Category: 2022

 12:36,

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. From the very beginning Armenia has refused and is refusing to discuss an issue of “Zangezur corridor”, such logic is not acceptable in any way, Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs Eduard Aghajanyan said at a press conference today.

“Armenia has repeatedly stated that the logic of “Zangezur corridor” is in no way acceptable for Armenia”, he said.

Aghajanyan reminded that the Office of the President of the European Council denied the statement of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the so-called “Zangezur corridor”, noting that no such issue has been discussed during the meeting of the Armenian Prime Minister, the Azerbaijani President and the President of the European Council.

“This behavior is not something new. Azerbaijan has always been distinguished by such a behavior. This does not help or promote the constructive discussions. But, unfortunately, our neighbors are distinguished by such inappropriate practices of not observing the agreements. Armenia’s position on this matter has not changed. Armenia refuses to discuss such an issue and has refused to discuss it from the very beginning”, the lawmaker said.

 12:38,

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken had a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Office of the State Department Spokesperson said.

“The Secretary and President Aliyev discussed Azerbaijan and Armenia’s historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region. The Secretary reiterated the United States’ offer of assistance in helping facilitate the opening of regional transportation and communication linkages. Secretary Blinken encouraged continued bilateral dialogue, such as the recent meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers in Tbilisi”, the statement says. “The Secretary also reaffirmed support for productive EU-brokered discussions. He conveyed that the United States has been an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair since 1994 and stands ready to engage bilaterally and with likeminded partners to help Armenia and Azerbaijan find a long-term comprehensive peace. Secretary Blinken also urged President Aliyev to release all remaining Armenian detainees”, it adds.

On July 25 the US Secretary of State had a telephone talk also with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

 12:41,

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian delegation initiated 3 amendments in the reports submitted at the summer sitting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The amendments pertained also to the issue of the PoWs, preservation of cultural heritage, but the amendments were not adopted, the Head of the Armenian Parliamentary Delegation to the OSCE PA Eduard Aghajanyan said at a news conference.

He said that the very first day of the winter sitting coincided with the events in Ukraine. “From that moment on, the OSCE PA was entirely focused on this conflict only,” he said.

“Frankly speaking, practically it was very difficult to draw the attention of the parliamentary assembly on any other issue, including naturally on the processes taking place in our region,” he said.

Before the summer sitting, Aghajanyan and MP Maria Karapetyan visited Lithuania to meet with the OSCE PA Political Affairs Committee Rapporteur and present the developments in the region.

The three amendments initiated by the Armenian delegation in the annual report pertained to the political affairs report and the human rights report. “These pertained to the developments taking place in the region, the conflict which practically continues since November 9, 2020, and there are outstanding issues which aren’t being solved. These changes aimed at drawing the attention of the international community and the OSCE PA on the outstanding issues,” Aghajanyan said, stressing that their amendments had the maximum number of endorsements by various delegates in the initial period.

“The changes pertained to the outstanding PoWs issue, which isn’t solved since November 9, 2020, despite the trilateral statement itself containing a term in this regard. Many international organizations have addressed this numerously. We can’t see any reason why the OSCE PA should’ve rejected to address this topic. The next issue related to cultural heritage preservation, and the other also the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group and its importance,” Aghajanyan said.

The Armenian delegation stressed the importance of resolving the Artsakh conflict in the OSCE MG Co-Chairmanship format. The amendments didn’t pass.

Aghajanyan delivered a speech in the PA, condemning this stance. In his speech, he expressed regret that the entire OSCE PA is focused only on one issue – Ukraine. “And in essence, we can say for the record that practically our colleagues don’t have any interest in any other issue or conflict in the OSCE region at this moment. This is unacceptable behavior for us, and we are yet to analyze the reasons of this all, taking into account also the actions that were done before the annual session,” he said.

Aghajanyan said that amid Azeri strategy of widespread false accusations, the perceptions of some OSCE PA colleagues could get distorted.

Turkey and Azerbaijan coordinate Armenia normalization process – Erdogan

 12:51,

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke about the normalization process with Armenia.

“We’ve had a phone talk with Prime Minister Pashinyan on the occasion of religious festivals of the two countries, during which we exchanged congratulations. Of course, we also spoke about the process of normalization of relations between our country and Armenia. Azerbaijan was our red line from the beginning. We have said that we will open our border only after the Azerbaijan issue is solved. I was also glad to hear that Pashinyan shares with us similar ideas on regional peace and cooperation. Now we expect them to take concrete actions other than words. We are serious and determined in the normalization process with Armenia. We have the goal of full normalization and establishing good-neighborly relations,” Erdogan told the Turkish TRT.

The Turkish leader again said that they are coordinating the process with Azerbaijan.

 14:29,

BEIJING, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. National costumes are much more than clothing: they express culture and identity or a period of time in history.

Many designers and garment manufacturers often look to these traditional costumes for inspiration.

In China, Chinese clothing describes both the traditional hanfu and modern variations of indigenous Chinese dress shaped through its dynastic traditions.

Jixiang Zhai, a traditional costume designer based in Beijing, was founded in 2002 by Yang Fann, a young fashion designer who came up with the idea while touring Europe. Fann’s goal was to promote Chinese clothing.

Jixiang Zhai Beijing store manager Xi Nana told ARMENPRESS that the Chinese traditional clothing is very popular among young people and has prospects in the international market.

“I can say that there is growing interest among Chinese women – both teenagers and adults – for the traditional clothing. Wearing our clothing, the young people are trying to become part of our history,” Xi Nana said.

The store manager says that Jixiang Zhai clothing bear the peculiarities of different dynasties.

“The Chinese traditional clothing has fascinating eternity in it. It has the chance to become a part of world fashion,” Xi Nana said.

 15:03,

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Violations of the right to receive and disseminate information have significantly decreased in Armenia in the second quarter of 2022 according to the report of the Committee to Protect Freedom of _expression_ (CPFE).

Presenting the report at a press conference in Armenpress, CPFE Chairman Ashot Melikyan said that 45 such cases were registered in the first quarter of 2022, but in the second quarter this figure lowered to 24.

“There is a period when media outlets more deal with political developments. As you know, the political developments in the period of April-June were mainly in the streets, there were external political processes, and the media outlets were focused on these developments. I think at that period the volume of inquiries sent to the state structures has not been so much, has declined”, he said.

Ashot Melikyan noted that getting information from state bodies is still difficult as many media outlets complain over this. Research shows that the explanations of not providing information are problematic, as quite often the state agencies avoid providing an adequate, proper response.

“In this sense the adoption by the Parliament of the amendments to the Law on Information Freedom was important, according to which those responsible, who reject without any ground and do not provide information subject to publication, will face tougher responsibility. In other words, the administrative fine has increased”, he said.

He said that after being denied the media outlets mostly do not apply to the court as they avoid these procedures. Only one media outlet out of these 24 cases has applied to the court.

In the second quarter of 2022, compared to the first quarter, the pressures on media outlets and their staffers almost remained at the same level. 12 such cases were registered in the first quarter, and 11 cases in the second quarter. However, the figures in terms of use of physical force against reporters are concerning because in the second quarter 11 such cases were registered, with 12 people injured.

“We record that when the public, political situation is becoming tense in the country, the number of attacks on journalists is increasing. We remember that the past months were quite tense, the opposition was holding disobedience acts. 10 out of the 11 cases, that we registered, happened during these campaigns. Both journalists and operators have suffered”, Ashot Melikyan said.

As for the statistics of judicial cases filed against media outlets and reporters, Ashot Melikyan said that 8 judicial cases on the basis of insult and defamation were registered in the second quarter of 2022, whereas in the first quarter this figure was 7.

 15:11,

YEREVAN, JULY 26, ARMENPRESS. Finance Minister Tigran Khachatryan held a meeting with United States Ambassador Lynne Tracy.

Khachatryan thanked the United States government for the support provided for the implementation of reforms in Armenia.

The finance minister presented to Ambassador Tracy the priorities of the government’s 5-year program and the finance ministry’s fiscal policy agenda.

Ambassador Tracy expressed the United States government’s readiness to continue assisting in the implementation of both short-term programs as well as long-term strategic reforms.

Then, ideas were exchanged over the possibilities for creating a favorable investment environment in Armenia and the prospects of development of the Armenian-American cooperation.