Month: February 2020

 11:36, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia already has an agreement with a Chinese company and will soon acquire the laboratory test for the novel coronavirus, Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said at a news conference on January 31.

“We have a problem of medical diagnostic tests, everyone has this problem because this is a new disease, and the test is under development. However, we already have an agreement with a Chinese manufacturer for acquiring this test. Our embassy will acquire these tests in a few hours and will send it to Armenia in order to be used in the event of necessity,” he said.

He said the testing methods are used only in the event of a patient displaying clinical symptoms.

So far, he said, there hasn’t been any suspected case in Armenia among arriving travelers. Those who had fever or other flu-like symptoms turned out to have simple respiratory infections or illnesses.

“I can say with 99,9% certainty that we don’t have any [confirmed coronavirus] case in Armenia as of now,” he said.

On January 30, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:59, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Former National Security Service Director Artur Vanetsyan has been questioned at the Investigations Committee, the investigative agency’s spokesperson Naira Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS.

She said that Vanetsyan, who is also a former President of the Football Federation of Armenia, was questioned as a witness amid the criminal investigation into the 2018 wiretapping case as well as another criminal investigation into misconduct committed at the federation.

In 2018, when Vanetsyan was NSS Director, his phone conversation with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was wiretapped and the audio recording was leaked online. Vanetsyan’s phone conversation with Special Investigations Service director Sasun Khachatryan was also leaked. In the audio recordings they are discussing high profile criminal proceedings against ex-president Robert Kocharyan and Yuri Khachaturov, a former military commander who also served as CSTO secretary general. Separate investigations are underway, one to determine whether the discussions constitute obstruction of justice and another is focused on the illegal wiretapping itself.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:11, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is not a high-risk country in terms of the coronavirus, and therefore there is no need to shut down schools or other venues or restrict the movement of citizens, Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan said at a news conference when asked about such possibility given the World Health Organization’s declaration of an international public health emergency.

“The Public Health Emergency of International Concern was issued because of a confirmed human-to-human transmission outside of China. This implies a stricter approach by countries for prevention of the spread. Now, Armenia is not in a high-risk zone. And the actions that will be increased during these days will make us refrain even more from becoming a high-risk country,” he said, adding that they aren’t considering shutting down schools, workplaces or other events.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:44, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Statistics Committee has released the 2019 December economic activity figures, and the number shows that December of 2019 broke all records and secured a 10,7% economic activity growth, PM Nikol Pashinyan said on Facebook.

“Moreover, exports grew 13%. Services grew 11,6%, industry grew 6,4%, construction – 4,9%, and salaries grew 5,4%. The results of the year are more record breaking. I will present it later,” he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:00, 31 January, 2020

ALMATY, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is participating at the ongoing Eurasian Inter-Governmental Council session in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Russian delegation is headed by the new Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Heads of government of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states are in attendance of the session.

Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Chicu is taking part by virtue of Moldova’s status as observer in the organization.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:20, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index of Armenia grew 7,8% in 2019 January-December compared to the previous year, the Statistics Committee said in a report.

During the reporting period the volume of industrial output grew 9%, the gross agricultural production dropped 4,2%, construction grew 4,6% and trade turnover grew 8,9%. Volume of services grew 15%.

Consumer price index increased 1,4%, while the industrial product price index 0,5%.

Electricity production dropped 1,9%. Average monthly wages grew 5,8% – totaling 182750 drams (8,4% increase in public sector and 3,8% increase in private sector).

The volume of foreign trade turnover grew 10,4% (exports grew 9,4% and imports grew 10,8%).

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:34, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has sent Nairi Hunanyan’s letter addressed to him to the Prosecutor General of Armenia. In turn, the prosecution said they have forwarded the letter to the National Security Service to investigate whatever Hunanyan has said in it as part of the re-opened proceedings into a separated criminal case of the October 27 case.

Nairi Hunanyan, the 1999 Armenian parliament attack ringleader, sent a letter from prison addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on January 17.

Unconfirmed media reports earlier said Hunanyan has reportedly expressed willingness in the letter to participate in the re-opened investigation into a separated criminal case of the October 27 case.

On October 27, 1999 a group of five armed gunmen led by Hunanyan stormed into the parliament while it was in session and assassinated Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Speaker Karen Demirchyan, Deputy Speakers Yuri Bakhshyan and Ruben Miroyan, as well as three lawmakers and a Cabinet member. The gunmen held the remaining MPs in parliament hostage until surrendering to authorities the next day.

The five perpetrators, which include Hunanyan’s younger brother and uncle, were sentenced to life in prison in 2003.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:11, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. On January 31, the Armenian governmental Inter-Agency Commission for Coordinating the Preventive Actions of Coronavirus in Armenia held its first meeting chaired by Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan.

During the meeting Avinyan noted that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in China is reaching 10,000, and confirmed cases have already been recorded in other countries.

Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan briefed the officials on the measures being taken to prevent the import of the virus to Armenia. He said they are working together with the foreign ministry to acquire the test protocols and kits for coronavirus.

Deputy FM Avet Adonts noted that the Armenian Embassy in China is maintaining contact with nearly 600 Armenian nationals currently living in China. He said that Armenia is discussing with its partners the possibilities of voluntary evacuation of the Armenian citizens who are living in the province of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak.

The officials also discussed the appropriateness of temporarily suspending the visa-free regime with China.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:03, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenian governmental inter-agency commission discussed the issue of limiting the visits of Chinese citizens to the country aimed at preventing the spread of new coronavirus detected in China. The final decision will be made in the upcoming 1-2 days, Healthcare Minister of Armenia Arsen Torosyan told reporters at a press conference.

“Just a while ago the session of the inter-agency commission for prevention of novel coronavirus, created by the decision of the PM, was held chaired by deputy PM Tigran Avinyan. During the session we discussed the current situation, the actions taken so far and the upcoming steps. We also discussed the issue of limiting the entry of Chinese citizens [to Armenia], and a respective decision will be made within the next 1-2 days”, he said.

The minister stated that this also supposes changes within the international commitments, and the foreign ministry of Armenia will come up with a respective statement.

The commission also discussed issues relating to the Armenian citizens who are currently in China. “All actions envisaged by the medical rules of the World Health Organization are being taken. These include border control, final diagnosis of patients, etc”, he said.

Minister Torosyan said they will just try to reduce the entry of citizens to Armenia who represent a potential danger.

On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of an unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan v a large trade and industrial center in central China populated by 11 million people. On January 7, Chinese experts identified the infecting agent: coronavirus 2019-nCoV.

According to latest reports, a total of 8,100 people were infected with the new coronavirus in China, and the death toll reached 171.

Cases of the new coronavirus were also confirmed in 18 other countries, including Australia, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Canada, Malaysia, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore, the United States, Thailand, the Philippines, Finland, France, Germany, Sri Lanka and Japan.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:13, 31 January, 2020

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The German parliament has stripped from immunity lawmaker Karin Strenz who is accused in accepting bribes from Azerbaijan and carried out lobbying for Baku. Former MP Eduard Lintner is also under investigation.

The suspicions around Strenz’s alleged wrongdoings surfaces back in 2017 during the high profile corruptions scandal at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Her name was mentioned in the April 2018 report by independent experts about PACE lawmakers being on Azerbaijani payroll.

According to the document, ex-MP Eduard Lintner has hired Strenz to Line M-Trade consulting, a company owned by him and which is financed by Azerbaijan.

Despite the commercial interests, Strenz was among the observer delegation in 2015 during elections in Azerbaijan. In light of the suspicions she was not included in the German delegation to PACE in 2018. However, Strenz denies wrongdoing and claims she was unaware that Linter was funded from Azerbaijan. She does however accept that she failed to notify the Bundestag about her additional salary.

Transparency International issued a statement on January 30, noting that Transparency Germany welcomes the investigation by the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt am Main into corruption allegations against Karin Strenz and Eduard Lintner.

“In March 2019, Transparency Germany filed criminal complaints against these current and former members of Bundestag for bribery and corruption of public officials in the course of the Azerbaijani Laundromat scandal, in accordance with Section 108e of the Criminal Code. The Rostock public prosecutor decided in May 2019 not to launch an investigation.

Hartmut Bäumer, Chairman of Transparency Germany said: “It is time that the wrongdoing by Karin Strenz and Eduard Lintner is finally also prosecuted, after their right to access the Council of Europe was withdrawn for life. We are pleased that the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office assesses the situation differently than the Rostock public prosecutor’s office.”

In September 2017, it became public that the authoritarian regime of Azerbaijan created a network in which 2.5 billion Euros flowed through banks and shell companies, with bribes paid to political decision-makers across Europe. Karin Strenz is said to have received money from Azerbaijani sources as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – officially in the form of consultancy contracts with Eduard Lintner’s company. During her time at PACE, she participated in election observation missions in Azerbaijan, led a delegation tour of German MPs and was involved in PACE votes on politics in the country, in most of which she held a pro-Azerbaijan position.

The Frankfurt prosecutor accuses Karin Strenz of “pro-Azerbaijani” behaviour and collection of at least 22,000 Euros in bribes. Former PACE member Eduard Lintner is accused of having received funds from Azerbaijan in the amount of around 4 million Euros through British shell companies between 2008 and 2016, in order to pass them on to members of PACE. In return, they are said to have expressed positive opinions about the Azerbaijani government and deliberately spoken out against the release of political prisoners.

At the end of August 2019, Eduard Lintner referred to Transparency Germany’s criminal complaint as a “PR comedy”. The public prosecutor’s office in Rostock justified its decision not to initiate an investigation on the grounds that there were neither indications of an agreement according to Section 108e of the Criminal Code, nor an offence that meets the requirement of occuring “when exercising the mandate”. In addition, payments from third parties for past actions are not captured by the Section.

“Obviously, there are different opinions among the public prosecutor’s offices about what Section 108e of the Criminal Code says about bribing officials. This procedure will show whether the law is too narrow and is therefore a toothless tiger in its current form,” said Bäumer.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan