Armenia's first Foreign Minister barred from entering KarabakhAugust 1, 2022 - 13:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The first foreign minister of Armenia and the founder of the Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian was barred from entering the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) by Russian peacekeeping troops on Sunday, July 31. Hovannisian was traveling to Karabakh to participate in the baptism of his grandchild in the capital Stepanakert, the party said in a statement. "Showing him their commanding officer's order, along with an accompanying photo, the soldiers at the checkpoint didn't give any articulate reason or justification for the rejection, but confirmed that the ban could have come from "the very top" of Yerevan," the statement reads. "The government of Artsakh, unaware and greatly surprised by such a decision, tried for a long time to clarify and then settle the illegality, but in vain. Its representatives did not rule out the possible connection of the Baku dictatorship to this permissiveness." The party blamed the incident of the "failed leader" of the current Armenian government, which it said must resign to pave the way for "real regional peace and security". Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Partner news | 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. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. 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. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |