journalist and commentator Éric Zemmour, the Office of the RA President has not officially received such an application or offer of a meeting.”

Cavusoglu: Turkish-Armenian Protocols of 2009 have lost their significance

Andranik Taslakhchian
 NEWS.am 
Dec 27 2021
15:47, 27.12.2021

Ankara is focused on long-term peace and stability in the South Caucasus. This was stated by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Anatolian news agency reports.

"As for the protocols [on normalization with Armenia from 2009], the meaning in these documents has disappeared.

Goodwill was shown during the signing period. However, as you know, the most important points of these protocols were annulled by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, so these documents have become a thing of the past. Unfortunately, they did not have any success in the conditions of that period.

Today we are talking about a new process within which steps are possible to normalize relations, which will contribute to peace, stability and development in the South Caucasus," the Turkish minister continued.

Azerbaijan which destroys monuments is attempting to conceal its vandalism

Andranik Taslakhchian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 23 2021
11:12, 23.12.2021

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has always been proud of the religious and cultural monuments in its territory, considering them part of its historical and cultural heritage. The people of Artsakh are also concerned about the preservation of Russian religious and cultural heritage monuments. This is noted in the statement disseminated by the Embassy of Armenia in Greece. The statement continues as follows, in particular:

It is noteworthy that the state budget of the Artsakh Republic envisages expenditures for the preservation and restoration of historical and cultural monuments every year, as the domain of preservation, study, and use of historical and cultural monuments is one of the most important and special domains of the history and culture of the Artsakh Republic.

The Russian Holy Mother of God Church is located in Gevorgavan precinct of the Martuni region of the Artsakh Republic. The church was built more than 100 years ago by immigrants from Russia. It is made of limestone, yellowish in appearance. It has two entrances, which open from the west and north sides. There are more than two dozen windows. The parishioners of the church were Russian settlers. In 1989, the restoration work of the church began, which was interrupted due to the [military] aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, during which the church again suffered great damage. Before the start of the war in 2020, the government of the Artsakh Republic was working on a project to restore the church and was looking for a sponsor to start the restoration work.

Thus, the propaganda material disseminated by an Anastasia Lavrina and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Greece in Greek translation about the Armenian side’s alleged "encroachments" on the Russian Orthodox religious heritage in the territory of the Artsakh Republic is another provocative, groundless, and false disinformation. It aims to spread hatred towards Armenians and try to drive a wedge in the relations between Armenia and its relatives. The country [i.e., Azerbaijan] that deliberately destroys cultural monuments is trying to cover up, with baseless accusations, the numerous cases of vandalism committed by it.

Despite the rulings of the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijani officials continue to spread targeted racial hatred [against Armenians] and do not take any steps to stop the destruction of Armenian cultural heritage.

Putin, Macron discuss Nagorno Karabakh settlement over the phone

Andranik Taslakhchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 21 2021
, 20:10

 Less than a minute

The Presidents of Russia and France Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed the Nagorno Karabakh issue over the phone today, the Kremlin reports.

The parties expressed satisfaction with the stabilization of the situation and the efforts being made to establish a peaceful life, restore economic and transport ties in the region.

It was noted that Russia and France act synchronously on the issues and intend to act so in the future.

Vladimir Putin congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his birthday, the leaders also exchanged good wishes ahead of Christmas and New Year.

First President of Armenia, Russian Ambassador discuss regional developments

Andranik Taslakhchian

Save

Share

 17:23,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. First President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan had a meeting today with Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin, Ter-Petrosyan’s spokesperson Arman Musinyan said on social media.

The meeting took place at the former President’s house.

“During the meeting they exchanged views about the regional developments and praised the stabilization trends that are being noticed”, the spokesperson said.

Ombudsman: Grounds for arrest of four repatriated Armenian soldiers unconvincing

Andranik Taslakhchian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 16 2021

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan questioned the legality of the arrest of four Armenian soldiers who returned from Azerbaijani captivity, stating the arrest grounds are unconvincing.

In a public post on Facebook on Thursday, he said it is about the soldiers who were taken prisoner after the Azerbaijani military attack on Armenia on November 14 and 16 and then were returned.

Tatoyan noted that the Human Rights Defender's Office will study the circumstances of the soldiers' captivity, the actions ascribed to them and then submit the results in writing to the law enforcement agency dealing with the case.

In his words, statements by a number of senior members of the executive and legislative bodies of Armenia, which are not related to criminal proceedings and violate the presumption of innocence of detained soldiers.

"The statements were made before the servicemen returned from Azerbaijani captivity and were biased. They violate human rights and are illegal. Moreover, they were widely disseminated in Armenian and international media," Tatoyan wrote.

He stressed that these public statements have had an impact on the investigative body.

Tatoyan noted that there is abundant evidence of the Azerbaijani military’s crimes against Armenian captives. Therefore, the human rights defender will demand a written explanation as to what measures have been taken by the investigative body to reveal violations of the rights of servicemen, identify the perpetrators and hold them to account.

“This this statement does not call into question the launch of criminal cases or criminal prosecutions under the articles in question. It is about the legality of the imprisonment of four servicemen who returned from captivity,” the ombudsman said.

Russian peacekeepers will complete the duty of returning all Armenian POWs – Rustam Muradov

Andranik Taslakhchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 9 2021
December 9, 2021, 13:12

 1 minute read

The Russian peacekeepers will complete the task of returning all Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan,Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District Rustam Muradov said in an interview with TASS.

He said all Azerbaijani servicemen captured during the war in 2020 had been returned with the assistance of the Russian peacekeepers, while the work on the return of captured Armenian soldiers continues.

“There is understanding. I believe that this issue should be completely closed. And Russian peacekeepers will bring this matter to an end,” Muradov said.

He noted that he sees the return of prisoners as a civil duty of a peacekeeper.

“As a military man, I understand who the prisoners of war are, what feelings they experience while in captivity. I remember the first flight when we flew to Baku, and upon my return I saw the faces of those servicemen when they landed at Erebuni airfield in Yerevan. There were tears, they did not believe that they had returned home,” said Rustam Muradov.

Under he trilateral statement signed by leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, the parties undertook to exchange all prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons, and dead bodies.