On August 24, a prisoner has at Nubarashen Criminal-Executive Institution (CEI) in Yerevan.
Ararat Nikoghosyan, who is imprisoned in Nubarashen CEI, fainted yesterday evening. In this connection, an ambulance was called, and which pronounced the prisoner biologically dead.
This was reported to “A1 +” by the Public Relations Department of the RA Ministry of Justice.
To note, Nikoghosyan was charged with murder with aggravating circumstances.
At the moment, the materials are being prepared.
Today, environmentalist Karine Danielyan told a news conference that it is encouraging that for the first time the government discussed issues that have been voiced for years, referring to yesterday’s government decision on release of water from Lake Sevan for irrigation purposes.
“We have said this for years, but we have not seen any change. It was good that yesterday, the members of the government were worried about the issues voiced by us,” said Karine Danielyan.
According to experts, Lake Sevan is in extreme condition and the new amount of release of water from Lake Sevanwill further deteriorate the lake’s condition.
“We cannot consider Lake Sevan any time. We must save the Ararat Valley, but Sevan is not an option,” says Evelina Ghukasyan.
According to her, after the death of algae, the amount of oxygen will be very small, which will affect the lake’s fauna.
More information is in the video.
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian sent a congratulatory letter to President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on the country’s Independence Day.
In the letter President Sarkissian expressed confidence that the development of the Armenian-Ukrainian relations derives from the fundamental interests of the two peoples. He addressed his wishes to his Ukrainian counterpart, as well as wished peace and welfare to the good people of Ukraine.
An unprecedented active participation in the Yerevan Council of Elderly elections is expected. More than a dozen political forces have declared that they will participate in the election, with the expectation of winning. And even though parties can already submit applications to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), no application has been submitted to the commission yet. The deadline for applications is August 29, and according to the years of experience, all parties and alliances will submit the application on that day.
The CEC will deal with the registration of electoral lists until September 3. The period for the election campaign is September 10-21. September 22 is a day of silence, and the election, as it is known, will be on September 23. The preliminary results of the election will be published 24 hours after the end of the voting, which is until 20:00 on September 24. By September 25, at 11:00 am, applications for recalculation or invalidation of voting results can be submitted to the precinct election commissions.
Armen Ashotyan, chairman of the Armenian parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, received on August 24 Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin.
During the meeting Armen Ashotyan attached importance to the allied and brotherly relations with Russia in the context of state strategic, as well as centuries-old friendship between the Armenian and Russian peoples.
The sides discussed issues relating to the parliamentary cooperation between Armenia and Russia both at bilateral and multilateral levels.
Armen Ashotyan highlighted the role of the EAEU and CSTO for Armenia, stating that the members of these structures should make efforts to strengthen the reputation of these organizations and to carry out more effective activity. In this context he emphasized the importance of creating a parliamentary format within the EAEU.
At the meeting the officials also touched upon Armenia’s domestic political issues, highlighting the importance of all procedures to be carried out through democratic means and maintenance of the Constitution.
Political scientist Hayk Martirosyan told “A1 +” that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Armenia is cognitive as well as parity.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Armenia on August 24. This is Germany’s Chancellor, as well as Merkel’s first visit to Armenia.
Merkel was welcomed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at Zvartnots airport.
“Yesterday Angela Merkel was in Georgia, and today, she is in Armenia, and on the third day, she will be in Azerbaijan, the primary destination of the visit. This is a visit aimed at laying the groundwork for the gas export from Azerbaijan to Germany. There is no other important agenda,” Martirosyan assures.
Hayk Martirosyan noticed that Germany completely abandoned nuclear energy after the the disaster of Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant, and now it needs a huge amount of raw material.
“President Trump is against the exports from Russia, and he voiced about it. Merkel has begun to look for alternative ways, and this visit is aimed at that,” said the political scientist and added that the Transcaucasus is considered as a common geopolitical zone in Western misconceptions, so when traveling to Baku, it would not hurt the German leadership to make stops both in Tbilisi and Yerevan. “Especially that these are countries that have great potential for cooperation with Germany and did not use it yet. And these are the two countries where there are democratic authorities.”
He also added that the overall system in Georgia is such, but in Armenia, it is still a part of the system, and Germany can see things to do here, which is welcomed.
The Merkel-Pashinyan meeting was the second, the first was informal and took place on July 12 in Brussels within the NATO summit. Armenian Prime Minister and German Chancellor will sum up the results of the negotiations at a joint press conference.
During the visit, Chancellor Angela Merkel will also meet with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian.
On September 1, festive events will be organized in all educational institutions of the republic on the occasion of Knowledge Day.
On the first day of the new academic year, RA Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan will give an open lesson in one of Yerevan secondary schools.
RA Ministry of Education and Science:
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is in Armenia on a state visit, at the Presidential Palace on August 24. The delegations of both countries participated in the meeting.
After greeting Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German delegation, President Armen Sarkissian expressed confidence that this historical visit will open new horizons for the development of Armenian-German relations. This is the first official visit of Chancellor Angela Merkel to Armenia, but in the past she has been in Armenia.
“I want to note with satisfaction that the Armenian-German relations are based on mutual understanding and deep trust. Germany is a very important partner for Armenia, but there is much room for expanding our cooperation in different spheres. And of course, I want to express my satisfaction for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Germany and also for the political support that we feel in our cooperation with the EU, since the Armenian-EU relations are very important for us,” President Sarkissian said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed satisfaction and gratitude for being hosted in Armenia. “Dear Mr. Sarkissian, I am glad to be hosted in your country and I am glad for our meeting. Last year our countries marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and today we can summarize our relations as positive. I agree with you that we have unutilized potential in our relations and it should be used not only in political or economic spheres, but also in research and technological spheres. We wish to make our contribution to the reforms declared by Armenia and we attentively followed the changes and processes that took place in your country in spring. We are ready to cooperate in this difficult but important moment,” she said.
During the meeting the sides referred to the Armenian-EU cooperation, as well as to the opportunities of deepening bilateral relations in different spheres, including culture, education and science.
“Gutan” Song and Dance Festival is being held today for the fifth time.
“Starting from August 22, each group assumed responsibility upon themselves, and taught people in different administrative districts of Yerevan songs and dances. We are slowly trying to expand,” says the organizer of the festival Arsen Grigoryan.
Even though the festival is being complemented with novelties every year, there are also tradional principles, which are kept.
“Each group prepares its program with one task each year. Each group refers to a province of Armenia, a region of fulklor, from Cilician Armenia to Artsakh, Lori, Syunik.”
Every year, a large number of songs and dances are saved from oblivion. Starting from the 10 groups, 17 traditional songs and dance groups are taking part in the Gutan festival today. In addition to the number of participants, Gutan also expands geography.
“Every year Gutan is also being held in Artsakh. We also hope to be in border towns. ”
“Gutan” festival is being held with the support of Yerevan Municipality and RA Ministry of Culture since 2014.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hold a joint press conference in Yerevan on Friday
YEREVAN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is on an official visit to Armenia, pledged her country’s support for a peace resolution to the Karabakh conflict and hailed Armenia’s relations with Germany and European Union.
Merkel arrived in Armenia on Friday and was met at Zvartnots International Airport by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Armen Sarkissian and other government officials. From the airport, Merkel, joined by Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, visited the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex, where she laid a wreath in memory of the victims of the Genocide and after signing the memory book, planted a tree in the memorial garden.
Before holding talks separately with Pashinyan and Sarkissian, Merkel visited the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies. After the official meeting, Merkel was joined by the president, prime minister, his wife, Anna Hakopyan for a stroll on Yerevan’s Northern Avenue.
But it was Merkel’s high praise for German, EU, Armenia relations, as well as Armenia’s balancing act between Russia and the West that was the highlight of the bi-lateral talks. This, coupled with Merkel’s pledge to ensure a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh by leveraging Germany’s membership in the OSCE Minsk Group the created optimism.
Merkel said Armenia can become an example of how a country can cooperate with Russia, while at the same time, advance and develop relations with the European Union.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel lays flowers at the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide Memorial
“Armenia can be an example of how it’s possible to cooperate with Russia and, at the same time, have good relations with the European Union,” said Merkel during a joint press conference with Pashinyan after the two leaders concluded their meeting.
Commenting about Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, Merkel said that Armenia could become bridge for beneficial economic relations between the EEU and the EU.
Pashinyan emphasized the importance if the EEU for Armenia, but also said that during the discussion with the German leader they explored possibilities of trade utilizing the EU’s preferential trade system, known as theGSP+, to advances relations between the EEU and the EU.
Pashinyan called his talks with Merkel “very productive” and said that the position of the sides on many issues were similar, which indicates that the potential to develop and expand Germany-Armenia relations was high.
“We hope that the level of our cooperation will significantly change. We discussed and reached an agreement that after this visit we will develop a joint agenda for different spheres and will work toward their implementation,” said Pashinyan at the press conference.
Merkel also praised the Compressive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU and pledged her country’s active involvement in realizing the provisions of the agreement, which was signed last fall and has been viewed as a new opportunity for Armenia to expand economic and civic relations with the West.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian
The two leaders also touched on domestic issues with Merkel pointing out that her government and the German people closely followed the events of last spring, which culminated in the Velvet Revolution. She said she was encouraged by the steps the Armenian government was taking with its anti-corruption effort.
Reportedly, during their closed-door meeting, Pashinyan, once again, urged the EU to reward Armenia’s efforts on reform and fighting corruption by increasing financial support. While Merkel praised Armenia’s willingness to tackle those issues, she did not publicly pledge increased financial assistance to Armenia.
Merkel also reported that the two leaders discussed a visa-free regime between the EU and Armenia, but cited the large number of Armenians seeking asylum in Germany as an obstacle for advancing that issue, which has been on the EU-Armenia agenda for more than a decade.
Pashinyan was quick to point out during the press conference that the changes in Armenia were setting the ground for repatriation by Armenian, announcing that since the Velvet Revolution the number of Armenians arriving in Armenia was far greater than those leaving the country.
Merkel, who is scheduled to visit Azerbaijan Saturday, said that she planned to discuss with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, effort to reach a peaceful resolution to the Karabakh conflict. She also added that she plans to also address Baku’s decision to refuse an entry visa to a member of her delegation, German Parliament member, Albert Weiler, who has been blacklisted by Azerbaijan because of his travels to Artsakh.
Meeting with President Sarkissian
Merkel and Sarkisian held a meeting at the Presidential Palace and discussed ways to advance and improve relations between the two countries.
“I want to note with satisfaction that the Armenian-German relations are based on mutual understanding and deep trust. Germany is a very important partner for Armenia, but there is much room for expanding our cooperation in different spheres. And of course, I want to express my satisfaction for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Germany and also for the political support that we feel in our cooperation with the EU, since the Armenian-EU relations are very important for us,” said President Sarkissian.
A toast during the state dinner in honor of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
“Last year our countries marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and today we can summarize our relations as positive. I agree with you that we have unutilized potential in our relations and it should be used not only in political or economic spheres, but also in research and technological spheres. We wish to make our contribution to the reforms declared by Armenia and we attentively followed the changes and processes that took place in your country in spring. We are ready to cooperate in this difficult but important moment,” Merkel told Sarkissian.
On Friday evening, Pashinyan hosted a state dinner in honor of Merkel.