A prominent Italian political figure representing the country in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) is facing charges over taking bribe from Azerbaijan.
According to La Stampa, the Prosecutor’s Office in Milan accuses Luca Volonte of illegal possession of means and money laundering. Particularly, he has been charged with receiving 2.39 Euros from the company Baktelecom in the period between 2012-2014.
The Italian investigative bodies believe Volonte was given the money for initiating political activities in support of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani official’s statement ‘loose interpretation’- Russian foreign office
The statement by Deputy Head of Azerbaijan’s Presidential staff Novruz Mammadov is Azerbaijan’s attempt to interpret the reached agreements in its own way, Maria Zakharova, an official representative of Russia’s foreign office, told a press briefing on Thursday.
Talking to Azerbaijani TV channels on Wednesday, Mr Mammadov stated that agreements on a phased settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were reached at the Armenian-Azerbaijani-Russia presidential meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
“The meeting prioritized a phased settlement of the conflict. That is, the conflict has to be settled stage by stage – vacation of five Azerbaijani regions and, later, two other regions, and deciding on a corridor. Thereafter, determination of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status. In this respect, the sides have reached an agreement in principle,” Mr Mammadov said.
She called for following the original statement approved at the trilateral presidential meeting in Saint Petersburg.
As to all other statements, Ms Zakharova called them “very dishonest, with attempted interpretation of the meeting results.”
“A specific statement was read out, and it is an official document that should be taken as a basis, not someone’s loose interpretations,” Ms Zakharova said.
No agreement on Karabakh settlement reached in St Petersburg: Armenia FM
No agreement on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been reached in Saint Petersburg, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said Wednesday, June 22.
Deputy chief of Azerbaijani presidential administration Novruz Mammadov said earlier that the parties have agreed on a stepwise settlement of the conflict. According to him, 5 regions must first be liberated, followed by another two regions, the corridor will then be clarified and Karabakh’s status will be determined.
“Mammadov has never participated in negotiations, and the summit in Saint Petersburg was no exception,” Nalbandian said.
“Azerbaijan’s recognition of Karabakh’s right to self-determination must form the basis of a comprehensive settlement.”
Nagorno-Karabakh: Putin meets with Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents
Moscow, June 20, 2016 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Monday his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to try to consolidate the cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that both countries vie to and where intense fighting took place in April.
First, Putin met both leaders separately before lunch at three in St. Petersburg.
The two sides “are in particular agreed on increasing the number of international observers in the conflict zone,” said a joint statement released after the meeting.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has not yet only six unarmed observers in the region.
“We want the conflict to be settled peacefully. I want to thank you and the leaders of other countries as co-chairs of the Minsk Group (for Karabakh), for your efforts on this issue, “said Serzh Sargsyan at the beginning of his meeting with Vladimir Putin, it said in a statement from the Kremlin.
He also called for “making progress in the implementation of signed agreements, including creating a monitoring mechanism of the cease-fire,” according to Russian news agencies.
Ilham Aliyev for his part, thanked Russia for its “constructive role in resolving” the conflict during his meeting with Putin, while calling for the “decolonization of the territory of Azerbaijan (…) occupied for over 20 years, “according to a statement from the Kremlin.
“The main task is to guard against a resumption of hostilities,” warned the spokesman of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov.
Russia was on the initiative of the cease-fire signed in April, after four days of clashes that left at least 110 dead in total.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is an old quarter century. The fighting of April were the worst violence since a cease-fire agreement in 1994 after a war that is 30,000 dead and hundreds of thousands of refugees, mostly Azerbaijanis.
No peace treaty has however been signed between Baku and Yerevan on the Nagorno-Karabakh region populated mainly by Armenians but recognized as part of Azerbaijan by the international community.
Russia is close to the two countries, it is the main supplier of arms but concluded a military alliance with Yerevan.
Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev met in Vienna in mid-May by an international mediation, pledged to respect the cease-fire and to implement a monitoring mechanism of the cease-fire under the auspices the Organization for security and co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
However, the situation remains extremely volatile, sporadic fighting continues to erupt along the line.
Azerbaijan also announced last week that military maneuvers near the magnitude of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com
Stéphane © armenews.com
Trilateral meeting of Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders kicks off in St. Petersburg
The trilateral meeting of the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents has kicked off in St. Petersburg, spokesperson for Armenian President Vladimir Hakobyan wrote on his Twitter page.
Earlier, Armenian News – NEWS.am reported on the meeting of the Armenian and Russian Presidents, as well as the Russian and Azerbaijani leaders.
U.S. lawmakers turn over gifts they received in Azerbaijan
U.S. lawmakers who took a trip secretly funded by the government of Azerbaijan turned over jade earrings, tea sets, silk scarves, woven rugs and other gifts to the government after a watchdog report called the trip improper, The Hill reports.
The list of gifts returned to the General Services Administration (GSA), which was obtained by The Hill through a Freedom of Information Act request, fills in more details about the trip to a 2013 conference in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku.
In all, nine current member of Congress and 32 staff members attended the conference, each receiving thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Some of the lawmakers also went to Turkey after the conference in Baku and received additional gifts on that stop.
The OCE said Texas-based nonprofits filed false statements saying they were paying for the trip, when, in reality, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic, known as Socar, helped fund the conference and trips by funneling $750,000 to the nonprofit corporations.
Both the OCE and House Ethics Committee found lawmakers and aides had no way of knowing the trip was being funded improperly, The Hill said.
Roughly a week before the House Ethics Committee released its report detailing its findings in July 2015, members of Congress who had taken the trip began returning the gifts they had received.
Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas) all turned over gifts to the House clerk, who then handed them over to the GSA in October 2015, according to records obtained by The Hill.
Other gifts from the Azerbaijan trip that were returned include paperweights, pens, leather diaries, a DVD box set about the president of Azerbaijan and two rugs, one large and one small. Multiple lawmakers reported that the small rug appeared in their hotel rooms during the conference.
In most cases, when a House member accepts a gift not allowed by ethics rules, they must either pay “fair market value” for it or return it to the person or entity that gave it to them. A member can also give gifts to the House clerk, who then transfers it to the GSA for disposal or sale.
The Minister of the Russian Defence is willing to sell more weapons to Azerbaijan
While exposing to criticism from Armenia, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, welcomed yesterday the military relations “strategic” between Russia and Azerbaijan. He noted the willingness of Moscow to sell more weapons to Baku.
“Our military cooperation has a strategic character,” said Shoygu to his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov, during talks that took place in Moscow.
“I think there’s potential for growth and development of our relations. We certainly will do everything to ensure that our partnership and our friendly strategic ties continue to grow, “he added.
According to a ministry statement, Shoygu also explained that he would be “happy” to see a delegation of Azerbaijan at the massive arms exhibition in the Russian army in September. Russian defense companies will show “etmatériel military weapons” in the country for a week, the statement said.
Hasanov, in turn, meant that relations between the two countries were “strategic and friendly.” He also stressed the importance of training by Russia of Azerbaijani military personnel. He expressed the hope that the number of Azerbaijanis study at Russian military academies will increase next year.
The declaration of Shoygu came more than two months after the offensive of the Azerbaijani army in Karabakh that triggered the escalation of the most serious conflict since the Armenian-Azerbaijani war which took place between 1991 and 1994. The Armenian leaders have accused the sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan, which would have greatly encouraged the attack. A position that refutes Russia.
The First Deputy Minister of the Armenian Defense Davit Tonoyan, discussed with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Antonov during their meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. The Russian Ministry of Defense said he spoke of “a number of pressing issues of military cooperation and military-technical cooperation between the two countries.”
Despite the continuing Russian military aid to Yerevan, the apparent willingness of Moscow to sell more weapons to Baku could trigger further criticism of the Armenian government officials and pro-government politicians.
Shoygu met with Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian immediately after his meeting with Hasanov. “We want to maintain our strategic partnership,” Ohanian said.
The Russian minister praised the defense cooperation with Armenia, emphasizing training and military education, rather than on arms deliveries. The Russian Ministry of Defense was quoted as saying that Moscow is “ready” to include over 200 Armenian officers and cadets in Russian military academies this year.
Ohanian, for his part, said that bilateral military ties knew a “dynamic development”. His press office said he also spoke with Shoygu “development of military-technical cooperation.”
Thursday, June 16, 2016,
Claire © armenews.com
Claire © armenews.com
The “Cross of combatant” given posthumously to Armenian Yezidi Kiaram Sloyan, hero of the “War of the four days”
On the two photographs, the Azeri soldier who exhibited head Kiaram Sloyan on the internet, “distinguished” by Ilham Aliyev
The “Cross of combatant” given posthumously to Kiaram Sloyan, hero of the “War of the four days”
On May 28, President Sarkisian presented Mr. Kialache Sloyan’s father Kiaram Sloyan, a young conscript fell during the “four days of War”, the “Croix du combatant” (1st Order) posthumously his bravery on the battlefield.
The father of the young hero said on this occasion to the press that he was “proud to have raised until the age of 18 years a hero.” On 30 May, a class of the village school of Ardachavan (Aragatzodn district), the village of Sloyan family, will be named after this young fighter. The recognition of the entire Armenian people going to this young man and his family sorely tried by the loss of this son. Our joint pain is particularly burdened by the horrible circumstances of the death of Kiaram, a young soldier from the Yezidi community of Armenia, whose head was exhibited on the internet by soldiers of the Azerbaijani army after his beheading. A two-hour flight from Iraq and Syria, the same fanatical prey to the same victims.
Putin to discuss Karabakh with Armenian and Azerbaijani President in Saint Petersburg
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold separate meetings with the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev in Saint Petersburg on June 20, this being followed by a tripartite meeting on Karabakh, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told RIA Novosti.
“On June 20, tripartite talks of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement are scheduled. It is supposed that Putin will first have private meetings with Sargsyan and Aliyev, and then the three presidents will already hold talks together,” Ushakov said.
“Apparently, an active attempt to contribute to the sides in conflict settlement will be made from our side. We have already played – what I would even call – a decisive role in ceasing the military actions, which were going on,” the presidential aide noted.
“Now we are ready to continue our mediatory mission, obviously in full cooperation with the other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states, and based on the principles which were included in the joint statement of the Russian, U.S. and French Presidents in the period from 2009-2013. Our country will hold the most interested and active talks,” he noted.
In Ushakov’s words, Russia is going to continue its mediatory mission in line with the joint statements of the Russian, U.S. and French presidents, which mention about the unacceptability of the military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, urging the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders to solve the disputable issues on the basis of the principles of non-use of force or threat to use force, territorial integrity of states, equal rights and peoples’ right to self-determination.
The presidential aide also added that Russia considers that the sides to the conflict must strictly observe the ceasefire agreement of 1994. “We urge all the parties to the confrontation to exercise restraint, refrain from using force and take all possible measures to stabilize the situation,”he added.
Azerbaijan-committed atrocities highlighted at NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s session – Armenian MP
Armenian MP Kortyun Nahapetyan spoke of the results of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s session in Tirana, Albania, on May 28-30, at a meeting with reporters on Thursday.
Prior to the session, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed a letter to the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The Armenian MP voiced his concern over the fact that the letter claims it to be a problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan alone and the OSCE Minsk Group is dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
“Our delegation noted that we did not consider it advisable to discuss the issue as the only efficient format is the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and discussing the issue in any other organizations is not in line with conflict settlement mechanisms,” the Armenian MP said.
According to Nahapetyan, Armenia counteracted to the Azerbaijani delegation leader’s remark on “Armenian occupations”, pointing out directly the side responsible for unleashing a war.
“Apart from the war operations in April, Azerbaijan’s violations of international humanitarian norms, brutalities and tortures were highlighted. There was reference also to the Ramil Safarov case, the human rights and democracy situation in Azerbaijan, and the armament purchased with oil revenues,” he said.
“We reiterated our willingness, saying that the Armenian authorities do not want a military settlement of the conflict.”
Nahapetyan said that an Azerbaijani delegate attempted later to ask questions on Nagorno-Karabakh, provoking tension adding that the Armenian delegation managed eventually to exclude the question from the agenda.
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