11:25, 9 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed the normalization process of the relations between Armenia and Turkey during a telephone conversation on February 8, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Blinken and Cavusoglu discussed also the additional steps the United States could take to support these efforts.
17:23, 9 February, 2022
YEREVAN, 9 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 9 February, USD exchange rate down by 1.18 drams to 479.11 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.34 drams to 547.43 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 6.41 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.54 drams to 650.20 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price up by 70.60 drams to 28074.86 drams. Silver price down by 0.87 drams to 352.13 drams. Platinum price up by 177.14 drams to 15850.45 drams
NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative refers to the return of Armenian POWs
19:55, 7 February, 2022
YEREVAN, 7 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. Special Representative of NATO Secretary General for the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomnina highlighted the return of Armenian prisoners of war to Armenia, mentioning that NATO supports the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“This is good news. NATO values our partnership both with Armenia and Azerbaijan, supports the normalization of their relations, which will contribute to the stability and prosperity in the region”, ARMENPRESS reports Colomnina wrote in his Twitter micro blog.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia reported that 8 Armenian prisoners of war returned to their homeland as a result of the remote meeting that took place on February 4 through mediation of the French President Emmanuel Macron and the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
The creative team of the sci-fi satirical comedy Musk Factor has created a concept of future security technology. The concept named GAIT, a security system that can reduce the number of crimes, aroused great interest in the world’s leading physical security company Scylla.
The futuristic technology concept was depicted by the Musk Factor team in its new illustration, which was included as NFT in the OpenSea system, and Scylla, in its turn, acquired it.
“It is a well-known fact that every person living on the planet has a unique gait, and each individual’s walking step distance is different. The uniqueness of the gait depends on one’s weight, spinal alignment, length of the limbs, posture, and many more peculiarities. The NFT shows how it is possible to identify criminals by studying and analyzing human gait data”,” says Rafael Tadevosyan, General Producer of Musk Factor series.
Scylla, a company that has firmly taken the path of new achievements, greatly values the pro-futuristic visions of Musk Factor team.
“The NFT of a futuristic security system for the Metaverse that was created by Musk Factor team immediately caught our attention and it may as well be realized in the future. Nowadays, facial and behavior recognition systems are widely used, but GAIT can become the next technology for ensuring security,” the founder of Scylla Albert Stepanyan says.
Scylla is a real-time physical threat detection solution. The company utilizes AI and computer vision to detect objects, actions and behavior anomalies. With its next-gen AI-powered solutions that have exceptional accuracy and performance, Scylla has an impressive customer portfolio worldwide.
Azerbaijan has released eight Armenian prisoners in an effort to facilitate new talks with France and the European Union on the border conflict between the two countries, said French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel.
“The release by Azerbaijan and reparation to Armenia of 8 Armenian detainees is another sign of positive developments following the meeting with @EmmanuelMacron, @azpresident and @NikolPashinyan,” wrote Charles Michel on Twitter.
“The EU supports stability and prosperity in the region,” added Michel.
Macron added that France had sent over a plane to pick up the released Armenian prisoners.
“Thanks to our diplomats as well as our soldiers who were mobilised for this operation,” wrote Macron on Twitter.
Last October, Azeri troops drove ethnic Armenian forces out of territory they had controlled since the 1990s in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, before Russia brokered a ceasefire.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia had subsequently said last November that they had signed a deal to end the military conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region after more than a month of bloodshed
(REUTERS)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220207-azerbaijan-releases-eight-armenian-prisoners-after-french-eu-mediation
Also read
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-695742
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/azerbaijan-releases-eight-armenian-prisoners-in-mediation-effort-with-france-and-eu-2
https://www.thebharatexpressnews.com/azerbaijan-releases-eight-armenian-prisoners-after-franco-european-mediation/
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan has released a new ad hoc report on Azerbaijan’s policy of hatred and animosity towards Armenians after the 44-day war in Artsakh.
The report contains factual data collected during the daily activities of the Ombudsman’s Office.
The key points of the report outlined by Tatoyan include:
1) After the war, the Azerbaijani authorities stick to the state-supported policy of hatred and animosity against Armenians.
2) It has 2 pillars – ethnic and religious.
3) It is not only about rhetoric, but a real long-running policy (education, culture, sports, etc.). Therefore, it is not right to speak only of rhetoric.
4) This policy is the actual source of human rights violations by Azerbaijani forces in Armenia and Artsakh before, during and after the war, including war crimes and various atrocities.
5) The propaganda of hatred and hostility serves as a guarantee for the legacy of the Azerbaijani authorities, which use it to divert their own people from internal problems. It has not diminished and will not diminish in the future.
6) Hatred on religious grounds is taking a new and extremely dangerous turn, with ungrounded allegations of Islamophobia against the Armenian people. This leads to new manifestations of the destruction of churches, elimination of their Armenian identity and torture of Armenian captives. The report presents historical facts to show the real respect of the Armenian Church and our people for Islam.
7) Azerbaijan’s policy of hatred incites hostility between the two peoples worldwide, which is also dangerous for other countries where Armenians and Azerbaijanis live.
8) The Azerbaijani calls for peace have no sincere motives, they are false and a veil for the outside world.
“Peace is the highest value for us, hostility is not acceptable, but there is no real peace at the expense of the rights of one party, peace does not mean hatred. Therefore, we must not forget about all this. We need real guarantees to protect our rights,” the ombudsman said.
17:59, 3 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, who is in Yerevan on a working visit, ARMENPRES was informed from the Offic eof the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Schallenberg’s visit to our country and expressed hope that it will give a new impetus to the further development and strengthening of the Armenian-Austrian relations. Noting that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Austria, the Prime Minister stressed that there is a great potential for cooperation between the two countries. In the context of its realization, the Prime Minister stressed the need for active cooperation between the governments of Armenia and Austria in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres. At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan welcomed the holding of the Armenian-Austrian business forum in Yerevan, which will contribute to the expansion of ties between the private sectors, the development and implementation of new joint investment programs, and the increase of bilateral trade.
Alexander Schallenberg noted that he had fruitful talks with his Armenian counterpart, noting that Austria is interested in deepening cooperation with Armenia in all directions. The Austrian Foreign Minister also highlighted the expansion of economic cooperation, adding that the Austrian businessmen are very interested in opportunities to operate in Armenia. Alexander Schallenberg welcomed the reforms being implemented by the Armenian Government aimed at developing and strengthening of democracy, emphasizing that his country is ready to assist Armenia in ensuring the further effective continuation of those reforms.
Nikol Pashinyan and Alexander Schallenberg also touched upon the developments in the South Caucasus region, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, emphasizing the need to resume the negotiation process and reach a comprehensive settlement within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format. In this regard, the planned visit of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to the region was highlighted.
Issues related to the opportunities for carrying out delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the provision of necessary conditions for that were also discussed.
16:48, 2 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has left self-isolation and is already back to work, his office said.
The Prime Minister’s Office had said on January 26 that Pashinyan tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the the recommended period of isolation for fully vaccinated people is 7 days.
11:29,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. NATO welcomed the first meeting between the Armenian and Turkish special representatives for normalization.
NATO welcomes today’s meeting in Moscow between the special envoys of [Armenia and Turkey]. NATO supports the normalisation of their relations, which will help in bringing stability to the region, and we encourage Ankara and Yerevan to make further efforts”, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs & Security Policy and Special Representative for the Caucasus & Central Asia Javier Colomina tweeted on January 14.