Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

 12:20, 8 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. The Chairman of the State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia Rustam Badasyan held a meeting with Ann K. Ganzer, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the United States Department of State. 

The heads of the US Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security Program (EXBS) and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs also attended the meeting.

Badasyan welcomed the delegation and presented the main directions of tax and customs cooperation with US partners, the State Revenue Committee said in a press release.

In the context of the comprehensive reforms of the system, Badasyan presented the key provisions outlined with other international partners in the tax and customs areas.

Rustam Badasyan presented the agreements he reached during his December 2022 visit to the United States, as well as the course of implementation.

The need for deploying modern equipment for customs control and drug detection in the SRC customs checkpoints as part of the EXBS program was emphasized. A number of issues aimed at modernizing the risks system in the customs area were also discussed.

Badasyan’s deputy Tsovinar Soghomonyan presented the results of the training courses of customs officers in context of the customs reforms.

Ann K. Ganzer highly appreciated the productive working relations between the sides and the joint efforts for strengthening the Armenian-American bilateral relations.

 15:51, 5 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) released the Second Interim Compliance Report on Armenia corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors.

The Second Interim Compliance Report assesses the measures taken by the authorities of Armenia to implement the recommendations issued in the Fourth Round Evaluation Report on Armenia.

GRECO, in its Fourth Round Evaluation Report, addressed 18 recommendations to Armenia. In the Interim Compliance Report, GRECO concluded that seven recommendations (v, vi, x, xii, xiii, xiv and xvii) had been implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner and eleven recommendations (i-iv, vii-ix, xi, xv, xvi and xviii) had been partly implemented. Now, in the second report, GRECO concludes that some steps have been made by Armenia to comply with the outstanding recommendations under the Fourth Evaluation Round. Of the eighteen recommendations included in the Fourth Round Evaluation Report, nine recommendations have now been implemented satisfactorily or have been dealt with in a satisfactory manner. Nine recommendations have been partly implemented.

More specifically, recommendations v, vi, x, xii, xiii, xiv, xv, xvii and xviii have been implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner and recommendations i-iv, vii-ix, xi and xvi have been partly implemented. 

Public consultation in the law-making process has been made mandatory for draft laws initiated by the Government. A draft code of ethics for MPs and draft amendments to the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure intended to establish a mechanism to monitor members’ compliance with ethical norms have been developed. 

GRECO noted that the Armenian government continues taking active steps for implementing the outstanding recommendations.

Armenia overcame the GRECO evaluation incompatibility process and is no longer listed as having a “globally unsatisfactory” level, which it was listed from 2015 to 2019.

 13:40, 22 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARMENPRESS.  A senior Biden administration official has called for de-escalation and an end to violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Broadly speaking, what we’ve said before is we urge all sides here to de-escalate,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said at a press briefing when asked on the Biden administration’s position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. “We don’t want to see any of this violence, and we want to see all sides take appropriate steps to de-escalate the tension and to stop the violence.”

Kirby declined to give an answer when asked whether or not the U.S. views the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh as a cause for concern.

 16:15,

YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. 93,7% of participants in the first the Future Armenian Convention think that the entire Armenian Diaspora ought to assume responsibility for Artsakh rather than leave it for Armenia and its citizens, as well as residents of Artsakh to solve the issue.

The results of the vote during the first pan-Armenian Citizens’ Assembly were released on March 11 by the convention’s voting commission chairman Arik Gevorgyan.

Gevorgyan said that the Armenian nation must not be afraid of victories.

31% of participants voted in favor of the opinion that so far the efforts by Armenia, Diaspora communities, Armenian organizations and individuals aimed at the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide have been effective, but now the pan-Armenian efforts must be aimed at solving security-related issues. But another 31% believe that the efforts haven’t been productive and corrections are needed.

“61% of participants voted in favor of the opinion that it is our duty to preserve our historical-cultural heritage and pass it down to our next generations, and the state and Diaspora Armenians must spend as much resources as needed for this goal and carry out the work effectively,” he said.

Summing up the first day of the convention, Gevorgyan said the biggest concern during all discussions is the issue of Artsakh.

“Everyone is concerned about it, every Armenian is concerned, Artsakh is a part of us,” Gevorgyan said.

Another issue which was discussed is the Diaspora’s role in the development of Armenia, that the “Diaspora must have a role in the development of Armenia both with money, knowledge and resources, and feel itself as a part of the homeland, because Armenia belongs to all Armenians”, and that the Diaspora shouldn’t be viewed simply as a donator and the homeland as a “beggar”.

 12:40,

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. The United States Intelligence Community has warned of Azerbaijan’s readiness to use calibrated military pressure to advance its goals in talks with Armenia.

The 2023 Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, noted that “relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are likely to remain tense and occasionally volatile in the absence of a peace treaty, given the proximity of military forces at the interstate border, the lack of a cease-fire enforcement mechanism, and Azerbaijan’s readiness to use calibrated military pressure to advance its goals in talks with Armenia.”

Furthermore, the report states that in September 2022 Azerbaijani forces launched a “coordinated attack” at multiple locations along the border, seizing some Armenian territory. 

“Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan are likely to remain tense and occasionally volatile in the absence of a peace treaty, given the proximity of military forces at the interstate border, the lack of a cease-fire enforcement mechanism, and Azerbaijan’s readiness to use calibrated military pressure to advance its goals in talks with Armenia. The continued presence of military forces in close proximity along the delimited border elevates the risk of armed confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, although such confrontations are likely to be limited in duration and intensity.  Since May 2021, military clashes have occurred regularly at the interstate border and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The most intense flare-up took place in September 2022, when Azerbaijani forces launched a coordinated attack at multiple locations along the border, seizing some Armenian territory and resulting in nearly 300 military deaths.  Peace talks have made some progress, but the most challenging issues—related to state borders and the future of Nagorno-Karabakh—are far from being resolved,” the report reads, in part.

 17:44, 1 March 2023

YEREVAN, 1 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 1 March, USD exchange rate down by 0.33 drams to 389.01 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.48 drams to 414.88 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 5.17 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.89 drams to 468.48 drams.

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

Gold price up by 55.12 drams to 22820.20 drams. Silver price down by 2.78 drams to 256.71 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.