11:12,
YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS. The Saudi Arabian Flynas airline launched flights between Yerevan and Riyadh on June 21.
The roundtrip flights will be conducted three times per week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Author: Arsine Chaltikian
Azerbaijan again attacks under-construction plant in Armenian village
Panorama
Armenia –
A smelting plant under construction in the Armenian border village of Yeraskh has again come under Azerbaijani fire, the Defense Ministry of Armenia reports.
“On June 19, at 1:25 p.m., the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire from different caliber small arms targeting the metallurgical plant in Yeraskh, which is being built with foreign investment,” the ministry said in a statement.
Two Indian nationals involved in the construction works of the plant were seriously wounded in a cross-border fire from nearby Azerbaijani army positions on June 14.
Pashinyan to testify before parliamentary commission probing 2020 war
Panorama
Armenia – June 12 2023
Nikol Pashinyan is set to testify before the parliamentary commission tasked with investigating the 2020 Artsakh war.
The commission has sent a formal invitation to the Armenian premier to attend its meeting on June 20, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security said in a statement on Monday.
Pashinyan has agreed to answer questions of the commission, it added.
Armenia’s strong displeasure regarding the incident near the Hakari bridge presented to Russian Ambassador
20:03,
YEREVAN, JUNE 16, ARMENPRESS. During the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on June 16, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin was presented with Armenia's strong dissatisfaction with the incident involving Russian peacekeepers near the Hakari Bridge. The press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ani Badalyan, told ARMENPRESS, answering the question about the purpose of the visit of the Russian Ambassador to Armenia, Sergey Kopirkin, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"During the meeting with the Russian Ambassador at the Foreign Ministry today, Armenia's strong displeasure was presented with regard to the incident involving Russian peacekeepers near the Hakari bridge on June 15. It was called to take all the necessary steps to find out the circumstances of the incident and correct the situation," said Badalyan.
Earlier, the border guard service of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia reported that on June 15, around 08:40, a group of soldiers of the border guard service of Azerbaijan attempted to advance towards the Hakari bridge in order to raise a flag on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. It is noted that as a result of the measures taken by the Armenian side, the advance of Azerbaijani servicemen and the attempt to raise the flag on the territory of the Republic of Armenia was prevented.
In one of the videos spread on the Internet, it was seen how the Azerbaijani military, accompanied by the Russian peacekeepers, tried to raise the Azerbaijani flag on the Hakari bridge.
Flyone Armenia launches Yerevan-Tehran flights
11:15, 6 June 2023
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Flyone Armenia national airline launched Yerevan-Tehran roundtrip flights on June 6.
The airline will fly from Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport four times per week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, offering affordable prices and convenient schedules for everyone.
Flyone Armenia Chairman of the Board Aram Ananyan personally visited Zvartnots airport Tuesday morning for the ribbon cutting ceremony marking the first flight to Tehran.
“The launch of Flyone Armenia’s direct flights from Yerevan to Tehran was a highly anticipated event and we are convinced that this new destination will be as highly demanded as the rest of our nearly two dozen travel destinations. The new flights will create a convenient transport alternative between Yerevan and Tehran, enabling to promote the strong cultural, economic and tourism ties,” Ananyan said at the ceremony.
Armenia’s Pashinian to attend President Erdoğan’s inauguration
Morning Express, India
June 2 2023
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will travel to Turkey on Saturday to attend President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s inauguration ceremony, as the two countries try to mend relations.
“Armenia received an invitation to attend the ceremony of inauguration of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will travel to Ankara on June 3 to take part in the ceremony.
Armenia and Turkey have never established formal diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s.
Türkiye objects to presenting the 1915 incidents as “genocide,” and instead describes the events as a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties in the heat of World War I.
Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkiye and Armenia under the supervision of international experts to examine the issue.
In December 2021, the two countries appointed special envoys to help normalize relations – a year after Armenia lost to Turkiye’s ally Azerbaijan in a war for control of the Armenian-occupied Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan used the help of Turkish combat drones to recapture most of the contested territory that had been under ethnic Armenian control since the 1990s.
Last year, Turkey and Armenia resumed their first commercial flights in two years.
In 2009, Ankara and Yerevan signed an agreement to normalize relations, which would have led to the opening up of their shared border.
But Armenia never ratified the deal and in 2018 ditched the process.
Lessons from Israeli-Egyptian Peace Talks for Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict
Egypt –
By Ahmad El-Assasy
The Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty signed in 1979 can serve as an example for resolving the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict that has lasted for over 30 years.
The peace process between Israel and Egypt, which ended the state of war that existed since 1948, normalized relations, established embassies, and transportation links, can provide insights for resolving the territorial issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
A recent meeting between foreign ministers of the two countries hosted by the US Secretary of State marked an important preliminary step towards ending the conflict. Leadership, third-party facilitators, and mediators played crucial roles in the Israeli-Egyptian peace talks, but spoilers can disrupt negotiations.
The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia must focus on the shared objectives and watch out for agendas that divert attention.
Success depends on their ability to negotiate an agreement that benefits both countries.
Azerbaijan’s president says there is real chance to normalize relations with Armenia
Al Arabiya, UAE
May 25 2023
Reuters - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during a meeting in Moscow on Thursday that there are serious grounds for normalizing relations with Armenia based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads for three decades, fighting two wars over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In recent months, both sides have expressed increasing willingness to sign a permanent peace agreement, even as regular skirmishes have continued.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Iranian company discuss possibility of launching joint enterprises
11:44,
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Economy Narek Teryan has held a meeting with representatives of the Iranian Talashgarane Eghtesade Paydar Holding.
The ethnic-Armenian Member of Parliament of Iran Robert Beglaryan also attended the meeting.
Teryan presented the state support mechanisms in the economic sector, the legislation, tax and customs regulations, the ministry said in a readout.
Issues related to bilateral cooperation in mining, industry, agriculture and other areas were also discussed.
The possibility of launching joint enterprises with the prospect of exporting the production to other EEU countries was also discussed.
Italy seizes 2.7 tons of cocaine planned to be shipped to Armenia
MEDIAMAX
Armenia – May 16 2023
Armenia – May 16 2023
Yerevan /Mediamax/. The officials of the Customs Office of the Italian city of Gioia Tauro, located in the southern region of Calabria, seized 2.7 tons of cocaine planned to be shipped to Armenia through the Georgian port of Batumi.
Italian ANSA news agency reports that the packages with cocaine were hidden in two containers with bananas that were transported to Italy from Ecuador and were to be sent to Armenia.
The cost of 2.7 tons of cocaine on the black market is about 800 million euros.