Category: 2021

 19:03,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra and the delegation led by him. The meeting was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Vatican Karen Nazaryan and the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Offic eof the Prime Minister.

In his welcoming remarks PM Pashinyan said,

“Your Excellency, dear members of the delegation,

Welcome to the Republic of Armenia. I would like to reaffirm our readiness and determination to develop interstate relations with the Holy See, and I am glad that the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See was officially opened in Yerevan yesterday. It will be a very strong impetus for our relationship.

Our relations have deep historical basis, and they are also based on common Christian values, which is a very important fact. In this regard, I would like to thank you for the important positions expressed by the Holy See during the 44-day war. I also attach great importance to our cooperation in the preservation of the Armenian cultural and Christian cultural heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan.

We are grateful to His Holiness for his commitment to deepen our bilateral relations. I remember, of course, our telephone conversation with His Holiness during the difficult time. Please convey my greetings to His Holiness and to Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin. I welcome you again, I am glad for this opportunity to meet and discuss the issues on the agenda of our relations”.

The Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See said in his turn,

“Thank you, honorable Mr. Prime Minister. Today is the second and last day of my visit. I was in Yerevan on the occasion of the opening of the Holy See Embassy, the Apostolic Nunciature, and took the opportunity to meet with the Armenian authorities. Thank you very much for hosting me and our delegation.

I would like to thank you for this meeting and emphasize that the opening of the Holy See’s Apostolic Nunciature will continue to strengthen our bilateral relations, especially in the areas we have already discussed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other state bodies that are important for our relations.

His Holiness and Cardinal Parolin convey greetings and best wishes to personally you and the Republic of Armenia. We will continue to cooperate on our common agenda, focusing on a number of important issues, including the issue of Armenian war prisoners”.

The Prime Minister thanked for the Pope’s calls for the immediate release of the Armenian prisoners of war held by Azerbaijan, and his readiness to continue the steps taken in this direction, emphasizing that international support is needed to resolve the issue.

The interlocutors exchanged views on Armenia-Vatican relations and regional issues. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the Armenian government is committed to the agenda of opening a peaceful era in the region, but the commitment of all the involved parties to that process is important. Both sides highlighted the contribution of the Holy See and Armenia to the maintenance of global peace.

Edgar Peña Parra assured that the Holy See will continue its efforts to preserve the Armenian religious and cultural heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan and to resolve the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners of war.

The Prime Minister attached importance to the fraternal ties between the Roman Catholic, Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches, which is a solid foundation for Armenia-Vatican relations. Nikol Pashinyan expressed confidence that this dynamic will be maintained and will further develop as a result of the opening of the diplomatic mission of the Vatican in Armenia.

 19:08,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Sergey Istrakov, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to military-technical cooperation between Armenia and Russia, as well as exchanged views on the current military-political situation in the region.

 19:13,

YEREVAN,  28 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral working group chaired by Deputy Prime Ministers of the three countries -Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia is the most optimal format for unblocking transport communications in South Caucasus, ARMENPRESS reports official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova said, answering to the journalist’s questions.

”Eight sessions were held in this format, all sides highly appreciated its activities. In general, there have already been many comments which were made based directly on the results of the sessions. Therefore, one can personally get acquainted with the details of the works. Accordingly, we consider correct the statements and steps which contribute to the implementation of trilateral agreements on unblocking of all economic and communicational ways.” said Zakharova.

Çavuşoğlu says Turkey is consulting with Azerbaijan on the Armenian-Turkish normalization

 20:49,

YEREVAN, 28 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu talked about normalisation of relations with Armenia in an interview with CNN Türk, saying that Ankara consults with Baku over issues in that direction, ARMENPRESS reports, “Interfax Azerbaijan” informed.

Çavuşoğlu told to CNN Türk that the Turkish side discussed that issue with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Bayramov during the visit of Turkish president Erdogan to Fizuli.

“We consult with Azerbaijan in that direction. At the same time positive signals came from Armenia. We in our turn announced that will reply to Armenia’s positive steps, but the steps we can take together with Azerbaijan are also discussed”, theTurkish FM said.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had made such a statement also on September 27 during the joint press conference with Azerbaijani FM.

Since August, Yerevan and Ankara exchanged positive signals on the normalisation of bilateral relations a number of times at high level but in practice no steps in this direction have been taken despite the public statements of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Turkey Recep Erdoğan. On September 19 the Turkish president stated that Prime Minister of Georgia conveyed to him the offer of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan to hold a meeting, but the spokesperson of Armenia’s Prime Minister in response mentioned that the Prime Minister believes that high and highest level meetings should take place following working discussions.

 21:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28 ARMENPRESS. The number of deaths caused by novel coronavirus in the world reaches the threshold of 5 million, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Worldometer website.

According to the source, 4,992,387 people have died from COVID-19 worldwide and more than 246 million people have been infected since the outbreak.

The number of deaths had reached 4 million in July.

 10:28,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The civil service system in Armenia is in the active phase of reforms, Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan said at a discussion on the European Union Twinning Project “Support to Further Implementation of Civil Service Reform in Armenia”.

“I am hopeful that the issues raised during this discussion will contribute with their important solutions to the modernization of the sector, and will approximate the civil service system with the European Union’s guidelines,” he said.

Papikyan added that Armenia always highly appreciates cooperation. In his words, there is great potential in the cooperating sides, and the utilization of this potential is an important cornerstone for the reforms which is contributing to the continuous cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

FlyOne Armenia granted Air Operator’s Certificate

 11:17,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia granted the Air Operator’s Certificate to FLYONE Armenia.

The new national airline said in a news release that it will launch flights from Armenia very soon, offering affordable tickets to Europe and Asia and maximum safety.

Mircea Maleca, the company’s General Manager, said, “We are currently at the stage where we are launching the sale of FLYONE ARMENIA tickets. We look forward to start the flights and to welcome our passengers.”

Yerevan airport is the point from/to which the airline will fly to Moscow, Tehran, Lyon, Paris, Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Krasnodar, Istanbul, and Tel Aviv.  

By now, FLYONE Armenia invested more than 60 million Euros in the Armenian market.

“Furthermore, we have created new jobs, planning to have a team of more than 135 employees, who will be paid higher salaries than the country’s average. In the future we aim to grow both in terms of the number of employees and the fleet.

The company’s fleet consists of Airbus A320 aircrafts, on which we will operate both scheduled and charter flights. Each aircraft has 180 seats and meets all International Air Transport Association (IATA) and EASA safety standards. Also, in pandemic conditions, the aircraft are equipped with HEPA air filters, which remove 99.97% of viruses and bacteria.

 11:18,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. On October 28th Lilit Makunts, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Unites States of America, met with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D – California), Member of Congressional Caucus of Armenian Issues, the Armenian Embassy said in a statement on social media.

Ambassador Makunts presented the five-year program of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, in particular, the foreign policy priorities, as well as the commitment to the implementation of the democratic reforms.

The interlocutors discussed the current situation in Armenia caused by the coronavirus, in that regard Ambassador thanked Congressman for her efforts and support to Armenia in fight against the pandemic.

Congresswoman Eshoo expressed her concern over the situation followed by the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and support to the Armenian people in overcoming the created challenges.

 11:34,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Pope Francis awarded President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian with the Grand Collar of the Papal Order of Pius IX for his contributions to the development of the relations between the Holy See and Armenia, as well as for being the first Ambassador of Armenia to the Vatican, the Armenian Presidential Office reports.

“The Pope instructed me to hand over to you the highest order of Vatican. This is a testimony to the unique relations existing between our countries. By opening an Apostolic Nunciature in Yerevan, we want to establish high-level relations and show to the world the importance of the first Christian nation in the history for us”, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Holy See Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, who has recently visited Armenia, said.

He informed that President Sarkissian is the first both in Armenia and the region who receives such an order.

“I accept it as an appreciation of my modest work and also as a recognition of the fact that I have been Armenia’s first Ambassador to the Holy See. I have always worked for the close relations between Armenia and Vatican. Therefore, I accept this, promising to do more”, the Armenian President said, adding that it’s a great honor for receiving such an award.

The President proposed to mark the 30-year-old diplomatic ties between Armenia and the Holy See with a new exhibition, aimed at once again highlighting the rich historical and cultural heritage. “That would be one more way of telling about the relations between our states and an occasion to talk about the future”, Armen Sarkissian said.

 Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:30,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan received today Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic House of Cilicia Raphael Bedros Minassian, the Parliament’s press service said.

Congratulating the Patriarch on election, Speaker Simonyan wished success to his mission.

Alen Simonyan and Raphael Bedros Minassian discussed issues relating to the Diaspora-Armenians and the Armenian Catholic communities, as well as the ways of further intensifying the connection with the homeland.

They also exchanged ideas about Armenia’s actions for solving the issues of the Lebanese-Armenian community.

Raphael Bedros Minassian thanked for the reception and wished productive work to the Speaker and the Parliament.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan