Author: David Nargizian

 13:23, 3 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 3, ARMENPRESS. The Pashinyan administration has denied media reports alleging that it has stopped contacts with the authorities in Nagorno Karabakh.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan issued a statement on July 3 regarding the rumors.

“Various media outlets have been circulating reports claiming that the authorities of Armenia have ceased contacts with their Nagorno Karabakh colleagues at all levels. Furthermore, the reports claim that the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of Lachin Corridor is outside of the agenda of the government of Armenia. Regarding this totally untrue claim, we find it noteworthy that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has mentioned on many occasions that he maintains intensive, daily contacts with Arayik Harutyunyan. The Nagorno Karabakh President has confirmed this in public speeches and various other formats. As a reminder, a working group led by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan was set up in late 2022 with the purpose of managing the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and supporting the people of Nagorno Karabakh, tasked with monitoring humanitarian issues together with the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh and providing the necessary urgent support, including with the help of international organizations. The working group is composed of the Minister of Healthcare, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructrures, Minister of Economy, as well as representatives of other government agencies,” Baghdasaryan said in the statement.

 16:24,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. On 27-, the 4th Meeting of the Armenia-EU Partnership Committee established under the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement (CEPA) took place in Brussels. The delegation of the Republic of Armenia headed by Mr. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, participated in the meeting. As a result of the discussions, the following Joint Press Statement was adopted:

“On 27-, the Armenia-EU Partnership Committee, established under the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), met for the fourth time in Brussels. This meeting gave the opportunity to the EU and Armenia to discuss the implementation of the CEPA and touch upon other areas of bilateral cooperation.

Armenia and the EU agreed to strengthen their cooperation, emphasising the EU’s active engagement in the South Caucasus, and to pursue their efforts for the implementation of the CEPA, recognising the progress made so far. The EU welcomed Armenia’s continued commitment to reforms in line with common values, in spite of the difficult security context of the region. The EU stands ready to continue assisting Armenia on the path of the CEPA implementation and in addressing socio-economic challenges, including through the substantial Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) as well as its flagship initiatives.

The Partnership Committee reviewed developments related to the rule of law, in the fields of justice sector, law enforcement, fight against corruption, and the respect for human rights. The EU appreciated the progress in these fields. Yet, the EU recalled the importance of continuous improvement of the independence and efficiency of the judiciary and the fight against corruption, in order to increase citizens’ trust in public institutions. The EU emphasised the need to make additional efforts in eliminating discrimination on all grounds and encouraged Armenia to involve civil society in public consultations on legislative proposals.

The Partnership Committee also reviewed the progress on issues related to transport, energy, environment, climate action and disaster risk management. Armenia and the EU will continue their cooperation to enhance safety at the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. While acknowledging Armenia’s efforts on renewable energies, energy efficiency and environmental protection, the EU encouraged Armenia to set more ambitious emission reduction targets as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution.

The meeting was also an opportunity to review the cooperation in the field of customs and economic development. The EU underlined the importance of customs cooperation to prevent the circumvention of the EU sanctions on Russia through the territory of Armenia. The discussion also took stock of developments in employment and social policies. As regards education, the EU welcomed the adoption of Armenia’s comprehensive Strategy covering the whole education spectrum, as well as its ratification of the Creative Europe Agreement.

The Partnership Committee also touched upon the possibility of launching a visa liberalization dialogue (VLD). In this regard, the EU noted that while the technical requirements for the VLD launch have been sufficiently met, this also requires a political decision. The EU continues encouraging Armenia to bilaterally engage actively with Member States on this topic.

The partners also discussed the regional dynamics and the state of play of the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation process that takes place in the context of increasingly challenging security situation. The Armenian side provided an update on the blockage of the Lachin Corridor. Armenia and the EU shared concerns on the risks of a humanitarian crisis. The EU and Armenia welcomed the establishment of the EU Mission in Armenia.

Finally, the discussions highlighted the constructive engagement of Armenia in the Eastern Partnership.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr Luc Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service and Mr Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.”

 23:45,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral meeting of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has started in Washington, ARMENPRESS reports, Spokesperson of MFA ArmeniaAni Badalyan wrote on Twitter.

“After the bilateral talks between the Armenian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State, the trilateral meeting with the participation of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister has started,” she wrote.

 17:25,

YEREVAN, JUNE 23, ARMENPRESS. Yesterday, on June 22, the Azerbaijani side engaged in another provocation and committed a criminal act by installing a concrete barrier to block the sole road connecting Artsakh and Armenia (Lachin Corridor), the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) InfoCenter said in a press release.

Furthermore, in addition to establishing an illegal checkpoint and obstructing the road with armored vehicles, Azerbaijan is now actively impeding any movement, including those by the Red Cross and peacekeepers.

This incident serves as yet another illustration of the Azerbaijani authorities’ criminal intent to isolate the people of Artsakh from the rest of the world and employ various repressive measures.

 16:00,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. On June 13, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received Stephan Malerius, the head of the Regional Program “Political Dialogue South Caucasus” of the “Konrad Adenauer” Foundation, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

The interlocutors commended the close cooperation established with the foundation and exchanged views on the strengthening of democratic institutions in Armenia, the progress made as a result of the reforms and the continued support of the EU and member states in this regard.

During the meeting, the security situation in the region was touched upon. Minister Mirozyan presented the latest developments on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the vision of the Armenian side for the solutions to the key issues and for achieving comprehensive and lasting peace in the South Caucasus region. The importance of continuous involvement of international actors and active steps in that direction was emphasized.

 11:42,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia has set up a task force to work on a Development Strategy for Gyumri, the second-largest city of the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan will chair the working group, according to documents posted online at .

 15:15, 1 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has ruled out signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan that would envisage Armenia’s sovereign territory to be less than 29,800 square kilometers. He also ruled out providing Azerbaijan with any corridor through territory of Armenia.

“We rule out signing a peace treaty with a territory less than 29,800 square kilometers. We have voiced the number of 29,800 square kilometers, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia has drawn a red line from the National Assembly rostrum, and we brought the 29,800 square kilometers into the agenda. I can say the same about the corridor, we have numerously said that there won’t be a corridor, there can’t be such thing, we have excluded that narrative and drawn a red line for us,” Simonyan said at a press briefing.

Asked whether Armenia considers any specific international actor as guarantor for a peace treaty, Simonyan said that all centers that hosted the talks have expressed readiness to be guarantors.

“What we will get is another matter,” Simonyan said, adding that the possible guarantors should fulfill their functions. He said that he is not satisfied with the 9 November 2020 statement.  “I am not satisfied with the 9 November statement, and I am sure the people of Armenia are also not satisfied with it in terms of both the statements and actions of our partners,” Simonyan said.

 20:52,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh expressed deep disappointment and bewilderment over the statement of the official representative of the US State Department on May 30, in which he welcomed the recent statements of the President of Azerbaijan about the readiness to consider the so-called amnesty of the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Artsakh.

“The press statement made by the US State Department Spokesperson on 30 May, in which he welcomed the recent statements of the President of Azerbaijan on the readiness to consider the issue of the so-called amnesty for the residents of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), causes deep disappointment and bewilderment.

It is inexplicable how in this statement of the President of Azerbaijan, entirely built on open blackmail and coercion, one could find something positive that deserves encouragement. Obviously, the main message of the Azerbaijani president’s statement was the refusal of Azerbaijan from an equal dialogue with the democratically elected authorities of the Republic of Artsakh and the desire to impose their own authority on the people of Artsakh by force.

We have no doubts about the efforts of the United States to play a positive role in achieving a just, balanced and dignified settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict and in establishing lasting peace in the region. At the same time, we believe that the encouragement of Baku’s destructive and belligerent policy runs counter to the desire to achieve positive developments in the peaceful settlement of the conflict”, reads the statement.