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Karabakh on Catalonia: We welcome ‘civilized self-determination bids’

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Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) welcomes ‘every process of civilized self-determination’, president’s spokesman Davit Babayan told PanARMENIAN.Net on Saturday, October 28 commenting on the current situation in Spain.

On Friday, Catalonia’s President, Carles Puigdemont, asked his parliament for a yes or no vote on a unilateral declaration of independence: the result was seventy in favor, ten against, and two blank votes cast.

“Peoples’ self-determination is one of the most important components of international law, and all the states must respect this right,” Babayan said.

According to him, if Spain doesn’t want to be divided, it should become a federation or a confederation.

Asked whether Artsakh is going to recognize Catalonia’s independence, the spokesman said that everything depends on future developments and that “it’s a matter of time.”

Azerbaijan to “blacklist” CNN Anthony Bourdain for visiting Karabakh

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Renowned American chef, author, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain will be put on the “blacklist” of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesperson of the ministry, told about the above-said to RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.

Armenian media recently reported that Bourdain had visited Artsakh within the framework of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, his travel and food show on CNN.

In 2013, Azerbaijan publicized its “blacklist” of foreigners that have visited the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR). Those on this list are forbidden to enter Azerbaijan, and this list is “updated” on a regular basis.

April war hero Vahe Zakaryan would turn 22 today

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Armenian soldier, tanker Vahe Zakaryan, heroically fallen during the four-day April war, would turn 22 today.

His family and relatives describe Vahe as an intelligent, modest, kind, friendly and a truly sincere individual.

Born on 12 October 1995, in Hrazdan town of Armenia’s Kotayk Province, Vahe Zakaryan was one of family’s three children and the only son. Vahe, together with his family, moved to Russia when he was a school student. However, he decided to return to his native town Hrazdan with his sisters eight months later. After graduating from school, Vahe entered Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports, being drafted to the Armenian Army in the same year.

Vahe was an accomplished athlete. He had practiced karate for many years, won multiple awards and obtained two black belts.

Vahe began his military service in Hoktemberyan (Armavir Province) in 2014. Later on, he was transferred to Jebrail (Jrakan) in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to serve in a tank battalion.

According to his parents, Vahe was very excited to join the Armenian army, never complaining during his military service.

Tanker Vahe and his fellow servicemen Hayk Grigoryan and Norayr Gasparyan performed a heroic act during the early battles of the four-day War in April 2016, inflicting significant losses to the Azerbaijani manpower and repelling the enemy. Vahe heroically fell in the battlefield along with the rest of his tank crew when their tank was hit by a drone of the adversary.

Vahe and Norayr were close friends, who fell together two months before the completion of their military service.

Vahe Zakaryan was posthumously awarded with the ‘For Bravery’ and “For Services to the Homeland” medals by the presidents of Armenia and Artsakh.

To remind, the Azerbaijani armed forces unleashed a large-scale offensive along the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact at the night of April 1 to April 2. The defense installations of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army and civilian settlements came under heavy bombardment by artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, multiple rocket launchers, and air force along the Line of Contact and deep inside the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces, in the course of their recent large-scale military offensive, intentionally targeted civilian infrastructures and civilian population, including children and the elderly. The Azerbaijani military beheaded three Armenian servicemen in ISIL style.

Those barbaric acts go beyond elementary norms of civilized world, constituting violations of core international conventions.

Karabakh welcomes Kurdistan’s independence vote

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Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) welcomes the referendum on independence of Iraqi Kurdistan “as an act of realization of the right of peoples to self-determination and independently choosing their own path of development enshrined in the UN Charter and in a number of fundamental international documents.”

In a statement on Wednesday, September 27, the foreign ministry expressed hope that the situation following the referendum will be settled peacefully, taking into account the need to maintain stability and security in the region.

Preliminary data revealed on Tuesday that 93% of Kurds have voted for independence from Iraq.

FM of Bosnia and Herzegovina: We hope NK conflict will be settled in favor of people living there

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Bosnia and Herzegovina closely follows the overall situation over the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Crnadak said on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

“We support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group. We hope this long-lasting conflict will, first of all, be settled in favor of the people living there,”Mr. Crnadak noted.

 

Source Panorama.am

Azerbaijan “blacklists” Portuguese lawmaker for visiting Karabakh

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Azerbaijan will put Portuguese MP Rubina Berardo on its black list for visiting Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), foreign ministry spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said, according to APA.

Also, the foreign ministry has summoned Portugal’s charge d’affaires over Berardo’s visit.

The MP took the trip to Karabakh in mid-August and held several meetings there.

The Portuguese diplomat, in turn, said that the MP’s visit was of a private nature.

Related links:

APA. Portuguese charge d’affaires summoned to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

ANCA blasts outgoing Minsk Group co-chairs statement on Karabakh peace

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has blasted the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group interim U.S. Co-Chair Ambassador Richard Hoagland’s recommendations for the Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh) peace process, calling them “totally unacceptable” and a “non-starter.”

Hoagland held an on-the-record round table discussion regarding the peace settlement at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, DC on Aug. 23. During the discussion, the Ambassador presented his six main points—adapted from the Madrid Principles—for the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict settlement, the Armenian Weekly reports, citing Voice of America’s (VOA) Armenian service.

The six points included a call for the “occupied territories” surrounding Nagorno-Karabagh to be returned to Azerbaijani control.

“There can be no settlement without respect for Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, and the recognition that its sovereignty over these territories must be restored,” Hoagland said, according to VOA.

“This is a long-term policy, it’s not connected with this or that co-chair, this is our general policy. Of course, the proposed project is more detailed and extensive, but this is the basis of any reasonable solution, and all parties agree on this issue,” Hoagland added.

“The Administration is tossing out another reckless recipe for Artsakh’s destruction, expecting, it seems, that we don’t understand Armenian history, that we lack 100% solidarity with Artsakh, and that we have no sense at all of our geo-political interests. In a word, that we are idiots. Totally unacceptable. A non-starter,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA in his comments to the Armenian Weekly.

Hamparian went on to say that the “light rewrite” of the unbalanced Madrid Principles heavily rewards an “increasingly aggressive Azerbaijan” and puts all the risks on the Republic of Artsakh.

Artsakh economic activity index increases by 15%

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The economic activity index (EAI) in Artsakh in June 2017 made up 113.9% to compare with the June of the previous year and 142.5% to compare with the index of May of the current year.  According to the data released by the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Republic Statistical Service, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the NKR amounted to 102.2 billion AMD in January-June 2017 to compare with 87.7 billion AMD registered in the indicated period of the year 2016.

In January-June 2017 GDP per capita totaled to 699.8 thousand AMD (1444.2 USD), the source said.

Karabakh acting president Bako Sahakyan reelected

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STEPANAKERT. – The acting president of Karabakh, Bako Sahakyan is reelected. The presidential vote took place on Wednesday during the National Assembly special session.

As it was reported earlier,  two candidates were nominated for presidency. They were: MP Eduard Aghabekyan, who has been nominated by the Movement 88 faction of the NA; and incumbent President Bako Sahakyan, who was nominated by the Fatherland, Dashnaktsutyun, and Democracy factions of the Artsakh parliament.

On February 20, the NKR held a constitutional referendum, and 87 percent of the electorate voted for the proposed constitutional amendments.

Pursuant to these amendments, a transition will be made from a semi-presidential to a presidential system of government in Artsakh.

And, accordingly, the National Assembly will elect the President until 2020—for the transitional period.

Baku called once again to respect its commitments in Karabagh

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Charles Tannock, a British member of the European Parliament, called on Azerbaijan to honor its commitments to establish front-line investigative mechanisms under the agreement reached between the parties to the conflict. Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2016 in Vienna. In this appeal, voiced on Wednesday (July 12th) by the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, the MEP expressed his concern about the renewed tensions