Month: December 2023

 15:46, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenia plans to increase the share of solar power in its energy system to 15% by 2030, President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan said in an interview with Armenpress after his participation in COP28 in Dubai. At this moment the share of solar power in Armenia’s energy system is only 5%, he said.

Furthermore, Armenia plans to increase the share of overall alternative energy, such as hydro power plants, wind and solar power and nuclear power, up to 60% in the energy system by 2040.

Armenia, like other countries in the world, has obligations to reduce and limit emissions and increase the share of alternative energy resources. “Recently there was a change in our energy strategy, and we plan to increase the share of solar power in our energy system to 15% by 2030. We find it realistic, that by 2030 we can achieve this,” the President said.

President Khachaturyan highlighted the fact that there is consensus about the need to stop using fossil fuels and gradually shift to the use of alternative energy-powered vehicles, i.e., electric vehicles, or in the event of finding new technological solutions, hydrogen-powered cars.

 16:00, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. After some time, the number of countries supporting Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace project will grow, President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan has said.

In an interview with Armenpress, the President said that currently the EU is like-minded regarding Armenia's vision for the Crossroads of Peace project. 

“I can say that they [EU] are ready [to support]. We only need to carry out specialized work,” he said.

“I think that after a while we will have like-minded supporters who will be willing to contribute and participate in the implementation of this project [Crossroads of Peace],” the president added.

Khachaturyan lauded the New Regional Reality and the Crossroads of Peace forum in Yerevan, which took place recently and was attended by analysts and experts from Iran, India, Georgia and Turkiye.  He said that such initiatives are highly important. “This is how everything starts. You can’t just say ‘I have a good idea, why isn’t anyone listening?’ That’s not how it happens. You have to be able to serve it,” the president said.

President Khachaturyan added that Armenia must be able to envision the continuation of the Crossroads of Peace project towards various directions, which will make the project even more attractive.

 17:13, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, 7 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 7 December, USD exchange rate up by 0.33 drams to 403.43 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.24 drams to 434.70 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 4.35 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.09 drams to 507.96 drams.

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

Gold price up by 61.03 drams to 26283.57 drams. Silver price down by 2.01 drams to 312.53 drams.

 17:14, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. On December 5-6, on the sidelines of his working visit to Tunisia, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan had a meeting with Nabil Ammar, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians abroad of the Republic of Tunisia.

During the meeting, the Deputy Foreign Minister touched upon the relations between the two countries, briefed on the current situation in the South Caucasus, and also conveyed to Minister Ammar the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan to visit Armenia, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Following the meeting, the first Armenian-Tunisian political consultations took place between the delegations headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vahan Kostanyan and Mounir Ben Rjiba, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia.

During the consultations, the interlocutors thoroughly touched upon bilateral political and economic relations. Agreements were reached on deepening cooperation in the spheres of education, culture, tourism, civil aviation, healthcare, high technology and other areas of mutual interest.

The sides also touched upon issues on regional and international security.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan briefed his counterparts on the vision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia on achieving stability and peace in the South Caucasus, the "Crossroads of Peace" project aimed at stimulating regional communications, as well as the actions of the Government of Armenia to address the rights of forcibly displaced persons resulting from the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

During the working visit, the sides signed a memorandum on political consultations between the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Tunisia, as well as an agreement on the establishment of a visa free regime for diplomatic passport holders.

 18:17, 7 December 2023

 18:40, 7 December 2023

 19:22, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Denmark's parliament adopts a law making it illegal to burn the Quran or other religious texts.

The bill, which prohibits "inappropriate treatment of writings with significant religious importance for a recognized religious community", was passed with 94 votes in favor and 77 opposed, BBC reports.

According to the source, those who break the law would be punished with fines or up to two years in prison.

 19:46, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin, during the negotiations with  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, proposed discussing the conflict between Palestine and Israel, Ria Novosti reports.

“Of course, it is very important for us to exchange views on the situation in the region, especially as regards the situation in Palestine,” Putin said.

 20:08, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS.  Armenian Grandmaster Manuel Petrosyan has  become the winner of the Kazakhstan Cup.

The Kazakhstan Cup was held using the knockout system. Among the 16 participating chess players, Petrosyan competed with Iranian chess player Bardia Daneshvar in the final and won with a score of 1:5-0:5.

Manuel Petrosyan had the highest rating at the tournament held in Almaty.

 21:06, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS.  The staff of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan  has issued a joint statement, the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia said.

The statement reads as follows:

"The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region. Two countries reconfirm their intention to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Following the talks between the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, an agreement has been reached on taking tangible steps towards building confidence between two countries.

Driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenian military servicemen.

In its turn, driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Armenia releases 2 Azerbaijani military servicemen.

As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy. The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan do hope that the other countries within the Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijan’s bid to host. As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Azerbaijan supports the Armenian candidature for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.

The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan will continue their discussions regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures, effective in the near future and call on the international community to support their efforts that will contribute to building mutual trust between two countries and will positively impact the entire South Caucasus region."