Weekly update

4 September

The RA Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs is concluding the iGorts 2020 program, which provides Diaspora professionals the opportunity to work in and develop Armenia's public sector. The iGorts Fellowship Program was launched in September 2020. According to diaspora.gov.am Following the selection process, Armenian professionals from around the world were invited to serve in the Government of Armenia; 52 participants from 19 different countries currently work in 19 state institutions of the Republic of Armenia. One year later, 22 participants have found a permanent home in Armenia alongside their families, 14 of which will continue to work in the Armenian Government and 8 will start work in the private sector. Click here to meet the iGorts 2020 participants.
http://diaspora.gov.am/en/programs/25/fellowship

3 September

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed hope on Friday that Armenia and Turkey will normalize their relations after last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to azatutyun.am, “Now that the groundwork has been laid for a political process and the unblocking of all [Armenian-Azerbaijani] transport and economic links after the end of the war there I think that it would be totally logical if our Turkish and Armenian colleagues resumed their efforts to normalize relations,” Lavrov said during a youth forum in Moscow. “We are ready to assist in that in the most active way,” he said, echoing a statement made by a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday. Turkey has for decades made the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening of the border between the two countries conditional on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. Baku claims that its victory in the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire last November put an end to the conflict.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31442362.html

2 September

Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Armenia John Gallagher has addressed a message over the UK’s contribution to supporting mine action in areas in and around Nagorno Karabakh. In his message, according to armenpress.am the Ambassador says that the “impact of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, particularly the loss of life and livelihoods, has been devastating for the region”. “I am proud that the UK was the first international partner to donate to the International Committee of Red Cross humanitarian response. We gave a million pounds (660 million drams). We are currently working with the UNDP in the communities of Syunik, Vayots Dzor and Gegharkunik to provide psychological support and help create new economic opportunities for those affected by the conflict”, the Ambassador said.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1062185.html?fbclid=IwAR19LKeXeTSWFWoUQRiWAZ8XUy571x7O-YCvSVoNLVS3UYP0p1SpLaMs3WA

1 September

Armenia has requested an urgent UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020, fearing monuments of Armenian Christian heritage to be in danger in areas that passed under Muslim Azerbaijan's control after the 44-day armed conflict, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Wednesday. In line with devdiscourse.com, Yerevan has documented multiple instances when Azerbaijani forces deliberately destroyed churches and other Armenian monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh at Baku's order, he added. Citing UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Ernesto Ottone's statement on December 20, which said that the only obstacle to an assessment mission to Nagorno-Karabakh was Azerbaijan's pending response, Mirzoyan said that "the Azerbaijani government continues to politicize and hinder the visit of UNESCO experts" because "it wants to conceal its cultural crimes."
https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/1714623-jkhand-hc-orders-cbi-probe-into-suspicious-death-of-si-rupa-tirkey

31 August

The Armenian-Azerbaijani border crisis is possible to solve through political-diplomatic means, but the long-term solution is possible only through demarcation and delimitation, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Moscow. According to armenpress.am “We have confirmed our readiness to assist that process in any way”, the Russian FM said. The Russian FM said they also thoroughly examined the implementation process of the 2020 November 9 trilateral agreements reached between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, which allowed to stop the conflict and bring it to the course of political settlement. “We agreed not to weaken our attention on eliminating the factors which cause tension in the relations of Yerevan and Baku, including the final solution of the issues regarding the return of Armenian prisoners of war and the handover of the maps of minefields. The necessity for further activity of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs has been confirmed”, the Russian FM said.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1062034.html?fbclid=IwAR17mZ4w3vZeKWKVZY-3ul4jipR4FmqMHR2R8P34UQXWy7N2F_tDLy_bVj8

30 August

August 30, 2021 marks the International Day of the Disappeared to commemorate hundreds of thousands of people who are missing around the world as a result of armed conflicts, violence, migration and natural disasters. The International Committee of the Red Cross has issued a press release on this. Hetq reports: “We stand by families of missing persons and remember their missing relatives together with them.” In the region, thousands of people are missing in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Many thousands more live with the agony of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. The constant uncertainty they live in often leads to emotional exhaustion and leaves lasting wounds. Not knowing what happened to a parent, spouse or child, places an intolerable burden on these families. They live in limbo, unable to mourn, between endless hope and despair.
https://hetq.am/en/article/135110

29 August

A five-year government plan, approved on Thursday by Armenia’s legislature, officially outlines the Armenian government’s priorities on Karabakh through 2026. In line with Civilnet.am it is the first official document approved by the Armenian government to do so since the country’s disastrous defeat to Azerbaijan in last year’s war in and around the region, reads Civilnet. In a speech last Wednesday presenting the plan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed that “Armenia’s external security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, a just solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, and the creation of a favorable regional and international atmosphere around Armenia continue to be a priority.” “Our position is that the full-fledged restoration of the peace negotiation process in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship is an essential factor in ensuring regional stability and security,” he continued.
https://www.civilnet.am/news/630970/pashinyans-five-year-plan-now-approved-outlines-karabakh-priorities/?lang=en

28 August

“After the recent Karabakh war, new opportunities have been created for progress,” Erdogan said. “We have already stated that if Armenia responds positively to these opportunities, we will take the necessary steps,” asbarez.com reports. Those “new opportunities” Erdogan was referencing were the over support it received from the Kremlin during the 44-Day War, as well as advances made by the Azerbaijani military forces into Armenia’s sovereign territory, when they breached Armenia’s borders more than three months ago and have set up camp in Armenia. Since then soldiers have been killed, civilians have been threatened and most recently, a major road between Goris and Kapan was blockaded. Armenia’s border provinces of Syunik, Gegharkunik and Ararat have been under siege. “There have been certain public positive signals from Turkey. We will evaluate those signals and respond to those signals with a positive signal,” Pashinyan said at the start of his cabinet meeting on Friday, signaling his administration’s appetite for playing footsie with the country that was equally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Armenian soldiers and civilians last fall.
https://asbarez.com/yerevan-continues-to-ignore-existential-threats-to-armenia/

Sources: www.diaspora.gov.am; www.azatutyun.am; armenpress.am; www.devdiscourse.com; www.hetq.am; www.civilnet.am; www.asbarez.com.