Author: Chakrian Hovsep

 10:16,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. President of the Senate (upper house of the Parliament) of France Gérard Larcher and his delegation will arrive in Armenia at the invitation of Speaker of Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan aimed at participating in the Armenian Genocide commemoration events, the Armenian Parliament told Armenpress.

The French delegation includes heads of all political groups represented in the Senate.

The delegation members will have meetings with Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, the representatives of parliamentary factions and standing committees.

Meetings are also expected with Armenia’s Prime Minister, President and Catholicos of All Armenians.

April 24 marks the 106^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:35,

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent letters to leaders of over 20 countries, international organizations, in particular the Presidents of France, Russia, the United States, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Lebanon, Greece, Pope Francis, the Kings of the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and others, ahead of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the President’s Office told Armenpress.

In the letters the Armenian President thanked the aforementioned presidents, the parliaments, as well as the public, spiritual and academic circles for recognizing, condemning the Armenian Genocide at different formats, as well as for the solidarity to the Armenian people.

“The recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the participation of the French President to the event in Yerevan dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, your decree on declaring April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day once again highlight France’s consistency and commitment to the universal values”, the Armenian President said in the letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron.

In the letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Sarkissian says in particular: “Armenia highly values Russia’s and in particular your efforts in the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. The recognition of the Genocide, the declaration acknowledging April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, the State Duma’s statement on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, your participation to the Genocide’s 100th anniversary event once again highlight Russia’s consistency and commitment to the universal values”.

In the letter addressed to US President Joe Biden, the Armenian President highly appreciated the decision adopted by the two chambers of the US Congress in 2019. “Armenia praised the adoption of the resolution by the US House of Representatives on recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2019, which was followed by a unanimous decision by the US Senate”, President Sarkissian said. According to him, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide means to recognize the crime committed against humanity. “We are sure that one of the tools of preventing genocides and genocidal policy is their recognition and condemnation. We expect that you will reaffirm your commitment to pushing forward the historic justice and preventing new genocides”.

In his letters the Armenian President expressed confidence that the process of international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide will contribute to the prevention of genocide and elimination of impunity around the world.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 10:26,

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS. The government-backed bill on creating a specialized court examining only alleged cases of corruption passed parliament 80-33-1 during the April 14 second reading.

The “Anti-Corruption Court” will have at least 15 judges.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:27,

YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS. Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council on Foreign Affairs of Russia, says it’s necessary to resume the regular meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

In an interview to the Kommersant, Mr. Karasin stated that the cessation of bloodshed in Nagorno Karabakh and the signing of the trilateral statement on November 9, 2020 were possible thanks to the responsible position of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Now most of the issues are connected with the humanitarian problems, such as the exchange of the prisoners of war, the return of the bodies of the dead, the refugees and provision of necessary living conditions for them”, he said.

According to him, a lot depends on how fast it would be possible to restore the trust between the sides. “The concrete steps have already been taken. At the initiative of the Russian President, the discussions of political issues continue, they are searching for ways. The trilateral commission at the deputy prime minister’s level is working actively, discussing economic, transportation and logistics-related issues”, he said.

Grigory Karasin noted that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs can play a positive role over this matter. “The Co-Chairs have an experience and proper foreign support. The practice of regular meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs may restore which would receive a tangible international reaction”, he added.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:20, 1 April, 2021

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. President Arayik Harutyunyan of the Republic of Artsakh has announced that his government aims at restoring the country’s territorial integrity politically “at least within the borders of the former NKAO”.

Harutyunyan was visiting residents of several towns of the Martuni region when he made the remarks.

He refuted media reports speculating around the village of Karmir Shuka and said that “on the contrary, the restoration of the Artsakh territorial integrity at least within the borders of the former NKAO through a political way is on the agenda of the Artsakh authorities.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan