NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to NATO Headquarters on Monday (27 February 2017), for talks on current security challenges and the partnership between the Alliance and Yerevan.
The Secretary General thanked Armenia for its contributions to NATOâs missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo. He stressed that the Alliance is committed to working with Armenia and other partners.
âTogether, we are developing a new Individual Partnership Action Plan, tailored to your needs and requirements,â said Mr. Stoltenberg.
He added that there are opportunities for further cooperation on interoperability, defence reform and defence education. The Secretary General praised Armenia for its participation in NATOâs Building Integrity Programme to counter corruption in the armed forces, and its progress on implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 to promote the role of women in peace and security.
The Secretary General and President Sargsyan also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mr. Stoltenberg expressed concern over the continuing violence along the line of contact.
âIt is important to avoid escalation, because there is no military solution to this conflict and its persistence is holding back the region,â he said. NATO encourages both Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to the negotiating table and work toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America, released the following statement:
According to reports from the Ministries of Defense of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as other sources, in the early morning of February 25 there was a serious breach of cease fire on the Line of Contact, resulting in casualties. Several bodies remain in the no-man’s land. The Sides accuse each other of an incursion attempt.
The Co-chairs call upon the Parties to keep heavy military equipment, which had been moved earlier close to the LOC, in its present positions and to allow recovery of the dead, as it was agreed upon yesterday under mediation of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chaiman-in-Office.
The Co-chairs remind the Parties of their commitments to refrain from the use of force.
On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and on my own behalf, I cordially congratulate you on the Artsakh Revival Day.
February 20 of 1988 entered into the chronology of our people as a crucial and decisive day that heralded the unshakable will of the Artsakh people to live freely and independently. It has become the symbol of national unity and the revival of invincible spirit. A wave of protests against the foreign yoke turned into a national-liberation movement and recreation of our national statehood corresponding to democratic values, principles and norms of international law.
For the sake of our fair struggle brave sons of the Armenian nation sacrificed their lives, carving the heroic pages of the modern Armenian history through their unparalleled courage and brevity. Eternal honor and glory to all the devotees!
During all these years together with our brothers and sisters from Armenia and the Diaspora we are building and developing our dear and beloved Artsakh, defending our ancestral land and hearth, our childrenâs future. We donât violate the rights of other people, but will always protect our own ones.
Dear Artsakh people,
I once again congratulate all of us on this significant holiday and wish peace and great successes to the independent Artsakh Republic and our whole people.
Manchester United set up an EFL Cup final against Southampton despite their 17-match unbeaten run ending with defeat at Hull City in the semi-final second leg on Thursday, the BBC reports.
Jose Mourinho’s side led 2-0 from the first leg but, making five changes, they struggled to impose themselves at the KCOM Stadium.
Tom Huddlestone put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot after four players had tangled in the area after a set-piece, Marcos Rojo’s pull on Harry Maguire’s shirt the most visible offence.
It gave Hull, 19th in the Premier League, poise and confidence, but their hopes of just a second domestic cup final in their 113-year history were dashed when Paul Pogba poked through the legs of Maguire and into the bottom corner from 10 yards.
Rojo headed against the bar for United and the Tigers’ Oumar Niasse also struck the woodwork before he turned in David Meyler’s cross to set up a tense finale.
But the visitors held on and former Chelsea boss Mourinho could move level with Brian Clough and Sir Alex Ferguson on four League Cup wins at Wembley on 26 February.
Aurora Humanitarian Initiativeâs 2016 Opinion Audit is concluded and results reveal the degree to which a global audience is aware of Armenia, Armenians and the Aurora Prize.
The research, conducted by London-based New Place Consultancy with consultations by Brussels-based TNS Opinion, Kantar Group, shows that attitude towards the Aurora Prize is overwhelmingly favorable among those who have heard of it. Among reasons cited for the favorable attitude is that the prize recognizes people whose work wouldnât be recognized otherwise, and, in the process, it promotes a positive image of Armenians.
The Opinion Audit explores global awareness and knowledge of Armenia and Armenians, as well. Responses show that the general public mostly knows about Armenian communities, Armenian food and history.
The survey also tracks similar metrics â knowledge, awareness, familiarity, engagement — within the global Armenian Diaspora. Responses show that there are certain similarities between how Armenians see themselves and how the general public perceives Armenians. The most frequently mentioned positive attributes are âproud, friendly and respectful.â
Interestingly, while almost a third of respondents think Armenian communities are important in their countries â whether at the national or local level â most respondents find that Armenian communities play little role in the life of their country. Rather, Armenian communities are seen to have the biggest impact in the intellectual, cultural, social and economic spheres. Kim Kardashian and Cher top the list of most recognized celebrities, and celebrities who are most recognized as Armenians, both among the general public and among Armenian respondents.
Questions about the Republic of Armenia generated a fair amount of interest in Armenia as a country and as a travel destination. However, among the general public, that interest does not translate into interest in the country as a place to do business. Armenians, on the other hand, are quite eager to learn more about Armenia as a place to do business. One in seven general public respondents, and one in two Armenians say they are likely to visit Armenia in the future.
The survey was carried out in two waves in March, 2016 and June-July, 2016, in 10 countries — the US, Canada, Australia, France, Argentina, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Germany and Russia.
This animated infographic highlights a few of the main findings.
There is no “reset button” for mending ties with Russia, which will either improve or not, US President-elect Donald Trump said at a news conference in New York on Wednesday, TASS reports.
“Russia will have far greater respect for our country when I’m leading it and I believe and I hope maybe it won’t happen, it’s possible. But I won’t be giving a little reset button like Hillary. Here, press this piece of plastic. A guy looked at her like what is she doing? There’s no reset button. We’re either going to get along or we’re not. I hope we get along, but if we don’t, that’s possible too.” Trump said.
“Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, all countries will respect us far more, far more than they do under past administrations,” he claimed.
Speaking about hacking attacks, Trump said that the US had “to work something out.”
“It’s not just Russia,” he added. “Take a look at what’s happened. You don’t report it the same way; 22 million accounts were hacked in this country by China. And that’s because we have no defense.”
With support from Argentinean-Armenian donors, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has launched the third phase of its increasingly popular greenhouse program in 10 communities of Armeniaâs Tavush Region.
Metal framed greenhouses, each measuring 100 square meters and covered with high-quality polycarbonate and polyethylene, will be built for 57 farming families in the villages of Voskevan, Artsvaberd, Koti, Nerkin Tsaghkavan, Berdavan, Aygehovit, Koghb, Zorakan, Ditavan, and Kirants. Two additional greenhouses will be constructed in the village of Khachardzan, with the financial support of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fundâs Australian affiliate. As part of the project, the beneficiary families will also receive seedlings and be provided with technical consultation at the initial phase of the greenhouse growing.
Maraim Zenjirjian, the projectâs coordinator, says that beneficiaries are selected through a lottery process and must assume a portion of the greenhouse-construction cost. The selection of the communities has been made considering the List of the Border Villages defined by the Government of Armenia. After announcing the launch of the programâs third phase the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has received 100 applications for construction of 59 greenhouses. Each greenhouse costs US $5,400 equal AMD, of which 200,000 AMD is covered by the beneficiary. âYear by year, the number of greenhouse owners increases considerably in the region reaching from 10 to 102. Hopefully, the new tariff of electricity fixed from 2017 will ease the financial burden of the greenhouse farmers.â Zenjirjian says.
Greenhouses have helped significantly boost farming throughout Tavush while providing families with a stable source of income. As a result of the first and second phases of the program carried out through 2013 to 2015, 43 households in the villages of Ditavan, Kirants, Baghanis, Aygehovit, Vazashen, Gandzakar, and Khachardzan now own and operate their own greenhouses.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin had a meeting with Nicolas de RiviÚre, Director General for Political Affairs and Security at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The parties discussed the perspectives of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Reference was made to the ways of overcoming the Ukrainian crisis and issues on the Russian-French agenda.
On December 1st, 2016, 2 postage stamps dedicated to the theme âEuropa 2016. Think greenâ have been cancelled and put into circulation.
Every year âHayPostâ CJSC releases postage stamps in EUROPA series within the frameworks of the annual international stamps competition announced by PostEurop European postal operators’ association. This year, each of the stamps was designed by a different designer because all European countries are issuing one of the stamps in this series according to a single design which was the winner of the competition dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Europa stamps.
The first postage stamp âThink greenâ (the winner of the competition) is designed by Doxia Sergidou (Cyprus Post). It shows a hand replacing the grey color with the green color symbolizing that âit is in our hand to create a greener planetâ.
The second postage stamp is designed by the designer of âHayPostâ CJSC Vahagn Mkrtchyan and depicts a deserted and dead area while the other part depicts a healthy lush tree, symbolizing the rehabilitation of the nature.
The postage stamps were cancelled by the Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski, Deputy Minister of the RA Ministry of Transport, communication and information technologies Arman Khachatryan and Managing Director of âHayPost Trust Managementâ B.V. Juan Pablo Gechidjian.
Date of issue: December 01, 2016 Designer: Vahagn Mkrtchyan Printing house: Cartor, France Nominal value: 350, 350 AMD Size: 40,0 x 30,0 mm Print run: 50 000 x 2
The 19th annual Telethon of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund raised $15,428,777.
Funds raised at the worldwide telethon âMy Artsakhâ will be allocated to initiatives for rebuilding war-ravaged communities in Artsakh, various measures to ensure the safety and security of the peaceful population of the republic, and the construction of homes for Artsakh large families.
Parallel to this, special projects will continue in Armenia and Artsakh.