Author: Emil Lazarian

 09:51, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. An active duty reservist of the Armenian Armed Forces died after suffering “according to preliminary information a fatal gunshot wound as a result of violation of the rules of organizing combat service”, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said.

It said the incident took place around 22:00, September 13 in a military outpost at the south-eastern direction.

The victim is Sergeant Mkrtich Hovakimyan (born 1978).

“An investigation is underway to fully determine the circumstances of the incident,” the Ministry of Defense said and conveyed condolences to the family and friends of the Sergeant.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:22, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Slovakia Ararat Mirzoyan and Ivan Korčok discussed the ongoing regional developments during their meeting in Yerevan on September 14.

At a briefing with reporters following the meeting, the Armenian FM informed that they have also discussed with his Slovak counterpart the recent large-scale aggression of Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh and the Azerbaijani crimes.

“We talked about the non-fulfillment by Azerbaijan of the provisions of the trilateral statement. In particular, it concerns the Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives held in Azerbaijan. We also talked about the preservation of cultural heritage, touched upon the current tension on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the provocative actions of Azerbaijan, its incursion into Armenia’s territories. We talked about solving all existing problems with peaceful means, through negotiations, in particular the necessity to continue the peaceful negotiations over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the frames of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship”, FM Mirzoyan said.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia Ivan Korčok arrived in Armenia on an official visit on September 13.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 14:41, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia Ivan Korčok and his delegation, the PM’s Office told Armenpress.

Pashinyan welcomed Mr. Korčok’s official visit to Armenia and highlighted the constant development of the relations with Slovakia. He praised the fact that Slovakia is showing an interest to the establishment of peace and stability in the South Caucasian region.

In this context the Armenian PM touched upon the current situation caused by the 2020 war launched by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan’s non-fulfillment of the agreement on the return of Armenian prisoners of war, as well as the incursions of the Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenia’s sovereign territory.

Nikol Pashinyan introduced the actions of the Armenian government, Armenia’s expectations from the international community and emphasized the necessity of resuming the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Pashinyan also touched upon the Armenia-EU partnership and highlighted the importance of the support provided to Armenia’s democracy development reforms.

In his turn the Slovak FM presented the interest of his country’s government to developing the multilayered cooperation with Armenia. He highlighted the importance of utilizing the great cooperation potential in economy, business ties, commercial relations and IT industry. Ivan Korčok conveyed the friendly greetings of the Slovak leadership addressed to Armenia’s Prime Minister and people.

Mr. Ivan Korčok said he is impressed with the results of the recent snap parliamentary elections in Armenia and stated that despite the pandemic and the war Armenia is moving on the development path.

Mr. Korčok said Slovakia appreciates Armenia’s efforts aimed at the establishment of peace and stability in the region and attached importance to the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. He stressed the need for taking actions to strengthen trust in the region and expressed Slovakia’s support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The officials also exchanged views on the ongoing regional developments.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 16:27, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The current developments of economic growth in 2021 are better than projected, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan said at a press conference.

Galstyan said this is due to greater growth in agriculture and services.

“Gross demand is growing faster than expected too, which is greatly contributed to by the high growth of private consumption – the bigger than expected volumes of monetary transactions from abroad and the positive environment of foreign demand,” he said.

However, the growth of private investments is still comparably restrained.

Galstyan added that the short-term acceleration of inflation in recent months is mostly due to the increase in prices of seasonal food products, while the normal increase has formed lower than expected.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 17:13, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. One more body of the 2020 Artsakh War casualty has been found during the search operations in the battle zones on September 14, the State Emergency Service of Artsakh said today.

The search operations were carried out in Varanda.

“He will be identified after forensic examination”, the statement says.

So far, a total of 1666 bodies have been found during the search operations.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 17:58, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received today Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia Ivan Korčok, who is in Armenia on an official visit, and the delegation led by him.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the President’s Office, Armen Sarkissian greeted the high-ranking guest and said that the two countries, as well as Armenia and the EU have a brilliant history of relations, but it’s necessary to talk about the future and the plans for the future.

The Foreign Minister of Slovakia noted that they want to work in the direction of developing bilateral relations.

‘’ Slovakia has friendly attitude towards Armenia, the two countries have a high-level political dialogue, which is a good basis for developing mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields’’, the Minister said.

Ivan Korčok stressed the great potential in the sphere of economy, including business relations, trade and economic relations, cooperation in various fields, and the need for its effective realization. He also highlighted the expansion of cultural partnership to bring the two peoples closer.

The President of Armenia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia also exchanged views on the situation and challenges in Armenia and the region after the war.

The sides also touched upon the deepening and development prospects of Armenia-EU cooperation in different directions.

 19:58, 14 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Governor of Syunik Melikset Poghosyan received the newly appointed US Deputy Ambassador to Armenia Chip Laitinen, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Governorate of Syunik.

The US Deputy Ambassador was accompanied by the military attaché of the embassy, the head of the political and economic office, who are also newly appointed.

According to Deputy Ambassador Laitinen, US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Lynne Tracy wished them to start their first visit to Armenia from Syunik, emphasizing that the region is a priority in terms of the activities of the embassy.

The US Deputy Ambassador expressed the desire to get acquainted with the situation on the ground and understand how they can continue to support democratic and economic development, as well as learn about security issues.

The Governor of Syunik Melikset Poghosyan presented the situation in the region in the post-war period, the concerns of the leadership and the population of the region, the problems related to the new border situation.

During the meeting the parties discussed issues related to security, roads and traffic, economic and other issues.

The Governor expressed readiness for further active cooperation, and referring to the programs implemented by the USAID in the region, he expressed hope that they will be continuous.