Clerics From Armenia To Attend Church Mass In Turkey

Two high-level representatives of Catholicos Garegin II will attend a landmark religious ceremony to be held in a 10th century Armenian church in southeastern Turkey next month, the Armenian Apostolic Church said on Monday.

Congressman Steve Israel Recommits Support To Issues of Importance To Armenian-Americans

Congressman Steve Israel recommitted his support to issues of importance to Armenian-Americans at a district meeting in Hauppauqe, N.Y. organized by the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region. Constituents attending the meeting were ANCA activists Narek Boudakian, Neshan Koulian, and Lorig Hamparian. They were joined by ANCA Eastern Region executive director Garo Manjikian.

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Armenian-American Long Islanders,” Rep. Israel said. “We talked about a number of important issues including aid to Armenia, Azerbaijan’s June 18th attack on Mardarkert, and the need to recognize the Armenian Genocide. These are important and complex issues and I valued the input from this meeting.”  Read more... (205 words)

Russia Won’t Help Armenia if a New War is Unleashed: Melik-Shahnazaryan

If Russia promises it will ensure the security of Armenia’s borders, then the sale of Russian C-300 anti-missile defense complexes to Azerbaijan might well be considered not as much alarming as it is, head of Mitq analytical center Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan said at a press conference today.

“Should Russia assume [the responsibility] of defending Armenia’s borders, then strategically the sale of C-300 to Azerbaijan can be considered not alarming for Armenia that much,” said he, referring to Moscow’s recent move to extend the duration of the contracts of the Russian military bases in Armenia.

According to him, it does not matter what kind of weapons Russia sells to the countries in the region as by arming both sides – in this case Armenia and Azerbaijan – with various weapons, it seems to make it possible to keep any potential conflict under control.  Read more... (278 words)

Armenian Army Officers Fired, Demoted Over Shootings

Eight officers have been dismissed and more than a dozen others demoted because of the latest non-combat shootings in the Armenian army that left seven servicemen dead, the Defense Ministry announced over the weekend.
Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian berated them at an emergency meeting of senior ministry officials and the top army brass that discussed ways of preventing such incidents in the future.

“For you, your officer’s dignity means nothing,” Ohanian raged at military commanders ousted from the Armed Forces. “I think that you have no place in our ranks anymore. Enough is enough,” he said in remarks broadcast by Armenian Public Television late on Friday.  Read more... (520 words)

Nancy Pelosi: Failure To Acknowledge The Armenian Genocide Undermines Moral Authority of U.S.

Members and supporters of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region met with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi this week during a fundraiser hosted in the City of Burbank, where they pressed the Speaker for a floor vote on House Resolution 252-the Armenian Genocide Resolution – and stressed that the House Democratic Leadership is expected to advance this important human rights legislation.

During the program, Speaker Pelosi offered remarks about the importance of having a statement of recognition of the Armenian Genocide and spoke forcefully about asserting American values. Pelosi stressed that geography should never undermine America’s best values.  Read more... (425 words)

USAID Provides $50 Million To Armenian For Economic Development and Social Reform

At an official ceremony held in the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Economy on August 6, 2010, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan, US Ambassador to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch and USAID/Armenia Mission Director Jatinder Cheema signed two Assistance Agreements under which the US Government will provide up to $50 million to the Government of Armenia for the period of 2010-2013 in support of the country’s economic development and health and social services reform, according to a release issued by US Embassy in Armenia .  Read more... (337 words)

Turkey Bans Van Residents To Host Diaspora Armenians

The upcoming opening of St. Cross Armenian church on Akhtamar island has brought about lots of rumor and concerns.

According to Yerkramas paper, though Turkey is making every possible effort to draw the attention of the international community to the circumstance that they are expressing their good will and do their best to conduct the holy mass in the church duly, however, their actions point just the opposite.

According to the source, thousands of Diaspora Armenians have voiced a wish to participate in the festive event, and around 6 thousand residents of Van have expressed readiness to host the guests. This has made Turkish special services feel suspicious and currently they are conducting investigation to find out whether these are not the Armenian generations of Van, ready to host Diaspora Armenians.  Read more... (157 words)

I Believe You Will: Mammadyarov and Davutoglu Discussed Karabakh Conflict

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov hopes that his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu will take very useful initiatives in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reports Azerbaijani news agency Trend.

“Turkey is highly respected in the international arena, and therefore I believe that Ahmet Davutoglu will take very useful initiatives in the Karabakh settlement”, Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference following a summit of Turkic-speaking countries.

The summit was held in Bodrum town in western Turkish province of Mugla on Thursday bringing together foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

U.S. Says Corruption Hampers Armenia’s Fight Against Terror

Endemic government corruption hinders Armenia’s cooperation with the United States in the fight against international terrorism, the U.S. State Department said late Thursday in an annual report submitted to Congress.

The report scrutinizing counter-terrorism measures taken around the world last year praises the Armenian authorities for granting over-flight and landing rights to U.S. military aircraft, sending troops to Iraq and improving its “capacity to monitor illicit financial flows and confront trafficking in hazardous substances.”

“Widespread corruption, however, continued to hamper full implementation and enforcement of laws that would improve Armenia’s counterterrorism posture and response capability,” reads the report.

The State Department did not specify which Armenian laws were not fully enforced because of corruption. Nor did it say whether any international militant group hostile to Washington has attempted to use Armenian territory for its operations.  Read more... (253 words)