Saturday, November 7, 2020
Putin, Macron Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron meet
at the Fort de Bregancon, a presidential residence in Bormes-Les-Mimosas, August
19, 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
with French President Emmanuel Macron as Armenia reported "fierce fighting" near
a key city in the region.
During a November 7 phone call, Putin and Macron expressed serious concern over
the large-scale clashes between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the
region and the involvement of fighters from Syria and Libya in the conflict, the
Kremlin said in a statement.
The presidents said they would continue coordinated mediation efforts, including
through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk
Group, set up in 1992 to seek a peaceful resolution.
Earlier in the day Armenian military authorities said that numerous overnight
attacks by Azerbaijani forces outside the town of Shushi (Shusha), a key
stronghold in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, had been thwarted. They said fierce
battles near the town continued during the day.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry called the claims it was shelling
Shushi "completely untrue."
The hilltop town of Shushi is located on a main road that links the region's
capital of Stepanakert with the territory of Armenia, which backs ethnic
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
At least 1,200 people and possibly many more have died in nearly six weeks of
fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Attempts by Russia, France, and the United States, which co-chair the OSCE Minsk
Group, to help reach a lasting ceasefire have so far failed.
Armenia Considers Tripling Compulsory Payments To Army Insurance Fund
• Artak Khulian
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visits a military hospital in Yerevan
where soldiers wounded during fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh are treated. October
23, 2020.
Citing an increase in the number of military casualties due to the ongoing war
in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has proposed raising the size
of monthly compulsory payments to the Army Insurance Fund.
Since 2017 every working Armenian has been required to pay 1,000 drams (about
$2) per month to a special fund set up for compensations paid to the families of
soldiers killed or seriously wounded in action.
Under the compensation schemes, in addition to one-off payouts of between 5
million and 10 million drams ($10,000 and $20,000), the families of killed or
maimed army officers, contract soldiers and conscripts receive monthly pensions
ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 drams ($200-$600) for 20 years.
The ministry suggests that compulsory payments to the Army Insurance Fund be
tripped – from 1,000 to 3,000 drams ($6) beginning in January 2021.
The amendment is yet to be submitted to parliament for approval. Before that it
was put to public discussion in Armenia earlier this week.
Since the outbreak of ongoing hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in
Armenia and around the world have also been urged to increase their
contributions to the Army Insurance Fund on a voluntary basis or make donations
to it to help the families of soldiers killed or wounded in action.
So far, Armenian authorities have confirmed the deaths of 1,177 servicemen in
battles against Azerbaijan. The death toll is only expected to rise as
hostilities continue. Authorities have not provided statistics for the number of
wounded soldiers, but it is believed there may be several thousands of them.
Artak Manukian, a member of the pro-government My Step faction in parliament,
said on Friday that raising compulsory payments to the Army Insurance Fund is
needed “to mitigate the [compensation] problem and fix it in the future.”
The opposition Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia factions have not yet
presented their final positions on the bill, but representatives of both
factions said they consider it unfair that all workers should be taxed evenly
regardless of their incomes.
“It would be unfair if I, as a member of parliament with a high salary,
contributed the same amount as those who receive a minimum or average salary,”
Prosperous Armenia’s Naira Zohrabian said.
Bright Armenia faction leader Edmon Marukian also spoke in favor of gradating
the payments for workers with different incomes.
But director of the Army Insurance Fund Varuzhan Avetikian explained that the
proposal of opposition lawmakers cannot be implemented in a situation where many
citizens do not fully declare their real incomes.
Avetikian said that the fund has already started paying compensations to the
families of those killed or wounded in the current fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
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: Varazdat Torgomian
12-month inflation in Armenia’s consumer market comprises 1.3%
09:29, 6 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The 12-month inflation in Armenia’s consumer market (October 2020 against October 2019) comprised 1.3%, whereas the inflation against the previous month – 0.5%, the Statistical Committee told Armenpress.
The yearly inflation of food products and alcohol drinks comprised 0.6%, the monthly inflation – 0.8%.
The consumer prices of clothing and shoes decreased by 2.8% in October 2020 compared to October 2019.
The 12-month inflation of apartment services, water supply, electricity, gas and other types of fuel comprised 0.3%, the one-month inflation – 0.1%.
The prices in the healthcare sector have increased by 2.5% within a year, whereas in terms of month no change has taken place.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 06-11-20
17:46, 6 November, 2020
YEREVAN, 6 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 6 November, USD exchange rate down by 0.13 drams to 493.74 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.86 drams to 585.18 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 6.36 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.38 drams to 648.68 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price up by 600.03 drams to 30771.16 drams. Silver price up by 9.35 drams to 390.03 drams. Platinum price up by 377.32 drams to 14239.07 drams.
Russian Foreign Ministry surprised at Aliyev’s emotional response to Lavrov’s announcement
00:51, 6 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Foreign Ministry is surprised at the emotional response of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev to the statement of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, ARMENPRESS reports a source at the foreign ministry of Russia told TASS.
‘’Frankly speaking, we do not understand the emotional reaction of honorable Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev to the comment of Sergey Lavrov’’, the source said, adding that maybe the aides of the Azerbaijani president have shown him something else or have presented their own comments.
‘’At the same time, we remain confident that the penetration of mercenary-militants to South Caucasus poses a threat to all the countries of the region, including stability and security of both Azerbaijan and Russia’’, the source said.
‘’We, of course, are concerned over the internationalization of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the involvement of militants from the Middle East. We have repeatedly called on the external players to use their capacities to prevent the transfer of mercenaries whose number in the conflict zone is already reaching 2000 according to the existing data’’, Lavrov had said on November 3.
COVID-19: Armenia reports 2383 new cases, 749 recoveries and 29 deaths in one day
11:07,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. 2383 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 85,034, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said today.
749 more patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 53,257.
5027 tests were conducted in the past one day.
29 more patients have died, raising the death toll to 1272.
The number of active cases is 30,151.
The number of patients who had a coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 354 (2 new such cases).
Reporting by Lilit Demuryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
WATCH: Stepanakert City maternity hospital after deliberate bombardment by Azeri military
17:36,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense has released a video showing the aftermath of the Azerbaijani deliberate bombardment of the maternity hospital of Stepanakert, the capital city of Artsakh.
The Azerbaijani military used Smerch multiple rocket launchers to bombard Stepanakert and Shushi on October 28. The maternity hospital in the capital city of Artsakh was hit with air strikes.
One civilian died and two others were wounded in the Shushi bombing. In Stepanakert, the authorities said the bombing has caused heavy casualties.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
CivilNet: A Glendale Doctor on the Karabakh Front
CIVILNET.AM
23:40
By Michael Krikorian
The good Scotch flowed smoothly in a spacious Glendale backyard on Saturday night a month ago. It was September 26 and Dr. Alexander Gevorgyan, a surgeon who specializes in facial reconstruction, was enjoying his friends’ tales of hunting in the mountains near Bishop, California as they indulged on a Macallan 18 year-old scotch whiskey and the even more rarefied Macallan 25.
Then someone’s phone rang. It was Sunday morning in Karabakh and war had erupted. Azerbaijani forces were bombing the eastern towns of the mountainous region populated almost solely by Armenians.
By Monday, Gevorgyan was organizing efforts with his co-workers to send relief supplies to Armenia and on to the frontline. Blankets, bandages and coats were among the essential items they gathered to send. But, considered the most urgent supplies to send were tourniquets, that dreaded battlefield dressing vital to stopping extreme blood loss.
For the next several days, Gevorgyan, who was born in Gyumri in 1979 and moved to Yerevan following the devastating earthquake in nearby Spitak in 1988, anguished over what he could do to help. But, deep down he knew he had to go help the wounded. He told his wife, Anet.
Anet was silent for several seconds. Then she swallowed and said, “You know you have kids.”
“I know,” he said. “I have a country, too.”
The couple hugged and he rationalized his case. “You and the children will be safe in Los Angeles. But there are a lot of children fighting and they will need my skills. There are 18, 19-year-old boys fighting. They are our kids, too.”
Anet knew she couldn’t stop him. The only thing she could do was make him promise to come home safely.
Gevorgyan, who has lived in Glendale since arriving in America in 2010, landed in Yerevan Oct. 9 and arrived by car to Karabakh the next night.
##
Tuesday afternoon, a man wearing a black outfit that matches his beard and hair is walking up a narrow dirt path away from the hospital towards a narrow, partially paved street. A dirty van turned into a makeshift ambulance races by the man walking. It is taking two soldiers whose bloody wounds have been staunched at this site to a more sophisticated hospital in Stepanakert or maybe even Yerevan. As the van drives off, two explosions are heard in the distance. Soldiers and workers implore a journalist not to give the location of the hospital. They don’t think the enemy would bomb here if they were aware of the hospital location. They know it.
The man in black is Dr. Gevorgyan and, as he is about to sit down on a concrete block, a soldier hurries over and respectfully puts down a red blanket.
The doctor stares at a reporter for couple of seconds. “I heard there was a journalist here who wanted to interview me, but I didn’t want to leave the hospital to talk to anyone. I am not a star. But the commander told me the journalist came from Los Angeles, so here I am.”
He looks around the dusty corner where three soldiers stand guard.
“This is where I arrived that first night. It was absolutely pitch black and there were probably a million stars in the sky above, but I only looked up for drones,” he says. “You can hear them. Then came vans with the wounded, speeding up and making this turn, down this hill to the hospital. It was chaos. In my training and at work of course I have seen bleeding patients after car accidents, but the quantity of bloody people I saw that night is something you only see in a war zone.”
Morphine and its relatives are used liberally.
In the nearly three weeks he has been here, Dr. Gevorgyan says relatively few of the soldiers who’ve been brought to the hospital have died. However, he says heartbreakingly, some of the soldiers “do arrive with wounds that are not compatible with life.” He stops talking and looks at the blue sky above. In the distance several more explosions are heard. “Sometimes doctors can’t do god’s work. We are only doctors.”
The teams of doctors and nurses perform their duties with resolute efficiency, he says. “Everyone knows what they need to do and they just do it. Stopping bleeding and extreme pain is the first steps. Number one thing is to stabilize them. I don’t even know their names. We don’t have time to chit chat.”
He gives utmost credit to the special group of people whose job is to go to the actual battlefields – be it a city street or a field – and pick up the wounded. They often have a red cross painted on their car, but lately that doesn’t protect them from being attacked.
The thought that a car with a red cross painted on it is targeted, the thought that he has to tell a journalist not to say their location because the hospital will be bombed, starts to enrage Dr. Gevorgyan.
He stands up. “Tell the story. I have to get back to work.” And Dr. Alexander Gevorgyan walks back down a dusty dirt lane toward a hospital somewhere in Karabakh.
Michael Krikorian is a writer from Los Angeles. He was previously a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and for the Fresno Bee. He writes under the pseudonym "Jimmy Dolan" for the Mozza Tribune. His website is www.KrikorianWrites.com and his first novel is called "Southside".
https://www.civilnet.am/news/2020/10/27/A-Glendale-Doctor-on-the-Karabakh-Front/404452
Azerbaijani military fires Smerch heavy MLRS at civilians in Artsakh’s villages
Azerbaijani military fires Smerch heavy MLRS at civilians in Artsakh's villages
09:43,
STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces are bombarding a number of villages of Martuni region, including the village of Karmir Shuka, with the Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, the State Service of Emergency Situations of Artsakh said.
The Azeri troops continued firing at the civilian population of Martakert and Martuni overnight October 22-23, it said.
“As a result of the bombardment of the town of Martakert two homes in an apartment building were ablaze,” the service said, adding that firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly and saved the other adjacent apartments from destruction.
According to preliminary information the Azeri forces used Grad multiple rocket launchers in striking Martakert. There are no victims from this bombing.
At sunrise, the Azeri forces began bombarding the villages of Karmir Shuka and Taghavard in the Martuni region with Smerch multiple rocket launchers.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Turkey could near Vienna soon – Armenian PM tells BILD
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 4 2020
Trump’s tax returns detail his business dealings in Turkey
Ahval By Ian J. Lynch Sep 30 2020 President Donald Trump’s business ties in Turkey have drawn ongoing speculation, particularly given the context of his repeated willingness to accede to his Turkish counterpart’s policy priorities to the bipartisan consternation of the U.S. Congress and the American intelligence and diplomatic communities. New reporting on Trump’s tax returns by The New York Times provides the greatest detail yet on the scale of Trump’s financial interests in Turkey, but important questions remain unanswered. Central to questions surrounding the U.S. president’s potential conflicts of interest in Turkey is a licensing deal for two Trump towers and a shopping mall in Istanbul. Trump himself admitted in 2015 that the towers posed “a little conflict of interest”. The tax records obtained by the NYT show that the deal has earned Trump at least $13 million, substantially more than previously known, including more than $1 million since becoming president. Trump had claimed he would not pursue foreign deals while in office, but NYT reporting shows he earned $73 million from abroad, including from authoritarian-leaning countries. The licensing deal for the Istanbul towers was negotiated in 2008 by Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ on behalf of his father-in-law’s company, Doğan Holding. Yalçındağ has since become a key conduit between the Trump and Erdoğan administrations. Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner all attended the 2012 opening of Trump Towers Istanbul with Yalçındağ. Since then, the Turkish businessman has reportedly socialised with Trump three or four times a year. When Trump won the 2016 election, it was Yalçındağ, who was with Trump on election night, that the Turkish Embassy relied on to connect with the new president-elect. On the strength of his close relationship with the Trump family, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan soon appointed Yalçındağ as the chairman of the Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAIK), a state-run organisation that lobbies the United States government on Ankara’s behalf. TAIK has since held its annual conferences at Trump International Hotel in Washington, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue for Trump’s business. Last year, the event also provided the setting for the informal diplomacy that Yalçındağ facilitates between Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, and Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Treasury and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak. During the April 2019 conference, Kushner arranged an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Albayrak, in which the latter reportedly convinced the America president not to impose sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile systems. After Turkey accepted delivery of the Russian military hardware in July 2019, the U.S. removed the country from the joint F-35 stealth fighter programme, but Trump has repeatedly blocked the imposition of sanctions despite bipartisan demands from U.S. legislators for such action. The tax returns obtained by the NYT raise further questions about consulting fees associated with the Trump Towers Istanbul deal that initiated Yalçındağ’s relationship with the Trumps. The records reveal that between 2010 and 2018, Trump deducted $26 million from his taxes for unexplained “consulting fees”. The NYT speculates that, “Trump reduced his taxable income by treating a family member as a consultant, and then deducting the fee as a cost of doing business”. By comparing Trump’s tax returns to his daughter Ivanka’s financial disclosure, the NYT found that some payments that her consulting company received exactly match the consulting fees Trump claimed as deductions. Such an arrangement, in which Ivanka was treated as a consultant on projects she helped manage for the Trump Organization, would raise legal red flags. The NYT found that in some cases involving millions of dollars in consulting fees foreign partners reported no knowledge of any outside consultants: “In Turkey, a person directly involved in developing two Trump towers in Istanbul expressed bafflement when asked about consultants on the project, telling The Times there was never any consultant or other third party in Turkey paid by the Trump Organization. But tax records show regular deductions for consulting fees over seven years totalling $2 million.” Executives involved in another hotel deal in Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, told The New Yorker in 2017 that Ivanka Trump was heavily involved in that project. A lawyer for the Trump Organization argued, however, that the Trumps could not be connected to the suspicions of corruption surrounding the project because Trump was “merely a licensor” and had no substantive role in the development. However, according to the new NYT reporting, “the tax records for three Trump L.L.C.s involved in that project show deductions for consulting fees totalling $1.1 million that were paid to someone”. Trump’s tax returns alone cannot prove that Ivanka Trump is collecting lavish consulting fees that reduce her father’s tax burden in legally dubious ways, but they do beget the question. Still, the greater detail the records provide regarding the millions of dollars involved in the Trump Towers in Istanbul do reinforce the argument that money lubricates the informal diplomacy conducted between the families of President Trump and President Erdoğan.