2022 July 29

Daily news wrap-up

Ուրբաթ օրվա նորությունները․ Jul/29/2022.
by ar_david_hh

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15 minutes. 3735 words

how did the Urartian Armenians build the ancient Yerevan 2,800 years ago? | VIDEO

French archaeologists are in Yerevan to use a time machine. As part of the Erebuni protection program, they will train their Armenian colleagues to create bricks that work and look like the original ones.

[watch the process,](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=770596950949190)

when will the Lydian gold miner begin to digggg?

Economy Minister Kerobyan: There are no legal hurdles to operating the mine. The company is currently resolving the issue of financial consolidation so they can invest $250m-$300m. I don't have an ETA. We plan to meet next week. I'll ask them.

[watch,](https://youtu.be/WE9R1Q7pQ7A)

Q: This year the state's capital expenditures +55%. Did this contribute to the construction sector's +13% in H1?

Finance Ministry rep: The lion's share of construction development comes from private construction, mostly housing. It's stimulated by the government's income tax refund program, mortgages, and the increased housing demand after the events in Ukraine.

As for the capital expenditures program, we plan to invest more in infrastructure projects this year. Part of it is complete, while the rest is pending. Even if we don't manage to invest everything this year, it's expected to rise YoY.

This is part of our goal to achieve a 7% economic growth this year.

What do international organizations predict?

Earlier this year they predicted ~1.5% economic growth for 2022, but later revised it to 5%. [The US predicts ~1%]

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089235.html)

farmers are seeing reduced crop yield amid extreme temperatures

Farmers in Gegharkunik are harvesting their grain. So far the volumes are smaller this year because of a lack of moisture and precipitation, especially in July.

Agriculture official: Everything was great until July. The extremely dry and hot weather took away moisture from the soil, forcing the farmers to launch the harvest 2 weeks sooner, which did not allow the crops to mature fully. On some lands, farmers are harvesting the yield to use as fodder because no seeds were able to form. Barley fields have so far provided only 14 centners per hectare.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089256.html)

Queen's legendary guitarist Dr. Brian May will attend the STARMUS 6 international science festival in Yerevan

Garik Israelyan co-founded the world-famous science festival with Brian May. The latter will be among several dozen foreign guests. This will be his first trip to Armenia. Read the story in [July 19 digest](https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/w32hbf/your_tuesday_news_digest_from_armenia_jul192022/).

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089272.html)

U.S. Senate's 2023 bill could provide $2m in de-mining assistance to Artsakh

The bill reaffirms Section 907 (aid restrictions for Azerbaijan), and recommends $2m in demining assistance to Artsakh, along with humanitarian aid to help Armenian IDPs.

Last month, the U.S. House passed its version of the bill that also called for $2m in demining assistance to Artsakh and $60m in assistance to Armenia.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089237.html)

Artsakh held the second session of the Council for the protection of cultural heritage in occupied territories

State Minister Beglaryan: An extensive fact-finding campaign was launched after the formation of this council. Today we will discuss issues relating to the direction and volumes of future activities.

We also have a list of museums and gallery collections that were left behind in the occupied territories. //

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089232.html)

a new book sheds light on the heroism of military doctors during the 1990s Artsakh war

սպիտակ խալաթով զինվորները հրամանատարներից և ազատամարտիկներից ոչ պակաս ներդրում ունեն հաղթանակի կերտման մեջ: The book is titled «Նրանց ժամանակը»:

Dr. Valeri Marutyan's medical team created the first field hospitals and essentially became the "founders" of military medicine after the independence. Thanks to their efforts, the doctors operated 11,000 times and sent 8,000 soldiers back to the front lines.

The book presents personal stories, and how they treated Armenian and Azeri wounded soldiers on the battlefield. It will be translated into English soon.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089246.html)

parents of missing soldiers gathered in front of the defense ministry building

Father: We want them to bring one of the commanders for face-to-face questioning.

Reporter: Who is the commander?

Father: Qyaramyan Pavlik. We want to know the circumstances relating to the death of our sons. Whose order was it to move the group from Martakert to Martuni and station them on a hill under the open air? We want justice, and we want to know how Pavlik became a hero, but not our sons.

Second father: Our boys fought and captured a hill in Martakert-Mataghis. They were then deceived and taken to Martuni-2. The commander Pavlik abandoned them. Today he claims not to know where the soldiers are. Who else does, if not him?

Third father: They fought for a week in the open air, without a single defense structure and trenches. Had Pavlik properly informed the generals about the lack of defense infrastructure? 17 people died in that location.

[watch,](https://youtu.be/LoMMSocPVIE?t=7) [watch,](https://youtu.be/wNKngGlZUY8)

Artsakh will have a new Constitution by the end of this year

Opposition MP: If everything goes smoothly, we will have a new Constitution on December 10. The efforts by the expert committee began a few months ago.

The presidential and parliamentary elections will be separated. Today, the parliament must be dismissed if the president resigns, triggering new presidential and parliamentary elections within 40 days.

After the amendment, the parliament will elect a new president before it's dismissed.

This will allow Arayik Harutyunyan to safely resign without causing a crisis. If he were to resign today, Azerbaijan could launch provocations to prevent new elections from being held, leaving a catastrophic gap in the administration. //

[read,](https://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/301807/)

disabled war veterans helped weave this beautiful carpet

On Thursday, a group of five veterans weaved the final knots of the "Arevagorg" carpet (sun carpet) that was being weaved since last year. Anyone could come in, weave a knot, and donate ֏1k to the soldiers' fund. They were able to fundraise ֏8.1m.

It was a program organized by the Soldiers' Insurance Foundation and Megeryan Carpet company.

Arevagorg belongs to the family of carpets from Artsakh's Jraberd. In the center, you'll find a blossomed cross surrounded by sun rays.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089257.html)

Armenia will launch the construction of the new Armenia-Artsakh road next month

Read [June 30 digest](https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/vogg80/jun302022_news_artsakh_will_build_a_large_hydro/) for context. The Lachin road will be replaced with a new one. Azerbaijan will soon finish the construction of the road passing through areas held by them. They also sent construction crews to Armenian-held areas in more recent times.

President Arayik Harutyunyan last month: Russia and Azerbaijan initially offered several road connection options. We rejected all of them. The new road that's being built today was discussed during Security Council sessions several times, attended by representatives of opposition parties. We chose the best and most secure option. I firmly believe the new path will be orders of magnitude safer for many reasons, without opening parenthesis. It will be easier for our NSS and peacekeepers to do their work. //

Next month, the Republic of Armenia will launch the construction of the M12-Tegh-Kornidzor road within the Republic of Armenia. This road will become the new section that connects Armenia to Artsakh.

In the future, Armenians will begin the construction of the remaining part of the road in areas controlled by Artsakh.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089245.html)

interview with Security Council chief Armen Grigoryan

Reporter: International partners are saying there is a serious opportunity to establish lasting peace in South Caucasus. Do you agree?

Grigoryan: We do, and that's our goal.

Reporter: How will you achieve lasting peace?

Grigoryan: By demarcating the borders and increasing the stability. The process has begun. The border commissions will hold the second meeting in Moscow in August.

Reporter: Azerbaijan accused Armenia of delaying this process.

Grigoryan: We offered to hold this second meeting 1-2 months ago. It was Azerbaijan that delayed it until August. We also support the plans to unblock regional communications. This is part of our plans to realize the "Armenian Crossroads" communications project. Of course, we can discuss the issue of the east-west communication route. We have never insisted on any particular option. We will find the most efficient option to make the Armenian Crossroads more appealing. We have seen a certain progress during the AM-RU-AZ meetings. We are willing to continue in the same spirit.

Reporter: Are the border demarcation and communication links the only two steps necessary to establish peace with Azerbaijan? What will be the status of Karabakh?

Grigoryan: No. The culmination of the roadmap and peace agenda is the signing of the peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan presented 5 proposals, which are not unacceptable to us.

Reporter: Does that mean Armenia will have no territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and will recognize its territorial integrity?

Grigoryan: We already have. Both countries have recognized each other's territorial integrity since 1991. But Artsakh is not a territorial issue. It is about the security and rights of Karabakhi Armenians. Pashinyan has already mentioned the need to separate the Nagorno-Karabakh issue from Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.

Reporter: In other words, we could sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan without a final solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh status?

Grigoryan: It is too early to talk about any such resolution.

Reporter: What security guarantees will there be for the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians?

Grigoryan: There is an international guarantee for ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, with the presence of Russian peacekeepers. We need to improve these guarantees. The "demilitarization" of the conflict is necessary.

Reporter: Is Armenia ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan?

Grigoryan: We are going in that direction.

Reporter: What about the POWs and the fate of missing persons?

Grigoryan: The resolution of humanitarian issues is a necessary component of peace, including the preservation of cultural heritage. In the last 2 years, Armenia has transferred 130 bodies of Azeris missing since the 1990s war. We expect the same from Azerbaijan. We have over 970 missing persons from the 1990s and 2020 wars.

Reporter: The Ministry announced the construction of the M12-Tegh-Kornidzor highway in August. Is this for the new Lachin Corridor route?

Grigoryan: Yes. The construction will be completed within the time limit stipulated by the trilateral agreement.

Reporter: How do you assess the prospects of Armenia-Turkey relations?

Grigoryan: The special representatives have reached an agreement to open the border for citizens of third countries and to launch air cargo transportation between Armenia and Turkey. Pashinyan and Erdogan agreed to implement these agreements and to take further steps. We will remain committed to these agreements, especially since all of our neighbors, Russia, US, EU, and France are supporting the process of normalizing AM-TR relations.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089282.html)

the opposition held its weekly rally in France Square

Opposition figures: Turkish officials publicly announced that the problem is the opposition in Armenia, and that we aren't allowing the government to establish relations with Turkey. What does this mean? That means we are on the right track, if our enemy is against us.

This struggle is for our country, to prevent its Turkification, to preserve Artsakh. SHAME on you if you don't attend these rallies. You won't be able to look your children in the eye tomorrow. //

[watch,](https://youtu.be/jz5NNv9me5E?t=1589)

that one time when Russia and Turkey traded Armenian and Georgian lands

Beautiful Arpi Lake is located in the ~~northeastern~~ northwestern part of Armenia, where the Georgia-Armenia-Turkey border is.

The 1,000 m^2 area was called "Amasia" during the Soviets. It was also known as "Aghbaba".

In 1920 Turkey had intentions to control this area as well, but they ceded it to Armenia. There were two reasons: to help normalize relations with Armenia, and to trade lands with Russians.

It all started after Russia agreed to give Surmalu (Western Armenia) to Turkey, in exchange for receiving Batumi from Turkey. But since Surmalu was larger than Batumi, Turks agreed to cede Amasia to Russia to make up for it.

[read,](http://www.aniarc.am/2022/07/29/arpi-lake-1918-armenia-turkey/)

Georgian helicopter crashes during a rescue operation in the resort town of Gudauri

A group of paragliders needed to be rescued from a gorge. The border police helicopter lost control and crashed on a rock. Five people died in the explosion. Armenia's emergency ministry sent condolences to his Georgian colleague.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089291.html) [read,](https://agenda.ge/en/news/2022/2911) [read,](https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/241618) [read,](https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/07/29/helicopter-crash-leaves-five-dead-while-on-rescue-mission-in-georgia/)

real fire breaks out 500 meters from firefighters who were exercising in Khosrov Reserve

The firefighters abandoned the [exercises](https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/241605), which included the use of drones and helicopters, and rushed to extinguish the real fire. They brought the helicopter to help contain the 3,000 m^2 fire.

[read,](https://youtu.be/GZYhGmTcks8?t=23)

the Caucasian Leopard appears to have finally found the hidden camera in Khosrov Reserve | VIDEO

[watch,](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1462627840816757)

get paid by doing laundry and ironing without leaving your home

ARDOOK (iron) is a new social initiative that will provide mothers of disabled children an opportunity to work at home.

Founder Shogher Atanesyan: They have problems with finding jobs because they cannot leave their children and go out. We will provide them with jobs: they will do laundry and ironing at home. That way they can get a steady income.

EU ambassador Wiktorin: Love it. It implies the exercise of rights and opportunities. Children with disabilities will not be deprived of their mothers and care.

[read,](http://arka.am/en/news/society/ardook_initiative_provides_mothers_of_children_with_disabilities_with_work_at_home_/)

crime stats for H1 2022

Overall +23%, primary because of the filed defamation cases (no longer a felony today), driving without a license, and drugs.

Down: Murder, attempted murder, intentional bodily injury, sexual crime, robbery, fraud, burglary.

Up: Inflicting serious damage to health, hooliganism, theft, vehicle theft, embezzlement, and electronic crimes.

63% of crimes were mild, 22% were medium. The crime clearance rate has improved by 2.8%.

422 corruption cases: 134 bribery, 64 embezzlement, 44 forgery, 90 abuse of power, etc.

Road accidents are down: -275 incidents, -30 deaths, -509 injuries.

921 cops were investigated, 322 were disciplined.

[read,](https://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/241615)

HayPost has a new stamp featuring the legendary Soviet-era movie "bride from the north" | IMAGE

The "Հարսնացուն հյուսիսից" stamp, printed in France, is worth ֏800․ The famous Armenian [comedy](https://armfilm.co/en/armenian-old-movies/14129-the-bride-from-the-north-movie-1975.html) was released in 1975.

Another stamp features a beloved cartoon character "Vin the penguin".

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089233.html)

Ararat-Armenia is out

On [Tuesday we learned](https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/w8usew/tuesday_news_summary_from_armenia_jul262022/) that Pyunik became the first Armenian soccer club to advance through two qualification rounds in UEFA Champions League.

Meanwhile, Ararat-Armenia was playing in the less prestigious UEFA Conference League. The game ended 5-3 (penalties) in favor of Estonia's Paide. Their previous match had ended 0-0, which means Ararat-Armenia is out.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089236.html)

2022/23 Armenian soccer league begins

Artsakh FC vs. Van FC will kick off the championship tournament on Friday. Pyunik and Ararat will face each tomorrow.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089252.html)

Armenian judoists win 3 bronze medals during the European junior championship

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089266.html)

kids got a new bike, but...

Armenian cyclists participated in the European Youth Olympic Festival. This year they received "expensive" bikes with the help of the Sports Ministry and Himnadram. The bikes arrived in time and they were able to train, but a drama unfolded during the competition.

Coach: Sadly our boys lost the chance to win a prize. Someone fell right at the start, forcing everyone behind to get off of their bikes and walk. It made our athletes' job more difficult. They fought until the end, but luck wasn't on our side this time.

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089269.html)

top-10 bestseller documentary books in June

5) The 5AM Club, by Robin Sharma.

4) Be Exceptional, by Joe Navarro.

3) The Cafe on the Edge of the World, by John Strelecky.

2) What Every Body Is Saying, by Joe Navarro.

1) >!Rich Dad Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki.!<

[read,](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1089151.html)

==interview with military expert Col. Artsrun Hovhannisyan

Reporter: For many years, the Russian media told Armenians that Ukraine was selling weapons to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Russia itself was selling weapons to Azerbaijan. Officially it's around $2b, but I'm confident the number is much higher. They wouldn't disclose every transaction.

We know how corrupt the Russian system is. Arms exports could be underreported, just as they underreport energy exports so they can pocket the unreported amount. The arms industry is a very lucrative business, so I expect this $2b to be a modest number.

Ukraine sold weapons to Azerbaijan for several years as well, but they did not function during the exercises in Nakhijevan, so the sales kind of froze afterward.

I also have information that up until 2010 Armenia was also purchasing weapons from Ukraine, worth about $40m.

Anyways. While Azerbaijan was importing 80% of its weapons from Russia, there was a propaganda campaign in Armenia about Israel and Ukraine arming Azerbaijan. It was a distraction from the fact that Azeris won the war thanks to Russian weapons.

Artsrun: This is a field that's often manipulated. I'll tell you the facts. Ukraine became one of the largest arms exporters after the fall of the USSR. They inherited a huge reserve of weapons but foolishly scattered them around the world.

Reporter: They regret it today. They are blaming each other.

Artsrun: Exactly. And yes, Armenia was also importing weapons from Ukraine prior to 2010. I don't know if it was $40m, or $10m, or whatever. You know very well the schemes that were being used to import weapons before 2015, so many things are unclear.

Reporter: The fact is, we were also buying weapons from Ukraine.

Artsrun: Yes, but of course, we weren't their biggest client. Ukraine was selling more to Azerbaijan due to politics. Around 2010, Ukraine started cracking down on these shady schemes, and almost completely shut it down after 2014.

Yes, from 2007-2010 Russia became Azerbaijan's #1 arms supplier, but only for specific types of weapons. Russians were supplying mainly ground weapons like tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery, which were not precise. The highest quality weapons that helped Azerbaijan win the war were not of Russian origin, although the Russian Smerch, Solntsepyok, Msta, also played a role.

Reporter: But Russia was selling its best T-90 tanks to Azerbaijan. That's not a scrap.

Artsrun: Yes. Russia adopted a misguided arms sales strategy after the fall of the USSR. In order not to lose clients, they would often sell their best weapons to foreign clients, while keeping the low-quality ones for themselves. Very sad. Their best "Su" family jets are more often seen in Asian countries than in Russia.

Reporter: But if we remove Azerbaijan's land weapons supplied by Russia, they couldn't win the war with the "drones" alone.

Artsrun: Our military kept quiet, while president Serj once publicly complained about our strategic partner giving these weapons to our opponent.

Reporter: During the war we faced a severe shortage of types of weapons that Russia had sold to Azerbaijan, especially artillery, tanks, ...

Artsrun: Quality... we had a severe shortage of quality weapons, especially the artillery. There was also a lack of military experts. The general lack of knowledge led to Armenians promoting the myth about the "superpowers" of the Bayraktar drone (TB2).

Reporter: Armenians themselves are responsible for the fear of TB2. This was confirmed by a very literate colonel, whose name I will not mention. He explained to me that it wasn't TB2 that gave Azeris the victory.

Artsrun: I agree. I've said this a thousand times. There is no single weapon that played a decisive role. With the help of Israeli and Turkish experts, Azerbaijan used a broad system. [In an order of importance:] air control centers, F-16 jets, Hermes 900, 3 or 4 other types of Israeli drones, Israeli Spike NLOS missiles, and only then TB2.

By the way, during the war, people would often mistakingly credit many destructions to TB2, while in reality it was the Spike NLOS. They shoot it from a helicopter 25km away. Israeli weapons played a far greater role than the Turkish TB2.

Reporter: Wasn't TB2 primarily used to guide the artillery fire?

Artsrun: The precision artillery was the second component. Yes, the artillery was using the drone to locate the targets.

Reporter: Who sold the phosphorus weapons to Azerbaijan? Russians recently used it in several locations in Ukraine, but Ukrainians couldn't respond similarly because they don't have phosphorus weapons. Yet during the 2020 war, the Russian propaganda claimed it was Ukraine that sold phosphorus to Azerbaijan.

Artsrun: Armenian authorities have not officially announced wheater they know where Azerbaijan got it from. There is one thing you may not like to hear: USSR and Russia were never a fan of phosphorus production. USSR did possess a small quality in 152mm shells.

It's unlikely that Azerbaijan acquired it from Ukraine or Russia. The primary suspects are the countries that have the military production potential and happen to possess modern western technologies. These are mostly non-CIS republics that were part of the Warsaw Pact. >![I can already see Reddit pointing the finger at Hungary or Czechia.]!<

Armenia and Azerbaijan have purchased large quantities of weapons from Eastern European countries since their independence. Turkey is also on the suspect list. They do have some 152mm reserves, including ones previously received from Germany. When Germany unified, they transferred a lot of weapons to Turkey.

Mathematically speaking, it's highly unlikely that Azerbaijan received the phosphorus from a former USSR republic.

Reporter: This isn't the first time Russia attempted to harm our diplomatic relations with Ukraine. During the war, the Novaya Gazeta claimed their sources had knowledge that Ukraine was gathering volunteers in Lviv to help Azerbaijan. In reality, Ukraine maintained a neutral stance throughout the war. When a Ukrainian ambassador in Turkey (or Azerbaijan) made a problematic statement, Ukraine's foreign minister, who was in Italy at the time, immediately countered that by declaring Ukraine's neutral stance in the conflict.

Artsrun: The claims about the supposed Ukrainian mercenaries were circulated in early October, I believe. But we did not give a great significance to it because there was/is no evidence to back it up. Some myths from the 1990s war were also being circulated about "bad Ukrainians helping Azerbaijan". The rumors in 2020 were propagated by a group of Russian-Armenian bloggers who visited Armenia. I don't know why they were fixated on Ukraine. To this day we have no evidence of Ukraine sending mercenaries or volunteers to Azerbaijan in 2020. And to be honest, Azerbaijan had already recruited thousands of terrorists.

Reporter: How useful will Armenia's two satellites be for the military?

Artsrun: Very. Armenia will finally leave the cave. We can improve it over time by getting even better optics. Thanks to the rapid development of space technologies by Elon Musk, today a country like Armenia has an opportunity to have a satellite. //

[watch,](https://youtu.be/8KhdKS13Czk)

in case you missed

Yesterday's news in English, русский (by Impossible-Ad-). Archive by Armeniapedia. Donate to Armenia & Artsakh here

The accused are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/wbfm36/ուրբաթ_օրվա_նորությունները_jul292022/