Category: 2022

 11:12,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian customs officers seized an “unprecedented” amount of smuggled mobile phones at the Yerevan airport’s cargo storage.

The State Revenue Committee (SRC) said that its detectives were tipped off that smugglers will be attempting to bring in the cargo from a Eurasian Economic Union member-state through a postal service company.

SRC officers found the 1328 mobile phones worth nearly $600,000 at the cargo storage facility of the Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport. The cargo was smuggled by air from Russia, with all parcels having the same labels. Apart from mobile phones, the smugglers attempted to import tablets, e-cigarettes and accessories for mobile phones.

The cargo was confiscated amid a criminal investigation, the SRC said.

 11:53,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan received Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri, the ministry said.

During the meeting Minister Avanesyan highly valued the current level of dialogue between Armenia and Iran, expressing confidence that the agreements reached during the 16th session of the Armenian-Iranian joint inter-governmental commission will enter an active implementation stage.

In his turn the Ambassador highlighted the importance of raising the level of mutual recognition between Iran and Armenia in order to bring the bilateral partnership in the field of health to a qualitatively new level.

Investment programs, development of healthcare tourism and other matters relating to the bilateral cooperation were discussed during the meeting.

“The big potential of the Armenian-Iranian partnership in pharmaceutics is obvious. We constantly consider the opportunities to mutually engage the Iranian-made medicine into the Armenian market”, she said.

The Iranian Ambassador was interested in the production of the Sputnik Light vaccine against COVID-19 in Armenia.

The Armenian Minister and the Iranian Ambassador also touched upon the bilateral healthcare programs, the educational programs integration and exchange of experience matters.

 11:54,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Armenian Foundations Union Bedros Sirinoglu met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hurriyet reported.

The meeting was held at the presidential palace and closed for the media.

Sirinoglu told Hurriyet that they are regularly meeting with Erdogan.

 12:22,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan tested positive for COVID-19, his office said in a statement.

PM Pashinyan is now in self-isolation and he doesn’t display any symptoms so far.

He will continue working remotely.

PM Pashinyan had COVID-19 earlier in 2020 as well. 

Pashinyan is vaccinated against COVID-19, moreover he received the booster shot earlier in December 2021.

 13:40,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan dismissed his aide Nairi Sargsyan.

Sargsyan was serving as Aide to the Prime Minister since 2018.

The reason for the dismissal wasn’t immediately clear.

 14:00,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan received today Ambassador of Sweden to Armenia Patrik Svensson, the deputy PM’s Office reports.

Deputy PM Matevosyan welcomed the current positive dynamics in the Armenian-Swedish bilateral relations and highly appreciated the interest of the Swedish government to contribute to Armenia’s reform agenda and its support provided during the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war.

The Ambassador highlighted the partnership with Armenia and expressed the readiness of the Swedish government to contribute to the development of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Armenia.

At the meeting the sides highlighted the immediate repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives held in Azerbaijan, and agreed that the resumption of negotiations around the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be carried out under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The meeting also touched upon the humanitarian problems caused by the war, as well as the Armenia-Turkey normalization process, and the efforts for establishing lasting peace and stability in the region.

While discussing issues on the agenda of the Armenian-Swedish cooperation, deputy PM Hambardzum Matevosyan highlighted the presence of Swedish companies in Armenia, particularly in road infrastructure construction processes, as well as the intensification of mutual partnership in judicial reforms, fight against corruption and protection of human rights.

 14:20,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. A 76-year-old man from the town of Vanadzor is suspected in murdering his wife and mutilating her body.

Police officers responded to a 911 call Wednesday morning saying there’s been a murder at 5/1-1 Tigranyan Street in Vanadzor. Officers found the mutilated body of 70-year-old Alvard K., the homeowner’s wife, in the bathroom. The woman’s severed legs were found outside the house.

Police said in a statement that they’ve obtained information that the murder was committed by the victim’s 76-year-old husband, who used cutting tools to kill her and then dismember the body.

“The 76-year-old man was taken into custody and placed under arrest at the Taron Police Department. An investigation is underway,” police said.

 14:30,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on the national day of the country, the PM’s Office said.

The letter runs as follows:

“Your Excellency,

I warmly congratulate you and the good people of India on the national day – the Republic Day.

This year we mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Armenia and India, and I must praise the fact that the centuries-old traditional warm relations and mutual support between our countries and peoples continue strengthening, and the interstate exchanges and ties continues expanding and deepening.

Armenia attaches special importance to the stable progress of the relations with friendly India. I am convinced that ahead of that important jubilee, with joint efforts it would be possible to give a new quality and content to the comprehensive and continuous development of the Armenian-Indian cooperation in all areas of bilateral interest.

I wish you good health and success, and to the good people of India – peace and welfare.

Your Excellency, please accept the assurances of my highest respect”.

 15:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to hold a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Friday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, reports TASS.

“Indeed, a telephone conversation [with the French president] is scheduled for Friday”, he said.

On January 25, Macron announced plans to hold telephone talks with Putin on the morning of January 28.

 15:41,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan and Georgia’s Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze signed a memorandum on cooperation during the latter’s visit to Armenia.

“We have a broad agenda that we’ll try to cover during the next two days,” Andreasyan said, thanking Minister Bregadze and his delegation for visiting Armenia.

“During our first meeting, which took place in Italy during the European Council’s ministerial meeting, we raised a number of issues of concern for Armenia, because we are currently undergoing important reforms. The other important direction is the unified offices where the citizens of our countries receive all public services. Armenia has excellent lasting experience in this very sector and the practice of introducing the Justice Houses which Georgia has implemented is very important for us, because we are just starting the formation and development of the Justice Houses,” Andreasyan said.

In turn, the Georgian Minister of Justice thanked Andreasyan for the warm reception and said: “We agreed in Venice that we’ll actively cooperate and I am glad that we’ve already started the work. Currently Armenia and Georgia have very warm relations. I think there has never been this kind of relations. And this is certainly thanks to our prime ministers. I am sure that our meeting and cooperation is the reflection of the relations and I hope that we will also warmly and closely cooperate and that we will contribute to the development of the two countries with our work,” Minister Bregadze said.

Minister Bregadze added that they’ve brought their mobile Justice House and an innovation device which enables persons under probation to receive all services that are being rendered at probation bureaus.

Minister Andreasyan and Minister Bregadze agreed to organize a Congress of Armenian and Georgian Lawyers in Georgia in February.

“We’ve agreed to work in the direction of fighting falsification of documents, this will enable to protect the rights of the citizens of our countries. We will also jointly contribute to education and carry out student exchange. At the initiative of Karen Andreasyan we will very actively cooperate in the sector of [extradition] of convicted prisoners and detainees,” the Georgian Minister of Justice said.