Thursday, August 27, 2020
Government To Relocate Armenian Village For Irrigation Dam
August 27, 2020
• Satenik Kaghzvantsian
Armenia -- The Akhurian river in Shirak province, August 27, 2020
Armenia’s government gave on Thursday the green light for the relocation of an
entire village as part of a $71 million project to build a new reservoir and
irrigation system in northwestern Shirak province.
The construction of the Kaps reservoir on the Akhurian river had begun in Soviet
times but stopped after the catastrophic 1988 earthquake that devastated many
local communities and the provincial capital Gyumri in particular.
Armenia’s former government decided to revive and complete the project.
Germany’s state-run development bank KfW agreed to lend it 50 million euros ($59
million) for that purpose in 2014. The government pledged to provide the
remaining 10 million euros needed for building the irrigation facilities.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s cabinet has also been committed to the project
designed to improve supplies of irrigation water to farmers in Shirak.
It approved on Thursday a plan to relocate Jradzor, a village 22 kilometers
north of Gyumri which would be fully or partly submerged by the Kaps reservoir.
Jradzor’s 350 or so residents are to be resettled in a new village that will be
built from scratch several hundred meters away.
The plan commits the government to providing all of them with new and free
housing. This will cost the state an estimated 4.9 billion drams ($10 million),
according to Vache Terterian, a deputy minister for local government.
The Jradzor mayor, Gevorg Hovakian, and several other local residents
interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian service said they look forward to the
relocation. The impoverished village was severely damaged by the 1988 earthquake
and never completely rebuilt.
Terterian told Pashinian and cabinet members that work on the new village will
likely start next year and be completed by 2024. He gave no time frames for the
construction of the reservoir itself.
Pashinian stressed the strategic significance of these and other irrigation dams
planned or already built in Armenia. “Approximately 7 billion cubic meters of
water originates in the territory of Armenia every year,” he said. “But we can
now manage only a fraction of these resources: around 10-15 percent. We must be
able to achieve much more serious strategic objectives in this area.”
Health Minister Defends Vacation Plans
August 27, 2020
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and Health Minister Arsen Torosian
at a coronavirus-related news briefing, Yerevan, May 28, 2020.
Health Minister Arsen Torosian on Thursday dismissed rumors about his impending
dismissal and defended his decision to go on vacation despite the continuing
coronavirus crisis in Armenia.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian allowed him on Tuesday to take a three-week
vacation, effective from August 31, amid media reports saying that Torosian
tendered his resignation after a tense meeting with the premier. A spokeswoman
for Torosian was quick to deny the claims.
The 38-year-old minister likewise insisted that he did not step down and was not
lambasted by Pashinian over the coronavirus situation in the country. “I don’t
even remember when I last met with the prime minister [tete-a-tete,]” he told
reporters. “It was so long ago.”
He also denied that a body coordinating the Armenian government’s response to
the coronavirus pandemic has demanded a detailed financial report from the
Ministry of Health to investigate a possible misuse of government funds
allocated for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Torosian was conspicuously absent on Thursday from a weekly cabinet meeting in
Yerevan chaired by Pashinian. He attended instead a meeting organized by a
standing committee of the Armenian parliament.
Asked after the meeting about opposition criticism of his upcoming vacation,
Torosian said: “Nobody has a right to exploit the expediency of my vacation. I
will stay in Armenia, remain reachable and probably go to work on some days.”
Armenia -- A healthcare worker in protective gear tends to a COVID-19 patient at
the Surp Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center, Yerevan, June 5, 2020.
Torosian again defended the health authorities’ handling of the coronavirus
crisis, which has been denounced by opposition groups and other critics of
Pashinian’s government.
“The percentage of Armenia’s citizens who have been infected with and,
unfortunately, died from the coronavirus shows that the public health system has
done more than it could considering the financial resources and attention given
to healthcare over the past decade,” he said.
Armenia has had one of the highest infection rates in the wider region, with
43,270 coronavirus cases and at least 864 deaths recorded as of Thursday morning.
Even so, the daily number of new confirmed cases has shrunk by more than half
since mid-July despite the virtual absence of lockdown restrictions in the
country of about 3 million. Pashinian and other Armenian officials say that the
government’s emphasis on making people wear face masks in all public spaces and
practice social distancing is bearing fruit.
Torosian did not exclude that Armenia could soon face a second wave of COVID-19
infections as a result of a colder weather, easing of sanitary restrictions on
business activity and the government’s recent decision to reopen schools and
universities in September. He said Armenians should therefore continue to follow
anti-epidemic rules set by the authorities.
Armenian Government Moves To Lift Coronavirus State Of Emergency
August 27, 2020
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia -- People wear faces masks on a street in Yerevan, August 11, 2020.
The Armenian government signaled on Thursday plans to lift a state of emergency
which it declared more than five months ago to fight against the coronavirus
pandemic.
The government approved a bill that would allow it keep in place safety and
hygiene rules and even impose, if necessary, nationwide or local lockdowns
without again extending emergency rule, which is due to expire on September 11.
Under the bill involving amendments to several Armenian laws, authorities will
also be able to seal off local communities hit by serious coronavirus outbreaks,
quarantine infected people and continue requiring all citizens to wear masks in
public spaces.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Justice Minister Rustam Badasian
confirmed that the government will not again extend the state of emergency if
the bill is passed by the Armenian parliament by September 11.
Badasian insisted that the new legal regime will involve fewer restrictions on
people’s freedom of movements and civil rights. In particular, he said, the
authorities will stop accessing personal data from mobile phones to identify
individuals who have had physical contact with COVID-19 patients and completely
banning any type of business activity.
The government already lifted earlier this month a coronavirus-related ban on
rallies strongly criticized by the Armenian opposition. But it set strict
physical distancing requirements for organizers and participants of public
gatherings.
The government approved the bill even though Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
strongly criticized its authors, the Armenian ministries of justice and health,
for not consulting with the Ministry of Defense beforehand. He also deplored the
fact that the bill was sent to the office of the state human rights ombudsman
only two days before the latest cabinet meeting.
Armenia has had one of the highest infection rates in the wider region, with
43,270 coronavirus cases and at least 864 deaths recorded to date. The daily
number of new confirmed cases has shrunk by more than half since mid-July
despite the virtual absence of lockdown restrictions in the country of about 3
million.
Citing the downward trend, the government decided recently to reopen all schools
and universities in September. The Ministry of Education went on to put in place
detailed safety protocols for all educational institutions.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Shushan Frangulian
Pastinfo: Major misuse found during renovation of Armenia government mansions
News.am, Armenia
Aug 28 2020
16:39, 28.08.2020
Experts skeptical about Turkey’s latest gas discovery
Arab News By Menekse Tokyay ANKARA: As Turkey recently announced a major natural gas discovery in the Black Sea on Friday, how this will translate into reality is being widely discussed. According to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters (11.3 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone will reduce the country’s dependence on foreign energy supplies, especially from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran — a factor that constantly increases the country’s current account deficit. Last year, Turkey’s energy imports cost the country $41 billion, while it consumed 45 billion cubic meters of gas in the same period. Mehmet Ogutcu, head of the Bosphorus Energy Club and a former diplomat, told Arab News that a “98 percent import dependency and $12 billion annual gas import bill creates a challenge to Turkey’s economy and national security.” The country is also conducting exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, that could hold about 122 trillion cubic feet of gas by some estimates, but these moves have enraged regional actors over maritime rights and further strained Turkey-EU relations. Turkey plans to extract and make this gas available by 2023 — when the country will hold its parliamentary and presidential elections. But, some experts have voiced their suspicions over this goal, and whether this reserve is likely to meet Turkey’s energy needs, claiming that the initial production process will require six years at minimum. Some commentators also doubt the plan’s viability, as several members of the government have made similar announcements in the last two decades. According to Ogutcu, the reserve estimate needs to be independently verified. “The 2023 goal seems to be too optimistic as the Black Sea has tough geological and climate conditions for exploration and production. Plus, the average period from discovery to market is around 7-8 years in the gas industry,” he said. Getting gas to the public is also believed to require additional financial resources reaching to billions of dollars in infrastructure. Ogutcu thinks that investor appetite is currently low, over the gas glut in international markets, low demand and correlating prices. Another point of contention is that the plan could shorten the terms of Turkey’s contracts with Iran and Russia for energy supplies that will end in 2023 and 2026 respectively. Aydin Sezer, an expert on geopolitics and energy, said it was not technically possible to announce a reserve through a single drilling. The country’s drilling ship Fatih began work on July 20. Sezer believes it ought to take four to six months to be technically suitable. “The site of the discovery in the western Black Sea — now renamed the Sakarya Gas Field — expands 250 square kilometers, and at least 8 to 10 drillings should have been conducted in this area in order to announce a realistic amount of reserves. The real reserves can be determined in two years at least and could be extracted in 7 to 10 years,” Sezer told Arab News, adding that the announced reserves could not be taken as commercially viable at this point. According to Sezer, the reserves cannot be extracted completely, and even if they were would only meet the country’s energy needs for six years. On the other hand, as the gas found is 3,500 meters deep, reaching and extracting natural gas beyond 500 meters will require US companies that are specialized in deep water extraction technology. Madalina Vicari, an independent expert on energy geopolitics, thinks the gas discovery is important for the country’s energy security, but not a game changer in the sense of covering Turkey’s gas import needs. “The discovery is in ultra-deep waters, and ultra-deep water drillings bear significant challenges, technical and economic alike, as they require special engineering projects, and intensive capital investments,” she told Arab News. In this regard, for Vicari, it is yet to be seen how much gas is recoverable, and when exactly the gas will flow into the Turkish market. “Given the challenges of the project, it would likely take at least a few years until the gas reaches consumers. The 2023 timeline is overly optimistic. It remains to be seen to what extent the Sakarya field will reduce Turkey’s gas imports,” she said. Vicari also thinks that Turkey’s energy contracts with Russia may turn into shorter term contracts along with significant price bargains, while the new gas discovery is also a challenge for the Turkstream pipeline. “And Russia, in order to not have at least one of Turkstream’s lines idle, might offer significant price concessions,” she added.
Turkey unhappy with Armenia’s remarks on Eastern Mediterranean
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 17 2020
Media Advocate initiative: Yerevan mayor remains one of most criticized politicians in Armenia
News.am, Armenia
Aug 17 2020
14:16, 17.08.2020
Russia ‘Working With Partners’ On Resumption Of Karabakh Talks
RFE/RL – Azatutyun
Aug 21 2020
Moscow expects negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to resume as soon as possible and is working on it jointly with its Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group partners, according to Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov.
In an interview with the Russian Trud newspaper published on Friday Lavrov was, in particular, asked to speak about reasons behind the July escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and evaluate the likelihood of its growing into a large-scale armed conflict.
“A whole complex of reasons had led to the conflict. The basis of it, of course, was the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh problem plus the overheating of the public space on both sides of the border,” the top Russian diplomat said.
“The geographic factor also served as a kind of trigger: the decision of the Armenian side to reanimate an old border checkpoint located 15 kilometers from the Azerbaijani export pipelines caused heightened anxiety on the one side and an unjustified response from the other, and, as a result, it launched the flywheel of confrontation with the most unpredictable consequences,” he added.
Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of the escalation on July 12-16 in which at least five Armenian servicemen and 17 Azerbaijani servicemen, including a general, were killed.
The fighting along the border separating Armenia’s northeastern Tavush province and Azerbaijan’s northwestern Tovuz region proceeded with the use of heavy artillery, mortars and drones.
In his interview Lavrov pointed out that the clashes were the second largest violation of the Moscow-brokered 1994 ceasefire after 2016 clashes near Nagorno-Karabakh and the first such large-scale fighting at the state border of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the past 26 years.
Lavrov said that the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, which also includes the United States and France, was in direct contact with the top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan during the whole period of the escalation.
“As a result, it was with active Russian mediation that, although not from the first attempt, but still we got to the agreement on ceasefire from July 16,” he said.
The clashes at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border were followed by tensions between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani communities around the world, including in Russia.
Instances of fights and violent rampages involving Armenians and Azerbaijanis were reported in Moscow and other cities of Russia.
Lavrov stressed that “both diasporas should be fully aware of their responsibility both for the observance of the laws of the Russian Federation and for helping to create an atmosphere conducive to the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan.”
In his public statements after the clashes Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian called for the establishment of an international mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict zone. He reiterated that call in his interview on BBC World News’ HARDtalk show on August 14.
Speaking at a session of the Security Council in Yerevan on Friday, Pashinian said that “the victorious battles in July came to demonstrate that there is no military solution to the Karabakh issue.”
“I think the time has come for the Azerbaijani leadership to acknowledge this fact,” he added.
“I consider it important to state that Armenia continues with its constructive stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Our position is that the conflict should be settled through peaceful talks,” the Armenian leader underscored in remarks publicized by his press service.
Catholicos Aram I visits Armenian churches damaged in Beirut blast
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 11 2020
Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijani scientist talks underground water channels under Armenian occupation
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 12
By Ilhama Isabalayeva– Trend:
There is a serious need in Azerbaijan for carrying out scientific research works in qanats (underground water channel), Director of the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Alovsat Guliyev told Trend.
One of the important issues in terms of the efficient use of water resources is the protection and operation of qanats as water sources.
“Back in 1938, there were 1,500 qanats in Azerbaijan, of which 885 were officially registered, and these channels were used as sources of drinking and irrigation water,” Guliyev noted.
He added that more than 500 million cubic meters of water were used annually through the qanats.
“Currently, 332 of these qanats are under Armenian occupation," he said.
"Based on the agreement concluded with ANAS and Azersu OJSC, the qanats are being studied in the territory of Azerbaijan,” the director added.
“At present, the restoration of the qanats is underway in the Hasansu village of the Aghstafa district. Since the restoration of the qanats and the design of new ones are quite a costly work from a financial point of view, finding new sources of financing is the most important issue. But not everything should be left to the state. Patriotic businessmen should also support this activity,” Guliyev said.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visits troops
10:58,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on August 10 visited a military base of the Armenian Armed Forces to meet with the troops, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a news release.
PM Pashinyan toured the military base, greeted the troops during their breakfast, reviewed the base conditions and the tactical situation.
He also toured the cafeteria which serves the recently introduced, newly developed nutrition-based food system to the troops.
A group of distinguished servicemen were awarded encouragement gifts for their selfless service by the Prime Minister, who wished them peaceful service.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Kilometers away, Armenian Catholicosate in Antelias damaged from massive explosion in Beirut port
Kilometres away, Armenian Catholicosate in Antelias damaged from massive explosion in Beirut port
10:36, 5 August, 2020
YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The massive explosion in the port of Beirut on Tuesday was so powerful that it even damaged the Armenian Catholicosate several kilometers away in Antelias near the Lebanese capital, Cilicia TV reports.
The Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia Cathedral, its museum and educational centers sustained damages to the windows and doors.
The blast erupted at a port warehouse in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday. More than 100 people are dead and 4000 are injured.
The enormous blast was reportedly heard as far away as Cyprus, some 150 miles away from the port.
Beirut authorities have traced the blast to a massive stash of explosive ammonium nitrate in a warehouse at the port. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan