Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

Azerbaijani press: OSCE PA officials criticize Armenia’s impunity

Yeghisabet Arthur
3 September 2020 13:35 (UTC+04:00)
662

By Trend

An informal online meeting of the leadership (Bureau) of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) was held on September 2, Trend reports.

During the meeting, extensive discussions took place on a number of areas of the assembly’s activities. A report by OSCE PA President Georgy Tsereteli on events in the OSCE region was presented. Secretary General of the organization Roberto Montella spoke about the possible contribution of the OSCE PA to improving the efficiency of the organization's structures and the work that should be done by the assembly by December 2020.

OSCE PA Vice-President, Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA Azay Guliyev commented on the agenda of the meeting.

Noting the provocation carried out by Armenia in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district, the illegal resettlement of Lebanese Armenians to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the fact of arming Armenia by Russia, Guliyev brought to the attention of the Bureau members that such events contradict the norms and principles of international law.

Guliyev said that the initiative of OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella on "Operations of Lazarus" could be useful in systematizing the ideas and proposals collected and put forward by the OSCE PA over the years, in order to achieve certain results in strengthening the OSCE's activities and ensuring its effectiveness.

The vice-president brought to the attention of the meeting participants his views on the steps to be taken on security issues, which are the main focus of the OSCE.

"Firstly, as is known, a fact-finding mission was sent to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in 2005 under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The final report of the mission reflected a number of violations of international law, including the illegal settlement of people on the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia," said Guliyev.

Unfortunately, the OSCE Minsk Group didn’t take concrete steps to resolve any issues raised in the mission's report, and this shows that the co-chairs aren’t interested in the soonest achievement of a just and peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, he noted.

"Armenia continues the process of illegal resettlement of Armenians from the Middle East to the occupied Azerbaijani territories. At present, Armenia, using the recent explosion in Beirut, is carrying out the process of illegal settlement of its people in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts," said the vice-president.

“In this regard, I sent a letter to President Tsereteli, and I hope that the OSCE PA and other international organizations will condemn these illegal actions of Armenia, which contradict a number of international documents, including the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute. Illegal settlement of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh under the pretext of "repatriation" and "humanitarian aid" is part of the policy of annexation of Armenia,” Guliyev said.

“The second issue is the lack of real cooperation between the OSCE PA and the Minsk Group. For some unknown reason, the co-chairs have not yet submitted a report on the activities of the Minsk Group, despite our repeated proposals and invitations from the Azerbaijani side,” the head of the Azerbaijani delegation said.

“The current situation shows that not all the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are committed to achieving a common goal – the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict through negotiations. On the contrary, the arming of Armenia by one of the co-chairs, Russia, causes concern and contradicts the mediation mandate of this country in the Minsk Group, as well as its obligations reflected in a number of international documents on arms control and regional security,” said Guliyev.

“The atmosphere of impunity and the lack of an adequate response to the illegal actions of Armenia create favorable conditions for the aggravation of the situation. As an example, I can point to the provocative attacks of Armenia on July 12-16, 2020, the shelling of our military and civilian facilities located on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district. As a result of the provocation, servicemen and civilians, including a 76-year-old resident of Tovuz district, were killed. The attacks by Armenia created an existential threat to oil and gas pipelines and other strategic economic infrastructure in the region,” the vice-president emphasized.

The third important issue is the need for the OSCE PA to establish institutional relations with the OSCE Minsk Group and close cooperation with it to build peaceç he said.

“The OSCE PA can facilitate the convening of the Minsk Conference with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group members, at least within the OSCE PA we can hold a meeting with the participation of the Minsk Group member states. During the meeting, it is necessary to find an answer to one question – Why the co-chairs have not yet been able to find a solution to the problem, while Armenia still does not comply with the UN Security Council resolutions and other international documents? I believe that the intervention of the OSCE PA can be useful for identifying obstacles and failures in the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, as well as achieving certain progress in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,” Guliyev said.

The vice-president also said that for almost 30 years Armenia has been ignoring documents of international organizations, including four resolutions of the UN Security Council, OSCE and OSCE PA resolutions, requiring the unconditional withdrawal of the armed forces of the occupying country from internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan.

“Therefore, we must always remember about the tools and mechanisms offered by the OSCE, an organization uniting 57 countries, for resolving the conflict, about the mandate of this organization, and must ensure the implementation of the above resolutions requiring the withdrawal of armed forces from the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia. I believe that all these issues will be reflected in the proposals and action plan that will be presented to the OSCE,” noted Guliyev.

Several members of the Bureau who spoke further at the meeting supported Guliyev's proposals that the OSCE PA should be more active in connection with the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

—

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No more state of emergency extensions in Armenia

Yeghisabet Arthur
JAM News
Aug 28 2020

    JAMnews, Yerevan
 

The government of Armenia has approved a suite of legal changes that will allow them to stop extending the state of emergency.

The laws will enable them to impose quarantine if infectious diseases make their way into the country, taking into account they danger they pose and how quickly they spread and whether any outbreaks have occurred. Moreover, quarantine will imposed on specific cities and villages or even just institutions, and not the whole country. 

The legal changes were developed by the minister of justice and the minister of health together. For the changes to take effect, however, parliament must also approve them, which is not yet certain. However, it is unlikely they will refuse, since both the ruling party and the opposition have been talking about the necessity of these changes for a long time.

The state of emergency in Armenia started on 16 March and has been extended five times, most recently until 11 September. The parliament meeting to discuss the legal changes has been set for that date.

What will change?

As Rustam Badasyan, minister of justice, states, the suite of legal changes will allow the fight against the pandemic to continue effectively even after the state of emergency ends.

Quarantine will also be able to be imposed by the federal government, applying to the entire country, or by the mayor of Yerevan and other governors, in which case it would apply to specific localities or organisations.

«When and if quarantine is imposed by governors or the mayor of Yerevan, the following measures may be taken: a checkpoint system for entering and exiting the epidemic zone, temporary cessation or limiting of transport across state borders, limiting of the rights of people to freedom of movement for themselves and their vehicles”, said Badasyan.

If quarantine should be imposed by the government, stronger measures may be taken. There is talk of limiting the right to assemble and participate in meetings or protests of multiple people, setting up regulations for sanitary and epidemiological safety in specific workplaces, limiting the transportation of goods, and closing schools and universities.

According to the minister of justice, the new system will be different from a state of emergency in how much it limits people’s rights, in the severity of the measures introduced, and in having more fine-tuned mechanisms for protecting the rights remaining under restrictions.

«In particular, we will no longer monitor people’s locations electronically. And there will be no more economic lockdown. It is possible that we may have to introduce restrictions on economic activity, but it will not be shut down completely”.

Coronavirus situation

207 new cases of coronavirus were recorded on 27 August, bringing the total to 43,270. Out of that number, 36,988 have recovered and 5,153 are still undergoing treatment. 864 people have died. 200,507 tests have been administered in total, including 1,938 in the last 24 hours.


Gomselmash launches harvester supplies to Armenia

Yeghisabet Arthur
BelTA, Belarus
Aug 25 2020
 
 
 
Photo courtesy of Gomselmash
 
GOMEL, 25 August (BelTA) – The Belarusian agricultural machinery manufacturer Gomselmash has made the first supplies of grain harvesters GS12A1 to Armenia, BelTA learned from the company.
 
Grain harvester GS12A1 is a modification of harvester GS12. High productivity is secured by a 330hp engine. Two such harvesters have already been successfully working in Armenia. According to the company, harvesters were made taking into account the wishes of Armenian agrarians.
 
Armenia Deputy Minister of Agriculture Vilen Avetisyan and Chief of the State Agricultural Equipment Institution of the Ministry of Agriculture Anania Soghomonyan visited grain fields in Martakert Province, where Gomselmash combine harvesters are in action. “Anania Soghomonyan said that the combine harvester meets the best analogues of world producers in its class. In Armenia, many agrarians consider it more appropriate to use Belarusian agricultural equipment,” the company said.
 
Gomselmash has been actively supporting and developing its export-oriented policy. Another batch of machine sets of GS12A1 (ESSIL KZS-760) grain harvester was recently sent to the assembly plant in Kazakhstan.
 
According to the company, today more than 30% of grain harvesters in Kazakhstan are equipment of the Kazakhstan-Belarus production: GS5A (ESSIL КЗС-730), GS10 (ESSIL КЗС-740), GS12 (ESSIL КЗС-750) and GS12A1 (ESSIL КЗС-760). In H1 2020 more than 300 vehicles were shipped.
 
Gomselmash and AgromashHolding KZ assemble grain harvesters ESSIL in Kazakhstan since 2007. AgromashHolding KZ produces a lineup of grain harvesters and offers maintenance services across the country.
 
The Belarusian holding company Gomselmash is one of the largest manufacturers of agricultural machines. It is one of the leaders on the world market of harvesters and other sophisticated agricultural machines. The company uses the Palesse trademark to market lineups of grain and forage harvesters, ear corn harvesters, potato harvesters, mowers, and other agricultural machines. Harvesters are used in fields of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Czechia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Argentina, Brazil, China, South Korea, Baltic states, and other countries. Gomselmash operates an extensive distribution chain, joint ventures, and assembly enterprises.
 
 
 

Israeli historian Stefan Ihrig to speak on “the Armenian Genocide and the 20th Century”

Yeghisabet Arthur
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 25 2020

<img width="750" height="430" src=”"https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/xStefan_Ihrig.jpg.pagespeed.ic.dGBmot6akC.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/xStefan_Ihrig.jpg.pagespeed.ic.dGBmot6akC.jpg 750w, https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Stefan_Ihrig-300×172.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" data-pagespeed-url-hash="3806100673"/>

Massis Post – Dr. Stefan Ihrig will give an online talk entitled “The Armenian Genocide and the 20th Century” on Sunday, August 30, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern U.S. time). The talk is co-sponsored by the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), and the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS).

The Armenian Genocide has long been side-lined in the histories of Europe and the world. This poses a whole series of problems for how we understand the past. In this talk, Stefan Ihrig will show how and why the Armenian Genocide was a central event for 20th century world history.

Understanding the wider contexts and implications of the Armenian Genocide is key to understanding the dark 20th century. This talk will also underline why the much-needed re-evaluation of its role in and for history should not and cannot be a partisan issue. It will also discuss why recognition of the genocide is simply not enough. Recognition is only the first step in reconstructing a new history of the last century.

Stefan Ihrig is a professor of history at the University of Haifa and director of the Haifa Center for German and European Studies. For his last book, Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler (Harvard Univ. Press, 2016), he received the 2017 Sonia Aronian Book Prize for Excellence in Armenian Studies from the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research. He is also the author of Atatürk in the Nazi Imagination (Harvard Univ. Press, 2014).


Pashinyan Slams Ankara’s ‘Destructive’ Actions

Yeghisabet Arthur
Asbarez
Aug 21 2020

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday slammed Ankara for what he called its “destructive” action that are having “destabilizing” effects on the region.

“I think that Turkey’s destabilizing and destructive actions are causing serious concerns to our partners in the Middle East, the Eurasian region and the European region,” said Pashinyan during meeting of Armenia’s National Security Council on Friday.

“This is an agenda that has already been formed, and our future steps should be the subject of substantive discussions in the Security Council, the Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and today’s session will address this issue among other agenda items,” Pashinyan said according to his press office.

Since Azerbaijan began brazenly attacking civilian and military targets in Armenia’s Tavush Province on July 12, official Ankara has continued its aggressive posturing toward Yerevan. The Turkish government’s overt endorsement of Baku’s attacks were followed by a diplomatic attack on Yerevan over Armenia’s leaders’ statement about the 100th anniversary of the Sevres Treat. Just this week, Ankara again lashed out at Yerevan, whose government unequivocally threw its support to Greece and Cyprus over Turkey’s attempts to destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Pashinyan seized on Armenia’s victories in last month’s attacks to also express Armenia’s position on the matter, as well as the ongoing Karabakh conflict settlement process, saying that Azerbaijan’s “failures” on the ground should be perceived as Baku’s conceding to Armenia and the international community.

He said prior to the July events, Azerbaijan had adopted a position by which it would resolve the conflict through military force, as witnessed by the ongoing rhetoric from official Baku.

Azerbaijan’s “failure to launch an offensive and resolve the Karabakh conflict by force should be perceived as a concession to both Armenia and the international community,” Pashinyan told the security council.

“Throughout this time, we had been urging the Azerbaijani leadership to refrain from speaking to Armenia from the position of strength and to give up their bellicose rhetoric,” Pashinyan explained, adding there can be no military solution to the Karabakh conflict.

“I think the time has come for the Azerbaijani leadership to acknowledge this fact, since as I have mentioned on several occasions, if the Karabakh issue were to have a military solution, then the people of Artsakh might state that they have resolved it a long time ago,” said Pashinyan, referring to the Artsakh’s decisive victory in the Karabakh war.

The prime minister stressed that Armenia continues with its constructive stance on the Karabakh issue. “Our position is that the conflict should be settled through peaceful talks. Armenia has always been adhered to this very position on the Karabakh issue, regardless of the political background of its governments,” said Pashinyan.

“The most important point we have to make is that the Republic of Armenia is in a position to meet the emerging security challenges. At the same time, we must improve the country’s security environment every week, every month and every year. The Security Council is just the working format which should discuss and resolve such issues,” added Pashinyan.


http://asbarez.com/196375/pashinyan-slams-ankaras-destructive-actions/?fbclid=IwAR3MIogT6DCv7WW0PgkdTo_RgPY0WTCAF8E_U2ms-TLx7gFDXE3EyETnGew

Armenian Ambassador to Israel speaks about his vision of development of relations between two states

Yeghisabet Arthur
ArmenPress, Armenia
Aug 20 2020

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador of Armenia to Israel Armen Smbatyan gave an interview to Israel’s ‘’Globus’’ weekly about the relations between Armenia and Israel and development prospects.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Israel were established in 1992 but the process of opening embassies delayed for many years. In September 2019 Armenia announced about its intention to open an embassy in Israel. The President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian signed a decree on appointing Armen Smbatyan Ambassador to Israel on February 25, 2020.

Question – Good day, We are glad to welcome you in our country. We had been waiting for this moment for a long time. There are many similarities between the Armenians and Jews, aren’t there? We can say that the confirmation of the invisible ties between us came into sight on the diplomatic platform.

Armen Smbatyan – Let’s start from the indisputable fact that the interstate relations between Armenia and Israel are at the starting point. But this in no way means that Armenians and Jews have just started to know one another. Armenians worldwide know that it were the representatives of the Jewish people, diplomats, lawyers, writers, who first defined the concept of genocide and led the world to recognize its anti-civilizational and barbaric nature.

I want to particularly mention that prominent humanists and intellectuals, such as Morgenthau, Mandelstam, Lemkin and Werfel implemented their Godly activities for the benefit of the Armenian people with the morality and best ethical traditions of the Jewish religious leaders, who during all the periods of the history aspired to justice and welfare for all the peoples.

It seemed that during those years, when there were new threats and troubles over the future, when the Hewish state did not exist yet, like Israel is today with the mission to ensure the security and prosperity of the Jewish people, such unique people should have been concerned with issues of national importance. But they affirmed their devotion to universal humanitarian ideas, and found the force to be able to do for the Armenian people what I am sure the Armenian people will never forget, will be grateful to them at all times.

Question – It’s a pleasure to hear that given that few of today’s politicians are devoted to humanitarian ideas. So how will this be reflected at the inter-state level.

Armen Smbatyan – The harmonious and successful development of the State of Israel during the 7 decades is undoubtedly and important example for the Republic of Armenia. It goes without saying that inter-state relations will develop in line with the historical and practical atmosphere where the Armenian and Jewish people lived in the last 2 millennia, during which they were able to achieve high level of mutual respect, as well as fully positive interethnic, domestic, and just human relations. Moreover, our peoples have generated and developed the historical experience, which is quite different from each other, but at the same time there are many coincidences. I want to take the responsibility to express my confidence that today our peoples treat one another just that way and realize the importance of moving forward side by side.

Question – We know that you are not only an experienced politician and diplomat, but also a prominent artist. Do you believe that humanitarian and cultural programs can save the world like in the past and particularly our countries in this hard historical period?

Armen Smbatyan – I have asked myself that question as well. What can be the starting point for Armenia and Israel to move towards the future that first of all includes bilateral interstate relation? And I understood that I cans see no alternative to humanitarian interactions and programs that are a driving force in the 21st century for ensuring the launch of stable, irreversible, effective and multi-dimensional cooperation.

Ambassador Smbatyan noted in this context that the Armenian and Israeli people will salute the opening of statues, organization of concerts and exhibitions, scientific conferences and other cultural programs, which will serve as basis for the expansion of relations between the two countries at all levels, including political. ‘’It’s necessary to rule out misunderstanding between our peoples, which unfortunately exists in the 1st stage of far reaching plans and deeds’’, Smbatyan said.

Answering the question why in the past it was impossible to open an embassy in Israel, Armen Smbatyan said that there were many hardships in the past, which have now been overcome due to open and sincere dialogue. ‘’The ability to have constructive and open dialogue will give us the opportunity to overcome any issue if they rise’’, Ambassador Smbatyan said.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan



GIZ to help Armenian winemakers overcome COVID-19 challenge

Yeghisabet Arthur
Public Radio of Armenia
Aug 18 2020

<img width="800" height="450" src=”"https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/xred-wine.jpg.pagespeed.ic.YWqL3iEd5n.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/xred-wine.jpg.pagespeed.ic.YWqL3iEd5n.jpg 800w, https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/xred-wine-300×169.jpg.pagespeed.ic.ZX_P_ikkaU.jpg 300w, https://en.armradio.am/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/xred-wine-768×432.jpg.pagespeed.ic.W2oGEFcoWg.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"/>

The German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) continues to support Armenian winemakers in overcoming the challenges posed by COVID-19, the German Embassy in Armenia reports.

In particular, it will provide assistance to nine micro-enterprises not covered by any government support program and the Vayots Dzor Regional State College.

As a result, the winemakers will have their brand and label to produce and bottle wines in accordance with local and international standards and be represented in wine bars, shops and online platforms.

The funding program for the winemakers involved in the home industry is brought into being by the GIZ project “Development of the private sector and vocational training in the South Caucasus” in cooperation with the Fund for Viticulture and Wine Production of Armenia (@VWFA) and the UNDP.

Interference in scientific research on COVID-19 in Turkey

Yeghisabet Arthur 
The Lancet


Multiple authors
Aug. 15, 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as it
was later named, was first identified in Wuhan, China, on Jan 7,
2020.1
Over the following months, the virus rapidly spread throughout the
world. The disease, COVID-19, was characterised as a pandemic by WHO
on March 11, 2020. On the same day, the Turkish Ministry of Health
reported the first case in Turkey.2

According to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data
platform, which analyses the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2, the
disease reached Turkey mainly through Iran, with whom Turkey has
strong commercial and touristic ties, and Saudi Arabia, where
thousands of Turkish citizens travelled to visit the holy places until
mid-March, 2020.3
2 months after the first case, on May 11, 2020, the Turkish Ministry
of Health declared that the number of COVID-19 cases had reached 139
771, with 3841 deaths.2

However, the excess mortality for Istanbul alone during this period
was 4209 deaths. From 2016–19, the average number of deaths that
occurred in Istanbul was 23 232 for the period of March 11 to July 5.4
In 2020, this figure went up to 27 955 deaths. The excess mortality
found between March 11 and July 5, 2020, in Istanbul was 4723 deaths.4
There were at least 1952 unexplained deaths. However, the officially
reported COVID-19 mortality in the same period was 2771 deaths.5


Because no other serious mass health events were recorded at that
time, this discrepancy could be explained by non-compliance with WHO
codes from the International Classification of Diseases (tenth
edition).6
The official reporting system of Turkey only covered PCR-positive
cases. As of July 27, 2020, Turkey ranks fourth in the European region
for cases of COVID-19, with a total number of 225 173 patients and
5596 COVID-19 deaths,7
as reported by the Ministry of Health on the basis of PCR-positive cases alone.8

The establishment of a scientific board and full coverage of
treatment, and the encouragement of research by the Ministry of Health
and funding bodies such as the Scientific and Technological Research
Council of Turkey and the Health Institutes of Turkey were admirable
steps taken by the authorities in the beginning of the pandemic.
However, tension soon started building among the public sector and
medical and scientific organisations due to the Ministry of Health's
lack of transparency, its reluctance to share basic data, and its
refusal to collaborate. There were also concerns about the shortage of
personal protective equipment for health-care workers.8
The final stroke came with the control of COVID-19 research by the
Ministry of Health. Despite the great interest in research on COVID-19
in Turkey by researchers and physicians, the Turkish Ministry of
Health announced a mandatory application for permission for research
on COVID-19, before any application is made to ethics committees.9

This unprecedented decision was against the Constitution10
and laws regulating research activities in Turkey. It appears that
most submitted projects have been approved by the Ministry of Health,
but some projects, including a large, multicentre observational study
by the Turkish Thoracic Society, have been rejected without any clear
explanation.

The regular procedure for research activities in Turkey is well
defined. In keeping with the international regulations, researchers
must get approval from the independent ethics committee. The Turkish
Constitution clearly states that “everyone can learn science and art
freely and has the right to teach, explain, disseminate and research
in these areas”.10

The Science Academy, a member of the International Science Council,
has highlighted this fact.11

The Turkish Medical Association and other professional medical
organisations made a declaration through a press conference and urged
the Ministry of Health to cancel their decision.

In conclusion, we, as respiratory physicians and scientists, are
worried about the restrictions imposed by the Turkish Ministry of
Health on independent research about the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey,
and we sincerely hope that the Ministry of Health's decision will be
taken back in compliance with the Turkish Constitution.


We declare no competing interests. All authors are affiliated with the
Turkish Thoracic Society: HB is the President, NK is the Foreign
Relations Chair, and OE is the Head of the Working Group on Health
Policies, OK is the Co-Editor in Chief of the Turkish Thoracic
Journal, AS is a member of the Auditing Board, and ED is a member.

1-11. References [see article]

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Armenia Police: 10 citizens apprehended in front of parliament

Yeghisabet Arthur
News.am, Armenia
Aug 10 2020

20:06, 10.08.2020
                  

House in Armenian border village destroyed in Azerbaijani shelling to be built from scratch

Yeghisabet Arthur
Panorama, Armenia
Aug 6 2020

A house in the border village of Chinari of Armenia’s Tavush Province completely destroyed in Azerbaijani shelling in July will be built from scratch, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Another destroyed house in the village of Nerkin Karmiraghbyur, where no one lives, will be turned into a park, he added.

"We will buy the area from the owner and donate it to the village,” the prime minister said.

According to preliminary assessments, a total of 302,618,000 drams are needed to repair the damages inflicted to the border villages by the Azerbaijani shelling, of which 25,000,000 drams were already allocated by the Armenian government during one of its previous meetings, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan said.

According to the minister, the envisaged funds of 277, 618,000 drams will be directed to the restoration works in the villages.