Author: Meline Chalian

 12:54, 6 February 2024

BUDAPEST, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Hungarian President Katalin Novák has welcomed Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan in Budapest. 

The official welcoming ceremony took place at the Kossuth Lajos Square.

Khachaturyan is due to hold a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart.

As part of the official visit, the Armenian President will also meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Speaker of Parliament László Kövér.

The Armenian President will visit the Heroes' Square to commemorate fallen troops.

A meeting with the local Armenian community is also scheduled.

Hi Everyone, 

Hamazkayin Western Region Literary Group presents the book “Stateless: The Politics of the Armenian Language in Exile” by Author Dr. Talar Chahinian. 

Introduction: Dr. Shushan Karapetyan Book presentation by Dr Talar Chahinian on Sunday, February 25, 2023, at 5pm at ACF Burbank Beshir Mardirossian Youth Center 75 E Santa Anita Ave, Burbank, CA 91502.

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Thank you!

Hamazkayin Western Region Literary Group from Glendale, CA, USA

 18:38, 9 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS.  BBC Travel has published an article about the Armenian alphabet. Sugato Mukherjee, the author of the article entitled “How a 1,600-year-old alphabet shaped Armenian identity", has noted that the Armenian alphabet is not just a writing system, but it's also a numerical system used for mathematical calculations and recording calendar dates, as well as a national point of pride.

In the article, the journalist also has shared his impressions from his visit to the Armenian Alphabet Monument and Matenadaran.

 “I knew that the aesthetically eloquent shapes of Armenian letters, with their long usage in folk art and calligraphy, have made it onto Unesco's Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage. But I had no idea that the dainty, artistic designs are also imbued with secret codes and cryptographs, and endowed with hidden properties.

All the original 36 letters also have an assigned numerical value based on their order in the alphabet. When arranged in four columns and nine rows, the letters in each column respectively represent digits in singles, tens, hundreds and thousands,’’ writes Mukherjee.

 20:33, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS.  The current national security strategy of the Republic of Armenia does not address the existing issues, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia. He addressed the question of how suitable the current strategy is today and whether it is an effective approach capable of providing security in the uncertain world, meeting security challenges.

"No, the national security strategy we have today does not address the existing issues. It is evident that we should have a new national security strategy," said the Prime Minister.

According to Pashinyan, the new national security strategy should be framed in the logic of protecting the legitimate territorial integrity and interests of the state.

Another irresponsible remark from Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan, this time about an imperative to change Armenia’s National Anthem and Coat of Arms, has led opposition leaders to accuse Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his party of making concessions to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In a rant on his Telegram social media channel, Simonyan said “Mer Hairenik,” Armenia’s National Anthem, is “foreign” and has no connection “with our state and Armenian music,” calling for a national song that is “Armenian.”

The words to “Mer Hairenik” were written by Mikael Nalbandian and the score was arranged by the famous Armenian composer, Barsegh Ganachian. The song was adopted as Armenia’s National Anthem during the 1918 republic, with an iteration being approved in 1991 as the anthem for the present-day Armenian Republic.

Simonyan then went on to mock Armenia’s Coat of Arms, calling the lion depicted on a shied “a Facebook smiley face.” He apparently also took issue with Mount Ararat depicted in the center of the emblem, saying that Armenia was “under water.” He added that the sword, “should not be chained,” whereas the sword depicted in the emblem is surrounded by wheat stalks that symbolize abundance.

Naturally, a spokesperson for Simonyan later said that the Parliament Speaker was expressing his own views on the matter — a now common situation that has landed Yerevan in diplomatic and social hot waters in the past.

Reacting to Simonian’s comments, opposition lawmakers claimed that Pashinyan’s government is planning to change the state symbols in order to placate Ankara and Baku.

“This is another demand of the Turkish-Azerbaijani duo,” said Gegham Manukyan a member of the opposition Hayastan alliance. He explained that Turkey and Azerbaijan are attempting to force Yerevan to erase all references of Armenia’s millennia-old history.

“They [Ankara and Baku] need a small state which is detached from its roots and with which they could do anything they want,” added Manukyan.

Simonyan’s rant comes at a time when Baku is challenging Armenia’s Constitution, vocally claiming that it had raised objections to the document at the onset of peace talks with Yerevan. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan last week acknowledged last week that Baku has voiced reservations about the Constitution’s preamble, which references Armenia’s Declaration of Independence that calls for the unification of Armenia and Artsakh.

Pashinyan himself criticized the Declaration of Independence, saying it sows conflict, and earlier this month called for a new constitution that better reflects the current geopolitical realities in the region.

Pashinyan has also criticized the Armenia’s Coat of Arms, saying last year that it emphasizes a “dichotomy between historical Armenia and real Armenia.”

 12:47,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan has praised the “tangible results” in arms acquisitions last year.

“Experience showed that without modern armaments it’s impossible to have a strong and combat-ready army, no matter how high the spirit of troops to serve their country selflessly,” Papikyan said at the January 28 Army Day celebration.

He said that the efforts to re-equip the Armenian Armed Forces on a proper level befitting leading militaries of the 21st century have “given tangible results.”

“We’ve been able to enhance military-technical cooperation by finding new partners and making tangible steps in the direction of armament diversification. This is one more step strengthening the diversification of our security architecture, which will help us develop a stronger and more reliable security environment around Armenia,” Papikyan said.

The defense minister also spoke about the defense industry. “In simple words, we shouldn’t import what we can produce ourselves here in our country, with a lower cost and good quality. This is a goal that we are working on.”

 13:14,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenian special operations forces and other military units participated in “hybrid tactical exercises” on January 26.

The exhibition drills held at a military training area were watched by Lt Gen Edward Asryan, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, and other military officials.

The purpose of the exercises was to introduce troops to the “nature of disproportionate actions during modern warfare and to improve the strategic and tactical skills of the personnel,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The drills involved various military units, including special operations forces, as well as indigenously produced armaments.

After the exercises the troops were awarded by Lt Gen Asryan at the order of Defense Minister Suren Papikyan on the occasion of Army Day.

 17:03,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is committed to the peace agenda and hopes that Azerbaijan will soon return to the constructive path despite the setbacks, FM Ararat Mirzoyan said at a press briefing.

Mirzoyan told Armenpress at a press briefing that the positive dynamics observed in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations stopped and there was a setback from previous agreements.

However, there is a communication line between the offices of the Armenian prime minister and Azeri president, as well as between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies, he said.

“The exchange of amendment proposals regarding the peace treaty, substantive discussions about the treaty are being conducted by the Foreign Ministries. But there are also unofficial contacts through other channels,” said Mirzoyan.

As to the agreement for the release of POWs that took place on December 7, 2023, the minister said the swap was a beneficial agreement for both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Unfortunately, the positive dynamics did not continue, at least until this moment, [we see] just the contrary both in the context of the text of the peace treaty and in the context of the resumption of high-level meetings. Besides, judging by the interview of the Azeri president, already in the context of the official positions we see the just opposite process: a setback, particularly a setback from the agreements already reached,” said Mirzoyan.

According to the Armenian foreign minister, setbacks have been observed in different tangible and key directions, namely the demarcation. The President of Azerbaijan has insisted that new borders should be drawn, otherwise some pre-Soviet borders should be used as a basis.

Furthermore, FM Ararat Mirzoyan pointed out Aliyev’s statements regarding the territorial integrity of Armenia, and the claim that the Azerbaijani forces would not withdraw from the occupied territories of Armenia, predetermining the work of the demarcation commissions, as well as the unblocking of communication lines.

“However, summarizing, we see that the positive dynamics did not continue. However, the Republic of Armenia remains committed to its peace agenda and the stated principles, most of which have already been agreed upon. We hope that Azerbaijan will soon return to the constructive path and we will manage to complete this peace process that has started long ago,” said the foreign minister.

The Armenian FM said he has an impression that Azerbaijan doesn’t have political will for normalization, and is on the contrary seeking to escalate the problems and create obstacles.

“But the Republic of Armenia remains committed to the peace process, and by and large the peace process has a mission and goal to resolve these issues,” he added.

 13:43,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS.  In the peace process, Armenia expects guarantees from Azerbaijan of not having hidden territorial claims and is ready to reciprocally give the same guarantee to Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a meeting of the Civil Contract party on Saturday.

"We have reached a point where we want additional guarantees to ensure that we, from Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan, from us, do not harbor territorial claims and hidden ambitions.

Diplomatic texts always have different twists, subtexts, and footnotes. In the footnotes of Azerbaijan's proposals, and perhaps Azerbaijan in ours, observe the dangers of territorial claims, if not today, then in the future," Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister believes that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is  possible on a theoretical level.

“In fact, recent discussions have leant in the direction that Armenia and Azerbaijan have no territorial demands from each other and mutually undertake not to make such territorial demands in the future. This is the understanding that has been achieved during this time,” said Pashinyan.