Author: Greg Madatian

PM Pashinyan congratulates Syrian President

Greg Madatian

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 11:05,

YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to President Bashar Al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic on Syria’s National Day. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the message runs as follows,

“Excellency,

I warmly congratulate you and the friendly people of Syria on the National Day of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Armenian and Syrian peoples are bound by deep-rooted historical ties and feelings of friendship, which provide a strong basis for cooperation and development of relations between our two countries.

I am hopeful that the people of Syria will soon overcome the consequences of the severe crisis and will move along the path of peace and stability.

I reaffirm our willingness to provide continued assistance in solving your humanitarian problems and promote the traditional dialogue to the benefit of our countries and peoples.

I wish you good health and every success, as well as peace and prosperity – to the friendly people of Syria’’.

Lukashenko reveals Azerbaijani Aliyev’s proposal to “raise Armenia”

Greg Madatian
Aysor, Armenia

Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev had offered to restore Nagorno Karabakh if Armenia would have agreed to peaceful settlement of the conflict.

This was stated by president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to “Беларусь 1” TV channel after visiting Azerbaijan.

Lukashenko said when he resigns he will “tell a lot of good things” Aliyev had offered Yerevan for the settlement of the conflict.

“One of the proposals was when he told me: “Listen, convey to Armenians, you are in good relations with them, I am ready to restore not only Karabakh but to raise Armenia.<…>. Convey to them to settle the conflict peacefully”,” the leader of Belarus citied Aliyev as saying (quote by “Interfax-West”).

Lukshenko though did not clarify when exactly this conversation with Aliyev had taken place, but noted that the conversation took place before Pashinyan took the seat of Armenia’s PM.

“There was such thing. But the former leadership of Armenia, before Pashinyan, rejected it,” he stated.

Lukashenko said he tells about it publicly for the first time.

PM Pashinyan is now de facto traitor, nation-destroyer, says Armenia ex-deputy defense minister

Greg Madatian
News.am, Armenia
16:27, 11.04.2021

Fanaticism is destructive everywhere and in everything. Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Artak Zakaryan, wrote this on his Facebook.

"Fanaticism makes a person blind and brainless. (…). The [PM] Nikol [Pashinyan] fanaticism, as a rule, embodies people who are lost, thoughtless, religious sect-belonging, poorly educated, spoiled by fake Western ‘upbringing,’ anti-nationalist, LGBT, stateless-type, dignity-awareness lacking, not enjoying respect in the entourage, extremely fixated, guided by the instinct of fear, and able to flee. This is not really a big mass, but the danger of fanaticism is not in its being big or small, but in its existence.

All the fanatics of the world have only destroyed, just as Nikol's fanaticism is destroying Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] and Armenia.

Nikol is now a de facto traitor and nation-destroyer; there is no need to prove this politically because only fools do not realize it. But Nikol would not have been a traitor and nation-destroyer if it were not for fanaticism and fanatics; there is no need to prove this either," Zakaryan added in particular.

Armenian FM: Developing Trilateral Cooperation With Greece And Cyprus Is On The Agenda

Greg Madatian
Greek City Times
March 29 2021

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by Paul Antonopoulos

Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan said on Monday that developing relations with Greece and Cyprus is on their diplomatic agenda, Sputnik Armenia reported.

Ayvazyan added that his country is not building its foreign policy against any third party, such as Turkey.

Shirak Torosyan, a member of the ruling “My Step” faction, asked Ayvazyan whether he was going to activate the Armenia-Greece-Cyprus trilateral committee as a counterbalance to Turkey’s aggressive policy.

Shirak Torosyan.

According to the Armenian minister, this trilateral cooperation remains on Yerevan’s agenda, but they are not searching for enemies in the region.

“Armenia must develop a pragmatic approach in building its foreign policy, taking into account the security threats in the region,” Ayvazyan said.

“We will do our best to create a stable security environment along the Armenia’s entire border,” the minister stressed.

He added that in recent months, despite COVID-19 restrictions, he has made a number of foreign trips, and diplomats have been in active online contact with foreign partners to address the issue.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan.

In April 2020, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Greece and Cyprus reached an agreement to establish a trilateral cooperation on strengthening regional stability and security.

It was planned to hold a trilateral summit in Yerevan, but the event did not take place due to the pandemic and last year’s war.

It is noted that in an interview yesterday with Public Television, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan refused to describe Turkey as an enemy state.

In response to the question on whether “Turkey is another enemy state for Armenia?” Grigoryan noted. “If we are going to open up, then there should be some corrections in our approaches, and we are working in that direction.”

When pressed further on whether Turkey is an “enemy states,” he said “it would not be right to state unequivocally that there is no threat from Turkey, but the events in the region also create other opportunities.”

Armen Grigoryan.

It is reminded that although some in Armenia are hopeful for reconciliation with Turkey, no such thing has occurred between Athens and Ankara despite the two being NATO members and the latter an EU Candidate state.

Armenian, Russian Deputy PMs discuss bilateral issues, assistance to Artsakh, trilateral agreements

Greg Madatian

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 19:21, 1 April, 2021

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan met with his Russian counterpart  Alexei Overchuk. In Yerevan on April 1.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Armenian Deputy PM, during the meeting the sides discussed humanitarian issues in Artsakh, as well as the prospects for deepening economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Deputy FMs of Armenia and Russia also referred to the works of the working group chaired by the Deputy FMs of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, as well as the works of the expert groups.

Renewed excavations expected at Armenia’s Metsamor archaeological site

Greg Madatian

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 11:45,

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Excavations are planned for September at the Metsamor archaeological site, the remains of an Iron Age city and fortress 35km south-west from Yerevan.

The Protection Service of Historical-Cultural Reserve-Museums and Historical Environment, a governmental agency which has initiated the excavations, plans to cooperate with specialists from Poland.

Professor Ashot Piliposyan, a senior scientist of the agency and the co-leader of the Armenian-Polish team of the site, told ARMENPRESS that according to preliminary arrangements the experts from Poland will visit Armenia in May to make preparations. “But if the situation were to get more complicated due to the coronavirus pandemic and our partners aren’t able to come, we will anyway start the work only with Armenian experts,” he said. He said they’ve found traces of a mausoleum during earlier excavations and they will further study the site.

“I’d really want our Polish partners to be able to come because in case of joint work they are really supporting us especially in doing C 14 analysis, something which is difficult to do in Armenia because of financial issues,” he said, referring to the radiocarbon dating procedure.

All findings from the site are being restored and then put on display at the eponymous Metsamor Historical-Archaeological Reserve-Museum. Piliposyan said that in the first three months of 2021 alone the museum saw as many visitors as in 2020 altogether. The visitors were mostly Russian tourists, he said.

Reporting by Angela Hambardzumyan

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Asbarez: ANCA-WR, LAUSD to Host Workshop Series on Armenian Genocide for L.A. Teachers and Families

Greg Madatian



ANCA-WR, LAUSD to host workshops on Armenian Genocide

The Armenian National Committee of America–Western Region and the Los Angeles Unified School District will provide two educator workshops and one family webinar on April 7, April 8, and April 19, focused on effective methods for implementing Armenian Genocide education in classrooms and promoting cross-cultural understanding in the community.

“Teaching educators and community members about this dark – and often neglected – era of history is extremely important to the Armenian Cause,” remarked ANCA-WR Education Committee member Sedda Antekelian. “We must ensure that future generations understand the implications of the Armenian Genocide, to prevent future atrocities,” she continued.

On October 6, 2020, the LAUSD Board of Education unanimously voted to give families across the district the day off on April 24 to observe and remember the start of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution also called on the district to conduct professional development workshops to appropriately and meaningfully teach the students, staff and the community about the atrocities. The ANCA-WR has been working in collaboration with the office of LAUSD President Kelly Gonez to ensure that the staff and community understand the significance of the day and learn about the importance of human rights.

The educator workshops aimed at Elementary (K-5) teachers will help build foundational knowledge on Armenian Heritage, the Armenian Genocide and recent events in Artsakh. It will focus on helping educators empower the students to become caring community members, by exploring the significance of cross-cultural understanding, belonging and civil responsibility through the lens of the Armenian experience. Middle and High School teachers will further expand on these themes and will learn about stories of survival and resilience as well as the unique role that the U.S. played in providing humanitarian support during and after the Armenian Genocide.

The webinar for families will focus on how to have meaningful conversations about culture and identity to expand their skills for social-emotional learning and how to be a responsible citizen in their community. This workshop will also include remarks from California State Senator Anthony Portantino, California State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian, and LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner.

Space for this workshop is limited. Interested participants can register online




Armenpress: Ameriabank gets Quality Excellence Award 2020 from Raiffeisen Bank International

Greg Madatian

Ameriabank gets Quality Excellence Award 2020 from Raiffeisen Bank International

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 17:33,

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Ameriabank got Quality Excellence Award 2020 (Straight-Through Processing Quality Award) for high quality of international money transfers. The award ceremony was organized by the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International. Raiffeisen Bank gives the Quality Excellence Award to the best partner financial institutions in different countries of the world. The award is considered to be a very important quality indicator of international payment transactions and stands for the degree of automation and the speed of processing.

Ameriabank’s high quality standards and efficient partnership were emphasized at the award ceremony.

Ameriabank also highly appreciates cooperation with Raiffeisen Bank International based on firm grounds and trust.

Ameriabank’s cooperation with Raiffeisen Bank International in the field of intenational money transfers began just a few years ago. The award is an evidence of trust, reliability, and efficient collaboration developed within such a short period of time.

For details on Ameriabank’s intenational money transfers, please follow this link.

Ameriabank CJSC

Ameriabank is a dynamically developing bank and one of the most stable and largest financial institutions in Armenia. Ameriabank CJSC is a universal bank rendering corporate, investment and retail services in a comprehensive package of banking solutions. Based on 2020 results, Ameriabank is the leader in the Armenian banking sector by its financial indicators (assets, liabilities, loan portfolio, capital). For further information, please visit www.ameriabank.am or call (+37410) 56 11 11.

The Bank is supervised by the Central Bank of Armenia.




Frequent changes in army’s top brass contributed to Armenia’s defeat in recent war, ex-minister says

Greg Madatian
Panorama, Armenia
March 23 2021

Frequent changes in the military’s top brass was one of the factors that contributed to Armenia’s defeat in the recent 44-day war in Artsakh, former Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told reporters on Tuesday.

He cited the replacement of Armenia’s defense minister, Genera Staff chief, as well as the commander of the Artsakh Defense Army in recent years.

The ex-minister stated people “lacking good understanding of the situation and experience" presumably failed to draw the right conclusions and made right decisions while working with the country's leadership during the war.

He believes the dismissal of Movses Hakobyan and Levon Mnatsakanyan as General Staff chief and Defense Army commander, respectively, as well as the structural changes and reduction of the number of military units in some areas, had a very negative impact on the course of the military operations.

Ohanyan accused the current authorities of politicizing the General Staff and making it part of the political team. He denounced the “arbitrary” dismissal of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Tiran Khachatryan and later Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Ohanyan noted that by his statement demanding the resignation of Pashinyan and his cabinet, Onik Gasparyan properly assessed the situation and wanted to stand with the people, adding the majority of the people demand that the “defeated” authorities step down.

The former defense minister found it hard to say whether the army would suffer or benefit from the appointment of Artak Davtyan as new General Staff chief.

"The newly appointed chief of the General Staff was fired by the same prime minister some time ago due to certain violations. I think that the Armenian army is a structure that can get out of a difficult situation rapidly. For that, it is necessary to set up an interdepartmental commission. There is the basis needed for working at full speed," he added.