Month: June 2022

 15:52,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Mining raises many issues for communities. What minerals are being developed? Where are the mines? Who owns these mines? What kinds of ore are produced? In what form and to which countries are they exported? Armenia’s accession to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) helped bring the answer to these kinds of questions and more public and transparent, the World Bank said in an article entitled “Armenia’s Journey Towards Responsible Mining”.

As in many countries, mining can be a sensitive topic in Armenia, the article says. It notes that civil society follows mining developments closely to demand better protection of the environment.

The World Bank says that the Armenian government hoped to improve the management of natural resources by making it more transparent, accountable, and participatory. It grew interested in the EITI and, in 2015, announced its intention to join. “Within a year, Armenia met all the preconditions for joining the EITI, and its membership application was approved in 2017”, it says.

The WB says that the country’s legislation did not ensure full transparency and accountability from the sector. The National Assembly made legislative changes to require the publication of large amounts of financial information, such as tax payment data by companies as well as data on extraction and exports, charitable activities, and socio-economic support projects in communities — reporting this information annually became legally required. This information is reflected in the EITI annual national reports.

According to the article, in 2019, Armenia took on responsibilities beyond the scope of mandatory requirements, which ensured even greater transparency.

“Armenia made remarkable achievements in its implementation of the Standard. At the 2019 EITI Global Conference in Paris, Armenia received the EITI Chair’s Award for implementing the Standard in an innovative and resolute manner, as well as for effective multi-stakeholder governance”, the article says.

“I have personally followed the process with great interest. Armenia has achieved remarkable progress. Out of the 54 countries, Armenia is among the nine that have received the highest possible assessment, and it has only been three and a half years since Armenia began implementing the EITI; in that regard, its accomplishments are really commendable”, Mark Robinson – Director of the EITI International Secretariat, said.

For civil society representatives and journalists, the new requirement to disclose the beneficial owners of metal extracting companies was a unique opportunity, the WB said. In Armenia, it had often been quite difficult to obtain information regarding beneficial ownership, it added.

“Armenia`s success story is ongoing and there is still more that can be done.  Future reforms are going to be geared at mitigating environmental impact. The Government is continuing to develop a strategy for the sector by engaging all interested parties”, the article says.

 16:47,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. During their meeting in Yerevan today, the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić discussed also the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the consequences of the aggression against Artsakh in 2020, and the issues of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I particularly emphasized the fact that by attempting to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by the use of force in 2020, as well as by invading the sovereign territory of Armenia, Azerbaijan has grossly violated its commitments undertaken with the accession to the Council of Europe, and this must be properly addressed by the Council of Europe and its member-states”, the Armenian FM said during a joint press conference with the CoE Secretary General following their meeting.

The FM said he reaffirmed the readiness of the Armenian government to put efforts towards the establishment of stability and peace in the region. “In this context, the addressing of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is fundamental, which should include the provisions of ensuring the security and all the rights of the people of Artsakh, and final determination of the status of Nagorno Karabakh”, he noted.

“The people of Artsakh have the same rights as everyone and the fact of being in the conflict zone cannot deprive the Armenians of Artsakh of their universal fundamental rights”, Mirzoyan highlighted. “The humanitarian issues resulting from the aggression unleashed against Artsakh – the issues of the return of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan and the humanitarian access to Artsakh remain unresolved, the politicization of which is unacceptable. The Anti-Armenian and warmongering rhetoric, physical and psychological terror against the civilian population are unacceptable in the same way.

We believe that the Council of Europe, its relevant bodies and leaders should be more determined at least in the issues of Armenian prisoners of war and the humanitarian access to Artsakh, and put utmost effort so that the the interim decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, PACE Resolutions and the provisions of the memorandum of the Commissioner for Human Rights issues on November 8, 2021, be respected”, he added.

 16:52,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. During the 21 years of its membership to the Council of Europe, Armenia has demonstrated a high dedication to the cooperation with the organization, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić said during a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

“Armenia has signed and ratified 66 conventions and joined 12 agreements. During those years Armenia has actively contributed to the creation of the legal and political agenda of Europe. I am sure that the Council of Europe in its turn has contributed to the progress of the reforms in Armenia. I hope this visit will further strengthen the level of the dialogue and cooperation between Armenia and Council of Europe under the light of current and future programs”, the CoE Secretary General said.

She welcomed the readiness of the Armenian authorities to implement the 2019-2022 action plan for Armenia. She said that currently they are developing the 2023-2026 action plan for Armenia.

“In this respect I encourage Armenia to continue fully using the support and experience of the Council of Europe, for instance, to finalize the electoral reforms making them in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, as well as the law on mass media and the recommendations for constitutional reforms”, she said.

As for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, the CoE Secretary General said the meetings between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as well as the statements over it, for example about the work of the delimitation commission, are welcome.

“We need to achieve trust and reconciliation. All initiatives on this direction are welcome and should be supported”, she said.

 17:19,

YEREVAN, 17 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 17 June, USD exchange rate down by 2.23 drams to 425.30 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.62 drams to 447.29 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 7.53 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 6.45 drams to 522.74 drams.

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

Gold price down by 93.16 drams to 24975.03 drams. Silver price down by 1.88 drams to 293.10 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 17:20,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received members of the sitting of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO): Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich, Secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan Gizat Nurdauletov, Secretary of the Security Council of Tajikistan Nasrullo Makhmudzoda, Secretary General of the CSTO Stanislav Zas, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

In his opening remarks, PM Pashinyan said,

“Dear friends,

I welcome you on the occasion of the regular sitting of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states in the Republic of Armenia, which is taking place in our country within the framework of Armenia’s chairmanship in the CSTO.

This is really a double jubilee year for our organization. We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty, the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and it is a great honor for us to chair our organization in this jubilee year. You know, we have discussed it many times, increasing the efficiency of the CSTO is one of the most important priorities of our presidency, we thought and still think that the rapid and crisis response mechanisms in specific situations should be improved.

I would like to note that, in principle, we also have a legal framework in this regard, On December 10, 2010, by the decision of the  Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a provision was adopted regulating CSTO’s response to crisis situations, and I think this document quite clearly defines the mechanisms that exist in our Organization. In particular, it outlines what we should consider a crisis situation and how we should respond to it.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that there is such a concept in that provision – “mission”, which is defined as follows: A group of experts from the member states appointed by the CSTO member states in accordance with this provision, to be temporarily sent to the crisis zone to monitor the situation, understand the situation on the spot, develop proposals on the further measures of the Organization aimed at preventing the crisis situation and solving it, as well as for fulling other functions defined by the CSTO Collective Security Council.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that in the second chapter of this document there is a chapter called “Monitoring”, and the CSTO Secretariat regularly collects information and conducts analysis of the situation in the area of responsibility of the organization and on its development trends in order to identify the preconditions for crisis situations.

Why am I talking about this? You know that the Azerbaijani armed forces invaded our territory in May last year, and we applied to the CSTO. I have spoken about it many times, and as the Chairman, I want to emphasize that this issue should be discussed properly. Why? Because we see that aggressive statements by Azerbaijan continue, we should discuss this issue, especially considering that Armenia has applied to the CSTO, as it is a very fundamental issue for both us and the Organization.

I would also like to mention the following: After the invasion into our territory by the Azerbaijani troops, there were some comments that there is no demarcated border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Frankly, this is a very dangerous wording, because here we are, saying the area of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. If we say that the borders along which the demarcation and delimitation processes have been carried out should be taken into account, it may confuse the notion of the CSTO area of responsibility, because the question arises: where does the CSTO area of responsibility begin, where does the CSTO area of responsibility end?

Our position is that there is a concrete border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, because in 1991, when the Commonwealth of Independent States was established, an interstate agreement was signed, which clearly states that the countries mutually recognize each other’s existing borders.  This refers to the administrative boundaries of the Soviet period, and I think we should have this as a starting point. The opposite interpretation of this situation, I think, will reduce the effectiveness of the CSTO.

I hope that the nuances mentioned during this meeting and during your sitting will also be discussed. I recently raised this issue during the informal CSTO summit in Moscow. We have started a discussion, once again, as the Chairman, I would like to instruct the CSTO Secretary General to organize this issue in accordance with our charter documents, as the situation in our region is stable but tense. And the statements made by Azerbaijani officials should be a warning sign, I think we should discuss this issue in the CSTO format.

Let me welcome you once, I’m so glad to see you. And I am very happy for the dynamics that occurred in the CSTO in the post-Covid period, because in the last two years we have actually had very little contact with the existing’s formats. Of course, we have continued to work online, but I think we all agree that such meetings and contacts are very important for our work. I am glad that we returned to this regime, it happened in the year of our presidency, in this important jubilee year.

Thank you”.

The Prime Minister discussed issues related to the agenda and activities of the Organization with the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states. The participants of the sitting exchanged views on regional and international security challenges.

No matter what statements are made, Nagorno Karabakh issue continues to exist – Mirzoyan’s response to Aliyev

 17:33,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan responded to the statements of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev that Armenia is not sincere in the process of achieving peace, it is delaying the process of unblocking the region. The questions of ARMENPRESS and FM Mirzoyan’s answers on the issue are presented below.

Question – The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated in his speech yesterday that Armenia is not sincere in the process of achieving peace. How would you comment on that?

Answer – The Government of the Republic of Armenia has repeatedly proved its readiness to make efforts for the establishment of long-term stability and peace in the South Caucasus. At the same time, it is obvious that these efforts cannot be unilateral, Azerbaijan must also take practical and sincere steps in this direction. The establishment of peace cannot be the result of the efforts of one side alone, and peace talks cannot be based on the proposals of one side alone.

It is also obvious that for the success of these efforts, it is necessary to address the whole set of existing problems that have caused the conflict in order to find a solution acceptable to all parties. In this context, the statements made by official Baku that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is solved are at least not understood or, moreover, cast doubt on the sincerity of the Azerbaijani authorities’ intention to achieve peace. No matter what statements are made, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue will continue to exist as long as the issues of security, sufficient guarantees for the protection of all rights of the Armenians of Artsakh, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh arising from them are not addressed. In the modern world, the situation created by the use of force cannot be the solution to a problem.

The assertion that as a result of the use of force even Nagorno Karabakh does not exist, does not speak about the constructiveness of Azerbaijan. Needless to say that this, of course, corresponds neither to the de-facto reality, the most important part of which is the existence of Artsakh Armenians in Artsakh and the presence of Russian peacekeeping forces to ensure their security, nor the November 9 trilateral declaration, which stopped the war and clearly defines the existence of Nagorno Karabakh.

The same can be said about the statements of the Azerbaijani authorities on the non-existence of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. First of all, no one has suspended it or can suspend the international mandate of the Co-chairs to contribute to the political settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict without the relevant decision of the international institute defining it. In that case, it is incomprehensible that if the parties really want to negotiate sincerely, to find mutually acceptable solutions, to achieve a stable, comprehensive peace, then why should not those talks take place in the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format? A format which has the clear support of the international community and not to using its experience and potential is simply not logical and reasonable.

Question – Ilham Aliyev claims that the Armenian side is delaying the process of unblocking the region. What can you say about this?

Answer – We have always stated that we are interested in opening all the transport and economic infrastructures in the region. This is evidenced by the trilateral statements adopted by the Russian mediation on January 11 and November 26, as well as the agreements reached in Brussels.

I would like to emphasize that Armenia has been involved in the discussions in good faith, the process would have been much smoother if there were no statements by Azerbaijan about extraterritorial corridor, which have nothing to do with the trilateral declaration of November 9, as well as with the commitments assumed by the statements I mentioned.

As for Azerbaijan’s efforts to draw parallels between the Lachin corridor and the regional transport routes to be unblocked, they obviously cannot have the same status, at least arising from the provisions of the trilateral declaration signed on November 9, 2020, which clearly define the status of the Lachin corridor. Moreover, Nagorno Karabakh and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic have different statuses, different neighborhoods, different security environments. Accordingly, their relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be identical.

I would like to emphasize again that the November 9 declaration envisages unblocking of all infrastructures in the region, while Azerbaijan is delaying in taking steps in this direction. We are ready for unblocking the region within the framework of the agreements on the preservation of the sovereignty of the countries and jurisdiction over roads, and the recent talks between the Deputy Prime Ministers of the two countries in Moscow followed this logic.

 19:21,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Science, education and economy are interconnected, they guarantee a brighter future for Armenia, as a result of his visit to Armenia, the famous Armenian scientist, Nobel Prize winner Ardem Patapoutian came to this conclusion.

“At first I was surprised why the Ministry of Economy invited scientists to Armenia. But now, thinking more about it, I realized that science, education and the economy are interconnected to make sure that the future path of Armenia is bright,” ARMENPRESS reports, he said.

Patapoutian thanked the ministry for making him part of this interesting initiative “Science-Business Days-2022” event.

Referring to the prospects for the development of science in Armenia, the Nobel Prize winner emphasizes his visit to Synopsys, he is also aware of many high-tech companies operating in the country.

“This is a great example of how they help educate the people who need to be hired, it helps science and technology, as well as young scientists, to find work after graduation. So what I saw here was very impressive. I think this is the basis for creating other forms of this kind of cooperation. Science, technology, Synopsys and other companies will help the economy,” the scientist added.

Patapoutian is convinced that as long as this effective and smart strategy continues, the future will be very bright.

He singled out some of his visits and meetings in Armenia. “Visiting Tsitsernakaberd was such an emotional moment for me. Another important event was the meeting with Prime Minister Pashinyan.”

The famous scientist was also impressed by the visit to Martiros Saryan’s house-museum.

The Nobel laureate is excited about the future of the country, he has already decided how to cooperate with his Armenian colleagues.

 20:00,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Russia does not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin stated during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin noted that Moscow can make statements on this issue only in response to the statements of the West.

“As soon as we respond, they cling to those statements and say, ‘Look, Russia is threatening.’ We do not threaten anyone. But everyone should know what we have, and that we will use if necessary to protect the sovereignty of our state,” Putin said in a video posted on one of the Russian Telegram channels.

Armenia steps up mental health community services for populations affected by the armed conflict with WHO and EU support

 21:21,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The World Health Organization (WHO) in cooperation with the European Commission and Ministry of Health of Armenia (MoH) launched the Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) in Armenia for populations affected by armed conflict, ARMENPRESS was informed from WHO Armenia Office.

With the slogan – Mental Health for All! – the mhGAP programme in Armenia aims at   strengthening community-based mental health care to reduce mental health and psychosocial suffering and promote the wellbeing of population affected by armed conflict, thus improving their access to mental health and psychosocial support. The mhGAP programme will be implemented in Yerevan and four Marzes- Kotayk, Ararat, Gegharkunik, and Syunik, ensuring that 20% of the primary health care facilities in these regions are enabled to provide quality and evidence-based community mental health and psychosocial support. 

On 16 June, the main aims and objectives of the mhGAP programme were presented during the meeting with head of the EU delegation to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin, representatives of European Commission’s Directorate-General for EU Neighborhood and Enlargement, local government, and civil society. 

Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin emphasized the importance of the mental health and the role of the joint mhGAP programme in addressing this issue. “Putting mental health as one of the priorities in healthcare agenda will improve the well-being of individuals, families and communities” said the Ambassador. 

“Ministry of Health highly appreciates this important partnership with WHO and EU. The mhGAP program has a great potential to improve access to quality mental health services in the communities and to address the mental health conditions and psychosocial suffering of the population affected by the armed conflict” said Kristine Galstyan, mhGAP programme focal point at the MoH. 

The launch was followed by a stakeholder meeting in Kapan city, Syunik, with the presence of MoH and WHO representatives, and Syunik Regional Administration and Managers of the health care facilities. The participants discussed mental health service gaps in the Marze and opportunities of providing quality and timely Mental Health interventions for people in need at the primary health care and community levels.    

WHO representative to Armenia, Dr. Jihane Tawilah, said, “To bring about real change, we need to work towards building more resilient systems in Armenia. We hope that the mhGAP programme will facilitate continuous capacity building of primary healthcare workers and create both momentum and experience for a national policy that scale up the integration of mental health care within primary health services in Armenia” ․ 

The Mental Health Gap Action Program, launched globally by WHO in 2008, is to enable scale-up of services for mental, neurological and substance use conditions in non-specialized health care settings. 

Implementation of the Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) in Armenia is a joint effort of the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department, World Health Organization and Ministry of Health of Armenia. The program will provide evidence-based guidance and tools to integrate mental health into general health care provision in Yerevan and 4 Marzes of Armenia, supporting health workers in their daily practice and ensuring access to quality care for the population affected by the armed conflict.