Author: Vicken Chmshkian

Azerbaijani Press: Baku appeals to Interpol over Dan Bilzerian’s illegal visiting occupied Azerbaijani lands [UPDATE]

Vicken Chmshkian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Aug 30 2018
13:01 (UTC+04:00)
1 544

By  Trend

An appeal has been sent to Interpol to put Dan Bilzerian, an Armenian-US gambler, who illegally visited Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, on the international wanted list, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office said in a message Aug. 30.

As a result of the investigation by the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office, it was established that on August 28, a citizen of a foreign country, Dan Bilzerian, illegally crossed the territory of Armenia as part of an organized group and arrived in Khankendi city and other occupied settlements of Azerbaijan, according to the message.

According to the message, Bilzerian was promoting the illegal regime, as well as showcased his gun-handling skills there.

Following up on the matter, the Investigation Department of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office on Heinous Crimes launched criminal case under articles 228.3 (Illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, component parts to it, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices) and 318.2 (Crossing of Azerbaijan’s protected state border without established documents or outside the state border checkpoint).

By the decision of a court, a preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen against Dan Bilzerian and an appeal was sent through Interpol to declare him internationally wanted.

The necessary operational and investigative measures on the criminal case continue.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Tonoyan announced Armenia’s intention to purchase multifunctional aviation

Vicken Chmshkian
Arminfo, Armenia
Aug 28 2018
Tonoyan announced Armenia's intention to purchase multifunctional aviation

Yerevan August 28

Marianna Mkrtchyan. The armed forces of Armenia, possessing clearly expressed ground forces, hoped for air superiority and air defense only in the air defense and missile systems. This August 28, speaking with a lecture before the participants of the upcoming Shant-2010 exercises, said Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan.

Noting the importance of steps to equip the army, modernize the management system and strengthen the fighting efficiency of personnel, Tonoyan assured that now work is in progress to update the armament projects, within which it is planned to purchase multipurpose aircraft. "To this day, the Armenian Armed Forces had clearly defined ground forces, which in the struggle for air superiority hoped only for air defense and land-based missile systems, but times have changed." To ensure the VS greater maneuverability, it is necessary to have fighter-bomber aircraft, since no missile system will not replace the use of these opportunities in terms of flexibility and endurance, "said the head of the Armenian Defense Ministry.

Tonoyan presented his vision of the development of the defense sphere, priorities. Referring to the prerequisites for the development of the Armed Forces, the minister noted the importance of constant training, reforming and turning the army into a more maneuverable reality. "Horizontal communication, without bureaucratic delays, should become the norm, not an exception.We will remove the artificial barriers that interfere or seriously complicate the interaction, excluding the so-called" herd "method of work when individual links advance their agenda without knowing the general idea that unites them, "the minister said.

Tonoyan also stressed the modernization of the advanced by equipping it with modern technical means, as well as improving the efficiency of combat missions. According to the Minister, thanks to the works carried out in the second half of 2016 and in 2017, the equipment of advanced video surveillance equipment has dramatically changed, which has made it possible to significantly reduce the enemy's capabilities to carry out a sudden diversionary penetration. According to him, in the process is a project to create an integrated system for detecting the enemy, making decisions, defeating the enemy's fire and engineering facilities, and assessing the damage.

Tonoyan, among the priority tasks facing the Armed Forces, also highlighted the process to improve the methods of carrying out combat duty. "Our goal is to significantly shorten the time of finding personnel under the enemy's sights, to increase the level of protection and stability, and to increase the likelihood of destroying enemy subversive groups," the head of the defense department said.

Book Review: The Shoemaker and His Daughter review: a personal glimpse of Soviet Union

Vicken Chmshkian
The Irish Times

August 25, 2018 Saturday


Conor O’Clery draws on wife’s family history to map turbulent events and a path to Siberia



by Kathleen MacMahon

Stanislav Suvorov is Conor O’Clery’s father-in-law and the father of his wife Zhanna.

In the many accounts of the history of the world, the importance of good footwear is surely under-represented. The Shoemaker and His Daughter goes some way towards addressing this deficit, telling us that the production of an innovative new type of military boot in wartime Russia was of equal importance in defeating the Germans as the invention of the Katyusha rocket launcher. We learn that Khrushchev himself "once said that in his early days in tsarist Russia every villager dreamed of owning a pair of boots". Even after the war, the quality of mass-produced shoes in the Soviet Union remained poor. "Protruding nails, inadequate waterproofing, cardboard vamps – uppers – and even heels tacked on in the wrong place" were common complaints.

No surprise then that the titular shoemaker of this fascinating personal history becomes a self-made man in postwar Grozny by running a clandestine workshop at the back of his house producing bespoke shoes and boots. Stanislav Suvorov was Conor O'Clery's father-in-law – father of his wife, Zhanna – and through the story of their family O'Clery takes us deep into the history of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia.

The family tree at the start of the book gives a preview of the tangled web of relationships the reader is about to enter. The politics are complicated too, following the Suvorovs from their origins in Nagorno-Karabakh and Chechnya to a remote city in Siberia, from the Stalinist era to that of Putin. O'Clery's use of this one family as a viewfinder renders this vastly dense history easily navigable. Everything becomes personal, from the party system of patronage that rewards the skills of the shoemaker – again the importance of footwear – to the nuclear missile installation that lurks behind the trees at the summer dacha the Suvorovs buy in the 1980s.

The Suvorovs are Armenians. They've made their home in Grozny, the Chechen capital. In a place of relative bounty compared with other parts of the Soviet Union, the young Stanislav and his highly capable wife, Marietta, carve out a good life for themselves under Khrushchev, with a standard of living comparable to that of a middle-class American family. They have a nice house, with a garden where they grow fruit and vegetables. Most of all, they have a car – a blue Volga sedan – bought on the black market and later sold at a profit. But the sale brings about an abrupt reversal in the family's fortunes when the shoemaker is arrested and jailed for violating the Soviet ban on profiteering.

Stanislav's jail sentence haunts the family, driving them on his release to abandon their Grozny home, with its apricot trees and jasmine, and move to Siberia. They settle in the city of Krasnoyarsk, where Zhanna's school closes only when the temperature drops to minus 51, and where "the metallic cold outside, the depressing landscape of factories and prisons and the polluted air", are mitigated by a climate of greater freedom. People are not afraid to speak out, because "what can Moscow do? Send them to Siberia?"

Through Zhanna's story we experience the isolation of life in Soviet Russia where "near abroad" is Latvia and Armenia, while "real abroad" extends only to Romania and Bulgaria. When Zhanna is brought as a translator on a Mediterranean cruise in 1983 she is warned by the KGB not to give any foreigner her home address. Her relationship with O'Clery – a romance he recounts with a shy discretion that is nonetheless touching – brings the KGB down on her again.

Zhanna has grown up unaware of what Gorbachev calls "the blank pages of history", but with the advent of glasnost "people wonder not just what the future will look like in a year's time but what their past will look like". The Moscow beauty spot the O'Clerys can see from their balcony turns out to hold the mass graves of Stalin's victims. The system Zhanna once respected was founded on "lies and monstrous crimes". Added to her disillusion is the loss of her parents' savings in the hyperinflation that follows the collapse of communism, the growing criminality, and the ethnic conflict ravaging their home place in the southern Caucasus.

This history is told in the present tense, which gives it immediacy, and O'Clery, who retired from The Irish Times in 2005, after reporting from Washington, DC, as well as from Moscow, is an elegant and scrupulous writer. His consistently excellent reportage is further enriched by Zhanna's memories. Memories of the four-day train journey with her grandmother from Grozny to Moscow where they lined up to see Lenin's embalmed body. Memories of the "magic briefcase" her father would open to reveal scarce treats like sausages and sweets, and the summer picnics of roast lamb and aubergine the family enjoyed in the subarctic forests of Siberia.

In this detail there is for the reader the fascination of other lives lived, in other places, in the grip of turbulent events.

          
Book Title:
The Shoemaker and His Daughter

ISBN-13:
978-1781620434

Author:
Conor O'Clery

Publisher:
Doubleday Ireland

Guideline Price:
£14.99

Kathleen MacMahon's most recent novel is
The Long Hot Summer

Armenian first vice premier seeking world bank’s support in returning stolen public assets

Vicken Chmshkian
ARKA, Armenia
Aug 10 2018

YEREVAN, August 10. /ARKA/. Ararat Mirzoyan, the First Vice Premier of Armenia, has asked the World Bank to assist the Armenian authorities in their efforts to bring the financial resources illegally taken from the country back. 

