The House of Commons of the UK Parliament adopted the bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the first reading. This is stated in the press release issued by the Armenian National Committee of the UK.
14:30,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Ambassador of Italy to Armenia Alfonso Di Riso, the PM’s Office reports.
Pashinyan congratulated the Ambassador on assuming office and wished success to the further development of the Armenian-Italian friendly relations.
The PM highlighted ensuring the continuous progress of the political and economic cooperation between Armenia and Italy and expressed confidence that concrete results are possible to achieve with the joint efforts of the governments of the two countries. The development of the bilateral economic cooperation was specifically emphasized, including with the holding of business forum and promotion of business ties. Pashinyan remembered with warmth his official visit to Italy in 2019 and highlighted the bilateral high-level mutual visits which give a new impetus to the expansion of cooperation in different areas.
Alfonso Di Riso assured that during his tenure he will make all efforts to contribute to the strengthening of mutual cooperation between the two countries. The Ambassador also emphasized the necessity of development of commercial ties and added that the Italian side is interested in discussing and implementing new investment programs with Armenia.
The sides considered prospective the expansion of cooperation in different branches of economy, including in high technologies, tourism, construction and agriculture, stating that there is a big potential.
The sides also discussed the activity of the Armenian-Italian inter-governmental commission, the possibility of holding a session in the future.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Armenia and Azerbaijan will set up customs and border checkpoints on Goris-Kapan road, Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan said in an interview with Public TV.
“The Azerbaijani side has informed the Armenian side that starting from 12 o’clock at night, it will carry out a border and customs control on the Goris-Kapan road, i.e. it will set up customs checkpoints. The Armenian side will take corresponding steps. In other words, it will install customs and border checkpoints on that section of the road,” the Secretary said, adding that work in that direction has already started.
Besides, he said the alternative Kapan-Tatev road is ready, and can be used for transporting goods, and is open to all kinds of vehicles.
EU stands with Armenia, Azerbaijan in resolving unresolved conflicts – EU official
17:43, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, stated that the EU stands with Armenia, Azerbaijan and the region in resolving unresolved issues.
"Today we remember all who were killed and suffered during more than 30 years of conflict. Outstanding issues should be resolved to allow progress toward comprehensive and durable peace for the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan to move forward, together. The EU stands with you and the region”, ARMENPRESS reports Toivo Klaar wrote on his Twitter page.
By Trend
Armenia tried to Armenianize Albanian churches, Chairman of the Albanian-Udi Christian religious community of Azerbaijan Robert Mobili told Trend’s Karabakh bureau during his visit to the Albanian churches in the Chinarli village of the Khojavand district.
According to Mobili, the village has a very rich Albanian cultural heritage.
"The district has two Albanian churches. The largest of them is located in the village of Chinarli, which is part of the administrative territory of Hadrut, and today we visited it. This territory was under Armenian occupation for about 30 years and has been liberated for a year already. Hadrut is a holy place for us, it has several ancient Albanian churches, one of which is in Chinarli," Mobili said.
“Armenia tried to present them as their own, but the elements of the Albanian church remained on the churches. Thanks to our martyrs and ghazis, today we can safely visit our temples. We will pray for our martyrs, whom we will never forget. Armenia occupied not only our lands but also destroyed most of the monuments of cultural heritage. Our main task today is to restore the Albanian Christian heritage in these territories,” he added.
Students, teachers, community members and officials of the village of Akhpradzor, located in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province, celebrated the opening of their newly renovated school on October 12 alongside Armenian Educational Foundation representatives.
The large-scale renovation carried out by AEF was made possible through the support of Anita Quinonez Gabrielian and her daughters, who donated $30,000 toward the project in memory of their husband and father, Levon Gabrielian.
Neshan Peroomian, who is in charge of AEF’s school renovation projects in Armenia, described the dilapidated condition of the school before renovation as having “a crumbling roof, as well as cracked doors and windows that would let the cold of the winter and rain in.” He thanked Nanor Balabanian for her long years of volunteer work at Akhpradzor and for introducing the school to AEF as a school renovation project.
The school, located in the highlands of Sevan and only two miles away from the new Armenian-Azeri contact line after the 44-day war, has been upgraded with new metal roofing, doors and windows, flooring, patching and painting for the entire building, a brand-new electric heating system and renovated classrooms and gymnasium. New interior restrooms were also added at the school. The school features an ROTC classroom which was dedicated to the memory of one of the school’s former students, Hamlet Aghabekyan, a martyr of the 44-day war.
“The villages of Armenia have great significance for the Armenian nation and for the Armenian people. These villages hold the key to Armenian traditions and customs; hence, their preservation is imperative. The cost of renovation of the Akhpradzor school was $100,000. We thank Mrs. Anita Quinonez Gabrielian and her daughters for donation,” said AEF president, Al Cabraloff.
Recognizing the importance of the village, AEF has focused its renovation program on village schools throughout Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk. For 71 years AEF has been providing financial assistance to students and educational institutions, including the allocation of funds for student scholarships, school grants and renovations of over 200 schools. This could not have been possible without the generous support of benefactors and AEF members.
Friday, November 5, 2021
Russian Official Reports Progress Towards Armenian-Azeri Transport Links
Armenia - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk at a meeting with
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Yerevan, November 5, 2021.
Armenian and Azerbaijani government officials have made major progress in
Russian-mediated negotiations on establishing transports links between their
countries, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said on Friday.
Overchuk visited Yerevan to talk to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian about “how
and from what the unblocking of roads should start.”
“We would like to discuss that with you and think about how we can move
forward,” he told Pashinian at the start of their meeting.
Overchuk co-heads, together with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, a
trilateral working group set up by the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian
governments in January. The group has been discussing practical modalities of
opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for commercial traffic in line with the
Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh last
November.
Overchuk said that Russian road construction experts have closely examined
transport infrastructures of the two South Caucasus states and presented their
findings to the task force.
“So we now have a very good understanding of what really exists on the ground,
the state of roads,” he said. “Based on that knowledge … it seems to us that we
are getting close to concrete decisions, which are first and foremost based on
the notion that the countries will retain sovereignty over roads passing through
their territory.”
RUSSIA -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev deliver a joint statement
following their talks in Moscow on January 11, 2021.
The ceasefire agreement commits Armenia to opening rail and road links between
Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave. Armenia should be able, for its part, to
use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo shipments to and from
Russia and Iran.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly claimed that the deal
envisages a permanent land “corridor” that will connect Nakhichevan to the rest
of Azerbaijan via Armenia’s Syunik province. Armenian leaders maintain, however,
that the truce accord only calls for transport links between the nations.
“I have the impression that Azerbaijan is trying to impose its perceptions on
the working group, and that is certainly unacceptable to us,” Pashinian said in
his opening remarks at the meeting with Overchuk.
Pashinian also said Baku and Yerevan need to negotiate details of border
controls for cargo transiting through each other’s territory. “We hope that
concrete solutions will be found to these issues in the near future,” he said.
Overchuk arrived in Yerevan a week after Russian and Armenian media reports
saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host fresh talks between
Aliyev and Pashinian. Aliqmedia.am claimed that the Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders will sign two documents on the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border and cross-border commercial traffic.
Azerbaijan Insists On Condition For ‘Peace Treaty’ With Armenia
• Tatevik Sargsian
BELGIUM -- Azerbaijani Foreign minister Ceyhun Bayramov is seen at the start of
a EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council at the European council building in
Brussels, December 18, 2020
Azerbaijan insisted on Friday that Armenia must recognize its territorial
integrity and sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh through a “peace treaty”
proposed by Baku.
Senior Azerbaijani officials complained that Yerevan has still not accepted the
proposal made after last year’s war in Karabakh.
“Our proposal is very clear: Armenia must respect neighbors’ sovereignty and
territorial integrity. This would help it to get out of an economic and
transport deadlock and become a thriving regional country,” Foreign Minister
Jeyhun Bayramov said during an international conference held in the Azerbaijani
capital.
In a clear reference to Karabakh, both Bayramov and Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev’s chief foreign policy aide, said the Armenian side must
drop its “territorial claims” to Azerbaijan.
Hajiyev echoed Aliyev’s repeated assertions that Baku essentially ended the
conflict with its victory in the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered
ceasefire last November. “The Karabakh issue is no longer a foreign policy issue
for Azerbaijan,” he said. “It’s an internal issue.”
Armenian leaders maintain that the conflict remains unresolved, citing joint
statements made in recent months by the U.S., Russian and French mediators
leading the OSCE Mink Group. They say Karabakh’s internationally recognized
status has yet to be determined on the basis of the mediators’ peace proposals.
Some Russian and Armenian media outlets reported last week that that Russian
President Vladimir Putin is set to host fresh talks between Aliyev and Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Aliqmedia.am claimed that Aliyev and Pashinian will sign two documents
envisaging the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the opening of
transport links between the two South Caucasus states. It said one of those
documents will also commit Baku and Yerevan to recognizing each other’s
territorial integrity.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan did not rule out afterwards the possibility of
an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit while saying that it is not planned yet.
Bayramov and Mirzoyan had separate phone calls with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov earlier this week.
Armenian Government In No Rush To Raise Minimum Wage
• Naira Nalbandian
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian chairs a cabinet meeting in
Yerevan, November 3, 2020.
The Armenian government has no plans to raise the national minimum wage before
2023 despite higher-than-projected inflation in the country, a senior official
said on Friday.
The government most recently raised it by 23 percent, to 68,000 drams per month,
two years ago. Critics are increasingly calling for further increases in the
minimum wage, pensions and public sector salaries, arguing that the prices of
key goods have risen significantly this year.
The government’s Statistical Committee reported that consumer price inflation in
Armenia reached 9.1 percent in October. It was primarily pushed up by a 16
percent surge in food prices which hit low-income households particularly hard.
Speaking in the Armenian parliament, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs
Ruben Sargsian said the government is planning to gradually bring the minimum
wage to 86,000 drams by 2026. But he said it will “take the first steps” in that
direction in 2023.
According to the Statistical Committee, the country’s median monthly wage stood
at almost 199,000 drams ($417) in September, up by 6.3 percent year on year.
The government’s draft state budget for next year calls for a 15 percent rise in
public spending but does not envisage major pay rises for public sector
employees. The government could only hike the wages of high-ranking state
officials in 2022.
The Armenian Ministry of Justice proposed earlier this week that it nearly
double the salaries of Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian and his deputies. They
would make about 2 million drams ($4,200) and 1.5 million drams a month
respectively as a result.
The ministry said the much higher wages would help to neutralize “pressures”
that could be exerted on the top prosecutors during corruption investigations.
Zhanna Aleksanian, a human rights activist, brushed aside the explanation. “Who
doesn’t know that the prosecutor’s office is a corrupt system?” she charged.
Aleksanian said that the proposed measure, which needs to be approved by Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian and his cabinet, is also unfair given the scale of
poverty and other socioeconomic problems in the country.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Introduction
The initial Inter Agency Response Plan (IARP) was for a period of nine months (October 2020 – June 2021) to coordinate the response to meet the needs of 90,000 persons in a refugee-like situation who arrived in Armenia as a consequence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Since then, many of these individuals have returned and, as of end of June 2021, 36,989 individuals remain in a refugee-like situation1 in the ten regions of the country² and Yerevan. IARP partners have therefore updated their operational approach based on the remaining refugee-like population as well as their newly identified needs and are enhancing the multisectoral response required to provide the necessary assistance to the estimated remaining 37,000 individuals in refugee-like situation as well as the host community in Armenia. With this updated interagency plan, which covers the period from July to December 2021, a total of 15 IARP partners are appealing for US$ 20,233,689.
Situation Update
While the ceasefire agreement is still holding, concerns have emerged in recent months following reports of sporadic incidents of intimidation or violence that have prompted questions around security conditions in areas of origin, impacting the willingness or capacity of some people to return.
According to the protection needs assessments³ conducted by UNHCR and its partners in July-August 2021, 94 per cent of respondents declared that they preferred to remain in Armenia or were unsure about their prospects for return. These intentions had already been captured by other Protection Needs assessments conducted earlier during the year and also confirmed by the Multisectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) carried out in March-April, in which 94 per cent of interviewees confirmed their intention not to move or were undecided.
Since the onset of the emergency in the fall of 2020, the Government of Armenia, at both the national and local levels, has provided critical support to the new arrivals, including space in communal shelters and 18 different cash assistance programmes.
Host communities also played a critical role in welcoming the refugee-like population, sharing their housing, food and other resources. However, the conflict severely impacted the displaced and host community populations in Armenia, with a notable increase in reported physical, social and mental trauma, as well as financial challenges. In this context, the Government and civil society faced increasing difficulties in coordinating, financing and addressing essential needs.
Acute protection risks were identified, especially among the most vulnerable individuals, those with specific needs, such as older persons without support, persons with disabilities and pregnant women, who require special attention and assistance. Key findings of the monitoring exercises also indicated the need for continuous awarenessraising among the refugee-like population about their access to rights, public services and other assistance programmes.
Access to information remains vital as people need to know how to apply for and where to access services, including health care, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), documentation, and other social protection services.⁴ The refugee-like population continued to report lack of information among the main reasons for not approaching the authorities to report missing documents or not accessing appropriate health care.⁵ MHPSS also remains one of the gaps highlighted by the protection needs assessments: 72 per cent of persons in a refugee-like situation reported a relative showing signs of stress and 52 per cent noticed that their children showed signs of stress and behavioural change. Interviewees referred to their inability to return home, loss of property, and loss of hope for the future as the top three sources of anxiety.
Shelter support remains the top priority cited by the refugee-like population, according to the most recent humanitarian needs assessments.⁶ Lack of space, inadequate water or bathroom facilities, and lack of heating were the top three shelter-related concerns raised by the refugee-like population; whereas host families raised issues around lack of privacy/dignity and the need to address deteriorating infrastructure and support to cover utility costs.⁷ Compared to December 2020, the proportion of persons in a refugee-like situation paying rent increased, reaching 95 per cent by August 2021, while 2 per cent of the refugee-like population continues to be hosted in collective shelters, suggesting a need for further shelter support.⁸ Non-food items (NFIs), especially clothing and household items such as bedding and cooking utensils, will also still be required in the coming months, as well as additional support to address specific winter-related needs.
Access to education has stabilized since the onset of the emergency: formal education is now available to 80 per cent of the refugee-like population close to their places of residence.
Around 94 per cent of households in a refugeelike situation have school-aged children attending formal education programmes.10 Both refugee-like and host communities have similar levels of access to education, mostly thanks to the integration of all children living in a refugee-like situation in public preschool, secondary and higher education.
However, IARP partners need to continue supporting the capacity of the education sector and ensuring continuity of education by providing relevant assistance. This will enable all children to attend school during their displacement and provide a sense of stability, structure and hope for the future.
Following a ground-breaking decision by the Government, primary health services are provided free of charge to all citizens of Armenia, including the refugee-like population. This decision enabled them to access primary health facilities in their area of temporary residence and immediate medical care without special registration procedures. Multiple health partners provided significant quantities of medication and supplies during the first nine months of the response, which helped adequately meet health-related needs. Yet, it remains essential to ensure, in coordination with the Government and IARP partners, that medical supplies are efficiently distributed at primary health centres (PHCs), and that overall access and quality of services, especially in rural PHCs, are improved.
Regarding food security, only 1 per cent of the refugee-like population is still severely food insecure, while 15 per cent is moderately food insecure, according to the latest assessments.
Food ranks fifth among priority needs identified in the July-August Protection Needs Assessments. As the price of a basic food basket continues to rise, and given the challenging economic context, food insecure persons in a refugee-like situation and those at risk of food insecurity still need support, especially individuals with specific nutritional needs, including women of childbearing age and infants.11 Specific nutrition support must also be provided to prevent micro-nutritional deficiencies, which would otherwise negatively impact development and health.
The socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 and the aftermath of conflict have affected economic activity in several communities.12 The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in damage to infrastructure, disruption of markets, lack of access to farmland, loss of assets and displacement, which have collectively impacted the lives of both the displaced population and host community. The socioeconomic situation in Armenia was already fragile prior to the conflict and continues to be so nine months after the arrival of the refugee-like population, compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Available resources have been further stretched, as have livelihood and employment opportunities in the cities and towns where the displaced population has settled.
Of high concern is also the increasing debt burden observed between December 2020 and March/ April 2021, which is impacting local communities’ ability to host the refugee-like population. According to the second round of the MSNA, 59 per cent of host households reported having debts averaging AMD 1 million (approximately US$ 1,920). Similarly, the Protection Needs Assessments indicated that in March-April 2021, 32 per cent of refugee-like households reported having generated debts, compared to 8 per cent in December 2020.
Protection Needs Assessments findings also indicate that 76 per cent of respondents in a refugee-like situation were unemployed during the previous six months. Targeted early recovery and livelihood interventions that promote long-term selfreliance are therefore essential to gradually phaseout the humanitarian response and mainstream development assistance to the refugee-like population likely to remain in Armenia.
It is crucial to further support and protect the income-generating assets of the refugee-like population, including their livestock and poultry, for them to reduce reliance on food assistance and humanitarian aid, curb the recent trend of increasing debt, generate income and develop a buffer against potential future shocks.
According to the April vulnerability assessment, more than 50 per cent of the refugee-like population used crisis coping mechanisms to overcome shocks from the effects of displacement and the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing their expenses on health and education, selling productive assets, and becoming dependent on support from aid agencies or neighbours.
In particular, livelihood/income generating interventions are needed for the refugee-like population, especially those who are severely or moderately food insecure or those at risk of food insecurity, to reduce their dependence on food assistance and develop a buffer against additional shocks.
14:56,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian departed for the United Arab Emirates from Saudi Arabia on a working visit, his Office said today.
President Sarkissian visited Saudi Arabia yesterday, on October 26 where he was welcomed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. Sarkissian’s Office described this trip as a historic visit as no diplomatic relations exist between Armenia and Saudi Arabia and it was the first visit of an Armenian head of state to Saudi Arabia.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
BAKU — Azerbaijan released Thursday two Iranian truck drivers whose arrest last month on charges of illegally entering the country strained ties between Baku and Tehran.
The move marks a thaw between Azerbaijan and Iran a week after their foreign ministers agreed to resolve a crisis in ties through dialogue.
Azerbaijan’s customs department said Thursday it had handed over the drivers to the Iranian side in a decision “guided by principles of humanitarianism, mutual respect and good neighborliness.”
The standoff between the countries was sparked by allegations from Tehran that its sworn enemy Israel maintained a military presence in Azerbaijan. Baku denied the claims.
Iran vowed to take any necessary action and staged military drills near its border with Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov spoke last week by phone with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and the pair agreed to resolve differences through dialogue.
Israel is a major arms supplier to Azerbaijan, which late last year fought a six-week war with neighbor Armenia for control of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan and Iran have long been at loggerheads over Tehran’s backing of Armenia in the decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The war last year ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire that saw Armenia cede swaths of territory — including a section of Azerbaijan’s 700-kilometer (430-mile) border with Iran.
Baku said the drivers entered Azerbaijan through that territory, bypassing border control to avoid customs duties it had imposed recently — to Iran’s fury — on cargo transit to Armenia.
Tehran has long been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azeri minority, who make up around 10 million of Iran’s 83 million population.