President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs has lauded the Armenia–Azerbaijan initialed peace deal and expressed hope that the process would lead to regional stability and normalization between the two countries.

Speaking during his official visit alongside Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan at a joint press conference, Rinkēvičs said that the main goal of his visit is to support Armenia in ongoing reforms and the deepening of ties with the EU.

President Rinkēvičs also addressed the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, stressing that Latvia supports and highly values the steps taken by Yerevan and Baku toward peace.

“We highly value the peace agreement that Armenia and Azerbaijan are working toward, and I hope that this process will lead to the normalization of relations between the two countries, as well as greater stability and security in the wider region,” the Latvian President said.

He noted that Latvia considers Armenia a very important partner in the South Caucasus.

President Rinkēvičs stressed that, in addition to political relations, Armenia and Latvia should also take steps to promote economic cooperation.

The Latvian President expressed confidence that his visit would contribute to and further deepen cooperation with Armenia. He also praised the level of parliamentary ties between the two countries.

“Latvia highly values Armenia’s choice of the European path, and on that path we will help you as much as possible and look forward to finding new practical avenues for cooperation,” President Rinkēvičs emphasized.

Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs emphasized closer bilateral cooperation and a shared commitment to democratic values, sovereignty, and peace during talks in Yerevan, with discussions focusing on technology, cybersecurity, reforms, and Armenia’s partnership with the European Union.

“The Armenian–Latvian partnership is based on friendship, democratic values, and a shared commitment to ensuring a prosperous and more secure future for our peoples,” President Vahagn Khachaturyan said at a joint press conference with his Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rinkēvičs, who is visiting Armenia.

The President noted with satisfaction that in recent years Armenia and Latvia have taken active steps toward developing strong and dynamic cooperation.

“Armenia and Latvia are like-minded countries in promoting independence, sovereignty, democratic values, and peace, and are determined to further deepen cooperation in this regard,” the Armenian President said.

Khachaturyan noted that during the meeting with his Latvian counterpart, the sides thoroughly discussed various components of bilateral relations, emphasizing the promotion of trade and investment and considering the utilization of the significant potential in the high-tech sector to be promising and mutually beneficial.

“Taking into account Latvia’s significant achievements in the fields of information technology, digitalization, innovation, and cybersecurity, as well as the successful experience of Armenia’s innovation and technology centers and other important reforms implemented in both the public and private sectors,” the Armenian President said.

He added that during the meeting with the President of Latvia, the sides emphasized the need to implement more targeted cooperation programs in cybersecurity, air connectivity, education, and other areas of bilateral interest. In the context of advancing sectoral cooperation, they also stressed the importance of expanding the legal and contractual framework, which currently includes more than two dozen documents.

Khachaturyan stressed that he had expressed gratitude to the Latvian President for the support provided by his government to reforms being implemented in Armenia within the framework of development cooperation. According to the Armenian President, during the talks the sides also highlighted the importance of continuing cooperation between Armenia and the Nordic-Baltic (NB8) countries format established after 2024.

“In the context of our cooperation, of course, the dialogue carried out within the framework of the partnership between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union is of particular importance. First of all, I expressed gratitude to Mr. President for his contribution to advancing Armenia–European Union cooperation. I noted the importance of the continuation of Latvia’s support for programs of primary importance for Armenia, emphasizing their role in strengthening Armenia’s resilience. I also highly appreciated Latvia’s participation in the European Union civilian monitoring mission in Armenia. We hope that with Latvia’s support we will also be able to advance our reform agenda, which is a cornerstone for realizing Armenia’s aspirations for European Union membership in the future,” President Khachaturyan emphasized.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with the President of the Chamber of Representatives of Belgium, Peter De Roover, on the margins of the Yerevan Dialogue 2026.

According to a readout from the Foreign Ministry, the sides discussed issues related to the development of the Armenia–Belgium bilateral partnership, in which the established ties between the parliaments of the two countries and their progressive agenda play a special role.

They also expressed satisfaction with the achievements recorded in Armenia–European Union relations and discussed Armenia’s prospects for European integration.

Views were exchanged on regional issues, and FM Mirzoyan presented steps aimed at the continued institutionalization of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Humanitarian issues were also addressed.

President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs invited his Armenian counterpart Vahagn Khachaturyan to pay a visit to his country to continue what he described as the “excellent dialogue.”

“During this political dialogue, I understood that you, Mr. President, have not visited Latvia. Therefore, it is a great honor for me to officially invite you and your delegation to visit Latvia to continue this excellent dialogue,” President Rinkēvičs told Khachaturyan at a joint press conference in Yerevan after their meeting.

The Latvian President arrived in Armenia on an official visit on May 7.

He earlier met with Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan. A meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is also expected.

Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan said he held talks with executives of a Polish defense company during his visit to the country.

Papikyan arrived in Poland on an official visit on May 5 and attended the Defence24 Days defense and security conference in Warsaw.

“I met with executives of the company and discussed a number of issues pertaining to cooperation,” he said on social media.

The Armenian and Finnish foreign ministries held political consultations on the margins of the Yerevan Dialogue 2026 forum. The meeting was co-chaired by Armenian Deputy FM Vahan Kostanyan and Sari Rautio, Director General for the Euro-Atlantic Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The foreign ministry officials praised the continuously expanding political dialogue between Armenia and Finland.

A number of issues related to the development of bilateral sectoral cooperation were discussed, including interaction in trade and economic affairs, security, high technologies, and water resources management, according to a readout from the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

The expansion of the Armenia–EU partnership and the deepening of cooperation between Armenia and Finland within the EU framework were emphasized.

Views were exchanged on a range of international and regional issues. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia presented the situation in the South Caucasus, addressing matters related to the institutionalization of peace and the development of connectivity.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday that he would file a defamation lawsuit against business tycoon and Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan after the latter questioned the credibility of the prime minister’s statements, claiming he uses “hallucinogenic mushrooms.”

Karapetyan, who is leading the Strong Armenia party in the June 7 elections, held a press conference on Thursday and alleged that Pashinyan, according to his information, had brought “one ton of hallucinogenic mushrooms” from China, which he allegedly uses before every speech, and said the prime minister’s statements should not be taken seriously.

Pashinyan rejected the allegations in a video posted on Facebook, lambasting Karapetyan, whom he described as the “oligarch from Kaluga” due to his ties to Russia, and dismissing the statement as “idiotic.”

“I was shown the idiotic statement of the Kaluga oligarch about one ton of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Naturally, I will sue the Kaluga oligarch, and in the legal sense of the word, I will make the Kaluga oligarch consume one ton of hallucinogenic mushrooms. I apologize for my harsh language, but ultimately, everything has its limits,” said Pashinyan.

The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 7 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.72 drams to 369.28 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.63 drams to 434.49 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.0112 drams to 4.9452 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.61 drams to 502.96 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 1438 drams to 55883 drams. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted a delegation led by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who arrived in Armenia on an official visit.

Pashinyan welcomed the Latvian president’s visit to Armenia and thanked Latvia for supporting Armenia’s bid to host the European Political Community Summit.

“First of all, I would like to thank you and Latvia for supporting our candidacy to host the European Political Community Summit, which was truly a historic event for Armenia. The first Armenia-EU summit also took place, which was very important. We see and feel Latvia’s growing support for our democracy, reform agenda and deepening cooperation with the EU,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said Armenia highly appreciates Latvia’s support and added that Rinkēvičs’ visit was another manifestation of the deepening bilateral and multilateral relations between the two countries.

The Latvian president thanked the Armenian side for the warm hospitality and recalled that he had previously visited Armenia in 2015 as Latvia’s foreign minister.

“I was surprised to learn that this is the first presidential-level visit since 2009, after 17 years. Let me say that we consider Armenia a very good friend and partner, both in terms of bilateral cooperation and within the framework of Armenia-EU partnership. We welcome your decision to embark on the European path, and you can fully rely on us,” Rinkēvičs said, conveying the greetings of Latvia’s prime minister to Pashinyan.

The sides discussed the development of trade and economic ties and the expansion of cooperation in various fields, including tourism and education.

They also touched upon the development of Armenia-EU relations, emphasizing the importance of the first Armenia-EU summit and progress toward visa liberalization.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and other regional issues. 

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Janez Lenarčič, Head of the OSCE ODIHR Observation Mission in Armenia.

The interlocutors touched upon issues related to the organization of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia, the PM’s Office said in a readout.

Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that the Government has taken all steps to organize and conduct the elections in a free, fair and transparent manner, adding that equal conditions have been created for all participating political forces. The Prime Minister attached importance to the effective implementation of election observation missions, emphasizing that all opportunities are available for this. At the same time, the Prime Minister emphasized that since 2018, elections in Armenia have been held in a free, fair and transparent manner, and expressed confidence that the upcoming elections will also meet democratic standards.

According to Janez Lenarčič, there is great interest in the Armenian elections among OSCE member states, a large observation delegation has been sent to Armenia, whose members will be deployed throughout the republic. He expressed hope that the elections will be held at a high level and in accordance with international standards.