Karabakh in Munich: Moscow Sees Progress in Armenian-Azeri Talks

Moscow deems the current talks to smooth relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are making progress, according to Russia’s top diplomat.

“We are trying to help Armenians and Azerbaijanis to reach a common approach,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

“It is obviously a very difficult issue, but things are moving… The understanding is growing and the number of issues that must be tackled by the top leaders is reducing and we are trying to help,” he added, according to media reports (Monsters and Critics.com).  Read more... (479 words)

Armenian Coalition, Opposition Divided Over Ombudsman

Representatives of Armenia’s main pro-government and opposition forces gave on Monday differing assessments of the state human rights ombudsman Armen Harutiunian’s four-year track record in office.

Kocharian publicly regretted his choice two years later, during the final weeks of his presidency, after Harutiunian criticized a harsh government crackdown on the Armenian opposition that followed the February 2008 presidential election. The ombudsman also questioned the ensuing trials of opposition figures arrested in connection with the March 2008 deadly clashes between opposition protesters and security forces that left ten people dead.  Read more... (376 words)

12th Trial of Hrant Dink Murder Suspects Held in Istanbul

20 suspects of Hrant Dink murder are being tried today, February 8 for a twelfth time in Istanbul.

It has been reported that an anonymous witness is expected to give statement in a sealed room.

The murdered Executive Editor of the Milliyet paper Abdi Ipekci’s daughter, Nukhet Ipekci is also in the court room to watch today’s trial, CNN Turk reported.

Hrant Dink (September 15, 1954 – January 19, 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist and editor-in-chief of Agos bilingual newspaper. Dink was best known for advocating Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human and minority rights in Turkey. Charged under the notorious article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, Dink stood a trial for insulting Turkishness. After numerous death threats, Hrant Dink was assassinated in Istanbul in January 2007, by Ogün Samast, a 17-year-old Turkish nationalist.  Read more... (128 words)

Turkey Slams U.S. Over Armenian Genocide Bill

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu denounced a U.S. congressional committee over the weekend for scheduling a vote on an Armenian genocide resolution, saying that its passage would seriously harm Turkey’s relations with both the United States and Armenia.

“Why is that draft included on the [committee] agenda now?” he said, according to a “Hurriyet” report cited by the Azerbaijani APA news agency on Monday. “Let them not expect from us the ratification of protocols by using April 24 as a tool for pressure.  Read more... (541 words)

PACE Delegates “outraged”: March 1, 2008 in Armenia Was Coup D’ etat According To Draft Resolution

Twenty delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), headed by Lindblad Göran (Sweden), submitted a resolution called “Involvement of the Army in the Events of March 2008 in Armenia.” The document will be put to vote during the March plenary session of PACE.

In the document consisting of eight terms, delegates criticize the report (on post-election clashes) of the ad hoc Committee of the Armenian Parliament on the March 1-2 events.

And according to the delegation, the reason for submitting the resolution is that significant information was left out of the report that would influence any characterization of the election aftermath uprising. (The ad hoc committee’s report was submitted to PACE Sept, 2009.)  Read more... (396 words)

Republic of Armenia Will Implement Biometric Passports and ID Cards in 2011

The current passports will not be valid in Armenia in 2011. They will be replaced by biometric passports and ID cards. Most probably, the social security cards will not be necessary, either.

The biometric passports and ID cards will contain more information about the citizens than the current documents. They will include a photo, the name, the surname, the middle name, the date of birth, the address, the prints of four fingers and the signature of the citizen.

The ID cards will be used inside Armenia, while the passports will be provided only when leaving the country, Head of the Passport and Visa Department of RA Police Norayr Muradkhanyan said. The new documents will be valid for ten years.  Read more... (137 words)

President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan Will Meet Queen Elizabeth II

 On February 9, President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan will leave for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on a three-day working visit.

The delegation comprises His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan and the Mayor of Yerevan, Gagik Beglaryan.

Within the framework of the working visit, President Sargsyan will have meetings with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, as well as Foreign Minister David Miliband and Prince Charles.

At Windsor Palace, the President of the Republic of Armenia will attend the opening of the “Yerevan-my love” project initiated by Prince Charles and ex-Prime Minister of Armenia Armen Sargsyan. The project envisages the renovation of four buildings of historical and architectural significance in central Yerevan. Serzh Sargsyan will also meet with representatives of the Armenian Diaspora in Great Britain.  Read more... (241 words)