Author: Christine Harutyunian

Deputy Assistant Secretary Olson Visits Armenia

Christine Harutyunian
US Embassy in Armenia
Nov 2 2021
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Erika Olson, the newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, will travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to promote regional cooperation and discuss bilateral issues. While in Yerevan, DAS Olson will   participate in a regional Chiefs of Mission meeting in November 2-4, joining U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne M. Tracy, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly C. Degnan, and U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger, as well as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Andrew Schofer and USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Alexander Sokolowski.  We are excited to resume this long-standing tradition and gather with our colleagues from the region and from Washington, DC, to exchange ideas and information to better coordinate our policy in respect to all three countries in the region.  The participants will engage in internal discussions as well as informational meetings with representatives of the Armenian government and civil society.  Most recently, U.S. Embassy Baku and U.S. Embassy Tbilisi hosted regional Chief of Mission meetings in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Turkish press: Turkish navy receives first Aksungur UAV

Christine Harutyunian
 ISTANBUL DEFENSE 
OCT 20, 2021 1:03 PM GMT+3

Aksungur UAV performs a demonstration flight alongside training aircraft Hürkuş during Teknofest, Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 25, 2021. (AA Photo)

The Turkish military on Wednesday received the first Aksungur, a domestically produced medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the top defense body head said.

In a Twitter statement, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Ismail Demir said the Aksungur had been delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces.

The UAV is the latest combat drone of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

It can fly 50 hours, can carry up to 750 kilograms (1,654 pounds) of payload and is capable of long-endurance operations at an altitude of up to 40,000 feet.

Aksungur can perform uninterrupted multi-role intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack missions with its high payload capacity and provide operational flexibility beyond the line of sight with its SATCOM payload.

The UAV, which embarked on its maiden flight in 2019, has been integrated with three different EO/IR (Electro-Optical/Infra-Red) cameras, two different SATCOM Teber laser guidance products by Roketsan, locally developed Precision Guidance Kit-82s (HGK-82) and the domestic engine PD170. The drone previously carried and test-fired MK-82 ammunition with a Teber guidance kit weighing around 250 kilograms. It was the first drone to use Teber.

The Aksungur marked an important milestone in August when it reached 1,000 flight hours.

The development was a first for a Turkish-made MALE class drone.

Aksungur was developed following the manufacturing of TAI’s Anka MALE UAV.

The Turkish navy already has the Anka in its inventory.

In February this year, the navy received two more Anka UAVs whose ranges were increased according to the needs.

The SSB at the time said that the UAVs will maintain their duty of securing the seas surrounding Turkey, also known as the “Blue Homeland.” The drones recently delivered to the navy were equipped with an automatic identification system and synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

Armenia government to allocate AMD 91,410,000 for placing monument to victims of March 1, 2008 events

Christine Harutyunian
News.am, Armenia
Oct 28 2021
19:15, 28.10.2021

The Armenian government has adopted a decision due to the need to sculpt and place a monument commemorating those who died during the events that took place in Yerevan on March 1, 2008.

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia plans to allocate AMD 96,410,000 to allocate a subvention to Yerevan community for this purpose.

The funds will be provided to the participant who is declared the winner by the competition commission set up under a relevant executive order of the mayor of Yerevan, based on a grant contract. Based on the results of an open tender, Albert Vardanyan’s design was announced the winning design.

Turkey took a leading role in supporting Azerbaijan military efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh – European Commission

Christine Harutyunian
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 21 2021
October 21, 2021, 16:41

 1 minute read

Turkey took a leading role in supporting Azerbaijan military efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh, providing military assistance, intelligence and weapons, and reportedly support through foreign fighters, the European Commission said in the 2021 Report on Turkey.

As a consequence, the report said, relations with Armenia did not improve.

The Commission also reminds that Canada cancelled export permits for military goods and technology to Turkey following the results of an investigation into allegations that Canadian technology was being used by the Azerbaijani military forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It noted that hate speech and hate crime remain a serious issue for minorities. Acts of vandalism and destruction on minority worship places and cemeteries need to be investigated.

“State subsidies for minority schools had almost come to a halt. Subsidies to the newspapers run by members of the Armenian, Greek, and Jewish communities need to be granted by the Press Advertising Authority (BiK). The court case against public officials involved in the killing of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in 2007 ended in March 2021 with the acquittal of 37 of the 77 defendants. The files of 12 defendants who fled Turkey were separated because they could not be heard in this trial,” the report said, noting that “full respect for and protection of language, religion, culture, cultural heritage and fundamental rights of minorities in accordance with European standards have yet to be achieved.”

The Commission also stresses that Turkey needs to increase substantially national investment to clean mined areas along the border with Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia as well as inside Turkey

Armenian Summit of Minds kicks off in Dilijan

Christine Harutyunian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Oct 23 2021
– 16:16 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The third edition of the Armenian Summit of Minds kicked off in the town of Dilijan on Saturday, October 23. The event is being held under the auspices of President Armen Sarkissian, with the Monthly Barometer analytical newsletter and the Central Bank of Armenia serving as key partners.

Titled Global Transformations in the New Quantum World, the event commenced with a dialogue between President Sarkissian and former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi

This year's discussions at the Armenian Summit of Minds focus on geopolitical changes in the world, in the South Caucasus region, and artificial intelligence. Among the participants are former Heads of State, heads of reputable international expert-analytical centers, organizations, tech companies, professors of prestigious universities, including Former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Former Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of the Skolkovo Foundation of Russia and the President of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin, Director of Division on Investment and Enterprise, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) James Zhan, Deputy Director of Yandex Tigran Khudaverdyan, legendary athlete Roger Grace and others.

Opposition MP clarifies risks of ‘3+3’ format for Armenia

Christine Harutyunian
News.am, Armenia
Oct 22 2021
Opposition MP clarifies risks of '3+3' format for Armenia
18:33, 22.10.2021

The “3+3+ format contains risks for Armenia. This is what deputy of the opposition “With Honor” faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Tigran Abrahamyan told reporters today.

Abrahamyan said there is a fear that Turkey and Azerbaijan will do everything possible to change the format of the Chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group and put the Artsakh issue in the “3+3” format.

“As a member state of the OSCE Minsk Group, Turkey has always tried to obtain the status of Co-Chair, which Armenia was against. Ankara is trying to expand its presence in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in this way now. Armenia’s mishaps continue even after the statement signed on November 9, 2020. Armenia will face new threats. In these conditions, Armenia doesn’t have a government that would be capable of taking adequate actions. This government can’t lead a pro-Armenian policy and isn’t showing the appropriate will, including with respect to the issues related to borders, Artsakh, etc.,” he emphasized.

The “3+3” format implies the participation of Armenia, Russia, Iran, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Ministry of Defense denies ombudsman’s statement on Azerbaijani military’s reinforcements

Christine Harutyunian

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 16:38,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense is denying Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan’s October 18 statement.

According to the Ministry of Defense, Tatoyan’s statement contains “a number of inaccuracies, as well as claims which are false.”

The Ministry of Defense said that Tatoyan’s statement on the Azeri troops having built large shelters and amassed supplies of firewood, as well as pavement of roads leading to their positions, reinforcements and active engineering works and increase of deployed troops and armaments is exaggerated. “The claims contained in the Ombudsman’s statement are obviously exaggerated because the Azerbaijani military units are not carrying out active engineering works, haven’t build large shelters or new roads, moreover their attempts to carry out such works are successfully thwarted by the Armenian military units,” the Ministry of Defense said.

Commenting on the ombudsman’s claim that the Azerbaijani military has increased the number of troops and armaments in the positions, the Ministry of Defense said that the entire movement of the Azerbaijani troops is being monitored by the Armenian military and such process hasn’t been recorded in the recent period.

The Ministry of Defense warned the ombudsman to check facts with them when making statements which are highly sensitive to the public. The Ministry of Defense said they are ready to continue closely cooperating with the Ombudsman’s office like before.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia issues stamp dedicated to inventor Alexander Kemurdzhian’s 100th birth anniversary

Christine Harutyunian
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 18 2021
, 11:46

 Less than a minute

A postage stamp dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Alexander Kemurdzhiana has been put into circulation.

The right part of the postage stamp with the nominal value of 230 AMD depicts a prominent Armenian scientist, engineer-constructor and inventor Alexander Kemurdzhian (1921-2003). He created the world’s first lunar and interplanetary rovers, which traveled hundreds of kilometers on the surface of the Earth satellite and the neighboring planets, transmitting the first invaluable information about the unknown universe to the humanity.

The left part of the postage stamp depicts the first lunar rover “Lunokhod 1” designed by A. Kemurdzhian. 

Date of issue:
Designer: David Dovlatyan
Printing house: Cartor, France
Size: 40,0 x 30,0 mm
Stamps per sheet: 10 pcs
Print run: 20 000 pcs

Catholicos Karekin II, Russia’s Patriarch Kirill, Azerbaijan-based Chairman of CMO Allahshukur Pashazadeh meet in Moscow

Christine Harutyunian

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 16:12, 13 October, 2021

MOSCOW, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral meeting of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill and the Azerbaijan-based Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO) Allahshukur Pashazadeh took place at the Danilov Monastery, the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, RIA Novosti reported.

“We’ve gathered here today to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” Patriarch Kirill of Moscow said. “I hope that you and I will find the right words which are greatly needed for our peoples.”

The Patriarch expressed hope that Karekin II and Pashazadeh’s reputations “can have favorable impact on people’s thoughts”.

“And I believe that the fact that we are meeting today and your dialogue will become an example for everyone,” Patriarch Kirill added.

Patriarch Kirill warned that there are people who are attempting to justify violence, bloodshed and cruelty with religion. “We are called to definitively jointly respond to attempts of linking religion with war. Religious wars are the horrendous guilty pages of mankind’s history. May God bless our work and help us to find mutual-understanding, which will contribute to achieving long-term peace.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijan releases Iranian truck drivers arrested earlier on Goris-Kapan road – Mehr

Christine Harutyunian

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 20:38, 13 October, 2021

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 13, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has released the Iranian truck drivers who had been arrested on Goris-Kapan road, ARMENPRESS reports Iranian Mehr agency informs.

The news agency noted that the release of the Iranian drivers preceded a telephone conversation between the Foreign Ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan.

On the Vorotan section of the Goris-Kapan highway, the masked and armed Azerbaijani servicemen stopped the drivers of the Iranian trucks, checked the documents and demanded money, substantiating that "they have to pay a tax to enter the territory of their country." They then arrested the Iranian drivers.