“It is not secret that in corrupted societies the financial means accumulated through corruption, embezzlement and other illegal ways are very often taken from the country and moved to other countries for relatively safe harbor,” Mirzoyan posts on his Facebook page. “To put an end to this vicious practice and return the stolen public assets, the World Bank and UNODC have created the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative instrument.”

The first vice premier said that he has launched the stolen property return process by filing a written request to the World Bank to receive Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative consulting and technical support. –0— 

Diaspora Ministry Introduces ‘Neruzh’ Program

Vicken Chmshkian
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10 hours ago

The Neruzh program provides opportunities for startups in Armenia

A program that was often mentioned during Armenia’s Diaspora Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan’s visit to Los Angeles was officially introduced by the ministry on Tuesday.

Below is the official announcement:

“Neruzh” is initiated and organized by the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia in close cooperation with the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) and with the support of the Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) foundation, the United World Colleges (UWC) Dilijan, the Impact Hub Yerevan, and the Russian-Armenian University.

What is “Neruzh”?

It is a Diaspora Youth Startup Program for young entrepreneurs of Armenian descent who wish to bring their startup ideas and projects to Armenia.

To apply:

  • You should be an Armenian living abroad or an Armenian from the Diaspora residing in Armenia for a period of 6 months maximum before submitting your application.
  • At least one (co)founder should be of Armenian descent.
  • You should be 18-35 years old.
  • You should be ready to reside and build your startup in Armenia or Artsakh.
  • Your startup field should fit into one or more of the following target sectors and their subsectors:
  • Agriculture
  • Tourism
  • Innovative Technologies

What happens next?

  • The screening committee will choose up to 100 best applications according to the eligibility requirements and selection criteria listed on the programme website.
  • The participants will be introduced to Armenia and its business environment.
  • 2 members from each selected startup/team will be invited to participate in the startup programme which will take place from 16th to the 21st of December 2018 at the UWC, Dilijan.
  • At the end of the startup program a pitching event will be held, where up to 10 best teams will receive Innovation Grants and Ecosystem Awards once they settle in Armenia or Artsakh.

 

Innovation Grants and Ecosystem Awards include the following:

  • Each winning team will receive a grant of up to 15 million drams after settling in Armenia or Artsakh.
  • At the same time Innovation Grants winners will receive the Ecosystem Awards that cover:
  • Free legal and taxation consulting.
  • Membership in FAST Startup Studio for 4 months with full coaching program and co-working space.
  • 8 month Fellowship program at Impact Hub Yerevan including incubation, mentorship and access to a professional workspace.
  • Mentorship and coaching by field experts.
  • Support of partner organizations.

Why Armenia?

  • Opportunity to come live in the homeland
  • Unique opportunities for Diaspora Armenians to do business in Armenia
  • Possibility to receive strong support from the Government of Armenia
  • Assistance in relocation and settlement in Armenia
  • Capacity to create employment opportunities in Armenia
  • Support Armenia to enhance its startup ecosystem

If you have a startup and are a Diaspora Armenian, do nоt to miss this opportunity, apply to the “Neruzh” prorgam before September 13, 2018.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/08/2018

Vicken Chmshkian 
                                        Wednesday, 

Prosecutors Refuse To Free Kocharian

        • Anush Muradian

Armenia - The main entrance to the Office of the Prosecutor-General in Yerevan.

Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General on Wednesday refused to release 
former President Robert Kocharian from custody pending investigation into the 
2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.

It rejected an appeal from Kocharian’s lawyers as well as 46 members of the 
Armenian parliament. The latter guaranteed in writing that he will not flee 
prosecution if set free.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutors, Arevik Khachatrian, said they believe that 
the Special Investigative Service (SIS), a law-enforcement body overseen by 
them, has sufficient grounds to keep the former president under pre-trial 
arrest. His release would not guarantee “the unfettered course of the 
investigation,” said Khachatrian.

Kocharian’s lawyers declined to immediately comment on the prosecutors’ 
decision.“When we get [a copy of] that decision, we will analyze and examine it 
and then present our position, first and foremost in the form of an official 
document,” one of them, Hayk Alumian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

The rejection of the appeal was condemned by deputy parliament speaker Eduard 
Sharmazanov, one of the deputies who signed the petition. The vast majority of 
those lawmakers are affiliated with the former ruling Republican Party of 
Armenia (HHK).

“There is no justice in ‘new Armenia,’” charged Sharmazanov. “Political orders 
rule ‘new Armenia.’”

“What would Kocharian do [if he was freed?] Would he flee? Kocharian didn’t 
flee the Turks during the war [in Karabakh.] Why would he flee us?” he said.

A native of Karabakh, Kocharian governed the unrecognized republic during and 
after the 1991-1994 war. He went on to serve as Armenia’s president from 
1998-2008.

The 63-year-old ex-president stands accused of illegally using the armed forces 
against opposition protesters who demanded a rerun of a disputed presidential 
election held in February 2008.Eight protesters and two police personnel were 
killed when security forces broke up those demonstrations on March 1-2, 2018.

Kocharian denies the accusations as politically motivated. But his arrest on 
July 27 has been welcomed by political allies of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
and former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, the main opposition candidate in the 
2008 ballot. Pashinian played a key role in Ter-Petrosian’s 2007-2008 
opposition movement.

Kocharian’s lawyers and the 46 deputies have also submitted the same petitions 
to Armenia’s Court of Appeals. The court is scheduled to open hearings on them 
on Thursday.




Rights Campaigners Urge Release Of Jailed Activist

        • Anush Mkrtchian

Armenia - Shant Harutiunian (L) clashes with another man during an 
anti-government demonstration in Yerevan, 5 November, 2013.

Armenian human rights activists have called on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
to help ensure the release of a well-known political activist who was jailed 
for organizing a violent anti-government demonstration in Yerevan in 2013.

In a joint letter to Pashinian, they described Shant Harutiunian as a political 
prisoner who received disproportionately harsh punishment in an unfair trial.

A veteran nationalist activist, Harutiunian was arrested while leading several 
dozen supporters who tried to march towards then President Serzh Sarkisian’s 
offices in what they called a “revolution of values.” Riot police used force to 
stop the crowd armed with sticks and homemade stun grenades from approaching 
the presidential palace after rallying in Yerevan’s Liberty Square.

Harutiunian and a dozen other arrested men went on trial in June 2014, with 
virtually all of them pleading not guilty to accusations of hooliganism brought 
against them. They were sentenced to between 1 and 7 years in prison. 
Harutiunian was given a 6-year jail term.

Pashinian pledged to help free all “political prisoners,” presumably including 
Harutiunian, when he swept to power in May in a wave of peaceful mass protests 
that brought down Sarkisian’s government.

According to Harutiunian’s lawyer, Inessa Petrosian, the jailed activist wants 
to be formally acquitted and rejects other legal options for his release, 
including a pardon.

“He expects the guilty verdict to be struck down,” Petrosian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service. “At the same time he does not want that initiative to emanate 
from himself.”

The lawyer said Pashinian should specifically tell Prosecutor-General Artur 
Davtian to ask the Court of Appeals to acquit her client.

The court upheld the guilty verdicts in February 2015.




Armenian, Russian Troops Hold Joint Drills


Armenia - Armenian and Russian troops hold joint military exercises.

The Armenian and Russian armies are holding joint military exercises in Armenia 
reportedly involving more than 3,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks, armored 
vehicles and artillery systems.

In a statement, Russia’s Southern Military District said the “joint 
tactical-special exercises” began at two shooting grounds on Monday and will 
continue until August 15. The participating troops have already simulated a 
joint operation against a hypothetical invader, it said, adding that they were 
backed up by warplanes, including MiG-29 fighter jets of the Russian military 
base stationed in Armenia.

The Armenian Defense Ministry did not issue statements on the exercises as of 
Wednesday.

Armenia and Russia have held such drills on a regular basis, highlighting their 
close military ties. In 2014, their militaries targeted an imaginary invading 
force codenamed “Ottomania,” a clear reference to neighboring Turkey.

Armenian leaders have repeatedly said that Armenia hosts Russian troops on its 
territory primarily because of a perceived security threat from Turkey, rather 
than Azerbaijan. From Yerevan’s perspective, the Russian military base in 
Armenia precludes Turkey’s direct military intervention on Azerbaijan’s side in 
the event of another full-scale war for Nagorno-Karabakh.

The latest wargames began three weeks after the Russian base held an exercise 
around a village in Armenia’s northwestern Shirak province which scared many 
local residents. The villagers had not been notified about the drill beforehand.

Although the commanders of the Russian base apologized for the incident, Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian condemned it as a “provocation against Armenia’s 
sovereignty.” By contrast, Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said a few 
days later that Armenian officials are also responsible for the scare.




Press Review



“Aravot” blasts 46 members of Armenia’s parliament who have called for former 
President Robert Kocharian’s release from prison, saying that they have thus 
become “political kamikazes” and ruined their “political dignity.” “Democracy 
in Armenia has no alternative and there will be no proscription lists here,” 
writes the paper. “Forget about that. But Armenian politics is not a garbage 
dump. It has filters that will inevitably be working.”

Lragir.am reports that a similar petition was also signed on Tuesday by over a 
dozen members of Nagorno-Karabakh’s parliament. The online publication believes 
that the move was agreed with Bako Sahakian, the Karabakh president. It notes 
that the new Armenian government backed Sahakian when he recently faced 
protests by local residents demanding his resignation. It says that Sahakian 
has failed to deliver on his pledges to carry out major reforms in Karabakh.

“Zhoghovurd” reports that the chief of the Armenian police, Valeri Osipian, 
said on Tuesday that his agency will go to great lengths to help ensure the 
freedom and fairness of elections in the country. “The police chief told police 
officers to be vigilant for neutralizing manifestations [of electoral fraud] 
and stressed that police officers displaying inactivity on this issue would be 
strictly punished,” says the paper. It says that the police have never received 
such explicit orders and warnings before. Osipian’s remarks are another 
indication that “serious changes have occurred in Armenia,” concludes the paper.

(Tigran Avetisian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

Speaker of Parliament of Armenia addresses message on 4th anniversary of Yazidi genocide

Vicken Chmshkian
ArmenPress, Armenia
Aug 3 2018
Speaker of Parliament of Armenia addresses message on 4th anniversary of Yazidi genocide


YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. On August 3 the Yazidis across the world pay tribute to the memory of thousands of Yazidis brutally killed by the Islamic State terrorist groups in Iraq in 2014.

On this occasion, Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan addressed a message which runs as follows:

“Dear Yazidis, today we once again bow to commemorate the innocent victims of the 2014 genocide committed against the Yazidi people in the territories of Iraq under the control of terrorist groups. On the day of 4th anniversary of that terrible crime, the Armenian people and leadership not only extend support to the brotherly Yazidi people, but also reaffirm their commitment to fight for condemning and preventing genocides.

It’s terrible, but a century later after the Armenian Genocide, an entire nation shared the fate of the Western-Armenians and was subject to massacres and deportations in their historical homeland due to national and religious belonging, like in 1915 when the Yazidi settlements of Vaspurakan, Erzurum, Mush, Kars and other provinces were abandoned in the Ottoman Empire.

We had the same fate, together lost a homeland, defended a homeland in Sardarapart, Bash-Aparan in May 1918 and again created Armenia. It’s our common home where all conditions exist for the welfare, development and protection of national and cultural identity of the Yazidi people and other nations living in Armenia.

That’s why Armenia was first to react the 2014 tragedy of the Yazidi people and urged in different platforms to take steps to stop this crime against humanity.

The Parliament of the Republic of Armenia recognized it as a genocide on January 16, 2018 and expressed solidarity to the Yazidi people, urged to investigate the crimes through international procedures, hold the perpetrators of international crimes accountable.

On behalf of the Parliament of Armenia and personally myself I express support to the whole Yazidi people, share your grief and bow before the memory of thousands of innocent victims.

I hope despite all trials the Yazidi people will continue to live, develop and create”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Moscow angered by Armenia’s crackdown on CSTO chief

Vicken Chmshkian
RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
August 3, 2018 Friday
Moscow angered by Armenia's crackdown on CSTO chief
 
by  Alexandra Geogevitch
 Kommersant
 
The new Armenian authorities' decision to prosecute former leaders has driven a wedge into Moscow's relations with Yerevan and may set the two countries at loggerheads even more. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government has launched a criminal investigation against former senior officials as part of a case into dispersing opposition protesters in March 2008.
 
Pashinyan, who was sent behind the bars in 2010 for organizing the riots, now demands those who also had a role in the crackdown on the protesters be held accountable: ex-President Robert Kocharyan and Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Yuri Khatchaturov, who was the commander of the Yerevan garrison in 2008. They have been charged with usurping power.
 
The prosecution of the CSTO chief has sparked Moscow's outrage as this deals a blow to the image of the Russian-led military and political bloc, sources in Russia's state bodies said. One of the sources close to the CSTO did not rule out that "the attempt to slander Khatchaturov and the entire organization has been inspired by players outside the region."
 
The standoff between Moscow and Yerevan may affect Russian weapons supplies to Armenia agreed earlier, according to the paper. Top managers of two Russian defense enterprises said the implementation of the second package of contracts, under a $100 mln loan to Armenia, "now remains doubtful."
 
Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute, has called not to link the current events in Armenia with the country's foreign policy priorities. "What is happening now in Armenia is within the logic of the Armenian domestic political process. It should be viewed in the context of relations between the new and old elites."

Azerbaijani Press: Armenia should show constructivism at upcoming talks in New York

Vicken Chmshkian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Aug 2 2018
Armenia should show constructivism at upcoming talks in New York

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenia should take advantage of another chance provided by Azerbaijan and show appropriate constructivism during the negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a well-known Turkish expert, professor Togrul Ismayil told Day.Az on August 1.

He was commenting on the news about the next meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

The expert positively assessed this and noted the importance of the upcoming meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian officials.

“I support a peaceful way of resolving this problem within the rules and norms of international law. Armenia, having occupied the territory of a foreign state, clearly violated the norms of international law, and still refuses to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions, which is not acceptable for Azerbaijan,” Ismayil stressed.

The expert added that Yerevan should realize the deplorable situation in which Armenia has been staying for many years.

“Pashinyan’s government must seriously realize that by continuing the aggression against Azerbaijan, Armenia itself loses in all aspects and deprives itself of the last chance to get out of the economic and political impasse,” Ismayil mentioned.

Because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia has no economic relations and transport links with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Thus, Armenia has turned into the black sheep of the region. The economy of the country remains critical, demonstrating incredibly low indexes every year.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

Italy will continue to support OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format and will deepen relations will Armenia

Vicken Chmshkian
ArmenPress, Armenia
Italy will continue to support OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs' format and will deepen relations will Armenia


YEREVAN, JULY 30, ARMENPRESS. The conversation between President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian and President of Italy Sergio Mattarella went on in a warm atmosphere. The sides discussed a wide range of issues of Armenian-Italian agenda, Armen Sarkissian told the reporters in briefing. He underlined that the sides reaffirmed the commitment to strengthen the interstate relations.

“We agreed that extra efforts should be made to give a new, dynamic impetus to Armenian-Italian relations both in bilateral and multilateral formats, including in the format of Armenia-EU cooperation. We recorded that Italy, being the OSCE chairing country this year, will continue supporting the only international format of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement – OSCE Minsk group Co-chairs’ format. We referred to Armenia-EU cooperation. This is also an area where there is a great potential for deepening the Armenian-Italian relations. In this context I hoped that Italy will soon ratify the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement”, Sarkissian said, expressing conviction that the state visit of the Italian President to Armenia will raise to a new level the political dialogue and cooperation between Armenia and Italy.

Official welcoming ceremony of President of Italy Sergio Mattarella was held at the Armenian Presidential Palace on July 30. .

The Italian President arrived in Armenia on a two-day state visit at the invitation of President Armen Sarkissian.

The welcoming ceremony will be followed by a private meeting of Presidents Armen Sarkissian and Sergio Mattarella. Thereafter, an extended format meeting will be held with the participation of the delegations of the two countries. The two Presidents will hold a joint press conference.

During the visit the President of Italy will meet with Armenia’s top leadership and will be hosted by His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

The Italian delegation will also visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial.

The opening ceremony of the center for protection of the Armenian-Italian cultural heritage will take place which will be attended by the Armenian and Italian Presidents.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan