Author: Karlen Baghdasarian

Russia ups gas price for Armenia by 10% in blow for new government

Karlen Baghdasarian
CEE Energy NewsWatch Today
January 7, 2019 Monday
Russia ups gas price for Armenia by 10% in blow for new government
 
 
Russia has pushed up the price of gas it sells to Armenia by 10%.
 
Talks over the gas price were seen as key in assessing relations between the new post-revolution government in Yerevan and Moscow, the small nation's big strategic partner.
 
In 2019, Russian state gas giant Gazprom will sell gas to Armenia at $165 per thousand cubic metres, Gazprom said in a statement following a December 31 meeting between its chairman, Alexei Miller, and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian. The previous price was $150 per thousand cubic metres.
 
Prior to the announcement, the Armenian government had several times said it was aiming to have the gas price reduced. Garegin Baghramyan, Armenia's minister of energy and natural resources, said as late as December 27 that "Of course, we are holding talks on reducing the tariff, but I am unaware of Russia's proposals. The best result for us must be to reduce the tariff."
 
Armenia imports the large majority of its gas from Russia. Its only other supplier is Iran.
 
The price increase comes as Armenia appears set to lose its position heading the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, and days after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met in Moscow.
 
The day after the meeting, Putin pointedly sent public holiday greetings to former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan, a Pashinian nemesis currently in jail in Yerevan on abuse-of-power charges, eurasianet reported.
 
The price increase is "symptomatic of how the Kremlin is exploiting Armenia's acute dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, using gas supply as a political instrument to put pressure on the Pashinian-led government," Eduard Abrahamyan, a London-based analyst of Armenia, told the news website.
 
Pashinian's enemies in the Republican Party of Armenia that ruled the country before the country's velvet revolution of April to May last year made political capital out of the gas reverse. "We are finishing the year not entirely proudly and fruitfully," wrote Eduard Sharmazanov, the party's press secretary, on his Facebook page the day the announcement was made. "Nikol, who for months has been accusing us of artificially increasing prices on gas and creation of a corrupt gas scheme, saying that since his becoming prime minister that Armenia-Russia relations have been wonderful, today reported that the price of gas is increasing."
 
Pashinian claimed that consumers would be paying the same price for energy thanks to "our certain internal adjustments". He did not detail those adjustments.
 
Separately, on December 27 Pashinian said Armenia was determined to continue "integration" within the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EES).
 
"We are committed to further integration within the Eurasian Economic  Union and treat seriously our chairmanship in the EES," Pashinian said during his meeting with Putin in Moscow.
 
"I am confident that after our chairmanship we will have even more effective integration in the union," Pashinian said, referring to Armenia's rotating presidency of the EEU that began on January 1.
 
The trade bloc brings together Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan.
 
Putin praised the Russia-Armenia bilateral relationship, including "growing trade that increased by nearly 30 percent" last year.
 
He said that Russia was Armenia's largest economic partner, accounting for some 25% of Armenia's foreign trade.
 
Pashinian's My Step alliance won more than 70% of the vote in the snap parliamentary elections held on December 9.
 
Pashinian vowed to maintain close relations with traditional ally Russia, but at the same time said he would seek closer ties with the United States and the European Union.
 
Russia has a military base in Armenia.

Armenian wounded in explosion at Christmas fair in Lviv deceased

Karlen Baghdasarian
112 International
Jan 2 2019


The 50-year-old man had 50 percent of his skin burned; he suffered kidney failure and strong intoxication after the explosion on December 22
08:04, 2 January 2019

The 50-year-old citizen of Armenia passed away at the 8th city clinical hospital in Lviv; as one of the victims of the explosion on Christmas fair in Lviv, he's been in the hospital's intensive care unit since December 22. Lviv city hall's press office reported that on late Tuesday.

The man's condition was grave, so he spent all the time in the intensive care. 

'We managed to cope with the burn shock, but the next stage, which starts at the skin burn rate exceeding 20 percent, is the intoxication. His lab tests results worsened since yesterday, and he developed kidney failure. Unfortunately, due to the heavy massive burns, he suffered a strong intoxication. The man had 50 percent of his body burned', Ihor Stoyanovsky, the hospital's Deputy Chief Medical Doctor for Surgical Assistance said.

Lviv city hall expressed condolences to the family and relatives of the deceased citizen.

Iran: Armenian interaction with Muslim compatriots indisputable

Karlen Baghdasarian
Iran Daily
Sunday

Varouj Minasian told IRNA on Sunday evening on the eve of the New Year, "The Iranian government and authorities have paid more attention to the Armenian Christian community after the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran than they received prior to this."

Referring to negative propaganda by anti-Iran affiliated networks, he said, "The Armenian community of Iran freely participate in their religious ceremonies and even the Iranian Christians have more freedom to hold rituals and celebrations than their Muslim compatriots."

Minasian said, "Foreign radio and television networks aiming to pressure the Islamic Republic are trying to convince their audience that the rights of religious minorities, including Christians in Iran, are not respected."

 
 

Arayik Harutyunyan on new appointment of former head of General Staff Intelligence Directorate: I presented this as interesting information

Karlen Baghdasarian
Arminfo, Armenia
Dec 20 2018

ArmInfo. On December 20, in an  interview with journalists, Acting Minister of Education and Science  Arayik Harutyunyan addressed to the statements he had made in the  past about the new adviser to the Acting Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan Arshak Karapetyan after his appointment as a military  attache at the Armenian Embassy in Russia.

"If you watched the video  in full, then I thought it was not strange (appointment ed.), I found  it strange that someone was not punished because of the April events.  I presented it as interesting information, "said Harutyunyan. To note  that he doesn't see any contradictions between the statements he made  in the past about Arshak Karapetyan and his current appointment,  Harutyunyan stressed that the Acting Prime Minister addressed this  issue yesterday.  According to him, Arayik Harutyunyan is satisfied  with these clarifications.

According to the Acting head of the Ministry of Education and  Science, in fact, in the video, he literally said: "There is  interesting information, the head of the intelligence department, who  was sent to the island during the April war, was again appointed  military attache at the Armenian Embassy in Russia, the information  is very interesting. It is very strange that after the April events,  someone was not punished and was not brought to justice.  Earlier it  was reported that appeared in social networks video, in which the  current acting. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan and Acting  Education and Science Minister Arayik Harutyunyan is talking about  Arshak Karapetyan, believing that he was a fiasco during the April  war.

To recall, by the decree of former President Serzh Sargsyan of April  26, 2016, immediately after the four- day war in Nagorno-Karabakh,  Deputy Minister of Defense – Head of the Logistics Department Alik  Mirzabekyan, Head of the General Staff Arshak Karapetyan's  Intelligence Department and Head of Troops Communications – Head of  Communications and Automated Control Systems Department Komitas  Muradyan were dismissed from their posts. There were no official  comments on the reasons for the reshuffle. But Armenian experts  explained the resignation by the authorities' desire to mitigate the  discontent that followed the four-day war. So, after the hostilities  in early April 2016, much was said that the material and technical  support of the Armenian army was extremely unsatisfactory: according  to some information, sometimes even there was not enough ammunition.  It was also said that the offensive, which was prepared by the Armed  Forces of Azerbaijan, was not identified on time. However, already in  February 2018 he was appointed military attache at the Armenian  Embassy in Russia

Yesterday appeal to the appointment of Arshak Karapetyan as advisor  to the head of government; the Acting Prime Minister said that the  secret material about the April war is not a word about the lack of  intelligence materials. Answering the question that the same  Karapetyan, in accordance with secret order 0038, was also involved  in the events of March 1, 2008, Pashinyan noted that, in accordance  with this order, a very large part of the SC was involved in these  events: "Now we don't can separate this part from the sun? " However,  he stressed that all those whom the investigation finds guilty will  be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Touching upon the  accusations of his comrades-in-arms, now ministers made before the  revolution to the past authorities that Karapetyan after the April  war could not be appointed military attache in the Armenian  diplomatic department in Russia, Pashinyan stressed that all  statements made by his colleagues and himself were before the  revolution, are not a sentence. At the same time, Pashinyan  questioned the justice of Karapetyan's dismissal after the April  events. "I read hundreds of pages of secret materials about the April  war, and, in fact, I can say that we didn't have a shortage of  intelligence materials. We have a lot of questions about the April  war that should be answered and, as far as possible, should be  presented to the society ", – Pashinyan assured, stressing that many  knew about the accumulation of Azerbaijani troops around the  perimeter of the front line until the April war:" But I will refrain  from assessing. "

Sports: Harutyunyan brothers aim for bigger achievements in diving

Karlen Baghdasarian
MediaMax, Armenia
Dec  17 2018
 
 
 
Harutyunyan brothers aim for bigger achievements in diving
 
 
 
 
Armenian diver Vladimir Harutyunyan, who took the bronze with Lev Sargsyan for synchronized diving (platform) in the European Championship, has summed up 2018 as excellent.
 
“Naturally, we worked and hoped for this achievement for a long time. It made us very happy, but now we are aiming for more. We want to give our best every time and win more medals,” he said.
 
His brother Azat has had a difficult year due to an injury, but he has recovered well and is getting back into training step by step.
 
“These victories motivate athletes. I was so, so happy for my brother and friend. Nothing is coincidental – this is the result of the hard work they’ve done and the coach’s effort,” emphasized Azat.
 
Head coach of the Armenian diving team Hrachya Chandiryan says that Azat only performed on springboard this year. He finished 8th in the European Championship. In recent days the diver returned to the platform and could compete in platform exercises next year.
 

Lydian Announces Acceptance of Lawsuit for Appeal Hearing of Environmental Order

Karlen Baghdasarian
Lydian International, UK
Tuesday
Lydian Announces Acceptance of Lawsuit for Appeal Hearing of Environmental Order
 
 
TORONTO – Lydian International Limited (TSX: LYD) ('Lydian' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia (the 'Court') has accepted the Company's lawsuit appealing a directive issued by Mr. Artur Grigoryan, the head of the Republic of Armenia's Environmental and Mining Inspection Body, to refrain from any mining-related activities at the Amulsar project.
  
The acceptance of the lawsuit by the Court results in an automatic suspension of Mr. Grigoryan's directive, under the Republic of Armenia's Administrative Procedure Code, which suspension will remain in place until the appeal is heard and determined.
 
Joao Carrelo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydian, stated, 'We are pleased that the Court has agreed to accept Lydian's lawsuit. We are confident that the Court will rule in Lydian's favor based on studies concluded by the Ministry of Nature Protection that conclusively established no basis for Mr. Grigoryan's assertions of 'new ecological factors' and Mr. Grigoryan's inherent conflict of interest that lead to this lawsuit.'
 
As previously announced, Mr. Grigoryan had directed the Company to refrain from any mining-related activities until the Ministry of Nature Protection conducted a study to determine if Mr. Grigoryan's assertion that new ecological factors had arisen due to sightings of newly found red-listed plants and animal species, specifically, the fact that Acantholimon caryophyllaceum Boiss plant species and Parnassius apollo animal species had been identified at the Amulsar Project site for the first time.
 
After the issuance of Mr. Grigoryan's directive, a group commissioned by the Ministry of Nature Protection confirmed the non-existence of the red-listed plant and animal species and concluded that the Amulsar project site did not include the necessary habitat to support either species. These findings were officially communicated by the Minister of Nature Protection and clearly invalidated Mr. Grigoryan's conclusions. The Company had appealed Mr. Grigoryan's directive, based on these findings as well as other grounds, including Mr. Grigoryan's conflict of interest, and included such contradictory evidence with the initial appeal. The administrative appeal of the initial directives was to be heard by the Chairman of the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Agency, a role held by Mr. Grigoryan himself. Lydian requested that Mr. Grigoryan recuse himself from acting as reviewer of the initial directive due to his conflict of interest. However, Mr. Grigoryan refused to recuse himself and subsequently rejected the Company's appeal of his own directive. Lydian subsequently appealed the decision to the Court, which accepted the lawsuit for the appeal hearing and thereby suspends Mr. Grigoryan's directive pending the determination of the appeal.
 
Despite the suspension of the directive, the illegal blockades continue to prevent Lydian from accessing site to resume full construction activities. However, Lydian has secured short-term access to undertake winterization and preservation work on process and mobile equipment, as previously disclosed. Lydian continues to retain all of its legal rights and options with respect to the appeal of Mr. Grigoryan's directive, as well as all other matters related to the Amulsar project, including the ongoing illegal blockades.
 
About Lydian International Limited
 
Lydian is a gold developer focusing on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. However, illegal blockades have prevented access to Amulsar since late June 2018. Amulsar will be a large-scale, low-cost operation with production targeted to average approximately 225,000 ounces annually over an initial 10-year mine life. Open pit mining and conventional heap leach processing contribute to excellent scale and economic potential. Estimated mineral resources contain 3.5 million measured and indicated gold ounces and 1.3 million inferred gold ounces as outlined in the Q1 2017 Technical Report. Existing mineral resources beyond current reserves and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. Lydian is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.
 
Contact:
 
Tel: +1 720-307-5087

USA, Israel plan chaos on Karabakh-Iran border: Republican lawmaker

Karlen Baghdasarian
Aysor, Armenia
Nov 30 2018

The United States and Israel are planning to create a chaos on the border of Karabakh and Iran, Republican faction lawmaker Artashes Geghamyan said today at the Lazarev Club’s first plenary session.

“The facts show that the United States, together with its closest ally Israel, will by all means create a chaos over Artsakh’s security zone, which has about 100 km-long border with Iran. This chaos will be managed by them. The first step to that is military aggression by the Azerbaijani side,” Geghamyan said.

He said Azerbaijan has spent $5,5 billion for acquiring Israeli military equipment.

Geghamyan stated that it is enough to study the dynamics of financial incomes received from different U.S. organizations to get convinced that the transfers received for “strengthening democracy”, “strengthening civil society” grow.

“As a result we have what we have today. After 20 days of revolution in Armenia U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informs the Armenian side that they are discussing provision of $140 million to assist the efforts of the new Armenian government,” Geghamyan said.

Geghamyan also noted that Armenia believes in Russian and knows that President Vladimir Putin will not to allow war in Armenia and Karabakh.

Sports: Mikael Mikaelyan wins Armenia’s 1st skiing medal this season

Karlen Baghdasarian
MediaMax, Armenia
Nov 19 2018

Photo: From personal archive

The young athlete came out the winner among 45 participants, all a year older than him, and earned 79.12 points. Mikaelyan is very close to securing a place in 2019 World Cup finals.

Other Armenia representatives were also involved in Saariselkä tournament. Tadevos Poghosyan finished 12th, Arman Matinyan was 29th, and Katya Galstyan came 23rd.

Azerbaijani press: Armenia earns profit from extraction of precious metals in occupied Azerbaijani lands

Karlen Baghdasarian
15:36 (UTC+04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17

By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:

Armenia’s aggression policy causes great damage to Azerbaijan in all spheres, including the economic and environmental ones, Zakir Ibrahimov, chairman of the board of AzerGold CJSC, told Trend Nov. 17 on the sidelines of the international conference entitled “Illegal activity in the occupied Azerbaijani territories and the responsibility of third parties” in Baku.

He noted that a report was prepared regarding illegal activities in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, and was sent to the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

He said that the process initiated by AzerGold CJSC to bring to justice Armenian companies, individuals and officials, as well as foreign companies related to the production of non-ferrous metals and operating in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, particularly in Nagorno-Karabakh region, was continued by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan.

“Non-ferrous metals [in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan] have been mined for more than a decade,” he noted. “The huge multimillion-dollar revenues of Armenian companies are registered in the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), this allows to carry out huge financial transfers to the budget of the so-called NKR, as well as to the budget of Armenia.”

That is, the Armenian budget receives tax revenues and financial contributions at the expense of the profits from the sale of precious metals from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, he added.

“Naturally, Armenia’s occupation policy, its aggression against Azerbaijan lies in the core of all this,” Ibrahimov stressed.

The investigation carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan revealed that managers of the Vallex Group, Base Metals, ACP, Lerna Metalurgiayi Institute, Teghout and other companies registered in Armenia and other countries, as well as individuals, repeatedly illegally crossed Azerbaijan’s state border from Armenia, and created facilities together with other persons in the occupied territories.

It was established that they also received illegal income from the extraction of a large quantity of gold and other non-ferrous metals at the fields in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar district, the fields of Zangilan, Tartar district and other fields.

During the investigation, using the high-definition imagery of the Azersky satellite of Azerkosmos OJSC and the geological survey data, the facts of conducting illegal mining operations at ore deposits located in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories were proved.

Regarding these facts, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office launched a criminal case under articles 192.2.3 (illegal entrepreneurship) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of Azerbaijan’s state border).

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.


Asbarez: Theater Review: Satamian Group Mounts Lackluster ‘Liar’ at New Manoukian Arts Center

Karlen Baghdasarian
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From l to r: Aram Muradian, Artur Margaryan, and Peter Nishan in “The Liar”

BY ARAM KOUYOUMDJIAN

The long-awaited Raffi and Tamar Manoukian Performing Arts Center, the stylish new venue with state-of-the-art amenities, is finally ready for use, and the AGBU Satamian Theatre Group’s latest production opened there the first weekend in November.

What theatrical work had the troupe staged for the occasion? A newly-commissioned piece? A world premiere by an up-and-coming playwright? An innovative take on an Armenian classic?

If you thought, even for a second, that the answer to any of those questions could be “yes,” then you are not familiar with the Satamian Group, a throwback ensemble devoted to comedies that are equal parts stale and mind-numbing.

Satamian Group’s selection was “Sdakhosuh” (The Liar), an 18th-century farce by Carlo Goldoni, which, according to press materials, launched AGBU’s Vahram Papazian Theatre Group in Beirut back in 1959, the Ardashad Theatre Group in New York in 1978, as well as the Ardavazt Theatre Group (as the current Satamian Group was originally called) in 1981. Why this Italian trifle has been integral to launching not one, not two, but three AGBU theater groups is not for me to explain. Suffice it to say that it has been retrieved from some age-old vault and dusted off for another round of service.

“The Liar” is built around the commedia dell’arte tradition of stock characters (such as greedy/foolish old men or devious servants). At the play’s center is Lelio, the son of a wealthy merchant, who arrives in Venice with little money and checks into a hotel (on credit) across from one Dr. Balanzoni’s house. One of the doctor’s daughters, Rosoura, is being wooed by a secret admirer named Florindo, who sends her gifts and poems – that is, until Lelio, representing himself to be a marquis, claims to be the source behind the serenades and tries to gain Rosoura’s favor instead. The situation quickly grows complicated, ensnaring Rosoura’s sister, maid, their various suitors, and Lelio’s manservant, Arlecchino (or Harlequin), and requiring Lelio to tell an ever-escalating series of lies – which he euphemistically describes as “new discoveries” – to keep his head above water.

Given the times in which we live, where “alternative facts” are offered in the place of truth, “The Liar” could have been a devastating satire on present-day events, but the production can’t be bothered with current relevance and makes no effort in that regard. Instead, with its outmoded patriarchal themes – depicting women as marriageable commodities – it proves altogether tone-deaf to the zeitgeist.

The production isn’t entirely devoid of humor – just for the most part. It is partly weighed down by the fact that a third of the cast is comprised of neophytes inexperienced with comic timing and delivery, while another third is comprised of Satamian veterans relying on their usual shtick. Only a trio of actors rises above the material: Aram Muradian, who overcomes a tentative start to offer a nimble and engaging take on Lelio in the second act; Peter Nishan, whose impressive turn as Arlecchino is a kinetic romp of physical contortions and high-jinx; and Artur Margaryan who manages to steal scenes while playing a statue – yes, a statue – which comes to life at opportune moments to impart loaded commentary by way of a single word or gesture.

Bookended by random dances, the production looks out of place in the sleek Manoukian space. There’s no lighting design to speak of, and the set looks amateurish on the elegant stage. Without question, the company will have to considerably up its game to deserve its new home.

Aram Kouyoumdjian is the winner of Elly Awards for both playwriting (“The Farewells”) and directing (“Three Hotels”). His most recent work was the world premiere production of “William Saroyan: The Unpublished Plays in Performance” this fall.