Author: Kevo Kalantarian

Sports: Major ski resort complex to be built in Armenia

Kevo Kalantarian
PanArmenian, Armenia
April 6 2018
April 6, 2018 – 18:36 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Mount Maymekh in Armenia will turn into a ski complex under a new project which will attract about $30 million in investments and create some 1600 jobs.

Investor Tigran Harutyunyan revealed at the presentation of the program on Friday, April 6 that the province of Lori was chosen for the massive potential it possesses for the development of tourism, stressing, in particular, the pure nature and the Pambak Mountain Range.

All the necessary infrastructures will be built for the year-round project, including special lanes, high-tech cables cars, as well as entertainment options for summer activities.

Director of Maymekh Ski Resort Mher Baghdasaryan detailed the geographical and climatic peculiarities of the project and its commercial value.

According to him, the complex will operate all year round with a capacity to host 2000 visitors each day.

In the first stage of the initiative, hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, shops and other facilities will be built

The resort is expected to help develop the tourism sector in the northern Armenian province and liven up the community life.

How Trump can strike at Iran through its neighbors

Kevo Kalantarian
The Hill, DC
April 2 2018
 
 
How Trump can strike at Iran through its neighbors
 
By Stephen Blank, opinion contributor — 04/02/18 06:30 AM EDT 75
The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill
 
President TrumpDonald John TrumpNew York Magazine cover depicts Trump as a pigGOP lawmaker: Republicans 'would be well advised to get ready' for Dem wave in midtermsTech giants brace for sweeping EU privacy lawMORE’s new national security team is primed to strike at Iran and its interests. The administration’s attacks on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have already aroused considerable controversy and apprehension in Europe, Russia, and China, not to mention Iran. But a diplomatic assault on that agreement is by no means the only option open to Washington.
 
If the administration intends to isolate Iran it can also act to undermine Iran’s ties in the Caucasus, particularly with Armenia and Azerbaijan. These relationships are critical for Iran since those countries sit astride its northern and western borders. Armenia is a partner to Iran in every sense and dependent upon it. Thus to the extent that Washington can simultaneously bring to bear both “carrots and sticks” upon those governments, it can advance its own interests in the Caucasus, and strike at Iran and at its Russian partner as well.
 
This might be easier than it sounds. For years Azerbaijan and Iran were consumed by mutual suspicion and Azerbaijan is still mistrustful of Iran despite the fact that bilateral ties have improved since 2012. At that time Iranian terror plots against both Baku and Israel were uncovered leading to a crisis in the relationship.
 
 
 
Iran regards Azerbaijan as a platform for stirring unrest among its huge Azeri minority, a renegade Shiite state that is far too chummy with Israel and the United States and in many respects an energy-exporting rival. Yet, under pressure from Washington, it has to shore up its northern border and endeavor to keep Baku from moving too close to Washington.
 
Armenia, on the other hand, precisely because of its enduring antagonism with Azerbaijan is quite close to Iran, which supported it throughout its independence and in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Armenia has also joined with Iran in major infrastructure and economic projects. This was meant to alleviate the pressure imposed by Turkey in its blockade of Armenia due to the war with Azerbaijan. As a result, Armenia is not only a client state of Russia that hosts major Russian military bases and infrastructure, it also is Iran’s main partner in the Caucasus. Nevertheless, it cannot afford to burn bridges with the West and is still seeking to expand its sphere of discretion in its foreign relations with Western states.
 
Thus the way is open to the administration to combine incentives with pressure and even more desirable to help bring peace to the Caucasus to minimize Moscow and Tehran’s mischief-making there. By taking a serious role in the search for peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and by judiciously brandishing both benefits and penalties the administration can enhance U.S. presence in the region. Trump can also advance U.S. interests by aligning both of the states closer to Washington and distancing them from Tehran and possibly Moscow as well.
 
From past Iranian statements, we know there is a concern in Tehran about a possible U.S. military or intelligence presence in Azerbaijan. Washington can enhance its leverage upon Armenia and may be able to shake the Armeno-Iranian relationship to a discernible degree by combining threats and offers it.
 
Moreover, it desirable for the U.S. to advance its presence in the Caucasus for its own sake apart from the region’s relevance to the Middle East or specifically to Iran and/or Georgia. It is in Washington’s interest to expand energy supplies coming from the Caspian to Europe through the Caucasus. Greater U.S. engagement in the Caucasus also reduces Russian pressure in Turkey and provides a basis for advancing the troubled U.S.-Turkey alliance.
 
A fundamental point here is that the U.S. cannot advance its interests or its values of democracy and good governance — which both Armenia and Azerbaijan fall short of achieving — without demonstrating a robust, enduring, and credible interest in their security agendas. Otherwise, there is no reason for those governments to take our interests seriously, not to mention our values seriously.
 
There is a potential “trifecta” here. By strengthening our interest and ability to engage in the Caucasus with Armenia and Azerbaijan not only can we help promote peace and potentially better governance for which peace is a precondition. We can also reduce Russian and Iranian influence in the Caucasus and neighboring areas. Admittedly, the U.S. has many other interests and priorities. But if we are indeed looking to bring pressure to bear upon Tehran we could do much worse than start here.
 
Stephen Blank, Ph.D., is a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, focused on the geopolitics and geostrategy of the former Soviet Union, Russia and Eurasia. He is a former professor of Russian National Security Studies and National Security Affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College. He is also a former MacArthur fellow at the U.S. Army War College.
 

Un apéro avec André Manoukian : « J’ai découvert que l’Arménie pouvait m’apporter autre chose que des névroses »

Kevo Kalantarian
Le Monde, France
30 mars 2018

Chaque semaine, « L’Epoque » paie son coup. Le musicien évoque, entre deux chips, ses origines, Deleuze, l’amour, et son utilisation de la métaphore.

LE MONDE | 30.03.2018 à 14h18 • Mis à jour le 01.04.2018 à 06h41 | Propos recueillis par Yoanna Sultan-R'bibo

                 
André Manoukian au café Le Croco du Marais à Paris, le 15 mars. | ROBERTO FRANKENBERG POUR « LE MONDE »

Promis juré : « Etre journaliste, pas groupie du pianiste. » Première mise à l’épreuve le matin de l’apéro, par textos interposés : « M. Manoukian, bruit de perceuse au Café Crème, on s’installe en face, au Croco. » « Non, non, venez chez moi, ce sera plus cool. Et puis il y a mon piano. » « O.K. ! » On avait dit pas groupie ! Le photographe douche mon enthousiasme : « La rubrique s’appelle “Un apéro avec”, il me faut un décor de café ! »

Cheveux décoiffés, sourire charmeur, André Manoukian descend de chez lui. « Je vais toujours au café d’en face, mais c’est sympa ici. J’ai découvert ce coin du 3e arrondissement en déjeunant avec des journalistes de Libé. » Il sirote son jus de tomate comme s’il fumait la pipe, se prête avec naturel à la séance photo. « Ça va, ma coupe ? » Derrière mon Perrier, je crève d’envie de lui dire que j’ai tous ses disques, de lui parler de ce concert génial à Lyon, en 2006, d’enchaîner sur sa liaison avec Liane Foly. On avait dit « journaliste Le Monde ». « Parlez-moi de l’Arménie. »

Jazz et sonorités arméniennes

André Manoukian revient justement de l’ONU, à Genève, où il a donné avec Charles Aznavour, un concert en hommage à l’Arménie. Inkala (2008), Melanchology (2011), puis Apatride, sorti en novembre : ses albums solo mêlent tous piano jazz et sonorités arméniennes, comme un voyage vers cet Orient perdu. « Il y a dix ans, grâce à la musique, j’ai découvert que l’Arménie pouvait m’apporter autre chose que des névroses. »

« En milieu hostile, ou même sur un plateau, parler devient un réflexe de protection. Et la métaphore, un langage universel »

Le voilà parti dans le récit familial, marqué au fer rouge par le génocide. Celui d’un père, décédé en 2016, qui a cherché toute sa vie à « s’extraire de la communauté, après une enfance bercée par des récits de massacres ». Puis du grand-père…

Sports: Closest anybody comes to rivaling Ibrahimovic is Mkhitaryan: Man Utd

Kevo Kalantarian
Pan Armenian, Armenia
– 23:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The closest anybody can come to rivaling Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Manchester United is Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the English club said on its official website.

“It would be fair to state that Ibrahimovic had a bigger impact in a short space of time than any other player in Manchester United's history,” the club said.

“Others who performed well in short stints at the club spring to mind, including Carlos Tevez who may have only been on a two-year loan but still racked up 99 games. Veteran defender Laurent Blanc was another of Sir Alex Ferguson's short-term acquisitions but he managed 75 outings.

“Arguably, the closest anybody can come to rivaling the Scandinavian legend is Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian won the same three pieces of silverware as Zlatan last term and also scored in the Europa League final against Ajax. Mkhitaryan appeared 63 times for the Reds before moving to Arsenal in January, scoring 13 goals.”

The Armenia international endured a difficult 18-month spell under Jose Mourinho at Manchester United before swapping Old Trafford for the Emirates in January as part of the swap deal which saw Alexis Sanchez move in the opposite direction.

While Sanchez has struggled badly, scoring just once in 10 games, since his high-profile move, Mkhitaryan appears to be thriving in an attack-minded Arsenal side.

The 29-year-old has already provided six assists and scored in consecutive games, including his maiden Arsenal goal in last week’s 2-0 over AC Milan in the Europa League.

Armenian culture still influences Kim Kardashian’s life – Life&Style publishes article (video)

Kevo Kalantarian
| 18:09 | March 15 2018
Category
Show business

Although Kim Kardashian was born and raised in Southern California, she still has Armenian blood running through her veins. The reality star has been super outspoken about how important her Armenian culture is to her, and no matter how famous she’s gotten, she’s never lost sight of who she really is, Life&Style magazine published an article titled ‘Here’s How Kim Kardashian’s Armenian Culture Still Influences Her Life’.

The magazine writes celebrating her birthday in October 2017, Kim gathered all of her family and friends at Carousel in LA. “The Armenian restaurant has been a favorite of her family’s since she was a little girl, and she was thrilled to receive an “Armenian style” white cake with her photo on it for the special occasion”, Life&Style writes.

The article states that however, being Armenian is more than just enjoying the food to Kim. The magazine recalled the open letter Kim wrote on the Time magazine in 2016 to raise awareness on the Armenian Genocide.

Life&Style writes Kim and her sisters visited Armenia in 2015 where they also visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial to pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims.

“My sister and I are trying to bring awareness not only to our Armenian Genocide but genocides and human slaughter, in general. Knowledge is power!” We love how the Kardashians never lose sight of who they are!”, Khloe Kardashian said.

Sports: Norberto Briasco is happy to play for Armenian national team

Kevo Kalantarian
MediaMax, Armenia
Norberto Briasco is happy to play for Armenian national team

The forward said that he immediately accepted the invitation to play in the composition of the team.

“This is a great opportunity for me. I am happy to depart for Armenia and play against Estonian and Lithuanian teams,” La Pelota Al 10 quotes Briasco.

Earlier Football Federation of Armenia revealed the list of footballers invited to play for the Armenian team, which contained the name of Atlético Huracán player Norberto Briasco Balekian.

The Armenian national team will have a friendly match against Estonian team on March 24 and Lithuanian team on March 27.

Armenia Seeking Persian Gulf – Black Sea Transit Corridor

Kevo Kalantarian
Emerging Europe


Tamara Karelidze
Tamara Karelidze

Armenia is currently negotiating with Georgia, Bulgaria, Greece and Iran in order to create a Persian Gulf – Black Sea international transportation and transit corridor.

“The aim of this project is broad, and covers a vast number of areas of interest,” said the Chief of Staff of the Armenian Ministry of Transportation, Communication and Information Technology Samvel Amirkhanyan.

Notably, the idea provides for the facilitation of international cargo shipments and transit, standardisation, reduction of transportation spending and simplification of several procedures. One of the primary working areas is an improvement in road conditions in order to create a safer – and more attractive – conduit for international transporters.

“The project will make it easier for Armenian shippers to enter international markets through simplified procedures over both land and sea,” said Mr Amirkhanyan. “The project will also enable us to accelerate and transit of perishable goods at border crossing points.”

In early February, the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan announced at the Munich Security Conference that Armenia was intending to negotiate the transit corridor with all stakeholder countries. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev also referred to the project during his recent visit to Armenia.

Discussion regarding the corridor actually began several years ago. In 2015, Iranian Minister of Transport Abas Ahmad Ahundi said that the the project was crucial not for both Iran and Armenia, pointing out that the latter has no access to the sea.

Azerbaijani Press: CSTO not to support Karabakh separatists in case of war

Kevo Kalantarian
APA, Azerbaijan
March 6 2018
 
 
CSTO not to support Karabakh separatists in case of war
 
 
Nagorno-Karabakh is not a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member, and therefore the organization will not provide military assistance to Khankendi, said Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, APA reported citing news.am.
 
He noted that a CSTO agreement is signed with Armenia, and, correspondingly, the CSTO has certain commitments to Yerevan.
 
In addition, Anatoly Sidorov stressed that the CSTO does not have the authority to intervene in a conflict without a respective request by the organization’s member country which a party to this conflict.
 
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.
 
A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.
 
The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.
 
Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the CSCE (OSCE after the Budapest summit held in December 1994) Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.
 
Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, the US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.  
 
Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.
 

Turkey raps Dutch diplomat over Armenian ‘genocide’ vote

Kevo Kalantarian
Arab News, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Feb 24 2018
Turkey raps Dutch diplomat over Armenian ‘genocide’ vote
AFP | Published — Saturday
ANKARA: Turkey on Friday summoned the Dutch charge d’affaires to condemn the vote by lawmakers in the Netherlands to recognize as “genocide” the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.
 The Dutch diplomat was called to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara, which “condemned” the Parliament’s vote, a ministry official told AFP. Thursday’s vote saw MPs voting 142 to 3 in favor of the proposal that the Parliament refer to the massacre as “the Armenian genocide.”
Armenians have long sought recognition that some 1.5 million of their people were killed in a genocidal campaign in World War I by Ottoman forces — ordered by Minister of War Enver Pasha and other top officials — to wipe them out in Anatolia.
 But Turkey — the Ottoman Empire’s successor state — insists similar numbers of Muslims and Armenians were killed in a collective tragedy during the conflict and has always strongly resisted pressure to recognize that any genocide took place.
 Acting Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag quickly tempered the motion, saying even though the ruling four-party coalition voted for the motion, the government will “restrain” itself.
 Ankara “strongly” condemned the move, with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday noting the “populist” decision was “not binding in any way” and saying it was a reflection of the increasing “racism, anti-Turkish sentiment and Islamophobia” in Europe.
 Cavusoglu said the decision was “very, very wrong” and based on “limited information.”
Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik also condemned the decision, describing it as “null and void” but adding, like Cavusoglu, that Ankara “took note” of the Dutch government’s position.
 But Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian welcomed the vote, saying Friday that the Dutch Parliament had “yet again reiterated its commitment to universal values and the noble task of preventing from happening genocides and crimes against humanity.”
So far, parliaments in more than 20 countries, including Germany, have voted for laws or resolutions explicitly recognizing the Armenian “genocide.”
The vote comes at a low point in diplomatic ties between the Netherlands and Turkey after a Dutch decision earlier this month to withdraw its ambassador.
Relations have been strained since early last year when Dutch officials stopped a Turkish minister from attending a Rotterdam rally in March. The Dutch ambassador had not had access to Turkey since March 2017.