Category: 2019

Military hosts celebrations for kids ahead of Children’s Day

16:13,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. Ahead of Children’s Day, the Armenian military organized a celebration at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Yerevan on May 31^st.

Children of soldiers, family members of fallen troops and many others had were invited to the Ministry of Defense for the event.

Minister Davit Tonoyan was personally hosting the children.

The most memorable part of the day was the inauguration of a symbolic monument called “Family”. The monument comprised of three crosses – symbolizing parents and a child – was inaugurated by very special guests: Hamest Nersisyan, the mother of the legendary captain Armenak Urfanyan, who died during fierce battles in the April 2016 Four-Day War when he sacrificed himself to stop an enemy offensive, Hovhannes – the grandson of legendary military commander Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan, and the sculptor himself – Varazdat Hambardzumyan.

Armenia celebrates June 1st as The Day of Protection of Children Rights.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Former Armenian weightlifter honored by Amsterdam Mayor for thwarting armed attempted robbery

16:28,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenian two-time European weightlifting champion Mel Daluzyan has made national headlines in Netherlands after stopping an armed robbery and getting stabbed in Amsterdam.

Daluzyan, a World Championship bronze medalist who formerly represented Armenia in her weightlifting career, is living in the Netherlands for already three years after being granted asylum.

Armed assailants attempted to rob the Albert Heijn supermarket in Amsterdam’s central part, when Daluzyan, who was shopping in the store, saw the attack and intervened to help the cashier, tackling the attackers to the ground. The former weightlifter was stabbed by the robbers and was airlifted to a hospital.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema personally visited Daluzyan to express appreciation.

“What you did was heroic. I am proud that Amsterdam has a resident like you,” the mayor told the Armenian.

“I am grateful that you effectively stopped the illegal actions of the armed masked assailants. I wish speedy recovery to you and I assure you that the City Hall stands ready to support you in all ways necessary,” the mayor said.

The assailants have been arrested on the scene.

Daluzyan will be discharged from hospital in a few days, according to media reports.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia highlights need to implement agreements aimed at creating investigation mechanism for ceasefire violations

16:34,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. The proposal to form a respective environment for the negotiations over the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict belongs to Armenia. The Armenian side cannot reject what exactly it has proposed, Armenian foreign ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan said, commenting on the statement of the Azerbaijani foreign ministry.

Armenpress presents the text of Naghdalyan’s comment:

Question: The Azerbaijani foreign ministry issued a statement where it accuses the Armenian side in the murder of its soldier, concluding that the calls of the Armenian side on forming peace environment are fake and in reality Armenia wants to disrupt the negotiations. How would you comment on this?

Anna Naghdalyan: The proposal to form a respective environment for negotiations belongs to Armenia. The Armenian side cannot reject what it has proposed. The agreements reached in Dushanbe were directed for creating this environment and which are mainly maintained. Armenia and Artsakh adhere to their commitments.

As you know, Artsakh completely denied the Azerbaijani information about the killing of soldier, and before making accusations it would be right for the Azerbaijani side to carry out an internal investigation on the alleged incident to reveal the truth.  

In case of the existence of investigative mechanism for the ceasefire violations it wouldn’t be possible to spread disinformation about the ceasefire violations. It’s worth nothing that this mechanism doesn’t exist yet due to being rejected by the Azerbaijani side. In such circumstances we highlight the importance of strengthening the ceasefire and implementing the agreements reached at the 2016 Vienna and St. Petersburg summits aimed at creating an investigative mechanism.

It’s worth mentioning that Baku is releasing reports accusing the Armenian side in the murder of soldier during the visit of the Co-Chairs to the region. This is an attempt to distort the negotiation process and disrupt the upcoming meeting mentioned by the Co-Chairs.

By spreading such fake news Baku is trying to put the guilt of its unconstructive policy on the remaining parties of negotiations – Armenia and Artsakh.

This shows to what extent Baku is ready to respond to the mediation efforts aimed at solving the conflict, to what extent it is ready to continue and move forward the negotiations.

Armenia adheres to the commitment of its positive engagement in the peace process and will continue making efforts to create a respective environment through the implementation of the agreements reached.

Question: In line with the accusations addressed to Armenia, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry also mentioned about Armenians living there, about Azerbaijan being as a country of tolerance, as well as Armenia’s domestic political issues.

Anna Naghdalyan: It’s interesting that a representative of a country mentions about Armenians living its territory where the existence of not only Armenians, but also their surnames on the shirts of football fans of different nations is banned.

The intolerance existing today in Azerbaijan is a consequence of impunity of anti-Armenian massacres committed in Sumgait, Baku and other settlements and the policy of sowing hatred against Armenians, the culmination of which was declaring Safarov a hero and the Azerbaijani 2016 April aggression against Artsakh which was accompanied by terrible atrocities.

As for Armenia’s “domestic political problems”, we do not waste time to explain the elementary rules of the functioning of a democratic society.

 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian parliament debates gambling restrictions

16:42,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament is debating proposed restrictions on bookmaking activities in the country.

A bill co-authored by Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan and MP Sipan Pashinyan from the ruling My Step Alliance and opposition MP Naira Zohrabyan from Prosperous Armenia party suggests amending the current law on gambling and allowing bookmakers to operate only in four cities – Tsakhkadzor, Jermuk, Sevan and Meghri.

According to Simonyan, the purpose is to minimize possible gambling addiction.

He said the proposed locations have been chosen in terms of tourism and leisure: Tsakhkadzor, Sevam and Jermuk are the most popular tourism destinations in Armenia, while Meghri was chosen as a border town.

The bill also provisions age restrictions, as well as minimization of the possibility of cash transcations.

SImonyan said the government has approved the bill and damages to the budget will be insignificant.

If passed, the law will be effective from 2020 November.

The law, however, will not cover the automated bookmaking devices that are located at gas stations.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 31-05-19

17:16,

YEREVAN, 31 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 31 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.17 drams to 480.10 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.25 drams to 535.41 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.07 drams to 7.33 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.85 drams to 603.92 drams.

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

Gold price down by 17.81 drams to 19772.2 drams. Silver price up by 0.31 drams to 222.27 drams. Platinum price down by 81.53 drams to 12209.54 drams.

Mher Grigoryan participates in regular session of CIS Council of Heads of Government

18:09,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan participated in the regular session of the CIS Council of Heads of Government in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat on May 31.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, the future development of the CIS as well as the improvement of the legal base of the organization were on the agenda of the session. The delegations of the member countries discussed the cooperation opportunities in the sphere of innovations and the partnership between the customs bodies.

Based on the discussions, a dozen of documents were signed.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Armenian parliament sets up investigative committee to examine details of April war of 2016

18:19,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS.  An investigative committee has been set up in the National Assembly of Armenia to examine the circumstances of April 4-day war that took place in 2016, ARMENPRESS reports President of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan said.

Mirzoyan informed that 47 MPs have requested to set up the committee.

The President of the National Assembly also informed that another committee will be set up by the request of 1/4th of the total number of the MPs that will delve into the issue of water recourses.

During the May 20 consultation PM Pashinyan had announced that it’s already time to set up a parliamentary investigative committee into the April war details to find the answers of a range of issues of public interest.

The war between Artsakh and Azerbaijan named April war or the 4-day war took place in 2016 when the Azerbaijani troops made a sudden large-scale attack against Artsakh. The war lasted 4 days and ended on April 5, when the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement in Moscow. The borderline between Artsakh and Azerbaijan remained nearly  unchanged following the war, but the Azerbaijani troops suffered at least 5-fold more casualties than the Armenian side, estimated at 558.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Armenian Assembly NGO sums up results of 1st year of activities and presents programs for 2019-2020

18:32,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS.  The Armenian Assembly gathered to discuss first-year efforts and announced plans for 2019-2020, ARMENPRESS was informed from Armenian Assembly NGO. 

With the participation and support of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Russia, as well as the Russian and Novo-Nakhichevan Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, from May 27 to June 1, 2019, the Armenian Assembly is hosting Days of Armenian Culture in Moscow.

On May 28, the important day that marks the establishment of the First Armenian Republic, the Presidium of the Public Council of the Armenian Assembly held a meeting where the results of first-year efforts were presented, including cultural, educational projects, as well as those in the spheres of tourism and IT. The meeting of the Presidium of the Public Council became a part of the Days of Armenian Culture, the purpose of which is to popularize the culture and traditions of Armenia and to present the results of the Armenian Assembly’s efforts.

During the meeting, members of the Presidium of the Public Council discussed the status of current projects of the Armenian Assembly, dates and phases of their implementation, and also reviewed the initiatives planned for 2019. 

The culmination of Days of Armenian Culture was the first gastronomic evening GOURMET FEST with the participation of chefs of Michelin Star restaurants – Karen Torosyan (Bozar Restaurant, Brussels, Belgium) and Stefano Ciotti (Nostrano Restaurant, Pesaro, Italy), as well as chef cooks of leading restaurants in Armenia (Chinar, The Club, Mayrig, Lavash) and chef cook Narek Avagyan from Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow.

The result of their joint efforts was the creation of a menu that represents a unique fusion of Armenian traditional and haute cuisines, based on the use of Armenian ingredients and techniques of European cuisine.

The evening also announced the launch of a new public project, GOURMET FEST, that will kick off in Yerevan this fall with expected partners MasterCard and VTB Armenia. 
The Armenian Assembly brings together successful and competent representatives of the Diaspora, who are experts in their field and possess valuable knowledge, experience, and are able to contribute to the implementation of the goals and objectives of the organization.

The Armenian Assembly realized more than ten various and quite important projects in 2018-2019 among them are development of the unique platform for a single church portal that will combine dioceses, churches, educational institutions, as well as will spread church news and events in Diaspora; the launch of the travel portal Armenia Guide, that aims to bring together representatives of the tourism sector of Armenia within a single platform for the development of tourism in Armenia; establishment of regional educational centers in the fields of IT, tourism and lifestyle-management in cooperation with the UN in Armenia. 

Armenian Assembly is a non-governmental organization supporting and implementing social-entrepreneurship projects in the spheres of culture, education, tourism, innovative technologies and science in Armenia and in the Diaspora. During the first year of its establishment, Armenian Assembly has implemented launches and support of cultural, educational, enlightenment, touristic and other projects.

Czech Republic completes ratification process of Armenia-EU CEPA

19:07,

YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS.  The Czech Republic has completed the ratification process of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU, ARMENPRESS reports spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan wrote on her Facebook page.

“According to the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to the Czech Republic, Armenia-EU CEPA ratification process has been completed by the Czech Republic”, she wrote.

Armenia and the EU signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement in Brussels on November 24, 2017. So fat the agreement has been ratified by Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, UK, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Romania, Germany, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, and Slovakia. Armenia has also ratified the agreement.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan