Top Armenian military rejects Minsk invite as he “has visited Karabakh”February 10, 2017 - 17:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A top Armenian military official has rejected an invitation to participate in the 90th anniversary of the formation of Belarusian DOSAAF as he “has visited Nagorno Karabakh.” DOSAAF is the Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Fleet. Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan (Komandos), who heads the Armenian DOSAAF, is currently supervising the training of specialists in the Armenian armed forces. He is known as the "mastermind of Shushi liberation," having been named commander of the operation (dubbed Wedding in Mountains) to seize the strategic town in Karabakh. In a Facebook post, Komandos said he had to reject the invitation as he “had been to Nagorno Karabakh.” The extradition by Minsk of Russian-Israeli blogger Alexander Lapshin to Azerbaijan has strained diplomatic ties between Armenia and Belarus. Lapshin, 40, divides his time between Israel and a few other places. He was arrested on December 15 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, at the request of Azeri authorities who demanded his extradition. The arrest was made one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Lapshin was arrested following his visits to Karabakh as well as due to critical posts in his Russian-language blog against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |