Category: 2020

ArmInfo. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan held a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus Nikos Khristodulidis.  As the Armenian Foreign Ministry press service told ArmInfo, the  interlocutors discussed a number of issues, both bilateral and the  Armenia-Cyprus-Greece format, exchanged views on preparatory work for  the Armenia-Cyprus-Greece summit to be held in Yerevan.

In the context of the development of the situation in the Eastern  Mediterranean, the Armenian Foreign Minister expressed support and  solidarity to the Cyprus side. The parties emphasized the importance  of international cooperation in ensuring and strengthening regional  security and stability.

It should be noted that Turkey sent troops to Libya to support the  side of the civil war, with which it drew up memoranda on the  division of maritime borders. According to these documents, Turkey  and Libya declare that a significant part of the exclusive economic  zone of Greece belongs to Turkey. Based on this memorandum, Turkey  declared its rights to the Eastern Mediterranean and sent a drilling  vessel to the southern shelf of Cyprus. As noted, the right to drill  in this area has already been granted by Cyprus to the foreign oil  and gas companies Eni and Total.

Earlier, the EU has already imposed sanctions on Turkey for  exploration in disputed waters off the coast of Cyprus, which is a  member of the community. Ankara last year entered into an agreement  on the division of the sea space in the Eastern Mediterranean with  the Libyan Government of National Accord (PNC), led by Faiz Sarraj.  Then Ankara stepped up assistance to its supporting forces,  announcing the transfer of its military to Libya.

A number of states claim to develop hydrocarbon deposits in the  Eastern Mediterranean, including Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Egypt,  which, in particular, undermines attempts to reach an agreement on a  political settlement in Libya. So, Athens, responding to Ankara's  attempts to agree on the division of the sea space with the PNS,  became close to Sarraj's main adversary – Field Marshal Khalifa  Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army.

This problem was previously commented by TASS by the Permanent  Representative of Russia to the EU Vladimir Chizhov, who worked for a  long time in Greece and Cyprus, and in 1997-2000 he held the post of  special representative of the Russian Federation on the Cyprus  settlement issue. According to him, the problem of field development  in the region is exacerbated not only by Turkey's occupation of  Northern Cyprus, but also by the lack of a clear understanding of the  issue of the continental shelf of the islands in international  maritime law. This creates a legal vacuum in which each side chooses  its own interpretation, the Russian diplomat noted.

Following a disappointing result in Tel Aviv, Armenia confirmed their participation back in October. This was followed shortly by the announcement of the return of Depi Evratesil. Besides these, AMPTV have been rather quiet in the run-up to Rotterdam. Now, further details of the national selection have been revealed by the broadcaster.

In a TV news broadcast on Tuesday evening, AMPTV announced that Depi Evratesil – the Armenian national final for Rotterdam – will take place on February 15th. Although they didn’t reveal the full lists of finalists, footage of the supposed jury shortlisting sheet was shown briefly. Over the past few days, a jury has been assessing all of the submitted songs. The sheet suggests that finalists include Miriam Baghdassarian (The Voice Canada 2018) and Athena Manoukian, who expressed her interest in competing at the contest last year.

Unlike the 2018 edition, it appears that this will only be a one-shot national final. This means that rather than a semi-final structure, all of the songs will be performed for the first time on the night of the final, with the winner being selected from the full line-up.

Armenia debuted at the contest back in 2006 with “Without Your Love” by André. They were the first Caucasus nation to compete at the contest, followed by Georgia (2007) and Azerbaijan (2008). They started strong, achieving five consecutive top 10 finishes between 2006 and 2010. Although intending to participate in 2012, they eventually withdrew due to security concerns around the contest being hosted in neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Armenia has yet to win the contest despite a strong history of results. To date, their best result has been two 4th place finishes. The first was achieved by Sirusho’s “Qélé, Qélé” in 2008, followed by Aram MP3’s “Not Alone” in 2014. However, the country has struggled to retain their strong record in recent years. They have now failed to reach the final on three occasions (2011, 2018 and 2019).

In 2019, Armenia was represented by Srbuk with the song “Walking Out”, finishing 16th in the semi final with 49 points. This is now the country’s worst result at the contest to date. Can Armenia return to its former glory? We hope so!

“Karine”, the first Armenian musical film directed by Arman Manaryan, was screened at London’s Cine Lumiere on the sidelines of British Film Institute’s Musicals! Season on 21 January.

The film was presented by London-based Kino Klassika Foundation, which coordinates the Soviet, Russian and Transcaucasian film seasons, the National Cinema Center of Armenia reported.

Based on an operetta by Tigran Chukhajan, “Karine” (1969) includes everything an operetta is supposed to have: two couples in love, dressing up, kidnapping, amorous misunderstandings and crooked villains brought to account, the foundation’s official website said.

Yet despite the absurdity of the plot and the staid production design, it is the gorgeously voiced vocals and lead performances, which make this as enchanting to watch as any Italian operetta.  Performed in Armenian and released shortly after the 1965 demonstrations in Yerevan, it is important to see this film, charming as it is, as a reclamation also of Armenian identity. 

Arman Manaryan was a merited Iranian-born Armenian film director. He was the brother of actor Yervand Manaryan. He repatriated to Soviet Armenia in 1946 and graduated from the Yerevan State Conservatory in 1952 and from the Moscow Institute of Cinematography in 1962. Since then he worked with Armenfilm. He passed away in 2016, aged 86. 

 17:04,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenian foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan thinks that the absence of relations with Turkey today is a challenge for Armenia.

During a Q&A session in the Parliament in response to the question that according to the international law Turkey should not hinder Armenia’s access to the sea, the FM said: “This is a very serious issue in our foreign policy agenda. There is a special group of landlocked countries within the UN, and we are working also within this framework. Your question concretely relates to the Armenia-Turkey relations, and the absence of these relations today is a challenge for Armenia in broad terms, for Armenia’s security. We consider this issue as one of the most serious challenges of the national security. We need a more detailed calculation on how we should continue this process in the legal field”, the minister said.

 18:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Armenia plans to postpone its decision on mandatory slaughterhouse butchering until July 1, but the decision will remain in force for Yerevan’s supermarkets and public catering places, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during Cabinet-parliament Q&A session.

PM Pashinyan explained that the decision is for making better regulations, particularly for solving the issue of availability of the slaughterhouses, but at the same time he emphasized that after July 1 the decision will fully enter into force. “Armenia must be guided by the highest modern standards”, he said.

Following the January 15 decision of the Government on mandatory slaughterhouse butchering, farmers started protesting, complaining that there are no sufficient conditions for that.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 16:49,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Healthcare Minister of Armenia Arsen Torosyan doesn’t see a need to close the border or restrict the passenger flow to prevent the possible penetration of a new coronavirus detected in China.

“We are deeply aware of the cases recorded in China. As of this moment I can state that intensive discussions and research are underway at an international level. The discussion at a WHO special regime has been completed hours ago during which it was decided how the world is going to tackle this new challenge. At 22:00 a special statement will be released. In our part I can state that passengers arriving in Armenia are being screened for fever. No cases were detected as of now. There is no need yet to close the borders or restrict the passenger flows”, the minister said during a Q&A session in Parliament.

The minister urged to wait for the official statements of the ministry.

The death toll in the outbreak of a new coronavirus 2019-nCoV in China has reached nine.

Earlier reports said that the number of confirmed cases in 14 Chinese regions reached 324, and six people have died from the new coronavirus.

On December 31, the Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a new type of pneumonia in the city of Wuhan in central China. On January 7, Chinese specialists determined the virus behind the infection — coronavirus 2019-nCoV. Doctors say that the symptoms of the new coronavirus include running nose, cough, sore throat and chest tightness. Migraines and fever are also possible, and they can last for several days. The risk group includes people with a compromised immune system, such as seniors and children. They present with symptoms similar to those of penumonia and bronchitis.

 Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan