Author: Ani Basmajian

Turkish press: UEFA fines Olympique Marseille over pro-Armenia banner

Ani Basmajian
Esra Taşkın   |08.03.2022


PARIS

UEFA fined France's Olympique Marseille on Tuesday over a "provocative and offensive" banner that fans displayed during a recent match against an Azerbaijani team from the Karabakh region. 

The French club were fined €20,000 ($21,800) for the banner emblazoned with a pro-Armenian message on the region that was liberated by Azerbaijan in 2020 after nearly three decades of occupation.

They were fined another €24,250 for the presence of fans in corridors that should be left empty in the stands, as well as the use of smoke bombs during a UEFA Europa Conference League match against Qarabag on Feb. 17.

Olympique Marseille beat Qarabag 3-1 at home in the first leg of the Europa Conference League playoffs at Stade Velodrome.

They eliminated Qarabag after winning 6-1 on aggregate. 

The French club will face Switzerland's Basel on March 10 in a first leg Round of 16 match in Marseille.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan

Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

The fighting ended, after Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years, with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.  

*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

Moscow is seeking parity in its relations with Yerevan and Baku, Russian expert says

Ani Basmajian
ARM INFO
March 2 2022
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. Moscow is seeking parity in its relations with Yerevan and Baku. Evidence thereof is the Declaration on Allied Relations recently signed by Russia and  Azerbaijan, Russian political scientist Andrey Areshev said in an  interview with ArmInfo. 

The declaration was signed in Moscow on February 22. Some of its 44  points deal with the bilateral military cooperation.  

"I see the motive behind the signed document, namely, Russia's desire  to maintain equally close and mutually beneficial relations with both  Armenia and Azerbaijan. And the practically identical documents on  Russian-Armenian alliance and now on Russian-Azerbaijani alliance  form the necessary legal basis for that. And the declaration signed  in Moscow enables Russia to successfully maintain parity in its  military and technical cooperation with both the states as well," he  said. 

According to Mr Areshev, Russia will seek to make Azerbaijan  increasingly dependent by supplying spare parts for the weapons  Azerbaijan once purchased from it and by ensuring regular  maintenance. On the other hand, by actively and consistently  upgrading Armenia's armed forces, Russia will continue its own policy  of maintaining parity between the two parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict over the last to decades. 

In the context of the willingness for peace stated by Armenia's  ruling force, Mr Areshev does not expect Yerevan to express its  discontent with the Russian-Azerbaijani relations reaching a new  level. On the other hand, at lower levels negative opinions can and  will be voiced. The expert is sure that Baku coordinated the signing  of the Azerbaijan-Russian declaration with Ankara.

In this context, Mr Areshev highlights the importance of the  declaration for Azerbaijan as an element of balance with its close  ties with Turkey. Since the Shushi Declaration was signed the need  for Baku to diversify its relations with Turkey in the context of its  relations with the other centers of power, in particular with Russia,  has become increasingly urgent. And the current political turbulence  in the South Caucasus and Black Sea region only corroborates it.

Georgia to apply for EU membership

Ani Basmajian 
OC Media


2 March 2022

Georgia will on Thursday officially apply for EU membership, the chair
of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Irakli Kobakhidze, has announced.

‘The Georgian Government, led by Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili,
is already preparing an application for EU candidate status, which
will be officially submitted to EU structures on behalf of the
Georgian government tomorrow,’ Kobakhidze said at a briefing at the
Georgian Dream HQ on Wednesday evening.

The move follows Ukraine’s decision to apply for EU membership on
Monday, amidst the Russian invasion of the country.

It represents a U-turn for Kobakhidze, and the Government, who up
until yesterday had insisted they would not move up their previous
plan to apply for membership in 2024.

The government has come under increasing pressure from the opposition
and thousands of protesters who have been gathering outside parliament
to do more to help Ukraine. Submitting an immediate application to the
EU has also been among protesters’ demands.

During the briefing on Wednesday, Kobakhidze also slammed the
Ukrainian government for recalling their Ambassador to Georgia on
Tuesday. President Zelensky cited the Georgian Government’s ‘immoral
stance’ on sanctions as well as for blocking a flight scheduled to
bring Georgian volunteers to fight in Ukraine.

‘This decision is not just unjustified, it is completely illogical for
many reasons’, Kobakhidze said.

‘If the reason for recalling the ambassador was the non-imposition of
sanctions, we would like to remind you that a number of countries have
refused to impose sanctions, including Moldova, Turkey, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Israel and others. However, the Ukrainian authorities have
not recalled their an ambassador from any of these countries.’

Kobakhidze also took the opportunity to attack the opposition, who he
once again accused of trying to foment a war with Russia.

