Author: Jhanna Virabian

                        GROONG's Calendar of events
                        (All times local to events)

                =========================================
What:           "The Rescue, Rehabilitation and Fate of Captive Armenian 
Genocide
                Survivors in Syria: From WWI-Present"
                a lecture in Armenian is given by Professor Vahram Shemmassian
When:           Sep 17 2017 1pm
                Following Church Divine Liturgy which starts at 10:30am
Where:          Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley
                Western Prelacy's Hall, 6252 Honolulu Ave., La Crescenta,
Misc:           Professor Shemmassian will describe the attempts and
                organizations that engaged in the rescue and rehabilitation of
                Genocide survivors in Syria, especially children and women,
                who through forced marriages and religious conversions were
                absorbed into Muslim society across Turkey and the Arab Near
                East. The talk will conclude with comments on the issue of
                Islamized Armenians, currently a hot topic in private and
                public discourse.
                Dr. Vahram Shemmassian is Professor and Director of the
                Armenian Studies Program in the Department of Modern and
                Classical Languages and Literatures at the California State
                University, Northridge. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the
                University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
                The event is free to the public.
Online Contact: [email protected]
Tel:            818-244-9645

***************************************************************************

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                                        Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Further Growth Recorded In Armenian Diamond Industry


Armenia -- Workers at a diamond-processing plant near Nor Hajn.

Armenia's diamond-processing industry, once a key sector of the
national economy, has continued to grow rapidly this year after a
decade of decline that began in the early 2000s, official statistics
show.

According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), Armenian firms
manufactured 90,776 carats of gem diamonds in the first half of 2017,
up by 53.5 percent from the same period in 2016.

Refined diamonds were Armenia's most important export item throughout
the 1990s, providing jobs for thousands of people. The sector had a
rough time in the following years due to a host of mainly external
factors, including a loss of reliable suppliers of rough diamonds.

The onset in late 2008 of a global financial crisis only aggravated
the slump, with Armenian diamond output plummeting by half in 2009 to
less than 50,000 carats. The volatile sector's ensuing slow recovery
accelerated in 2013.

The industry contracted sharply in 2014 but returned to double-digit
growth the following year. Its combined output surged by 54 percent in
2016, to 125,431 carats. The figure was still well below the 2003
level of almost 290,000 carats recorded by the NSS. The country's
diamond-cutting companies employed more than 2,000 people at the time.

The largest of those companies belong to Western investors that supply
them with mostly African rough diamonds. The Armenian government has
long been trying to facilitate imports of more uncut diamonds from
Russia, which has one of the world's largest deposits of the precious
stone.

The Armenian Ministry for Economic Development reported on Tuesday
that one of its senior officials, Gagik Mkrtchian, and Armenia's
ambassador to Russia, Vartan Toghanian, met with a Russian deputy
finance minister in Moscow this week to discuss ways of boosting
Russian diamond supplies. "An agreement was reached on taking
practical steps as early as possible," it said in a statement.

The statement cited Mkrtchian as saying that the agreement's
implementation will contribute to continued growth in the Armenian
diamond-processing sector. It did not elaborate.



Armenian, Azeri FMs To Meet Again In September


 . Sargis Harutyunyan


Armenia - Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at a news conference in
Yerevan, 30May2017.

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian confirmed on Wednesday that he will
hold fresh talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in New York next month.

He said the meeting will take place "in the second half of September"
and focus on "creating necessary conditions for advancing negotiation
process."

Nalbandian and Mammadyarov most recently met in Brussels on July 11 in
the presence of the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group. The mediators continued to press for a meeting of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. In a joint statement, they said
the two ministers agreed to meet again in September for further
discussions on the issue.

According to Nalbandian there is still no final agreement on the
proposed Armenian-Azerbaijani summit. "There is nothing concrete on
the meeting [of the presidents] yet," the minister told reporters.

In a televised interview aired on July 16, President Serzh Sarkisian
said a "preliminary agreement" on his face-to-face talks with
Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev was reached during the co-chairs' tour of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone in June. "My expectations from the
meeting are not big, but that meeting could take place this autumn,"
he told the Armenia TV station.

The two presidents most recently met in May and June 2016 shortly
after four-day deadly hostilities around Karabakh. They agreed to
allow the OSCE to deploy more field observers in the conflict zone and
investigate truce violations occurring there.

The Azerbaijani government has since been reluctant to implement these
safeguards, however, saying that they would cement the status quo in
the absence of progress in peace talks. The Armenian leadership
insists, meanwhile, on an unconditional implementation of the
confidence-building measures that were agreed by Aliyev and Sarkisian.

Nalbandian implied on Wednesday that he does not expect the U.S.,
Russian and French mediators to come up with new peace proposals.

Over the past decade, the mediators have advanced a framework peace
accord calling for a resolution of the dispute that would start with a
gradual liberation of virtually all seven districts around Karabakh
that were fully or partly occupied by Karabakh Armenian forces in
1992-1993. In return, Karabakh's predominantly ethnic Armenian
population would determine the territory's internationally recognized
status in a future referendum.



China Building New Embassy Complex In Armenia


 . Sargis Harutyunyan


Armenia - Senior Armenian and Chinese officials break ground on the
site of a new Chinese embassy bulilding in Yerevan, 9Aug2017.

China officially launched the construction of a new and much bigger
building for its embassy in Armenia on Wednesday in what a senior
Chinese diplomat described as another sign of deepening relations
between the two nations.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Yerevan's Mayor Taron
Markarian and China's visiting Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai
broke ground on the site of the 40,000-square-meter embassy compound
that should be completed by the end of 2019. Officials said that it
will be the second largest Chinese diplomatic mission in the former
Soviet Union.

"This is a great and joyful event," the Chinese ambassador in Yerevan,
Tian Erlong, told reporters at the ground-breaking ceremony. "The
Chinese Embassy in Armenia will have a new building in Armenia."

"China will be better represented in this country. This is logical
because the scale and nature of our cooperation are rapidly
developing, and this obviously requires more efforts, more human
resources and, therefore, a larger building," he said.


China - President Xi Jinping and his visiting Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sarkisian adopt a joint declaration after talks in Beijing,
25Mar2015.

Meeting with Nalbandian earlier in the day, Li reportedly said Beijing
would like to "further deepen the dynamically deepening partnership
with Armenia." "The unprecedentedly high-level relationship and
friendship between China and Armenia are based on sincerity and mutual
respect," the Armenian Foreign Ministry quoted him as saying.

According to a ministry statement, Nalbandian told Li that close
relations with China are one of Yerevan's foreign policy priorities.

The statement added that the two men discussed efforts to boost
bilateral commerce and the situation in the region. Nalbandian was
reported to praise China's "balanced position" on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sarkisian agreed to deepen ties between their nations when then they
met in Beijing in 2015. In a joint statement, they noted "mutual
understanding on issues relating to pivotal interests and concerns of
the two countries."


Armenia - Lieutenant General Movses Hakobian (R), the chief of the
Armenian army's General Staff, meets with Chinese Rear Admiral Guan
Youfei in Yerevan, 13Apr2017.
According to Armenian government data, Chinese-Armenian trade rose by
35 percent to $243 million in the first half of this year, making
China Armenia's third largest trading partner after Russia and the
European Union.

China also seems interested in stepping up military cooperation with
Armenia. A top Chinese military official, Rear Admiral Guan Youfei,
visited Yerevan in April, holding talks with Defense Minister Vigen
Sargsian and the chief of the Armenian army's General Staff, General
Movses Hakobian. The Armenian Defense Ministry said they reached
"agreements on expanding cooperation and implementing a number of
mutually beneficial projects in the area of defense."



Yerevan Mayor Open To Street Renaming


 . Hovannes Movsisian


Armenia -- The Yerevan municipality building.

Yerevan's Mayor Taron Markarian said on Wednesday that he is ready to
consider an opposition demand to rename streets and public schools in
the Armenian capital still bearing the names of controversial
Soviet-era figures.

The opposition Yelk alliance announced earlier this week plans to
submit a corresponding bill to the city council in which it has the
second largest faction. The faction leader, Arayik Harutiunian, said
it will target Yerevan streets and schools named after ethnic Armenian
Communist leaders who were involved in Joseph Stalin's mass
repressions in Soviet Armenia and other parts of the Soviet Union.

Harutiunian singled out Anastas Mikoyan, Stalin's Armenian-born
associate who for decades held top leadership positions in
Moscow. "Having a street named after Mikoyan means recognizing that
person's negative contribution to our history," he said. "As you know,
thousands of Armenians were executed or exiled on orders signed by
him."

Markarian told reporters that his office has received no formal
proposals from Yelk yet. "We will look into the proposals and
definitely express our view after that," he said without commenting
further.

The Armenian government sparked vehement protests from human rights
groups and civil society representatives when it attempted to erect
Mikoyan's statue in downtown Yerevan in 2014. The outcry forced it to
give up the initiative.

Armenia was one of the first Soviet republics to remove the statue of
Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union's founder, from the central square of
its capital in 1991. Most Yerevan streets with Bolshevik-related names
were renamed in the following years.

Vahagn Khachatrian, who served as Yerevan mayor from 1992-1996, said
his administration did not have sufficient time to change other
controversial street names as well. Khachatrian emphasized the fact
that those decisions were recommended by a special commission that
thoroughly examined relevant particular Bolshevik leaders' role in
Soviet Armenian history.

Khachatrian, who is now affiliated with another opposition party,
believes that the current municipal administration should tread just
as carefully on the Yelk proposal. "There is no need to rush," he told
RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).



Press Review



Interviewed by "Aravot," a Georgian political analyst, Gela Vasadze,
stresses the significance of the latest U.S.-led military exercises
taking place in Georgia. He says that the "Noble Partner" drills are
not only involving more troops, including from Armenia, but also
happening amid growing tensions between Russia and the West. Vasadze
claims that the West lost patience with Moscow after the latter
interfered in the last U.S. presidential election.

"As regards Armenia's participation in the NATO exercises in this
situation, I don't know what explanations Armenia's authorities will
give to their Russian partners regarding that," continues the
analyst. "But whatever that explanation, it's clear that it will be a
mere formality. Clearly, they realize in Yerevan today that too many
eggs are placed in one basket."

Lragir.am says that continued deliveries of Russian weapons to
Azerbaijan have caused discontent in Yerevan, including from Armenian
government circles. The pro-Western publication speculates that
Yerevan decided to join the drills in Georgia in response to that. It
says that Armenian leaders are no longer buying into Russian claims
that Azerbaijan could have bought offensive weapons from other
countries had Moscow refused to sign massive arms deals with Baku.

Richard Giragosian, a Yerevan-based analyst, tells Tert.am that
Armenia can serve as a "bridge" between Russia and the United States
while remaining a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU) and Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). "The danger
of being the cause of a confrontation between the U.S. and Russia is
not that great," he says.

(Tigran Avetisian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
August 7, 2017 Monday


Analyst: Israeli minister's visit to Armenia is a clarification of
positions and invitation to dialogue on economic and security issues

Yerevan August 7

David Stepanyan. Visit of the Minister of Regional Cooperation of
Israel Tsakhi Anegbi to Armenia - clarification of positions, perhaps
an invitation to a systemic dialogue on economic and security issues.
This opinion was voiced by the Russian analyst, expert in the South
Caucasus Sergey Markedonov.

On July 25-27, the Minister of Regional Cooperation of Israel Tsakhi
Anegbi visited Yerevan at the invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian. Anegbi met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan,
Speaker of Parliament Ara Babloyan, a number of ministers.
Negotiations with Nalbandyan resulted in Anegbi's statement "about a
new breakthrough in the relations between Israel and Armenia," the
practical direction of work to make friendship mutually beneficial.

However, Markedonov believes that agreeing with Anegbi's thesis about
a breakthrough in Israel's relations with Armenia is rather difficult,
assessing the visit with restraint and without overstating
expectations. Especially considering the sensitive issue for Yerevan
of arms supplies to Baku, which Anegbi went around tactfully,
referring to Israel's readiness to sell weapons to everyone, including
Armenia.

The analyst is convinced that even the most pragmatic reasons at the
heart of the Armenian-Iranian partnership is not preferable for
Israel, like the military-technical cooperation between Yerevan and
Tel Aviv for Baku. However, in any case, the Caucasian and Middle
Eastern countries are striving to build a nuanced policy. Both sides
try to eliminate problematic centers, trying to refrain from tight
binding to a partner, creating a positive reserve for growth.

"All this applies not only to the rest between Iran and Israel, on
which Armenia stands. We should note Armenia's participation in NATO
exercises "Noble partner-2017 ", the preparation of a framework
agreement with the EU. The aspiration of Armenia to insure itself, to
lay eggs in different baskets, is caused by instability , the
volatility of the outside world, which clearly does not show a trend
towards greater security, and today, not only small countries like
Armenia demonstrate this line," the analyst concluded.

Agence France Presse
July 20, 2017 Thursday 4:27 PM GMT


Germany vows economic steps against Turkey as row escalates

Berlin, July 20 2017

Germany on Thursday vowed stinging measures hitting tourism and
investment in Turkey and a full "overhaul" of their troubled
relations, signalling its patience had snapped after Ankara's arrests
of human rights activists.

The government stepped up its travel advisory for the NATO ally as
Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned it could no longer guarantee
its citizens' safety in the face of "arbitrary" mass arrests, a step
set to hit a sector crucial to Turkey's ailing economy.

A day after his ministry summoned Turkey's ambassador, Gabriel
interrupted his holiday and returned to Berlin to deliver his
unusually strong comments towards President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Relations between Turkey and Germany, home to three million ethnic
Turks, have been badly strained, particularly since the failed coup a
year ago against Erdogan.

Gabriel said Germany would review state guarantees for foreign
investment in Turkey and urge businesses not to put their money there,
and also reconsider its support for billions in EU financial flows
earmarked over coming years for the long-time aspirant to membership
of the bloc.

A Social Democrat, Gabriel made clear he was speaking for the
coalition government led by conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, and
her spokesman soon tweeted that the steps were indeed "necessary and
indispensable".

Gabriel recalled that Turkey, having long seen itself as "a member of
the European family", had levelled Nazi jibes at Germany, and accused
Erdogan of worsening a crisis that Berlin had repeatedly sought to
ease through dialogue.

He accused Erdogan of trying to muzzle "every critical voice" with
mass arrests in sweeping crackdowns over the past year.

Gabriel stressed that Germany still wanted to rebuild relations with
its long-time ally but that first Erdogan's government must "return to
European values".

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin accused Germany of
"great political irresponsibility" in stepping up its travel warning
and said: "We do not accept this."

He pointed to Germany's general election in September, saying: "It's
unacceptable to try and damage economic relations, try and arouse
doubts in the minds of German investors, for the sake of petty
electoral calculations."

The Turkish foreign ministry later said that bilateral relations could
not be based on "blackmail and threats".

- Activists held 'hostage' -

A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered six rights activists to remain in
custody for allegedly aiding a "terror" group -- among them Amnesty
International's Turkey director Idil Eser and Berlin-based activist
Peter Steudtner.

Turkey in February arrested, on similar charges, German-Turkish
journalist Deniz Yucel of Die Welt and is holding several other German
citizens.

Erdogan has demanded Germany extradite people he blames for conspiring
against him, mostly alleged followers of US-based Muslim cleric
Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of orchestrating the coup, a charge
Gulen denies.

Germany has granted asylum to some Turkish dissidents, journalists and
military officers who feared being swept up in the post-coup arrests.

German politicians and media have accused Erdogan of detaining German
citizens as "hostages" to trade for Turks in Germany, but Gabriel said
he "had heard of no official exchange offer".

News weekly Die Zeit said Ankara's blacklist also includes large
German companies such as Daimler and BASF, claims dismissed as
"absurd" by German security sources.

Gabriel, without referring to those claims, said that "you can't
advise someone to invest in a country where there is no legal
certainty and even completely innocent companies are linked to
terrorism".

- Escalating row -

German-Turkish relations have steadily deteriorated in recent years,
soured by a free speech dispute centred on a German TV comedian and a
German parliamentary vote on the sensitive historical question of the
mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman troops during World War I.

Erdogan has fumed over Germany's decision to deny him and other
Turkish politicians opportunities to campaign in Germany, home to the
largest Turkish community abroad due to its "guest worker" programme
of the 1950s and 1960s.

The NATO allies have also clashed over thwarted visits by German
lawmakers to troops stationed at Turkish bases.

The spat has cast clouds over Turkey's long-term push to join the
European Union, and threatened a 2016 deal between Ankara and the EU
that has stemmed the mass influx of migrants and refugees into the
block.

Top-selling Bild daily cheered that Gabriel "has shown Erdogan what
happens when you break the rules. Finally! That took far too long!
Hopefully he will get the message."

bur-fz/dlc/jw

DAIMLER