Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of top news as of 28.02.2020:
· Armenia commemorates the Sumgait pogroms in Azerbaijan. On February 27, 1988, mass pogroms of the Armenian population of the city started and lasted three days. According to official data, 32 Armenians of Sumgait were killed and hundreds suffered severe injuries and became disabled after being tortured and ridiculed.
Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan and a political elite visited Friday the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to pay tribute to the innocent victims of the crime. The Georgian defense minister has also visited the Memorial.
Meanwhile, Canadian MPs have also commemorated the Sumgait and Baku pogroms. MP Faycal El-Khoury made a statement in the House and highlighted the importance to stand up against injustice and defend human rights across the globe. Another MP Bob Saroya noted Azerbaijan’s destructive policies and hate crimes, impeding the Artsakh Peace Process.
· The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is under constant review of the CSTO, the organization’s general secretary, Stanislav Zas told reporters in Yerevan.
Asked to comment on the incidents on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Stanislav Zas noted if Armenia appeals for help to the CSTO, the organization as a whole, will express its position and provide the necessary aid.
· Armenian defense minister’s deputy head Gabriel Balayan commented on the recent deaths in an army as 14 soldiers have been killed over the past month.
According to him, “work is underway, criminal cases are being examined, circumstances are being clarified, including certain new circumstances.”
· A total of 54 deaths from the new coronavirus were recorded in the past day, and the overall death toll has reached 2,858 worldwide.
The second case has been recorded in Georgia. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Belarus have also recorded their first coronavirus cases.
What comes to Armenia’s fight against coronavirus, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan noted that respective steps are being taken within Armenia as well. However, the Secretary noted that a decision to close Armenia’s border with Georgia has not been discussed yet.
· 33 Turkish soldiers have died and another 36 injured in Idlib by the Syrian airstrike.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened a meeting on the security issue. Ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman Omer Celik said the incident is an attack on NATO.
Meanwhile, the international community calls for de-escalation. Thus, according to EU High Representative Josep Borrell “EU calls on all sides for rapid de-escalation and regret all loss of life.”
What comes to migrants, hundreds of them head for Turkey’s borders with Greece and Bulgaria after a senior official said Ankara will no longer prevent Syrian refugees from reaching Europe. And Turkish President has repeatedly threatened to open the gate to Europe.
