Author: Emil Lazarian

 12:27, 3 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Arayik Harutyunyan saluted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for backing Nagorno Karabakh’s right to self-determination.

On March 2, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that would respect the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the right to self-determination of the residents of Nagorno Karabakh.

President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan took to twitter Friday to welcome Scholz’s remarks.

“We welcome Olaf Scholz’s statement that the conflict should be settled peacefully on the basis of equal principles of [territorial] integrity & right to self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh people. Settlement is impossible without fully considering our fundamental/collective rights,” President Harutyunyan tweeted.

 14:53, 3 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. On March 3, in the framework of the “Raisina Dialogue '' conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov.

The foreign ministers exchanged views on issues of regional security and stability, according to a read-out issued by the Armenian foreign ministry.

"The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the blockade of the Lachin corridor and disruption of electricity supply by Azerbaijan. The need for the implementation of reached agreements and unblocking of the Lachin corridor in strong adherence to the commitments undertaken under the 9 November 2020 Trilateral Statement was stressed. The interlocutors touched upon issues of the normalization process of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, delimitation and border security, unblocking of all economic and transport ties as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During the meeting the Foreign Ministers also touched upon other topics of mutual interest," the foreign ministry said.

 15:50, 3 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. In a brand-new series called TechTalk, ARMENPRESS explores the innovative tech scene of Armenia and the talents behind it. Hosted by ARMENPRESS tech reporter Karine Terteryan, TechTalk meets with developers and entrepreneurs shaping the booming startup sector of the country, as well as businessmen and educators who are integrating technologies in their projects.

ARMENPRESS TechTalk’s first guest is Startup Armenia Foundation co-founder Tigran Petrosyan. We covered a wide range of issues, such as the chances of Armenia becoming a tech hub, what it takes to have a successful startup, and of course no tech interview would be complete without a mention of AI.  

Below are excerpts from the TechTalk interview.

ARMENPRESS: Given the growth of startups in the country, do you think Armenia could become a tech hub?

Petrosyan: I notice a trend of becoming a tech hub. But there are challenges. The startup culture and entrepreneurship has become a trend and in all developing countries they are trying to somehow absorb other players in the sector. Many representatives of startup ecosystems from various countries tell me that their particular country is going to become a tech hub. We and the other members of the startup ecosystem are doing everything we can in order for Armenia to become a hub in any sense.

ARMENPRESS: Is Armenia competitive on a global level?

Petrosyan: Taking into account our size and economic condition, I think there are trends that Armenia will become at least one of the hubs if not the leading hub where good products and teams can be created and this will all become one of the locomotives of our country.

ARMENPRESS: What does it take for startups to grow and achieve global success?

Petrosyan: It’s not one particular thing; the development of startups depends on many things. I believe that what matters most is the team, because if the person knows what they are doing, has faith in their vision, then it is a lot more likely and easier to create a project.  In many cases there are ideas, but when you hear them out and realize that the given person and team lack the ability to realize this idea then the idea itself does no longer matter. But the opposite happens too, when there’s a team and you see that they want to bring change, perhaps their idea is a bit flawed but still you can rely on that team and achieve success by making some changes or even radically transforming the startup. Of course investments matter, the process gets complicated when there’s a good team but no investments, but at the same time a good team will always have investments because having investments isn’t as difficult as creating a good team. When creating startups people think ‘what if we aren’t good enough’? I’d advise everyone to make the steps forward and understand the reality while doing so. There’s only one way here, keep moving forward regardless of anything.

ARMENPRESS: In what direction is the startup ecosystem developing? Can we say that AI had a significant impact on the ecosystem? Is this seen in Armenia?

Petrosyan: Today, artificial intelligence is changing the world and all kinds of projects are trying to have AI components, in Armenia as well. We have projects that didn’t have that component before but now we see that they’ve incorporated it. It’s difficult to say whether or not AI is the future, all of that are interconnected things. Some technologies become obsolete and the new ones take over, but there is no such technology which we can describe as the technology of technologies.

ARMENPRESS: When the film industry began to develop, some people were saying that it would be the end of theater. Do you think that AI could take over jobs in the future and simply become the end for some sectors?

Petrosyan: I think that the sectors themselves will start integrating AI. I don’t think there’ll be a clash. AI is a good and supporting thing. AI helps projects to develop better solutions, become more flexible and faster. Industry will seek to integrate AI by all means.

[see video]

 16:09, 3 March 2023

BERLIN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Germany will be followed by a trip by Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan, the Armenian Ambassador to Germany Viktor Yengibaryan has said.

He said that the political dialogue between Armenia and Germany has intensified.

“In general, the political dialogue between Armenia and Germany has greatly intensified in the recent period. The Foreign Minister visited Germany in the beginning of the year. And the Prime Minister’s visit is important in terms of raising the political dialogue to a higher level after the foreign minister’s visit. This will be followed by a visit by the Speaker of Parliament,” Yengibaryan told reporters in Berlin.

“We expect to cooperate with Germany in a number of new areas such as renewable energy, green hydrogen area. Armenia and Germany will soon implement certain projects related to climate change. And this will first of all boost economic growth of Armenia and intensification of economic relations with Germany,” he added when asked on the Prime Minister’s visit.

Ambassador Yengibaryan added that the visit also has a political nature given the security issues existing today in Armenia and the region. “And in this regard we hope that Germany will be involved in promoting regional stability,” the Ambassador said.

PM Pashinyan arrived in Germany for a two-day visit on March 2.

 16:40, 4 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS. U.S. President Joe Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest in February that was a basal cell carcinoma – a common form of skin cancer – and no further treatment is needed, Reuters reported citing White House physician Kevin O'Connor.

All cancerous tissue was successfully removed, the White House physician said in a letter, adding that Biden will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing healthcare but the site had healed.

Last month, doctors Biden, 80, healthy and "fit for duty" after a physical examination.

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 17:35, 4 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Artur Davtyan has won the gold medal – his second consecutive gold medal at a world cup series – at the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series in Doha, Qatar.

Davtyan scored 15.083 in the vault finals and took the gold. This is the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist's second consecutive gold following his victory in the FIG Apparatus World Cup in Cottbus, Germany.

 20:42, 3 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan assesses the results of his working visit to Germany as very effective, ARMENPRESS reports, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a meeting with the representatives of the Armenian community in Germany.

"My visit to the Federal Republic of Germany is coming to an end, and summing it up, I must say that I consider it very productive. We had an open conversation with the Chancellor and President of the Federal Republic of Germany. The main purpose of the visit is to try to better understand the view and perception of our German partners towards the Republic of Armenia, to try to make our positions on a number of issues more understandable," Pashinyan emphasized.

In general, according to the Prime Minister, he will return from Germany with very warm impressions.

"The meetings were held in a very friendly atmosphere, including the meetings with the Bundestag's Foreign Relations Committee, the Bundestag's Germany-South Caucasus Friendship Group, and we also recently had a very warm meeting with representatives of the business community. Also, there was a good public meeting yesterday at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

In general, I have to say, I don't want to draw conclusions prematurely, but one thing is clear that when we look at the events that happened following the Lachin Corridor blockade, the resolutions of the European Council, as well as the statements of a number of our partners in the international community, there is a certain change in perception towards our views, our positions, our problems. Also, the perception of our country in the European Union has changed significantly," the Prime Minister emphasized.

 21:30, 3 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has recorded 3 violations of the ceasefire regime in Martuni and Shushi regions, ARMENPRESS informs, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said in a message.

According to the source, based on the existing facts, the command of the Russian peacekeeping force is conducting a joint investigation with the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh reported that the units of Azerbaijani Armed Forces located in the occupied territories of Askeran, Martakert and Martunu regions of the Republic of Artsakh violated the ceasefire on the night of March 2 and March 2-3 by using firearms.