Month: November 2023

 12:45, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has proposed Japan to join the Crossroads of Peace project, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan said during a farewell meeting with the outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Armenia Masanori Fukushima on Thursday.

Simonyan highly appreciated the Ambassador’s work and his warm attitude towards Armenia and its people, with his readiness to learn the Armenian language being a testament to this.

The Speaker said that Japan is a very important partner for Armenia.

Armenia is interested in deepening the multipolar cooperation with Japan and considers the development of interparliamentary ties in this regard. 

Alen Simonyan stressed that Armenia highly appreciates Japan’s clear messages regarding the inadmissibility of Azerbaijan’s policy of use of force in the region and thanked Japan for the 2-million-dollar emergency aid grant for supporting the over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

The Speaker and the Japanese Ambassador also discussed the opportunities of the Crossroads of Peace project. Speaker Simonyan said that Armenia proposes Japan to join the project.

In 2025, Armenia will participate in an expo in Osaka, Simonyan said.

The Japanese Ambassador expressed gratitude for the close work with the parliament during his tenure and noted that the projects they launched will be continuous.

The Speaker wished good luck to Ambassador Fukushima in his future work.

 13:20, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Two-time world weightlifting champion Simon Martirosyan has been cleared of reckless driving/vehicular homicide charges after a court found him not guilty in the case on November 2.

The pedestrian accident happened in April 2021. A 27-year-old man was struck and killed by a car driven by Martirosyan while crossing the Arshakunyats Avenue. The victim ignored the crosswalk and was attempting to cross the road in a prohibited, unmarked section.

The Olympic bronze winning weightlifter and two-time champion of Europe was charged under paragraph 2, article 242 of the Criminal Code (violation of road safety and reckless driving which has negligently caused death).

The verdict was announced November 2 by his lawyer, Ruben Baloyan.

 15:11, 4 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s delegation was impressed to see how Armenia has been able to take in over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh in a matter of days, Artashat Mayor Karlen Mkrtchyan has said.

Mkrtchyan was among other officials who accompanied Baerbock during her visit to Vostan, a village within Artashat Municipality in Ararat Province.

Ararat Province has taken in 22,000 of the more than 100,000 forcibly displaced persons. 5,300 of them have been accommodated in Artashat.

After her meetings in Ararat Province, the German FM was heard comparing the accommodation of the displaced persons with the situation in Ukraine, noting that Armenia has been able to integrate the forcibly displaced persons from NK more effectively than Ukraine its IDPs, particularly children. “Even in Ukraine it hasn’t been possible to ensure normal living conditions for persons, especially children [IDPs] and swiftly integrate them to a new environment, whereas in Armenia there’s a better picture in this regard,” the German FM told local officials.

Artashat Mayor Karlen Mkrtchyan told Armenpress that he talked with the German delegation during the trip.

The members of the German delegation were surprised how Armenia has been able to receive over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons in a few days, the Artashat Mayor said.

“Mrs. Baerbock was really surprised that we were able to resolve essential organizational issues in a very short period of time. Everyone, children and adults, have harmoniously integrated into the new conditions and they have no problems of coexistence with the locals. We’ve accepted everyone like family,” Mkrtchyan said when asked to comment on the German FM’s statement.

 15:58, 4 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. All prerequisites are in place for the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolay Patrushev has said.

“All prerequisites exist for this,” RIA Novosti quoted Patrushev as saying about the prospects of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He made the remarks during the Russia Expo Forum. 

He added that the preparations for the conclusion of the peace treaty are ongoing.

 14:47, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Moderna Chairman Noubar Afeyan has talked to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about the forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the ethnic cleansing campaign perpetrated by Azerbaijan and the unlawful arrest of Ruben Vardanyan.

[see video]

 14:27, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. 5 suspects have been arrested in Armenia for allegedly plotting a terror attack, the National Security Service (NSS) has announced. 

The five suspects, together with unidentified accomplices plotted a bombing attack, seizure of government buildings and murder, the NSS said in a statement.

The goal of the would-be terrorists was to dismantle the activities of government bodies.

[see video]

Authorities raided the apartments of the suspects and found firearms and ammunition, a drone and two gas cylinders supposedly intended as attachment, body armor, military fatigues, handcuffs, surveillance devices, computers, mobile phones, communication devices, ten unused SIM cards of Armenian and Russian communications operators and documents outlining the preparations of the terror attack and other items.

The suspects had even come up with a codename of their plot – Northern Abscission.

The suspects had opened Ukrainian and Moldovan telegram channels under the name of National Salvation Rebellion intended for “involving broader segments” in the terror attacks.

The suspects had also acquired medical supplies and planned to move their families to Georgia before the attack.

The terror suspects planned detailed moves for ambushing, surveilling and retreating from buildings. They even planned to distribute flyers and other procedures to involve accomplices and coordinate their actions.

Authorities are working to identify other accomplices of the suspects.

 15:17, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Greece has sent humanitarian aid to Armenia for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ambassador of Greece to Armenia Evangelos Tournakis said Thursday.

4 tons of humanitarian goods were delivered to the Armenian authorities on November 2. A team of psychologists and social workers have also arrived to Armenia to provide psychological assistance to the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Greece stands by Armenia, which is once again proven today. Taking this occasion, I’d like to also say that Greece strongly supports Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the Greek ambassador said.

 15:24, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on Russia's withdrawal from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which the country signed in 1996 and ratified in 2000, TASS news agency reports.

The document was supposed to become the main international legal instrument for stopping any kind of nuclear testing. To date, however, the treaty has not entered into force because it has not been ratified by 8 of the 44 "Annex 2 states" – states that participated in the CTBT's negotiations between 1994 and 1996 and possessed nuclear power reactors or research reactors at that time.

Russia’s withdrawal is designed to restore parity in nuclear arms control commitments, according to TASS. It is specified that the document creates a legal basis for Russia to withdraw its instrument of ratification, but does not imply the country's withdrawal from the CTBT.

The Kremlin said earlier that the withdrawal of ratification of the treaty equalizes the situation in the field of nuclear testing for Moscow and Washington, which never ratified the document. The Kremlin said that the withdrawal of the CTBT ratification does not mean that Russia plans to conduct nuclear tests.

 15:47, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Large numbers of forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh are applying for Armenian citizenship, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“We were certainly expecting this process,” Pashinyan said at the November 2 Cabinet meeting.

“Our objective is to organize this work as quickly as possible. But this also has some legislative nuances that must be maintained,” he added.

 16:22, 2 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. A new division has been launched in the National Security Service designed for ensuring the security of regional and international connections passing through Armenia, as well as the security of the persons, goods and vehicles passing along these connections, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on November 2.

The division is launched as part of the  project.

The division is already active.

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