Armenian News... A Topalian... (21 editorials)

The Government of the United Kingdom

Dec 12 2018

Press release

Minister for Europe welcomes the results of Armenia’s parliamentary elections.

 Sir Alan Duncan congratulates My Step Alliance on an impressive victory.

The UK welcomes the preliminary assessment of the international observation mission that the Armenian parliamentary elections on 9 December 2018 “were held with respect for fundamental freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust”.

The UK Government is pleased to have supported the preparations for these elections as a member of the international consortium contributing funding to the Electoral Support Project in Armenia (ESPA) implemented by UNDP.

Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan said:

These elections mark an important new stage in Armenia’s democratic development. I congratulate the My Step Alliance led by Nikol Pashinyan on its impressive victory, as well as the other parties elected to the National Assembly.

The UK Government looks forward to working closely with the new Government and Parliament of Armenia, supporting further consolidation of democratic institutions and ambitious political and economic reforms for the benefit of the Armenian people.

PanArmenian, Armenia

Dec 12 2018

UK will support "ambitious political, economic reforms" in Armenia 

The government of the United Kingdom looks forward to supporting ambitious political and economic reforms in Armenia, Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan said after the December 9 parliamentary elections in the country.

The UK welcomes the preliminary assessment of the international observation mission that the Armenian parliamentary elections on December 9 “were held with respect for fundamental freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust”, a statement published on the government's website reveals.

The UK Government said it is pleased to have supported the preparations for these elections as a member of the international consortium contributing funding to the Electoral Support Project in Armenia (ESPA) implemented by UNDP.

The European Union, Germany, Great Britain and Sweden provided €1.5 million, €700.000, £0.5 million pounds and 1.5 million Swedish kronas , respectively - more than €2.9 million in total - for Armenia to organize the elections.

"These elections mark an important new stage in Armenia’s democratic development. I congratulate the My Step Alliance led by Nikol Pashinyan on its impressive victory, as well as the other parties elected to the National Assembly," Duncan was quoted as saying.

"The UK Government looks forward to working closely with the new Government and Parliament of Armenia, supporting further consolidation of democratic institutions and ambitious political and economic reforms for the benefit of the Armenian people."

My Step alliance led by Armenia's acting Prime Minister Pashinyan secured a convincing victory in the vote, with 70.43% of all the ballots cast in their favor.

Two more parties - Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia - have also collected enough votes to have seats in the National Assembly. They have won 8.27% and 6.37% of the vote, respectively.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the European Union and others have congratulated the country on elections.

RFE/RL Report

U.S., EU Hail Armenian Vote

December 11, 2018

Emil Danielyan

The United States and the European Union have praised Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Armenia, echoing the vote’s positive assessment by European observers.

They also pledged to help Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, whose political alliance won a comfortable majority in the Armenian parliament, carry out political and economic reforms promised by him.

“The United States congratulates the people of Armenia on the conduct of their December 9 parliamentary elections,” a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Robert Palladino, said in a statement issued late on Monday.

“The United States concurs with the OSCE’s preliminary conclusions that the elections process enjoyed broad public trust and respected fundamental freedoms,” he said.

“We look forward to working with the new Armenian Parliament and Government to deepen our bilateral partnership and cooperation to strengthen the rule of law and democratic institutions, combat corruption, promote trade and investment, and safeguard regional and global security,” added Palladino.

“The early parliamentary elections were important in terms of enhancing public trust towards the electoral process in Armenia,” read a separate statement released by Maja Kocijancic, an EU foreign policy spokeswoman.

“We look forward to working with the democratically elected new Parliament and the future Government to deepen our political and economic relations based on the joint commitments of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement,” she said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was apparently the first European leader to congratulate Pashinian on his bloc’s election victory. In a congratulatory message cited by the Armenpress news agency, Merkel reaffirmed support for his reform agenda.

In their preliminary report, the more than 300 monitors deployed by the OSCE, the EU and the Council of Europe noted a “general absence of electoral malfeasance” in the snap polls held over seven months after Pashinian-led mass protests toppled Armenia’s former government.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a September letter to Pashinian that those protests “ushered in a new era in Armenia.” The State Department spokesman likewise noted the “remarkable change in Armenia.”

Incidentally, both the U.S. and the EU gave largely positive assessments of the previous Armenian parliamentary elections held in April 2017. The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said at the time that “voters were able to freely exercise their right to vote.” The EU declared, for its part, that the official election result “reflects the overall will of the Armenian people.”

The 2017 vote was won by then President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) amid opposition allegations of widespread vote buying and pressure on voters. In the latest polls, the HHK narrowly failed to clear a 5 percent vote threshold to enter the parliament.

Pashinian has repeatedly pledged to deepen Armenia’s relations with the U.S. and EU. He has made clear at the same time that his country will remain allied to Russia.

[now read this propaganda - look at who is talking!]

Trend.az

No matter how hard Pashinyan tries, his power's recognition won’t occur: MP

12 December 2018 

By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:

It is illogical and unreasonable to refer to the mass political show held Dec. 9 in Armenia as "election", Azerbaijani MP Hikmet Babaoglu told Trend.

"Despite that only about two million people live in Armenia, the Central Election Commission registers more than 2.5 million voters and draws up a fake electoral list," he said.

“This fact is enough to talk about the fictitiousness of the election held in that country,” he added. "In this case, one cannot seriously talk about any voter activity or inactivity. It was only necessary to finish the political comedy that has been played in Armenia from April 2018 and to give “legitimacy” to the leader of street democracy, and this was done."

He noted that the use of such words as “law” and “democracy” in relation to Armenia is considered an insult to law and democracy.

He said changing the military junta to the new aggressive dictatorship cannot be attributed to democracy.

“Armenians, by presenting this 'democracy' game, are trying to prove that there is 'a national consolidation' in the country and they have been able to build 'a democratic society',” he added.“Apparently, some international organizations and human rights organizations also intend to present this in such a form. But the falsifications at the election in Armenia have reached such a scale and are so indisputable that it is impossible to hide them.”

Babaoglu noted that under no circumstances the will of only 30 percent of the population can guarantee stability in the country.

“Therefore, the Armenian society is on the threshold of a serious social explosion,” he said.

“The second factor contributing to this is the lack of any reforms in economy in recent months.”

He added that Armenia simply doesn’t have economic resources that will ensure these reforms.

Babaoglu also said a new era in Armenia will come only when the country puts an end to the occupation policy and leaves the Azerbaijani lands.

“Economy is built on the basis of real resources and communications,” the MP noted. “Azerbaijan has the key to these resources and communications. Therefore, no matter how hard Pashinyan tries to gain recognition of his legitimacy, that won’t happen. After a short time, the population will take to the streets again with economic demands. Therefore, it would be good if the newly elected team thought about taking steps consistent with the common interests of their own and neighboring peoples. After all, Azerbaijan’s patience also has its limits.”

Panorama, Armenia

Dec 12 2018

Over 40% of Armenian textile, clothing, leather and shoes production exported to EU

Business Armenia has published a marketing package presenting investment opportunities, production potential and key indicators of Armenian textile industry.

According to the information provided by Business Armenia research team, the annual exports of Armenian textile and apparel, leather and shoes products grew by 35%-43% over the past two years, with more than 40% exported to EU countries.

In addition to mass consumption products Armenian textile companies are also famous for doing subcontracting for world-known brands.

In order to stimulate the investments, the Armenian government has implemented numerous assistance programs, which make Armenia an inviting platform for European, Iranian and Asian investors. Due to Armenia’s membership to EAEU, the investors can establish textile manufacturing factories here and export to EAEU member countries with overall population of 183 million people with 0% custom duties.

The package also includes a video presenting investment incentives of Armenian textile sector.

It is addressed to foreign investors and is presented under “Select Armenia” brand with “Make your move, Select Armenia” slogan. You can find the research and the full package on “Select Armenia” platforms.

DailySabah.com

12 Dec 2018

Armenia ready to establish direct relations with Turkey, PM Pashinian says

Armenia is ready to establish relations with Turkey without any precondition, said acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, whose bloc won Sunday's snap parliamentary elections.

"I have already said many times that we are ready to establish direct relationships with Turkey without any precondition. And we hope Turkey is ready to do the same," Pashinian told reporters at the prime ministry building on Monday

"The problem is that unfortunately relationship with Turkey has been connected with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Pashinian added.

"It is a very strange situation when the relations between two countries can be so strongly connected with a third country, […] I mean Azerbaijan," he said.

"This situation is the biggest problem for our relations with Turkey," he added.

The Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh – a disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia – led to the closing of the frontier with Turkey, which sides with Baku in the drawn-out dispute.

In September, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a visit to Baku: "We want good relations with our neighbors but solving the Karabakh problem is the absolute precondition for Turkey to improve ties with Armenia."

Erdoğan also recalled the 1992 Khojaly massacre that killed hundreds of Azerbaijani citizens.

"Those who cannot explain what happened in Khojaly 26 years ago, the massacre in Upper Karabakh, and declare the killers heroes, should not give Turkey any kind of history lesson," Erdoğan said, referring to genocide allegations over World War I killings of Ottoman Armenians.

The Khojaly Massacre is regarded as one of the bloodiest and most controversial incidents of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control of the now-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region between 1988 and 1994.

Political ties between Ankara and Yerevan remain frozen owing to the Karabakh conflict as well as the legacy of killings during the First World War, which the Armenian diaspora and government describe as "genocide" – a description which Turkey refutes. Ankara argues that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

On Monday, Armenia's election commission said that Pashinyan's My Step Alliance garnered 70.4 percent of the votes at the Sunday's snap parliamentary elections.

In April, Pashinian, who is a former journalist, led mass protests against the ruling Republican Party, which brought daily life in Yerevan to a standstill and forced former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan to resign.

Pashinian, who became the nation's prime minister in May, had resigned in October to open a way for snap elections.

Lydian International, UK

December 11, 2018 Tuesday

Lydian Announces Acceptance of Lawsuit for Appeal Hearing of Environmental Order

 

TORONTO - Lydian International Limited (TSX: LYD) ('Lydian' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia (the 'Court') has accepted the Company's lawsuit appealing a directive issued by Mr. Artur Grigoryan, the head of the Republic of Armenia's Environmental and Mining Inspection Body, to refrain from any mining-related activities at the Amulsar project.

 

The acceptance of the lawsuit by the Court results in an automatic suspension of Mr. Grigoryan's directive, under the Republic of Armenia's Administrative Procedure Code, which suspension will remain in place until the appeal is heard and determined.

 

Joao Carrelo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydian, stated, 'We are pleased that the Court has agreed to accept Lydian's lawsuit. We are confident that the Court will rule in Lydian's favor based on studies concluded by the Ministry of Nature Protection that conclusively established no basis for Mr. Grigoryan's assertions of 'new ecological factors' and Mr. Grigoryan's inherent conflict of interest that lead to this lawsuit.'

 

As previously announced, Mr. Grigoryan had directed the Company to refrain from any mining-related activities until the Ministry of Nature Protection conducted a study to determine if Mr. Grigoryan's assertion that new ecological factors had arisen due to sightings of newly found red-listed plants and animal species, specifically, the fact that Acantholimon caryophyllaceum Boiss plant species and Parnassius apollo animal species had been identified at the Amulsar Project site for the first time.

 

After the issuance of Mr. Grigoryan's directive, a group commissioned by the Ministry of Nature Protection confirmed the non-existence of the red-listed plant and animal species and concluded that the Amulsar project site did not include the necessary habitat to support either species. These findings were officially communicated by the Minister of Nature Protection and clearly invalidated Mr. Grigoryan's conclusions. The Company had appealed Mr. Grigoryan's directive, based on these findings as well as other grounds, including Mr. Grigoryan's conflict of interest, and included such contradictory evidence with the initial appeal. The administrative appeal of the initial directives was to be heard by the Chairman of the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Agency, a role held by Mr. Grigoryan himself. Lydian requested that Mr. Grigoryan recuse himself from acting as reviewer of the initial directive due to his conflict of interest. However, Mr. Grigoryan refused to recuse himself and subsequently rejected the Company's appeal of his own directive. Lydian subsequently appealed the decision to the Court, which accepted the lawsuit for the appeal hearing and thereby suspends Mr. Grigoryan's directive pending the determination of the appeal.

 

Despite the suspension of the directive, the illegal blockades continue to prevent Lydian from accessing site to resume full construction activities. However, Lydian has secured short-term access to undertake winterization and preservation work on process and mobile equipment, as previously disclosed. Lydian continues to retain all of its legal rights and options with respect to the appeal of Mr. Grigoryan's directive, as well as all other matters related to the Amulsar project, including the ongoing illegal blockades.

 

About Lydian International Limited

 

Lydian is a gold developer focusing on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. However, illegal blockades have prevented access to Amulsar since late June 2018. Amulsar will be a large-scale, low-cost operation with production targeted to average approximately 225,000 ounces annually over an initial 10-year mine life. Open pit mining and conventional heap leach processing contribute to excellent scale and economic potential. Estimated mineral resources contain 3.5 million measured and indicated gold ounces and 1.3 million inferred gold ounces as outlined in the Q1 2017 Technical Report. Existing mineral resources beyond current reserves and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. Lydian is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.

 

Panorama, Armenia

Dec 12 2018

Levon Aronian plays draw on the opening day of London Chess Classic

Both the games Caruana-Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave -Aronian were drawn on the first day of the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.

To note, both the semifinals and finals consist of two classical games followed by rapid and blitz on the third day of play. The classical games are most important and yield 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss.