Author: Garnik Tadevosian

“Please pray for me as I begin tomorrow my pilgrimage to Armenia, first among the nations to welcome the Gospel of Jesus,” Pope Francis wrote on Instagram before the visit to Arnmena.

Pope wrote the message in six languages – English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and German.

The Pope will visit Armenia June 24-26.

Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Vilf

 

Russia expects Turkey’s and Ukraine’s foreign ministers to take part in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) meeting on July 1 in Sochi and is open to bilateral talks with the Turkish diplomat, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Nebenzya said Thursday, reports.

“We have invited all ministers and are waiting for everyone, including Turkey and Ukraine, but there is still no answer. I think it would be clear [who will take part in the meeting] this week or early next week at the latest,” Nebenzya told RIA Novosti.

The diplomat explained that the format’s multilateral platform precludes bilateral meetings, but voiced readiness to hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

“I suppose that if the Turkish minister will be there, he would want to talk with our minister. The opportunity would be there, we are not running or hiding from anyone, and are open to all talks in this sense,” Nebenzya stressed.

The ceasefire was mostly observed along the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh an Azerbaijan last night, NKR Defense al Ministry reports.

The rival used firearms in some directions of the frontline.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army refrained from response actions and confidently continued with their military duty.

 

“The Pope’s visit to Armenia will bring a message of peace to the whole region of South Caucasus still suffering from deadly military provocations by Azerbaijan and anti-Armenian hate and intolerance dominating in that county,” member of the Armenian delegation to PACE said, addressing the Parliamentary Assembly today. The full text of th speech is provided below:

Pope Francis will be visiting Armenia in four days. He has asked the faithful to pray for his upcoming visit to Armenia. Let me quote His Holiness “I ask you to pray for me, who in a few days will go as a pilgrim to an eastern land, Armenia, the first among Nations to receive the Gospel of Jesus”. Pope Francis’s visit is to come to mark the brilliantly unique relations between Armenia and the Holy See and the excellence of cooperation between the two of ancient churches – Church of Rome and the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Christianity has been a cornerstone of Armenian national identity throughout our long journey into history: Armenians have made an exceptional and invaluable contribution to the unity of Christ disciples while millions of Armenians have been martyred and shed their blood for Christ. The blood of martyrs, however, became a seed for renewed faith, passion, commitment and unity and Armenia and millions of Armenians world over will greet Pope Francis in Yerevan, Saint Etchmiadzin and Gyumri with a reborn and progressing statehood, strong commitment to peace, renewed love to others and enlightened souls praying for all children of Christ in any corner of the Globe.

Colleagues,

Pope Francis will visit Tsitsernakaberd, a Memorial in Yerevan dedicated to the remembrance of 1.5 millions of saint martyrs of Armenian Genocide who were killed in Ottoman Turkey simply because they were different; they were Armenians; they were Christians. Pope Francis’s visit to the Genocide Memorial will become a big question mark to the unwise and increasingly dangerous policy of denial by Erdogan’s Turkey. This visit will re-deliver His Holiness’ precept that “concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.” Life threatening, blackmailing, Nazi-style calls for analyzing the “blood purity” of all those parliamentarians of German Bundestag who courageously voted for recognition of the Armenian Genocide, President Erdogan’s statement about the possibility of deporting of all ethnic Armenians still living in Turkey are a dangerous alarm reminding the international community to keep its ears open towards Pope Francis’ precept.

His Holiness’ visit to Armenia will bring also a message of peace to the whole region of South Caucasus still suffering from deadly military provocations by Azerbaijan and anti-Armenian hate and intolerance dominating in that country. While Presidents of Armenia and Russia, are trying to deliver the opinion of the international community and explaining President Aliev right now in Saint-Petersburg that war is an option for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, I hope that the ordinary people of Azerbaijan, including our beautiful colleague Pashaeva, will keep their ears open to the voice of Pope Francis and millions of faithful human beings in Armenia praying for peace, hope and love in the coming days to listen a simple message that ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness and hate cannot drive out hate.’

Thank you.

The South Ossetian parliament is considering the issue of a vote on recognizing Armenian genocide, citing the Armenian diaspora’s appeal, the parliament’s press release said Wednesday, citing one of the lawmakers, reports.

“The members of the Armenian diaspora are full members of the South Ossetian society, many of whom fought for the freedom and independence of our Republic, went through the harsh times of war with us, and some of them are the descendants of the Armenians who ran away from the genocide,” lawmaker Petr Gassiev was quoted as saying in the press release.

Photo: AFP

 

Libyan forces say they have re-taken control of the port in the city of Sirte, after fierce fighting against militants from so-called Islamic State, the BBC reports.

Sirte is the most significant IS stronghold outside Iraq and Syria.

Earlier this week warplanes bombed IS positions in Sirte while naval forces fired missiles into the port, officials said. The offensive continues.

The forces, aligned to the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, began the battle to re-take the city last month.

Their spokesman, General Muhammad al-Ghusri, said senior IS leaders had fled into the desert to the south, but that many militants were still under siege in the city centre.

Elizabeth MacBride

One month ago, one more Syrian restaurant opened, this one in Yerevan, Armenia.

“I love Armenia. It’s my job, I think, to love it. I want to live here. I don’t to go anywhere else,” said Shaghig Rastkelenian. She fled to Armenia about four years ago from Aleppo with her family. Her two sisters, and mother are working in the restaurant, which seats 35-40 and is called Zeituna.

“My mom is professional cook. She cooks Arabic food and Syrian food, and everybody knows her,” said Rastkelenian. “We decided to go ahead, to make money, because nobody can live in a place without working.”

As the Syrian refugee diaspora spreads across the world, one of the first signs of their integration into the communities where they land is turning out to be restaurants.

Syrians are known throughout the Middle East for their craft skills, which include cooking.

Syrian restaurants opening on Medina Street were an early effect of the refugee crisis in Amman. I’ve heard of a catering kitchen in Cairo, called Zeit Zeitoun, being run by Syrian refugee women, set up with the aid of the Syrian diaspora in Cairo. One of the first stories I wrote about refugees in the Middle East almost two years ago was about a Syrian woman who was supporting her family by making the savory pastry kibbeh. There’s an upcoming discussion of the culinary as part of the Syrian identity.

Stories of Syrian refugees rebuilding their lives in Armenia resonate because of the history of the connection between Syria and Armenia.

“I think for hard-working people they can find life where they want,” Rastkelenian said. “The only problem here is that you can do only small businesses. The economy is slow.”

She estimated that you can open a small restaurant in Yerevan for about $10,000.

Stories about the Syrian refugees in Armenia have particular resonance because of the history of connection between the two countries. One hundred years ago, during the Armenian genocide, Syria became a refuge for families that survived forced marches and mass violence in the desert between the two countries. Now that the tables are turned, Armenia is welcoming Syrian refugees: a population of about 17,000 has reportedly come to the country of about 3 million.

Before the genocide, Aleppo had had an Armenia community dating to the Silk Road that led from China to Venice and passed through both Syria and Armenia, according to lawyer Harout Ekmanian, a Syrian who worked for a few months in Armenia in 2012 before moving to New York. When the genocide happened, the Armenians living in Aleppo led the humanitarian effort, and as a result, grew an even stronger community in the city, one that lasted and sustained its culture until now. Rastkelenian grew up speaking Armenian and attended an Armenian school.

“They call Aleppo as the mother community of the whole Armenian diaspora,” he said.

Despite Armenia’s high poverty rate — 30% — and its fairly slow growth, Syrian refugees by all accounts are finding a welcome in Armenia. Though they aren’t able to continue in their same lines of work or businesses — a shopkeeper in Aleppo might find a market stand in Yerevan — they are finding community and support. For instance, Rastkelenian said, Syrian Armenian students attend school for free. (She finished college in Armenia).

Rastkelenian, 24, who also works as a model, has also set up an Instagram and Facebook campaign with two friends called LiveLoveArmenia, which sells bracelets emblazoned with the motto for about $4. Their first project, she said, was hiring a Syrian-Armenian family to knit scarves and hats, which they donated to a orphans in Yerevan.

The Minsk Group Co-Chairs are looking forward to a meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in June.

US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick made the statement on Twitter after talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

 

 

 

Germany is now playing a key role in two issues of vital importance to Armenia – the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The issues were high on the agenda of the meeting of the Vice-Presidents of the two countries’ Parliaments today.

As an OSCE presiding country Germany is trying to play a practical role in the establishment of peace in the region, Vice-President of the Bundestag Edelgard Bulmahn told a press conference at the Armenian National Assembly today.

“The German Parliament supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and attaches importance to the implementation of the agreements reached at the Vienna meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. We hope the ceasefire will be maintained, and the agreements will not remain on paper,” she said.

“Germany is confident that there can be no military solution to the Karabakh conflict,” Mrs. Bulmahn said. “We do hope that the agreements on ceasefire will serve a basis for the resumption of talks based on the fundamental principles proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs,” she added.

Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov reiterated that the negotiation can resume and proceed only in case the agreements reached in Vienna are respected. “The implementation of monitoring and investigation mechanisms at the line of contact is extremely important to Armenia,” he said.

On June 2 the Bundestag is expected to vote on a bill condemning the Armenian genocide. The resolution is a result of consensus between three political forces, which makes its passage more likely.

“With this resolution we’ll commemorate the Armenian Genocide victims, condemn the crimes against the Armenians and other Christian peoples and acknowledge the complicity of the German authorities,” the Bundestag Vice-President said.

“Germany has managed to reconcile with Israel, France and Germany. I think it’s a hard, but possible political path for Armenia and Turkey to re-establish relations and re-launch dialogue,” she said.

Tomorrow the Bundestag Vice-President will meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

On 19 May Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited a section on the republic’s southern borderline, got acquainted with the course of the service and situation there, gave corresponding instructions towards the realization of the set tasks.

Defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan, chairman of the “Yerkrapah” Volunteers Union organization’s board Manvel Grigoryan, other officials accompanied the President during the visit.