Author: Albert Nalbandian

 20:20,

YEREVAN, 24 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan does not consider it appropriate to comment on Armen Sarkissian’s statement on the motives for resigning from the post of President of Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports he said during an online press conference organized for the representatives of mass media and non-governmental organizations.

“The decision was made by the President. I learned about it hours before it was made public. He called me 3.5 hours before the publication yesterday, and we talked about it. I asked the President of the Republic if he was discussing the issue with me or he just informed me that he had made the decision. I tried to understand whether the decision was subject to discussion or not. After that, he said he had made a decision,” Pashinyan said.

He noted that the positions of the President of the Republic regarding the Constitution were known earlier. “During the previous question-and-answer session, when we were discussing the topic of constitutional amendments, I said that my position in this regard differs slightly or significantly from the position of the President of the Republic. But I also want to emphasize that after 2018, when Armen Sarkissian was elected President of the Republic and then I was elected Prime Minister, there has been no change in any provision in the Constitution regarding the powers of the President of the Republic. During all this time, the rules have not changed,” said the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan noted that the announcement of the president’s resignation refers to its motives. ”I do not consider it appropriate to comment on them,” the PM said, adding that each official decides on what arguments such decisions should be made.

 10:58, 21 January, 2022

YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Detroit Pistons assistant coach Rex Kalamian will be the new head coach of the Armenian National Basketball Team, the Basketball Federation of Armenia said.

Kalamian will lead the team to the European Championship due June 28-July 3 in Malta.

Earlier, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted : “Detroit Pistons assistant Rex Kalamian has agreed to become the new head coach of the Armenian national team, Kalamian tells ESPN. His grandmother escaped the Armenian genocide as a teenager to come to the United States, and both his parents are Bronx-born Armenian-Americans.”

Earlier in January, sources familiar with the matter told ARMENPRESS that Kalamian could become the new head coach of the Armenian basketball team.

Kalamian serves as assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.

He previously had coaching terms with the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Toronto Raptors.

 19:42,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, during which the Minister presented the activities of the CSTO peacekeeping force in Kazakhstan, ARMENPRESS reports, citing the official website of the Kremlin, Shoygu stressed that Armenia, as the CSTO presiding country, should have played a key role in making all the document-related decisions and it did it.

In due time and in a very short period, the CSTO peacekeeping forces were deployed in Kazakhstan, taking control of 14 objects of special importance.

“Those are objects responsible for ensuring communication, energy, state vitality and efficiency. At the request of the Kazakh leadership and on your instructions, a number of facilities have been taken under control, which would pose a serious threat if the terrorists took control of them,” Shoygu said.

“We have confirmed the decision to withdraw troops step by step and hand over the objects to Kazakhstan. Withdrawal starts today. Tomorrow we will withdraw the peacekeeping forces of our partners – Armenia, Tajikistan and Belarus – by 14 planes. It is planned to complete all the work on January 19,” he added.

Vladimir Putin noted that the CSTO peacekeeping forces have played a very important role in stabilizing the situation in Kazakhstan.

“It is very important that the situation was resolved with the help of the CSTO. This was, in fact, the first such operation by the CSTO forces. With joint efforts we solved a very important problem. We were able to quickly concentrate all the necessary forces and resources. Everything worked like a clock: fast, organized and efficient,” he added.

Russia hopes Brussels discussions will contribute to implementation of agreements between Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan

 18:36,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Russia welcomes the continuation of direct contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS reports official representative of the MFA Armenia Maria Zakharova said, referring to the Brussels meeting between Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev on December 14.

“The meeting of the two leaders took place yesterday evening, the information about the content of the discussion continues to be received, we are analyzing it”, Zakharova said.

According to her, Russia hopes that the results of the Brussels talks will contribute to the further implementation of the trilateral agreements reached by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, which were reached during the previous three meetings.

 21:40, 3 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Stefan Visconti (France) and Andrew Chaffer (USA) in Stockholm. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also took part in the meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, during the conversation, the importance of fully expanding the peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and under its mandate was stressed.

Ararat Mirzoyan considered unacceptable the continuous belligerent rhetoric of the Azerbaijani leadership and aggressive actions. In this context, the Armenian FM highlighted taking concrete steps to reduce tensions in Nagorno Karabakh and the region. The Minister considered it necessary to solve the humanitarian problems immediately, in particular, the immediate return of prisoners of war and other detainees, the detection of cases of enforced disappearances, the preservation of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories under Azerbaijani control, the creation of opportunities for international organizations to operate in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Armenian side reaffirmed its commitment to continue working within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ mandate for a comprehensive, lasting settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the well-known principles and elements.

 17:33, 26 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev kicked off in the Russian city of Sochi.

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today that after the trilateral talks Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

The Kremlin reported earlier that during the November 26 trilateral talks issues relating to the restoration of trade-economic and transportation communications will be in the focus. It was also reported that the three leaders will outline the further steps for strengthening stability and establishing peaceful life in Nagorno Karabakh.

The Armenian PM and the Azerbaijani President will meet also on December 15 this year in Brussels on the sidelines of the Eastern Partnership summit.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan