Category: 2019

“I’ve heard about blood thirsty Turks” – Cher condemns Ankara’s operations in Syria

 15:28,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. American-Armenian famous pop-singer Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian) commented on Turkey’s ongoing military operations in Syria’s north-east.

“Sorry to keep harping about Kurds, but I’ve heard about “blood thirsty Turks who tortured and murdered almost 2 million Armenians since I was 11. Also heard it in Armenia. Turk soldiers are still blood thirsty. Now they will commit genocide on the Kurds with Trump’s blessing”, Cher said on Twitter.

On October 9 Turkish forces launched an offensive in Syria’s north-east.

The Armenian foreign ministry released a statement noting that Armenia condemns the military invasion by Turkey in north-east Syria, which would lead to deterioration of regional security, losses among civilians, mass displacement and eventually to a new humanitarian crisis.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Trump expected to appoint deputy secretary of state as Ambassador to Russia

 15:42,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS.US President Donald Trump will nominate US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan for the office of new Ambassador to Russia, TASS reports citing The Wall Street Journal.

According to an undisclosed source inside the US Department of State, Moscow gave its consent to accredit Sullivan to the post.

On October 3, 2019, Jon Huntsman completed his tenure as US Ambassador to Russia. He was appointed back in October 2017. In early August, he sent a resignation letter to Trump.

Armenian families transported from Syria’s Tell Abyad to Aleppo are in safe conditions

 16:26,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan held a telephone conversation just a while ago with Consul General in Aleppo Armen Sargsyan, the Office of the High Commissioner told Armenpress.

According to the latest reports, at the moment no active military operations are taking place in the city of Qamishli, the shops and markets operate, however, the schools of the city are still closed for security purposes.

“Our compatriots living in Qamishli do not yet see a need to leave their settlements, but if there are people who will decide to come to Armenia, the state is ready to welcome them. The Armenian families who have been transported from Tell Abyad to Aleppo are in safe conditions. They will meet today with the Consul General during which most probably Chief Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan will hold a phone talk with them”, the Office said.

On October 9 Turkish forces launched an offensive in Syria’s north-east.

The Armenian foreign ministry released a statement noting that Armenia condemns the military invasion by Turkey in north-east Syria, which would lead to deterioration of regional security, losses among civilians, mass displacement and eventually to a new humanitarian crisis.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

FM Mayilian presents achievements and challenges in state-building process in Artsakh

 17:01,

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh Masis Mayilian on October 11 delivered a speech on “The International Recognition of the Republic of Artsakh as a Guarantee of Stability and Peace in the Region” at the Friends of Artsakh Forum “Cooperation for the sake of Justice and Peace” taking place in Stepanakert, the Artsakh MFA told Armenpress.

In his speech the Foreign Minister presented the achievements and challenges in the state-building process in Artsakh, as well as the prospects for addressing the existing problems and establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus region. In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in particular, noted that the proclamation of the Republic of Artsakh and the adoption of the Declaration of state independence were in full compliance with international law and the then applicable national legislation. Artsakh had the right to establish an independent state by the realization of its right to self-determination and in accordance with the right to secession as a means of protection in the face of systematic discrimination, mass violations of human rights, and ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan.

Masis Mayilian noted that for a long time an opinion dominated that the peace agreement with Azerbaijan would pave the way for the international recognition of Artsakh. However, from the very beginning, the peace process faced an insurmountable obstacle – the unwillingness of Azerbaijan to abandon the logic of confrontation, which led to the need to redouble efforts aimed at the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh.

Masis Mayilian expressed confidence that in the existing situation, the international recognition of Artsakh would ensure the irreversibility of the peace process and would serve as an impetus for the final settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict through negotiations. Moreover, the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh will allow to apply soft power i.e. political and diplomatic instruments along with hard power and military measures used, to ensure the security.

The Foreign Minister also noted the importance of recognition of Artsakh from the point of the protection of human rights and stressed that the need to reduce the impact of the conflict on the daily life of the citizens of Artsakh is a requirement of the time. In this context, Masis Mayilian underlined that the people of Artsakh should not be infringed in their rights or limited in realizing their potential, only because they live in an unrecognized state.

In his speech, the Foreign Minister expressed gratitude to the Friends of Artsakh for supporting the people of the Republic in their quest for freedom and justice and for promoting the development of Artsakh’s international relations. Masis Mayilian noted that the Forum would be a signal to the international community about the inadmissibility of isolating Artsakh and depriving its citizens of the benefits of international cooperation.

Pashinyan meets Mirziyoyev in first "historic" official meeting between Armenian and Uzbek leaders

 17:23,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. A meeting between Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has become the first ever official meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Uzbekistan in history. 

The two leaders held an official meeting today in Turkmenistan within the framework of the CIS summit.

 “Today we had a historic meeting with Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. As strange as it might seem the leaders of Armenia and Uzbekistan had never had an official meeting, and this is the first such meeting. President Mirziyoyev invited me to visit Tashkent on an official visit. And I invited him to visit Yerevan on an official visit,” Pashinyan said on Facebook.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Pashinyan gifts Putin “Peace to Karabakh” book by V. Kazimirov

 17:24,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gifted Vladimir Kazimirov’s 2009 book called “Peace to Karabakh” to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the CIS summit in Turkmenistan on October 11.

Kazimirov is a retired Russian diplomat who served as Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from 1994 to 1996.

The book contains official documents and the author’s analytical materials regarding the NK conflict settlement.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 11-10-19

 17:37,

YEREVAN, 11 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 11 October, USD exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 476.73 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.44 drams to 525.36 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.06 drams to 7.42 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 11.82 drams to 596.06 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 189.37 drams to 22911.13 drams. Silver price down by 0.44 drams to 272.06 drams. Platinum price up by 123.47 drams to 13656.56 drams.

Inaugural session of Armenia-Netherlands parliamentary friendship group held in the Hague

 18:22,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The inaugural session of the Armenia-Netherlands parliamentary friendship group has taken place on October 11 in the Hague during Speaker of Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan’s official visit to the country.

The friendship circle will be co-chaired by Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan and Dutch MP Joël Voordewind, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands.

The session was attended by Dutch lawmakers, representatives of the Armenian community and cultural and educational figures.

The parties exchanged ideas over deepening of political, economic, educational and cultural ties between Armenia and the Netherlands, the Armenian parliament's press service said in a news release. 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

United States urges Turkey to cease offensive in Syria

 18:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The United States has urged Turkey to cease the military offensive in north-eastern Syria, TASS reported citing the Pentagon’s spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman.

According to Jonathan Hoffman the US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had a phone conversation with Turkey’s Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar.

“During the conversation Secretary Esper made a resolute call upon Turkey to stop the operations in north-eastern Syria,” Hoffman told reporters.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

President Sahakyan, François Rochebloine discuss Artsakh-France relations

 18:34,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. (Press Release, Office of President of Artsakh) On 11 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received former deputy of the French National Assembly, member of the France-Artsakh Friendship Circle François Rochebloine.

A range of issues on the Artsakh-France relations were discussed during the meeting.