Armenia sacks Permanent Representative to CSTO Davit Virabyan
11:03,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has recalled Davit Virabyan from the position of Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative of Armenia to the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
According to Sarkissian’s Office the recalling was made upon the recommendation of caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
Armenia appoints new Permanent Representative at Collective Security Treaty Organization
11:04,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. At the recommendation of caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian has appointed Victor Biyagov to serve as the new Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative of Armenia to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – replacing Davit Virabyan, who was sacked earlier today, Sarkissian's Office said.
Biyagov earlier served as head of the foreign relations department of the National Assembly (parliament) of Armenia.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
In the last 6th round of the UEFA League of Nations qualifiers, the Armenian national team played a draw with the team of Liechtenstein and finished its performances in the League of Nations.
Our team scored 10 points and took the 2nd place in its group, leaving behind Macedonia with 5 points. Our team not only moved to a higher C League, but also gained the right to participate in the final tournament, where a ticket to Euro 2020 will be played.
On November 20, at 08:00, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia informs that the roads of the Republic of Armenia are mainly passable.
Drivers are advised to travel only through the winter tires.
According to information received from the Georgian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles.
According to information received from the General Department of the North Ossetian Republic of Russia, there are cars accumulated on the Russian side.
A new wave of hysteria has risen in Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the recent visit of Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan to France to attend annual Telethon and Phonathon in the country.
Sahakyan’s meetings held in Paris have angered Baku, which in turn, has sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry over the visit.
In a statement released on 17 November, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, “France's constant double standards approach makes Azerbaijan reconsider its ties with that country.”
In a separate statement, Baku promised to also present a note of protest to the US for issuing a visa to the Artsakh leader.
Panorama.am correspondent has talked to David Babayan, a spokesman for the Artsakh president, over the possible reasons behind such a conduct of Azerbaijan.
The official stressed this is Azerbaijan’s yet another failed attempt to isolate Artsakh from the international community.
“Azerbaijan is apparently trying to impede any steps and policies of Artsakh aimed at establishing cooperation with different countries. The country spends huge sums – billions of dollars – on it, but all in vain,” Babayan said, meantime stressing Armenia shouldn’t be relieved and not take Baku’s steps seriously.
“But this is the reality: spending huge sums, they fail to achieve a desired end. It irritates Azerbaijan, causing uproar in the country,” he stressed.
The spokesman strongly believes the attempts of the adversary to isolate Artsakh are continuous, and Azerbaijan will not abandon its policy.
“We should clearly realize this and never give up, thinking that Azerbaijan has changed its policy line or ultimate goal. For better or worse, no one shall take deterrent measures instead of us. First of all, we must continue strengthening our trinity – the unity of Mother Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora,” he said, stressing the need to carry out works inside the country and prepare best professionals to work on international platforms.
“We have that potential, we have talented and patriotic diplomats, including within various structures of the Diaspora,” the Artsakh official said.
Babayan stressed despite all the anti-Armenian activities of Azerbaijan, Artsakh doesn’t feel isolated either in France or US thanks to the great support of Armenia and the Diaspora.
“However, the adversary works in multiple channels. Let’s take the example of France: according to reliable sources, Azerbaijan together with Turkey constantly threatens the leaders of those French sister cities which have cooperation agreements with Artsakh. We know about it for sure. In fact, they have declared jihads our friends who are either MPs or social and political figures in different cities,” he said.
“Azerbaijan runs the same policy also in the US, that is why we must preserve the trinity and be united,” the spokesman stressed.
Summing up, he noted Armenia shouldn’t follow the aggressive workstyle of Azerbaijan which is agreed with the fact that Baku has no legal, political or moral truth on its side. According to him, this is the reason why Azerbaijan puts the emphasis on its interests, bribery and terrorism.
“They stay focused on money, while we – on values,” he said.
Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish parliament representing the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) reflected on the Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey during the budgetary debates of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Addressing the parliament session, the lawmaker stressed that the appropriated heritage is misrepresented in the country, noting that those in Turkey fail to admit the fact that the architect of Dolmabahçe Palace in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul was an Armenian, Ermenihaber reports.
“Why don’t you say that Dolmabahçe Palace belongs to us, Akhtamar belongs to us … During the college years, when we visited Dolmabahçe, the guide said that the palace was built by Italian architect Baliani. I believed, but when I returned to college I found out that Dolmabahçe was built by Armenian architect Garabed Balyan,” Paylan was quoted as saying.
“Can you imagine? There is a perception that an Italian architect is preferable to an Armenian one. Many sites in Istanbul bear the marks of the famous Balyan family. Why do you deny this? Why don’t you say that Sultanahmet, Dolmabahçe Palace and Akhtamar are ours?” he asked.
The Balyan family was a prominent Ottoman Armenian family of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynasty during the 18th and 19th centuries. For five generations, they designed and constructed numerous major buildings in the Ottoman Empire, including palaces, mansions, konaks, kiosks, yalis, mosques, churches, and various public buildings, mostly in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
The nine well-known members of the family served six sultans in the course of almost a century and played an important role in the westernization of Ottoman architecture during the Tanzimat period.
YEREVAN, November 21. /ARKA/. China is ready to enhance cooperation with Armenia in the context of joint promotion of the Silk Road project, China’s Ambassador to Armenia Tian Erlong told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of an international conference in Yerevan, marking the 40th anniversary of China’s policy of reforms and opening, launched in 1978 by China’s then Communist leader Deng Xiaoping.
He said China looks at Armenia as a friendly country in the region backed by historical ties. According to the ambassador, now the relations between the two countries are very good and the cooperation potential is very large and therefore, in the context of joint promotion of the Silk Road project, Beijing sees great opportunities for cooperation with Armenia, for example, in the construction sector, infrastructure improvements, IT and high technology.
He said the revival of the Silk Road project implies, first of all, establishment of mutual interconnection between Europe and Asia to enhance integration trends. The ambassador noted also that the priority sectors of cooperation are transport, energy and telecommunications.
"Armenia is a landlocked country. This is why this is an urgent issue. China is now the country with the largest scale of infrastructure construction, and we can offer our assistance," Erlong said.
The ambassador stressed that China is the second largest economy in the world and the number one trading partner for more than 130 countries.
The conference, organized by the Chinese Embassy in Armenia and the Noravank Research Foundation, was attended by members of the government, the parliament, representatives of some embassies, as well as by experts from Armenia and other countries. –0–
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu considers the purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to be a done deal that cannot be canceled, TASS reports, citing Reuters.
"The current deal [purchase of Russian S-400 Triumf missile systems] is a done deal, I cannot cancel it," Reuters quoted Cavusoglu as saying after a meeting with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo.
The minister added that Ankara needs further defense procurement from its allies. "But I need more … and I prefer to buy from my allies," he said.
On November 14, the Anadolu news agency reported with reference to a high-ranked source in Washington that the US suggests that the Russian S-400 missile systems purchased by Turkey pose a threat to the F-35 fighter jets, which is why the United States could impose sanctions against Ankara. According to the source, Russian systems are problematic from the viewpoint of integration into the NATO systems.