Author: Parkev Tvankchian

Spokesperson of Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Anna Naghdalyan has issued a comment regarding Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s comments on Armenia in an interview with TASS news agency. The Armenia MFA spokesperson’s comment reads as follows:

“The 75th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War is a good occasion to recall and pay tribute to the sacrifices and unity of all the peoples who prevailed in the fight against the world’s evil.

We are convinced that historical memory is the greatest value of human dignity, and the falsification of historical memory and its use for narrow political interests demonstrate lack of sense of history, dignity and memory.

I regret that the President of Azerbaijan once again attempted to use the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in World War II in his decades-long hostile propaganda against the Armenian people.

The contribution of the Armenian people to the victory of the Allied Powers in World War II has been inscribed in gold on the pages of world history.

We proudly remember the names of all Armenian heroes, whether fighting in the Red Army and its national divisions, in the armies of Allied Powers or in the ranks of the Resistance movement and intelligence. With their devotion and courage, they deserved to be commemorated along with their proud ancestors and national heroes, including the glorified warriors of World War I.

Today, on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, about six hundred monuments dedicated to participants of the Great Patriotic War are under the state protection and care. Those are the perpetuated witnesses of the history of our common victory. We condemn every attack on the monuments, and our resolve has been manifested not merely in words, but in the fact that no monument dedicated to World War II warriors has been a subject to attack in the history of Armenia.

From this perspective, I would like to address a question to the leadership of Azerbaijan in anticipation of an answer to be translated into certain actions: when will we witness the restoration of monuments of Chardakhlu settlement, which were dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, including those dedicated to the Soviet marshals Ivan (Hovhannes) Baghramyan and Hamazasp Babajanyan, which were destroyed in the Republic of Azerbaijan?”

On May 6, construction officially began on the “Areg Energia” solar farm in the Saravan region of Vayots Dzor, the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs  reported. The High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, Vayots Dzor Regional Governor Ararat Grigoryan, Honorary Consul of Cyprus in Armenia Armen Khachatryan, Diaspora Armenian businessman, co-investor Ashot Mkrtchyan and others were present at the groundbreaking ceremony. The idea for the investment arose ten months ago when well-known local Armenian businessmen from Cyprus, David and Alexander Petrosyan and Ashot Mkrtchyan met with High Commissioner  Sinanyan and became inspired by the changes in Armenia. After which they came to the homeland, studied the legislative and investment fields, and began to implement the idea.

As the source said, the $ 9 million solar farm situated on a 36-acre plot of land in Saravan, at an altitude of 1,720 meters above sea level, will be completed in a year’s time.

High Commissioner Sinanyan highlighted the investment policy adopted by the Armenian Government and the fact that investors are able to earn a significant profit in Armenia. The Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs is always ready to support Diaspora investors and any problems they may encounter. 

Co-investor, Ashot Mkrtchyan noted that they have turned their attention to the homeland and if successful, investments will be made in other spheres as well. In a video message, representative of the Armenian community in the Cypriot House of Representatives, MP Vardges Mahdesyan expressed his confidence that the experience of the Republic of Cyprus in the field of solar energy will greatly contribute to the success of the investment. According to the Cypriot-Armenian MP, this initiative will promote the development of Armenia-Cyprus relations, strengthen homeland-Diaspora ties, and contribute to the development of Armenia’s economy.

Cypriot-Armenian businessman and co-investor David Petrosyan praised the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner and the role of Zareh Sinanyan in making the investment possible. According to the businessman, this initiative is especially valuable in terms of ensuring Armenia’s energy security.

Deputy Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan revealed details of the street brawl with Artur Danielyan, the co-founder of the opposition Adekvat party, on Wednesday.

In a Facebook live, the lawmaker said that he and the opposition activist know each other from the Civil Contract party. He met Danielyan when the latter was walking in a park on Aram Street with his friends.

According to Simonyan, Artur Danielyan looked at him for a long time rather incomprehensibly.

“In response, I said, ‘Hello Artur.’ I heard him saying the following: ‘Hello, son of a bitch.’ I apologize, but I want to be honest and tell you everything. I approached him and said that I had the same opinion about him and hit him on the nose with my head,” Simonyan said.

The MP confessed he realizes that he is an official, stressing, however, he cannot allow someone to talk to him in that way.

“I am ready to take responsibility,” he said. 

The Armenian National Assembly adopted today the bill on making changes in the 2020 state budget law.

Bright Armenia faction voted against the bill.

The bill envisages 150 billion AMD assistance package to combat the risks from restrictions applied to avoid spread of coronavirus and the ones coming from outside. The application of the package will result in decline of the real GDP by 2%.