Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS

Armenpress: OSCE MG Co-Chairs welcome first meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani foreign ministers since ceasefire

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

OSCE MG Co-Chairs welcome first meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani foreign ministers since ceasefire

11:00, 25 September, 2021

NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Stephane Visconti of France, Andrew Schofer of the United States of America, and Igor Khovaev of the Russian Federation) made the following statement:

“On the sidelines of the General Debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, the Minsk Group Co-Chairs met separately in New York with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The Co-Chairs also hosted both Foreign Ministers at a joint meeting. The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (PRCiO) Andrzej Kasprzyk participated in the meetings.

The Co-Chairs and Foreign Ministers discussed a wide range of outstanding unresolved issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Co-Chairs proposed specific focused measures to deescalate the situation and possible next steps. The Co-Chairs stressed their continuing strong support for the full range of indispensable activities and operations undertaken by the PRCiO and his team.

On 24 September the Co-Chairs and PRCiO met with UN Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo and OSCE Chairperson in Office Foreign Minister Ann Linde to brief them on their efforts over the past year, including the most recent developments in the process.

The Co-Chairs welcome this first meeting of the two ministers of foreign affairs since November 2020 as a sign of the resolve of the two countries to reengage in the peace process through direct dialogue aimed at contributing to security, stability, and prosperity in the region. The Co-Chairs reaffirm their commitment to continue working with the sides to find comprehensive solutions to all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with their mandate.”

Churches in a Siege: Armenians Alert about the Threat against Millennia-old Christian Sites

October 2, 2021October 2, 2021 Emil Lazarian

Sept 27 2021

By Haykaram Nahapetyan

09/27/2021 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – In the early morning of December 27th of 2020, about 1.5 months after the combats in Nagorno-Karabakh (historic Artsakh) ceased, a caravan of SUV cars left Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, embarking on a challenging trip to Dadivank monastery. An Armenian couple under the protection of Russia’s peacekeepers was planning marriage at this historical site, which Azerbaijani soldiers now surrounded.

A key Christian monastery of the area, Dadivank is also one of the most precious sites of early Christianity: the grave of St. Dadi, a disciple of St. Thaddeus is located here, according to existing information. If you have ever wondered why the traditional Armenian Church is called “Apostolic,” here is the reason: as Armenian chroniclers suggest, Christ’s two apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartolomeo brought the emerging religion to Armenia shortly after the Crucifixion. One of them, disciple Dadi, was buried at Dadivank, where a church was built later.

“I wanted to marry at Dadivank,” said Aram Verdian when we sat down at one of Stepnakert’s main cafes for a brief interview. “I wanted to highlight that the Christian-Armenian traditions here did not cease to exist. A new marriage, a new family and, with God’s blessing, children to come – all these symbolize that the life in Artsakh continues.”

For background info: exactly one hundred years ago, the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh (historically known as the Armenian region of Artsakh) and its millennia-old Christian heritage were handed over to Turkic Azerbaijan by Soviet dictator Stalin who back then was in charge of Nationality Affairs in the first Bolshevik government.

“Though we do not know the full extent of the reasons for the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Joseph Stalin, we are fairly certain that the decision was arbitrary, circumventing, or rather disregarding both the ethnoreligious background of region’s inhabitants and their popular will,” says Dr. Artyom Tonoyan, a research associate at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Near the end of Soviet rule, in the late 1980s, the Armenians of NK attempted to withdraw from Soviet Azerbaijan and reunite with the neighboring Soviet Armenian Republic. Public rallies in NK were followed by massacres of Armenians in various settlements of Soviet Azerbaijan. After the USSR collapsed in 1991, the hostilities turned into full-scale war.

By 1993, the NK Armenians established control over the area of Dadivank and eventually attempted to rebuild the site. The somewhat slow-motion restoration advanced between 2015-2018 as the new road running beside the temple brought more tourists and pilgrims to the area. However, last year, on this day of September 27th, the Azerbaijani attack supported by Turkey and mercenaries from the Middle East resulted in the loss of Dadivank altogether with many other religious sites. Russia’s peacekeepers came to the area in November. Now it’s them protecting this precious temple, with a growing number of Azerbaijani troops deployed in the vicinity.

Aram Verdian says the last war highlighted how a coalition of radical forces can attack an isolated Christian community in the 21st century. “The support of the Christian world that we received was mainly limited to statements of goodwill. We largely remained by ourselves against mighty powers, including mercenaries and Turkey’s soldiers. Does this mean we are disappointed in our Christian faith? No. To me, the last war highlighted the importance of surviving in a siege,” Aram continued.

As it has been reported earlier, International Christian Concern dispatched a crew for a field study to Artsakh last May. They met locals, the authorities and released a report shortly after the return. ICC’s observations are in line with what Aram told me. “Quite often, we were met with wordless grief as residents struggled to understand why they were left alone in their hardships and how it is that they have come to be surrounded by Turkic nations (Azerbaijan and Turkey) who seek only their complete annihilation,” highlighted ICC’s fact-finding mission. Referring to Nagorno-Karabakh as “an isolated enclave of Christianity,” ICC identifies the Azerbaijani-Turkic current policy against Artsakh as a “continuation of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.”

According to ICC’s regional manager Claire Evans, Azerbaijan wants nothing less than the total destruction of the Armenian people, and “they are attempting to justify those actions by rewriting history (which means destroying Armenian heritage sites).”

“President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev does to the Christian heritage of Artsakh what Recep Erdogan did to Hagia Sophia temple in Turkey: they Islamize or distort the Christian heritage,” Bishop Vertanes, the religious leader of Artsakh, said when we met at the diocese center. He alerted me that the archive of the Church of Artsakh remained in the currently occupied historical town of Shushi. BBC highlighted that a church in the southern area was razed to the ground.

It is still unclear how many Christian sites were lost to Azerbaijanis due to the War: it depends on what you count as Christian sites. According to a database prepared by Armenian-American historian from Tufts University Christina Maranci, the number can go as high as 4041 if we count everything from churches to gravestones. Otherwise, as Artsakh’s religious and political authorities say, there have been 13 cathedrals, 22 churches, four chapels, over 500 crosstones. *

“We have reports that Armenian gravestones are used to construct a highway in the occupied area of Hadrut,” David Babayan, the Foreign Minister, stated. This is not the first time that they have destroyed our gravestones, the Minister added.

Babayan, a native of NK himself, refers to the tragic precedent of the medieval Armenian gravestones that the Azerbaijanis had destroyed in the Nakhichevan region. The United States Commission for the International Religious Freedom referred to this act of vandalism in its 2015 report. Babayan highlighted that Azerbaijan’s authorities impose a growing number of restrictions on Armenian pilgrims who want to visit Dadivank.

“In the first weeks following the end of the combats, almost 100 pilgrims were able to visit this site each week. Now the number is down by about ten times,” the Minister said.

Artsakh’s foreign ministry is trying to draw the attention of international organizations to the conditions of the Christian heritage in NKR. So does the Armenian Church, which organized a conference in Armenia earlier this month. Armenian American community and the Embassy of Armenia to the United States have been in touch with the Bible Museum of Washington, D.C. to arrange a virtual exhibit dedicated to the Christian Armenian heritage of Artsakh. Jeffrey Kloha, the chief curatorial officer of the Museum, set up an online exhibition, “Ancient Faith: The Churches of Nagorno-Karabakh,” to alert about the existing situation. “We are alerting about seven notable Christian sites in Karabakh that need to be preserved,” said Mr. Kloha when we communicated.

While this report was being prepared, new images depicting severe destructions of the Green Church of Shushi became available on public domains. A soldier, presumably related to Azerbaijani forces, is posing in front of a half-destroyed Christian monument. This area was fully renovated before the last attack took place.

_____

Haykaram Nahapetyan is the U.S. reporter for Armenia’s First channel. He is a Ph.D. student at Liberty University in Virginia.

*Characteristic of medieval and contemporary Armenian art, cross-stones or khachkars represent a carved stele bearing a cross, often with additional motifs and ornaments.

America Can Still Broker an Elusive Armenian-Azerbaijani Peace

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

The National Interest
Sept 27 2021

One year after the war between Armenian and Azerbaijan, there is no peace and the potential for renewed conflict remains.

by Robert F. Cekuta

The ceasefire Russian president Vladimir Putin brokered between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in November 2020 may have stopped full-blown fighting between the two European states, but it has not stopped their militaries from crossing the border into each other’s territory. Furthermore, the agreement has not prevented their forces from firing on each other, nor has it alleviated any of the hatreds that grew during the decades Armenian-backed forces occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring chunks of Azerbaijani territory. Azerbaijanis point to the nearly complete destruction and depopulation of Agdam and other towns and cities in the areas Armenians occupied for decades; Armenia recently filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice charging Baku with government-sponsored programs “directed at individuals of Armenian ethnic or national origin” in violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The ceasefire agreement provided the basis to put Russia’s troops onto Azerbaijani territory and to increase Russia’s presence in Armenia. Yet continued hostilities and the lack of progress towards a lasting resolution also serve Russian interests. It is no secret that Russia uses, and even stimulates, conflicts within and between countries on its periphery to try to re-assert control over the states of the old Soviet Union, to discredit the United States, to degrade the rules-based international order, and to enhance its global status. As in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and elsewhere, Russia has used—and continues to use—the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia for its own ends.

Moreover, despite what U.S. leaders say about curbing Russian, Chinese, and Iranian ambitions, officials, academics, and members of the public in the region repeatedly state that the United States is needed, but sadly absent. Many in the region feel that they have no choice but to deal with Moscow.

This situation does not have to persist.

The United States has both the proven experience and capability to engage and help Armenia and Azerbaijan move towards peace, to help them improve their security and prosperity, and to show the strength and benefits of the international rules-based system Americans long fought to build and uphold.

There are a number of specific steps the United States can easily take. One is to engage in more visible diplomacy. While in-person visits by top-level U.S. officials would be ideal, virtual interactions and phone calls can yield excellent results, and given the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, these forms of communication have become a widely accepted diplomatic norm. Such things seem mundane to an American audience, but phone conversations, as well as other engagements, between national leaders and senior Washington or Moscow officials are national news in many countries. In addition, more energetic U.S. public diplomacy flagging such high-level conversations would get the American message out to a wider audience. Furthermore, given the recent U.S. military pullout from Afghanistan, frequent, visible, and high-level contacts will re-assure the broader region as well.

Second, the United States should use its influence with both Baku and Yerevan to help build a climate in each country in which the publics will support actions their leaders agree to take for peace, prosperity, and lasting security. Decades of conflict, of inflammatory statements, and of outright hatred and fear of the other side mean sizable numbers of Armenians and Azerbaijanis do not know, let alone trust, each other. This limits both the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments’ abilities to move towards a peace agreement and eventual reconciliation. The United States should work with Armenia and Azerbaijan to establish people-to-people contacts to examine specific issues and to develop possible approaches to address them. As the experience in Northern Ireland and other conflicts shows, such Track II programs can pay important benefits.

Third, the United States should work with both Armenia and Azerbaijan to open new transportation and communication action links across the two countries and the South Caucasus. Such efforts will engender business opportunities, boost economic growth, and further the well-being of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. These transportation and communication links could be especially important for Armenia, which has isolated itself from Turkey as well as Azerbaijan due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. And these projects will also stimulate the broader Caucasus and Central Asia, serving as an answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Importantly, none of these actions by the United States would entail sizeable outlays of resources. They just require a bit of initiative and commitment.

And the payoffs will be significant. Actions the United States took this past spring support this point. Following a phone call by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, a visit by the then acting head of the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and the U.S. Minsk Group co-chair helped broker an agreement for Azerbaijan to release a group of Armenian prisoners of war and for Armenia to provide Azerbaijan with maps showing where landmines were placed in the territory Armenia had occupied before Azerbaijan won it back in last year’s war. The action won appreciation by both Armenians and Azerbaijanis and was something Russia had been unable—or unwilling—to do.

As a top official from the region said recently, “If the United States wants to push back on the Russians and trim their sails, then it should help make peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” What could be more in the American interest than that?

Robert F. Cekuta is a member of the advisory board of the Caspian Policy Center, an independent, nonprofit research think tank based in Washington DC. He was formerly U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan from 2015 to 2018, and previously principal deputy U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, as well as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy, Sanctions, and Commodities.

Armenia marks anniversary of Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

October 2, 2021October 2, 2021 Emil Lazarian

Sept 27 2021

27 September 2021

ByAni Avetisyan

Nikol Pashinyan at Yereblur military cemetery. Photo via Armtimes.

Russian peacekeepers ensure safe harvesting of more than 500 tons of grapes in Artsakh

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Panorama, Armenia

Sept 27 2021

The servicemen of the Russian peacekeeping contingent ensured the safe collection of more than 500 tons of grapes on 5 plantations from an area of 27 hectares located near the demarcation line in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

Harvesting in the presence of Russian peacekeepers has taken place for more than a month on plantations near the settlements of Chartar, Machkalashen, Amaras of the Martuni district and in the village of Khramort of the Askeran district.

Earlier, the winemakers of Nagorno-Karabakh handed over part of their first harvest to the children at the boarding school in Stepanakert, where the peacekeepers also ensured the safety of workers on the plantations during the grape harvest.

In the spring of this year, Russian sappers cleared the area of explosive objects, ensuring safe care of the vineyards, as well as picking berries on time.

Since November 23, 2020, 2,298 hectares of territory, 683 km of roads, 1,937 buildings have been cleared of unexploded ordnance, 26,032 explosive objects have been detected and neutralized.

7 COVID-19 hospitals in Armenia receive modern X-ray equipment

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

World Health

Organization

Sept 27 2021

27-09-2021

WHO / Lusine Ghukasyan

WHO, with funding from the European Union, has supplied X-ray equipment to 7 COVID-19 frontline hospitals – 1 in the capital Yerevan and in 6 other cities in Armenia. The new X-ray units facilitate monitoring of a patient’s progress and improve clinical decision-making. They are invaluable to COVID-19 hospitals which see hundreds of patients daily.

While traditional film X-rays continue to be effective in establishing a diagnosis, digital X-rays allow for images to be manipulated, providing better quality and definition. This allows for precise and fast diagnostics in hospitals. Stella Karapetyan, a radiologist at Martuni Medical Center, which has already started using the new X-ray equipment, says efficiency there has increased.

“During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had 120–150 patients daily,” she says. “The improved quality of images from the new X-ray equipment makes diagnosis quicker. Fewer retakes are needed, which reduces exposure to radiation and improves both patient and healthcare worker safety.”

WHO/Europe, in collaboration with the Armenian Ministry of Health, assessed and evaluated hospitals in preparation for the installation of the new X-ray equipment. WHO advised on the development of plans and technical specifications for the radiology rooms where the X-ray units would be located. These specifications included the need for large and well-ventilated waiting areas, which are crucial for preventing and controlling infection.

Claudio Meirovich, an expert on medical devices at WHO/Europe, visited the hospitals to check that the sites met requirements and international standards for installing the X-ray units. “WHO has developed guidelines and recommendations to assist countries to get the best value for their investments in medical equipment,” he says. “It is not just about technical specifications; it is also about compliance with standards of quality and about having trained staff to maintain the equipment. It’s about making sure that the rooms in the hospitals where the equipment will be installed are safe for workers and patients.”

Oleg Storozhenko, WHO Representative in Armenia, said the EU and WHO/Europe had joined efforts to help make Armenia’s health sector strong and resilient. “The hospital equipment we have procured will not only help patients with COVID-19 but will also assist in expanding the health system’s capacity to respond to future health emergencies,” he noted.

Why the European Union is failing to build peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

The Parliament Magazine, EU

Sept 28 2021

Although steps have been taken to find lasting peace in the South Caucasus region, more can be done by the EU to support its eastern partners, argues Parviz Yarmammad.

What did happen?

Exactly one year ago, the second Nagorno-Karabakh war erupted when Armenian attacks on Azerbaijani villages intensified. In 44 days, Azerbaijani forces rapidly liberated most of the land that was invaded by Armenia in the 90s. These areas comprised the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region and seven adjacent districts (Herbst, 2020). The invasion caused around a million Azerbaijanis to live as internally displaced persons (IDPs) for almost 30 years (Babayev, Schoch, & Spanger, 2020, pp. 279-280).

On the 10th of November, a trilateral ceasefire agreement brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin was signed, which provisioned deployment of Russian peacekeepers within parts of the former Upper-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, an area settled by ethnic Armenians (Aydabirian, Libaridian, & Papazian, 2021, pp. 18-24). In additional to the liberated regions, Armenia agreed to withdraw its military forces from occupied territories while Azerbaijan let Armenia use the road connecting the Republic of Armenia to Karabakh.

The agreement covered the resettlement of Azerbaijani IDPs to liberated territories as well as to areas under peacekeepers’ control. It also required Armenia to open a road through its territories to connect the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan with the rest of Azerbaijan (President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2020).

However, today, Azerbaijanis have not yet been able to return to their homeland due to Armenian planted mines (Kuzio, 2021), and Armenia still insists on not providing a corridor for Azerbaijan through its territories (Yevgrashina, 2021).

Why the South Caucasus?

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are partners of the European Union within the Eastern Partnership framework. Additionally, the South Caucasus region is an important region for the Union due to the region’s geopolitics. The region is under the active political and economic influence of Russia, Turkey, Iran, and even sometimes China. It is therefore not politically desirable for the EU to have Eastern Partners come under the influence of the Union’s ideological rivals. Moreover, the South Caucasus has important transport linkages between Asia and Europe. Similarly important, the South Caucasus, particularly Azerbaijan, is crucial for the Union’s drive to diversify energy sources and decrease Russian influence in the EU energy market (Borrell, 2021).

“If the European Union wants to be more active in peacebuilding, the implementation of concrete socio-economic projects with the mutual participation of Azerbaijan and Armenia is vital for peaceful interaction of the two nations”

Prospective Steps by the European Union

From the EU side, in July, High Representative Josep Borrell stated the Union’s readiness to build peace and several EU Foreign Ministers subsequently visited the region (Borrell, 2021). On the other hand, European Council President Charles Michel, in his interactions with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, expressed the EU’s willingness to contribute to the peace process. Charles Michel always emphasised the need for confidence-building between the sides. Indeed, facilitating the exchange of Armenian detainees with mine maps on June 12 and the visit paid by Michel to Azerbaijan and Armenia were remarkable steps by the EU (Muradov & Rzayev, 2021).

However, before building confidence between conflicting sides, the EU itself needs to gain the trust of both parties. For example, in July, the European Union allocated €2.6bn to Armenia, whereas Azerbaijan got only €140m (BBC News, 2021), (Mejlumyan, 2021). However, Azerbaijan suffered more than Armenia during the war; Azerbaijani cities were bombed, while cities that were invaded were left completely demolished and mined (QC, Becker, & Kern, 2021, pp. 34-44), (BBC News, 2021). Conversely, none of this happened to Armenia. In order to maintain the return of IDPs and the reconstruction of the cities, Azerbaijan needs more financial support from the European Union. The unequal distribution of resources brings the impartiality of the EU into question.

“We, as an Azerbaijani community in Europe, expect the European Union to take active steps for peace and stability in the region”

Furthermore, if the European Union wants to be more active in peacebuilding, the implementation of concrete socio-economic projects with the mutual participation of Azerbaijan and Armenia is vital for peaceful interaction of the two nations. Considering the limitations of the EU’s political engagement, the projects could be implemented within the Eastern Partnership framework. Unfortunately, so far, there have not yet been any such concrete steps.

Moreover, maintaining face-to-face interaction through the European Parliament could be helpful in boosting the peacebuilding process. The European Parliament’s dialogue and mediation were successful in the Georgian crisis (Paul & Maisuradze, 2021). In the Karabakh case, instead of releasing biased one-sided resolutions (European Parliament, 2021), the Parliament is able to push political leaders for more dialogue and concrete action alongside building bridges between Azerbaijani and Armenian parliament members.

We, as an Azerbaijani community in Europe, expect the European Union to take active steps for peace and stability in the region. We hope no war will take place again and the winning side will always be the people of the region.

Bibliography

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Babayev, A., Schoch, B., & Spanger, H.-J. (2020). The Nagorno Karabakh deadlock: Insights from successful confict. Frankfurt: Springer VS. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25199-4

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This article reflects the views of the author and not the views of The Parliament Magazine or of the Dods Group

PACE to discuss humanitarian consequences of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

18:00, 27 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which will take place on September 27-30, kicks off in Strasbourg, ARMENPRESS reports, citing the official website of the PACE, on the first day of the session the report prepared by Paul Gavan, a delegate from Ireland, themed ‘’The humanitarian consequences the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan’’, will be discussed.

According to the draft report, the Parliamentary Assembly regrets the tragic humanitarian consequences of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. It is mentioned that the conflict had two major outbreaks, one of which lasted from 1991 to 1994, and the second was the Six-Week War of 2020.

“During the last six-week war, more than 3,900 Armenians, more than 2,900 Azeris, were killed or missed in action, as well as many civilians were killed. More than 91,000 Armenians and 84,000 Azeris have been displaced,” the draft report said.

The rapporteur, Paul Gavan, also made recommendations to Armenia and Azerbaijan on the steps that could help overcome the humanitarian consequences of the war in the short and long term period, and advance the peace and reconciliation process. According to the rapporteur, the international community, including the Council of Europe, is ready to help both countries.

And in the draft resolution the Parliamentary Assembly reminds that by joining the Council of Europe in January 2001, Armenia and Azerbaijan pledged to use exclusively peaceful means to resolve the conflict. Therefore, the Six-Week War of 2020 is a violation of those commitments, which must be properly addressed by the Council of Europe.

Deputy PM Suren Papikyan visits “Nubarashen” penitentiary institution

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Deputy PM Suren Papikyan visits “Nubarashen” penitentiary institution

19:42, 27 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Suren Papikyan visited “Nubarashen” penitentiary institution on September 27. The Deputy PM was accompanied by Justice Minister of Armenia Karen Andreasyan, Head of the Penitentiary Service of the Justice Ministry Sergey Atomyan and MP representing the ‘’Civil Contract’’ Party Trdat Sargsyan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Offic eof teh Deputy Prime Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister toured the administrative area of “Nubarashen” penitentiary, got acquainted with the place and conditions of the convicts’ detention.

He visited the canteen, got acquainted with the menu of the day, as well as got acquainted with the visiting rooms for convicts. Suren Papikyan toured the infrastructure of the penitentiary institution, got acquainted with the building conditions, property and territorial capacities.

During the tour, the possibility of building a new penitentiary institution was discussed, the issues of improving the living conditions and improving the quality of food were touched upon.

Embassy of Argentina in Armenia launches creation of chamber of commerce in Yerevan

October 2, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

10:13, 28 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The Embassy of Argentina in Armenia is launching the project of creating the first Argentine Chamber of Commerce in Yerevan.

The new chamber’s goal is to become a new business platform offering important toolkit for trade promotion, contribute to business development and creation of favorable environment for new investment and trade flows, the embassy said.

Ambassador of Argentina to Armenia Mariano Vergara said the chamber will initially be based on a virtual application, which will connect in real-time Argentine and Armenian companies and entrepreneurs. This new commercial tool will be at the disposal of the Armenian authorities, marking the 30th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Special attention will be drawn on many young Argentine specialists who come to Armenia and seek to get integrated into the labor market. “Converse Bank is our partner in this initiative, we expect that the bank will have active participation and role also in the work of the Armenian-Argentine Chamber of Commerce,” the ambassador said.

Albeit the modest trade turnover between Armenia and Argentina, there is big potential to enhance it and subsequently contribute to the development of various branches of the economy. For at least a decade, Argentina was among the five top investment flow countries in Armenia, mostly through the Argentine-Armenian community, and to this day Argentina has a leading place in Armenia’s foreign investments.

“The 1992 establishment of diplomatic relations between Argentina and Armenia was the reflection of the high level political dialogue and successful cooperation between our friendly countries. The significant Armenian Diaspora of Argentina, which is fully involved in Argentina’s society since its formation, also has its invaluable contribution in the development of bilateral relations,” the embassy said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan