Author: Babken Chilingarian

Security Council Secretary of Armenia refers to problems of opening communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan

 19:55,

YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan referred to the problems of opening the communication channels between Armenia and Azerbaijan, answering the questions of ARMENPRESS.

Question – The President of the European Council stated in the statement issued after the meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan that the parties reached an agreement on the management of communication between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan through Armenia and different parts of Armenia through Azerbaijan. Can you clarify what does it mean “communication between different parts of Armenia through Azerbaijan”.

Answer – For example, it will be possible for Armenian citizens and cargo to reach Meghri from Yeraskh through the territory of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and vice versa, within the same principles as Azerbaijani citizens and cargo can reach Nakhichevan from Horadiz through Armenia.

Question – Why should the territory of Nakhichevan be used for going from one part of Armenia to another?

Answer – This may be due to the fact that the railway connecting the north of Armenia to the south passes through Nakhichevan. Besides, the topic under discussion is about the opening of all communications in the region, and the issue of the principles of opening and operating of all existing communications must be resolved. Discussions follow this logic. Let me remind you that in the same context, the issue of transport connection from the Republic of Armenia through the territory of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic to the Islamic Republic of Iran and through the eastern parts of Azerbaijan to the Russian Federation and vice versa is also being discussed.

 17:38,

YEREVAN, 17 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 17 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.13 drams to 454.86 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 3.51 drams to 478.29 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 7.18 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 8.89 drams to 567.07 drams.

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

Gold price down by 37.55 drams to 26462.29 drams. Silver price up by 4.74 drams to 309.59 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 18:13,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the meeting of the leaders of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin met the CSTO leaders: Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov. Following the ceremonial photo-video session, the meeting took place at the St Alexander’s Hall of the Kremlin, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan congratulated the attendees on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Collective Security Treaty signed on May 15, 1992, and on the 20th anniversary of the decision of May 14, 2002 to establish the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

In particular, the Prime Minister welcomed the CSTO leaders and thanked them for the warm reception. “Of course, the anniversary of our Organization is also a very good opportunity to summarize certain results and discuss the prospects of further development of the Organization.

Alexander Grigoryevich, of course, raised many important issues related to the cooperation between the CSTO member states, and the President of Belarus, to be honest, touched upon quite problematic issues. In general, it should be noted that there is a lot of positive in the history of the CSTO, as it has been, is and will be a key factor in ensuring security and stability in the region. As we can see, today, at the jubilee summit we are discussing not only jubilee issues, given today’s quite tense situation in the CSTO area of responsibility. And I would like to address some of the issues that the President of Belarus talked about.

As for the voting of the member states of our Organization, of course, we have some problems here. Often our votes are not in harmony, and it should be noted that this is not a new problem, it accompanies our Organization for a long time. Armenia has raised this issue many times, it has been discussed many times in the working process. Obviously, it needs further discussion.

As for the partnership and rapid reaction mechanisms, this is also a very important issue for Armenia, because as you know, just during these days last year, the Azerbaijani troops invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia and Armenia applied to the CSTO for launching the mechanisms envisaged by the CSTO Crisis situations response procedures of December 10, 2010. That document has been approved by the Collective Security Council, but, unfortunately, we cannot say that the Organization reacted in the way the Republic of Armenia would expect.

Also, for a long time, we have been raising the issue of selling arms by CSTO member states to countries not friendly to Armenia. As a result, those weapons were used against Armenia and the Armenian people. This is also a problem, to be honest, the reaction of the CSTO member states during the 44-day war in 2020, and also after the war, was not so encouraging for the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people.

But I would like to emphasize the special role of the Russian Federation and personally President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in ending the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. And I want to once again affirm that Armenia remains committed to the trilateral statements by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan and Prime Minister of Armenia of November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021.

I think it is very good and important to summarize the results. Armenia, as a founding member of the CSTO, is committed to the further development of the Organization. We consider the Organization a key factor in ensuring security and stability in the Eurasian region and the Republic of Armenia, and in general, we are positive about fully supporting the organization and its further development.”

Then, the CSTO leaders signed documents summarizing the results of today’s CSTO session.

