International institutions and leaders again support the artificial parity between the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides in their recent statements, given that the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry and Russian peacekeepers have recorded violations by Azerbaijan, Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan wrote.
"Such parity introduces a false legitimization of the use of force," Beglaryan wrote in his Telegram channel.
09:45, 3 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. South Korea is planning to open an embassy in Armenia, according to Professor Gu Ho Eom, the Director of the Asia-Pacific Research Center.
“Right now there are no active ties between Armenia and the Republic of Korea,” Gu Ho Eom, a Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Hanyang University told ARMENPRESS’s Editor-in-Chief Shant Khlghatyan in Seoul during a media tour organized by the Korean Culture and Information Service. “Korea doesn’t have an embassy in Armenia, but there are plans to open an embassy in Armenia,” Professor Gu Ho Eom said.
There are no clear timeframes yet.
Professor Eom is researching and studying Russia and the Eurasian region.
He said that at this moment they have a clear decision to open an embassy in Georgia.
Speaking about the prospects of cooperation between Armenia and Korea, the Professor noted that Korea has rich experience in modernization of industry and digital transformation – policies which are now being implemented in Armenia. “I think we can have serious contribution in developing these areas in Armenia,” he said, adding that Armenia has big potential to develop.
Gu Ho Eom underscored the multi-vector foreign policy of Armenia, whereby it maintains close relations with Russia and at the same time has effective cooperation with the European Union, United States and China. In this context, Korea and Armenia can also establish productive cooperation in various directions, he said.
Professor Eom also noted the rich history and culture of Armenia. “I have many Armenian friends in Moscow. I’ve met many Armenians in the United States as well. They are all smart and diligent people,” he said.
Photos by PENTA PRESS
15:30, 3 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 14,638 over the past day to 18,636,741, TASS reports citing the anti-coronavirus crisis center.
In absolute terms, the growth rate has been the highest since April 6, when 14,661 cases were recorded.
Russia’s COVID-19 recoveries rose by 10,266 over the past day, reaching 18,000,314.
A day earlier some 8,573 patients recovered.
Russia’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 43 over the past day, reaching 382,560.
A day earlier 48 COVID-19 deaths were registered.
15:25, 28 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to the President of the Republic of Peru José Pedro Castillo Terrones on the occasion of Independence Day, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.
The message reads as follows,
"Your Excellency,
On behalf of the people of Armenia and myself, I warmly congratulate you and the friendly people of Peru on Independence Day.
Armenia attaches importance to the development and strengthening of friendly relations with Peru in both bilateral and multilateral formats. I believe that due to joint efforts, we can develop a more ambitious and substantive agenda for the benefit of our countries and peoples.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration”.
13:36,
YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. Lernayin Artsakh FC vs. Van FC will kick off the 2022/23 Armenian Premier League football championship on July 29.
On July 30, FC Noah will face Alashkert FC and Pyunik FC will play against Ararat FC.
The BKMA (CSKA) vs. Shirak and Urartu vs. Ararat-Armenia matches will take place on July 31.
17:28,
YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. The soldier who was hospitalized for 2nd degree burns on July 17 is now in critical condition after suffering complications, the Ministry of Defense said.
The soldier, Private Palian Poghosyan, is hospitalized at the National Burns Center.
Azerbaijan has been talking up the need for the contentious Zangazur Corridor development as the country expands its freight and energy transit capabilities. Transit cargo traffic through Azerbaijan increased by nearly 30% in H1 2022, while feeds through from Baku to the INSTC grew up to 300%. Azerbaijan’s geographical position and its established infrastructure have enabled the country to become an increasingly important transit logistics hub.
Developing that further comes with some tricky political problems, with the proposed Zangazur Corridor, which would create a direct link between Russia and Iran, and improved access between the EU and Asia becoming a hot political and infrastructure development topic.
The problems lie with its location – a Zangazur corridor would give Azerbaijan unimpeded access to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic without Armenian checkpoints, via Armenia’s Syunik Province, and, in a broader sense, create a geopolitical corridor that would connect Turkey to the rest of the Turkic world thus “uniting it”. The concept has been increasingly promoted by Azerbaijan and Turkey since the end of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, while Armenia has steadily objected to it, asserting that “corridor logic” deviates from the ceasefire statement trilaterally signed at the end of that war.
Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia essentially have the upper hand over Armenia here, although none will wish to provoke Yerevan too far into a resumption of hostilities over the Nakhchivan disputed region. The irony is that should the corridor become functional, Armenia would benefit as it would than have rail connectivity connection through to Russia, as well as Turkyie and Iran. The region is the collision point between Orthodox Armenia and Russia, and Islamic Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkyie and has the potential to flare up. Diplomatic solutions need to be found to bring Armenia on board – paying for its rail connectivity, or persuading the EU to do so under the auspices of diverting more Azeri gas to the EU would probably help.
There has been progress, albeit slow. In November 2021, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and the co-chair of the trilateral task force dealing with cross-border connections, Alexei Overchuk said that “Armenia and Azerbaijan will retain sovereignty over roads passing through their territory”. The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed this, commenting on the media speculation about the “Zangazur corridor”. The chairman of Azerbaijan’s Center of Analysis of International Relations Farid Shafiyev said that if Armenia does not want to say “corridor”, then an alternative term can be used, but insisted that unimpeded access for unimpeded movement to Nakhchivan must be given without any Armenian checkpoints, with the security of transport links provided only by the Russian border guards. According to Anar Valiyev, the dean of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, “What Azerbaijan wants is no checkpoints, not to have to stop at the border . . . We are in a situation where we have leverage, we have time, and we can dictate terms.”
In December 2021, in Brussels, during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Valiyev expressed a view that the “Zangazur corridor” should function as the Lachin corridor. During this, he said that the opening of the Zangazur corridor “is provisioned in the 10 November 2020 ceasefire agreement”, adding that just as Azerbaijan assures security and entry to Lachin corridor, Armenia should provide the same unhampered entrance to the Zangazur corridor, without customs enforcement, and threatening that “if Armenia insists on customs points to control the movement of goods and people over the Zangazur Corridor, then Azerbaijan will insist on the same conditions in the Lachin corridor”. In response to this, Armenia’s Prime Minister Pashinyan said that “Azerbaijan is trying to take the process of unblocking the regional connections to a deadlock” and that “the parallels made to the Lachin corridor do not have even the slightest connection to discussions and announcements signed to this date, and are unacceptable to Armenia.”
Negotiations are continuing.
The end of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war also came with promises to upgrade older Soviet era railway lines that bisect the region. During 2021 trilateral peace talks held between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, Armenia expressed willingness to participate in rebuilding the Soviet-era railway links historically connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, which Azerbaijan interpreted as Armenian consent to the Zangazur corridor. According to Russia, the third party, what is being discussed is unblocking regional communications, and not creating a “corridor” – a term unacceptable to Armenia as it implies part or all of Armenia’s Syunik Province are part of Azerbaijan. Diplomatic word-play will be needed on all sides to reach a compromise.
The Zangazur Corridor would serve as a regional hub in uniting the North-South, East-West, South-West transport corridors, and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Routes, all of which feed through Baku from either Armenia, Turkyie, Iran and Russia through to the INSTC, and either to India and South Asia via Iran’s Chabahar port, or the Middle Corridor route east to China via Kazakhstan.
With the EU also approaching Azerbaijan for increased gas supplies, the route would also provide additional EU options for gas pipelines and freight as it struggles to find Russian alternatives.
Azerbaijan has been actively involved in the process of developing intra-continental cargo transportation, and especially against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, as traditional routes have become blocked, and countries are looking for new opportunities to implement the supply chains.
Azeri justifications for the corridor come via expanding the national transport network in Azerbaijan, with increasing numbers of participants showing interest, in particular, the European Union, China and India as Azerbaijan becomes better integrated into the Eurasian economy between East and West.
Azerbaijan has built a pipeline infrastructure for transportation of oil and gas, and a railway through Georgia to Türkiye which can be used to reach the EU Black Sea Ports in Bulgaria and Romania, and has also been building infrastructure in advance of any agreements to develop connectivity, including roads, bridges, and tunnels.
Azerbaijan also plans to export hydrocarbons, ‘green’ electricity and internet services to the EU, and the country wants the Zangazur corridor to be integrated into other corridors passing through the country – to the INSTC and Middle corridors. How this is managed may depend today given the new 2022 geopolitical situation on how much the EU is prepared to pay in one way or another for Armenia’s assent.
12:39,
YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia Artur Martirosyan received the representatives of the Aznavour Foundation led by Director Kristina Aznavour (Sarkissian), the ministry said.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the 2024 program of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the late French-Armenian legendary singer Charles Aznavour.
Kristina Aznavour informed that the French side is preparing for the events, and the statue of Charles Aznavour will be installed in France by 2024. The design is ready, there are plans to hold a large-scale concert and an exhibition about Aznavour. The issue of installing Aznavour’s statue also in Armenia is being discussed with the Yerevan City Hall. The Director of the Aznavour Foundation proposed to hold all events in parallel with France, including the installation of the statue.
In turn Deputy Minister Martirosyan said that the Armenian side will cooperate with the Foundation with pleasure in implementing the program of events, adding that the jubilee of the legendary singer will be celebrated in Armenia as bright as in France.
“We are responsible that the Armenian-French agenda doesn’t suffer in any matter”, Artur Martirosyan said.
During the meeting the sides decided to establish an inter-agency commission to coordinate the expected events.
Artur Martirosyan informed that a coordinating working group has been set up for more effectively organizing and holding the program initiatives between all role-players of Francophonie. The first meeting of the group is scheduled on July 28, and French Ambassador to Armenia Anne Louyot is also invited to the meeting.
The Foundation representatives also presented the problems faced by the Yerevan State College of Culture and Art named after Charles Aznavour, the volume of investments and future plans. The Foundation invested 12,5 million drams for the college. The college is regularly holding master classes and inviting international specialists.
“Our goal is to open a path for children with a great potential to global stages and contribute to the development of their talent”, Kristina Aznavour said.
10:39,
YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. The Genocide Education Project of the United States, in cooperation with the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, has organized a ten-day intensive professional development program in Armenia for a group of American educators.
The Genocide Education Project Executive Director, American-Armenian Roxanne Makasdjian told ARMENPRESS that the organization has been founded around 20 years ago by herself and two friends. It’s an independent initiative aimed at introducing and teaching the US teachers on the history of the Armenian Genocide so that they will start teaching the Genocide to their students.
“The program is being held in the conference hall of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in a format of a lecture-practical training. The historical, legal, social-psychological perspectives of the Armenian Genocide will be presented to the participants, at the same time showing them the long-term impact of that crime, its impunity on Armenia’s current political and economic situation”, she said.
Roxanne Makasdjian said that there is also a separate course on the Artsakh issue, as well as the program has a special cultural part that will contribute to raising general awareness among educators on Armenians, the Armenian history and Armenia.
“15 educators from 15 US states will participate in the program this year. Most of them have more than 20 years of experience in teaching in humanitarian sector, some of them have edited or participated in the publications of collections on the Genocide, as well as in the development of education programs of different museums”, Roxanne Makasdjian said.
She said that the program participants will later organize such training programs and courses in their States with the support of GenEd.
Justin Bilton, an English teacher at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, said that before the participation in this program, he was already teaching the Genocide in a high school and a university and he understood that in order to teach the genocides of the 20th centuries a basis is needed, and that will be the Armenian Genocide.
“In fact, I didn’t have many materials about the Armenian Genocide and I started looking for primary sources by which I could teach the Armenian Genocide. Meetings started with the Armenian community, the Genocide Education Project, ties were established with program members and organizers. After that I decided to visit Armenia which is very important for my activity because after visiting Armenia I understood what the Armenian Genocide means for the identity of today’s Armenian”, he said.
He said that the visit to Armenia was very important for him.
“Walking to the Genocide Memorial, standing near the Flame for the first time was very emotional for me because it more helped to see an individual in that common crime which we usually cannot transfer it via books and films to our students”, Justin Bilton said.
Amy Perkins, a Social Studies teacher currently at Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan, said that her knowledge about the Armenian Genocide comes from the University of Michigan where she has studied, and currently as well there is a department of Armenian Studies and she keeps ties with them.
“I will use the knowledge I got on the Armenian Genocide through this program in three main directions. Firstly, as a teacher of World History, secondly, I am working with the Armenian community of Detroit on developing teaching guidelines which all schools of the State will start using, and thirdly, this year a big conference attended by history teachers will take place in Philadelphia in December where the main topic of my report will be the teaching of the Armenian Genocide”, Amy Perkins said.
She said that she will continue keeping ties with the Genocide Education Project, by using their resources and the materials provided by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.
10:24,
YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. 1,015,679 full vaccinations against COVID-19 were registered in Armenia so far, the Ministry of Healthcare said.
Another 123,823 people received the first dose and 59,689 people received the booster shot.