Armenia is placed 85th (down from 82nd last month) in the FIFA World Ranking released today.
Argentina is still on top of the world followed by Brazil and Germany.
The top 20 are unchanged from February except for two notable exceptions. Poland (12, plus 2) reached their best ever world ranking, joining Wales in joint 12th position for March.
AFP – Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan has urged international powers to step up pressure on Azerbaijan to avoid all-out war over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region, accusing his nation’s arch-foe of military “blackmail”.
“The danger of a new war is constant and will persist until Azerbaijan is persuaded that there is no military solution to the conflict,” Sargsyan told AFP in an interview ahead of a visit to France.
Sargsyan – who will meet French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Wednesday – accused his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev of sabotaging any progress by threatening to start fighting unless he gets his way.
“He said Azerbaijan will not start a war if Armenia fulfils its demands. I said that this is blackmail, not a compromise,” the Armenian leader said.
Sargsyan urged Paris, Moscow, and Washington to “show what price one of the sides will pay if it initiates an attack.”
“That will have a sobering effect,” he said.
“Public opinion in Armenia is that the resumption of hostilities is a matter of time – maybe weeks or months – and the commander-in-chief and defence minister must be prepared that a war could start tomorrow,”Sargsyan said.
“I don’t think a fresh war is an immediate threat, but nothing is ruled out when one deals with an unpredictable neighbour.”
Sargsyan also took aim at Armenia’s longstanding foe Turkey, blasting Ankara’s support for its traditional ally Baku over the Karabakh conflict.
“At this point, the process of normalisation (with Turkey) is in an impasse,” Sargsyan said. “They link normalisation with the Karabakh issue.”
Stressing that international pressure and military parity between Yerevan and Baku have so far helped to avoid a new war, Sargsyan also expressed concern over Russia supplying sophisticated weapons to Azerbaijan worth billions of dollars.
“We take it painfully because Russia is our strategic partner.”
Asbarez – The Armenian Genocide Committee calls upon all segments of our community to join together in a MARCH FOR JUSTICE on Monday, April 24, 2017 at 12pm from the Pan Pacific Park to the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles as we continue to fight for justice and against the denial of the Armenian Genocide. Organizational leaders in Southern California call upon the Armenian-American community to remain vigilant and active as we continue to voice our collective demands for justice.
It is our belief that our voices are most loudly and effectively heard when they are unified, and to that end, we proudly announce the continued cooperation of community organizations to organize and execute the commemorative activities and demands for justice for this year under the banner of the Armenian Genocide Committee (“AGC”) consisting of the organizations and entities listed below.
Armenian Genocide Committee:
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Catholic Church of North America
Armenian Evangelical Union of North America
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Democratic Liberal Party
Social Democrat Hunchak Party
Armenian General Benevolent Union – Western District
Armenian Relief Society – Western USA
Homenetmen Western U.S. Region
Armenian Youth Federation
Armenian Assembly of America
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
Armenian Council of America
Armenian Bar Association
Organization of Istanbul Armenians
United Armenian Council of Los Angeles
Committee for Armenian Students in Public Schools (CASPS)
Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan will leave for Georgia on February 23 for a two-day official visit at the invitation of his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
Within the framework of the visit PM Karapetyan is expected to have meetings with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
A wide range of issues on the agenda of Armenian-Georgian cooperation will be discussed.
Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan will lead the proportional list of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) at the parliamentary elections of April 2, RPA Spokesperson Edward Sharmazanov told reporters after the sitting of the Party’s Executive Body.
He presented the names in the top ten positions and informed that there are 64 people on the proportional list.
No chief of the RPA headquarters will be appointed. It will be led by theExecutive Body headed by President Serzh Sargsyan, Sharmazanov said.
The Supreme Court of Belarus ruled today to leave the decision of the Prosecutor General’s office on blogger Alexander Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan in force, RIA Novosti reports.
On December 15, 2016, police in Belarus detained Mr. Lapshin, a popular travel blogger based in Moscow, for his prior visits to the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and for his criticism of the Aliyev regime.
Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian and Israeli citizenship, was detained in Minsk in December 2015 at the request of Azerbaijan for his prior visits to Nagorno Karabakh.
On 20 January 2017 the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus decided to have Mr. Lapshin extradited to Azerbaijan. An appeal to the ruling was recently denied by Minsk City Court.
Thus, the decision on Lapshin’s extradition comes into force, as the Supreme Court is the highest instance, where the decision of the Prosecutor General’s Office could be appealed.
Christian Danielsson, European Union’s Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, and Luc Devigne, Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation, and OSCE (EEAS) concluded a two-day visit to Armenia.
The EU high level officials visited Armenia on 02-03 February. The two-day working visit to Armenia was a part of the official visit to South Caucasus Region
On 3 February the Director General Danielsson and Director Devigne met with President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and Government Ministers, representatives of civil society to discuss common priorities for further EU-Armenia cooperation.
They discussed the progress of the ongoing negotiations in the new EU-Armenia agreement, which will further deepen these relations. Both sides agreed to focus efforts to support a broad range of reforms in Armenia including public administration and justice sector, fight against corruption, and access to finance, education in order to enhance the country’s economic growth and resilience. This will bring tangible results to citizens and will be important in view of the Brussels Summit in November 2017 and beyond.
As a part of the visit, on 02 February, the Director General Christian Danielsson participated in the official plaque unveiling ceremony of the newly-constructed building of the Court of First Instance in the city of Ijevan, Tavush region financed by the European Union, together with the Minister of Justice of Armenia Arpine Hovhannisyan. In the evening of the same day the Director General met the Armenian youth and held a public lecture and discussion with them in Matenadaran on the future of EU-Armenia relations.
At the end of the visit Christian Danielsson said: “Armenia has many talented young people and a strong capacity for research and innovation. The EU will continue to invest in Armenia’s future and support the country’s drive for growth and ambitious reform plans to strengthen governance, fight corruption and ensure an independent, impartial and effective judiciary for the benefit of all Armenian citizens”.
Asbarez – A month prior to his passing, famed Armenian-American actor Mike Connors—born Krikor Ohanian—attended the “Ex-Fresnotzi” luncheon on December 11, 2016.
During the lunch, Connors met with Armenian American community leader Walter Karabian, the benefactor of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region’s Walter and Laurel Karabian Fellowship in Sacramento.
Connors gained stardom for his lead role as detective Joe Mannix on the show Mannix, a decade-long series acclaimed to be “the most popular crime show on television during the time.”
In addition to films he appeared in, he narrated the 1975 J. Michael Hagopian documentary The Forgotten Genocide, and Ararat Beckons.
Connors also narrated a 1994 documentary film titled William Saroyan: The Man, The Writer, directed by Paul Kalinian.
Connors passed away on January 26 after being diagnosed with leukemia a week earlier at 91 years old.
Connors was born in 1925 in Fresno, California to Armenian parents Krekor and Alice Ohanian, and survived by his wife of 67 years Mary Lou Wells, his daughter Dena and granddaughter.
Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan visited the Russian Embassy in Armenia today to express condolences over the crash of the Tu-154 plane of the Russian Defense Ministry that claimed dozens of lives.
Vigen Sargsyan conveyed a message of condolences address to his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu.
“It’s painful to realize that the terrible tragedy has claimed the lives of dozens of innocent people – the experienced crew of the plane, servicemen, members of the Alexandrov Choir, journalists.
I offer my deepest condolences over this irreversible loss, the relatives and friends of the victims, the staff of the Russian armed Forces, the friendly people of Russia,” the message reads.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan wants to establish his place in Manchester United history after winning another honour from the Armenian Football Federation.
Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan received an early Christmas present on Wednesday morning when he was announced as the for the seventh time.
“I feel honoured to have won my seventh Armenian Player of the Year award,” Mkhitaryan said, according to Manchester United’s official webpage.
“Thank you to the Armenian FA, my clubs, my fans and media representatives for believing in me.
“I have devoted my whole life to football and achieved significant milestones, yet I feel I can still create more history for my club Manchester United and Armenia, a country which I love dearly and is always on my mind.”
Mkhitaryan has scored two goals in 12 appearances since transferring to United in the summer and hopes to return from injury in the Boxing Day match with Sunderland at Old Trafford, having picked up an ankle problem during the second half of a Man of the Match display against Tottenham Hotspur.