WPR By Iyad Dakka Feb. 23, 2022 As the threat of war between Russia and Ukraine looms ever larger, Turkey finds itself between a rock and a hard place. It does not want to antagonize Russia, with which it shares strategically vital interests, but it also needs to show its support for Ukraine and its NATO allies in the face of the greatest threat to European security in the post-Cold War era. This has forced Turkey to walk a finely calibrated diplomatic tightrope over the past month. During his visit to Kyiv on Feb. 3, Turkish President Recep Tayiip Erdogan proclaimed his support for Ukrainian sovereignty, reiterated his opposition to the annexation of Crimea and signed a landmark free trade agreement to signal Turkey’s commitment to the long-term relationship with Ukraine. This was balanced, however, with an offer to defuse the situation by convening a trilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara or Istanbul. Erdogan continues to press this proposal with Putin. The urgency and importance of Erdogan’s diplomatic overtures are understandable. Ankara has sunk its economic teeth into Ukraine and could end up being one of the main economic losers if Russia invades. In 2021, Turkey became the largest foreign investor in Ukraine, with investments in excess of $4 billion. There are currently over 700 Turkish companies operating on the ground. In the past five years, Turkish exports to Ukraine have nearly doubled to $2.6 billion, while imports have risen sharply from $2.8 billion to $4.4 billion. Bilateral cooperation is moving particularly quickly in the defense and aerospace sectors. Since 2019, Kyiv has acquired an estimated dozen Bayraktar drones, Turkey’s flagship military export at the moment. The Ukrainian navy has also ordered two MILGEM Ava-class corvettes, which will be jointly produced on Turkish and Ukrainian soil. The two sides have already signed an agreement to build training and maintenance facilities for Turkish drones in Ukraine, and they have followed this up by signing an agreement for the joint production of next-generation drones that will leverage Turkish avionic and Ukrainian jet-engine technology. Turkey understands full well that regime-change in Ukraine would put these investments and strategic commercial relationships at risk. But despite the flurry of diplomacy, Turkey’s room for maneuverability is somewhat limited, and its diplomatic influence in resolving this crisis is likely to be modest. There are a few reasons for this. First, what Russia ultimately wants from Ukraine can only truly be provided by the United States and major European powers. Washington, Paris, Berlin and London are the only players that can work with Russia to establish a new European security architecture. And Russia is unlikely to provide Ankara any free diplomatic wins when it views Turkey as a peripheral player in this crisis. Reports that Erdogan wanted to mediate have been circulating for almost a month. When asked if it had anything further to add such a potential meeting, the Kremlin seemed rather blasé about the idea, simply stating it had no details to share. One would think that if Russia felt Turkey’s good offices were instrumental to achieving even some of its objectives, this meeting would have already happened. Second, the balance of interests in this crisis overwhelmingly tips toward Russia. Put another way, despite Turkey’s economic interests, Ukraine is not, and will not become, a national security red line for Ankara. By contrast, the Kremlin views a potential NATO-allied Ukraine as an unacceptable outcome that must be prevented at all costs. The cold and hard facts are that Russia will go to war to ensure Ukraine doesn’t ever join NATO, whereas Turkey could live with a Ukraine under Russian domination if it ultimately had to. This is the quiet part that the Turks won’t say out loud anytime soon. Finally, there is a structural imbalance of power in the Black Sea region that heavily favors Moscow. The Turkish fleet in the Black Sea is relatively modest, and this imbalance has further tilted in favor of Russia since its annexation of Crimea in 2014, which allowed Moscow to expand its anti-access/area denial zone in the area. And while Turkey would like its NATO partners and Ukraine to help counterbalance Russian hegemony in the area, Ankara wants this to be managed smartly and carefully. The Turks do not want any regional security deals between Russia and NATO to undermine the 1936 Montreux Convention—a historic treaty that grants Turkey full sovereignty over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits while governing the flow of merchant and military vessels into the Black Sea. Echoing these concerns at the NATO ministerial meeting last week, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar stated that the Montreux Convention had brought “balance, stability and security in the Black Sea. ... We have explained and continue to explain on every occasion that this is of vital importance.” Of course, none of this means Turkey and Russia will not continue to engage on Ukraine. Despite viewing Ankara as a peripheral diplomatic actor in this crisis, Russia does have things to discuss. For example, it wants the Turks to slow or stop advanced weapons transfers to the Ukrainians, including Bayraktar drones. The Kremlin would also welcome Turkish pressure on NATO from the inside, particularly when it comes to further socializing the West to Russia’s long-term security interests. These things alone will entice the Russians to keep the lines of engagement open with Ankara and will, on the surface at least, ensure that Erdogan is never given a hard “no” when it comes to his offers to mediate. For Turkey, the diplomatic efforts are worth pursuing regardless of their prospects for success. Ankara sees an opportunity to recalibrate its reputation as a stabilizing regional power, after a decade of being accused of reckless militaristic adventurism in Syria, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean. There is also a domestic play at stake for Erdogan. At a time when the Turkish economy is reeling under the weight of inflation, and with an eye to the 2023 presidential elections, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, wants to leverage the crisis to bolster Erdogan’s image as a wise and capable leader. Erdogan’s AKP party spokesperson made this clear when he claimed, “The most important countries of the world are able to put forward an approach that can address one side of this crisis. But our president is putting out diplomacy that appeals to both sides of the crisis." But most important, perhaps, is the possibility that Erdogan and Putin might make things work despite all odds. They have, after all, perfected the art of “transactional geopolitics”—the ability to make micro-deals even when they disagree on the big picture. This way of doing business has held up relatively well in various geopolitical theatres, from Syria and Libya to the Caucasus. This potentially explains why Turkey allows its companies to trade with Crimea and Abkhazia, despite its official position in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia, respectively. There’s very little reason to expect that Ukraine will change the name of the game between Ankara and Moscow. * Iyad Dakka is a fellow with the Centre for Modern Turkish Studies at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa, Canada.
Author: Edgar Tavakalian
Tigran Abrahamyan: Armenian authorities ‘decapitated’ army’s General Staff amid regional threats
panorama.am
Armenia – Feb 25 2022
MP Tigran Abrahamyan, who represents the opposition With Honor bloc, has denounced the Armenian authorities’ decision to dismiss the chief of the military’s General Staff and several other top military officials in these “turbulent times”.
Chief of the General Staff Artak Davtyan, his deputy Andranik Makaryan, as well as the heads of three General Staff divisions were sacked according to presidential decrees signed on Thursday.
“Analyzing the regional situation, I highlighted the need for increased vigilance and special measures by the state structures ensuring security in Armenia and Artsakh. I believe that the situation in Ukraine could have severe consequences for our region as well,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“But what did the Armenian authorities do? They decapitated the General Staff of the Armenian military in response to regional threats.
“I am not talking about the new appointees, since I know almost everyone. The problem is the abrupt personnel changes in these turbulent times," Abrahamyan said.
Armenia’s economic activity index grows 15.4% in January 2022
12:43, 25 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index of Armenia has increased by 15.4% in January 2022 compared to January 2021. However, the figure of January of this year has declined by 45% compared to December 2021, the Statistical Committee reports.
The industrial production volume increased by 16.6% in January 2022 compared to January 2021, whereas compared to December 2021, it declined by 37.8%.
The construction volume increased by 3%, whereas compared to December, it declined by 86.5%. The increase in trade turnover in January 2022 comprised 11.5%, whereas compared to December 2021, it declined by 41.9%. The volume of services increased by 21.2% in January 2022 compared to January 2021. The decline compared to December 2021 comprised 16.2%.
The consumer price index increased by 7.1% compared to January 2021 and by 1.6% compared to December 2021. The index of industrial production prices increased by 9% compared to January 2021 and by 0.9% compared to December 2021. The electricity production volume increased by 19.2%.
60.4% increase was registered in external trade turnover volumes in January 2022 compared to the same month of 2021. However, compared to December 2021, this figure declined by 28.7%. The export in January 2022 increased by 53.2%, and the import by 65%.
Paris bridge lit up in colors of Armenian and French flags
panorama.am
Armenia – Feb 26 2022
The Pont de l'Archevêché (Archbishop's Bridge), a bridge crossing the Seine river in Paris, lit up in the colors of the Armenian and French flags on February 24, the Armenian Embassy in France reported.
The move, initiated by the Paris City Hall, marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Study of lithographic data of monuments of Artsakh proves their Armenianness – NAS Armenia
11:48,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The official statement of the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan of February 3, 2022 makes it clear that Azerbaijan, with well-planned actions, is consistently implementing the policy of eviction of Armenians from Artsakh, destruction and alienation of Armenian cultural heritage, and this time they openly threaten to remove and delete the inscriptions on Armenian churches in Artsakh, the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia said in a statement.
“The official statement of the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan of February 3, 2022 makes it clear that Azerbaijan, with well-planned actions, is consistently implementing the policy of eviction of Armenians from Artsakh, destruction and alienation of Armenian cultural heritage, and this time they openly threaten to remove and delete the inscriptions on Armenian churches in Artsakh.
It can be inferred from the statement that a special working group has been set up, consisting of specialists in the history, culture and architecture of Caucasian Albania, as well as representatives of state structures. After “study” they must remove “fake writings, inscriptions and traces written or added by Armenians” on “Caucasian Albanian religious/Christian” structures in Artsakh (Karabakh) (https://report.az/en/cultural-policy/working-group-set-up-to-restore-armenianized-temples-of-ancient-albania/). The Christian monuments in the territory of Artsakh and the inscriptions on them have been studied by specialists for more than a century, and their authenticity or nationality has never been problematic (except for the amateurish attempts and statements to falsify historical facts).
Valuable monuments of medieval Armenian architecture in Artsakh, such as Amaras Monastery, Dadivank, Khatravank, Gandzasar Monastery, Gtichavank, a great number of churches, including the famous Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi, are an organic part of Armenian architecture.
With their composition and decorthe monumental structures of High Middle Ages of Artsakh – the churches, gavits (narthex) and bell towers – are closely connected with the similar structures of historical Syunik and Ayrarat of the mentioned period. This was also proven by research carried out by authoritative foreign scholars studying Armenian medieval architecture, including Jean-Michel Thierry (France), Professor Paolo Cuneo (Italy) and others.
Scientific analysis of the lithographic inscriptions and of the data that have reached our days through those inscriptions will not be able to prove that they are Caucasian Albanian, thus the best way to “Albanize” the cultural heritage of the Armenians of Artsakh is to destroy the lithographic data, as was demonstrated by the “Azerbaijani experience” of destroying or distorting the Armenian cultural heritage in the territory of Nakhichevan. There are no specialists in Azerbaijan studying Christian culture and monuments, as evidenced by their own publications, which have been limited to the presentation of Islamic architecture.
First of all, even if they had been added later, according to the accepted standards of preservation of monuments, it would be cultural vandalism to eliminate them, as the additions made in the following centuries are an integral part of the history of the given architectural monument.
It is beyond doubt that the above-mentioned commission has been set up to implement the program of the Armenian cultural genocide, to alienate the cultural heritage of the Armenians of Artsakh from its real owner, to distort the history of the region.
With this statement, Azerbaijan once again declares to the world that it violates the freedom of thought, conscience and religion enshrined in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, as well as the right to freely value the cultural heritage created by that freedom.
The aim of the theory of Artsakh monuments being Caucasian Albanian is to try to substantiate Azerbaijan’s claims to Artsakh historically, using science to serve their genocidal aspirations, first to justify the destruction of the Armenian presence in the now occupied territories of the Artsakh Republic, and then to create false “historical and cultural” preconditions to infiltrate into the territories currently defended by Russian peacekeepers.
The comprehensive study of the lithographic data of the monuments of Artsakh, which includes archeological, linguistic, artistic, theological, literary-sourceological and particularly historical examination of those inscriptions, clearly proves the Armenianness of those churches and their inscriptions.
It is known worldwide, that not only in the case of lithographic inscriptions, but also in the case of fabrications and falsifications of various literary compositions, it is immediately apparent that they were added later on. It is impossible to find any inscriptions dated earlier or added artificially in Old Armenian in the monuments of Artsakh.
Moreover, linguistically, in the case of both lithographs and manuscripts, it is a common pattern that the linguistic realities of the writing environment i.e., dialects, are expressed in the local written language. The elements of the Artsakh dialect are noticeable in the lithographic inscriptions of Artsakh, while we cannot find any trace of the supposed Caucasian Albanian language. This once again shows that this cultural heritage was created by the Armenians of Artsakh, stamping their local breath on the walls of architectural monuments. Not to mention the existence of hundreds of manuscripts and memoirs that have been inherited from the Artsakh writing centers, the contents of which supplement and reaffirm the source information evidenced in the lithographs.
Later additions to both manuscripts and architectural monuments are usually placed in the wrong place on the structure, since in the general architectural design, as a rule, the inscriptions related to the construction of a monument are usually engraved immediately after construction. From the point of view of the general structural composition and symbolism of a church, we can confidently state that the inscriptions of all the famous monuments of Artsakh are in the exact place where the inscriptions testifying to the construction of the churches were to be engraved immediately after the construction of those monuments.
Nor does historical examination show any record of historical or donation information concerning the construction of monuments in Artsakh, created on a later date but was attributed to an earlier period.
It is generally accepted that monuments are constructed in order to record remarkable events that took place in different periods of history. The monuments of Artsakh are no exception in this respect, and in the case of further repairs, additions of new buildings, donations and other memorable works, the tradition of drawing lithographs has been utilized. The inscriptions of churches in Artsakh refer exclusively to the Armenian environment, which confirms that these monuments were not only part of Armenian art from the day of their construction until the current manifestations of vandalism in Azerbaijan, but also their subsequent history represents an important and integral part of Armenian cultural heritage. This is doubly confirmed by the existence of landmark monuments, thousands of khachkars and tombstones, whose Armenian lithographic inscriptions are also a direct reflection of the existence of the Armenian environment.
Even if an attempt is made to carry out cultural vandalism in the current occupied territories of the Artsakh Republic, the photos, measurements and inscriptions of those monuments with their decodings and translations into Russian and various European languages will constitute substantial evidence for the accusation of cultural genocide conducted by Azerbaijan and remain an intact testament on what and how those monuments looked like before their state-sanctioned destruction by Azerbaijan.
In fact, the policy of destruction and alienation of the Armenian cultural heritage is presented to the international community as a step towards the restoration of the religious rights of the Caucasian Albanian people, using for this purpose the representatives of the Udi people, who are being held as political hostages in Azerbaijan. At present, every effort is being made to implement the project of the newly-created “Udian” church. It has become a powerful tool for falsifying history, a national goal that is anti-Armenian. The Azerbaijani authorities do not miss the opportunity to announce that the “Udian” church, the legal successor of the “Caucasian Albanian” church, has the right to manage the churches declared Caucasian Albanian in Artsakh, historical Utik, and even in present-day Turkey by Azerbaijani manipulator historians.
It is well known from the testimonies of many historical sources that the Caucasian Albanian church has been closely connected with the Armenian Church throughout history. Three centuries after the traditional period of apostolic preaching, it was officially established by Gregory the Illuminator and his grandson Grigoris in the early 4th century, and later throughout history has been a part of the diocesan system of the Armenian Church.
The jurisdiction of the Caucasian Albanian Church originally extended to the territory of the kingdom of Caucasian Albania, which included the territory from the left bank of the Kura River to the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountain range to the Derbent Pass (the episcopate was then located in Kapaghak, the capital of the kingdom). However, in 428, when the King of Kings of Sasanian Iran abolished the Arshakuni Kingdom of Armenia and established an administrative system of three marzpanates (provinces) in Transcaucasia, including peripheral regions of Armenia in neighboring marzpanates (Utik and Artsakh in Aghvank-Aran, and Gugark in Virk-Varjan), the jurisdiction of the Caucasian Albanian Church (in accordance with the principles of the medieval church-administrative division) also extended to the Armenian provinces of Utik and Artsakh, located on the left bank of the Kura River. In 462, after the provincial center was moved to the town of Chogh-Derbent, the seat of the Caucasian Albanian Church (which had already received the status of an archdiocese-Catholicosate) was established there. But soon, in the first decades of the 6th century, the seat of the Catholicosate was moved to the newly-built provincial town of Partav, seat of the marzban (in the region of Uti-Arandznak in the province of Utik), on the Armenian right bank of the Kura River.
At the beginning of the 16thcentury, the seat of the church was finally established in Gandzasar, in the center of Artsakh (in the previous century, Jalet, on the left bank of the Kura River, was also a Catholicosate). After that, it was known as the Catholicosate of Gandzasar, and as one of the dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and then in the 19thcentury it was transformed into a metropolitanate (archbishopric) of the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin by the legal acts of the Russian tsarist authorities.
Surprisingly, in the Azerbaijani Caucasian Albanian rhetoric, a central place is given to the Udis – a people who, over the past 200 years, have been subjected to particularly cruel physical and moral persecution. In the 18thand 19thcenturies, the political process of forced Islamization and assimilation of the Udis led to the almost complete disappearance of this most visible representative of the Caucasian Albanian heritage. However, the population of at least 43 Udi villages in the Nukhi district, in particular, in the Sheki, Oguz (former Vardashen) and Gabala (former Kutkashen) regions retained the Udi (Caucasian Albanian) identity and, despite linguistic Turkization and Islamization, continued to venerate Caucasian Albanian historical monuments and sacred places, celebrated Caucasian Albanian holidays, marked their national identity on epitaphs, etc. Perhaps that is why during the interethnic clashes of 1918-1920 the Udiswere subjected to the cruelest physical violence, destruction and expulsion by the Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanis. The population of the last Udi settlements – Vardashen, Mirzabeylu, Sultan Nukhi, Jorurlu and most of the population of the village of Nizh, fleeing persecution, were forced to finally leave their homeland, where their ancestors had lived for hundreds of years. After the expulsion of the Udis, “historical truth was restored” in Azerbaijan: the entire Caucasian Albanian material and cultural heritage was “corrected” or destroyed.
The 2-3 thousand Udis remaining in Azerbaijan are being used today to implement the policy of denial of the Armenian cultural heritage pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities. It is not for nothing that Azerbaijan does not sign the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (French: Charteeuropéenne des langues regionalesouminoritaires) – the European convention for the protection and promotion support of languages used by traditional minorities.
Thus,
- especially emphasizing the “Nara Document of Authenticity”, the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia announces that, in the event of a conflict, the cultural values require recognition of legitimacy, as well as the implementation of basic principles of UNESCO, according to which the responsibility for the protection and management of cultural heritage sites rests upon the community that created the cultural heritage and the authenticity of the cultural heritage should never be subordinate to the conflict and called into question (“NARA Document of Authenticity”, paragraph 8).
- The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia considers that, as stated in the preamble to the 1954 Hague “Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict”, and reaffirmed in the 2016 UNESCO “Protection of Cultural Property: Military Manual”, being a vital part of the identity of humankind, the destruction of heritage deprives humankind of its irreplaceable values. As such, the erasure of the heritage of the Armenians of Artsakh can lead to an irreversible loss of cultural values and impoverish the cultural diversity of the world. The heritage of Artsakh was created by the Armenians of Artsakh in accordance with their ideas and skills, and the policy of Azerbaijan, as it is obvious, is aimed at falsifying and distorting that very heritage. According to international standards and conventions, Azerbaijan should respect and uphold its responsibilities in protecting the heritage of the Armenians of Artsakh, and preserve its authenticity and integrity. And the very same convention, cited by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan (https://t.me/Talish_vestnik/21490), in its Article 4, prohibits any act of vandalism, destruction or modification, and puts an absolute ban on acts of revenge against cultural values”, the statement says.
Azerbaijani MPs visit Armenia for the first time in a decade
Feb 22 2022
Official photo.
Two Azerbaijani MPs have visited Yerevan as participants in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly hosted by Armenia. The last time Azerbaijani MPs had stepped foot on Armenian soil was in 2012.
MPs Tahir Mirkishili and Soltan Mammadov arrived in Armenia on 21 February.
The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly is an inter-parliamentary forum of the members of the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
The arrival of the MPs was met by a small group of protesters holding a demonstration near hotel where the MPs would be staying.
The protest continued on Tuesday outside of the Karen Demirchyan Complex, where the plenary session was being held. One of the protest organisers, former Chief of Staff of the Constitutional Court of Armenia Edgar Ghazaryan, told reporters that they were protesting not only the ‘arrival of the Azerbaijani delegates’ but also ‘the situation with democracy in Armenia’.
‘Today, the presence of Azeris here has symbolism, because back in 2021, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced that the Azeris, taking the so-called Zangezur corridor, will return to Yerevan, and it is not necessary that they will come and take Yerevan by tanks’, Ghazaryan said.
He added that there was the impression of a ‘connection between the presence of high-ranking Azerbaijani delegates and Aliyev's statement’.
Naira Zohrabyan, a former MP from the opposition Prosperous Armenia party who was also at the protest, said that Armenia should have included the question of remaining prisoners-of-war in Azerbaijani custody on the agenda.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the Euronest delegation on Monday, one of the members of which was the Azerbaijani MP Tair Mirkishili, who is a co-rapporteur on issues relating to the pandemic.
Mirkishili is from Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party. He is also the chair of Azerbaijan’s Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, and Entrepreneurship and is a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
The main session of the parliamentary assembly took place on Tuesday. During the session, the Azerbaijani MP Soltan Mammadov, an independent member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, spoke about the ‘reintegration of the Armenian ethnic minority [of Nagorno-Karabakh] as equal citizens of Azerbaijan’.
‘Azerbaijan is in favour of the restoration of all relations with Armenia. This will bring peace and security, at the same time economic benefits to our region’, he said. ‘This will turn the region into a bridge between north and south, east and west’.
He also commented on Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan, denying their status as prisoners-of-war, as ‘all the prisoners of war and detainees were returned to Armenia after the war’.
‘Now there is a discussion under international law about the people who were arrested after the war,’ Mammadov said.
Contrary to Mammadov’s position, international rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch do not dispute the status of Armenian soldiers held captive in Azerbaijan as POWs.
Tahir Mirkishili, in his turn, lamented the deaths of ‘thousands’ during the last war in both countries and called for peaceful relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
‘We do not have racist aspirations, we do not want the use of force in the future’, he said. ‘All that is already in the past, now we have to talk about the future.’
The last plenary session of Euronest held in Yerevan was in 2015, and was held without the participation of the Azerbaijani delegation, who refused to come to Armenia. They did, however, come in 2012.
Armenian MPs also visited Baku under the auspices of Euronest in 2017.
‘During such visits, taking into account the general context, the parties provide security guarantees to persons arriving at the other country. When Ms Mane Tandilyan and Armen Ashotyan left for Baku in 2017, they were given similar guarantees’, Maria Karapetyan, an MP from Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party told reporters.
Apparently responding to criticisms from protest organisers, the Armenian Foreign Ministry released a statement affirming that Armenian Euronest participants brought up the questions of POWs.
‘Minister Mirzoyan stressed the need to repatriate Armenian prisoners of war and civilians detained illegally in Azerbaijan’, the statement reads.
At meeting with EU special rep., PM Pashinyan reaffirms “unwavering” devotion to democratic reforms process
13:56, 14 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar and the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin.
PM Pashinyan attached importance to the continuous development of the Armenia-EU relations and highlighted joint efforts in this direction. He emphasized that the agenda of democratic reforms remains among the Armenian government’s priorities and added that the Armenian government’s devotion to the democratic reforms process is unwavering.
Pashinyan and the EU officials discussed issues relating to the course of works in direction of implementing the 2,6 billion euro EU investment package envisaged for Armenia. In this context the effective realization of the 80 million euro package in the Syunik province was especially highlighted.
PM Pashinyan highly appreciated President of the European Council Charles Michel’s efforts for mutual-understanding and strengthening of stability in the region.
The situation in the South Caucasus region after the 2020 war and the measures aimed at de-escalating the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and ensuring stability were addressed. In particular, views were exchanged relating to the implementation of the agreements reached during the meetings mediated by the Russian President in Sochi, the President of the European Council and the French President in Brussels, as well as the February 4 trilateral video-conference.
Ensuring access of the UNESCO mission and international humanitarian organizations into Nagorno Karabakh was highlighted, given the threatening statements made by the Azerbaijani side against Armenian cultural heritage and the steps that have already been made in direction of destroying several Armenian monuments.
The need for a full launch of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship-mediated peace process in direction of a lasting settlement of the NK conflict and the intensification of the Co-Chairs’ activities were emphasized.
Acting President Alen Simonyan holds meeting with United States Ambassador
13:03,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Acting President Alen Simonyan received the United States Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy on February 15.
Simonyan and Tracy congratulated each other on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the United States.
Simonyan’s visit to Washington D.C. in January as Speaker of Parliament was discussed at the meeting, the presidency said in a press release. Attaching importance to the visit, Simonyan touched upon his meeting with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. He presented details to the Ambassador from his visit, stressing the productivity of a number of meetings with US colleagues and readiness to develop continuous programs.
Views were exchanged over organizing joint projects within the framework of the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and the United States.
Retailers to be banned from displaying cigarette substitutes
11:45,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government approved new restrictions at the Cabinet meeting that will restrict the display of cigarette substitutes by retailers.
“In 2020, the Government of Armenia made a very serious political decision on the restrictions of tobacco and tobacco substitutes and the provisions are gradually taking effect,” the Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said at the Cabinet meeting.
He said the technical regulations for cigarette substitutes must be defined by the Law on Reducing and Preventing the Harmful Health Effects of Tobacco and Substitute Use.
Kerobyan said the regulations are a highly important contribution for the health of Armenian citizens.
The law banning retailers from displaying tobacco products on January 1.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1075192.html?fbclid=IwAR01pb8tusiYe9u_ZuzfVGk46RRFR6M7wHJesnBvSxPU8EPsiGq1qRJyY_w
Azerbaijanis open fire on Karabakh civilians working at quarry
Feb 8 2022
February 8, 2022 – 18:03 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Workers at a quarry in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) came under Azerbaijan's fire on February 5, Artsakh's Prosecutor General's office reports.
In particular, the Prosecutor General's office said in a statement, several shots were fired from large-caliber machine guns at people repairing a tractor at the quarry.
In order to avoid being hurt, the workers hid for two hours before the arrival of the law enforcement officers.
The police are currently investigating the incident.