Friday,
Armenian Banks Block Russian Cards After New U.S. Sanctions
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Russia - The logo of MIR payment system is on display at the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, June 2, 2021.
Some of Armenia’s commercial banks have stopped processing payments via Russia’s
Mir cards following additional U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia earlier this
month.
The Mir cards issued by the Russian central bank’s National Card Payment System
(NSPK) became an alternative for Russian travellers in March after Visa and
MasterCard shut off their Russian networks over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against NSPK Chief Executive
Vladimir Komlev on September 15. The Financial Times daily reported that
Washington is pressuring Turkey as well as the countries of the South Caucasus,
Central Asia and the Persian Gulf to block the Russian payment system on their
territory.
Two Turkish banks suspended use of Mir a few days later. Uzbekistan’s national
UZCARD system followed suit on Friday.
It emerged that at least several of the two dozen banks operating in Armenia
have also halted use of the Russian cards. None of them agreed to comment on
their decision.
The development will first and foremost affect Russian tourists visiting Armenia
as well as many of the thousands of Russians who have relocated to the country
since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24.
Armenia - Russian national Artur Asafyev tries to retrieve cash from an ATM
machine in Yerevan,
One of those migrants, journalist Artur Astafyev, on Friday tried unsuccessfully
to retrieve cash from ATM machines operated by two local banks.
“I was previously able to take cash from any [Armenian] bank, converting rubles
to drams,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Astafyev was still able to use his Mir card for buying things from one Yerevan
store. Its POS terminal is connected to one of at least two other Armenian banks
that said they are continuing to accept Mir.
One of those banks, VTB Armenia, is a subsidiary of Russia’s second largest
bank, VTB.
The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) insisted, meanwhile, that it has not issued
any orders or guidance to local banks regarding Mir.
“Armenia’s commercial banks manage their risks, including those related to
sanctions, on their own,” the CBA said in a statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service.
Central Bank data shows that Mir accounted for 17.4 percent of $4.3 billion
worth of card transitions processed in Armenia in the first half of this year.
Russian-Armenian trade soared by 42 percent, to $1.6 billion, during the same
period despite the Western economic sanctions against Moscow. Russia thus
reinforced its status as Armenia’s leading trading partner.
Pashinian Ally Appointed As Yerevan Vice-Mayor
• Narine Ghalechian
Armenia - Former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian attends a session of
Yerevan's municipal assembly, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party on Friday took another
step towards installing one of its senior members, Tigran Avinian, as the next
mayor of Yerevan.
The municipal assembly controlled by the party appointed Avinian as one of the
city’s five deputy mayors.
Avinian, 33, actively participated in the 2018 mass protests that brought
Pashinian to power. He was named Armenia’s deputy prime minister shortly after
the “velvet revolution.”
Avinian resigned in August 2021, saying that he objected to the ruling party’s
list of candidates for snap parliamentary elections held in June. Nevertheless,
he remained a member of Pashinian’s political team.
Early this year, Civil Contract announced that Avinian will be its mayoral
candidate in the next municipal elections due in 2023. The announcement came
shortly after former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian was ousted by the city council
after falling out with Pashinian.
The council voted to elect Avinian as vice-mayor on Friday. Analysts believe
that the move is aimed at boosting his and Civil Contract’s chances in the next
municipal polls.
In his new capacity, Avinian will, among other things, oversee the
administrations of Yerevan’s districts and liaise with the central government.
Speaking to journalists, he insisted that he will concentrate on “the
vice-mayor’s duties,” rather than the mayoral race.
“I will be working to achieve results,” he said. “I don’t want to think about
other things at this stage.”
Armenia - A screenshot of a video ad of former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian's
upcoming monodrama.
None of Armenia’s major opposition groups have fielded mayoral candidates so
far. Marutian, who was a TV comedian before becoming Yerevan mayor in October
2018, has also not said whether he will participate in the polls.
Earlier this month, the popular ex-mayor stoked speculation about his plans to
regain his post when he scheduled a satirical monodrama which he was due to play
in the country’s leading theater. Tickets for the first performances of the play
titled “The Mayor” were sold out within hours.
A few days later, the Armenian police reportedly recommended that Marutian be
prosecuted for illegally allocating land to a Yerevan restaurant in 2019.
Critics said the authorities are thus trying to prevent Marutian from joining
the mayoral race.
Armenia Again Warns Of ‘New Azeri Aggression’
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses a session of the UN General
Assembly, New York, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accused Azerbaijan late on Thursday of planning
to occupy more Armenian territory while reaffirming his readiness to sign a
comprehensive Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Pashinian insisted that last
week’s large-scale border clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces
amounted to military aggression against Armenia.
“In the wake of this attack, the official narrative and other sources of
information suggest that Azerbaijan intends to occupy more territories of
Armenia, which must be prevented,” he said in a speech. “I want to stress that
the risk of new aggression by Azerbaijan remains very high, especially given
that every day Azerbaijan violates the ceasefire and the number of causalities
and those injured could change any moment.”
Baku blames Yerevan for the worst escalation of the conflict since the 2020 war
in Nagorno-Karabakh. Earlier this week, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
accused the Armenian side of dragging its feet over the signing of a peace
treaty sought by him and the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He
said the treaty should call for mutual recognition of each other’s territory
integrity.
Pashinian asserted that Azerbaijan is seeking the kind of accord that would not
prevent it from claiming or trying to occupy more Armenian territory.
Armenia -A house in the border village of Sotk destroyed by Azerbaijani
shelling, .
“Could you show a map of Armenia that you recognize or are ready to recognize as
the Republic of Armenia?” he asked, appealing to Aliyev. He cited Aliyev’s
repeated claims that much of modern-day Armenia is “historical Azerbaijani
lands.”
“If Azerbaijan recognizes territorial integrity of Armenia, not theoretically
but concretely -- I mean the integrity of our internationally recognized
territory of 29.800 square kilometers -- it will mean that we can sign a peace
treaty mutually recognizing each other’s territorial integrity,” Pashinian went
on. “Otherwise, we would have a phantom peace treaty and after that Azerbaijan
will use the border delimitation process for new territorial claims and
occupation.”
Pashinian made similar comments in the Armenian parliament on September 14
nearly two days after the outbreak of the latest border clashes. He said nothing
about the status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the security of its ethnic Armenian
population.
His statement fueled rumors that the Armenian government will unconditionally
accept Baku’s terms of the treaty, including recognition of Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Karabakh. Thousands of angry people rallied outside the
parliament building in Yerevan in the following hours to demand Pashinian’s
removal from power. The prime minister assured them that his comments were
misunderstood and that “no document is about to be signed.”
UN - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi in
New York, .
In his UN speech, Pashinian made no explicit mention of the Karabakh Armenians’
right to self-determination that had long been championed by Armenia.
Also, Pashinian appeared to hit out at Russia and the Russian-led Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) over what Yerevan sees as their lack of
support for Armenia. In particular, he said, “some of our international partners
are silent” about the Azerbaijani “aggression.”
By contrast, the Armenian leader praised U.S. and Iranian reactions to the
hostilities when he held earlier on Thursday separate talks with Iran’s
President Ebrahim Raisi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the
sidelines of the annual session of the UN General Assembly.
Raisi was cited by his office as reiterating that Iran strongly opposes any
attempts to strip it of its “strategic” and “historical” border with Armenia. He
clearly alluded to Azerbaijani demands for an exterritorial corridor connecting
Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave.
Pashinian repeated in his speech that Yerevan is only ready to open conventional
transport links for Nakhichevan that would be under the “sovereign control of
Armenia.”
Former Armenian Presidents Hold Crisis Talks
Armenia - Former Presidents Serzh Sarkissian, Robert Kocharian and Levon
Ter-Petrosian.
Former Presidents Levon Ter-Petrosian, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian met
late on Thursday to discuss grave security challenges facing Armenia.
The meeting was hosted by Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, at his headquarters in Echmiadzin. Two former
presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh, Bako Sahakian and Arkadi Ghukasian, also
attended it.
In a statement, the church’s Mother See said that the participants of the
meeting discussed “the situation in Armenia.”
“It was decided to continue meetings,” the statement said without giving details.
None of the ex-presidents or their offices made public statements immediately
after their rare trilateral encounter.
Ishkhan Saghatelian, an opposition leader, called for such crisis talks on
September 13 the day after Azerbaijani forces reportedly attacked various
sections of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. He said Ter-Petrosian, Kocharian
and Sarkisian as well as Garegin and other “influential figures” should jointly
explore ways of “getting the country out of this situation.”
Saghatelian is a leading member of the main opposition Hayastan alliance headed
by Kocharian.
Ter-Petrosian held a separate meeting with Garegin on September 18. He received
Arayik Harutiunian, the current Karabakh president, in his Yerevan residence two
days later.
Ter-Petrosian, Kocharian and Sarkisian, who have long had uneasy relations with
each other, previously met in October 2020 during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war
in Karabakh. They discussed jointly seeking greater international -- and in
particular Russian -- support for Armenia. The initiative did not translate into
concrete action because of what they described as a lack of cooperation by Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Also, in the run-up to the June 2021 parliamentary elections, Ter-Petrosian
proposed that the three ex-presidents set up an electoral alliance to oust
Pashinian and then immediately retire from politics. Kocharian reportedly
rejected the idea.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Hovsep Chakrian
Yerevan Days celebrated in Gyumri
11:45, 3 September 2022
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The highly anticipated Yerevan Days events were celebrated in Gyumri on September 2.
Mayor of Yerevan Hrachya Sargsyan and his deputy Levon Hovhannisyan visited the city and joined Gyumri Mayor Vardges Samsonyan to mark the event. City councilors and city hall staffers from both Yerevan and Gyumri were also in attendance.
The celebrations kicked off at Rustaveli Street, where the culture, arts and crafts of Gyumri was presented to visitors. Meanwhile, on Abovyan street, craftsmen from Yerevan were presenting their art.
A musical and theatrical play was held at the Isahakyan House-Museum.
The events also featured exhibitions.
As part of the events, Yerevan City Hall donated new instruments to the Ani Children’s Concert Band, which was still using worn out instruments.
Yerevan Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan thanked his Gyumri counterpart for the warm reception.
In his speech, he described Gyumri as the “cradle of our arts and crafts, without any exaggeration the anchor of Armenianness, which is feeding and giving the strength to live to every Armenian.”
President Khachaturyan’s address on 31st anniversary of proclamation of Artsakh Republic
13:40, 2 September 2022
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan released a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Artsakh.
“Dear compatriots,
On September 2, 1991, the declaration of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh was adopted, which put a start to a process primarily aimed at ensuring the security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and guaranteeing their inalienable rights to live in their homeland.
Today, we celebrate this anniversary in a very tough period, in a difficult situation created after the 44-day war in Artsakh, when the wounds of the irreversible losses of the war are still open, when our priority issues continue to be ensuring the security of Artsakh Armenians and the inviolability of their right to live in peace.
The issues related to the threat of a new war, the status of Artsakh, as well as issues of socio-economic and humanitarian type are the permanent agenda priorities of Armenia and Artsakh. They cannot be solved without the existence of a politically and economically strong, developed Armenia, without full use of the existing potential, comprehensive cooperation with our international partners, without guaranteeing international rights and humanitarian norms.
Today, our people are once again facing new challenges, which we can overcome with endurance, joint efforts, realization of national potential and unification.
Armenia and Artsakh have gone through a heavy struggle, and that struggle has become a guarantee for Artsakh to remain Armenian, for Artsakh citizens to live and work in their homeland.
Today we bow to the memory of our compatriots who died for the rights and defense of Artsakh, and we are committed to a sustainable and lasting peace for Armenia, Artsakh and our region,” President Khachaturyan said in the address published by his office.
Artur Vanetsyan: Artsakh has always been and will remain Armenian
Panorama
Armenia – Sept 2 2022
The leader of the opposition Homeland Party, Artur Vanetsyan, has extended congratulations on the Artsakh Independence Day marked on September 2.
On 2 September 1991, the people of Artsakh declared independence from the Soviet Union and became the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
“Artsakh has always been and will remain Armenian,” Vanetsyan wrote on Facebook.
"Artsakh will definitely bounce back and become whole again.
“Happy Independence Day, dear Artsakh!" he said.
Asbarez: Editorial: Preserving Artsakh’s Sacred Independence Must Become a Call to Action for Every Armenian
Celebrating Artsakh's Independence
The events of the past month have proven that everything we, as a nation, struggled for is fleeting because for the last two years our enemies—the Azerbaijanis and the Turks—have become emboldened to flex their military muscle and pressure concessions at the expense of Armenian lives.
The ethnic cleansing campaign that accelerated when Azerbaijan—with the overt assistance of Turkey—launched an aggressive attack against Artsakh aims to tear away at our historic homeland, carrying out a campaign that was waged more than a century ago on Armenia’s western front.
We mark the 31st anniversary of Artsakh’s declaration on independence on September 2, 1990 against the backdrop of unimpeded violence and hatred against Armenians and merely days after the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the architect of the very policies that gave the people of Artsakh the courage to exercise their right to self-determination.
Last month began with another brazen attack by Azerbaijani forces against the Armenian population of Artsakh, which claimed two more lives, and ended with the same population being evicted from their homes in Berdzor and the surrounding Aghavno and Sus villages.
The 44-Day War has thrust Armenians into an untenable situation that has to remind us just how sacred the independence and liberation that were won with the blood of our brethren are, as our enemies work to erase any reference to Artsakh—and even Armenia—from the map.
Today, that independence is threatened and the possibility of another commanding victory seems out of reach. Almost two years after the end of the 44-Day War, every Armenian is attempting to make sense of that mammoth blow to the gut that was the November 9, 2020 agreement, based on which the lands we won back, cherished and called our ancestral home were forcibly surrendered to the enemy in a remarkable defeat not seen in generations.
Artsakh and Armenia also have found themselves at the center of a larger conflict between the West and Russia, each of which are using Armenia and the situation created by the war to protect their interests in the region with reckless disregard toward the people who call that area home.
Russia, which continues to proclaim that it is Armenia’s “strategic ally,” effectively sat back and allowed Azerbaijan to trample upon Artsakh and even invade parts of Armenia without lifting a finger. The European Union and the United States seem to have forgotten their own motto of justice, democracy and independence and could care less that the people of Artsakh, in 1990, exercised the same basic principles, which today guarantees their citizens life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That fundamental _expression_ of will came at an unimaginable sacrifice. But when our sisters and brothers in Artsakh raised their clenched fists and demanded to be heard, the entire Armenian nation rallied behind them and became active participants of the Liberation Movement. The people of Artsakh were so determined to attain this basic right that they sacrificed their lives and through blood, sweat and resilience fought the enemy and asserted their independence through a resounding victory.
All of this has happened while the government of Armenia has, at every step, capitulated, and other political forces in Armenia have been busy pointing fingers and looking for enemies from within, while it is abundantly clear that our enemies continue to remain Turkey and Azerbaijan.
It is the time for the Armenian Nation to sober up.
History has shown that the Armenian people are resilient and when they fall they rise up more fiercely and with a stronger conviction.
So lets us all—every Armenian around the world—rise up. This anniversary of Artsakh’s independence must become a crucial springboard to gather our strength and recommit ourselves to Artsakh, because our hard-won independence cannot—and must not—be compromised and it must be preserved at all costs.
Music: Dick O’Riordan: Armenian baritone sparkles to take €10,000 prize
Business Post
Sept 2 2022
CLASSICAL NOTES
Grisha Martirosyan won the tenth Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition at the National Concert Hall on Tuesday with a performance of arias by Leoncavallo, Gounod and Massenet
Grisha Martirosyan: the Armenian baritone had been hotly tipped to win the Veronica Dunne singing competition during the preliminary rounds. Picture: Frances Marshall
In a way, it was a victory waiting to happen when 24-year-old Grisha Martirosyan won the tenth Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition at the National Concert Hall on Tuesday.
The Armenian baritone had been hotly tipped during the preliminary rounds. He was first to sing on the final night and, even more tellingly, scooped the Audience Prize of €1,000 in advance of being declared overall winner and securing another €10,000 to the approval of a highly animated audience. His performance of arias by Leoncavallo, Gounod and Massenet was as sparkling as his jacket, while his commanding delivery belied his years and experience.
The home favourite, mezzo-soprano Aebh Kelly (25), also had a sensational week. She was cheered to the rafters after taking second place and receiving €6,000. This matched the previous achievement of Tara Erraught, who on this occasion was a member of the jury. Kelly has the ability to blaze a similar trail of success.
Third prize went to the British tenor Aaron Godfrey-Mayes. He sang probably the most popular programme of the evening and even had the temerity to take on Donizetti’s Ah! Mes Amis with its run of trilling high Cs (I lost count) in true Juan Diego Flórez style. Godfrey-Mayes has a lovely florid tone that will travel far.
I particularly loved two performances during the week. My favourite was by the Polish mezzo-soprano Zuzanna Nalewajek. Even the usually infallible Lyric FM presenter Liz Nolan tripped over her surname, but Nalewajek’s creamy tone was so seductive that I didn’t really care what she was singing. She made the final, and deservedly so.
My other highlight was Israeli soprano Dalia Besprozvany, who didn’t even reach the semi-finals. This deprived me of one of my favourite arias, Tchaikovsky’s Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin. Among the Irish entrants, Carolyn Holt also made a great impression, as did baritone Rory Dunne.
The six finalists were tenor Aaron Godfrey-Mayes (UK), mezzo-soprano Aebh Kelly (Ireland), mezzo-soprano Zuzanna Nalewajek (Poland), baritone Grisha Martirosyan (Armenia), bass-baritone Changdai Park (South Korea) and soprano Laura Lolita Peresilvana (Latvia). All were backed by a magnificent National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of maestro Laurent Wagner, who once ruled the rostrum for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. The overall prize fund was €25,000.
Sadly, there were some late cancellations, but the competition still attracted a record number of applications with singers entering from 37 different countries. The make-up of the jury also reflected its international prestige, comprising chairperson Jane Carty (Ireland), orchestra conductor Richard Bonynge (Australia), Christina Scheppelmann, general director of the Seattle Opera (Canada), David Gowland, artistic director of the Royal Opera House (UK), Isla Mundell-Perkins, casting director of Staatsoper Hamburg (Germany), Tara Erraught, mezzo-soprano and on the board of directors at Irish National Opera (Ireland), and Jonathan Friend, artistic adviser of the Metropolitan Opera in New York (USA).
One aspect of the competition’s success that may escape notice was the heroic year-long shift that pianist and répétiteur Dearbhla Collins put in as its artistic administrator. She worked assiduously throughout the pandemic, searching out the very best of young performers across Europe, Britain and the United States.
On a strictly business level, it was encouraging to see that the main prize of €10,000 came from a single sponsorship for the first time in the competition’s history, with funding by Hinch Irish Whiskey of Ballynahinch, Co Down. Even a whiff revealed superb high notes.
https://www.businesspost.ie/life-arts/dick-oriordan-armenian-baritone-sparkles-to-take-e10000-prize/
Armenia Police explain why Russia nationals’ assembly was interrupted in Yerevan, why they were detained
NEWS.am
Armenia – Sept 1 2022
13:48, 01.09.2022
Mere notification does not mean that the holding of certain assemblies are permitted or possible. Deputy Chief of Police Ara Fidanyan stated this at the press briefing after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia—and responding to the question on what grounds a group of Russian citizens holding a peaceful anti-war protest at Freedom Square in downtown Yerevan were detained a few days ago.
"Even the law [of Armenia] on freedom of assembly clearly defines the limitation of freedom of assembly. It is noted there if there is information or certain actions aimed against public order are possible. The police had clear information, and it was already noted that there are also people with a different point of view in the given area, which means that clashes are not ruled out there. Due to this, a decision was made that the given assembly should be interrupted at that very moment," said Fidanyan.
Former Prime Minister of Armenia believes that Armenia should withdraw from CSTO
ARMINFO
Armenia – Aug 31 2022
Alexandr Avanesov
ArmInfo.Former Prime Minister of Armenia, leader of the "Republic" party Aram Sargsyan suggests the authorities of the country to consider the issue of withdrawing from the CSTO. He wrote about this on his Facebook page.
According to him, the United States is appointing the former Deputy Secretary of State as the new American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The United States and France, which are co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have a telephone conversation before the meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev in Brussels and confirm their readiness for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The US and French ambassadors reject the invitation of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry to visit Shushi. The United States defends the approach to resolving the issue of the status of Artsakh and emphasizes the right to express the point of view of the Artsakh people.
Russia and Azerbaijan consider the status issue settled, and they make this clear in press conferences following the tripartite meetings in Moscow and in an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the future of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan. The Russian Ambassador to Baku gladly accepts the invitation and visits Shushi. <These are facts, not a subject for discussion, but these facts make it possible to conclude that the meeting in Brussels will be about status and a final settlement, which Aliyev will try to oppose. Unlike the meeting in Brussels, they will try to organize a meeting in Moscow, where they will try to put pressure on Armenia>, the politician noted.
He considers the decision to go beyond the framework of the Russian-Turkish agreements with possible options. <We should withdraw from the CSTO in order to increase the political, military and economic influence of the West, because the Russian Federation still does not sell weapons to us, the CSTO does not fulfill its obligations to ensure the security of Armenia, and being in the CSTO prevents the country from receiving more serious military assistance. Studying the indicators of US and French military support to friendly countries, one can be convinced that in the event of a withdrawal from the CSTO, Western military assistance to Armenia could be in the range of 350-400 million dollars a year, add the cost of training in the tactics and strategy of modern warfare: I am sure that such armaments, acquired for one year's money, are enough for Baku and Moscow to change their tone, restraining their appetites. I know that my proposal is risky, but if you leave everything as it is, it will end with the loss of Artsakh, the redrawing of the borders of the Republic of Armenia with Russian maps to the detriment of us and the loss of the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, >,Aram Sargsyan believes.
Armenia highly appreciates U.S., French rejection of Azeri invitation to visit Shushi
10:59,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenia highly appreciates the stance of the French and United States ambassadors for rejecting the Azerbaijani government’s invitation to visit Shushi, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said in response to a query from ARMENPRESS.
Question: Recently, a conference was held in Shushi with the participation of foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations accredited in Azerbaijan. What would you comment on in this regard?
Answer: We reiterate our position regarding the inadmissibility of unilateral visits to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. We are convinced that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh should be involved in the programs of international cooperation and support. At the same time, we highly appreciate the position of those countries which, having a deep understanding of the conflict, refused to participate in such unilateral action.
The Azeri government said that the French and United States ambassadors to Azerbaijan have ignored their invitation to visit Shushi for an event. Azeri president Ilham Aliyev’s Assistant Hikmet Hajiyev described the rejection as “disrespect towards Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity”, adding that the American and French sides consider the conflict to be unresolved.
Dubai Open: Armenian chess player Samvel Ter-Sahakyan scores victory at round 4
09:42,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenian chess player Samvel Ter-Sahakyan scored a victory at the 4th round of the Dubai Open International Chess Tournament.
Meanwhile, Aram Hakobyan lost.
The representatives of India and Kazakhstan are leading the ranking after 4 rounds.
The tournament will be held until September 4.