Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Armenia and Azerbaijan announce end to their territorial dispute

Kajoyan Gevork
IRAN FRONT PAGE
ByIFP Media Wire

Yerevan and Baku are ready to end the 30-year dispute over Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Thursday in Moscow.

During the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Council, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders confirmed that they are prepared to normalize relations on the basis of “mutual recognition of territorial integrity,” in the words of both Aliyev and Pashinyan.

Putin said he was “very pleased” that the two former Soviet republics seem to have come to an agreement, “including on transport communications.” This appeared to be a reference to Azerbaijan’s access to the territory of Nakhichevan, located between Armenia and Turkey.

Pashinyan agreed that the two countries were “making good progress in settling our relations” on the basis of mutual recognition, but objected to Aliyev’s use of the phrase “Zangerzur corridor,” saying that this could be regarded as a claim on Armenian territory.

The November 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh truce “speaks of only one corridor, Lachin, which needs to be under the control of Russian peacekeepers but has sadly been illegally blockaded by Azerbaijan,” Pashinyan stated, adding, “However, I wish to confirm Armenia’s readiness to unblock all transport and economic connections and roads passing through Armenian territory.”

“The word ‘corridor’ is not an encroachment on someone’s territory,” Aliyev replied, insisting that one would have to “try very hard or have a very rich imagination” to interpret his phrasing as territorial aspirations, which Azerbaijan does not have. The fact that Armenia has “officially recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan” is a major opportunity to reach a peace agreement, he added.

Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous region within Soviet Azerbaijan, but with an ethnic Armenian majority population. It broke away from Azerbaijan even before Baku declared independence from the USSR, triggering an ethnic conflict that claimed thousands of lives before it was frozen by a 1994 truce.

The most recent flare-up, in 2020, resulted in Azerbaijani troops advancing to cut the main road between Karabakh and Armenia proper. Russia stepped in to mediate a ceasefire, which has mostly held ever since.

Pashinyan signaled that Armenia was willing to cede Karabakh ahead of the Moscow meeting, but said he would seek international guarantees for the remaining ethnic Armenians there. He also said Yerevean might consider leaving the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), suggesting that the Russian-led military bloc had failed to protect Armenia. Pashinyan has taken this line since the September 2022 visit to Yerevan by Nancy Pelosi, who was speaker of the US House of Representatives at the time.

West is not signaling Armenia to push Russia out, says PM Pashinyan

Kajoyan Gevork

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 12:55,

YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that the West is not telling Armenia to disrupt its ties with Russia or push Russia out.

Pashinyan made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent remarks claiming that the West is signaling Armenia to push Russia out of its territory in exchange of ensuring security.

“We are not receiving any signals from the West on disrupting relations with Russia or pushing Russia out, we haven’t received such signals and I don’t think such signals would ever happen. Signals can be in relation to the development or course of bilateral relations, which pertains to Russia, among others. I mean that we are discussing our bilateral relations with our Russian partners very transparently. And I believe there is no unclarified point in these talks about our concerns which we have on Russia in the region and the situation in our relations,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan stated that it is Russia’s obligation to keep Lachin Corridor under control by the 2020 ceasefire agreement. The Armenian PM said that the illegal installation of a checkpoint by Azerbaijan on the corridor is a violation of that obligation.

“Russia had, and has to keep this corridor under its control. We’ve previously also talked both publicly and in a working level about the developments in Khtsaberd to Parukh. After all, the trilateral statement noted the existence of the line of contact and the obligations of the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed inside of the line of contact, and we have constantly encouraged, we haven’t created any problems, we’ve helped with whatever we could in order for these obligations to be fully fulfilled,” Pashinyan said.

“The most important factor of our relations are our relations itself, our mutual obligations. To what extent are these obligations being fulfilled? I don’t think the West is restraining someone and not allowing for these obligations to be fulfilled, in the most various sectors, in security, military-technical cooperation, or activities pertaining to peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh. There was a case when a farmer was shot dead in the presence of peacekeepers. And we think that Russia’s response was improper. Moreover, as far as I know, the peacekeepers themselves had convinced that farmer to start working there, telling him they would ensure his security, but he was killed half an hour later. What has the West got to do with it? 90% of our compatriots who are held captive today were taken captive after the deployment of the Russian peacekeepers in their area of responsibility. What’s the West got to do with it?”

Pashinyan noted that there is no agenda of pushing Russia out in the Armenia-EU or Armenia-USA agenda.

At the same time, Pashinyan said that he has started to discuss security issues with Western partners unlike in the past when they believed that security architecture was in place.

“When we see that this security system isn’t functioning the way it should under binding documents, due to objective and subjective reasons, we also discuss security agenda issues with Western and not only Western partners,” Pashinyan said.

AW: 12th International Conference on Armenian Linguistics to be held at NAASR

Kajoyan Gevork
 NAASR Announcements 0

BELMONT, Mass. — The Twelfth International Conference on Armenian Linguistics (ICAL XII) will take place at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA, from Wednesday, May 31, to Friday, June 2, 2023. Sessions are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. on May 31 and June 1. On June 2 the conference will conclude at noon.

The conference is being presented with the co-sponsorship and support of NAASR and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and has been organized by a committee led by Anaid Donabedian (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales – INALCO, Paris) and Luc Baronian (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi).

ICAL XII will feature scholars from around the world participating in person and via Zoom. This conference offers an opportunity to researchers working on various aspects of the Armenian language to share their work and thoughts, whatever their theoretical or methodological approaches may be.

The conference sessions are open to the public to attend in-person. The full schedule of the sessions will be posted on NAASR’s website as soon as it is finalized.

For more information about the conference, email [email protected].

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Founded in 1955, NAASR is one of the world’s leading resources for advancing Armenian Studies, supporting scholars, and building a global community to preserve and enrich Armenian culture, history, and identity for future generations.


Pashinyan: Armenia recognizes Azerbaijani 86.6 thousand square km territory

Kajoyan Gevork
Armenia – May 17 2023

Government’s press office reports that he said this during the summit of the Council of Europe in Reykjavík.

 

“As a result of the illegal closure of the Lachin Corridor, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have been under siege for 5 months and are living in conditions of a humanitarian crisis.

 

Sending an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor is a necessity,” Pashinyan said.

 

He noted that the start of Baku-Stepanakert negotiations under international auspices is vital for ensuring the security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh:

 

“By supporting the addressing of these issues, the Council of Europe will contribute to the establishment of democracy and stability in the South Caucasus.”

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 05/16/2023

Kajoyan Gevork 
                                        Tuesday, 


Karabakh Leaders Slam EU


Nagorno-Karabakh - Karabakh Armenians rally in Stepanakert against the 
Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor, May 9, 2023.


Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership accused the European Union late on Monday of 
turning a blind eye to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor when it 
reacted to European Council President Charles Michel’s remarks made after the 
latest Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Brussels.

Michel, who hosted the talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, made no mention of the five-month blockade 
that has caused serious shortages of food and medicine as well as an energy 
crisis in Karabakh.

Instead, he urged Baku to embark on a dialogue with “Armenians living in the 
former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast” for the purpose of “guaranteeing the 
rights and security of this population.”

“This fact shows that the president of the European Council not only does not 
hinder but actually encourages Azerbaijan to use the sufferings of the people of 
Artsakh as a political tool,” the Karabakh foreign ministry charged in a 
statement.

It said Michel’s remarks also demonstrate that “the EU leadership continues to 
ignore the legal rights and interests of the people of Artsakh and is guided 
only by its own geopolitical and short-term interests in the region to the 
detriment of the values of democracy and human rights proclaimed by the EU.”

The statement added that only international recognition of the Karabakh 
Armenians’ right to self-determination can be “the basis for a sustainable 
settlement of the conflict.”

The Armenian government stopped championing that right a year ago. Pashinian 
subsequently declared that it recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Michel implied after Sunday’s summit that Yerevan is now also ready to recognize 
Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. The Armenian opposition expressed serious 
concern over this declaration, renewing its allegations that Pashinian is 
forcing the Karabakh Armenians to live under Azerbaijani rule.

By contrast, the strongly-worded Karabakh statement contained no criticism of 
Pashinian.




Yerevan Still Reluctant To Clarify Stance On Karabakh’s Status

        • Astghik Bedevian

Armenia - Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safarian speaks to reporters, 
Yerevan, .


Two days after the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan reportedly made progress 
during talks in Brussels, the Armenian government again declined to clarify on 
Tuesday whether it recognizes Azerbaijani sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Charles Michel, the European Union chief who hosted the talks, said Armenian 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “confirmed 
their unequivocal commitment to … respective territorial integrity of Armenia 
(29,800 square kilometers) and Azerbaijan (86,600 square kilometers).”

The total Soviet-era area of Azerbaijan cited by Michel includes Karabakh.

“Negotiations are ongoing on the provision of international guarantees for 
ensuring Nagorno-Karabakh’s rights and security,” Deputy Foreign Minister 
Mnatsakan Safarian repeatedly told reporters as they pressed him on the 
implications of Michel’s statement.

Safarian said Armenia always recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. “So 
there is nothing new here,” he said.

The diplomat did not clarify whether Yerevan will explicitly recognize Karabakh 
as a part of Azerbaijan in a peace treaty currently discussed by the conflicting 
sides.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Moscow 
later this week for further talks on the treaty.

Meanwhile, Armenian opposition leaders continued to portray Michel’s remarks as 
further proof of Pashinian’s readiness to help Baku regain control over Karabakh.

“86,600 square kilometers means Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan,” said Armen 
Rustamian of the opposition Hayastan alliance.

Pashinian has not yet made any public statements on the Brussels summit held on 
Sunday. In recent months, he has publicly encouraged Karabakh’s leaders to 
negotiate with Azerbaijan while accusing Baku of planning to commit “genocide” 
in the Armenian-populated region.

The authorities in Stepanakert have repeatedly denounced Pashinian’s comments on 
the conflict with Azerbaijan. In a joint statement issued on April 19, the five 
political groups represented in the Karabakh parliament again accused him of 
undermining the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination which was for 
decades supported by international mediators.




CSTO Exit ‘Not On Armenia’s Agenda Yet’

        • Astghik Bedevian

ARMENIA - The leaders of Russia, Armenia and other CSTO member states pose for a 
photograph during a summit in Yerevan, November 23, 2022.


Armenia is not considering leaving the Collective Security Treaty Organization 
(CSTO) despite its unprecedented tensions with other CSTO member states, a 
senior Armenian official said on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the Armenian government cancelled a CSTO military exercise 
planned in Armenia and refused to appoint a deputy secretary-general of the 
Russian-led military alliance over what it sees as a lack of CSTO support in the 
conflict with Azerbaijan. It also rejected a CSTO offer to deploy a monitoring 
mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The tensions have called into question Armenia’s continued membership in the 
organization. In a newspaper interview published over the weekend, the secretary 
of the country’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian, said Yerevan discussed the 
possibility of leaving the alliance. He gave no details.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safarian suggested that the discussions took 
place shortly after Azerbaijan launched offensive military operations along the 
Armenian border last September.

An exit from the CSTO is “not on Armenia’s agenda now,” Safarian said, adding 
that Pashinian’s government may revisit the issue in the future.

“Yes, the situation is complicated, but being a CSTO member state and also 
having [membership] obligations, we continue to hope that our efforts will 
produce some results,” Safarian told reporters.

Armenia - CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov at a meeting with 
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian, Yerevan, March 16, 2023.

Grigorian complained last month that “the security mechanisms that were supposed 
to protect us are not working now.” “Armenia is trying to find new security 
guarantees,” he told Armenian Public Television.

Safarian would not say whether the authorities in Yerevan see any realistic 
alternative to Armenia’s membership in the CSTO and bilateral military ties with 
Russia.

Armen Rustamian, a leading member of the main opposition Hayastan alliance, 
believes that in the absence of such an alternative Armenia’s estrangement from 
the alliance of six ex-Soviet states carries serious national security risks.

“Without having a new security system they are trying to wreck the existing 
one,” Rustamian charged.

“Leave the CSTO and explain why you did that, or stay in the CSTO and use all, 
even minimal chances of getting the CSTO to address our security problems,” he 
said, appealing to Pashinian’s administration. “We are becoming an unreliable 
partner, and that is adding to threats and dangers facing increasingly facing 
our country.”

Pashinian claimed in March that it is the CSTO that could “leave Armenia.” The 
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, laughed off that remark, 
saying that she has trouble understanding its meaning. A senior Russian diplomat 
afterwards called for an end to the “harmful” spat.




Italian Police Seize $880 Million Of Cocaine ‘Bound For Armenia’


Italy - A screenshot from an official video of Italian police finding 2.7 tons 
of cocaine allegedly bound for Armenia, .


Police in Italy said on Tuesday that they have seized 2.7 tons of “extremely 
pure” cocaine destined for Armenia.

In a statement, Italy’s Guardia di Finanza police force said the consignment of 
drugs worth more than 800 million euros ($880 million) was found in refrigerated 
banana containers shipped to the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro from Ecuador.

Armenia was the final destination of the shipment, via Georgia’s Black Sea port 
of Batumi, said the statement.

Calabria is home to the Ndrangheta crime syndicate, which is now widely regarded 
as Italy's most powerful mafia organization playing a central role in the drugs 
trade.

Earlier this month, the Italian police also found in Gioia Tauro 600 kilograms 
of cocaine which they said was bound for other parts of Italy as well as 
Croatia, Greece and Georgia.

Armenian law-enforcement authorities did not immediately react to their latest 
major drug bust. It was not clear whether the authorities will try to 
investigate the alleged cocaine shipment to Armenia foiled in Italy.

Armenia - Opposition deputy Agnessa Khamoyan speaks during a news conference in 
Yerevan, November 19, 2021.

Agnessa Khamoyan, an Armenian opposition parliamentarian, expressed serious 
concern over the development. She suggested that senior Armenian officials or 
“persons very close to the government” were involved in the botched drug 
trafficking operation.

The number of drug trafficking cases recorded by the Armenian police nearly 
doubled last year, highlighting a growing problem in a country not accustomed to 
widespread drug abuse. The sharp rise in such cases is widely blamed on 
increasingly accessible synthetic drugs mainly sold through the internet.

Khamoyan mentioned this “awful statistics” in a Facebook post on the Italian 
police statement. “This is a serious threat to national security, and I am sorry 
to say that the state is not taking any serious steps to tackle it,” she wrote.

Some pro-government lawmakers likewise criticized the Armenian police over the 
alarming trend when they met with Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian in February. 
Ghazarian assured them that the police are stepping up their fight against 
drug-related crimes.


Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Hold Marathon Peace Talks in Washington

Kajoyan Gevork

May 8 2023

May 8, 2023 05:51 PM Age: 20 hours

(Source: Mediamax)

From May 1 to 4, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, respectively, held four-day peace talks facilitated by United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington (Mfa.gov.az, May 4). Reportedly, Blinken only attended the introductory and closing sessions of the negotiations, which were held bilaterally between the delegations of the two countries for the remainder of the talks (Mfa.am, May 1; State.gov, May 4). Mirzoyan and Bayramov also met with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (Twitter.com/JakeSullivan46, May 4).

These talks, which represent the longest round of negotiations since the end of the Second Karabakh War in 2020, marked the third such ministerial meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan as mediated by the United States since September 2022. Previously, the three sides met on September 19 and November 8 last year in New York and Washington, DC, respectively (Turan.az, September 20, 2022; Az.usembassy.gov, November 8, 2022). During that same period, the United States also facilitated a meeting between Azerbaijani Presidential Advisor Hikmet Hajiyev and Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan in Washington on September 27, 2022 (Azernews, September 30, 2022) and another between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 18 (JAM-news, February 18).

This marks an important trend in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process: While the European Union took over the lead mediating role in negotiations following the decline of Russia’s role in the process after its invasion of Ukraine, Brussels has failed to continue the process due to, among other issues, controversies related to France’s alleged attempt to join the summit of the two leaders along with European Council President Charles Michel. In a similar way to the failed summit in December 2022, Brussels could not bring Aliyev and Pashinyan together in March this year either, though some preliminary agreements for such a meeting had been reached during the US-mediated meeting in Munich (JAM-news, February 18).

Hence, the recent meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Washington testifies to the fact that the United States is playing a greater role as a mediator in the peace process between Yerevan and Baku. The Washington meeting took place against the backdrop of stalled communications between the two sides over differences in what should be contained in the peace treaty as well as Azerbaijan’s installation of a border checkpoint along the Lachin road on April 23. Later, on May 4, while the foreign ministers were still deep in discussion in Washington, Aliyev revealed that Yerevan only responded to Baku’s latest comments about the text of the peace treaty after more than 40 days and just prior to the Washington meeting (President.az, May 4).

Furthermore, the Azerbaijani president stated that he is not optimistic about the current state of negotiations, as Yerevan, in its latest response to Baku’s proposals, again made “attempts to question the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan; attempts to incorporate, in some way, Karabakh into a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and attempts to cross out our proposal of jointly combating terrorism, extremism, radicalism and separatism.” Aliyev added that the “Armenians kept everything but crossed out separatism” in regards to the specific text of this section (President.az, May 4).

Notably, several days before the ministerial meeting in the United States, Pashinyan stated that Armenia fully recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and expects the same from Baku (Armenpress, April 18). Likewise, a day before Aliyev’s aforementioned statement, Pashinyan confessed that his country needs to declare unequivocally that it has no territorial claim against Azerbaijan. He acknowledged that “the Republic of Armenia must declare that it has no territorial claims and will never have them. This is the only principle that will give us a chance to have a state” (Armenpress, May 3).

Despite these messages, which were largely interpreted in the region as a sign of Armenia’s readiness to reach an agreement in Washington, the ministerial meeting did not deliver any official document, joint press statement or visible agreements on specific issues. In his remarks at the closing session, Blinked disclosed that “the two sides have discussed some very tough issues over the last few days and they’ve made tangible progress on a durable peace agreement” (State.gov, May 4). The US official added, “We really are within reach of an agreement.” It is, however, unclear whether Blinken’s use of “tangible progress” was indeed indicative of the peace process taking a step forward or simply political rhetoric. Retrospectively, similar progress was reported in the aftermath of the Munich meeting on February 18; yet, no visible breakthrough was observed in the peace process in the weeks that followed (JAM-news, February 18).

In identical statements after the talks in Washington, Mirzoyan and Bayramov stated that they “advanced mutual understanding on some articles of the draft bilateral Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations, meanwhile acknowledging that the positions on some key issues remain divergent” (Mfa.gov.az, May 4; Armenpress, May 5)—yet again, failing to provide any details on the substantive progress that was reportedly achieved.

Both foreign ministers are now expected to meet in Moscow in the coming days (Apa.az, May 2). This meeting will be critical as the Kremlin has been traditionally unhappy with the “intervention” of the West in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process. Russia has also signaled that it would not support a peace deal that is not agreed upon with Moscow and not built on the basis of statements from the tripartite ceasefire agreement brokered by the Kremlin in 2020 (Azatutyun.am, May 2; see EDM, May 18, May 31, 2022). Pashinyan himself is headed to Moscow on a working visit, which underlines Russia’s remaining influence in the peace process (News.am, May 5). Hence, talks are now moving to the Russian capital as part of a delicate balancing act in these negotiations between growing Western influence and lingering Russian control—which leaves the future prospects for lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus in a precarious position.

Turkish Press: Turkish parliament speaker meets with Armenian counterpart

Kajoyan Gevork
HURRIYET 
Turkey – May 5 2023

Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop has met with the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan on May 4 who has been visiting Türkiye for the 30th Anniversary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Summit and the 61st PABSEC Plenary Meeting.

Pointing out that there are obstacles to be overcome in terms of normalizing relations, Simonyan said a ceremony of the erection of a monument in the Armenian capital which irked Ankara was not represented by the Armenian government, but by opposition figures.

“No deputy representing the government was present at that ceremony. Those deputies represent the opposition and criticize us for taking steps in this process. We anticipate that there will be many obstacles and difficulties on this path, but we have to go through them to yield results,” Simonyan stated.

Noting that Türkiye desires full normalization and the establishment of good neighborly relations in its region, Şentop said, “Our goal in our normalization process with Armenia is to realize this desire.”

He recalled that there are some steps taken regarding the normalization of relations with Armenia and said, “Therefore, I think that steps that will harm the normalization process should be avoided.”

Şentop reiterated Türkiye’s unease over the opening of the “Nemesis Monument” in Yerevan on April 25.

“The Nemesis Monument, which was opened with the participation of the Deputy Mayor of Yerevan and some officials with a ceremony held on April 25, is an unacceptable development that openly glorifies terrorism and makes terrorists heroic,” he said.

Şentop recalled that “Operation Nemesis,” as the “terrorist activities” including assassinations targeting Ottoman and Azerbaijani statesmen at that time, have inspired terrorist organizations such as ASALA (Secret Armenian Army for the Liberation of Armenia), Armenian Genocide Justice Commandos (JCAG) and Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA), which martyred 31 Turkish diplomats and their family members.

“The opening of this monument has created serious discomfort in Türkiye. We regard this issue as a very sensitive issue, will not accept the glorification of terrorism in any way, and such incidents will adversely affect good neighborly relations,” he stated.

Türkiye and Armenia are running a process for normalizing the relationship after more than a 30-year-long incommunicado and the two sides launched talks after the Armenia-Azerbaijan war in 2020 which ended with the victory of the Azeri troops.

The two countries are at odds over various issues, primarily the 1915 mass killings of Armenians during the First World War, as Yerevan says the killings constitute genocide.

https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-parliament-speaker-meets-with-armenian-counterpart-182900

Asbarez: California State Legislature Stands in Solidarity with Artsakh, Calls for Accountability for Armenian Genocide

Kajoyan Gevork
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Latest, News, Top Stories

SACRAMENTO – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region and several local chapters, including representatives from Pasadena, San Francisco, and Sacramento, attended the California State Assembly and State Senate sessions commemorating the 108th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24. Assemblymember Laura Friedman and Senator Anthony Portantino both introduced resolutions in the California State Legislature relating to the affirmation of California’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide and calling upon the Federal Government to prevent a second genocide from occurring in Artsakh, currently besieged by Azerbaijan. Local Homenetmen Scouts administered the flag ceremony in the Assembly and Senate, and prayers in the opening sessions were offered by Armenian clergy.

Similarly, the California Assembly unanimously passed HR-26, introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman of Glendale, reaffirming California’s recognition of the murder of 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 as genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and Kemalist Turkey. Assemblymember Friedman was joined by several of her colleagues during the special floor remarks, including Assemblymembers Rivas, Papan, Ramos, Patterson, Gabriel, Gipson, Cervantes, and Carrillo. Following the statements by members of the Assembly, HR-26 was passed on the Assembly floor by an overwhelming vote of 74-0.

Homenetmen “Gars” chapter scouts performing a flag ceremony at the commemorative event Armenian American community members and guests on the Senate floor

California leads the nation in Armenian-American issues, as it is home to the largest Armenian diaspora population in the world. “I applaud California’s reaffirmation of its recognition of the Armenian Genocide. This is not only a matter of historical truth, but also a matter of human rights and justice,” said Chair of the ANCA-Western Region, Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “The Armenian Genocide and the current blockade of Artsakh highlight that the genocidal ambitions of Turkey and Azerbaijan still exist and are a present threat and danger to the Armenian nation. California sends a clear message that we will not tolerate genocide denial, revisionism, or impunity. We will stand with the survivors and their descendants, and we will honor their memory and legacy,” she concluded. For decades, many Armenian-Americans in California have been actively involved in raising awareness and advocating for justice for the Armenian Genocide of 1915. California’s Armenian-American community is a vibrant and resilient force that strives to preserve its culture, history, and identity in the face of adversity.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Orion Summit 2023 Investments Position Armenia to take place in New York City

Kajoyan Gevork

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 10:20,

YEREVAN, APRIL 11, ARMENPRESS.  The Orion Summit 2023 Investments Position Armenia will take place on June 19-22 in New York City, USA.

It is a one of a kind international event bringing together world-class professionals and organizations representing different countries from the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and various industries, such as Science and Technology, Financial Services, Legal, and Professional Services. Orion Summit has become a powerful opportunity for Armenian and non-Armenian startups globally to build content, customer and capital. The key objective of Orion Summit 2023 is to create reliable alternative investment opportunities for startup ecosystem through establishing Private Equity Firms, Corporate VCs, and Family Offices in Armenia and with international partners.

Over 100 investors, startup founders, representatives of venture capital funds, investment banking, insurance sector and other experts will participate in the event, according to Dr. Diana Arzumanyan, the CEO and Co-Founder of Orion Worldwide Innovations Armenia. “Half of the participants will be from New York City and other U.S. cities, while the other half from Armenia. We’ve very limited seats left, registration is open through our official website,” she added.

Orion Summit 2023 will feature internationally recognized world-class founders, investors, advisors, and professionals as speakers, such as financial regulatory advisor Jeff Ingber; Associate Director, Endless Frontier Labs at NYU Stern School of Business Beth Xie; Managing Director in the Credit and Structures Solutions Group at Francisco Partners Sebouh Nahabedian; World Economic Forum representative Zara Ingilizian; CEO at Reitium Blockchain Technologies Thomas Park and others.

Asked on expected results, the Armenia Union of Banks CEO Seyran Sargsyan said they expect to strengthen and expand partnership.

“Today we can confidently say that Armenia has a stable banking system. This is one of our important achievements over the past 30 years since independence,” he said, praising the banking system as reliable and advanced.

“Our banking system can be represented at the Orion Summit 2023, due in the global financial center New York City, with its wide opportunities for financial transactions and exclusive terms for savings deposits. In case of participation in the summit with representatives of American financial organizations, we expect to strengthen and expand cooperation, establish new business ties with international partners, as well as constructive discussions around the main trends of development of financial markets.”

Karine Terteryan




European Chess Championship: Armenia’s Lilit Mkrtchian beats Azeri opponent in 4th round

Kajoyan Gevork
Panorama
Armenia – March 22 2023

SPORT 12:07 22/03/2023 ARMENIA

The fourth round of the 23rd European Women Chess Championship was played on Tuesday.

Armenian players Lilit Mkrtchian, Elina Danielian and Anna Sargsyan celebrated victories in the 4th round.

Mkrtchian defeated her Azerbaijani opponent Gunay Mammadzada to score 3.5/4 points.

The games of Mariam Mkrtchyan and Susanna Gaboyan ended in a draw, the Armenian Chess Federation said.

Lilit Mkrtchian and Elina Danielian are in the 4th and 7th places, respectively.

The European Women Chess Championship is taking place at the Hotel Palas in Petrovac, Montenegro, on March 17-30. The event features 136 players from 34 federations.