Author: Anna Tamamian

President Khachaturyan receives Armenian Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia

Anna Tamamian

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 15:34,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan received Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, His Beatitude Raphaël Bedros Minassian, the Presidential Office said.

Raphaël Bedros Minassian thanked the President for the welcome and congratulated the latter on assuming office, wishing a productive activity.

President Khachaturyan highly appreciated the role of the Armenian Church especially in the preservation of the nation’s identity.

“Your work is of great importance for our people. Historically it has always pursued one goal – to preserve our type and help our people get out of difficulties”, the President said.

The Armenian Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia agreed with the President, stating that it was possible to move forward with joint efforts and by helping each other.

The meeting also touched upon the national-church issues, as well as the role and significance of the Armenian church in Diaspora.

Azerbaijan president does not like it when senior Armenia officials talk about OSCE Minsk Group

Anna Tamamian
NEWS.am
13:30, 22.04.2022

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev does not like it when high-ranking Armenian officials talk about the OSCE Minsk Group, which was set up to "perpetuate the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia," Azerbaijani media reported.

"As for the mediators, unfortunately, today high-ranking officials in Armenia still speak about the Minsk Group. I think it's nonsense, and it does not make sense. The Minsk Group was actually paralyzed in 2019. This group, which received a mandate to resolve this issue in 1992, has achieved virtually no results. Now, looking at the history, actions, and proposals of its group, we can see once again that it was created not to solve the problem, but to perpetuate the occupation [of Azerbaijani territories]," Aliyev said in his address at the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis—in the Azerbaijani-occupied Armenian city of Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

"I am often asked what will happen to the OSCE Minsk Group. I have said that the OSCE Minsk Group will mark its 30th anniversary in 2022, and then retire. But after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, they do not even have the opportunity to mark the anniversary," Aliyev added.

Pashinyan briefs President of Artsakh on Russia talks concerning NK conflict

Anna Tamamian

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 15:40,

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he has informed President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan on the content of his talks in Moscow related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

“This isn’t anything new. I’ve always done so after my talks and discussions in Russia, Europe or here in Armenia, and the President of Artsakh in turn presented the results of these negotiations to the political elite of Artsakh,” Pashinyan said.

“After each phase of negotiations I am sharing in detail the information with the most various governmental and political circles of Armenia. I have always displayed readiness to share this content also with the parliamentary opposition but they are always rejecting such discussions, perhaps, for understandable reasons, to create legends on some conspiracy theories and put these legends in the foundation of their activities,” the PM added.

Armenian PM rules out signing any document on NK conflict without “broad public discussion”

Anna Tamamian

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 16:03,

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan rules out signing any document on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict without a “broad public discussion.”

“I rule out, I simply rule out that a document can exist close to getting signed that would be signed without a broad public discussion, including with all layers of Artsakh’s public. This is a guarantee, an iron guarantee that the fate of Artsakh cannot be decided behind the back of the people,” Pashinyan said.

He says that in this regard the pessimists are mentioning the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement as an example of a document that was singed without a broad public discussion. However, Pashinyan rejected the comparison. “This is an odd comparison because in wartime a decision was to be made within hours and sometimes minutes to save thousands of Artsakhis, 25 thousand troops and save Artsakh from exodus of Armenians and these comparisons are simply inappropriate. But on the other hand our entire policy and steps are aimed at this very issue, so that we don’t have to make decisions in such conditions,” the PM said.

Pashinyan added that the society is now aware of the content of all documents that are subject to negotiations. “It is the 5-points handed over by Azerbaijan and our response to it which was essentially entirely published through interviews and speeches and we will continue this conduct in the future as much as inter-state diplomatic ethics allows,” Pashinyan said.

Italian translation of Dantesque Legend by Charents published

Anna Tamamian

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 11:02,

YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. The Italian translation of Dantesque Legend (translator Pierpaolo Faggi)– a poem by Yeghishe Charents – was presented at the Arno Babajanyan Concert Hall in Yerevan.

The bilingual version of the Armenian writer’s book was published on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of birth of Charents. The Armenian-Italian cooperation was realized through joint efforts of the Actual Art Publishing House and Pontem Armeniae Translation Office.

The book features other poems by Charents, translated by the book’s editor Grigor Ghazaryan.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 04/14/2022

Anna Tamamian 
                                        Thursday, 


Karabakh Leaders Warn Pashinian

        • Susan Badalian
        • Artak Khulian

Nagorno-Karabakh - The main government buildings in Stepanakert, September 7, 
2019.


Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership on Thursday criticized Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian and warned him against helping Azerbaijan regain control over the 
Armenian-populated territory.

“Any attempt to incorporate Artsakh into Azerbaijan would lead to bloodshed and 
the destruction of Artsakh,” said Davit Babayan, the Karabakh foreign minister. 
“And after the destruction of Artsakh there would be no Republic of Armenia.”

Pashinian said on Thursday that the international community is pressing Armenia 
to “lower a bit the bar on the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and 
recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to 
make such concessions to Baku, fuelling more opposition allegations that he has 
agreed to Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.

Babayan said Pashinian’s remarks caused a “wave of discontent” in Karabakh. He 
said he believes that they are also unacceptable to most residents of Armenia as 
well as the worldwide Armenian Diaspora.

“We have no bars anymore, we have only red lines drawn by blood,” added the 
Karabakh official. “Our red line is that we will not be part of Azerbaijan. This 
is out of the question.”

Davit Babayan, the Karabakh foreign minister, is interviewed by RFE/RL in 
Stepanakert, March 31, 2022.

Pashinian, he went on, is wrong to claim that “the whole international community 
is against us.” “Even if the whole international community is against us … we 
will still fight till the end,” said Babayan.

The Karabakh parliament debated the implications of Pashinian’s statement at an 
emergency session held later on Thursday. In a resolution adopted by it 
unanimously, it demanded that the Armenian authorities “abandon their current 
disastrous position.”

“No government has a right to lower the negotiating bar for a status acceptable 
to Artsakh and the internationally recognized right to self-determination under 
the pretext of peace,” reads the resolution.

Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, discussed the matter with with local 
politicians and civil society members during separate meetings held in 
Stepanakert on Wednesday. He stressed that the Karabakh Armenians will not give 
up their right to self-determination.

Meanwhile, Pashinian defended and reaffirmed his stance when he again addressed 
the Armenian parliament on Thursday.

“What I’ve been saying is all about not surrendering Karabakh … If we follow a 
difference path we will surrender Karabakh,” the Armenian prime minister told 
lawmakers.

Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses the Armenian parliament, Aprl 
13, 2022.

“I have the impression that there are people who dream about seeing the 
population leave Karabakh as soon as possible,” he said. “No, what we are saying 
is that the people of Karabakh must not leave Karabakh, the people of Karabakh 
must live in Karabakh, the people of Karabakh must have rights, freedoms and a 
status.”

Pashinian again declined to specify what that status should be.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly ruled out granting Karabakh 
any status of autonomy, let alone recognizing its de facto secession from 
Azerbaijan. Aliyev maintains that Baku put an end to the Karabakh conflict with 
its victory in the 2020 war.

Pashinian and Aliyev met in Brussels on April 6 for talks on an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani “peace treaty” hosted by Charles Michel, the European 
Union’s top official. Aliyev said after the talks that “Armenia is renouncing 
territorial claims” to his country.



Turkish FM Expects ‘More Courageous’ Steps From Yerevan

        • Tatevik Sargsian

TURKEY - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mavlut Cavusoglu (R) shakes hands with 
Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 
(ADF) in Antalya, March 12, 2022.


Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu complained on Thursday that Armenia 
remains reluctant to hold the next rounds of Turkish-Armenian negotiations on 
normalizing bilateral relations in Yerevan or Ankara.

He said the Armenian side should become “more courageous” and stop insisting on 
third countries being the venues of those talks.

“On one hand, you say that relations must be normalized and the 
[Turkish-Armenian] border must be opened,” Cavusoglu told the Turkish NTV 
channel. “On the other hand, you do not dare to meet in Turkey and Yerevan.”

“If you don’t agree to even meet in each other’s countries how are you going to 
take steps on other issues?” he said, appealing to Yerevan.

Special envoys of the two neighboring states met in Moscow in January and in 
Vienna in February for talks described by both sides as productive. In a related 
development, Cavusoglu and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met last 
month on the sidelines of an international security forum held in the Turkish 
city of Antalya.

Cavusoglu said that the envoys’ next meeting will again be held in Vienna. But 
he gave no date for it.

Ankara has for decades linked the establishment of diplomatic relations with 
Yerevan and the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border to a resolution of the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. Cavusoglu has repeatedly 
made clear that his government will coordinate the Turkish-Armenian 
normalization talks with Baku.

The chief Turkish diplomat on Thursday stressed the importance of last week’s 
meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev that took place in Brussels. He said he has discussed the 
summit hosted by the European Union with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun 
Bayramov.

Pashinian said on Wednesday that the Turkish-Armenian dialogue enjoys strong 
international support and that his government intends to continue it.



Moscow Rejects Armenian Criticism Of Russian Peacekeepers


Russia - Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a news 
briefing in Moscow, January 20, 2022.


Responding to criticism by Armenia, Russia said on Thursday that its 
peacekeeping forces did not breach any agreements when they refused to allow 
Armenian opposition parliamentarians to visit Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this week.

The deputies representing Armenia’s two main opposition groups headed to 
Karabakh on Tuesday as part of their campaign against far-reaching Armenian 
concessions to Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers manning a checkpoint in the 
Lachin corridor connecting Armenia and Karabakh did not allow them to proceed to 
Stepanakert.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the peacekeepers’ actions, 
saying that they run counter to the terms of the Russian-brokered ceasefire that 
stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in November 2020. Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian echoed the criticism on Wednesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said the Russian 
soldiers acted “in strict conformity” with the truce accord. Claims to the 
contrary “do not correspond to reality,” she said.

“We expect that given the incidents that have taken place both in the zone of 
responsibility of the [Russian Peacekeeping Contingent] and at certain sections 
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, both sides will refrain from steps that 
could further aggravate the situation in the region,” Zakharova added in written 
comments. She did not clarify the reason for the travel ban.

Armenian opposition leaders claim that they were barred from entering Karabakh 
at the behest of Armenia’s government. They argue that lawmakers representing 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party condemned the trip when it was announced 
by their opposition colleagues beforehand.

The government has denied any responsibility for the unprecedented ban.

Pashinian and the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan have also criticized the 
peacekeepers for not preventing Azerbaijani troops from seizing a village in 
Karabakh and nearby hills late last month. They have repeatedly called on Moscow 
to investigate the peacekeepers’ “inactivity.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov appeared to dismiss the criticism after 
holding talks with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow on April 8.

“Calls for bringing this contingent to account and conducting an internal 
inquiry, which are sometimes voiced, do not reflect the real attitude of the 
Armenian people and leadership towards the huge role that the Russian 
peacekeeping contingent plays in maintaining stability in this region,” said 
Lavrov.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Photographer Winslow Martin to present ‘We Wait For Your Return: A Love Letter to Armenia’

Anna Tamamian
April 7, 2022 Guest Contributor Photography, Announcements 1

Collecting flowers near a tank commemorating the Armenian army’s victory over Azerbaijan in Shushi, Nagorno Karabagh, on May 9th, 1992 (Photo: Winslow Martin/‘We Wait For Your Return: A Love Letter to Armenia’)

BOSTON, Mass.—American photographer and storyteller Winslow Martin will be offering a moving love letter to Armenia with We Wait For Your Return, a night of intimate stories, evocative imagery and music celebrating the beauty and soul of the Armenian people. Martin will take audience members on a unique journey from Watertown, Massachusetts, to Armenia with the help of award-winning Armenian composer Astghik Martirosyan and a five-piece band. We Wait For Your Return: A Love Letter to Armenia will premiere Saturday, May 7 at 8:00 PM at Blackman Auditorium on the campus of Northeastern University (342 Huntington Avenue). Tickets are available online.

The images from We Wait For Your Return form a remarkable tapestry, one photo a probing portrait, the next a poignant still life, another an extraordinary scene of a distinctive Armenian landscape, challenging and rewarding the viewer with the use of composition and light. Martin connects each image in We Wait For Your Return through his storytelling, taking audience members on a spiritual and artistic journey from his first meeting with Father Dajad Davidian at a Watertown church, through the deepening of their friendship, as it played out across their adventures together in Armenia.

Martin’s life as a photographer has been all about people—photographing the music world in Boston, serving as a commercial photographer and as senior staff photographer at Community Newspapers Company, where he was honored as Photographer of the Year by the New England Press Association. He is best known for documenting everyday life and historical events in Armenia, his passion for the last 20 years. Martin is now pouring all of his energy into sharing his Armenian images and stories with a broader audience. His purpose is simple—to bring greater attention and support to Armenia today, where Martin is spending April, preparing for a showcase of his work at the National Museum of Armenia in Yerevan.

“I fell in love with Armenia and I want to, in this performance, somehow give back to them,” said Martin. “When you are a photographer, you reach a point when the work isn’t just about you and the photography and your viewers. It is about what you owe to the people who so graciously opened their doors to you. You have to give back something because they have given so much of themselves.”

Martirosyan, an award-winning composer, has crafted a beautiful accompaniment to the evening. Armenian folk songs and liturgical music are interpreted in her arrangements along with her own original compositions, which support Martin’s storytelling and enhance the drama and emotion of his photographs. She will be the lead vocalist for  five-piece band, which will include a piano, bass, percussion and duduk, an Armenian reed instrument.

An Armenian born Los Angeles-based vocalist, composer and pianist, Martirosyan has collaborated and performed with renowned musicians including Dave Holland, Darek Oleszkiewicz and Johnny O’Neal. She is a recent recipient of the Magos Herrera Female Immigrant Musician Award (2022) from the International Human Rights Art Festival.

A portion of the proceeds from the evening will support Project SAVE, an organization that brings to light the culture and history of Armenians by making photographs and their stories, which otherwise would be lost, destroyed or forgotten, available for public and educational use.




Armenia gives special importance to inter-parliamentary cooperation development:PM’s message on CIS IPA 30th anniversary

Anna Tamamian

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 10:06, 29 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. On March 29, the delegation led by Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan took part in the meeting dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The Speakers of parliaments of the CIS states read the messages of the heads of their states.

Alen Simonyan presented the congratulatory message by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The message particularly reads:

“During the past years the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly has become a functioning platform of cooperation of the legislative bodies of the participant states. I am sure that we can jointly solve the items on the agenda of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, relying on the best traditions of the parliamentarism, to find effective solutions of such important problems, as the protection of the citizens’ constitutional rights and freedoms, the statehood, the cooperation between the wings of the power and the formation of the civil society.

The Republic of Armenia gives special importance to the persistent development of the inter-parliamentary cooperation. We are sure that the enrichment of the considerable experience of the multi-lateral cooperation within the framework of the IPA CIS from now on will also promote the effective activity of the legislative bodies of our countries, as well as the development of cooperation, in general, between our states.”

State budget revenues overfulfilled by several billion drams in first quarter – SRC Chairman

Anna Tamamian

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 13:20, 31 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. In the first quarter of 2022, the state budget revenues have been overfulfilled by several billion drams, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan said at the Cabinet meeting today.

“It was overfulfilled as of few days ago. Tomorrow we will sum up the full data. The talk is about the overfulfillment of the figure of the first quarter by several billion drams in case when we have not received our share of the EAEU common boiler this month”, Mr. Badasyan said.

As for the pessimistic expectations, Badasyan said this relates to other quarters.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he has no pessimistic expectations, is very optimistic, including in working discussions held with the SRC Chairman.

Karabakh HRD "regrets" lack of OSCE response to Azerbaijan’s violations

Anna Tamamian
PanArmenian
Armenia – April 2 2022
April 2, 2022 – 12:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan met with OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau on Friday, April 1 and expressed regret over the lack of a clear and targeted response from the OSCE to the violations of the rights of Karabakh Armenians by Azerbaijan.

During the meeting in Yerevan, Stepanyan presented the coordinated, systematic, and consistent policy of ethnic cleansing conducted by Azerbaijan aimed at the deprivation of the homeland of the people of Artsakh, as well as the manifestations of destruction and vandalism of Armenian cultural heritage in the occupied territories, malicious trials of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives, other violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

The Human Rights Defender weighed in on the current humanitarian situation in Artsakh, widespread violations of the rights of the people of Artsakh because of the anti-Armenian policy pursued by Azerbaijan, pointing out the problems caused by the deliberate disruption of gas supply and Azerbaijani military aggression in recent days.

The Ombudsman expressed regret over the lack of a clear and targeted response of the OSCE to the violations of human rights and fundamental principles of international law, emphasizing that in the current situation the international community shall act not only as a mediator but also as a guarantor of the protection of the rights of the people of Artsakh.

Stepanyan noted that the recent developments demonstrated that the effective protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms of the people of Artsakh demands the soonest and most comprehensive settlement of the conflict and solution of the issue of the status of Artsakh based on the respect of the free will of its people and right to self-determination.

Azerbaijan has broken into Nagorno-Karabakh, and the incursion has left three Armenian soldiers dead and at least 14 others injured. On March 24, Azerbaijan stormed into the zone of the responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers stationed in the area and is refusing to completely withdraw its forces from strategic heights.