Author: Chalian Meline

Armenia, UK keen to deepen cooperation in IT, healthcare, science and education

Chalian Meline
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 17 2021

President Armen Sarkissian received Wendy Morton, Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Welcoming Minister Morton’s working visit to Armenia, President Sarkissian noted that the two countries have great potential for developing cooperation.

The meeting focused on the situation after the Artsakh war, security issues and stability in the region.

The parties emphasized the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Among a number of priority issues including humanitarian ones, President Sarkissian stressed the need for immediate return of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians from Azerbaijan, as well as the preservation of Armenian historical and cultural heritage in Azerbaijani-controlled territories.

The interlocutors discussed the cooperation between the two countries in the prevention and spread of the epidemic. Cooperation in the fields of information technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, science and education, energy and a number of other fields was considered promising. Cooperation in the fight against climate change was also emphasized.

WHO announces about global decline of COVID-19

Chalian Meline

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 21:35,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. It’s already 5 weeks that COVID-19 is declining in the world. ARMENPRESS reports, citing Ria Novosti, Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced during a briefing.

՛՛This is already the 5th week that COVID-19 reports decline globally’’, he said, adding that during the 5 weeks, the number of new cases has almost halved.

Asbarez: Azerbaijan May Have Buried Armenian Soldiers’ Remains in Mass Graves

Chalian Meline

February 12,  2021



Artsakh Presidential Chief of Staff Artak Beglaryan

Azerbaijan may have already buried the bodies of killed Armenian soldiers in mass graves, Artsakh presidential chief of staff Artak Beglaryan told Hetq.am.

Beglaryan, who until recently was Artsakh Human Rights Defender, said that reports have been circulating about the mass burials, which is compounding the problem of finding and identifying the bodies of the deceased.

He pledged that the Artsakh government will probe the matter with relevant bodies, including the Russian peacekeeping forces in the region.

He said hundreds of bodies have not been identified yet, admitting that the process has taken longer than expected. Beglaryan said the main obstacle in the process is the DNA identification.

The president’s chief of staff also confirmed to Hetq.am that Artsakh will continue to have its own armed forces, addressing speculation on social media and other circles that efforts were underway to disband the Artsakh Armed Forces.

The issue was also confirmed by Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan and National Security advisor Vitaly Balassanyan in recent days.

Beglaryan told Hetq.am that the Artsakh Army will continue ensure the security of Artsakh’s population and will work in conjunction with the Russian peacekeepers stationed in the country.

“Naturally, Azerbaijan would very much like to see no armed people in Artsakh. I think it would very much like to see no Russian peacekeepers. Azerbaijan’s wishes in this respect do not matter,” Beglaryan told Hetq.am.

In a separate interview with News.am, Beglaryan said Russian peacekeepers are carrying out construction projects in the area near the Stepanakert airport with permission from Artsakh authorities.

Asked if the construction efforts were linked to runways or terminals and other facilities of the airport, Beglaryan stated that they are different types projects underway in that area.

Armenia ruling bloc MP appointed head of Armenian delegation to Euronest

Chalian Meline
News.am, Armenia
Feb 8 2021
18:28, 08.02.2021

Deputy of the ruling My Step faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Victor Yengibaryan posted the following on his Facebook page:

“By the decision of the Council of the National Assembly, I have been appointed head of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Eastern Partnership (Euronest).

This platform for parliamentary diplomacy is important for Armenia. There is a lot of work to do, and the delegation will report on the actions on Facebook and other platforms.”

Armenian Ombudsman meets Russian Ambassador, stresses the urgency of return of POWs

Chalian Meline
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 1 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia Sergey Kopirkin.

A number of issues were discussed, including the urgency of the return of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan.

The Defender hailed the effective cooperation with the Russian Embassy in Armenia, thanked for the established joint work on the operative exchange of information on the protection of the rights of our compatriots in Russia.

Arman Tatoyan praised the trust-bsed relationship with the Federal Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia Tatiana Moskalkova.

The Russian Ambassador emphasized the effective cooperation with the Human Rights Defender of Armenia and stressed the need to continue it.

The parties agreed to continue cooperation and exchange of information on human rights.

UNESCO “hopes” to send mission to Nagorno Karabakh soon

Chalian Meline

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 16:24, 5 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. UNESCO says it hopes it will soon send a preliminary mission to Nagorno Karabakh and the territories that have come under Azerbaijani control.

“Discussions [on the visit] continue. We hope that it will happen soon,” a UNESCO spokesperson told TASS.

Earlier, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay vowed to send experts of the organization to Nagorno Karabakh to help preserve its historic heritage.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 03-02-21

Chalian Meline

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 17:27, 3 February, 2021

YEREVAN, 3 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 3 February, USD exchange rate up by 0.95 drams to 520.15 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.94 drams to 625.58 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 6.84 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.89 drams to 709.74 drams.

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

Gold price stood at 31097.6 drams. Silver price stood at 493.85 drams. Platinum price stood at 18662.4 drams.

CivilNet: Kooyrigs’ Mission in Armenia – A Woman Led Initiative

Chalian Meline
CIVILNET.AM

February 3, 2021 6:16 p.m

CivilNet went to see the women of Kooyrigs, a group that went from a social media page to a full NGO. We caught up with them as they implemented a new project, Mayrigs, an initiative to help pregnant women from Artsakh. Kooyrigs also actively aided the war effort, with the women of Kooyrigs traveling to Karabakh during the war to deliver essential supplies. 

Suren Sargsyan: If you think better life will come with Artsakh’s surrender, you are gravely mistaken

Chalian Meline
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 2 2021

Political scientist Suren Sargsyan has shared the photo of PM Nikol Pashinyan on Facebook, along with a message, which reads:

“I think this person has always believed that Armenia has no future as long as it has the Karabakh issue. He believes that the only solution to Artsakh issue is to cede it to Azerbaijan. He thinks as long as we have Artsakh, we have problems. He believes that if there is no Karabakh issue, peace will be established in the region, the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani border will open, and we will turn into Switzerland. He seriously believes in all these,” Sargsyan wrote, adding:

“Pashinyan, however, lacks the understanding that

1. The Artsakh issue is not resolved
2. it is an hollow idea to assume peace will come with Armenia’s defeat, likewise it didn’t come with Azerbaijan’s defeat,
3. it is an hollow idea that the region will prosper,
4. the complex regional situation is not conditioned only by the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,
5. it is conditioned by Russian-Turkish, US/Israel – Iran counteractions, complicated relations between Georgia and Russia, etc.
6. the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement or the settlement of the relations is not a matter of feasible future,
7. the Armenian-Azerbaijani rapprochement or the settlement of relations is a matter of unfeasible future. We will be obviously continued to be viewed as an enemy for them. 

If you think better life will come with Artsakh’s surrender, you are gravely mistaken.”