Author: Kanayan Tamar

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have published a joint document calling for tighter migration controls, Euronews reports.

“We do not accept uncontrolled immigration into Europe and pursue a strict migration policy. No one can deny the negative impact of illegal immigration on our society, namely the increase in crime, the growing pressure on public services and the erosion of public trust,” the statement said.

The issue of migrant arrivals in Europe has recently moved to the centre of political debate, first following the crisis in the Spanish city of Ceuta and the subsequent border tensions between Madrid and Rome, and later because of disagreements over a demand by the German government that Italy take back migrants who had used the peninsula as a “springboard” to reach other European countries.

Armenia’s internationally recognised territory of 29,743 square kilometres is a complete and non-negotiable red line, Ruben Rubinyan, the candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly, has said.

Rubinyan made the statement in response to a question from Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a lawmaker from the Armenia faction.

Saghatelyan asked whether Rubinyan, as a candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly, could guarantee that the authorities would not, under any circumstances or pretext, hand over Tigranashen.

“I can guarantee that Armenia’s internationally recognised territory is 29,743 square kilometres, and this is a complete and non-negotiable red line,” Rubinyan replied.

According to him, the government’s programme, which has received the approval of the people, stipulates that all territories within Armenia’s internationally recognised borders must remain under Armenia’s control.

“I can guarantee that the programme announced by the Armenian government and endorsed by the people is that all territories within Armenia’s internationally recognised borders must be under our control, and this issue must be resolved within the framework of the border delimitation process,” the candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly said.

Rubinyan added that other issues arising during the border delimitation process could be resolved in different ways under the Rules of Procedure of the Border Delimitation Commissions.

“As for other issues, they may be resolved in different ways in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Border Delimitation Commissions. The rules allow for certain optimisations, but even in such cases, this would require a referendum,” Rubinyan said.

Armenian Ambassador to Austria Andranik Hovhannisyan held a meeting with Michaela Mayr, Director General of the Austrian National Library, the embassy reported.

The sides discussed opportunities to further develop cooperation between the Austrian National Library and partner institutions in Armenia, including the implementation of joint academic, educational, and other professional initiatives, according to a readout.

Ambassador Hovhannisyan also viewed a number of Armenian manuscripts preserved at the library, underscoring their significance as a symbol of the rich historical and cultural ties between Armenia and Austria.

The Armenian Greco-Roman wrestling team returned from the U17 World Championships in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku with three medals.

Janes Nazaryan won the gold medal in the 71 kg weight category, while Ararat Avetisyan (48 kg) and Gevorg Harutyunyan (51 kg) claimed bronze medals.

Speaking at a press conference, head coach Gagik Khachatryan praised his team for doing a “tremendous job,” while saying that it could have achieved even more.

“Our team competed with 10 wrestlers and came away with three medals. I am very pleased with our medalists; they truly did a tremendous job. This is the World Championships, where the strongest wrestlers compete and the battle for medals is extremely difficult. We also had other athletes who were capable of winning medals, but it did not work out. Naturally, we will analyze our shortcomings and mistakes and continue working on them,” Khachatryan said.

Referring to the medalists, Khachatryan said they had given the team great pride by raising Armenia’s flag and hearing the Armenian national anthem played in Baku.

“It was a very emotional and inspiring moment. When Janes won the gold medal and Armenia’s national anthem was about to be played, we even thought they might not allow it, but there were no problems at all. The officiating was also fair. To be honest, we had concerns before traveling, but the situation on the ground turned out to be completely different,” Khachatryan said.

Gold medalist Janes Nazaryan became a U17 world champion for the second time. He said the responsibility was even greater this time, especially given the level of competition.

“Since I had also won gold the last time, I was the center of attention for all the participants. There was pressure, but I managed to overcome it. I am satisfied with my bouts, and we worked well together with the coaches. There were some mistakes, but, thank God, they did not affect the overall result. Of all my matches, I would single out the final against Russia’s Aslan Dzuev. At first, the bout did not go according to our plan, but thanks to my coaches’ guidance, I managed to achieve a good result,” Nazaryan said.

Team member Gevorg Harutyunyan fought through injury to win the bronze medal. He injured his hand in his opening bout, but his determination to win a medal was so strong that he ignored the pain and continued competing to finish in third place.

“I wrestled opponents from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia. I suffered an injury to my hand in my very first bout, and it affected me somewhat. Otherwise, I think I could have gone further. It was difficult, but once I realized I had a chance to win the bronze medal, I ignored the pain in my hand and fought until the end,” Harutyunyan said.

Ararat Avetisyan, who added another bronze medal to Armenia’s tally, said the competition was very strong and that he was satisfied with finishing third under those circumstances. The medal is Avetisyan’s third bronze medal at the international level.

“The opponents were strong, but my desire to win a medal was even stronger. I am happy that I managed to overcome the difficulties and claim the bronze medal. During the medal ceremony, I felt great pride seeing Armenia’s flag raised in Baku,” Avetisyan said, adding that he now intends to work on his mistakes and shortcomings and prepare even better in the future. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he does not plan any further changes to his government beyond the appointments already required to fill vacant positions in the cabinet and within his party.

“I believe the current composition of the government is the right one to address the challenges we face over the next two and a half years,” Merz said after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary group, according to TASS.

He added that, for this reason, he sees no grounds for considering any further personnel changes.