Author: Alex Nanijanian

 10:48,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with Speaker of the Senate (upper house of parliament) of Poland Tomasz Grodzki on the sidelines of his official visit in Warsaw, the Foreign Ministry said in a news release.

During the meeting the sides agreed that the close parliamentary cooperation plays an important role in enriching the agenda of the Armenian-Polish inter-state relations and further deepening the friendly ties. In this respect the importance of maintaining active mutual visits and contacts at different levels was emphasized.

FM Mirzoyan presented the ongoing reforms of the Armenian government aimed at strengthening democracy, protecting human rights and ensuring rule of law.

In his turn Tomasz Grodzki said that he fully supports Armenia on the path to democratic progress.

During the meeting FM Mirzoyan introduced Tomasz Grodzki on the current situation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone and the position of the Armenian side over the settlement of the NK conflict and the normalization of the relations with Azerbaijan. Ararat Mirzoyan said that Azerbaijan’s maximalist rhetoric distorts the efforts aimed at establishing regional stability and peace.

Touching upon the post-war humanitarian problems, the Armenian FM stressed the necessity of the urgent release and repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians illegally held in Azerbaijan, as well as the preservation of Armenian historical-cultural and religious heritage in the territories that have come under the Azerbaijani control.

It was stated that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be solved peacefully around a negotiation table.

Tomasz Grodzki expressed readiness to support the efforts of achieving peace.

Agenda.ge, 16 Jul 2022 – 13:35, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Saturday discussed the former’s Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative and its role in normalisation of relations in the South Caucasus region, as well as an upcoming meeting between Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart in Tbilisi.

Garibashvili highlighted the importance of the scheduled meeting and noted it would contribute to developing “positive dynamics” of dialogue in the region, the Government Administration said.

The officials also discussed the “existing and future cooperation” prospects between Armenia and Georgia, including economic and bilateral trade relations.

The current situation in the Black Sea region was also reviewed at the meeting, with the sides stressing the importance  of “joint efforts” to deal with the challenges created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The head of the Georgian Government thanked Mirzoyan for Armenia’s “strong support” for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Sri Lankan president officially resigns — parliament speaker

 09:48,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped down, and his official resignation letter has been received, Sri Lankan parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena told reporters in Colombo on Friday, reports TASS.

“Gotabaya Rajapaksa has stepped down legally from his post from the 14th of July 2022”, the Newsfist portal quoted him as saying. The speaker demonstrated the resignation letter, delivered to him from Singapore late on Thursday, via the embassy of Sri Lanka.

According to the speaker, the constitutional process of electing a new president will begin from this moment. During the transition period, the presidential duties will be performed by the prime minister, in accordance with the constitution.

The country’s parliament will convene on Saturday to discuss political settlement in the country.

The president tendered his resignation letter via email after arriving in Singapore from the Maldives. Rajapaksa fled his country and flew to the Maldives on Tuesday night after mass protests demanding his resignation broke out last Saturday. On Thursday, Rajapaksa departed to Singapore.

On July 9, protesters in Colombo captured the residences of the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. A total of 103 people were injured during the riots.

The popular discontent in Sri Lanka was caused by a sharp decline in living standards due to an ongoing economic crisis. In an interview to TASS, Wickremesinghe said that the state was going through the worst crisis in its modern history. According to the prime minister, Sri Lanka is experiencing an acute shortage of foreign currency, fuel, oil products, fertilizers, food for certain social groups, and medicines. In his opinion, it would take at least three years to fully recover from the economic crisis.

 11:37,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is planning to open a diplomatic office in Cyprus, Ambassador of Armenia to Cyprus Tigran Mkrtchyan said during the meeting with Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) Michalis P. Michael.

The Ambassador of Armenia arrived in Cyprus on a first official visit.

Tigran Mkrtchyan said that the upcoming diplomatic office will be represented by an Armenian diplomat and expressed hope that Cyprus will also open a diplomatic office in Armenia.

Ambassador Mkrtchyan said that long-term close relations exist between Armenia and Cyprus. He expressed hoped that there will be an opportunity in the near future to mutually open diplomatic representations in Yerevan and Nicosia.

The Armenian Ambassador also touched upon the Cyprus-Armenia-Greece cooperation, stating that a number of meetings have taken place within the frames of this partnership, particularly in military, political and Diaspora fields, expressing hope for the further expansion of this collaboration.

He expressed gratitude to Cyprus for the support provided to Armenia.

In his turn Michalis P. Michael stated that efforts will be made to further expand and deepen the cooperation with Armenia, including the partnership in the fields of news and information, adding that CyBC is broadcasting daily radio programs specially for Cypriot-Armenians.

Secretary of Security Council of Armenia, Director of US CIA discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey negotiations

 22:02,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. On July 15, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan met with the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Security Council of Armenia, the interlocutors discussed the future process of Armenia-US bilateral relations.

During the meeting, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia presented the regional security environment, existing challenges and Armenia’s approach to establishing peace in the region. In this context, the parties discussed the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey negotiation processes.

 11:56,

YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. ESMT Berlin, the #1 business school in Germany by the Financial Times, will deliver a joint program for the business leaders and managers with the Armenia-based international school Matena, IDeA Foundation told Armenpress.

The “ESMT Berlin-Matena” international program will be launched in the fall of this year, and those interested in management and leadership education will be able to participate, both from Armenia and from other countries of the world.

“By partnering with leading educational institutions, Matena makes world-class business education available in Armenia. Our country can and should become the best destination in the region for those interested in international high-quality education,” says Ruben Hayrapetyan, co-founder and CEO of “Matena” International School.

Matena already implements a number of international educational programs in Armenia, continuously expanding the network of leading partners and experts.