Category: 2021

Turkish and Armenian air companies have applied for permission for charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has stated. In his words, the transport ministry will evaluate the applications and there would be more information in the coming days about which airlines could fly. 

“Applications of airlines are considered by the Ministry of Transport and the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Turkey. In principle, the attitude of the Turkish side to the issue is positive. In the coming days, it will be determined which of the companies will be able to fly on this route, ”Anadolu agency quoted him as saying.

To remind, on Monday, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara and Yerevan would appoint special representatives to normalize relations in the near future and start charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan. 

During the Brussels meeting on Wednesday, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders reaffirmed the decision and agreement on the construction of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway, Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, the premier recalled that the agreement was reached as a result of the discussions of the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia trilateral working group on the opening of regional communications, which were co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers of the three countries.

He noted that the agreement was recorded on November 26 during the Sochi meeting mediated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting in Brussels, mediated by President of the European Council Charles Michel, all this was recorded, he added.

“The railway will operate in accordance with the internationally accepted border and customs rules, under the principle of reciprocity and under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the respective countries. Armenia will get access to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation via this railway. Azerbaijan will get a railway connection with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic,” Pashinyan noted.

“If we manage to start a certain and effective dialogue with Turkey, if we manage to achieve the opening of the border and communications, this program can get a much larger scale. That is, in fact, the railway we are talking about exists from Yeraskh to Gyumri, you know that there is also a railway from Gyumri to Kars. But I say all this because we have to start the construction of the railway, of course, before starting the construction there is a lot of work to be done, to design, to announce tenders, to reach agreements. Of course, part of that work has already been done, but now we have to solve this problem with practical, everyday work,” he said, adding a consultation will be held in a narrower format in the coming days to further specify their ideas, including the timetable and the roadmap.

“Of course, our intention and desire is to have that railway as soon as possible. I do not want to overestimate the significance of this agreement and project, but on the other hand, I do not want to underestimate it. This is an important agreement, which, of course, I hope we will properly implement, which will significantly change the economic, investment, of course, also the political and security environment of the region. And we must also focus on solving this problem in the near future,” Pashinyan said.

Also, he said an agreement has been reached with the Azerbaijani president to continue the contacts, trying to formulate common views and approaches to the issues on the agenda.

Armenian weightlifter Simon Martirosyan on Thursday won a bronze medal at the 2021 World Weightlifting Championships being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The athlete finished third in the men’s 109 kg weightlifting category with a combined total of 416 kg.

In the snatch event, Martirosyan lifted 188 kg, winning a small silver medal.

In the clean and jerk, the Armenian athlete lifted 228 kg, but he could not lift 237 kg twice.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is attempting to intimidate Armenian captives using the statements of Nikol Pashinyan, MP Taguhi Tovmasyan from the opposition With Honor faction told reporters on Thursday.

"We have repeatedly warned of the enemy country’s possible use of the statements and conduct of the Armenian authorities, we have told them that their words could be used by a neighboring country against Armenia, including in international instances," the deputy said.

Her comments came after Aliyev pointed to the arrests of some Armenian prisoners of war after their repatriation.

"Some of the detainees were arrested in Armenia after we returned them. This is a very serious signal to us, to this people and their relatives. We returned them to Armenia, where they were placed under arrest. Probably, they will torture them,” Aliyev said in an interview to El País on Wednesday.

Taguhi Tovmasyan stated Aliyev is now trying to intimidate Armenian prisoners using Pashinyan's statements.

"In essence, Aliyev is saying that if he releases the captives, they will be arrested and tortured here. This is the worst thing that could happen. I don't know what the current authorities have to do to fix this mistake,” the lawmaker said.

She accused the Armenian government of inaction. The MP stated under the Constitution, Armenia must protect the rights of all its citizens, regardless of where they are and under what circumstances they are captured.

“Armenia must not leave its citizens to the mercy of fate. Now it turns out that the Armenian authorities have renounced the citizens of the Republic of Armenia," Tovmasyan underscored.

The opposition deputy denounced the move as “absurd”, stating it is a vivid manifestation of “inaction, negligence and irresponsibility”.

"This can be used against Armenia indefinitely," she said.

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan questioned the legality of the arrest of four Armenian soldiers who returned from Azerbaijani captivity, stating the arrest grounds are unconvincing.

In a public post on Facebook on Thursday, he said it is about the soldiers who were taken prisoner after the Azerbaijani military attack on Armenia on November 14 and 16 and then were returned.

Tatoyan noted that the Human Rights Defender's Office will study the circumstances of the soldiers' captivity, the actions ascribed to them and then submit the results in writing to the law enforcement agency dealing with the case.

In his words, statements by a number of senior members of the executive and legislative bodies of Armenia, which are not related to criminal proceedings and violate the presumption of innocence of detained soldiers.

"The statements were made before the servicemen returned from Azerbaijani captivity and were biased. They violate human rights and are illegal. Moreover, they were widely disseminated in Armenian and international media," Tatoyan wrote.

He stressed that these public statements have had an impact on the investigative body.

Tatoyan noted that there is abundant evidence of the Azerbaijani military’s crimes against Armenian captives. Therefore, the human rights defender will demand a written explanation as to what measures have been taken by the investigative body to reveal violations of the rights of servicemen, identify the perpetrators and hold them to account.

“This this statement does not call into question the launch of criminal cases or criminal prosecutions under the articles in question. It is about the legality of the imprisonment of four servicemen who returned from captivity,” the ombudsman said.

In the recent local elections held in Vanadzor community, the 'Bright Armenia' party came the sixth and has now appealed to the Court, disputing the election results, Pastinfo news agency reports.

It is recalled that "Mamikon Aslanyan" bloc has secured 38.70% of the vote, followed by ruling Civil Contract party (25,05%), HASK (14,53%), Homeland party (4,48%) and the "Country of Living" party (4,29%). 

The vote recount didn't record any significant changes – not to consider the fact that the votes of the Civil Contract party decreased by one and those of "Mamikon Aslanyan" bloc increased by four.  

"To put this in other words, the opposition has a real chance to form the power in Vanadzor led by Mamikon Aslanyan – an unfavorable scenario for Civil Contract which has been trying to prevent the formation of any alliances among opposition forces. It is in this context that "Bright Armenia" party, rejected by Vanadzor residents in the elections, has turned to the Court to dispute the election results which automatically puts off the formation of the new power in the city and offers time to the ruling force to continue its repressions," the source wrote. 

French President Emmanuel Macron shared on Facebook a photo of Wednesday’s trilateral meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, captioning it in French, Armenian and Azerbaijani.

"Armenia, Azerbaijan, together," Macron wrote on Thursday.

Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels on Wednesday for the second time in two days at the initiative of the French president.

“We will never abandon the Armenians,” Macron said in a tweet after the meeting. “We will always seek solutions for a lasting peace. I call for this holiday season to be a period of humanitarian progress and appeasement.”