During the period from July 22 to 28, the Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire regime in the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact nearly 300 times during which they fired more than 2500 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions, Artsakh’s defense ministry reported.
The Defense Army forces mainly refrained from taking countermeasures and continued taking necessary steps to organize the reliable protection of military positions.
Tatevik Shahunyan. ARF Dashnaktsutyun party issued a statement expressing its concern over the charges brought against the second President Robert Kocharyan and other officials in power in 2008 within the framework of the March 1, 2008 case of overthrowing the constitutional order.
"Filing accusation against them in the framework of the March 1, 2008 case causes concern, and can be considered as political persecution," the statement reads. At the same time, the party welcomes attempts by new authorities to establish lawfulness and equal exercise of justice for all citizens in the country. At the same time, the party emphasizes that all processes must proceed from the logic and the letter of the law and should not give reasons for various comments and rumors. " National consolidation and internal political harmony are important factors for overcoming the challenges faced by the country," the statement says.
At the same time the party emphasizes that the tense situation around Armenia and Artsakh envisages exclusion of any manifestations of discredit to state institutions and, first of all, to the army. "The authorities should implement the policy of national consolidation, and the process on March 1, 2008 case should be considered in this very context, as well as other similar processes requiring unconditional. objective and comprehensive investigation," the statement reads. -l–
Armenian police are carrying out actions to revoke luxury license plates, aka gold plates, from a number of retired army generals which the latter had been granted illegally and are still using on their personal cars, State Oversight Service director Davit Sanasaryan said on Facebook.
He said that the issue was reported to PM Nikol Pashinyan.
“We will end the chapter of the famous privileged ones through cooperation with the police and other law enforcement agencies,” Sanasaryan said.
The final farewell to famous Armenian painter and ethnographer, Honored Worker of Culture of Armenia Lusik Aguletsi will take place on Monday, 16 July, from 12:00 to 13:00, at the Komitas Chamber Music House.
The funeral of the artist will be held at the Sovetashen cemetery in Yerevan.
She passed away on Friday at the age of 72, her family informed in a Facebook post.
Lusik Aguletsi was born in 1946 in Agulis town of Goghtan province in Nakhijevan. Her family moved to Yerevan in 1953 where she graduated from Panos Terlemezyan Arts College.
She collected weapons, costumes, decorations, and ancient jars for years. Some of them were brought from her native Agulis and the rest from different corners of Western and Eastern Armenia.
Lusik Aguletsi is also well-known due to her quite unusual appearance. The national costumes that she wore for a few decades became an element of her routine. She is the author of the richly illustrated compendium of Armenian creative works, entitled “Vestiges of the Past.”
Most of her works are kept in museums of Armenia and private collections.
Giovanni Bosi, Yerevan / Armenia
E’ lo specchio del Paese. Un testimonial autentico e immutato di un popolo e di un Paese che ha saputo mantenere intatte le sue tradizioni difendendo la propria storia. E non è stato facile perché il passato ha riservato agli Armeni prove difficili e dolorose. Non è un caso che proprio un alimento sia il loro elemento distintivo e che l’Unesco abbia voluto iscriverlo nel Patrimonio culturale mmmateriale dell’Umanità : il Lavash, il sottile pane tradizionale che fa parte integrante della cucina armena. La sua preparazione, caratterizzata da un lavoro di gruppo al forno, rafforza i legami familiari, comunitari e sociali.
(TurismoItaliaNews) A tavola non manca mai, servito in generose porzioni in cestini intrecciati. Così quando giri per l’Armenia e sei pronto a sederti a tavola, lo sguardo corre subito sul lavash in bella mostra e il buon odore stimola l’acquolina pregustando come potrai combinarlo, in genere formaggi locali ed erbe aromatiche come il prezzemolo, il basilico rosso, il coriandolo, la menta, il dragoncello, il timo oppure la cipolla.
