11:21,
YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has been appointed a member of the General Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time, the Ministry of Healthcare said.
Armenia has been appointed a member of the Committee within the frames of the 75th World Health Assembly.
The delegation of Armenia led by Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan is in Geneva, Swizterland, on a 7-day official visit.
The General Committee consists of 25 members.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Secretary of State praised the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Armenia aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region, as well as the process of democratic reforms in Armenia.
The interlocutors exchanged views on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, opening of regional communications, regional security issues.
Prime Minister Pashinyan shared his impressions of the trilateral meeting held in Brussels on May 22, emphasizing that the meeting was generally positive, but added that the the comments that followed had nothing to do with the content of the discussions.
The Secretary of State reaffirmed the US readiness to continue supporting Armenia’s democratic reforms, the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the demarcation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the opening of regional communications, and the establishment of regional stability.
Reference was also made to the Armenia-Turkey discussions at the level of special representatives. The interlocutors agreed to continue Armenia-US high-level contacts.
Opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan has defended the move to block entrances to the Armenian Foreign Ministry by opposition demonstrators on Tuesday, saying it is a tool to make the people’s voice heard.
Members and supporters of the opposition Resistance Movement demanding Nikol Pashinyan's resignation blocked all entrances the Armenian Foreign Ministry building for nearly three hours to prevent employees from entering it.
“Today, we have proved once again that we can fulfil any task set if we stand together,” Saghatelyan told reporters after protesters led by him unblocked the building entrances and returned to France Square.
"The activities of the government agencies that no longer cater for Armenia’s interests should be blocked, thus showing the will of the people and achieving complete dual power," he stated.
Saghatelyan recalled that a rally would be held near the statue of Sasuntsi Davit (David of Sassoun) on Tuesday evening, to be followed by a march to France Square.
Parliament session – LIVE
10:00,
YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS. The plenary session of the Armenian Parliament launched today.
The lawmakers will firstly debate the package of bills on making amendments and changes to the Subsoil Code, the Law on Mass Media, the Law on Budgetary System, the Constitutional Law on Judicial Code, etc.
PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani saboteur Shahbaz Guliyev has admitted that back in 2014 he was sent to Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azerbaijani authorities on a special assignment.
Guliyev, Dilgam Asgarov and Hasan Hasanov illegally infiltrated into Kalbajar district of Karabakh and murdered 17-year-old local resident Smbat Tsakanyan and Major Sargis Abrahamyan, injuring the latter's companion Karine Davtyan on the road from Vardenis to Kalbajar.
Hasanov was killed in firefight with Artsakh Defence Army servicemen, while the other two were detained. The Stepanakert Residence of the General Jurisdiction Court of First Instance of Nagorno Karabakh Republic sentenced Asgarov to life in prison and Guliyev to 22 years in prison (only Asgarov was convicted of Tsakanyan's murder. The two, however, were released when Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to exchange prisoners and hostages after the Second Karabakh war in fall 2020.
Speaking in a fresh interview with Xural TV, Guliyev expressed frustration with the state's inattention after returning to Azerbaijan․ Complaining about poor social conditions, he said that he would speak even "at the cost of his life", Regionmonitor reports.
The Azerbaijani saboteur noted that they infiltrated into Kalbajar on many occasions with the knowledge of Deputy Prime Minister Ali Shamil oglu Hasanov․ According to him, they were given firearms and grenades right in Hasanov's office in 2014 and sent to gather intelligence.
Guliyev said the group provided 10 videos from their former incursion into the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh to the Azerbaijani army.
https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/300401/Azerbaijani_saboteur_admits_was_on_special_mission_in_Karabakh
14:26,
YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. The 2021 parliamentary election in Armenia gave answers to all the questions that are now being raised by the protesters in the country, the Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan told RIA Novosti.
When asked whether or not the Armenian government plans to hold snap elections, Grigoryan said: “The absolutely democratic, free and lawful parliamentary election that took place in June of 2021 in Armenia gave the answers to all the questions that are today being circulated by the minority protest movement.”
ArmInfo.The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Armenia issued a statement regarding the cooperation between Russia and Armenia in the field of ensuring biological safety.
Thus, the statement recalls that at the meeting of leaders of the CSTO member states in Moscow on May 16 this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid special attention to the issue of ensuring biological security in the former Soviet Union. (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/68418)
The diplomatic mission stated that the information about the US military biological program in Ukraine caused a wide response.
According to the agreement, a meeting of the trilateral working group, co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, will be held this month.
The office of Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan noted that the exact date is being agreed.
(File Photo) Bedros Sirinoglu, head of the Armenian Foundations Union in Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Turkiye has long been celebrating Foundations Week in the second week of May every year. But over the recent years, it has acquired a special meaning for many foundations belonging to the country’s minority communities.
“There was no such thing until today to invite minority foundations to the events held for the foundations week,” Bedros Sirinoglu, head of the Armenian Foundations Union in Istanbul, told Anadolu Agency in an interview.
“They have accepted us as foundations, but they did not invite us to the events,” he said.
“Now, all foundation managers, Muslim or non-Muslim, are being invited,” he added, for which he thanks Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We owe this to our president and we are grateful to him,” he said.
Many foundations across the country come together throughout the week and hold several events, which were halted for two years due to the pandemic.
“It is important in terms of bringing all foundations together and creating the opportunity to chat with the minister, general manager (of foundations) and regional managers,” said Sait Susin, president of the Syriac Kadim Foundation.
The Turkish Jewish Community Foundation also took part in the events throughout the week
“In this context, an exhibition and a concert are held every year in our Grand Synagogue of Edirne, which was restored by our State’s General Directorate of Foundations,” Ishak Ibrahimzadeh and Erol Kohen, presidents of the Jewish Community of Turkiye, told Anadolu Agency in an email interview.
Minorities of Turkiye
When asked about how it feels about being an Armenian in Turkiye, Bedros Sirinoglu said: “Living in Turkey gives us happiness. This country is our country. We are citizens of this land.”
“I am a man who has traveled the world, spent 24 days touring America, but missed my country, Turkiye, on the 10th day,” he said.
In recent years, he said a church was built and many churches and schools were renovated without any hurdles from state institutions — something unheard of in the past.
Sait Susin of the Syriac community said: “Assyrians, who have a history of 5,000 years on these lands, were born in the last century, left their places of residence and dispersed all over the world. Currently, a large part of our population of 25,000 people lives in Istanbul.”
Kohen and Ibrahimzadeh said Jewish communities have settled and lived all over Turkiye.
They underlined that the weight of this "rich cultural history” is a huge responsibility for the present-day “considerably diminished Jewish community.”
The first synagogue ruins ever discovered in the world are located in Turkiye, in the ancient city of Sardis, right on the border of Izmir, the representatives of Turkish Jewish community recalled. “These ruins are estimated to be 2,200 years old,” they said.
Regulations regarding minority foundations
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year in March announced a “human rights action” plan, including several reforms and regulations regarding the community foundations of the minorities.
“This plan was highly welcomed by our community,” Ishak and Kohen said.
“We look forward to its release and implementation (at the) soonest possible,” they added.
The Syriac community also welcomed the plan and some legal amendments, Susin said. “For the first time in the last 20 years, we have a school that provides education in Syriac language."
We are also trying to build a church in Istanbul on land that was allocated to us by President Erdogan — setting a precedent in Turkiye, Susin said.
13:55, 3 May, 2022
YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. This year Armenia and Japan are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. On this occasion, a delegation led by Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Taro Honda arrived in Armenia on a two-day friendly visit.
Mr. Taro Honda told Armenpress that he arrived in Armenia to strengthen the bilateral relations between Japan and Armenia.
“This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Armenia, and I came here to strengthen the bilateral relations between Japan and Armenia. Armenia is very far from Japan, and we are not so well aware of the Armenian culture and traditions, therefore, I hope that we will be able to contribute to the development of bilateral relations through bilateral exchanges”, he said in an interview to Armenpress.
Accompanied by Ambassador of Japan to Armenia Masanori Fukushima, the Japanese delegation visited today the IT center in the village of Ghukasavan in Ararat province. The center has been established with the financial support of the Japanese government.
The diplomatic relations between Armenia and Japan were established on September 7, 1992. Protocol on establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Armenia was signed on that day. So far, Armenia and Japan have signed and adopted 10 statements and agreements.
Reporting by Aram Sargsyan