U-Turn Anniversary: One year on, ‘pros and cons’ of Armenia’s Eurasian integration still debated
ArmeniaNow.am, 3 September 2014, https://armenianow.com/
Exactly one year ago, on September 3, 2013, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow stated that Armenia intends to join the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. It happened a few days after European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton stated about full harmonization of the text of the Association Agreement between Armenia and the 28-nation bloc.
General News on Armenia
One year on: The terms of Armenia’s accession to EEU still unclear, but it should not introduce changes in relations with NKR
Public Radio of Armenia, 2 September 2014, https://www.armradio.am/en/
Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs Gagik Minasyan predicts that all CIS countries will finally join the Eurasian Economic Union (…).
Gagik Minasyan says no customs checkpoint will be built between Armenia and Karabakh, and there will be no changes in the relations between the two after Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union.
Political analyst: Armenia’s accession to Eurasian economic union on October 10 unlikely
Arka.am, 2 September 2014, https://arka.am/en/news/
lexander Iskandaryan, head of the Caucasus Institute, doesn’t believe that Armenia will join the Eurasian Economic Union on October 10. He told journalists on Tuesday that “if it takes place or when it takes place, it will be difficult to say whether this organization is able to function as a serious economic and political organization”.
France welcomes Armenia's initiative to invite Erdoğan to Yerevan
Armenpress.am, 2 September 2014, https://armenpress.am/eng/news/
France assesses positively the initiative of inviting the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Yerevan on April 24, 2015 and handing the invitation-letter over to him and welcomes any initiative, which will lead to the regulation of relations between the two countries.
Le Monde compares Aliyev regime with ISIL
Armenpress.am, 2 September 2014, https://armenpress.am/eng/news/
Le Monde periodical compared the regime of Ilham Aliyev with ISIL(Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). Armenpress reports about it, citing the article, published in the French newspaper Le Monde titled “Ilham Aliyev’s regime should be stopped in Azerbaijan”
Iraqi Yazidis ‘Willing To Settle In Armenia’
Azatutyun.am, 2 September 2014, https://www.azatutyun.am/
At least 150 Iraqi Yazidis who have taken refuge in Turkey are ready to relocate to Armenia on a permanent basis, a leader of the Armenian Yazidi community said on Tuesday. Boris Murazi, the head of the Yerevan-based Sanjar Union, said the community can provide them with accommodation and work in rural areas of Armenia mostly populated by fellow Yazidis. He urged the Armenian government to allow those refugees to enter the country.
Russian-Armenian businessman back to prison after medical examination at hospital
ArmeniaNow.com, 3 September 2014, https://armenianow.com/news/
Russian-Armenian businessman and benefactor Levon Hayrapetyan, who is imprisoned in Moscow on charges of money laundering, was transferred to a civic hospital for a one-day medical examination, his lawyer told media on Tuesday.
Vazgen Safaryan: Construction of Iran-Armenia railway should be on the agenda
Public Radio of Armenia, 2 September 2014, https://www.armradio.am/en/
“Armenia exported 63 tones of agricultural products to Russia in 2013; if we manage to double the number, it will be a serious success,” Vazgen Safaryan, Chairman of the Union of Domestic Commodity Producers, told a press conference today. (…) According to Vazgen Safaryan, today there is an unprecedented opportunity for exporting Armenian products to the Russian market, but this requires a more flexible credit and tax policy.
Chorrord Ishkhanutyun: Russian military aircrafts stop flights to Armenia
Tert.am, 3 September2014, https://www.tert.am/en/news/
The paper says it has learned from sources that Russian military aircrafts have suspended their flights to Armenia amid the pressing sanctions against the country by the West. The paper notes that the aircrafts in question provide supplies to the Russian military base stationed in Armenia. It claims that Turkey and Georgia have banned Russian aircrafts’ presence in their airspace, a move that makes their flights to Armenia impossible.
European Olympic Committee President will try to persuade Armenia to partake in first European Games in Baku
Public Radio of Armenia, 2 September 2014, https://www.armradio.am/en/
President of the European Olympic Committee Thomas Bach will visit Armenia on October 11, Secretary General of the Armenian National Olympic Committee Hrachya Rostomyan told reporters today. The issue of Armenia’s participation in the European Olympic Games to be held in Baku in 2015 will be on the agenda, he said.
General News on Nagorno-Karabakh
Haykakan Zhamanak: Sargsyan and Aliyev may meet this week
Panorama.am, 3 September 2014, https://www.panorama.am/en/
Citing sources close to the Presidential Administration, Haykakan Zhamanak writes that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has given his consent to a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev this week in the Welsh capital Cardiff on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
3 Armenian soldiers wounded during Azerbaijan sabotage undergoing evaluation
News.am, 3 September 2014, https://news.am/eng/news/
Three of the seven Armenian military servicemen, who were wounded on the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact in the past one month, are still at the Armenia MOD Central Military Clinical Hospital in capital city Yerevan, Hospital Director Aram Asaturyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.
News from Azerbaijani sources
Armenian armed forces once again violate ceasefire with Azerbaijan
Trend.az, 3 September 2014, https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/
Over the past 24 hours Armenians opened fire at the Azerbaijani armed forces from the positions in the nameless heights and near the village of Geyarh in Terter region, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Sept. 3.
Report on Karabakh to be prepared in PACE
News.az, 3 September 2014, https://www.news.az/articles/
A report on "Escalation of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan" will be prepared in PACE.
Azerbaijan make request to OSCE PA on Armenian subversive act in early August
APA.az, 3 September 2014, https://en.apa.az/news/215798
The Azerbaijani side has made a request to Ilkka Kanerva, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, on Armenia committing an act of sabotage on the contact line with Azerbaijan in early August.
Artificial delay in sending of fact-finding mission to Azerbaijani occupied territories
Trend.az, 2 September 2014, https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/
None of the international organizations to which Azerbaijan appealed in connection with the historical and cultural monuments destructed as a result of the Armenian occupation established a fact finding commission. Sending of the fact-finding mission to the occupied territories is artificially delayed, Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfaz Garayev told Trend.
Russia’s RIA Novosti agency commits another informative provocation against Azerbaijan
APA.az, 2 September 2014, https://en.apa.az/xeber_russia_
The APA correspondent to Moscow reported that the agency has published an article on the 23rd anniversary of the illegal Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in reference to its Yerevan correspondent.
The article contains distorted information regarding Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and history, depicting Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Armenia in the Early Middle Ages.
[NB : The “mistake” seems to have been corrected this morning, APA reports]
Armenia, Georgia keep polluting Kur and Araz rivers
Azernews.az, 2 September 2014, https://www.azernews.az/
The National Monitoring Department on Environment of the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry of Azerbaijan has conducted monitoring on the rivers Kur and Araz in the third decade of August.
News from Turkey
Erdoğan visits Azerbaijan for talks on bilateral ties
Today’s Zaman, 2 September 2014, https://www.todayszaman.com/
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Azerbaijan from Sept. 2-3, at the invitation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, for talks on Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, in his first international trip after being elected president last month.
According to a written statement released on the presidential website last week, during the talks, Erdoğan and Aliyev will exchange views on cooperation between the two countries and discuss regional and international issues.
Turkey 'to embark on fast train' on EU process
Hürriyet Daily News, 2 September 2014, www.hurriyetdailynews.com/
Turkey’s difficulties during the stalled EU accession process are mainly due to the negative perception that some EU member countries still have of the country, new Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkır has said.