Author: Emil Lazarian

 18:18,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. In the present situation, when Azerbaijan, despite the decision of the international court, continues the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, the EU should strengthen the pressure on Azerbaijan.

ARMENPRESS reports, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former head of NATO, the founding chairman of Rasmussen Global international political consulting organization, told the journalists.

"The EU has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan in the field of energy, and this can be used as a critical platform for discussing the issue. Maybe President Ilham Aliyev is as much an autocrat as Putin, but I don't think he would want to end up in the same situation as President Putin and become an international aggressor. And that's why I once again call on Aliyev to immediately stop the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.

 19:09,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. International mechanisms should be created to guarantee the rights and security of the NK population, ARMENPRESS reports, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO Secretary General, the founding chairman of the international political consulting organization Rasmussen Global, told the journalists.

"We must do everything to reach a lasting and just peace treaty. A very important element in that agreement should be the guarantee of the rights and security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. And to guarantee these rights and security, we must have international mechanisms that will monitor, control and guarantee them," he said.

Referring to Armenia-EU relations, Rasmussen mentioned that they would like to cooperate very closely with the Armenian government.

"It will be a broad cooperation that will touch on broad topics. Naturally, we are talking about political support from the EU. I think that it is very necessary now that we raise awareness that there is a humanitarian crisis in NK. And the international community should put maximum pressure on Azerbaijan to resolve this issue," he said.

He emphasized that they want to support the Armenian government to raise the dialogue with the EU to an even higher level, which will also include a dialogue on security policy.

"The EU has a wide range of tools that can be useful to Armenia. I think that Armenia needs even more international partners than it has today," he said, noting that military cooperation with Armenia was not discussed in detail.

In conclusion, Anders Fogh Rasmussen noted that the EU has a European peace system, which can also be a framework for cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

 20:38,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, released Tigran Parvanyan from the position of the commander of the United Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Russia, ARMENPRESS was informed from the President’s Office.

Major General (currently Lieutenant General) Tigran Parvanyan was appointed the commander of the United Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Russia in February 2018.

 18:34,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Yuri Babakhanyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of India, was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (residence: New Delhi) on the basis of dual accreditation.

ARMENPRESS reports, President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the appointment decree on March 13.

 18:27,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. "Khachatryan" Group of Companies, uniting multi-profile organizations, summarized the year. We discussed with the founders Arthur and Karen Khachatryans the details of the projects implemented during the past year and the large-scale events expected this year.

– Did all your expectations regarding new projects come true in 2022?

– Artur Khachatryan – After successive crises in previous years, we set a goal for ourselves to work even harder in 2022 and make new goals come true. As a result, last year became a year of big investments and vigorous work for us. We made investments in three different business directions: the projects of "LEO 1 autospa", cleaning products of our own production "Katil", and the construction of an auto chemical plant in Georgia. All these three directions represent a separate field of activity, and this volume of investments also implies an increase in the volume of work. Therefore, we also have an increase in taxes paid to the state budget. Compared to previous years, the indicators are higher, which is an important and encouraging factor for us. Along with the expansion of the projects, we also enlarge the team, we already have more than 70 employees.

-Would you elaborate on the volume of investments and what they were directed to?

– Artur Khachatryan – First of all, I would like to talk about the new brand of our group of companies, "Katil". The start of this type of production and development prospects are not an end in themselves. For a long time, we had a great desire to create a competitive Armenian product instead of imported products, which would be local and at the same time would not be inferior to the European one. We combined the great experience of our professional team, our resources and capabilities and, of course, the desire to create Armenian products and launched the production of "Katil" cleaning products. We can confidently say that the quality is not inferior to other products in the market, since the raw materials are entirely European, but the entire production process takes place here.

In this direction alone, we made an investment of 200 million AMD, which was directed to the purchase of raw materials, equipment and storage equipment.

– Karen Khachatryan – In 2022, we also re-equipped the "LEO 1 autospa", which was another major investment, about 320 million AMD.

"LEO 1 Autospa" has been operating for a long time, since 2005. From the very first day of operation, we have introduced new culture and approaches to car washing and car care, we have also contributed to the development of the sector with our experience and principles. "LEO 1" is equipped with the latest technologies and equipment for car washing and drying, high-quality materials of both European and Armenian production are used for car care and washing. Thanks to new investments, we have expanded the range of services and started new partnerships. "Khachatryan" Group of Companies is the exclusive partner and representative of the American company STEK Automative in Armenia, which produces premium car protection films. Now we offer our customers tinting films of any degree, with protection against ultraviolet and infrared rays, heat insulation, heat absorbing properties, etc. Our skilled and professional specialists carry out tinting of both external and internal surfaces.

At "LEO 1 Autospa" we use not only imported high-quality materials, but also our own products, which are not inferior to European products in terms of quality.

The trust of our customers is encouraging for us, and in the near future we will do everything to improve our services and contribute to the formation and development of a new car care culture.

– You also mentioned that you are going to build a new factory. Would you elaborate? What are your plans for this year?

– Artur Khachatryan – We are building the new factory in the Republic of Georgia. The factory will be equipped with the latest production equipment and technologies, it will enable us to increase our production volumes several times and improve the quality. This, in turn, will contribute to our ability to export and present Armenian products in various markets. A total of 1.2 million USD has been invested in this direction, and the factory will be commissioned already this year. As for the upcoming projects, we will continue to develop our main directions and the rest of the brands that are part of "Khachatryan" companies. During this year, we also plan to expand the range of the "Katil" brand’s assortment and increase production volumes. Of course, interesting and large-scale programs and events will also take place.