Author: Samvel Nahapetian

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu briefly crossed into Syria on Sunday to visit the tomb of a revered Ottoman figure, Euronews reports.

He then vowed Turkey’s flag would fly there forever. The Syrian government condemned what it described as Davutoglu’s “infiltration” without its permission

The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, had originally been situated further inside Syria but was relocated to within a few hundred metres of the border in February in a Turkish military operation.

— where the remains of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the first Ottoman Sultan, are held in a tomb — to evacuate the tomb and some 40 guards, who had come under siege by Islamic State fighters.

Following evacuations, the contents of the tomb were moved to the village of Esme, closer to Turkey but still in Syrian territory under Kurdish control and, in addition, a major site along a route on which Ottoman forces led Armenians in death marches during the Armenian Genocide.

With the support of the European Union, the Diplomatic School of Armenia has organized an international conference on Digital Diplomacy.

More than 60 participants, Directors of Diplomatic Institutes, Ambassadors and Heads of Department of Ministries of Foreign Affairs from all over the world will discuss the prospects and challenges of digital diplomacy during the two-day event. The program of the conference will cover all aspects of the digitization of diplomacy, from virtual reality and social media over organizational changes in diplomatic services, to best practices in training programs related to e-diplomacy.

“Digital diplomacy creates an additional platform for diplomats to launch their activity and to be accountable to the public,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in his opening remarks.

“Widely using the opportunities opened up by information technologies, we should take into account the sensitiveness of accessible information and its advisory nature, as well as the possible influence of the information we provide and the statements we make on interstate relations and human destinies. Therefore, the more opportunities time provides, the more previously unknown challenges emerge,” he said.

Addressing the audience, the head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Traian Hristea recalled that the “first objective for the longstanding cooperation between the European Union and the Government of the Republic of Armenia in support of Diplomatic School is to reinforce the institution, empowering the School to offer education and training for Armenian diplomatic personnel.”