Author: Greg Madatian

Cabinet approves ratification of Armenia-EU Common Aviation Area Agreement

Greg Madatian

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 14:19,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Government approved at the Cabinet meeting the bill on ratifying the Armenia-EU Common Aviation Area Agreement signed on November 15, 2021 in Brussels.

The new agreement will replace the EU Member States' bilateral aviation agreements with Armenia and create a Common Aviation Area between Armenia and the EU. Armenia will progressively align its aviation legislation with EU rules in areas such as safety, security, air traffic management, economic regulation and the environment. The Agreement will also gradually enhance market access to the benefit of consumers, provide new business opportunities for European companies and ensure fair and transparent market conditions, based on a clear regulatory framework. It will provide more connections and better prices for passengers. Global connectivity is a driver of trade and tourism and directly contributes to economic growth and job creation.

Going far beyond traffic rights, the EU-Armenia agreement will provide a single set of rules, a level playing field with strong provisions for fair competition, and a platform for future cooperation on a wide range of aviation issues (safety, security, air traffic management (ATM), environment etc.).

The agreement ensures that new traffic rights will gradually be made available, provides new business opportunities for European companies, and ensures fair and transparent market conditions, based on a clear regulatory framework. Global connectivity is a driver of trade and tourism, and contributes directly to economic growth and job creation.

Turkish press: Azerbaijan to repatriate 8 detained soldiers to Armenia

Greg Madatian
Ruslan Rehimov   |07.02.2022


BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan announced on Monday that eight Armenian soldiers will be repatriated to their country.

According to Azerbaijan's State Commission for Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, the soldiers were detained on Nov. 16, 2021.

In return, Armenia should provide information about the Azerbaijani civilians and soldiers killed in the First Karabakh War and presumably buried in mass graves, it was stated.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the EU Council Charles Michel brought the situation of the Azerbaijani citizens lost in the First Karabakh War to the agenda in the quad video conference on Feb. 4. Pashinyan had promised to cooperate on this issue.

Belarus’ Lukashenko Says Armenia ‘Can’t Escape’ Union State With Russia

Greg Madatian
Feb 8 2022
 February 8, 2022 

By PanARMENIAN

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes the Union State with Russia could in the near future include other countries as well, such as Armenia, which he said “can’t escape it”.

“Armenia can’t escape it. You think anyone needs them? They have already seen it,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov.

He added that Belarus is already in the common “security space”, and Kazakhstan has learnt a “good lesson”. Ukraine, he maintained, may end up there within 15 years “if no mistakes are made”.

“And Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, I think, will also join due to economic necessity,” Lukashenko noted.

The Union State is a supranational organization consisting of Russia and Belarus, “with the stated aim of deepening the relationship between the two states through integration in economic and defense policy.”

Turkey and Ukraine to coproduce TB2 drones

Greg Madatian 
DefenseNews


By Burak Ege Bekdil
Feb. 4, 2022

ANKARA, Turkey — NATO member Turkey and its Black Sea ally Ukraine
have agreed to coproduce an increasingly popular Turkish-made drone at
a production site in Ukraine.

A top Ukrainian official said Feb. 3 that the two countries would sign
a coproduction agreement which would be ratified by parliaments in
Turkey and Ukraine.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Olesii Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv that
the coproduction compound would also include a training center where
Ukrainian pilots would be trained.

In 2019, Baykar Makina, a privately owned Turkish drone maker, won a
contract to sell six Bayraktar TB2 UAVs to Ukraine. The $69 million
contract also involved the sale of ammunition for the armed version of
the aircraft.

In September, the Ukrainian government announced that it was planning
to buy 24 more Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicles in the coming
months.

Use of the TB2 by Ukrainian forces against Russian-backed separatists
in eastern Ukraine has irked Moscow. As U.S. officials claimed to have
intelligence of Russian officials working on a staged video of
Ukrainian forces attacking Russians as a pretext for war, the
Washington Post cited an unnamed U.S. government official on Friday
saying a TB2 drone could be pictured in such a film to implicate NATO.

The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-range tactical UAV
system. It was developed by Kale-Baykar, a joint venture of Baykar
Makina and the Kale Group. The UAV operates as a platform for
conducting reconnaissance and intelligence missions.

Reznikov said that the aircraft to be coproduced would be dubbed the
Turkish-Ukrainian Bayraktar.

He said the drone would be powered by a Ukrainian engine. In earlier
talks Turkish sources said that the engine would be supplied by the
Ukrainian producer Motor Sich.

Bayraktar TB2 features a monocoque design and integrates an inverse
V-tail structure. The fuselage is made of carbon fiber, Kevlar and
hybrid composites, whereas the joint segments constitute precision
computer numerical control (CNC) machined aluminum parts.

Each Bayraktar TB2 system consists of six aerial vehicles, two ground
control stations, three ground data terminals, two remote video
terminals and ground-support equipment.

The Bayraktar TB2′s maximum payload exceeds 55 kilograms. The standard
payload configuration includes an electro-optical camera module, an
infrared camera module, a laser designator, a laser range finder and a
laser pointer.

Ukraine was the first export market for the TB2, with the sale of six
systems in a $69 million contract in 2019. Baykar has also won
contracts to sell batches of the TB2 to Qatar, Azerbaijan and Poland.

Turkish Press: Historical Armenian church in southeastern Turkiye set to be restored

Greg Madatian
Turkish Press
Feb 6 2022


February 6, 2022

DIYARBAKIR, Turkiye


An ancient Armenian church in southeastern Turkey is set to be restored, officials have told Anadolu Agency.

The Surp Sargis Armenian Church, built in the 16th century in the Alipasa neighborhood of Sur district, Diyarbakir province, has an area of 3,769 square meters.

Owned by the Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation, the church, whose upper structure was completely destroyed, is also known as the Paddy Church as it was used as a paddy factory for a long time.

An inscription, now in the Diyarbakir Archeology Museum, says the Christian place of worship was last repaired in 1840.

Cemil Koc, head of the Culture Ministry’s Directorate of Surveying and Monuments in Diyarbakir, said the 16th century building deteriorated over time due to a decline in congregations.

He said the premises was used as a warehouse by various public institutions in the past.

The official added that the “monumental” building has immense importance for Diyarbakir. “Measurements that will form the basis of the building survey and projects are being made. Material samples have also been taken, which will help in getting more information about the church’s architectural style.”

Ergun Ayik, the head of the foundation, said the building is one of the two surviving churches in Diyarbakir, and that they have begun the process to return it to its former condition.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan

Ambassador Nina Hachigian is appointed to US Department of Defense Policy Board

Greg Madatian
  News.am  
Armenia – Jan 31 2022
09:03, 31.01.2022

Ambassador Nina Hachigian, who serves as the City of Los Angeles' Deputy Mayor for International Affairs, has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Defense Policy Board, the Armenian Assembly of America reported. Other members of the board include Madeline Albright and Henry Kissinger.

A diplomat and politician who is the first Deputy Mayor of International Affairs in the City of Los Angeles, Hachigian has led a prolific career that includes a post as U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where her strategic partnerships and initiatives resulted in her being awarded the U.S. Department of State's Superior Honor Award for her service.

Ambassador Hachigian has also served as a Senior Fellow and Senior Vice President at the Center for American Progress, and was co-director of Asia policy for the Obama campaign in 2012. Ambassador Hachigian was also the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy, and served on the staff of the National Security Council in the Clinton White House from 1998-1999. She has written numerous books, reports, and articles.

She is the founder of WASA, Women Ambassadors Serving America, which consists of over 200 current and former Ambassadors, a co-founder of the Leadership Coalition for Women in National Security (LCWINS), a founding Board Member of the State Department's International Security Advisory Board, a member of the California 100 Commission, a Board Member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Investigation: Armenian President was ineligible for post due to secret second citizenship

Greg Madatian
Jan 25 2022
 25 January 2022

ByAni Avetisyan
Armen Sarkissian. Official photo.

An investigation by Armenian investigative outlet Hetq has revealed that former Armenian President Armen Sarkissian was not eligible for the office due to holding citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small Caribbean nation.

Sarkissian, who announced his resignation from the presidency on Sunday night, had reportedly done so shortly after being contacted for comment about his Saint Kitts and Nevis citizenship by journalists. 

In his resignation announcement, Sarkissian wrote that he was leaving the position because he lacked ‘tools’ to properly influence Armenia’s domestic and foreign policy. He did not mention the investigation.

[Read more: Armenian president resigns]

The Armenian Constitution stipulates that to be eligible for president, a candidate must have held only Armenian citizenship for six years prior to assuming office. Sarkissian had previously only acknowledged holding dual Armenian-British citizenship and had claimed he had renounced the latter in 2011 — seven years before becoming president.

According to Hetq, when approached for comment, Sarkissian confirmed that he had been a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis as late as 2017. He also reportedly said that he had become a citizen of the small island country and noted tax haven unwittingly through a citizenship-for-investment scheme after he invested into a hotel. ‘My motivation was to make investments, and I was not interested in my passport at all’, Hetq reports him as saying. 

He also claimed that he had instructed his legal counsel to initiate a process of renouncing the citizenship in 2013, but, in 2017, when he was offered the Armenian presidency he discovered that the process was not carried out. 

For now, Hetq has not made clear when Sarkissian initially became a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis. ‘We cannot provide many details of the investigation at this stage as it is a cross border investigation and not yet complete’, the Hetq article reads.


Armenian PoWs send letters to families with help from ICRC

Greg Madatian
Jan 29 2022
– 14:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the Armenian prisoners of war still being held in Azerbaijan, Zara Amatuni, PR specialist of the ICRC office in Armenia, has said, according to Sputnik Armenia.

"Employees of the organization visited all those persons whose capture was confirmed by the Azerbaijani authorities. Among them are those who were captured at the end of 2020 and in November 2021," Amatuni was quoted as saying Friday, January 28.

The ICRC staff got to learn more about the conditions of detention, handed over letters and video messages from families to the PoWs, as well as took their messages for their families. In addition, with the mediation of the Red Cross, the prisoners were able to talk to their relatives on the phone.

Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan stated that the number of Armenian prisoners held in Azerbaijan, according to various estimates, is about 70 people. According to unofficial data, about 130 Armenian soldiers are in captivity in Azerbaijan.

Bill calls for naming part of 101 Freeway for Armenian-American Katcho Achadjian

Greg Madatian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 28 2022
, 12:30

 2 minutes read

A bill introduced by Republican California Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham on Wednesday seeks to name a portion of the 101 Freeway for the late lawmaker Kacho Achadjian, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.

Achadjian, who passed away in March, 2020 was beloved member of the California State Assembly, representing San Luis Obispo for six years, before which he was a 12-year member of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.

“Katcho was my friend and mentor,” Cunningham said in a press statement Wednesday.

“He was an American success story and a true public servant who always put the Central Coast first. His legacy of energetic representation, consensus-building and public service is a model for all that seek elected office. While he will always be missed by the Central Coast community, the renaming of this segment of Highway 101 ensures that he will never be forgotten.”

“Katcho was the heart and soul of his family,” his wife, Araxie said in Cunningham’s news release Wednesday. “His love for his community was unconditional; his contributions to society were innumerable; his pride for this nation was unmatchable. … Thank you to Assemblyman Cunningham and this legislative body for honoring Katcho’s memory in such a meaningful way. We are sincerely grateful for their efforts.”

Achadjian, who grew up in Lebanon and moved to California, was a life-long member of the Homenetmen. In 2016, he and his wife, were named honorary presidents of the Navasartian Games.

In 2013, Achadjian joined the first California State delegation to Armenia and Artsakh led by the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region, and upon his return worked with his colleagues to create the first California Armenian Legislative Caucus.

A recipient of the Mkhitar Gosh Gratitude Medal bestowed by Artsakh President Bako Sahakian, Achadjian was also honored as the ANCA-WR Legislator of the Year at its annual gala banquet in 2013.

Throughout the six years of his tenure, he generously assisted in ensuring the success of numerous ANCA-WR events, including annual Advocacy Days in Sacramento, serving as a panelist at the 2015 ANCA-WR Grassroots Conference, traveling to Los Angeles from San Luis Obispo to enthusiastically support ANCA-WR town halls and banquets, and highlighting the ANCA-WR by recognizing its chair, Nora Hovsepian, as one of 80 Women of the Year in the State Capitol in 2015.

In 2016, Achadjian ran for Congress in California’s 24th District.

Russia supports continuation of activity of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs: Zakharova on Aliyev’s statements

Greg Madatian

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 13:52,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia supports the continuation of the work of the Co-Chairs in accordance with their mandate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly press briefing, when asked to comment on the latest statement of the Azerbaijani president who said that Azerbaijan will not allow the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to deal with the Karabakh conflict and that the “Nagorno Karabakh issue is closed”.

“As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia supports the continuation of the work of that format, firstly based on its mandate and also taking into account the regional realities which came after the war in 2020. Our partners of the Minsk Group – the United States and France, fully share our position. This position has been reflected in the 2021 December 7 statement of the foreign ministries of the Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries”, she said, reminding that that document cited the call of the Co-Chairs addressed to Baku and Yerevan to host the Co-Chairs in the region in the nearest timeframes which will allow them to assess the situation, reach tangible progress in humanitarian initiatives which were discussed during the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers with the Co-Chairs.

Zakharova added that based on the results of the aforementioned talks which were held in New York and Paris in September and November 2021, the Co-Chairs have conveyed a balanced and realistic proposal on the future cooperation agenda to the two ministers in Stockholm on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council. The agenda proposed by the Co-Chairs relates to both the humanitarian and the socio-political issues.

“We are expecting an official reaction from the sides, including also over the issue of resuming the regional visits of the Co-Chairs”, the Russian MFA spokesperson said.