Category: 2020

 11:18, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s ministry of high technological industry is starting online #HighTechTalks with the view to introduce the field, discover the IT world, as well as to raise relevant issues and public awareness, the ministry told Armenpress.

The project will host successful businessmen and leading IT specialists who will hold talks introducing the field of high technologies.

Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) around the globe and Armenia as well, thousands of people need to get a new profession and have an opportunity to enter the IT sector, acquire new skills, knowledge and most importantly profession. #HighTechTalks are going to contribute to having a deeper knowledge on technologies for broad public circles.

#HighTechTalks will launch on March 31, at 21:00. The first guest of the project is PicsArt founder and CEO Hovhannes Avoyan who will join the talks from the United States and will run a talk on the topic of the IT world.

The program will be broadcast live on the Facebook page of Armenia’s minister of high-tech industry Hakob Arshakyan (https://www.facebook.com/hakobarshakyanpage/), and after the completion it will also be posted on the ministry’s YouTube account (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8cP-gVqC9z4rjJeAqyBjrQ).

The future guests of the #HighTechTalks will talk about the pros and cons of information and communication technologies, the role of technologies and how they change our life, how they affect the human welfare and security, etc.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:32, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s foreign ministry commented on the statement of the Turkish foreign ministry regarding the elections that are being held in Artsakh.

Armenpress presents the Armenian MFA’s full statement:

“The statement of the Foreign Ministry of Turkey on the elections being held in Nagorno Karabakh is yet another _expression_ of Turkey’s hostile policy towards the Armenian people.

In line with its traditional method of selective interpretation of international documents, on one hand Turkey invokes the relevant UN Security resolutions and on the other hand  ignores their call to refrain from any hostile actions in the context of Nagorno Karabakh conflict explicitly addressed to the states in the region. While it is Turkey that has been imposing land blockade on the Republic of Armenia for decades and supporting aggressive and atrocious actions unleashed against the people of Artsakh, including in April 2016.

The reference of Turkey’s Foreign Ministry to the OSCE principles and the Minsk Process is equally groundless. We recall that the OSCE/CSCE decision of March 24, 1992, which laid a foundation for the Minsk Process, refers to the elected representatives of Nagorno Karabakh as a participant in the process. Elections must be held to have elected representatives, and from this viewpoint, elections conducted in Artsakh don’t contradict, but derive from the logic and fundamental documents of peaceful process.

Turkey’s attempts to act as an international guardian of human rights and its appeals to the international community are more than bankrupted in the light of its constant violations of the rights of peoples and territorial integrity of its neighbors and its aggressive policy which breaches the norms of international law and democracy”.

 11:55, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s attempts to escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a result of which a 14-year-old child from Voskevan village of Tavush province has been injured, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement says:

“We strongly condemn the attempts by Azerbaijan to escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a result of which a 14-year-old resident of Voskevan village of Tavush province has been wounded. At the same time, two soldiers of the Armenian Armed Forces have been injured while preventing the sabotage infiltration attempt of the Azerbaijani side in the direction of Armenian positions in the same territory.

This ceasefire violation, not provoked by any means, has no justification, especially these days when the medical resources of all countries are mobilized in fighting the novel coronavirus. With these actions Azerbaijan disregards the calls of the international community, in particular the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the UN Secretary-General to unconditionally maintain the ceasefire and refrain from provocative actions during this period.

This military incident shows that either the Azerbaijani side does not control the actions of its armed forces on the border or deliberately escalates the situation by bearing the whole responsibility for its consequences.

We wish speedy recovery to our citizens who were injured as a result of these operations”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:44, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has extended condolences to Levon Aronian over the death of Arianne Caoili, the wife of the Armenian chess grandmaster.

“I am deeply shocked by the grievous news about the untimely death of FIDE Woman International Master Arianne Caoili, the wife of grandmaster, two-time chess world cup winner Levon Aronian.

The renowned chess player, the wife of our dearest grandmaster Levon Aronian – who has always brilliantly represented Armenia in the chess arena – was loved and appreciated by the Armenian people. She was a good friend of Armenia, the author of numerous inspiring initiatives aimed at the development of our country. Arianne Caoili’s death is a painful loss for all of us, and her memory will remain bright in the heart of the Armenian nation.

Dear Levon,

Anna and I are extending our condolences and support to you and the family and friends of Arianne Caoili,” the Armenian Prime Minister said in a letter.

Filipino-born Australian chess player Arianne Caoili has died at the age of 33 in Yerevan, Armenia, two weeks after being seriously injured in a car crash.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:34, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. 68 students of the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy based in Kolkata, India, as well as their teachers have been transported to Armenia via a special flight, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, State of Emergency Commandant Tigran Avinyan said on Facebook.

“At the initiative and funding of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, by the coordination of the Commandant’s Office and the foreign minister, a special flight transporting the 68 students of the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy operating in India and their teachers to Armenia has been organized on March 31.

The Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy operates in India under the auspices of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin for already two hundred years. Children mainly from Armenia, Iran, Syria, Iraq and other countries study in the school”, Avinyan said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:48, 31 March, 2020

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of foreign affairs of Artsakh commented on the statement of the Turkish foreign ministry regarding the general elections that launched today in Artsakh.

Armenpress presents the Artsakh MFA’s full comment:

Question: How would you comment on the statement by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey that the presidential and parliamentary elections in the Republic of Artsakh violate the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and undermine the efforts on the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict?

Answer: The statement by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey on the presidential and parliamentary elections in the Republic of Artsakh is another example of the biased and destructive position of Ankara.

Turkey’s opinion on this issue fully coincides with the viewpoint of Azerbaijan. By unconditionally supporting Azerbaijan and making statements that undermine efforts of the international mediators, the Turkish side causes serious damage to the peace process on the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict settlement.

Ankara’s stance obviously contradicts the position of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen who are mandated by the international community for implementing a mediation mission on the settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen noted in their statements on the elections in the Republic of Artsakh in 2012 and 2015, that they “acknowledge the need for the de facto authorities in Nagorno Karabakh to try to organize democratically the public life of their population with such a procedure”, as well as “recognize the role of the people of Nagorno Karabakh in deciding their future”.

Ankara’s destructive policy on the issue of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict once again reaffirms the absolute inexpediency of Turkey’s membership in the OSCE Minsk Group”.

 12:40, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Facebook users are being attacked by Azerbaijani hackers and their social media accounts are used to disseminate disinformation about coronavirus spread in the military.

One of the latest victims of these attacks is Naira Grigoryan, an Armenian Facebook user whose account was hacked and her profile photo was changed with the photo of Shushan Stepanyan, the spokesperson of the Armenian ministry of defense.

Moreover, the account was used to spread disinformation about alleged hospitalizations of coronavirus cases in the army. The statement was circulated also by accounts of other hacked social media users, notably the singer Armen Movsisyan.

The Information Checking Center had said as early as in 2019 that the account of Movsisyan was hacked by Azerbaijani hackers and the singer does not have access to it any longer. The Info and Ads section in the account clearly shows that the account is being managed from Azerbaijan.

In addition to the abovementioned statements, the account was also used to spread another disinformation, this time about an alleged fatality of a serviceman in the northern parts of Nagorno Karabakh.

The Information Checking Center advised to follow official news only, and referred to its COVID-19 section for fact checking and debunking of coronavirus-related disinformation.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:00, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian healthcare authorities will be supplied with 100 ventilators, 60,000 coronavirus test kits, face masks, protective suits, goggles and other equipment in the coming days, Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said at the meeting of the Armenia Coronavirus Response Task Force chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Torosyan also briefed about the coronavirus cases in the country and the health condition of the patients.

Measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus, the management of the epidemiological issue, as well as issues related to the restrictions on movement and business activities were discussed, the government’s press service said.

The PM tasked the officials to draft a respective government decision taking into account the recommendations and observations made during the meeting.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:12, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian and spouse Nouneh Sarkissian offered condolences to chess grandmaster Levon Aronian over the death of his wife, Arianne Caoili, the President’s Office said on Facebook.

“Dear Levon, we are facing an indescribable pain: the loss of your wife, Arianne Caoili, is immeasurable. Knowing you and Arianne quite well, we knew that you are not a type of persons to surrender. And Arianne was fighting until the very last moment…I and Nouneh, and also our people for sure, stand by you with sincere words of sorrow. Rest In Peace, dear Arianne! Stay firm, dear Levon!” the statement says.

Australian chess player Arianne Caoili, the wife of Armenian chess grandmaster Levon Aronian, has died in Yerevan, Armenia on March 31 at the age of 33.

Two weeks ago Arianne suffered a serious injury in a car crash in Yerevan and was hospitalized.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:13, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia has retracted its bill from the second reading’s agenda in parliament on banning autopsies of coronavirus fatalities.

Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan told lawmakers that the government decided to withdraw the bill from the agenda of the parliament session.

He did not elaborate.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan