Author: Manouk Vasilian

Armenpress: Armenian Prosecutor General raises issue of POWs meeting with his Azerbaijani, Russian counterparts

Manouk Vasilian

Armenian Prosecutor General raises issue of POWs meeting with his Azerbaijani, Russian counterparts

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 18:46,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. By the initiative of the Russian Prosecutor General, a trilateral meeting took place between the Prosecutor Generals of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on January 12.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia, the goal of the meeting was to establish further contacts in the field of international law, to discuss necessary conditions for that, as well as discussing a number of pressing issues.

Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan highlighted the speedy implementation of the 8th point of the trilateral declaration signed on November 9, 2020, which is about returning Armenian POWs and other persons kept in Azerbaijan to Armenia.

The Armenian Prosecutor General emphasized that the return of POWs and civilians kept in detention will become an important guarantee for the implementation of the other agreements provided by the trilateral agreement and strengthening peace in the region.

In this context, Artur Davtyan also raised the issue of preventing the spread of international terrorism in the region and taking joint actions against it.

COVID-19: Armenia reports 582 new cases, 902 recoveries in one day

Manouk Vasilian

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 11:22,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. 582 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 158,878, the ministry of healthcare said today.

902 more patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 141,844.

3508 tests were conducted in the past one day.

10 more patients have died, raising the death toll to 2807.

The number of active cases is 13,548.

The number of patients who had coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 679 (3 new such cases).

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Azerbaijan reports attack on its troops in Nagorno-Karabakh

Manouk Vasilian
CTV News, Canada
Dec 28 2020

The Associated Press Staff           

Published Monday, 7:28AM EST

MOSCOW — Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said Monday its army units have been attacked by "an illegal Armenian armed group" in Nagorno-Karabakh, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman and wounding another.

The ministry said the attack took place in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday afternoon and was thwarted, leaving all six attackers dead.

The Nagorno-Karabakh military dismissed the statement as "misinformation" and a "propaganda provocation," saying that the territory's army was "strictly observing" the ceasefire. Earlier on Monday the Armenian Defence Ministry also denied media reports of fighting in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.

Heavy fighting erupted in late September in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides. A Russian-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan reclaim much of the separatist region along with surrounding areas ended six weeks of fierce fighting on Nov. 10.

On Dec. 12, Armenia and Azerbaijan reported new clashes in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, accusing each other of breaching the ceasefire. Russian peacekeepers deployed to monitor the peace deal also reported a violation at the time, but didn't assign blame.

Armenian Ambassador, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary discuss regional affairs

Manouk Vasilian

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 15:54,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Tumanyan has met on December 27 with Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, the Armenian Embassy reports on Facebook.

Ambassador Tumanyan briefed the Iranian official on the current situation in Armenia and Artsakh, as well as on the regional developments.

Mr. Shamkhani expressed the readiness of the Iranian authorities in deepening the cooperation between the two countries in such a difficult situation for Armenia, and reaffirmed Iran’s position on establishing stable and lasting peace.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

​Investigators declare search against Armenia ex-culture minister and ex-Ambassador to Israel who helped her

Manouk Vasilian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 24 2020
 
 
Investigators declare search against Armenia ex-culture minister and ex-Ambassador to Israel who helped her
17:29, 24.12.2020
 
After large-scale investigative and other procedural actions taken through preliminary investigation of a criminal case that the Division for Investigation of Heavy Crimes of Yerevan Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia is investigating, the Investigative Committee has established several circumstances of misuse by the former Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs of Armenia and the mechanism for committing misuse.
 
The press release of the Investigative Committee also reports the following: “Through investigation, factual data have been obtained according to which H. P. (Hasmik Poghosyan-ed.), in 2006, holding the position of Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs of Armenia and serving as vice-president of the Armenian NGO for Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries at the same time, made the plot of land located in central Yerevan and included in the list of restrictions in the Land Code of Armenia the property of the NGO with help from the president of the NGO and later Ambassador of Armenia to Israel A. S., negligently causing grave consequences.
 
Based on the evidence obtained, the former minister has been involved as an accused under articles of the Criminal Code (abuse of official powers and money laundering), and a search has been declared against her.
 
As for the president of the NGO, former Ambassador of Armenia, the latter has been charged with assisting in abuse of official powers, and bail for AMD 20,000,000 has been chosen as a pre-trial measure.
 
 
 

Armenian PM lauds Russia’s Emergency Ministry work in Nagorno-Karabakh

Manouk Vasilian
TASS, Russia
Dec 23 2020
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a meeting with Russian Emergency Minister Yevgeny Zinichev

YEREVAN, December 23. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has had a meeting with Russian Emergency Minister Yevgeny Zinichev and praised the work of the Russian agency in returning to normality in Nagorno-Karabakh and providing humanitarian aid to citizens, the Armenian cabinet reported Wednesday.

"We are interested in further development of cooperation with Russia in all spheres, including security, economy and the humanitarian sphere. We highly appreciate the activity of the Russian Emergency Ministry to resume normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh," the prime minister said, noting the need to develop and implement new joint programs in various spheres. Pashinyan also said that the Armenian government attaches importance to continuous development of strategic partnership with Russia and underlined key role of Russia in boosting peace and stability in the region.

Zinichev spoke in detail about the humanitarian activities of the Russian Emergency Ministry in Nagorno-Karabakh and stressed that transportation of humanitarian shipments is going ahead without any problems and in close cooperation with Armenian partners.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27 in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held, and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Currently, 23 observation posts were set up by the peacekeepers.


EU-Armenian Partnership Council to meet

Manouk Vasilian
Foeign Brief
Dec 16 2020
  • In Daily Brief
  • December 17, 2020
  • Can Eker

Photo: European Union

Armenian delegates will attend the Armenia-EU Partnership Council today in Brussels.

Topics to be discussed include repercussions of the six-week Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which roiled the Caucuses. The meeting takes place amid prisoner swaps between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On Monday, Armenia’s deputy prime minister welcomed a Russian plane returning 44 Armenian former captives to the capital Yerevan.

Today, Brussels will urge investigation of possible war crimes committed during the conflict. The EU’s resolution concerns providing substantial humanitarian aid to locations where atrocities agonised the civilian population. The EU has largely abstained from assuming a key role in the gas-rich South Caucuses, thus leaving the area under Russian and Turkish influence. Seizing the opportunity, Moscow upheld its status in the region by mediating the ceasefire agreement and deploying Russian peacekeepers.

Although the EU was not extensively involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it will likely strive for a stronger foothold to counter the Russian and Turkish presence in the region. Concerned that the conflict could resurface in the near future, the EU will seek to ensure that ceasefire procedures are fully abided by. Otherwise, it will likely penalise the aggressor.

Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.

Turkish Press: Azerbaijan criticizes OSCE Minsk group on Karabakh

Manouk Vasilian
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Dec 12 2020
Azerbaijan criticizes OSCE Minsk group on Karabakh

Ruslan Rehimov  

BAKU

Azerbaijan's president on Saturday said the Minsk group of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has not yet played any role in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which recently escalated after Armenian forces launched attacks on Azerbaijani civilians and security personnel.

Ilham Aliyev’s remarks came amid an OSCE Minsk group meeting held in the capital Baku with the participation of the group's co-chairs France's Stephane Visconti and Andrew Schofer from the US, along with Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Aliyev said the status-quo in the region has changed and the Azerbaijani leadership resolved the decades-long conflict through force and diplomatic means.

Although the Minsk group of the OSCE produced ideas in an effort to resolve the dispute, these did not bear any fruit, according to the president.

Azerbaijan solved this problem on its own, Aliyev also said, adding that his country managed to beat Armenia on the battlefield.

The president further noted that Baku does not have any problem with the Armenian population living in the region, stressing that their living standards will rise under the Azerbaijani rule.

Karabakh conflict

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.

The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas in Ankara.

UN confirms intention to send mission to Nagorno Karabakh

Manouk Vasilian

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 10:33,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations keeps its intention on sending mission to Nagorno Karabakh and calls on all sides to cooperate so that it will take place as soon as possible, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told TASS.

Earlier the UN has announced that the mission should arrive in Nagorno Karabakh in early December to assess the needs of the residents of the region, but this has not taken place yet. “I would not say that there are obstacles. Details are being prepared”, he said.

“As I have already stated, we are ready to meet the humanitarian needs of all people affected from conflicts. Our colleagues of the UN humanitarian issues coordination office and other divisions are working with all sides involved to conduct independent assessments of humanitarian needs”, the UN official said, calling on all sides to cooperate with the UN to facilitate the quick deployment of the mission.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan