Author: Emil Lazarian

 14:38, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Russian and Armenian Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Ararat Mirzoyan held a private meeting today in Yerevan, which was followed by extended-format talks and then a joint press conference.

During the press conference the Russian FM praised the productive meeting held with Ararat Mirzoyan and expressed confidence that the upcoming session of the Council of CSTO Foreign Ministers in Yerevan will also be held successfully.

Lavrov invited Mirzoyan to visit Russia, stating that the Russian side will be glad to see the delegation led by the Armenian FM in any corner of Russia. The Armenian FM thanked his Russian counterpart for the invitation.

The last visit of the Armenian FM to Russia was held on April 8, 2022, on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia.

 15:27, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is convinced that there will be final agreements over the settlement of the bilateral relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

During a press conference in Yerevan together with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, the Russian FM, commenting on the question relating to the progress in the process of the normalization of the relations between Yerevan and Baku, reminded that after the 2020 large-scale war the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan held three trilateral meetings aimed at settling the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and solving the practical issues connected with the settlement of the relations.

“In my view, we have a common perception that the process moves forward. Perhaps, it would be desirable for the process to be faster, nevertheless, it moves on, substantive, positive, albeit still intermediate results are being achieved, but there is no doubt that there will also be final agreements. We try to contribute to it in every way. Of course, the sides have their own visions, which do not always coincide, especially on how to work in the upcoming stage, but in any case all our partners and we as well agree that the three statements adopted at the highest level are very simple roadmaps that we should all guided by”, the Russian FM said.  

He reminded that the meeting of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Border Commissions was held recently, and the next meeting is scheduled to take place in Moscow. Lavrov said the Russian side is ready to provide consulting support in this respect. According to the Russian top diplomat, the activities of the Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan deputy prime ministerial working group dealing with the unblocking of transportation and economic communications in the region have also greatly moved forward.

“Therefore, I am sure that there is no other way than the complete normalization of the relations”, the Russian FM said.

 16:49, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan commented on the process of normalizing the relations between Armenia and Turkey.

During a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan, FM Mirzoyan said the Armenian side is happy to hear statements by the top leadership of Turkey that they are going and are ready to normalize and establish diplomatic relations with Armenia and open the Armenian-Turkish border.

“On the other hand, we see differences in approaches in a sense that Turkey constantly announces that this normalization process must take place without any precondition, but we regularly see connection between the Armenia-Turkey normalization process and the Armenia-Azerbaijan processes. A connection that the representatives of Turkey’s leadership are trying to find or highlight on every occasion. We don’t think that this is constructive. There are also some differences in a sense that we have different ideas about pace. Nevertheless, I want to state once again that hearing statements by Turkey that they are going to open the closed border with Armenia is welcome”, the FM said.

 17:39, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, 9 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 9 June, USD exchange rate down by 3.94 drams to 426.85 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 4.17 drams to 457.46 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.23 drams to 7.40 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 5.06 drams to 534.89 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 188.32 drams to 25429.04 drams. Silver price down by 5.13 drams to 300.82 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 12:32,

YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS.  The Armenian Diocese of Germany strongly condemns the run over of pedestrians by a 29-year-old man in Berlin on the morning of June 9, killing one and injuring several citizens, including school-age children, ARMENPRESS reports the Armenian Diocese of Germany said in a statement.

“According to media reports, the author of this inhuman, hateful act, most likely, but not yet completely confirmed, is an Armenian citizen of Germany, named Gor H.. Again, according to media reports, the perpetrator had mental problems, most likely acting in a state of mental disorder. We hope that the police and other relevant bodies will find out all the details of this unfortunate incident,” orer.eu quoted the Diocese as saying.

The Armenian Diocese of Germany informed that according to their data, the person who committed the act is someone unknown to the community. “We do not know anyone who knows him at this time. However, whatever the motives of the act, whoever committed it, the Armenian Diocese of Germany strongly condemns this inhuman act and expresses its solidarity with all the victims. We reject any act of this nature, regardless of the nationality or national-religious affiliation of the perpetrator.

We pray for the peace of soul of the victim of the crime, as well as for the speedy recovery and health of all the wounded,” the Diocese said in its statement.

PM Pashinyan visits Ararat Province to get acquainted with the process of subvention programs

 16:50,

YEREVAN, JUNE 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan paid a working visit to Ararat Province. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, Deputy Minister of Economy Arman Khojoyan, Chairman of the Urban Development Committee Armen Ghularyan, Governor of Ararat Province Sedrak Tyonyan, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Offic eof the Prime Minister. 

Within the framework of the visit, the Prime Minister got acquainted with the implementation of projects under subsidy programs in several communities.

Nikol Pashinyan first visited Deghdzut community, where a modular school is being built under the program “Construction of modular buildings for secondary schools with a small number of students”. The Prime Minister toured the construction site to get acquainted with the course of the works.

It was reported that the school is being built in a model jointly developed by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Urban Development Committee, the UNICEF, as well as other concerned international and local organizations. It is based on modern standards of safety, inclusivness and energy saving. The school is designed for 120 students. Construction began in 2020 and will be completed this year. The cost of the program is 799 million AMD.

The Prime Minister spoke to the school teachers, who thanked the Prime Minister for implementing the program of establishing a modern school in the community and providing students with the best conditions. Nikol Pashinyan urged them to participate in the certification process, to increase their professional qualification, as a result of which teachers’ salaries will increase significantly.

Nikol Pashinyan also talked to the locals, listened to their problems and urged them to participate in all the Government’s programs to establish modern agriculture, including the drip irrigation program. The Deputy Minister of Economy also provided information to those present.

The next stop of the Prime Minister was at the Berdik-Aygestan road section, where he got acquainted with the reconstruction works. Drainage and asphalting works are being carried out within the framework of the capital repair program of roads of state significance of the Republic of Armenia. The works are expected to be completed in November this year. The cost of the program is 360 million AMD.

Afterwards, Prime Minister Pashinyan visited Verin Dvin community, where he toured the territory of a refrigerated warehouse for agricultural storage established by the private sector with state support, got acquainted with the latter’s activities. It has a capacity of about 5,000 tons, the construction of which was supported by the Government under agri-food leasing program. The total cost of the program was 400 million AMD, of which 300 million AMD was provided by the state through the above-mentioned program. Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed the establishment of the facility, emphasizing that the Government will continue to support farms through various programs to establish modern farms.

In this community, the Prime Minister also got acquainted with the construction of a leisure center carried out by the private sector. $1.2 million has already been invested in the project. It will also have a modern swimming pool.

The next stop of the Prime Minister was in Aygezard community. Here Nikol Pashinyan got acquainted with the conditions created in the community park renovated under a subsidy program, near which modern football, tennis and basketball courts have been built. The total cost of the project was 44 million AMD, 65% was provided by the community and 35% by the Government.

Here again the Prime Minister talked to the locals, got acquainted with their problems, answered a number of questions. Nikol Pashinyan also visited the shooting range established by the private sector in the community, got acquainted with the created conditions.

Prime Minister Pashinyan also got acquainted with the process of capital repairs of the sections of the Ayntap-Mkhchyan-Artashat-Aygavan national highway. The work carried out within the framework of the state budget program for the reconstruction of state roads is expected to be completed in November this year. The cost of the program is 1 billion 699 million AMD.

The Prime Minister was also introduced to the process of reconstruction of the Yeghegnavan-Aygavan road, which is planned to be completed in November this year. The cost of the program is 259 million AMD.

Nikol Pashinyan’s last stop was in the city of Ararat, where the Prime Minister got acquainted with the conditions created in the park reconstructed under the subsidy program. Within the framework of the project, the whole area of the park was tiled, the fountain and the amphitheater were repaired, the benches were changed, an irrigation network and a lighting system are being installed. The cost of the park improvement is 100 million AMD, of which 70% was allocated from the city budget and 30% from the state budget.

 19:55, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Russia welcomes the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, ARMENPRESS reports, during a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations will contribute to the improvement and stabilization of the general situation in the region.

“In this context, in our common opinion, it is necessary to ensure the dynamic work of the “3 + 3″ regional platform with the participation of the three countries of the South Caucasus and their three neighbors. This is an important additional channel for the formation of dialogue and development of multilateral cooperation between the countries of the region and their neighbors,” he added.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, in his turn, welcomed the statements of the Turkish authorities that they are ready to normalize, establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Armenia, as well as open the Armenian-Turkish border, but at the same time added that the attempts of the Turkish leadership to find interconnectedness between the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani issues are not constructive.