Category: 2019

Café owners, employees block intersection in protest of Yerevan City Hall’s dismantling action

12:32,

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Protestors demonstrating against the Yerevan City Hall’s ongoing dismantling of cafes near the Opera House have blocked the Mashtots Avenue – Tumanyan Street intersection in downtown.

Protesters include both owners and employees of the cafes.

A group of demonstrators were seen blocking the major intersection by laying or sitting in the middle of it. Yerevan police are trying to negotiate and open the street.

The demonstrators are demanding the City Hall to cancel its decision, saying they will become unemployed.

The City Hall had initially notified the cafes earlier in December of 2018 that the city is halting its lease contracts.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Chief of General Staff of Armenian Armed Forces departs for Russia

16:35,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Lt. General Artak Davtyan has left for Russia on March 13 to participate in the regular meeting of the CIS Armed Forces Chiefs of General Staff Committee in Moscow, the defense ministry said.

Lt. General Davtyan is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings within the framework of the visit.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia, Georgia have historic opportunity to raise relations to new level: Pashinyan hosts President Zourabichvili

17:11,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Georgia have a historic opportunity to raise the relations to a new level, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during the meeting with President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili in Yerevan, reports Armenpress.

“I am happy to welcome you and your delegation in Armenia. I think currently we have a historic opportunity to raise the relations of our countries to a new level. I have made my first official visit to Georgia as Prime Minister. This highlights our government’s and my personal attention and sense of importance towards the Armenian-Georgian relations. I have stated that we should rely on common strategic interests in our relations and I am happy that I received a similar reaction from the Georgian government. And now it’s the time to implement this mutual perception”, Nikol Pashinyan said.

In her turn the Georgian President expressed confidence that the Armenian-Georgian close relations will enter a new stage.

“Many things unite us, geography, history. In addition to these two, our common vision on the future unites us. I think we will be able to use our opportunities. We can do a lot together, have to do a lot together”, the Georgian President said.

The meeting of the Armenian PM and the Georgian President was followed by a luncheon.

Salome Zourabichvili arrived in Armenia on March 13 on a two-day official visit at the invitation of President Armen Sarkissian. The Georgian President’s delegation includes justice minister Thea Tsulukiani, Vice Speaker of Parliament George Volski, MPs, as well as other officials.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 13-03-19

17:17,

YEREVAN, 13 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 13 March, USD exchange rate down by 0.74 drams to 487.35 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.34 drams to 550.56 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 7.44 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.85 drams to 640.18 drams.

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

Gold price вup by 36.62 drams to 20323.04 drams. Silver price вup by 1.98 drams to 242 drams. Platinum price вup by 294.01 drams to 13067.67 drams.

Armenian President highlights OSCE’s role as key institution involved in NK conflict settlement

18:14,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian met with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák and his delegation on March 13.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Armenian President’s Office, President Sarkissian highlighted the role of the OSCE not only as the key institution involved in the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, but also as a platform that pushes forward comprehensive security through dialogue, confidence and cooperation.

Noting that the South Caucasian region has an important place in OSCE agenda, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office said that they are here to make clear how they can support Armenia to fulfill the commitments it has assumed.

The President of Armenia and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office exchanged views on the raising of the effectiveness of the activities of the OSCE, the challenges facing the organization, as well as the priorities of the Slovak presidency over the organization.

The interlocutors also referred to Armenian-Slovak bilateral relations and noted that the two countries have a broad cooperation agenda in various spheres and highlighted the active efforts  for the realization of the existing potential.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Armenian parliament Speaker speaks about necessity of involving Artsakh in NK talks in a meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

18:21,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received the delegation led by OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák on March 13.

As ARMENBPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament of Armenia, greeting the guests, Ararat Mirzoyan expressed confidence that the OSCE, led by Miroslav Lajčák, will continue its efforts aimed at international security, strengthening rule of law and protection of human rights, expressing the readiness of the parliament of Armenia to support that agenda. The head of the legislative expressed gratitude to the OSCE/ODIHR and the PACE for carrying out observer missions during the parliamentary elections in Armenia in December 2018 and for their unbiased assessments, quoting Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission, Slovak MP Peter Osusky, who assessed the elections as “Armenian miracle”.

Referring to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia highlights the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, as the sole internationally authorized platform for the settlement of the conflict. The parliament Speaker particularly emphasized the necessity of the participation of the representatives of Artsakh in the negotiation process.

Miroslav Lajčák noted that as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, he assumes the commitment to make efforts aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict, adding that it’s also necessary to take steps for the strengthening of the atmosphere of mutual trust and activate contacts between different layers of the society.

Ararat Mirzoyan noted that the settlement of the conflict is a double-sided process and the will of the leaderships and the peoples of the countries are important for the establishment of peace. According to him, Armenia expects steps from Azerbaijan that will be equivalent to Armenia’s efforts for peace.

Referring to the Armenian-Slovak bilateral relations the sides underlined the great potential for deepening them.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Artsakh’s FM sees no chances for progress in NK conflict settlement talks without participation of Artsakh

19:48,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Artsakh Masis Mayilyan sees no chances for progress in Nagorno Karabakh peace process without the participation of Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports Mayilyan said after the meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák.

“We presented our approaches to the Chairperson-in-Office, brought justifications why Artsakh should participate in the negotiation process of NK conflict settlement as the 3rd party. If Artsakh does not participate in the talks, we can have no progress”, the Minister said.

Masis Mayilyan said that they highlight the meetings between Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and those meetings should be continuous.

 Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Artsakh’s FM presents situation on contact line to OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

19:53,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Artsakh Masis Mayilyan discussed the situation on Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák, ARMENPRESS reports Mayilyan said after the meeting with Miroslav Lajčák.

“We underlined that following the Dushanbe meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, there are no casualties in the front line. But we have to also implement the agreements of Vienna and St. Petersburg. The implementation of those agreements will ensure larger security in the region”, Mayilyan said.

Artsakh’s FM noted that they did not discuss the recent statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs over Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

“We did not discuss the statement as a whole, but since there are different messages and elements there, we referred to them. We gave no assessment to the statement”, the Minister said.

Minister Mayilyan noted that the conflict with Azerbaijan is not a territorial dispute, like Azerbaijan tries to present it.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Nikol Pashinyan refers to upcoming steps over NK peace process in a meeting with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office

19:57,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikokl Pashinyan received OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák on March 13. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also attended the meeting.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, welcoming Miroslav Lajčák’s visit, the Prime Minister highlighted the role played by the OSCE in ensuring regional security, respect of human rights and promoting sustainable development. He said Armenia ready to support Slovakia’s priorities during its chairmanship in the OSCE. Nikol Pashinyan expressed the hope the strong ties of cooperation with the OSCE will help the Government to effectively implement its ambitious reform program and promote democracy in our country.

Coming to issues high on the OSCE agenda, the parties stressed the need for finding joint solutions to the problems facing the Organization. Prime Minister Pashinyan reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and presented Armenia’s approaches and principled position on this issue. Reference was made to the steps to take ahead throughout the peace process.

The parties stressed the importance of shaping an atmosphere conducive to peace and mutual trust, stimulating people-to-people contacts, taking effective steps to introduce risk-reduction mechanisms, as well as preventing incidents at the Contact Line.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Armenian FM, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office highlight installation of mechanisms preventing incidents in conflict zone

21:31,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic Miroslav Lajčák on March 13.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, Minister Mnatsakanyan welcomes the visit of Miroslav Lajčák to Armenia, assessing it important particularly under the conditions that due to the abuse of the principle of consensus in the organization, the representation of the OSCE in South Caucasus has been minimized.

Minister Mnatsakanyan highly assessed the effective cooperation in the sidelines of the OSCE in the process of moving forward the reform agenda of Armenia.

The sides mutually underlined the importance of taking measure aimed at raising the effectives of the OSCE and withstanding the challenges in the spirit of cooperation.  

Referring to Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan reaffirmed the commitment and support of Armenia for the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format. In this context the sides highlighted the application of mechanisms aimed at reduction of risks and prevention of incidents, as well as implementation of confidence-building measures.

The Armenian and Slovak FMs refereed to a number of issues referring to bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries, exchanged views on further expanding trade and economic relations, as well as political dialogue. In this context, the Armenian FM welcomed the decision of Slovakia to open and embassy in Armenia. The sides emphasized that it will give a new impetus the expansion of bilateral agenda.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan