Author: Emma Nadirian

Eurasia Review

 

 

 

By PanARMENIAN

 

The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed between Armenia and the European Union will be ratified by the National Assembly on April 10, the head of the foreign relations committee Armen Ashotyan told a press conference on Monday, March 18.

 

Addressing the press conference alongside a Polish parliamentary delegation in Yerevan, Ashotyan said the deal will enter into effect “part by part”.

 

“Our joint efforts were dedicated to a number of most important questions, particularly to the ratification of the EU-Armenia agreement,” the Armenian lawmaker was quoted as saying by Panorama.am.

 

“The possibility of launching political dialogue for an EU visa waiver program have also been discussed.”

 

The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the EU and Armenia was signed by Mogherini and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Brussels on November 24. The Armenian government approved the 350-page deal in December.

ArmenPress, Armenia

March 15 2018

Congressmen and ANCA representatives hail visit of Artsakh's President to USA

YEREVAN, MARCH 15, ARMENPRESS. In a first-ever visit to the U.S. Capitol by an Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) head of state, President Bako Sahakyan delivered a powerful pro-peace and prosperity message to the American people, thanking U.S. legislators for ongoing aid programs and encouraging continued U.S. leadership toward a durable, democratic resolution of outstanding Artsakh-Azerbaijan status and security issues, ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“Our people are building an independent, sovereign, democratic state and civil society,” said President Sahakyan. “We are committed to these ideas consciously. They have been inherited from generation to generation, constituting part and parcel of the Armenian civilization.”

Citing Artsakh’s democratic and economic progress over the past 25 years, President Sahakyan noted “Representatives of numerous countries, including the United States, who periodically visit Artsakh, carry out observation missions in various elections also point to our achievements registered on this path. Artsakh people have earned the right to become a full member of the international community and to be integrated into the civilized world.”

President Sahakyan concluded, noting “Washington has a tangible role in maintaining peace and stability in our region, peaceful and just settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict conducting its mediation mission as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk group. Cementing and deepening ties with the United States of America have always been and will remain among the fundamental directions of our foreign policy.”

“Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan’s visit to Washington, DC marks a major milestone in U.S.-Artsakh relations – representing both a clear rejection of Baku’s reckless bid to block bilateral dialogue and a bold reaffirmation of America and Artsakh’s shared commitment to open discourse as the only viable path to peace,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “As we’ve long said, Artsakh is a very American story, the victory of a free people over foreign rule. So it’s particularly meaningful that Artsakh’s head of state was – in the spirit of the bilateral U.S.-Artsakh Travel and Communication Resolution – so very warmly welcomed in our U.S. Capitol.”

The Artsakh briefing and reception on Capitol Hill featured Congressional participation by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA) and David Valadao (R-CA), Vice-Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA). They each welcomed the President and his delegation, which included Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian, Parliamentarians David Ishkhanian and David Melkoumyan, and the President’s Deputy Chief of Staff David Babayan. They were accompanied by Artsakh’s Representative in the United States, Robert Avetisyan. Also in attendance was Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. Grigor Hovhannisian and his Embassy team.

Opening up the Congressional briefing, Rep. Pallone cited the importance of lifting artificial barriers to dialogue and travel to Artsakh. “When we were there (in Armenia) in September,” explained Rep. Pallone, “we were strongly urged by the Administration, by the State Department not to go to Artsakh, which I think is very wrong that they continue to do that. That is one of the reasons that we introduced this bill (H.Res.697) – to make it clear that travel and communications with Artsakh – even though it is not recognized by the United States – is very important.” Support for H.Res. 697, introduced in January, 2018, is growing with 12 cosponsors to date. Congressman Pallone went on to stress the importance continued visits to Artsakh as well as the continuation of U.S. assistance to Artsakh and the implementation of the Royce-Engel proposals for peace in the region.

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Jackie Speier (D-CA), one of two Members of Congress of Armenian descent, announced that she would be leading a Congressional delegation to Armenia and Artsakh this year “to help everyone understand and appreciate what a grand and prosperous country it is and how important it is for Artsakh to be recognized as part of Armenia.”

Following the briefing, Rep. Schiff told the ANCA of the importance of implementing the Royce-Engel proposals. “That [the proposals], of course, are supported by Artsakh and Armenia but opposed by Azerbaijan, which has consistently been a belligerent and aggressor, but in the absence of that kind of deterrent, there is a grave risk that Azerbaijan may provoke a conflagration in the region,” said Rep. Schiff. “As Aliyev struggles with conflicts and unpopularity at home and spends billions on his military, there is a great temptation to use that, and we have to insist upon the peace as well as hold those who violate it accountable.”

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), also of Armenian and Assyrian descent and from Rep. Speier’s neighboring district, spoke fondly of her trip to Armenia last September, and of her “Armenian family” present on Capitol Hill and across the United States, all dedicated to advancing pro-Armenia and Artsakh priorities.

During the Congressional luncheon and briefing, President Sahakyan announced the awarding of Presidential Medals of Gratitude to a number of U.S. legislators, including Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Representatives David Cicilline, Jim Costa, Brad Sherman, Adam Schiff, and David Valadao. The Medal of Gratitude is awarded to individuals, organizations, and collectives for significant contribution in restoring and developing the economy, science, culture, social spheres of the NKR as well as for defending and promoting international recognition of the Republic.

After thanking President Sahakyan for the honor, Rep. Cicilline noted, “I know that the relationship between Artsakh and the United States is a strong and important one and we will continue to do everything we can to support the aspirations of your countrymen and women and be sure that they enjoy freedom and independence and self-determination.” He went on to praise the active efforts of the Armenian community in his state in support of Artsakh freedom and recognition. “Rhode Island was the first state in the country to recognize the independence of Artsakh,” said Rep. Cicilline, citing the efforts of ANC-Rhode Island leader Ani Haroian and his own staff member Lisa Sarkisian Tatarian.

Immediately after the briefing, Rep. Cicilline issued a separate statement marking the occasion of President Sahakyan’s visit, noting, “Since the fall of the Soviet Union, a new generation in Artsakh has grown up in freedom and under a democratic government of its own choosing. Artsakh has continued to strengthen its democracy, having held several parliamentary and presidential elections. Freedom House has consistently rated Artsakh more democratic than Azerbaijan.”

Rep. Sherman explained that “For 22 years I have served on the Foreign Affairs Committee – and Mr. President, this award is very important to me because one of the first things I did on the Committee was to introduce an amendment which would provide direct aid to the people of Artsakh. The State Department opposed it on the theory that it would be an implicit recognition of your independence. I thought, as they say in Silicon Valley, that’s not a bug, that’s a feature. And so, we secured $12 million to help people who needed help, who were suffering as a result of war and hostility – and we implicitly recognized the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh – now the Republic of Artsakh,” noting the important next step of explicitly recognizing Artsakh’s independence.

“It was a great honor to be the first member of Congress in over a decade to touch soil in Nagorno Karabakh and see it for myself,” said Central Valley California Congressman David Valadao (R-CA), who travelled to Artsakh in September, 2017, after having successfully spearheaded the Valadao Amendment securing $1.5 million in U.S. assistance for ongoing demining efforts through the HALO Trust. “I still remember driving around Nagorno Karabakh and seeing all the families, the kids outside their living lives. You hear on the outside of the shelling, the sniper fire and the rocket fire in such a small country but people are living their lives just like our families here. So the resilience, the strength, the courage, of so many people is amazing to see,” concluded Rep. Valadao.

“It was an honor to be awarded the Gratitude Medal by President Sahakyan today,” said Rep. Costa. We must continue to do all that we can to support the democratic independence of the Republic of Artsakh and the nation’s rightful exercise of self-determination.” On February 27th, Rep. Costa issued a powerful video statement marking the 30thanniversary of the Sumgait pogroms against Armenians. He was later joined by Representatives Pallone and Schiff in condemning the attacks and calling for justice for the victims.

President Sahakyan is on a week-long working visit to Washington, DC, where, in addition to meetings with Congressional leaders, he and his delegation will be meeting with media representatives and think tank experts.

English –translator/editor:Tigran Sirekanyan

The Guardian(London)

March 9, 2018 Friday 7:21 PM GMT

 

 

The world championship candidates tournament opens at the Kulhaus, Berlin on Saturday afternoon, continues until 28 March and will decide who among eight qualifiers becomes the challenger to Magnus Carlsen for the Norwegian's world crown in London in November.

 

All the games can be viewed live and free online (2pm start) as three Russians, two Americans and one each from Armenia, Azerbaijan and China start their marathon double-round all-play-all, a total of 14 games each.

 

Related: Chess: Levon Aronian tops strong field to triumph at Tradewise Gibraltar

 

Who will win? Levon Aronian is a popular choice and the betting favourite, after the Yerevan 35-year-old scored major successes in 2017. He has a fluent tactical style, is cultured and outgoing and has held his own with Carlsen in their mutual classical games of the last three years.

 

Aronian is favourite but he represents poor value after five previous failures at this level in the past decade. In none was he a threat at the business end. For a player in his mid-30s that is considerable psychological baggage.

 

Vlad Kramnik is a former world champion and has long cherished his ambition to regain the crown but at 42 his game is more uneven than in his best years. Of the two Americans Fabiano Caruana missed becoming the 2016 candidate only in the final round and has prepared seriously but his recent form, a failure at Wijk 2018, is less than convincing. Wesley So, at 24, is the youngest candidate and may need more experience.

 

Shak Mamedyarov is the current world No 2 and a fine tactician and competitor, yet there is an impression that his style lacks soundness at the highest level. Alex Grischuk, like Aronian, has played in several previous candidates without winning.

 

Ding Liren is the first ever candidate from China and is reckoned the outsider, though Beijing is hungry for global success, and Ding will have been prepared in depth for his big chance. All the other candidates have played in tournaments leading up to Berlin, but Ding has conspicuously stayed away.

 

Historically, those who are proven winners at the world title candidates stage have a significant chance of a repeat. Vassily Smyslov won at Zurich 1953, was held to a draw in the championship match by Mikhail Botvinnik who retained the crown, and again won the candidates in 1956 before capturing the world title a year later. Smyslov kept his ambitions alive even as a veteran, and at age 63 again reached the candidates final against Garry Kasparov.

 

Boris Spassky won two candidates events, in 1965 and 1968, while Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi later also achieved doubles. In 2007 there was a match tournament for the title. Vishy Anand won that, and after losing his crown to Carlsen six years later the Indian still had the energy to become the challenger in 2014.

 

Sergey Karjakin won the 2016 candidates, had a real opportunity at one moment in the championship match in New York to take Carlsen's crown, and drew the main series 6-6 before losing in speed tie-breaks. It is clear that all his play in the last two years has been geared towards this second attempt. His defensive skills, stable and strategic style, and improved speed technique are formidable weapons.

 

Karjakin has taken advice from the legendary Anatoly Karpov, a master of subtle positional play, and used it to effect when winning last week's Tal Memorial blitz in Moscow.

 

Here he exploits the Israel No 1's small errors in Karpov style. Black should prefer 11…Ne7! with the idea of a later c6 and d5, while next turn 12…hl backs up the f5 bishop. The fatal error was 20…Be4? (better Qhl) which allowed a forced winning sequence. Black resigned because 25…Nb4 26 Rxa8 Rxa8 27 Nxc5 wins the b4 knight or the d7 bishop.

 

Related: Learning through play is plane easy | Letters

 

Sergey Karjakin v Boris Gelfand, Tal Memorial blitz 2018

 

1 b3 e5 2 Bb2 Nc6 3 e3 d6 4 c4 g6 5 Nf3 Bg7 6 Be2 Nf6 7 d4 O-O 8 O-O Bf5 9 hl hl 10 a3 Re8 11 d5 Nb8?! 12 Nc3 Ne4?! 13 Nxe4 Bxe4 14 Nd2 Bf5 15 b4 a5 16 Bc3 Na6 17 Nb3 axb4 18 axb4 Qg5 19 Khl hl 20 Qd2 Be4? 21 f3! Bf5 22 e4 Qxd2 23 Bxd2 Bd7 24 c5! dxc5 25 b5! 1-0

 

3557 1 Ng5+! hxg5 2 Rxf7+! Qxf7 3 hxg5+ Kg7 4 Qhl mate. Black can delay mate only by heavy material losses.

News.am, Armenia

March 6 2018

 

 

 

 

The residents of Ohanavan village of Armenia’s Aragatsotn Province, and who on Tuesday blocked the road leading to this rural community, have met with Aragatsotn Governor Ashot Simonyan.

 

After this talk, the villagers told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the governor promised to resolve the matter as soon as possible. In their words, they will wait and see how this issue will be resolved. Until then, however, they will not block the aforesaid road again.

 

Speaking to Armenian News-NEWS.am, Governor Simonyan likewise assured that Armenia is working so that the fruits of these villagers reach the Russian market as soon as possible.

 

“The requirements have been toughened during the agreement reached between us and Russia,” he said. “At this moment we have a closed Upper Lars section. We will try to solve this problem quickly so that the product reaches Russia’s market.”

 

Ohanavan residents say Russia is not permitting vehicles with fruits from Armenia to enter its territory via the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Georgia-Russia border, and therefore they are unable to export their agricultural produce to Russia.

 

According to the villagers, their vehicles are at the aforementioned border for the past eleven days, they are not allowed to cross the border, and as a result, their fruits are rotting inside the vehicles.

 

As a sign of protest, the Ohanavan residents had blocked the road leading to their rural community, on Tuesday morning.

 

Daily Sabah, Turkey

Feb 15 2018

Panorama, Armenia

Jan 31 2018

MediaMax, Armenia

Jan 15 2018

 

 

 

 

 

Yerevan /Mediamax/. On January 12 Larry Breckenridge, registered professional engineer and international independent expert, presented details of the environmental management of the Amulsar project at Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia. Minister Artsvik Minasyan, Deputy Minister Erik Grigoryan and the experts of the ministry participated in the meeting.

 

The independent expert explained that all risks at Amulsar are manageable and that the project is being developed in line with good modern industry practice.

 

During the 3 hour meeting, all questions of concern around Amulsar were discussed, including the public concerns around Sevan Lake, impact on water resources, and acid rock drainage (ARD) management. Larry Breckenridge explained that ARD occurs naturally and is a common issue in many gold, silver or copper mining projects. Nevertheless, modern mining has the experience and means to manage the problem. In case of Amulsar, the risk of ARD is milder than in many other mining projects that are successfully controlling ARD. This is due to certain project specifics, such as fully-oxidized ore and the fact that only a portion of the barren rock is potentially-acid generating.

 

The detailed ARD management plan, that is a result of over seven years of extensive research on Amulsar, was presented. It ensures reliable protection of all surrounding water resources.  The study determined that there is no significant water quality impact from the Amulsar project.  This due to active pollution-prevention measures, state-of-the art water treatment, and the fact that mining-impacted water will be consumed by operations.  Larry Breckenridge presented some successful examples of similar ARD management in mining projects in the US that use the same technology that Amulsar will employ.

 

The expert discussion was planned to be held between Lydian representatives and the authors of recent public reports criticizing the Amulsar project. However, despite a previously-expressed willingness, the authors of the reports refused to participate at the expert meeting. Armen Saghatelyan, the Director of the Ecological and Noosphere Studies Center was the only project critic that came to the meeting, however, he chose to leave at the start of the meeting, with no participation.

 

Larry Breckenridge is an expert with the US-based Global Resource Engineering. He is a Qualified Person (QP) under Canadian legislation. This status allows him to provide a legally binding opinion for feasibility studies and other documents required under the Securities Exchange Commission. Larry Breckenridge has more than 20 years of experience in mining environmental management internationally and is an author of many technical articles. He is one of the many internationally recognized qualified experts involved in the design and implementation of the environmental management of the Amulsar mine.

 

ARKA, Armenia

Jan 15 2018