‘By secretly trying to drag the country into war and sanctions, these
people are once again asserting that both in 2008 and now they are
hostile and betraying the country, and that is the only motivation for
their actions.’

‘This effort is being coordinated from Georgia by the United National
Movement, which, as everyone knows, has many representatives in the
Ukrainian government, including in the president’s immediate
entourage.’

COVID-19: Over 320 new cases, 17 deaths in Armenia

Ani Basmajian

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 11:15, 1 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. 324 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed over the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 420,156, the Armenian Ministry of Healthcare reported.

17 people died, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 8478.

1239 people recovered (total recoveries: 402,916).

4076 tests were administered (total tests: 2,898,664).

As of March 1, the number of active cases stood at 7150.

Asbarez: Long-time ARF Activist, Leader Krikor Achekian Passes Away

Ani Basmajian
 by Contributor

 

 March 1, 2022

 

in Community, Featured Story, Latest, Top Stories
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Krikor Achekian

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western U.S. Central Committee announces the passing of long-time activist and organizational leader Krikor Achekian, who died on Sunday, February 27 in Los Angeles.

Ung. Achekian served several term on the Western U.S Central Committee and brought his experience and knowhow to myriad project to advance the Armenian Cause.

He also held leadership positions in the ARF Eastern United States, as well as Lebanon, where he was active as a youth activist, academician and writer.

ARF Western U.S. Central Committee

Baerbock convenes an online call of Foreign Ministers of G7 on Russia

Ani Basmajian

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 20:05,

YEREVAN, 22 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock convened an online call of G7 Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation over Russia, ARMENRPESS reports, “RIA Novosti” informs, citing the statement of the German Foreign Ministry.

“Foreign Minister Baerbock convened an online conference of G7 Foreign Ministers, today. The G7 continues the close and consistent coordination on the Russia crisis”, reads the Twitter page of the German Foreign Ministry.

Armenia and Artsakh Republic united in the fair fight for realization of national aspirations

Ani Basmajian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 20 2022
, 20:20

 1 minute read

Armenia and Artsakh continue to be united in the fair fight for the realization of national aspirations, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia said in a statement on Artsakh Revival Day.

“On February 20, 1988, the Council of People’s Deputies of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast made a historic decision to peacefully strive for putting an end to the decades-long policy of ethnic discrimination and cleansing against the Armenians of Artsakh and the realization of their right to self-determination,” the Ministry said.

“These events of 1988 laid the foundation for the pan-Armenian movement – a struggle for the right to free, safe and dignified life in one’s own homeland and the protection of rights,” it added.

“After 34 years, despite the horrific massacres and ethnic cleansing carried out by the Azerbaijani SSR and then two bloody Karabakh wars, Armenia and Artsakh continue to be united in the fair fight for the realization of national aspirations, statehood, sovereignty, rights of the Armenians of Artsakh, and international recognition of the homeland,” the statement reads.

Study on 2 two sections to be restored of Armenia-Azerbaijan railway to begin in 10 days

Ani Basmajian
 NEWS.am 
Armenia – Feb 14 2022
16:48, 14.02.2022

In about ten days, the specialists will start conducting instrumental studies on the two sections to be restored of the Armenia-Azerbaijan railway, on the basis of which a plan will be developed. Artashes Tumanyan, the head of the Armenian working group of the railway restoration program—and who is also an adviser to the Prime Minister of Armenia—, stated about this on the air of RFE/RL Armenian Service.

"Moreover, not only the members of our working group, but also the specialists of the Russian railway will take part in the work of that group," Tumanyan added.

However, it is not yet known on the Armenian side as to when the respective construction will start. According to the Armenian PM's adviser, in order to start that work, the relevant agreements reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan need to be specified in a document.

"It can be bilateral, or a third party, too. But at least the two parties must commit to doing that because those infrastructures must join, must work together," said the head of the aforementioned Armenian working group.

Tumanyan noted that it will take just a few months to restore the Yeraskh section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan railway, whereas three years—in the Meghri section, where a 45-kilometer railway will be built.

As per the Armenian premier’s adviser, it is not clear yet for Armenia as to how much this work will cost.

"But it does not end with that alone because there are also adjacent structures; for example, customs points. It is not the railway; but if we do not have all those infrastructures, we will not have a working infrastructure," Artashes Tumanyan concluded.

Lavrov, Blinken discuss situation around Ukraine over phone

Ani Basmajian

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 16:57,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephone conversation on Saturday discussing the current developments around Ukraine, TASS reports citing the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement.

“The minister stressed that the propaganda crusade on ‘Russia’s aggression’ against Ukraine unleashed by the United States and its allies pursued provocative goals, encouraging the Kiev regime to sabotage the Minsk agreements and undertake harmful attempts of resolving the ‘Donbass problem’ with the use of force”, the ministry said as quoted by TASS.