Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

 

 

 

The Vienna meeting created new realities in international relations, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Arman Navasardyan told reporters today. According to him, Russia has refused from  from its dominant positions in the Karabakh issue, which has, in turn, led to intensified efforts on the part of the other Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The Ambassador said “the three Co-Chairs seem to have a consensus on the Karabakh issue, and that’s good.” “The utmost objective at this point is to ensure the return of Nagorno Karabakh to the negotiating table,” he said.

Arman Navasardyan is “cautiously optimistic” about the results of the Vienna meeting. “Negotiations are better than war in any event. But are we sure the war will stop? I’m not confident Azerbaijan will not continue the military actions,” he said.

According to the Ambassador, the Armenian side should change its position on the lost territories. “Conceding a patch of land is a loss from all perspectives – psychological, physical and military.”

He does not rule out that the circumstances may force Armenia change the provisions of its military doctrine, shifting from a defensive to more offensive position.

“We deal with a country with a third country [Turkey] at its back, which pursues the policy of Armenocide, a policy of exterminating Armenians. This is an expression of neo-fascism on the state level,” he said.

Reporters of “Radiolur” news program of Public Radio of Armenia present a photo report from Mataghis. Unlike , the village of Mataghis is returning to normal life. People are returning to their homes.

Both settlements came under heavy shelling in early April, when Azerbaijan unleashed large-scale military actions against Artsakh.

Qatar Airways commences four-times weekly non-stop flights between Doha and Yerevan, thus connecting the Armenian capital to 150 destinations around the world. The airline promises high-quality services and a flexible price policy.

Qatar Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, Dr. Hugh Dunleavy told reporters in Yerevan they hope to operate everyday flights in the near future.

Passengers flying from Yerevan and onwards to any of Qatar Airways more than 150 destinations will enjoy a quick and convenient transfer at Hamad International Airport, the newest airport hub in the world.

The airline will fly the A320 aircraft direct to and from Yerevan on the four-weekly schedule, featuring a two-class cabin configuration comprising of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 Economy Class seats.

Services will depart the Qatari capital every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 2025 and arrives in Yerevan at 0040. The return flights will then leave the Armenian capital every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 0325 and arrive back in Doha at 0530.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate has delivered close to 13 tons of medicines and medical supplies to Artsakh. The scope and specifics of the humanitarian-aid package were determined during a series of recent meetings in Stepanakert between Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan; Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan; Health Minister Karine Atayan; Bedros Terzian, chairman of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate; and Ara Vardanyan, the fund’s executive director.

Since early April, the fund’s French affiliate has raised 240,000 Euros to provide Artsakh with emergency relief, $100,000 of which was used for the humanitarian shipment. Also joining the relief effort was the fund’s Brazilian affiliate, which contributed $10,000 out of the $40,000 it has recently raised for assistance to Artsakh. Within the framework of the “Help Artsakh” initiative, the French-Armenian community has also donated two ambulances, with a total value of $25,000, to Artsakh’s Health Ministry, in early May.

“Our next step will be to help rebuild infrastructures in Artsakh that were damaged or destroyed as a result of the Azeri attack in early April,” Terzian said.

Ever since the establishment of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in 1992, its French affiliate has sponsored a wide range of development projects in Armenia and Artsakh, particularly in the spheres of healthcare, education, and water infrastructures. Major projects made possible by French-Armenian support include the Zangezur Regional Cardiology Center, in Goris, Armenia; the Oncology Center of Stepanakert, currently under construction; and Shushi’s Yeznik Mozian Vocational School, which has been preparing a new generation of construction professionals since opening its doors in 2015. The fund’s French affiliate has also had an instrumental role in the proliferation of multifunctional community centers across Artsakh. In the past two years, the affiliate has sponsored the construction of such community centers in the villages of Aknaghbyur, Karmir Shuka, Mushkapat, Taghavard, Sargsashen, Kochoghut, Getavan, Patara, and Kyuratagh.

The Azerbaijani side kept violating the agreement on ceasefire all along the line of contact with Karabakh forces last night, the NKR Defense Ministry informs.

The rival used artillery weapons of various caliber, also as 60, 82 and 120 mm mortars, RPG-7, HHN-9  and HAN-17 grenade launchers.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the situation at the frontline and confidently continue with their military duty.

Russia considers that military contacts between Baku and Yerevan are possible, there is no talk about a high-level summit, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich has said, TASS reports.

“I have not heard anything about preparations for such a meeting. The recent escalation has considerably delayed the dialogue between the parties,” he said.

“Nevertheless, it became possible to cease hostilities thanks to Russian mediation. Most likely, there will be contacts between the military leaderships.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs may come forth with a report on the situation in Karabakh, Lukashevich declared.

“The Co-Chairs met with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on April 20 and briefed on the situation. They visited the region April 6-9 and are expected to present a report on future steps in Vienna,” Lukashevich said.

Armenia, My Love, a powerful film that commemorates the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide made its world premiere at the Laemmle Theater in Pasadena on Thursday, April 14. The premier kicked off with a roar as more than 20 members of the Armenian Brigade Motorcycle Club drove up on their motorcycles with Armenian flags, reports.

The film played for a sold out audience and will play a limited release in Pasadena and North Hollywood. As Director, Diana Angelson said earlier, “Hopefully [the film] will travel the world and it will teach many people kindness.”

Armenia, My Love begins its limited Los Angeles area theatrical on Friday April 15, 2016 at the Laemmle Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood and the MGN 5 Star Cinema.

 

Lusine Avanesyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Stepanakert

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs discussed with the Karabakh authorities the steps towards the stabilization of the current situation, Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group said after talks with the political and military leadership of Nagorno Karabakh

He said they discussed the issue in Baku yesterday. “We’ll later leave for Yerevan, where we will meet with the President, the Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister,” Popov said.

Before arriving in Yerevan, the Minsk Group Co-Chairs will meet with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Co-Chairs did not respond to any questions and said they would sum up the results of the meeting at a press conference in Yerevan on April 9.

Armenian-Turkish-Belgian ensemble Adana is the winner of Octaves de la Musique 2016 award in the world music category, informs.

The band aims to reconcile Armenian and Turkish cultures and is led by Armenian-Belgian Vardan Hovanissian (duduk) and Turkish-Belgian Emre Gültekin (saz, vocals). The rest of the ensemble includes Belgian musicians Joris Vanvinckenroye on double bass and Simon Leleux on percussion.

Adana recently performed at Babel Med Music world music showcase in Marseilles, receiving a standing ovation from the audience. People stood up at the end of the showcase to give them an ovation. An exceptional performance that shows the interest in this project reconciling Armenian and Turkish cultures.

Octaves de la Musique are the awards presented every year to artists living in Belgium (Wallonia-Brussels). They are handed out by professionals (booking agents, artist managers, record labels, artists, institutions).

Moscow cannot accept accusations of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev who said some co-chairmen of the Minsk group were “contributing to freezing the conflict by their destructive activity,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, TASS reports.