Category: 2021

 13:29,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. On November 23, President of the Senate of the Republic of France Gérard Larcher hosted the delegation led by Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan, who arrived in Paris on a working visit.

Alen Simonyan expressed his gratitude to Gérard Larcher for the invitation to take part in the Forum entitled “Armenia After One Year”, the Parliament’s press service reports.

The President of the Senate of France thanked the Armenian Speaker of Parliament for accepting the invitation, noting that they thoroughly follow the situation in Armenia and they are well aware of the post-war developments.

The counterparts considered remarkable that the Forum would be held one year after almost unanimous adoption of the resolution on the Necessity of the Recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic on November 23, 2020 and after 20 years of the adoption of the law recognizing the Armenian Genocide by France.

Speaker Simonyan has affirmed that those historical events are exceptional manifestations of solidarity towards Armenia and the Armenian people, and unique examples of unanimity in the inner-political life of France. In this context the Armenian side highly appreciated the adoption of the resolutions on condemning the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Artsakh and the necessity of the recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by the two Chambers of Parliament of France, as well as the humanitarian assistance provided by the French state and different organizations.

The sides have touched upon the provocative and aggressive actions carried out by Azerbaijan on the border of Armenia, recording that Azerbaijan violates the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement.

Presenting details on the post-war situation at his colleague’s request, Alen Simonyan stressed the call of Armenia to all international colleagues – to distinctly and targeted respond to these actions seriously endangering the regional peace and security by the Azerbaijani side and undertake practical steps in preventing theme and withdrawal of the armed forces of Azerbaijan from the Republic of Armenia. The parties documented the importance of the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the auspice of and within the framework of the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group. During the talk the attention was drawn to the urgent settlement of the post-war humanitarian problems, including the necessity of the repatriation of all prisoners of war and civilian hostages.

The sides referred to the fire opened in the direction of the Armenian positions located in the section of the village of Norabak of Gegharkunik Marz from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border a few hours ago from the meeting, as a consequence of which serviceman Suren Safaryan died. The sides considered the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan an encroachment also against democracy.

The counterparts talked about the remarkable functions of the inter-parliamentary cooperation in the development of the inter-state relations, as well as the dynamics of the Armenian-French high-ranking political dialogue.

The meeting has been concluded by signing the Agreement of Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Senate of the Republic of France, which designs multi-polar cooperation for the benefit of friendship and solidarity existing between the two countries.

 13:29,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s state-sanctioned Armenophobia is a targeted policy for keeping the two peoples living throughout the world in animosity, which threatens also the stability and the human rights system of those countries, warned the Armenian ombudsman Arman Tatoyan.

He warned that the Azerbaijani authorities are encouraging, at the high levels, the murder of Armenians and violations.  “This all didn’t begin with the latest war, it has far deeper roots. There are numerous examples for this,” he said.

Speaking about the 2020 war and its consequences, Ombudsman Tatoyan said that after the signing of the ceasefire the challenges didn’t stop. “This is a continuing war. The war brought disaster not only during its course, but it also left long-term consequences. Our people in Armenia, Artsakh and elsewhere around the world feel these consequences right now. Azerbaijani flags, road-signs and checkpoints have appeared in the direct vicinity of Armenian villages and on roads in Syunik and Gegharkunik.”

Tatoyan stated that the Azerbaijani government must be held accountable, be it politically or criminally. This is how the source and foundation of the violations can be eliminated, he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:52,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan held a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin and the embassy’s defense attaché Colonel Igor Sherbakov.

Ambassador Kopyrkin congratulated Papikyan on his appointment as defense minister and wished successes.

“A number of issues relating to the Armenian-Russian allied cooperation in the defense sector, as well as regional security were discussed,” the ministry of defense said in a readout.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 15:10,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. There are no negotiations between Armenia and Turkey at this moment over the normalization of the bilateral relations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told ARMENPRESS, commenting on the ongoing discussions about the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

“As stated in the government’s action plan, Armenia has always been ready to normalize the relations with Turkey without preconditions. A number of international partners, including our ally Russia, have stated that they are ready to assist the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. And during the discussions with the Russian partners we have informed that we are ready for the normalization of the relations without preconditions. If and when the process goes ahead, we, of course, will inform the public about the developments. At the same time I want to note that there is no negotiation process with Turkey at this moment”, the MFA spokesperson said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:44,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received today United Nations Under-Secretary-General, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the PM’s Office reports.

At the meeting PM Pashinyan said that this is the first such a high-level visit of the UNAOC to Armenia and expressed hope that this visit will contribute to the bilateral cooperation, as well as the dialogue between the nations of the region.

In turn the UN Under-Secretary-General presented the main activity directions of the UNAOC, highlighting Armenia’s role and participation to the activities of the Alliance. He said that the Alliance within its mandate is ready to contribute to the promotion of tolerance in the region, the inter-religious dialogue and preservation of religious sites.

In turn Nikol Pashinyan also attached importance to the steps aimed at promoting dialogue and tolerance in the region, at the same stressing the need for adequate response by the international community to Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions.

The PM drew the attention of his guest to the facts of destruction and distortion of Armenian historical-cultural and religious heritage in territories which have come under the Azerbaijani control as a result of the aggression against Artsakh, including the Azerbaijani actions against the St. Ghazanchetsots Church of Shushi and Dadivank monastery. Pashinyan highlighted the access of the UNESCO fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent regions, stating that Azerbaijan demonstrates unconstructive behavior also on this matter.

Pashinyan also emphasized the necessity of the activity of humanitarian mission of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Artsakh.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 15:55,

STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The National Security Service of Artsakh says it is taking measures to return a citizen of Artsakh who got lost and accidentally crossed into territory controlled by the Azerbaijani military.

It said that early Tuesday morning it received a report that a 21 year old resident of the Ashan community of Martuni region is missing.

The National Security Service said they found out that the citizen has been detained by the Azerbaijani authorities after getting lost and “appearing” in territory under their control.

“The Russian peacekeepers were immediately notified on the incident,” it added, noting that the Russian peacekeepers have been assured that the citizen is safe. Negotiations are underway to return the citizen.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 16:26,

MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will hold trilateral talks in the Russian resort town of Sochi on November 26, the Kremlin reported. 

According to the report, the three leaders will outline the further steps for strengthening stability and establishing peaceful life in Nagorno Karabakh.

Issues related to the restoration of trade-economic and transport connections will be in the focus.

Aside from the trilateral talks, President Putin will also hold separate meetings with PM Pashinyan and President Aliyev.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 17:05,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to ARMENPRESS that PM Pashinyan will participate in the upcoming Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan on November 26 in Sochi.

 17:18,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Ombudsman’s staff published a report on malicious prosecution by Azerbaijan of captured Armenian servicemen and civilians, the Office of the Ombudsman said.

The report provides information on fabricated and illegal prosecutions against the Armenian POWs and civilian captives which is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

As a result of the organized 45 illegal, groundless and falsified trials, 3 persons (one of them civilian) were sentenced to 20 year, 2 persons (civilian) to 15 year, 23 persons to 6 year, 2 persons to 4 year, 13 persons to 6 year imprisonment. Materials of fake criminal cases of 2 Armenian prisoners of war are in the Ganja court of grave crimes.

5 of the Armenian POWs subjected to illegal trials were repatriated on October 19, 2021.

However, at the moment, 40 Armenian POWs and civilian captives are convicted on baseless charges in Azerbaijan.

 17:57,

YEREVAN, 23 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 23 November, USD exchange rate is up by 0.63 drams to 477.15 drams. EUR exchange rate is down by 0.29 drams to 537.18 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate is down by 0.06 drams to 6.37 drams. GBP exchange rate is down by 1.54 drams to 638.28 drams.

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

Gold price is down by 12,696.64 drams to 15816.29 drams. Silver price is down by 27,479.81 drams to 27859.53 drams. Platinum price is down by 15,492.29 drams to 379.72 drams.