Author: Talar Tumanian

American University of Armenia to open new student dormitory in Yerevan

Talar Tumanian
Public Radio of Armenia

                                                                                                     

The American University of Armenia celebrates the 30th anniversary this year and the milestone will be marked by opening of a new modern student dormitory.

Located next to the Sergei Parajanov Museum in Yerevan, this newly built dormitory will accommodate 56 AUA students from both abroad and across the country, who will not only have comfortable conditions to stay and effectively prepare for classes, but will also be involved in a number of planned events.

Back in 2016, the building, donated by philanthropists George and Caroline Najaryan, was successfully renovated and furnished with a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Abroad Hospitals Program.

The opening ceremony will be attended by the university management, trustees, directors of academic programs, administrative departments, students, guests. The event will be attended by Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Karen Trchunyan, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy, the newly appointed Director of the USAID Armenia Office John Allelo. Mr. Adam Phillips from USAID Washington Office will greet the participants with a video message.

Armenpress: Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 14-06-21

Talar Tumanian

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 14-06-21

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 17:33,

YEREVAN, 14 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 14 June, USD exchange rate down by 1.62 drams to 516.99 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 3.98 drams to 626.18 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.09 drams to 7.15 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 5.24 drams to 728.44 drams.

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

Gold price down by 224.70 drams to 31266.08 drams. Silver price up by 6.54 drams to 467.73 drams. Platinum price up by 123.36 drams to 19164.72 drams.

Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program launched

Talar Tumanian

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 15:43, 1 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs announces the launch of the Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program, with the generous support of the Jinishian Memorial Foundation. The program aims to create a dynamic network of Armenian youth, who will have the opportunity to become Diaspora youth representatives of the homeland in their respective communities around the world, the Office told Armenpress.

The program will target 25 youth from Diaspora Armenian communities for a period of one year, during which two weeks will be spent in Armenia.

The program will be of both a theoretical and practical nature and will include various study tours and meetings. At the end of the two-week training period in Armenia, the youth will also participate in a “Youth Forum”, where they will collectively draft a youth policy paper to set the framework for sustainable cooperation between Diaspora communities and the homeland.

Upon returning to their respective Diaspora communities, the participants will be engaged in producing media content for local and international outlets and will plan and implement community meetings and repatriation talks within their Diaspora communities.

Program applicants should be 22-35 years old of Armenian origin, having lived in the Diaspora for at least 5 years. In addition, they should be active and representative members of their Armenian community in the Diaspora, possess a good understanding of the Armenian language, display commitment to contributing to the advancement of Armenian interests worldwide and work towards the reinforcement of Armenia-Diaspora relations. Experience in media content production is desirable.

Applications are open starting June 1, 2021. The submission deadline is June 25, 2021, at 00:00 – Yerevan time.

To complete the application and for more detailed information, please visit http://diaspora.gov.am/en/programs/19/Diaspora-Youth-Ambassador.

Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan trilateral group suspends activity

Talar Tumanian
MediaMax, Armenia
June 1 2021

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan has stated today that the work of the trilateral group of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan has been suspended.

“I have stated many times that these activities will be effective if the general situation is at least stable. And in this situation, given what is going on at the border, I do not believe that constructive work is possible on that platform. The contacts were interrupted after the border incidents,” Grigoryan said at a press briefing in the National Assembly.

The decision to set up a trilateral working group was announced during a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Moscow on January 11.

Lawyer: Pashinyan campaigned for snap elections using all institutional resources

Talar Tumanian
Panorama, Armenia

Lawyer Robert Hayrapetyan, a candidate on the list of the Armenia bloc for the snap parliamentary elections slated for June 20, accused caretaker Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of campaigning for the early elections using all institutional resources.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the lawyer said Pashinyan “grossly misused” the administrative resources during his visit to Lori Province and his “tour” in the capital city of Yerevan.

“According to the “Joint Guidelines for preventing and responding to the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes” approved by the OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission in 2016, as well as the 2013 Venice Commission’s report on the misuse of administrative resources, the “misuse of public resources” is recognized as the unlawful behavior of political candidates and parties to use their official positions aimed at influencing the outcome of elections,” he wrote.

“These documents point to the use of institutional resources, such as staff, infrastructure, etc., as an example of misuse of administrative resources.

“Nikol Pashinyan, in fact, carried out a pre-election campaign using all institutional resources (official cars, staff, employees of the State Security Service, etc.).

“Misusing the administrative resources, the interim government not only restricts the civil liberties of the people, but also undermines the legitimacy of the state functions, using them not for purposes set forth by the laws and Constitution, but for private political interests,” the lawyer said. 

Armenia/Azerbaijan: EU Statement by the Spokesperson on recent developments on the border

Talar Tumanian
Relief Web
 

 

Originally published

 

 

Statements by the Spokesperson

Recent developments on the Armenia/Azerbaijan border are both dangerous and worrying. Immediate de-escalation is needed. The European Union urges both sides to refrain from any further military deployment and actions. All forces should pull back to positions held before 12 May and both sides should engage in negotiations on border delimitation and demarcation. We continue to call on Azerbaijan to release all prisoners of war and detainees without delay. We welcome all efforts aimed at decreasing tensions, including proposals for a possible international observation mission.

The EU is ready to provide expertise and help on border delimitation and demarcation, as well as to support much needed confidence building measures, in order to move towards sustainable peace and prosperity for the South Caucasus.

Peter STANO(link sends e-mail)
Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
+32 (0)460 75 45 53
Adam KAZNOWSKI(link sends e-mail)
Press Officer for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
+32 (0) 2 29 89359
+32 (0)460 768 088

Pashinyan congratulates Georgian counterpart on Independence Day

Talar Tumanian

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 14:09,

YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has sent a congratulatory letter to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on the national day – the Independence Day, Pashinyan’s Office told Armenpress.

The letter reads:

“I warmly congratulate you and the good people of Georgia on the national day – the Independence Day of Georgia.

More than a century before, by expressing their unwavering will of having their own independent statehood, the good people of Georgia today as well continue consistently reaffirming their that aspiration by building and developing the state of Georgia.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Armenia and Georgia, during their state-building period, have developed and installed such preconditions for mutual cooperation, the implementation of which made it possible to preserve and develop at best the relations between our countries.

Today the vision that our countries have a lot to do both in the bilateral relations and in the regional processes, is also a priority. In this context our commitment to deepen the partnership between Armenia and Georgia and enrich it with new achievements is unequivocal.

By using this chance I wish you good luck in your state activity, and prosperity and progress to the brotherly people of Georgia”, the statement reads.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Iranian FM to have several meetings in Armenia May 26

Talar Tumanian

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 15:11,

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS. Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Armenia on May 26 and not May 25 as reported earlier, the Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan told ARMENPRESS.

She added that a number of meetings are planned during the visit. Naghdalyan did not elaborate further.

Earlier the Iranian news media reported that FM Zarif will also visit Azerbaijan on May 25.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia Premier Touts Azeri Border-Mapping Pact Amid Tensions

Talar Tumanian
Bloomberg
By 

Sara Khojoyan
, 3:13 PM GMT+3
  •  
    Opposition parties accuse Pashinyan over Russia-brokered deal
  •  
    Armenia, Azerbaijan have clashed over state border’s location

Asign reading “Welcome to Azerbaijan” placed next on the side of a road leading to the village of Shurnukh.

 

Photographer: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

Armenia’s acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he’ll sign a new Russia-brokered agreement with Azerbaijan on a mechanism to mark out their shared border amid military tensions over disputed territory.

The accord will help avoid situations like the confrontation with Azerbaijani troops who’ve encroached onto land inside Armenia this month, Pashinyan told lawmakers late Thursday in the capital, Yerevan, after a copy of the document was leaked. Delineation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be achieved “only through diplomatic and political means,” he said.

Tensions are running high over the border following the 44-day war that killed thousands on both sides late last year. Azerbaijan regained seven districts occupied by Armenia for decades and took control of part of the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh before Russia negotiated a truce in November. The terms of that deal include opening shared borders that in many instances haven’t been marked out since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Pashinyan, who faces June 20 parliamentary elections, said more than 500 Azerbaijani troops have crossed into Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik regions since May 12, and that there had been clashes including shooting between the two sides. He told lawmakers he’ll only sign the accord once they’ve withdrawn.

Azerbaijan denies its forces entered Armenian territory and says the troops are engaged in marking out the state border.

France, the U.S., and Iran have called for Armenia’s territorial integrity to be respected and for Azerbaijan to pull back its troops. Armenia has appealed to Russia for military assistance under a 1997 defense pact.

How Azerbaijan-Armenia Dispute Drew In Russia, Turkey: QuickTake

Pashinyan is facing criticism from opposition parties over the document, which states that a border commission will be formed by May 31 and start work next month. Edmon Marukyan, leader of the Bright Armenia party, said “once again a document has been drafted behind the Armenian people’s back,” following the cease-fire deal negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin that ended the war.

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, who met Friday with Pashinyan to discuss the issue, and some members of the acting government have said they were unaware of the document. Opposition parties insist any agreement requires parliamentary ratification, which could only happen after the elections.

  

Encroachment against Armenia’s sovereign territory unacceptable – caretaker defense minister

Talar Tumanian

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 10:57,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Encroachments against Armenia’s sovereign territories are absolutely unacceptable, and the Azerbaijani armed forces must return to their initial positions, Armenian caretaker defense minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan said during a telephone conversation with Russian defense minister, Army General Sergei Shoigu, the Armenian defense ministry reported.

During the phone talk Mr. Harutyunyan presented to his Russian counterpart the current situation caused by the provocations of the Azerbaijani forces, as well as the actions of the Armenian side. Both officials emphasized the necessity of the peaceful solution of the issue.

The Armenian and Russian defense ministers also discussed the process of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh and regional security-related issues.

Recently, on May 12, the Azerbaijani armed forces have illegally crossed into Armenia’s territory, in particular the Sev Lake in Syunik province. Thanks to the actions of the Armenian side, some of the Azerbaijani forces have returned back to their initial positions, but some Azeri troops still remain in some border sections of Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces. Negotiations over the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani forces are taking place.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan