Author: Ara Felekian

 15:18,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. A 14-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) led by its Director General Rafael Grossi has arrived in Kiev, TASS reports citing CNN.

The delegation was seen by CNN reporters in a Kiev hotel. No information is yet available on when the mission will arrive at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

The inspectors would assess the physical damage to the plant and check the facility’s security and safety systems.

 17:23,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. 30 August marks the International Day of the Disappeared aimed at raising awareness of governments, communities, media and public about the plight of people who went missing as a result of armed conflicts, violence, natural disasters and migration. Today we also pay tribute to families of missing persons, the Delegation of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Armenia said in a statement and a video on the occasion of this Day.

“In the region affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, more than 4,900 people, both military and civilians are missing since the nineties and following the escalation of the conflict in 2020, as registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Behind each of them, there are families suffering from the anguish and uncertainty of not knowing the fate of their loved ones and struggling with the many consequences this has on their lives. The families continue to live between endless hope and despair, while their pain only grows along with their multifaceted needs”, the statement says.

“People often say that time heals the wounds, but it never heals mine. I am waiting for Karen. I never sleep as every hour and every minute I dream of seeing him again, so I can hug him”, says Gayane Hovhannisyan, whose brother went missing in connection with the 2020 escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“For the ICRC, both the missing persons and their families are victims. We work alongside the authorities to support their response capacities and to encourage them to adopt policies to support search efforts, safeguard families and uphold the dignity of their loved ones who have died. The ICRC and its Central Tracing Agency coordinate the efforts of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to help reunite families and to draw attention to sometimes overlooked humanitarian tragedies behind those who go missing”, it added.

“We stand by families of the missing and remember their relatives together with them”, says Thierry Ribaux, Head of ICRC delegation in Armenia. “When someone goes missing, the family has the right to know what has happened. Clarifying the fate is first and foremost a humanitarian act, and it is also the obligation of states under international humanitarian law. As the time goes by, it does not heal the enduring pain of waiting, but the answers do. And we are committed to supporting the sides to progress on this important issue”.

In line with its mandate under the international humanitarian law, across the region of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the ICRC assists the sides with its expertise, and by acting as a neutral intermediary to encourage them to do all possible to clarify the fate of the missing people.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. The organization has been working in the region affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since 1992.

[see video]

 20:01,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, the meeting of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin took place in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Mikhail Mishustin first conveyed the warm greetings and best wishes of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to Prime Minister Pashinyan and noted, “Recently, you discussed with each other the issues on the agenda of the relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia. I also met with you recently in Minsk within the framework of the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.

Of course, it is necessary to continue the dialogue on important topics, both on the bilateral agenda and on our relations within the EAEU framework. I would like to emphasize once again that we highly value our friendly, fraternal relations with Armenia, which are based on deep historical and spiritual ties between our peoples. Next week, on August 29, we will mark a significant anniversary – the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which laid the foundations for allied relations between the Russian Federation and Armenia.

Together with our Armenian partners, we adopt operational decisions aimed at protecting our trade and economic cooperation, including in the conditions of illegal sanctions against Russia. We have concrete results. according to the results of the first 6 months of the current year, compared to the same period of the previous year, our mutual trade turnover increased by 42%. In absolute numbers, it reached 1 billion 600 million USD. By the way, this is a record high indicator in our trade turnover. As for the investment of Russian capital in Armenia, it reaches 2 billion USD. 

Of course, we want to speed up work on priority projects in the fields of transport, industry, and energy. It is important to create favorable conditions for business activities in order to effectively use the opportunities of SMEs. By the way, Armenia is dong that very effectively in the case of Russian companies, I also hope that Russia does the same for Armenian companies. In this regard, the event to be held in Armenia in September with the participation of Russian companies will be a good platform. The delegation will be headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexey Overchuk.

We are also working hard to expand the use of national currencies in bilateral trade. I am sure that it will contribute to the growth of our trade turnover, as well as to the diversification of its components, which is very important. We pay primary attention to the unblocking of economic and transport infrastructures in the South Caucasus, in line with the agreement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Our meeting today is held within the framework of the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. As a Union, we are successfully overcoming the consequences of global economic instability. You also talked about it today. I am confident that together we will be able to first of all ensure the economic stability of the EAEU member states and, most importantly, to raise the living standards of our citizens.

Thank you.”

In his turn, Nikol Pashinyan said, “Thank you, dear Mikhail Vladimirovich, I am very glad for our regular meeting. These meetings are important for us in the context of managing situations that, unfortunately, often arise.

However, there is also good news. the numbers you talked about are a very specific result of our work. I remember during my official visit to Russia in April, when we met and discussed what we should do together in order to somehow manage the challenges that have faced our economies. I am very happy that today, this conversation is already showing concrete results, particularly for the economy of Armenia. You emphasized how much the trade turnover between Armenia and Russia has increased. I would like to emphasize once again that I consider this a concrete result of our conversations and joint efforts.

I called you recently to thank for the operational solutions that were adopted, in particular, in the context of crisis situations at the Upper Lars checkpoint. The representatives of Armenia and Russia found very prompt solutions with together with their Georgian counterparts, as a result of which we were able to overcome the situation.

The high-level political dialogue between Armenia and Russia continues, it is an effective dialogue. Two days ago, in a telephone conversation with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin we also emphasized the importance of the 25-year anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Armenia and Russia. In general, this is a jubilee year for us. In April, we marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia. These days we also have another anniversary, and I am sure that these anniversaries reflect the atmosphere of our relationship. I am confident that despite all the difficulties, together we will overcome the situations that create problems for our economies and cooperation. I am very glad that today we have the opportunity to discuss the extensive agenda of our bilateral relations. As for the Eurasian Economic Union, we discussed everything in detail in the narrow-format session, and I think we came to constructive solutions.”

 15:12,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. UK imports from Russia have plunged 97% to record low, Bloomberg reports citing data released by the Office for National Statistics.

Figures showed UK fuel imports from Russia, which averaged £499 million a month in the year through February, fell to zero for the first time in data going back to 1997. 

Prior to Russia sending troops into Ukraine , Russia was the UK’s largest supplier of refined oil, the ONS said. The nation accounted for 24.1% of all imports of that commodity. It also supplied 5.9% of the UK’s crude oil imports, and 4.9% of the gas imports. 

But “as a result of the UK government’s ambition to phase out imports of Russian oil and gas, there were no imports of refined oil, crude oil, gas or coal, coke and briquettes from Russia by June 2022,” the ONS said. “This has prompted importers to seek alternatives. There have been increases in imports of refined oil from Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Kuwait in recent months; partially compensating for reduced imports from Russia.”

Total imports of goods from Russia totaled £33 million in June, down about 97%.