Author: Emil Lazarian

 12:59, 8 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan which resulted in the joint statement were held bilaterally, without mediators, according to a senior Armenian lawmaker.

“The negotiations were bilateral, the statement doesn’t mention any other side,” said Sargis Khandanyan, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations, when asked whether the talks involved mediators.

Asked when the Armenian prisoners will return from Azerbaijan, the MP said it’s a matter of ‘hours or days.’

“According to the statement it must take place in the nearest time. It is a matter of hours or days. If I’m not mistaken, the prisoner return process must take place on the state border of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.

Khandanyan declined to confirm or deny the list issued by Azerbaijan of names of the POWs who are to be released. He said that Armenia cannot release names until the prisoners cross the border.

“I’d avoid mentioning names, first of all because I am unaware of details, but also because this is a highly sensitive topic. I think the names shouldn’t be released until the prisoners cross the state border of Armenia, because, understandably, this can be very difficult for the families of the prisoners,” he said when asked on the authenticity of the list of names of the detainees issued by the Azeri authorities.

He added that the government of Armenia will continue to work to achieve the release of all POWs and other detainees held in Azerbaijan.

“This was a part of the process, and there is certain result regarding the process, and the government of Armenia will continue to carry out diplomatic and legal work, so that all prisoners and other detainees who are in Azerbaijan are released as a result of such a process,” Khandanyan said.

Following the talks between the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, an agreement has been reached on taking tangible steps towards building confidence between two countries.

Driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenian military servicemen.

In its turn, driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill, the Republic of Armenia releases 2 Azerbaijani military servicemen.

As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy. The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan do hope that the other countries within the Eastern European Group will also support Azerbaijan’s bid to host. As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Azerbaijan supports the Armenian candidature for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.

The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan will continue their discussions regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures, effective in the near future and call on the international community to support their efforts that will contribute to building mutual trust between two countries and will positively impact the entire South Caucasus region.

 12:56, 8 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. COP28 has mobilized over $83 billion in the first five days, setting the pace for a new era in climate action.

These include the first ever declarations on food systems transformation and health, plus
declarations on renewable energy and efficiency, as well as initiatives to decarbonize
heavy emitting industries.

11 pledges and declarations have been launched and received historic support.

On day one of COP28, the Presidency facilitated a historic agreement to operationalize
and capitalize funding for Loss and Damage, supporting those on the front lines of the
climate crisis with $726 million already pledged to date.

$3.5 billion in new money announced to replenish the Green Climate Fund (GCF)

$133.6 million announced toward the Adaptation Fund

$129.3 million announced toward the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDC)

$31 million to the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)

• UAE launched a $30 billion catalytic fund, ALTÉRRA, to drive positive climate action.
The fund seeks to mobilize an additional $250 billion globally.
• The UAE committed $200 million to help vulnerable countries through Special Drawing
Rights (SDRs) and $150 million to fund water security solutions.
• The World Bank announced an increase of $9 billion annually for 2024 and 2025 to
finance climate-related projects. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) announced a
cumulative increase of over $22.6 billion toward climate action.
The full breakdown of pledges and declarations so far is as follows:
•  The Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge has been endorsed by
123 countries.
•  The COP28 UAE Declaration on Agriculture, Food, & Climate has received
endorsements from 140 countries.
• The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health has been endorsed by 132
countries.
•  The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate Relief, Recovery & Peace has been
endorsed by 75 countries and 40 organizations.
•  The COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate Finance has been endorsed by 13
countries.
• The Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) Pledge has
been endorsed by 65 countries.
•  The Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter has been endorsed by 52 companies,
representing 40 percent of global oil production.
COP28 CLIMATE ACTION TRACKER
Media Fact Sheet
• The Industrial Transition Accelerator has been endorsed by 35 companies and
six industry associations, including World Steel Association, International
Aluminium Institute, Global Renewable Alliance, Global Cement and Concrete
Association, Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, International Air Transport
Association.
Breakdown of financial pledges and contributions so far:
• Loss and Damage: $726 million
• Green Climate Fund: $3.5 billion (increasing second replenishment to $12.8
billion)
•  Adaptation Fund: $133.6 million
•  Least Developed Countries Fund: $129.3 million
• Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF): $31 million
•  Renewable Energy: $5 billion
•  Cooling: $25.5 million
•  Clean Cooking: $30 million
• Technology: $568 million
•  Methane: $1.2 billion
• Climate Finance: $30 billion from UAE, $200 million in Special Drawing Rights,
and $32 billion from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
•  Food: $3.1 billion
•  Nature: $2.6 billion
• Health: $2.7 billion
• Water: $150 million
• Gender: $2.8 million
•  Relief, Recovery and Peace: $1.2 billion
•  Local Climate Action: $467 million․

 16:22, 8 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will seek re-election in 2024, RT reports.

Russia’s presidential election will be held between March 15 and March 17, 2024. The winner will be inaugurated in early May.

If Putin wins, it will be his fifth term as head of state.

 10:44, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government has envisaged 47,3 billion drams under the 2024 budget for assistance programs for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan told lawmakers on November 6.

He said that this figure is just a part of the entire assistance.

The assistance includes support projects in education, employment, social protection, accommodation and other areas.

Authorities are currently discussing additional support measures.

The reserve fund of the 2024 budget is envisaged at an unprecedented level of 156 billion drams, the minister said at the 2024 budget debates. 

Speaking about international support for the NK refugees, the minister said that the EU, France and China have pledged to provide budgetary support funds, and upon receiving them the authorities will either reduce the projected deficit of the budget or plan additional urgent spendings.

 11:21, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The amended version of the 2024 state budget draft envisages 2 trillion 723 billion drams in revenues and 3 trillion 206 billion drams in expenditures, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan told lawmakers.

Revenues will amount to 24,9% of GDP.

Expenditures increased by 189,3 billion drams compared to the earlier version. 

Capital expenditures will amount to 695 billion drams (27% more compared to 2023).

42% of 2024 capital expenditures will be directed to the defense sector.

The deficit will amount to 483 billion drams (4,6% of GDP), however, the debt-to-GDP ratio will remain unchanged at 48,3%.

 13:13, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The government has so far approved 220 applications for the state-funded home construction program in border towns.

Gayane Gharagyozyan, an official from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, said at a press conference that the state works with banks to provide up to 16 million drams in loan for building a house in a border town. The entire amount is subsidized by the state and people signing up for the program don’t have to make any expenses.

Most of the applications come from Tavush and Syunik provinces.

The government expects that some of the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh will also start applying for the program, Gharagyozyan, the Coordinating Advisor of Individual Functions of Structural Divisions at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said.

The program was introduced in 2022.

 16:08, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s absence at the CSTO PA meeting won’t impact the decision on creating a unified air defense system, the Russian foreign ministry has claimed.

“Their physical absence doesn’t overall hinder the process of agreeing adoption of collective documents, which in many cases they join,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told reporters when asked whether Armenia’s refusal to take part in the CSTO PA session will have any impact on the plans to create a unified air defense system.

The 16^th plenary session of the CSTO PA Council will take place on December 19 in Moscow.

The Armenian delegation  in the session.

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1125659.html?fbclid=IwAR0JNZkIydegeJsUWdohoI_rCX7BPm1visWVb7W8F7PG4F3GdXZcG4Z7Shw

 16:53, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The problem at the Upper Lars checkpoint pertaining to Russia banning an increasing number of Armenian export freight trucks from entering the country has been resolved, Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan has said.

He said the issue related to stronger supervision administered by the customs.

“At this moment the vehicles are mostly passing through the Upper Lars checkpoint. The problems emerged as a result of increased control at the Lars checkpoint, after which we initiated discussions on various levels, regarding the problems and solutions. The clearance of vehicles got restored Saturday,” Kerobyan said in parliament when asked on the matter. 

The minister said that the government prioritizes that Armenian companies have high-quality products, not just for exports but also local consumption. “We are resolute in this regard, so that goods produced in Armenia become high-quality, high-standard in a short period of time,” he said.

 19:03, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Skopje, presented the Russian vision of geopolitical developments, and Ararat Mirzoyan shared the Armenian side’s vision regarding Russia’s position on various sensitive issues.

Armenian Foreign Minister said during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, in response to a query from Lilit Minasya, deputy of the NA "Civil Agreement" faction.

The deputy inquired about the topic of the recent meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje, particularly considering the recent complications in Armenian-Russian relations.

Mirzoyan highlighted that the agenda of bilateral relations between Armenia and Russia encompasses a wide range of areas and issues. The two countries also share overlapping interests in regional matters, ensuring that there is always a substantive topic to discuss with Russia.

"We are always pleased  to use the opportunities for such contacts. During the meeting, the Russian Foreign Minister presented their vision on recent events and geopolitical developments. We, in turn, shared our perceptions of their positions and our views on the behavior and positions of the Russian Federation regarding various sensitive issues," said Mirzoyan, assessing the meeting as effective.

The deputy noted that after the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a video where Sergey Lavrov complained about the representative of Armenia in the OSCE.

“Yes, I saw a fragment of our meeting, which was spread by the Russian Foreign Ministry. There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding. Sergey Lavrov believed that the initiative for the meeting came from our permanent representative to the OSCE, but the information I had was completely different.

Apparently, there was a technical misunderstanding, which was brought to the attention of the Russian Foreign Minister. The conversation was about who initiated the meeting, and I said that we did not initiate it,” said FM Mirzoyan.