Moscow benefactor promises to help; has already sent $20,000

Alla Soghomonyan remembers what happened after they moved into their new home in Shushi. The family had been living in Shushi since 2001. The three room house was built for them by the NKR government, after Mr. and Mrs. Soghomonyan had their seventh child. The government wants to encourage large families.

“We moved into the new house in October, 2003. Soon after, we noticed that the walls would get damp and the plaster crack,” she said. »»»»»

The following article, written by Matthew Collin, appeared in the February 5 edition of Al Jazeera.net.

In the frontline trenches of Nagorno-Karabakh, the long-running conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis over the disputed mountain enclave continues.

In the village of Khramort, children make their way home from school for lunch, some laughing and joking with each other, others holding on tightly to their mothers’ hands. »»»»»

Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and the government of Artsakh implement drinking-water project in Sos Village

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund continues to make headway in the construction of a drinking-water network in Sos, a village in Artsakh’s Martuni Region, as well as the refurbishment of the community’s broken water reservoir. The project, launched in October 2009, is co-sponsored by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate and the government of Artsakh. »»»»»

NKR President Bako Sahakyan today named Vasily Atadjanyan to the post of NKR Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Prior to the posting, Mr. Atadjanyan had been a member of the NKR Parliament, serving as President of the Standing Committee for Social Affairs. He will join Vardan Barseghyan as the NKR’s other deputy foreign affairs minister.

“I understood that this was to become our real, actual, Tigranakert city,” joked Harout Baghiryan.

The Baghiryan family has been living in Tigranakert, formerly Aghdam, for the past twelve years. After the experts excavated the place and found that the town was built by Tigran the Great, Harout Baghiryan realized that he had made the right choice in putting down roots here. Harout presented himself as town’s supervisor. »»»»»

NKR President Bako Sahakyan met yesterday with a delegation from the All Armenia Fund, headed by Executive Director Ara Vardanyan. The two sides discussed on-going projects in the country, with special attention to the plans for the town of Shushi.

President Sahakyan emphasized the importance of completing the projects envisaged for Shushi in a timely manner and according to the higher standards, given the town’s significance for Armenians worldwide. »»»»»

During yesterday’s meeting with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Robert Bradke, NKR President Bako Sahakyan stated that Karabakh’s independence and security are non-negotiable and that any attempt to disregard this reality would lead to a failure of settlement talks.

The Press Office of the NKR’s Office of the President stated that President Sahakyan told the visiting U.S. Co-Chair that a settlement would only be possible if the NKR and Azerbaijan engaged in bilateral negotiations. Both Mr. Bradke and President Sahakyan stressed that the normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations was a separate process not linked to the Karabakh conflict settlement.

NKR Defense Minister Movses Hakobyan proudly proclaimed that 188 apartments had been allocated to military service personnel in 2009. He said that this was a substantial increase over previous years despite the ongoing financial crisis.

During a press conference yesterday, DM Hakobyan stated that to date 770 officers in the NKR Defense Forces had been allocated housing and that 217 million AMD had been spent for this purpose in 2009.

At a press conference held today, NKR Minister of Defense Movses Hakobyan described 2009 as militarily “quite complex”, but nevertheless claimed that units of the Karabakh Defense Force were able to advance their frontline positions by about one kilometre in five different locations along the Arax River.

The NKR Defense Minister also boasted that, “I am ready to perform operations with this tank unit anywhere, even deep in enemy territory, and I am convinced we’d face no problem at all.” Here he was referring to the outstanding results of military inspections conducted in 2009 and the fact that the tank unit in question also performed quite well in military manoeuvres. »»»»»

According to reports from the NKR Ministry of Health, four cases of the H1N1 flu virus have been registered in the country so far. Two are children, the other two senior citizens.

Nine blood samples had been sent by NKR health official to Yerevan for examination. Four turned out positive for “swine flu”. One of those afflicted is being treated on an out-patient basis. The other three had been hospitalized. One individual has already been released and a second will soon be.

The Azerbaijani mass media have once again lost their way in broad daylight, trying to depict the Karabakh party in an unfavourable light. During a day, the woman, who was killed on December 20, 2009 on the NKR and Azerbaijani armed forces’ contact-line first by an “Armenian” serviceman, then, as it was found out, by an Azerbaijani soldier, turned from an «Armenian woman» into an Azerbaijani one. Moreover, a photo of a Georgian woman made in August 2008 during the war in South Ossetia was attached to the information. »»»»»

As of December 21, all pre-schools will be closed in the NKR for a period of one week according to a decree by President Bako Sahakyan. The decree was issued after yesterday’s session of the Security Council which reviewed appropriate steps to stem an outbreak of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

President Sahakyan stated that the likelihood of such an outbreak was low but that all possible measures needed to be taken to rule out any such occurrence.

An interview with Mher Harutyunyan, Director of the “Kajar”Analytical Center of Shushi and Assistant Professor of Historical Sciences at Artsakh State University.

The NKR seeks to garner international recognition. This first step could be taken by the RoA. Armenian authorities argue that they will not grant recognition in order to hinder negotiations and lead the settlement process into a dead end. »»»»»

Yesterday, in Stepanakert, there was a gathering of various NGO’s and political experts, during which participants discussed and debated various aspects of the Karabakh settlement process and recent developments to reach an internationally brokered peace accord. Specific attention was paid to the joint statement issued after the meeting in Athens.

Vahram Atanesyan, a member of the NKR Parliament and President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that it was high time foe the NKR government to officially declare its position regarding the Madrid Principles. Mr. Atanesyan stated, “This question, whether the Madrid Principles are in the best national interests of the NKR, must be answered by the government.” »»»»»

On December 1, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg, released the following statement  subsequent to the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Athens.

“The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg met in Athens on December 1 with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian. »»»»»