Category: 2020

 13:02, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan has visited the 31 nationals who are currently quarantined in a hotel in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor as direct contacts of the first and by far only novel coronavirus case in Armenia.

“All of them are provided with everything they need and they are feeling well,” Torosyan said.

The 31 Armenians are quarantined since March 1. They are expected to be discharged on March 14^th, in case of not developing the disease when the period of quarantine ends.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:58, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. Soon Armenia will launch large-scale live-fire military exercises, Ministry of Defense spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan told the Hayastani Hanrapetutyun newspaper.

He said the military will likely also use the new SU-30SM fighter jets in the drills.

“Heavy equipment, including missiles, are used during large-scale exercises with live fire. During such exercises the SU-30SM fighter jets will also perhaps be used,” he said.

Speaking about the multi-role fighter jets, which Armenia bought from Russia in December 2019, Hovhannisyan said that the acquisition has doubled Armenia’s military capabilities. “This kind of an air force has multi-functional significance, both defensive and offensive”, he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 15:05, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. A 13-year-old girl from Gyumri who was severely battered on March 5 remains in critical condition after being transported to a Yerevan hospital.  The girl underwent an emergency surgery in Gyumri before being taken to Yerevan.

The head of the Holy Mother of God Medical Center Nikolay Dallakyan said the girl has suffered multiple traumas, closed-head injury, cerebral edema, subarachnoid hemorrhage, fractures of multiple facial bones.

The victim was rushed to Yerevan from Gyumri at 01:30 March 6. She was on assisted ventilation and unconscious, and remains so.  Dallakyan said the girl is in a critical condition, but stable. He added that the brain trauma is very serious.

After the child was taken to a hospital in Gyumri on March 5, police officers were dispatched to the apartment where the incident had taken place. First responders found the child’s 43-year-old mother dead. Her body had traces of violence.

Gyumri police said they’ve a 28-year-old suspect in custody.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:53, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. The Cypriot-Australian community has joined with the Armenian-Australian, Assyrian-Australian and Greek-Australian communities in calling on the Australian Government to reject a proposed visit by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Armenian National Committee of Australia reported.

The President of the Federation of Cyprus Communities of Australia & New Zealand, Michael Christodoulou said that Erdogan had no place in Australia while denying genocides and practicing Turkey’s expansionist policies in the region.

Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Haig Kayserian welcomed Cypriot-Australians joining the calls to reject Erdogan. “Cypriot-Australians, who are terribly concerned about the security of their compatriots back home, have every reason to be concerned about news that Australia is apparently considering hosting this despotic dictator,” Kayserian said. “Australians remember that It was only last year, following the Christchurch terrorist attack, that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to return Australians and New Zealanders traveling to Gallipoli for ANZAC Day Commemorations ‘in their coffins like their grandfathers’”, Kayserian added.

Last week, the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek communities launched their Joint Justice Initiative with the goal of advocating “…against any attempt by the Turkish Government to use the sacred ANZAC graves in Gallipoli (and access by Australians to those graves and memorials) as ‘hostages’ or bargaining chips in coercing or persuading the Australian Government in being complicit in the Turkish State’s denial campaign with respect to the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides”.

 14:38, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament debated today the bill proposed by the ruling My Step faction MP Sisak Gabrielyan according to which it is proposed to expand the customs privileges granted to repatriates, as well as facilitate the respective procedures.

Introducing the bill on making changes and amendments to the Law on Customs Regulation, the lawmaker said this bill will also promote repatriation.

“According to the current regulation, all our citizens, who have not permanently resided in Armenia, can use customs privileges if they have not permanently lived in Armenia on the 183^rd day of each year within five years. According to the current law, this privilege for the imported property and car is granted exclusively to those repatriates who do not have an Armenian citizenship or are not registered in Armenia. In other words, even if the citizen has not lived in Armenia for 10 years, but is still registered here, he/she cannot use this privilege. And we state that if the passport and visa department checks via a system that a person has lived outside Armenia in the past five years and applied to that body for permanent residence in Armenia, he/she will receive a letter that he/she doesn’t have a permanent residence and within 18 months after acquiring that document he/she will be able to import personal property and one vehicle with her/his name”, the MP said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:35, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan received today Ambassador of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacôte, the ministry told Armenpress.

The Ambassador thanked for the reception and stated that since 2018 France has a special attention to the post-revolutionary Armenia, by appreciating its consistent fight against corruption. He said as a result of these changes several French enterprises are interested in the prospect of operating in Armenia. “They are not coming to Armenia for other subjective reasons, they are coming here because of existing real opportunities”, the French Ambassador stated, introducing the actions for implementation of major investment programs in Armenia and outlining the upcoming works with the minister.

Minister Khachatryan stated in turn that the success of these projects will further connect the economies of the two countries. The Ambassador assured that the entry of major brands to Armenia will change also the attitude of the French investment community towards the country.

The meeting touched upon the details of the program relating to irrigating agriculture development in Ararat and Armavir provinces of Armenia. The French Ambassador said this is the largest ongoing project.

The officials exchanged views on issues relating to geographical indications. The minister said Armenia is committed to implementing its assumed commitments. “We continue our discussions with our French partners which must bring benefit”, the minister said.

They also touched upon the operations of French companies in Armenia and their future programs.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:49, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament adopted today the bill to ratify the treaty between Armenia and Kyrgyzstan on excluding double taxation of revenue and preventing tax evasion.

The bill on ratifying the agreement has been introduced in Parliament by deputy finance minister Arman Poghosyan who said that the treaty is very awaited and demanded for economic entities providing professional services, especially in audit, consulting, accounting spheres. Armenian resident consulting companies of this field reach their turnover to major volumes also in Kyrgyzstan.

The treaty has been signed in Kyrgyzstan on August 9, 2019.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:52, 6 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been angered upon seeing Armenian toponyms on maps displayed at an Azerbaijani arts museum in the Tovuz region.

Apparently by not putting up with the fact that a state of Azerbaijan did not exist during the times of the Kingdom of Urartu, Aliyev demanded the museum to have new maps with names of so-called ancient Azerbaijani cities.

Aliyev instructed the museum’s director to replace the names of Dilijan, Sevan, Hrazdan and other Armenian areas on the maps with Azerbaijani ones.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan