Toneyan Mark – Page 28 – Armenian Directory & News

‘I find it difficult to imagine myself in parliament’ – Kocharyan

June 23, 2021June 23, 2021 Toneyan Mark

14:54,

YEREVAN, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS. 2^nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, leader of the “Armenia” bloc, hasn’t yet decided to take up his parliamentary mandate or not.

During a press conference today Kocharyan told reporters that he finds it difficult to imagine himself in the legislature, adding that he considers himself a man of executive power.

“Part of my team thinks that I should be in the parliament, use that tribune for political fight. The other part thinks it is not necessary. I do not have such a wish, I am not inclined to do that. I haven’t made a final decision yet. You have to make a decision cold-heartedly, without emotional component. I find it difficult to imagine myself in the parliament”, he said.

Armenia held snap parliamentary elections on June 20.

21 political parties and 4 blocs were running for parliament.

Accordingly, the Civil Contract party led by caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received 53.92% of the votes, the “Armenia” bloc led by 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan – 21.04%, “I Have the Honor” bloc – 5.23%, CEC Chairman Tigran Mukuchyan said at the Committee’s extraordinary session.

1 million 282 thousand 411 citizens or 49.4% of the voters cast their ballot in the early elections.

4682 ballots were declared invalid.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Caucasian Knot | Investigating Committee of Armenia reports number of soldiers missing in Karabakh

June 20, 2021June 20, 2021 Toneyan Mark

The Caucasian Knot, EU

June 17 2021

In total, during the autumn aggravation of the Karabakh conflict, 275 people are listed as missing from the Armenian side, the Investigating Committee of Armenia reports.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in Armenia, relatives of the soldiers missing in action during the autumn aggravation of the conflict repeatedly went to protest actions. They demanded from the authorities to announce the exact number of the soldiers missing in action. So, on April 7, the Day of Motherhood and Beauty, female activists of the “Veto” movement accused the Armenian authorities of pro-Turkish policy and concealment of information about combat losses and prisoners of war (POWs).

The losses of both sides during the aggravation of the conflict in Karabakh are approximately equal, and the total death toll will amount to approximately 10,300 people, a blogger of the “Caucasian Knot” calculated in December 2020.

On June 16, former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that the number of soldiers missing in action during the autumn aggravation of the conflict reached 1064 people.

Let us remind you that on April 14, Nikol Pashinyan reported the number of those killed in the battles for Nagorno-Karabakh. According to him, about 4000 Armenian soldiers were killed, 3621 of whom have been identified, and 321 people are declared missing in action.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 17, 2021 at 01:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Armine Martirosyan; Source: CK correspondent

Source:
© Caucasian Knot

Armenia to hold snap parliamentary elections

June 20, 2021June 20, 2021 Toneyan Mark

Foreign Brief

In Daily Brief
Chris Thomson

Voting will begin today in Armenia’s parliamentary elections.

Initially scheduled for December 2023, the elections were moved forward in the wake of the ongoing political crisis in the country, namely, former Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s handling of the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which saw Armenia ceding large swathes of territory to Azerbaijan.

While 24 parties and coalitions are running, most notable among them are Pashinyan’s populist Civil Contract (CC) Party and the right-wing, pro-Russia Armenia Alliance (AA) coalition, led by former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. Current polling suggests that AA will secure a narrow plurality of the vote with 28.7%, trailed closely by CC with 25.2%. While neither party has enough support to secure a majority, multiple parties, including the third-highest polling I Have Honor coalition, have expressed support for building a ruling coalition with CC and are likely to do so once results are declared.

If elected, Kocharyan is expected to become Prime Minister and will likely prioritize security matters, notably reinforcing the joint Armenia-Azerbaijan border commission, founded in late May to officially demarcate the borders between the neighbors. CC prioritizes regional peace and security and will likely embrace ongoing diplomatic and political support from Russia.

Wake up smarter with an assessment of the stories that will make headlines in the next 24 hours. Download The Daily Brief.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 16-06-21

June 17, 2021June 17, 2021 Toneyan Mark

17:39,

YEREVAN, 16 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 16 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.81 drams to 514.87 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.98 drams to 624.18 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 7.16 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.87 drams to 726.74 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 56.86 drams to 30873.85 drams. Silver price down by 2.46 drams to 457.29 drams. Platinum price down by 13.50 drams to 19119.24 drams.

Large number of men awaiting Armenia acting PM Pashinyan at "gates" of Syunik

June 16, 2021June 16, 2021 Toneyan Mark

News.am, Armenia

11:04, 15.06.2021

A large number of men are waiting at the "gates" of Syunik Province for acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who heads the ruling Civil Contract Party’s electoral list for Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections in Armenia.

The governor of Syunik, Melikset Poghosyan, is also there. But he refused to answer Armenian News-NEWS.am's questions, noting that he will not give an interview.

But to the remark that there is information that the employees of Syunik state structures were pressured to participate in today’s election rally with Pashinyan, the provincial governor said that there is no such thing; and one of those gathered added: "There are no people from state structures here."

Earlier, Armenian News-NEWS.am reported that a large number of police forces left for Syunik Province early in the morning.

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan on Artsakh war: Was necessary to fight, keep front, not to retreat, hand over everything

June 16, 2021June 16, 2021 Toneyan Mark

News.am, Armenia

15:58, 15.06.2021

If we want lasting peace, we must make decisions that will not be too unfair. Robert Kocharyan—the second President, leader of the "Armenia" bloc which will run in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections, and its candidate for prime minister—said this in an interview with Russian media, in connection with the avenues to resolve the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict with Azerbaijan.

"It seems to me that, nevertheless, it is possible to reach an agreement through negotiations on the former territory, borders of the NKAO. Here we [the Armenian side] have a rather strong argument; it is connected with a nation's right to self-determination. I see certain prospects for negotiations. In what format can the negotiations be? For now, it is the format of the OSCE Minsk Group. Events have led to the fact that Russia's role has become more dominant, and it occupies leading positions within the Minsk Group," said the former president.

To the question whether there was an opportunity to stop the Artsakh war last fall sooner, Kocharyan answered: "Undoubtedly. First, there was an absolute opportunity not to lose it, it had to be stopped. And there were such opportunities. This is just untalented administration [on part of Armenian authorities]. There was an initiative of the President of Russia to stop the war—if I am not mistaken, on October 19. The Armenian side rejected that proposal for completely incomprehensible reasons, explaining it by the fact that he [acting PM Nikol Pashinyan] would not be understood correctly and would be called a 'traitor' [by Armenians]. We lost more than if we had agreed at that moment. And they call him a 'traitor' all the same."

The former president does not think that Armenia's possible recognition of Karabakh's independence would have had tangible consequences during the war. "And what would recognition have changed during the war? We had to fight, we had to keep the front, not retreat and hand over everything one by one. I do not think it would have changed anything. We [Armenia] were not recognizing the independence of NKR so as not to provoke a war. But the current authorities moved the issue from the sphere of self-determination to the sphere of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Consciously or because of stupidity, I will not go into details. But it was done, and it legitimized the military campaign of Azerbaijan; allegedly, 'We are restoring our territorial integrity.' And no country condemned the start of hostilities," Robert Kocharyan added.

Armenia applies to ECHR requesting to ensure rights of serviceman captured by Azerbaijani military on June 8

June 9, 2021June 9, 2021 Toneyan Mark

17:42, 8 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with the purpose to ensure respect of the fundamental human rights of the Armenian prisoner of war captured by Azerbaijani forces on June 8, the Office of Armenia’s Representative before the ECHR said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Defense of Armenia informs that on 8 June 2021 a member of Armenian military – private A. Katanyan – has been captured by Azerbaijani authorities after – lost his bearings due to the fog and appeared in a territory currently under the control of Azerbaijani forces.

The submitted request aims to ensure respect of the captive’s rights to life and prohibition of torture envisaged by the European Convention on Human Rights”, the statement says.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 08-06-21

June 9, 2021June 9, 2021 Toneyan Mark

17:45, 8 June, 2021

YEREVAN, 8 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 8 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.20 drams to 519.83 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.49 drams to 632.79 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 7.15 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.80 drams to 734.78 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 48.93 drams to 31560.68 drams. Silver price up by 3.41 drams to 460.94 drams. Platinum price up by 193.09 drams to 19587.54 drams.

Shirinyan-Babadjanyan Democrats Union bloc vows “significant changes” if elected to parliament

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021 Toneyan Mark

14:51, 7 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Shirinyan-Babadjanyan Democrats Union alliance vows to make significant changes if achieving success during the upcoming snap parliamentary elections.

The alliance started their pre-election campaign from the Republic Square.

Arman Babajanyan, who is leading the bloc’s electoral list, stated that they will visit today the Yerablur military pantheon to honor the memory of the fallen heroes.

“This is a very fateful state – election between “republic” and “empire”. And it’s the duty of all of us, the political units, to be able to inspire our society to vote in favor of the republic, Armenia, bright homeland”, Babajanyan said.

In his turn Levon Shirinyan said they are announcing a pan-Armenian mobilization. “We in fact are the new political force you are searching for – young, uncorrupted and with flawless biography”.

The electoral campaign for the snap parliamentary elections officially launched in Armenia on June 7.

The campaign will last until June 18.

The snap parliamentary elections will take place on June 20, but the electronic voting will kick off on June 11 until June 13.

26 political forces – 22 parties and 4 blocs, are participating in the elections.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkish press: Zangezur corridor to boost Turkey-Azerbaijan ties: Aliyev

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 Toneyan Mark

ISTANBUL DIPLOMACY

MAY 30, 2021 6:18 PM GMT+3

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (R) meets with a Turkish delegation in Baku, Azerbaijan, May 30, 2021. (AA Photo)

The Zangezur corridor will strengthen Azerbaijan's ties with Turkey, President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday.

Aliyev told Turkey's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu in Baku that the opening of the corridor will further strengthen relations between Turkic nations.

He said transportation's significance has especially become evident after the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh war, which ended after a Russia-brokered cease-fire in November. "Here is an important part of the East-West corridor … the volume of cargo passing through this route has increased over the years."

Aliyev said Armenia first objected to the corridor but later gave up realizing its importance.

The formation of the corridor, expected to be operational in 2 1/2 years, was negotiated by the deputy prime ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia in a trilateral working group, he added.

Relations between the ex-Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and the Armenian Army continued its attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces for 44 days, even violating two humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

Baku liberated several cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation during this time.

On Nov. 10, the two countries signed a Russia-brokered deal to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive solution.

Russia deployed nearly 2,000 peacekeepers for at least five years to monitor the peace deal and to facilitate the return of refugees. Under the agreement, which leaves Karabakh's future political status in limbo, Armenia lost control of parts of the enclave as well as the seven adjacent districts that it seized during the 1990s war.

Turkey and Azerbaijan enjoy strong relations, as the two countries embrace the "one nation, two states" motto.

During his 4 1/2 years duty term, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Azerbaijan more than 20 times, he said adding that the delegation visits reached more than 100.