Category: 2021

 14:28, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. After the completion of renovation works, the first mass in nearly 100 years was served at the Armenian Catholic Church in the district of Sur in Diyarbakir, Turkey, the Doghan news agency reports.

The St. Hovsep Church was heavily damaged during Turkish-Kurdish clashes in 2015. The restoration was carried out by the Directorate General of Foundations of Turkey.

The spiritual leader of the Armenian Catholics of Turkey Archbishop Levon Zekiyan consecrated the church and then served a mass.

Zekiyan told Doghan news agency that after the renovation, the church’s premises were handed over for ten years to the Dicle University for educational and cultural purposes, under the condition that the Armenian community will continue holding religious ceremonies there.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 15:00, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian continues meetings with the extra-parliamentary political forces, the Presidential Office reports.

Today the President received Republic party president Aram Sargsyan.

During the meeting they exchanged ideas about the domestic problems and the external challenges, discussed the ways of solving all these issues.

Aram Sargsyan presented to the President the positions and approaches of his political party.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:04, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The general prosecution has asked a court to confiscate the assets owned by former national police chief Vladimir Gasparyan and his family suspected in being illicitly obtained, court documents released on Datalex showed.

Information on what specific assets the prosecution deems illegal wasn’t immediately available.

Gasparyan is yet to comment on prosecution’s move.

The stolen asset recovery law, officially known as the Law on Confiscation of Illegally-Obtained Assets, was adopted by parliament in 2020 April. In September of 2020 the division in charge of investigating alleged illicitly acquired assets was launched in the general prosecution.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 15:50, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom strongly criticized the Turkish government for the “religious freedom conditions” and “actions, deliberate inactions, and rhetoric to fuel a political environment that is hostile to religious minorities.”

“The Turkish government has made little effort to address the religious freedom issues consistently raised for years, including granting minority religious communities legal personality and permission to hold board member elections; recognizing Alevi houses of worship (cemevleri); and reopening the Theological School of Halki, a seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Government tolerance of hate speech and acts of violence persisted as the COVID-19 pandemic hatched antisemitic conspiracy theories and new forms of intimidation towards Turkey’s Armenian community and others,” the U.S. federal government commission said in the annual report on Turkey.

It noted that the Armenian religious heritage sites remain under threat, citing the demolition of the Surp Toros Armenian church in Kütahya in 2021. “In August bulldozers destroyed an Armenian cemetery in Van Province, the same month an Armenian church and cultural center in Malatya hosted its first mass following a restoration.”

“In April 2021, in response to Turkish-Armenian MP Garo Paylan’s statements on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, nationalist MP Ümit Özdağ threatened: “you’ll also have a Talat Pasha experience and you should have it.” Talat Pasha was the principal architect of the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic and the November 2020 conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has fueled anti-Armenian conspiracies and intimidating, anti-Armenian protests,” the report noted.

 15:52, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs voted in favor of the draft on establishing an Armenia-Montenegro friendship group.

“Given that the activity of friendship groups is a good impetus for cooperation between parliaments, and that the Armenian foreign ministry also approves creating the Armenia-Montenegro friendship group, I propose to vote in favor of the draft decision”, chairman of the standing committee Eduard Aghajanyan said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 16:46, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in India for talks with the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TASS reports.

The parties are expected to exchange views on pressing global issues, including joint work within the G20 group, BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and Afghanistan. Putin himself said earlier that new major initiatives concerning the development of “special privileged relations, strategic partnership between Russia and India” would be on the agenda.

The two countries’ delegations have been reduced due to the coronavirus pandemic. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov and CEO of the Rosneft oil giant Igor Sechin.

Putin and Modi will make statements for the media at the beginning of their meeting. A package of about ten agreements in various fields is expected to be signed.

 16:52, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The CSTO member states are deeply concerned about the terror attacks in the CSTO space and outside its borders, as well as about the growing use of internet, live broadcasts for that purpose, the CSTO foreign ministers’ statement adopted on the sidelines of the 28^th OSCE Ministerial Council in Sweden says.

The foreign ministers of the CSTO member states – Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, have emphasized that terrorism with all its types and manifestations is one of the biggest threats for the globe and the international security, calling any terrorist act a crime and adding that it has no justification regardless of its motives.

“We reaffirm our commitment to keep the unity in the international fight against terrorism, by recognizing the UN’s central and coordinating role on the matter. We once again announce that countries have a vital role to play in preventing and fighting terrorism, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations organization. We reiterate our commitment to the full implementation of the UN Global Anti-Terrorism Strategy, respecting human rights, fundamental freedoms and rule of law”, the statement says.

They also expressed their concerns over the growing spread of hate speech and ideas through internet. They emphasized the necessity to make efforts to develop information literacy especially among the youth.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 17:14, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, 6 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 6 December, USD exchange rate up by 1.04 drams to 491.03 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.33 drams to 554.77 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 6.66 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.11 drams to 651.06 drams.

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

Gold price up by 99.28 drams to 27904.28 drams. Silver price up by 0.04 drams to 352.84 drams. Platinum price up by 62.94 drams to 14839.76 drams.

 18:46, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Two people from South Africa who arrived in Russia have been diagnosed with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

ARMENPRESS reports, citing Ria Novosti, the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare informs.

According to the Federal Service, SARS-CoV-2 was present at ten passengers from South Africa. Virus versions are being clarified.

 19:14, 6 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. By the decision of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Karen Sarukhanyan has been relieved of the post of the Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations of Armenia.

Sarukhanyan had been appointed Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations on September 8, 2021.