Author: Ani Kharatian

 11:24, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is ready to revisit the discussion on possible deployment of its monitoring mission along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and is awaiting a response from Yerevan, a Russian foreign ministry official has said.

“The CSTO member states have never abandoned their efforts for stabilizing the situation in the region and have numerously affirmed readiness to find concrete solutions that would allow our Armenian friends to utilize the organization’s broad possibilities with maximum benefit,” Mikayel Aghasandyan, the Head of the First Department of the CIS Countries at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told RIA Novosti.

“We are still waiting for a positive response from Yerevan and stand ready to resume substantive work around the proposal to deploy a CSTO monitoring mission in Armenia’s border regions, as well as other joint actions to help our ally,” he added.

Moscow believes that “making the relevant decisions would have a positive impact on the general regional situation, the official said.

“I repeat, we are ready for such constructive work,” he added.

The foreign ministry official also said that the CSTO, like any other international organization, is not a “magic wand” for solving every problem.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the most complicated [conflicts], it has deep historical roots. Consistent normalization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations based on negotiations, mutual respect between the parties, readiness to compromise, make responsible decisions and implement them is the only path towards sustainable resolution. In this context, I must mention the key mediation role of Russia and personally President Vladimir Putin in this process,” Aghasandyan said.

 17:14, 2 August 2023

YEREVAN, 2 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 2 August, USD exchange rate up by 0.68 drams to 386.86 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.59 drams to 424.62 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 4.15 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.18 drams to 494.37 drams.

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

Gold price down by 248.58 drams to 24218.96 drams. Silver price up by 2.52 drams to 304.91 drams.

 12:55,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index of Armenia grew 11,4% in January-June 2023 compared to last year’s same period, according to official data published by the Statistical Committee.

Industrial production volume grew 1% and stood at 1 trillion 167 billion 535 million drams.

Construction grew 17% and comprised 174 billion 155 million 400 thousand drams.

The trade turnover grew 23,6% and amounted to 2 trillion 280 billion 859 million 800 thousand drams. Services grew 16,8%.

The consumer price index grew 4,2%, while the industrial product price index dropped 1%. Electricity production dropped 2,7%.

Total foreign trade turnover grew 72,9% in the reporting period and stood at 3 trillion 467 billion 200 million drams (exports amounted to 1 trillion 273 billion drams (72,8% growth), while imports comprised 2 trillion 194 billion 200 million drams (73% growth)).

 15:59,

YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan has held a meeting with the new Ambassador of Poland to Armenia Piotr Skwieciński.

During the meeting Grigoryan congratulated Skwieciński on his appointment and expressed certainty that the ambassador will bring his contribution to the further expansion of the Armenian-Polish relations, Grigoryan’s office said in a readout.

Secretary Grigoryan presented the grave humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the total blockade of Lachin Corridor. Grigoryan and Ambassador Skwieciński also discussed a number of issues pertaining to the Armenian-Polish bilateral relations.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.

BY TALINE NAHAPETIAN

As globalization takes the world by storm, Armenian youth have seized the opportunity to use technology to connect with children from the border regions of their homeland. In collaboration with Teach for Armenia, a group of Southern California high school students with a desire to form relationships with their brothers and sisters across the globe established Buddies Across Borders. The Buddies program is an entirely youth-led initiative aimed to increase cultural connections, expand knowledge, and enhance students’ English language basis. 

The team is led by student volunteers Alexander Abramian (La Cañada High School), Armand Asatoorian (La Cañada High School), Chloe Baghdassarian (Mayfield Senior School), Kaitlyn Baghdassarian (Mayfield Senior School), Taline Nahapetian (Ferrahian High School) and Christopher Petrossian (Loyola High School).  The pilot program was introduced at the border village school of Choratan in the Tavush region of Armenia. 

“As Armenian youth we attempt to contribute to our homeland from across the world, however, we don’t often get the opportunity to connect with the people there, especially the kids,” said Christopher Petrossian, the founder of the Buddies program. “While the focus of the Buddies program is to help Armenian children with their English language development, it was mutually beneficial because it allowed us to become mentors and form friendships from abroad.” 

The tutors meet with their students weekly via zoom and converse in both English and Armenian in order to create opportunities for both sides to increase their levels of fluency. The students and tutors then come together on a monthly basis for group competitions in translation, recall, and accuracy. Although a majority of the meeting time is used teaching English language lessons, the tutors and students spend time sharing cross-cultural experiences about their lives. The Buddies program has paved the way for Armenian youth across the globe to develop overseas relationships for a more united Armenia.   

The Buddies program would not have been possible without the support of and collaboration with Teach for Armenia.  The teacher leaders on site have assisted the students and tutors throughout the entire process – putting in extra hours and helping to translate more colloquial phrases. “Teach For Armenia envisions an Armenia and Artsakh where all students have access to quality education. Our mission is catalyzing a movement of leaders that increase educational opportunities nationwide. That includes giving dedicated individuals and organizations from anywhere in the world the chance to invest in Armenia and Artsakh through education,” said Katrina Shakarian, Head of Private Partnerships at Teach For Armenia. “We are grateful to Buddies Across Borders for joining our movement and building a special relationship with the students of Choratan Secondary School in the Tavush region of Armenia. Over the past year, they have met every week to practice the English language and get to know each other. The results have been learnings and connections that span continents and cultures.”

As the pilot program has shown to be hugely successful and a joy for both parties, Buddies is looking to expand its program.  If you are interested in becoming a tutor and are bilingual in English and Armenian and a high school student between the ages 14-17 you can apply at buddiesacrossborders.com.

The Buddies program has paved the way for Armenian youth across the globe to develop overseas relationships for a more united Armenia.  

Taline Nahapetian is a senior at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School

 15:03,

YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS/BTA.Our future is to integrate firmly with our allies to ensure our common security, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev told journalists at the Tsrancha Training Complex. He observed a demonstration within the framework of the Stealth Dagger – 23 exercise together with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov.

Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov commented that in the last year NATO has been working hard on planning for collective defence that targets specific regions. In his words, not only the grouping of Bulgaria and Romania in terms of the regional special forces command is being discussed, but also the headquarters of a multinational division in Bulgaria, “which is a clear demonstration of Bulgaria’s commitment to collective and national security”.

“I am optimistic about what we have to do together in building capabilities. Bulgaria faces the same dangers that NATO faces,” said NATO Special Operations Command Commander Lieutenant General Antonio Fletcher.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)

 18:20, 21 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS.  The incident at the Lachin Corridor checkpoint on June 15 is related to the general problem of the absence of a demarcated Armenian-Azerbaijani border, ARMENPRESS reports, Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, announced during the press conference, commenting on the incident that happened near the Hakari bridge.

“The Lachin Corridor incident is related to the general problem of the absence of a demarcated Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Russian side has repeatedly called on the effective work of the bilateral commission with the advisory support of the Russian Federation. We are ready to help in demarcation and determining the border, which has become another bone of contention between the parties.

The accusations directed at the Russian peacekeepers are absolutely groundless. We strongly recommend toning down the media rhetoric in this regard. The peacekeepers are working closely with the parties to settle the situation,” Zakharova said.

Earlier, the border guard service of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia reported that on June 15, around 08:40, a group of soldiers of the border guard service of Azerbaijan attempted to advance towards the Hakari bridge in order to raise a flag on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. It is noted that as a result of the measures taken by the Armenian side, the advance of Azerbaijani servicemen and the attempt to raise a flag on the territory of the Republic of Armenia was prevented.

In one of the videos spread on the Internet, it was seen how the Azerbaijani military, accompanied by the Russian peacekeepers, tried to place the Azerbaijani flag on the Hakari bridge.

Later, during a meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopirkin was presented with Armenia’s strong dissatisfaction with the incident involving Russian peacekeepers near Hakari Bridge.