Category: 2022

 13:45,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. 805,550 people, or 35,7% of the adult population of Armenia, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned that the infection rates show that a new wave is coming.

“We are back to an alarm state,” he said. “All the criticism we’ve been getting over the restrictions are unfounded,” Pashinyan said, referring to an upcoming COVID-19 health pass which will require unvaccinated people to produce a recent negative test result upon entering restaurants and other venues. “We are the first in the world to reject the lockdown policy. Our policy is the following: to manage it so that we don’t have to go back to lockdown. I’d like to record that inspection agencies will strictly monitor these new restrictions,” he said.

 13:52,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia supports the continuation of the work of the Co-Chairs in accordance with their mandate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly press briefing, when asked to comment on the latest statement of the Azerbaijani president who said that Azerbaijan will not allow the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to deal with the Karabakh conflict and that the “Nagorno Karabakh issue is closed”.

“As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia supports the continuation of the work of that format, firstly based on its mandate and also taking into account the regional realities which came after the war in 2020. Our partners of the Minsk Group – the United States and France, fully share our position. This position has been reflected in the 2021 December 7 statement of the foreign ministries of the Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries”, she said, reminding that that document cited the call of the Co-Chairs addressed to Baku and Yerevan to host the Co-Chairs in the region in the nearest timeframes which will allow them to assess the situation, reach tangible progress in humanitarian initiatives which were discussed during the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers with the Co-Chairs.

Zakharova added that based on the results of the aforementioned talks which were held in New York and Paris in September and November 2021, the Co-Chairs have conveyed a balanced and realistic proposal on the future cooperation agenda to the two ministers in Stockholm on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council. The agenda proposed by the Co-Chairs relates to both the humanitarian and the socio-political issues.

“We are expecting an official reaction from the sides, including also over the issue of resuming the regional visits of the Co-Chairs”, the Russian MFA spokesperson said.

 13:54,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan met with the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Gregory Meeks, Brad Sherman and the Republican Chris Smith, the Armenian Parliament’s press service reports.

Welcoming the members of the delegation, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks has noted that they have paid special attention to the democratic processes in Armenia since 2018. He also expressed readiness to always support those reforms.

Issues related to the 44-day war and its consequences were discussed at the meeting. At the request of American partners, Alen Simonyan touched upon the issues of security of the Armenian border, the settlement of post-war humanitarian problems and the repatriation of hostages held in Azerbaijan. The American side informed that the U.S. House of Representatives, and in particular their Committee, is strictly concerned about the fate of prisoners of war and thinks that they should be immediately repatriated to their homeland. During the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee has emphasized that it is very important to ensure the stability of the South Caucasus and in that context, it is necessary to reach a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a lasting settlement of the issue. The United States will greatly contribute to that, including in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Alen Simonyan underlined the importance of the recognition of the Genocide by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Congress at the meeting, emphasizing the role of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Thanking to the Armenian Speaker of Parliament for the high assessment, those present once again stressed that it was really the result of the continuous work.

At the end of the meeting, Alen Simonyan has informed that a number of events and mutual visits are planned within the framework of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Armenia and the U.S. The Speaker of Parliament invited the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and its members to visit Armenia to get acquainted with the existing problems and the democratic achievements on the spot.

 14:18,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Armenia is invited to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum due March 11-13, 2022, Hurriyet reports.

“So far, the number of foreign ministers who’ve confirmed participation is 39. We are inviting everyone from all over the world, we’ve also invited guests from our region, from Armenia, Greece, and even the Greek side of Cyprus, from Egypt and Israel,” the Turkish FM said.

 14:22,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan presented details about the package of proposals made by the Armenian side to Baku.

After the Cabinet meeting today Mr Grigoryan told reporters that Armenia’s proposals made to Azerbaijan relate to the current situation in the border.

“The talk is about the withdrawal of troops in mirrored fashion and the deployment of border troops along the border based on the map of the Soviet Union. It is also about the creation of favorable conditions which will help us to be able to start the border delimitation and demarcation process”, Armen Grigoryan said.

He informed that they presented their proposals to Baku in a written form and have not received a written response yet. “We are not starting the process with the deployment of troops on the border, but we put the map of the Soviet Union as a base and troops are pulling back in a mirrored fashion. In case of delimitation and demarcation, no community, territory of Armenia can appear in the neutral zone”, he said.

Commenting on the question that Azerbaijan is not implementing the provisions of the 2020 November 9 statement, Mr Grigoryan said they are raising this issue during the discussions with international partners. The Armenian side expects that Azerbaijan will fulfill all provisions of that statement.

 15:05,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan met with the President of International Republican Institute Daniel Twining and the Regional Program Director for Eurasia Stephen Nix in Washington DC on January 19, the Parliament’s press service reported.

At the meeting the sides discussed a number of issues relating to human rights and democracy. A talk was held over the legislative reforms of some spheres in Armenia. The sides highlighted the necessity of the joint continuous agenda aimed at democratic values.

 15:08,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia expects that the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will visit the region because it has been recorded by the international community that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is not solved, and the OSCE Minsk Group is an important platform for the resolution, Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan told reporters today.

“We expect that the Co-Chairs’ visit to the region and further steps will create an opportunity for the lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict”, he said.

Grigoryan stated that Armenia will continue to take action so that it would be possible to formulate the comprehensive peace treaty. According to him, in order to sign this treaty, it is necessary to find a solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He emphasized the need of trying to find solutions through negotiations, political tools within the OSCE Minsk Group. He said there are many issues such as unblocking, delimitation, demarcation, and after finding the solutions to these issues, there will be grounds for the peace agreement.

“There must not be any restriction on the status of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, it is necessary to find a solution to the issue with negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs”, Armen Grigoryan said.