 13:58,

YEREVAN, MAY 13, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan participated in the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS participating states in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe, the ministry said in a news release.

During the extended-format session the CIS foreign ministers exchanged views about the issues of mutual interest relating to regional and international agenda, touched upon the opportunities of strengthening the mutual partnership within the CIS. The further activity directions of the organization were also discussed.

During the session the Armenian FM also touched upon his meeting with the Russian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers on May 12, expressing hope that it will be a step towards establishment of peace and stability in the region. Mirzoyan reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to the implementation of the agreements reached by the 2020 November 9, 2021 January 11 and November 26 statements.

FM Mirzoyan also presented the position of the Armenian side over the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and in this respect highlighted promoting the peace process under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The CIS Foreign Ministers observed the report on the 2021 multi-level consultation plan between the CIS foreign ministries. The decision on granting “Silk Road” International University of Tourism a status of a base organization of the CIS participating states in tourism sector and other documents were agreed upon. A decision was also made about the CIS Youth Capital international project which aims at boosting the cooperation of the CIS states towards creating conditions for promoting youth potential.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister announced Kyiv’s readiness for negotiations with Moscow, but without ultimatums

 21:19,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba stated that Kyiv is ready for talks with Russia, but will not accept the ultimatums of the Russian side, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, Kuleba told German Die Welt daily, which was published during his visit to Germany.

“We are ready for talks, but we are not ready to accept the Russian ultimatums,” said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, emphasizing that if the situation escalates, Kyiv will retaliate.

At the same time, Kuleba insisted that the Russian Federation does not want to sit at the negotiating table, but intends to continue hostilities. “The real problem is that Russia is not ready to hold real, meaningful talks,” he said.

 13:40, 6 May, 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Ucom has provided Ijevan College and Nerkin Karmiraghbyur Secondary School, the beneficiaries of “Seroond Schools” program by “Teach For Armenia” educational foundation, with SIM-cards with mobile internet access as well as modems, to promote the use of modern online resources in the classrooms. 

“Ucom supports the innovative methods applied by our long-term partner, “Teach For Armenia” in the border schools, and which require high-quality internet access for the smoother organization of their work, and the availability of which we provided with great readiness, this time to Ijevan College and Nerkin Karmiraghbyur secondary school”, said Ara Khachatryan, Director General at Ucom. 

Recently, within the framework of the regular community visit carried out by “Teach For Armenia”, Ucom had the opportunity to get acquainted with the activities of Nerkin Karmiraghbyur secondary school on the spot. 

During the visit, we spoke with Mariam Aleksanyan, Leadership Development Manager at Seroond Schools, who also works at this school. 

“Seroond Schools should be that safe environment in which the comprehensive development of the child takes place. In other words, it is not only about academic performance (which is also very important), but far more about socio-emotional learning. If you have ever been in contact with the soil, you know that when you sow seeds in a good soil, you are sure to get a good harvest, and when the soil is not good, any effort may even be in vain. The Nerkin Karmiraghbyur school is that exact good soil”, mentioned Mariam in a conversation with us. 

Nara Papyan, principal of the school, emphasizing the accessibility of the internet in the territory, emphasized that both the provided Ucom SIM cards with mobile internet access and the modems will allow children, living in close proximity to the border, to “enjoy the wide range of opportunities that the world has to offer”. 

We also talked to 8th graders who, along with their math teacher, developed a game that facilitates learning a multiplication table. The children even received a small grant for this game. They told us that the game enables children to “learn the multiplication table instantly, and the adults – to recall that from their memory”. Students also told us that the school has various sections: mathematics, robotics, military training, football, art and others. In addition, one of them said that he loves biology and chemistry, as they learn to apply their theoretical knowledge right on the spot, in special labs, where they have all the necessary equipment to conduct experiments.

The children also expressed hope that via the internet provided by Ucom, they will no longer have connection failures and slow internet to do internet research during their classes. 

Previously, within the framework of assistance to the Seroond Schools program of the “Teach For Armenia” educational foundation, Ucom provided the pupils of the basic school No. 2 in Dilijan, located in the Takhta district, both with Ucom SIM cards with mobile internet access and modems to support the educational process.