Author: Boshkezenian Garik

 15:45,

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan itself is abandoning on a daily basis its fake narratives claiming to be willing to live in coexistence with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan said on Saturday after a Nagorno-Karabakh patient was detained and taken to an unknown location by Azerbaijani border guards while being evacuated by the International Committee of the Red Cross to Armenia for treatment. Marukyan said the patient has been kidnapped by the Azeri authorities.

“On a daily basis, Azerbaijan is resigning from the fake narratives it has created regarding their willingness to live in coexistence with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Today, 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, who was being transported from Nagorno Karabagh to Armenia for a medical treatment, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, was abducted by the representatives of the border guard service of Azerbaijan and taken to an unknown direction. Neither the relatives of Khachatryan, nor the ICRC representatives or Russian peacekeepers are aware about the whereabouts of Vagif Khachatryan. His fate is unknown as of this writing,” Marukyan tweeted.

 17:24,

YEREVAN, 25 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 25 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.35 drams to 386.74 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.21 drams to 427.15 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 4.30 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.22 drams to 496.57 drams.

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

Gold price down by 29.52 drams to 24370.60 drams. Silver price down by 2.02 drams to 305.75 drams.

 10:02,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday morning, scaling its walls and setting it on fire in protest against the expected burning of a Koran in Sweden, Reuters reports.

All Baghdad embassy staff were safe, Reuters reported citing a statement by the Swedish foreign ministry press office. The Swedish foreign ministry condemned the attack and highlighted the need for Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions.

Thursday’s demonstration was called by supporters of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr to protest the second planned Koran burning in Sweden in weeks, according to posts in a popular Telegram group linked the influential cleric and other pro-Sadr media.

Sadr, one of Iraq’s most powerful figures, commands hundreds of thousands of followers whom he has at times called to the streets, including last summer when they occupied Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone and engaged in deadly clashes.

Swedish police on Wednesday granted an application for a public meeting outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday, the police permit showed. Police said in the permit two people were expected to participate.

Swedish news agency TT reported that the two planned to burn the Koran and the Iraqi flag at the public meeting, and included a man who set a Koran on fire outside a Stockholm mosque in June

Swedish police denied several applications earlier this year for protests that were set to include burning the Koran, citing security concerns. Courts have since overturned the police’s decisions, saying such acts are protected by the country’s far-reaching freedom of speech laws.

A series of videos posted to the Telegram group, One Baghdad, showed people gathering around the Swedish embassy around 1 a.m. on Thursday (2200 GMT on Wednesday) chanting pro-Sadr slogans and storming the embassy complex around an hour later.

“Yes, yes to the Koran,” protesters chanted.

Iraq’s foreign ministry also condemned the incident and said in a statement the Iraqi government had instructed security forces to carry out a swift investigation, identify perpetrators and hold them to account. By dawn on Thursday, security forces had deployed inside the embassy and smoke rose from the building as fire-fighters extinguished stubborn embers, according to Reuters witnesses.

Iraqi security forces later charged at a few dozen protesters still milling around outside the embassy in an attempt to clear them from the area. Protesters had earlier briefly thrown rocks and projectiles towards the large number of security forces gathered.

Late last month, Sadr called for protests against Sweden and the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador after the Koran burning in Stockholm by an Iraqi man.

After the burning, the man was reported to police for agitation against an ethnic or national group. In a newspaper interview, he described himself as an Iraqi refugee seeking to ban the Koran, the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God.

Two major protests took place outside of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in the aftermath of that Koran burning, with protesters breaching the embassy grounds on one occasion.

The governments of several Muslim countries, including Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Morocco issued protests about the incident, with Iraq seeking the man’s extradition to face trial in the country.

The United States also condemned it, but added that Sweden’s issuing of the permit supported freedom of _expression_ and was not an endorsement of the action.

 13:54,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh’s healthcare system is experiencing a crisis just like all other areas, Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan told reporters on July 20.

“Right now there are patients requiring transfer to Armenia for treatment. I’ve had contact this morning, and we expect a swift transfer,” Avanesyan told reporters.

She said that Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) hospitals have suspended all planned surgeries and other procedures and reserves of medications are used only in urgent cases.

“Reserves of medications are certainly not endless in Artsakh, this situation constitutes a serious healthcare crisis because right now the entire process is disrupted, and medical supplies are not entering Artsakh,” she said.

Avanesyan said she is conveying information on the situation to all international partners, the Armenian Human Rights Defender and the Representative of Armenia before the European Court of Human Rights. “And this is all being documented in order to serve as a basis for certain sanctions in the future. The answers we’ve received thus far are unsatisfactory because the only road linking Artsakh with Armenia remains closed,” Avanesyan said.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since December 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.

 14:08,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. The meeting between Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg is underway in Vienna, foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said on social media.

She said that the tête-à-tête meeting will be followed by an enlarged-format meeting and statements for the press.

“The Armenian Foreign Minister’s visit to Vienna has started with a tête-à-tête meeting with the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, which will be followed by an enlarged-format meeting and statements for the press,” Badalyan said in a statement.

 19:08,

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The interlocutors referred to the situation in the region, the ongoing negotiations on the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the necessary steps to ensure the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the need for a Baku-Stepanakert dialogue with international involvement.

Prime Minister Pashinyan referred to the deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulted by Azerbaijan’s illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor and the steps necessary for overcoming it.

The interlocutors emphasized the need for consistent efforts to ensure stability and peace in the region.

Prime Minister Pashinyan reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of the Republic of Armenia to the peace agenda.