A number of MEPs were awarded by a Presidential decree of February 16. As “Armenpress” was informed from the Information and Public Relations Department of the President’s Office, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (Poland) was awarded with “Mkhitar Gosh” medal for his contribution to the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Many of these Persian descriptions of Turks would be viewed today as racist as they unfairly label all Turks with the same stereotype. All nationalities have some good and bad among them. The real problem, however, is the violent policies of the Turkish state that brutally oppressed minorities and conquered nations, resulting in mass crimes and genocide against Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Cypriots, Greeks and Iranians!
Turkey has some fears with respect to Armenia. This refers Russia’s military bases deployed in Armenia; Turkey considers, Russia may make Armenia an outpost against Turkey or Azerbaijan, destabilizing the South Caucasus, which isn’t an issue not only for Turkey, but for the whole region.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is against the military solutions of conflicts. “Armenpress” reports, citing the Iranian IRNA agency, the President of Iran Hasan Rohani stated during a press conference with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
Telegram, the encrypted messaging app that launched in 2013, now has 100 million monthly active users, “Armenpress” reports. In a blog post announcing the milestone, the company said 350,000 new users are joining the service every day, and that 15 billion messages are sent on the app daily. Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed the company’s latest figures at a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress on February 23.
Azerbaijan, being under some pressure from the West, now attempts to overcome the isolation through Iran. Chair of YSU Political Institutions and Processes, political scientist Garik Keryan expressed such an opinion in an interview with “Armenpress”, referring to Aliyev’s visit to Iran.
Conservatives and Reformers are competing for 290 seats in Iran’s parliamentary elections which will take place on 26 February. Overall, more than 12 thousand citizens had submitted their candidacy, but eventually only 6 thousand 200 candidacies were approved, out of which 586 are women. As noted by expert of Iranian studies Gohar Iskandaryan at a news conference in the press hall of “Armenpress”, a heated competition is expected among Armenian candidates as well. In the beginning 9 candidates were competing over 2 seats which were foreseen for Armenian candidates, but eventually one of them withdrew.
Presidents of the United States and Russia – Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama – have reached an agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria, which is due to come into force at midnight on February 27 after all the parties to the conflict will sign up to it, Putin said in a statement placed on the Kremlin website, “Armenpress” reports, citing “TASS”.
All conflicting sides of the Syrian war continue perpetrating war crimes by blockading cities and wide-spread bombing, as well as by creating obstacles for humanitarian aid. “Armenpress” reports, the new report of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, a body mandated by the UN Human Rights Commission, makes such conclusions.
Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Khachatryan and World Bank’s Regional Director for the South Caucasus Mercy Tembon signed a loan agreement on February 23. As “Armenpress” was informed from the press service of the Ministry of Finance, the WB will provide Armenia with 55 million USD loan with 25 years maturity date 14.5 of which is a grace period.