Ma del lavash, al di là del sapore, colpisce il metodo di preparazione sistematico intrapreso da un piccolo gruppo di donne richiedendo un grande sforzo, coordinazione, esperienza e abilità speciali. E’ dal 2014 che l’Unesco ha apposto il suo bollino di tutela perché considerato simbolo della famiglia e della prosperità e perché nel corso dei millenni ha mantenuto intatta la sua essenza e il suo sapore. Del resto la cucina armena è una delle più antiche in Asia, frutto di elaborazioni sviluppate dal popolo armeno per millenni. E si sa che il pane oltre ad un valore nutriente, ha anche un grande valore simbolico, a maggior ragione in Armenia, primo Stato cristiano del mondo, con Haik discendente di Noè considerato dalla tradizione cristiana antenato di tutti gli armeni. Fu proprio Haik, stabilitosi ai piedi del monte Ararat (che oggi si trova in territorio turco ma praticamente visibile con la sua splendida silhouette da buona parte dell’Armenia) ad assistere alla costruzione della Torre di Babele per poi sconfiggere il re assiro Nimrod presso il lago di Van.
Se dici Armenia non puoi non dire storia, non puoi non immergerti nel passato epico e tremendo di questo popolo. Così quando mangi il lavash, nel suo sapore ritrovi un passato mai dimenticato.
Già, ma come si fa? Un semplice impasto a base di farina di grano e acqua, un pizzico di sale e senza lievito, viene lavorato e composto in palline. Una per volta, le palline vengono preparate a mo’ di “sfoglie” sottili con un mattarello e affinate facendole volteggiare con le mani, quindi stese su uno speciale cuscino ovale che viene “schiaffeggiato” contro il muro di un tradizionale forno conico in argilla, il tonir, rivestito di pietra o di ceramica, scavato nella terra. Dopo trenta secondi il pane cotto viene estratto dalla parete del forno. Assistere alla preparazione è come trovarsi davanti a un rito ancestrale, con le donne che sorridono quando si rendono conto della nostra meraviglia nel vederle all’opera. Perché davvero di maestria si tratta nei loro movimenti rapidi e decisi, frutto di un’esperienza acquisita giorno dopo giorno, tramandata di generazione in generazione.
Il lavash (che è meglio mangiarlo appena sfornato, anche se può essere conservato per un massimo di sei mesi, in fogli essiccati e impilati l’uno sull’altro) svolge un ruolo rituale nei matrimoni, dove viene posto sulle spalle degli sposi per portare fertilità e prosperità. Non solo donne comunque nella fase di preparazione: gli uomini sono coinvolti ancor prima nella creazione dei cuscini e dei forni, con l’impegno di trasmettere la loro abilità a studenti e apprendisti come passo necessario per preservare la vitalità della produzione del lavash.
Se il lavash è una presenza irrinunciabile a tavola, la gastronomia armena si rivela una piacevole scoperta, per la sua varietà e i suoi sapori delicati tanto che in passato ne hanno parlato con ammirazione lo storico greco Senofonte e Alessandro Magno. Come nel caso delle zuppe, nelle quali insieme alla carne si possono trovare patate, cipolle, mele, mele cotogne e albicocche secche; mentre nelle zuppe di pesce si aggiunge il corniolo e in quelle con i funghi compaiono prugne e ciliegie o uva passa.
Sapori dunque di grande effetto. Una curiosità: in cucina si usano molto i vasellami di terracotta e così molti piatti hanno finito con il prendere i nomi delle stoviglie piuttosto che del contenuto, come ad esempio putuk, kchcuch e tapak.
http://www.turismoitalianews.it/focus/36-focus/5923-e-il-lavash-il-patrimonio-dell-armenia-nel-sottile-pane-tradizionale-c-e-la-storia-bimillenaria-del-paese-asiatico
Odsonne Edouard got Celtic's Champions League qualifying campaign off to a strong start with the opening goal in a 3-0 first leg victory over Armenian champions Alashkert.
The 20-year-old forward, who agreed a four-year permanent deal with Celtic in June following a successful loan spell, struck just before half-time to give the Bhoys the lead in a contest that was less comfortable than Brendan Rodgers would have liked.
James Forrest and Callum McGregor scored in the last 10 minutes to leave the return leg in Glasgow a straightforward prospect, as Celtic aim to progress through the first of four qualifying rounds en route to the group stage.
Celtic looked comfortable on the ball early on and drew a number of good saves from Alashkert goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic, Moussa Dembele's angled effort drawing a particularly impressive diving stop.
But, in hot, draining conditions, Alashkert pushed forward and created chances of their own, testing Craig Gordon before Forrest's cross-cum-shot was side-footed into the bottom-right corner of the net by Edouard on the stroke of half-time.
Gordon had to be alert early in the second half when a defensive lapse allowed Jefferson through one on one, but the Scotland international got down to his right quickly to make the save.
The Celtic goalkeeper was given another scare in the 63rd minute when Artak Yedigaryan's dipping 25-yard strike almost whistled under the crossbar, Gordon parrying it over at the last moment.
Celtic pressed for more in the closing stages and after Scott Sinclair failed to turn Jack Hendry's header in at point-blank range the ball bounced back out to Forrest, who slotted it into the net from 10 yards.
In the last minute of regulation time, Forrest ran unchallenged along the edge of the area before poking to McGregor, whose low shot found the bottom-right corner with aplomb.
http://www.beinsports.com/en/uefa-champions-league/news/alashkert-0-celtic-3-edouard-on-target-in-a-1/925774
Recently, Judge Artush Gabrielyan accepted the request of Araik Papikyan’s lawyer for the release of Ashot Petrosyan, a member of Sasna Tsrer.
For the artist Ashot Petrosyan, the judge established a pledge in the amount of AMD 500,000.
The pledge was paid by Karo Yegnukyan who has been recently released on the same case. All the 11 defendants in this case are already released
Today, the preventive measure against Vardges Gevorgyan has also been changed.
The State of Azerbaijan is carrying out significant work to expose Armenia’s policy of aggression, Professor Elchin Ahmadov, Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Public Union “The Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh” told APA.
Above all, Armenia and leaders of the self-proclaimed “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”, which was created in the occupied Azerbaijani territory and is not recognized by any country, are agitated by the Azerbaijani president’s resolute and principal position, his continual speeches exposing Armenia’s aggressive policy, noted Ahmadov.
He emphasized that President Ilham Aliyev’s speech have always been based upon history, law and justice.
“President Ilham Aliyev’s statements about returning to historical Azerbaijani lands, such as Zangazur and Goycha, as well as the speech he delivered during the military parade dedicated to the centenary of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan on June 26 seem to intimate the enemy and force them to make ridiculous statements,” he said.
Ahmadov noted that President Ilham Aliyev was right to note that Azerbaijan has a might army capable of liberating the occupied lands at any time.
“The Armenian army, which was built through donations, is nothing similar to this powerful army of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army is capable of annihilate any strategic objects in Karabakh, as well as in Armenia itself. It is hilarious of the illegitimate Nagorno-Karabakh regime’s officials to give stupid statements from time to time. In the first place, let me tell you that the “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” is nonexistent, because it has not been recognized by any country,” he said.
The Public Union representative went on to say: “The April battles dispelled the myth of the “Nagorno-Karabakh army”, because there was not a single Karabakh Armenian among those killed during the hostilities. Those killed were military servicemen sent from Armenia to Karabakh. Currently, the majority of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are from Armenia and Syria. Armenians with no resources were settled there. Their number does not exceed 20-30 thousand. For this reason, President Ilham Aliyev has always emphasized that Nagorno-Karabakh is historically Azerbaijani land. Currently, the number of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh has been increased artificially at the expense of Armenians moved from other places.”
He warned that the leaders of Armenia’s criminal regime and Nagorno-Karabakh separatists should not forget that Azerbaijan will not only restore its territorial integrity, but also raise the Azerbaijani flag in Nagorno-Karabakh, Khankendi and Shusha.
Ahmadov emphasized that the Azerbaijani people will avenge the blood of Azerbaijanis killed in Khojaly, Garadaghly and Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Let them not forget this. Therefore, President Ilham Aliyev always emphasizes that no matter what; we will restore our territorial integrity and raise the Azerbaijan flag in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani historical land. The David Balayans should never forget this. It will happen soon. Their statements are intended for domestic audience and are nothing other than trying to influence people. The statements made by the Azerbaijani President have always been based on history, on the law and justice. This is the resolute and principled position of the Azerbaijani state, president and people,” he added.
21 հունիս, 2018 14:15
Op-Ed by Emil Sanamyan, USC Institute of Armenian Studies
On June 17 prime minister Nikol Pashinyan published a photo on his facebook account captioned “SU-31SM (sic), inside one of the world’s best fighter aircraft. Already in Yerevan.”
Soon after an unnamed Armenian defense ministry source confirmed that Armenia had been in talks with Russia to buy fighter aircraft.
Information to that effect first leaked in January 2016, during Armenian-Russian defense talks. Seyran Ohanyan, defense minister at the time, avoided answering a question about the leak when asked at a press conference. All past Armenian governments typically kept weapons purchase plans secret until after they were completed.
Should a deal for Su-30SM fighters indeed go forward it would become the most expensive military item ever bought by Armenia. At $40-50 million a piece, depending on quantity (say 6 or 12), the value of the deal could climb beyond half a billion dollars, exceeding the current size of the annual military budget.
Almost certainly the deal would require further borrowing from Russia, from which Armenia had already borrowed $300 million for other military purchases. Maintenance costs, including pilot training, are another significant consideration. For a country that has not been able to expand its ground support military aircraft or afford a national airline, it seems a particularly odd choice to invest in fighter aircraft.
Beyond financial considerations, is also unclear if Armenia needs to buy this aircraft, considering other technological advances. The purpose of fighter aircraft is to dominate the skies, to shoot down other aircraft and to deliver precision strikes on ground targets. Increasingly, countries are phasing out fixed-winged manned aircraft, as Georgia is doing, replacing them with armed drones and ballistic missiles.
This is probably the reason why the deal, which according to Russian daily Kommersant had been signed in 2012, was never implemented. Instead, in 2015 Armenia purchased the advanced Iskander surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and used some of the new Russian loans to upgrade its air defenses and artillery systems. Since April 2016, Armenia has also stepped up work on development of armed drones.
It appears the talk of Su-30 purchase was revived during Pashinyan’s meeting with Vladimir Putin last week. As Kommersant sources had pointed out, it is in Russia’s interest to expedite the sale that the previous Armenian government managed to postpone to 2024 in order to avoid shutting down one of its Sukhoy production facilities. As an expert cited in the article points out, such a sale would also make it easier for Russia to sell more advanced aircraft to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan had sought to buy Russian aircraft in the past, but after Russia apparently refused to sell them, turned to Israel for advanced drone and air defense technology.
Incidentally, the Sukhoy concern – until early 2015 led by Russian Armenian Mikhail Poghosyan – had pitched its products to Armenia before. In 2011, Armavia airlines became the first buyer of Sukhoy’s civilian Superjet-100. The risky purchase likely contributed to Armavia’s bankruptcy in 2013. Russia has since not been able to sell the Superjet to any other foreign client.
The typo in Pashinyan’s photo caption (Su-31 instead of Su-30) is typical for people with superficial knowledge of military technology. The prime minister will need the right briefings to consider the pro’s and con’s of this deal, before locking Armenia into a potentially unnecessary financial obligations.
Emil Sanamyan lives in Washington DC, and specializes in the politics of the Caucasus.
https://www.civilnet.am/news/2018/06/21/The-Su-30-Selfie-Why-Pashinyan%E2%80%99s-Interest-in-Russian-Fighter-Aircraft-Doesn%E2%80%99t-Make-Much-Sense/339944
It is still early to speak about a trilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Peskov commented on Putin’s introduction of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to one another during the opening of FIFA World Cup on June 14 in Moscow. “This was the first meeting, it is too early to speak about some continuation,” Peskov told reporters according to TASS.