Author: Emma Nadirian

The Azerbaijani side intensively violated the ceasefire regime at the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh over the weekend.

The rival used  artillery weapons of different caliber (including 60, 82 and 120 mm mortars) to fire in the direction of the Armenian forces.

The front troops of the NKR Defense Army resorted to retaliatory measures to pressure the activeness of the Azerbaijani side.

NKR Defense Ministry reports, quoting reliable sources, that at least 4 Azerbaijanis were killed, another 15 wounded.

 

Armenia has welcomed the agreement reached on Iran’s nuclear program.

“Armenia welcomes the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program reached as a result of consistent, constructive efforts of Iran and the international mediators,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

“This long-expected agreement is an important achievement for the benefit of international and regional stability and reinforcement of cooperation,” Minister Nalbandian said.

“We are hopeful that this will serve an impetus for the expansion of trade-economic cooperation between Armenia and friendly Iran and implementation of joint programs,” the Armenian Foreign Minister stated.

Every two years the United Church of Christ (UCC) brings together thousands of faithful members for the General Synod.

The UCC has more than 5,100 churches and 1.1 million members across the United States. Many Armenian Evangelical Churches within the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America (AEUNA) are members of the UCC.

This year, General Synod held June 26-30th in Cleveland, OH —the birthplace of the United Church of Christ.  Dr. Peter Makari, Area Executive for Middle East/Europe of the UCC, announced that on June 29 the Synod adopted the resolution of witness submitted by Wider Church Ministries “Commemorating 100 Years Since the Armenian Genocide.”

During the General Synod, Rev. Dr. James Moos, Executive Minister of Wider Church Ministries, UCC, read the statements of Rev. L. Nishan Bakalian, Pastor of Armenian Martyrs’ Congregational Church, Havertown, PA and Rev. Michelle Torigian, Pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ (UCC) in Cincinnati, OH.

The Armenian delegation headed by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan had a meeting with the President of the Czech Senate Milan Štěch.

Milan Štěch attached great importance to the visit of the Armenian Prime Minister to the Czech Republic and expressed confidence that it would contribute to the reinforcement of warm and friendly relations and promote the development of Armenian-Czech cooperation in different directions.

PM Hovik Abrahamyan said, in turn, that the visit was of great significance for the development of bilateral relations.

The interlocutors emphasized the need to intensify the economic ties, deepen the inter-parliamentary coopetaion and propmote cooperation on the international arena.

Reference was to regional issues, incluring the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and deepening of Armenia-EU relations.

Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received Governor of Sweden’s Uppsala County Peter Egardt who is in Armenia to discuss the prospects of cooperation between Uppsala County and Lori Marz of Armenia.

Welcoming the Governor’s visit, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation between the regions in order to promote economic relations and tap the existing potential. The Premier noted that our country is eager to expand cooperation with the EU-member States, and in this respect, Sweden is an important partner for Armenia.

Thankful for the reception, Peter Egardt said it was the first time he had been visiting our country and that he was impressed by our people’s hospitality. Noting Sweden’s keen interest in developing relations with Armenia as an Eastern Partnership country, the Uppsala Governor assured that practical steps would be taken in this direction.

The interlocutors exchanged views on ways and programs of expanding cooperation in different areas. In particular, they discussed prospects of cooperation in the fields of education, agriculture, nuclear security, as well as possibilities for exchange of know-how relevant to regional and local self-government.

For his part, Lori Marz Governor Arthur Nalbandyan briefed the Premier on the outcome of his talks with the Governor of Uppsala County, which may give a new impetus to bilateral relations.

The Senate of Spain on Wednesday has rejected the bill to recognize the Armenian Gencide tabled by Entesa, a political group active in the Catalonian region – with 130 votes against and 14 in favor, along with 68 abstentions, Daily Sabah reports.
The People’s Party was the only national political party that voted against, while the main opposition Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, Catalonian nationalist coalition Convergence and Union, Canarian Coalition, Asturias Forum and Navarrese People’s Union abstained.

 

On May 13, the Center on the United States at Brookings (CUSE), together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for International Studies, the Hrant Dink Memorial Human Rights and Justice Lectureship at MIT, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will hold a conference with several leading scholars of the Armenian genocide and other international experts.

Speakers will consider the historical record and circumstances of the genocide amid the disorder of World War I; how Turkey, Armenia, and other key actors have dealt with the legacy of 1915; and how this legacy continues to reverberate in the region today, with protracted conflicts in the Caucasus and where religious and ethnic minority groups have been deliberately targeted for expulsion and death amid the upheavals in Iraq, Syria, and other states that emerged from the rubble of the Ottoman Empire.

 

 

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have released a statement after meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers:

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) traveled to Paris to meet with Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, and separately with Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov.  The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meetings.

The Ministers reported on their respective President’s meeting with President of France Francois Hollande in Yerevan and Baku April 24-25.  We stressed to each Minister the importance of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan intensifying their dialogue, and continued preparations for the next presidential meeting later this year.  The Ministers agreed to meet each other, together with the Co-Chairs, to shape the agenda for the Presidents’ discussion, and welcomed an upcoming visit to the region by the Co-Chairs.

The Co-Chairs also note that “parliamentary elections” are taking place May 3 in Nagorno-Karabakh.  In the context of a comprehensive settlement of the conflict, we recognize the role of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in deciding their future.  However, none of our three countries, nor any other country, recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state.

Accordingly, we do not accept the results of these “elections” as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and stress that they in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.