Armenian wrestler Lyova Gevorgyan captures gold at U20 European Championships
09:34, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenian wrestler Lyova Gevorgyan captured gold in 125 weight class at the European U20 Free-Style Wrestling Championship held in Rome.
He defeated Georgia’s representative Merab Suleimanashvili with 13-2 score.
Another representative of Armenia Hayk Abrahamyan (61kg) won a bronze medal, defeating Romania’s representative with 8-3 score.
09:48, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan sent a congratulatory letter to President of the United States Joe Biden on the occasion of the US Independence Day, the Presidential Officec said.
The letter reads:
“The Declaration of Independence signed years ago in Philadelphia has became the most important milestone in establishing democracy, human and peoples’ rights and dignity, having a turning effect on the further course of the world history.
The United States of America is one of the most important partners of Armenia. Armenia attaches great importance to the friendship, as well as multi-sectoral close cooperation existing between our countries.
I am confident that with joint efforts we will strengthen the existing mutual partnership, enriching the bilateral agenda and expanding the partnering relations within the frames of strategic dialogue.
We highly value the US constant support and efforts aimed at the preservation of peace and stability in our region, as well as the democratic and economic reforms”.
10:25, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to US President Joe Biden on Independence Day, the PM’s Office said.
The letter reads:
“Dear Mr. President,
I warmly congratulate you and the good people of the United States on the US Independence Day.
Every year on July 4th, millions of Americans, including many of our American-Armenian compatriots are celebrating the most important day of the United States – the Independence Day. Since the declaration of Independence the people and all governments of the United States have consistently moved on the path of establishing and strengthening freedom, human rights, rule of law and democracy. The role of the United States in democracy plays a significant role in the establishment of human rights and rule of law not only in different parts of the world, but also in terms of creating a predictable and peaceful development environment for nations of regions.
The friendship and partnership between our countries and peoples are based on common values, mutual trust and friendship. I am happy to record that the cooperation between our governments in strengthening democracy and the commitment of both sides give tangible results.
Once again congratulating you on Independence Day, I wish you and the people of the United States welfare and peace.
Please, accept, respectful President, the assurances of my highest respect”.
11:01, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament of Armenia Artur Ghazinyan from the opposition “Hayastan” faction is stepping down.
“I decided to step down. I consider this as the most correct and justified decision in such situation. I don’t want to talk about the reasons now, they were exclusively of political and strategic nature. At this moment I can only say that I do not imagine anymore my further work in this Parliament with any agenda, but I cannot keep the status of an MP in these conditions, it’s at least not honest”, the lawmaker said in a statement on social media.
11:21, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. The Secretary for West of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Sanjay Verma arrived in Armenia today.
He is currently having a meeting with Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan at the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
“The tête-à-tête conversation of Ararat Mirzoyan and Sanjay Verma commenced”, Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said on social media.
12:11, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. The Georgian government’s decision to ban exports of wheat and barley came into effect today, on July 4, reports TASS.
The decision was adopted in late June and will remain into force until July 2023.
The decision, however, does not ban the export of Georgian corn.
According to the Georgian national statistical service, the country exported over 1,400 tons of wheat to Armenia(worth $365,000) in 2021, 49 tons to Turkey ($16,000) and 40 tons to Ukraine ($10,000).
12:52, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. 174 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one week, the ministry of health said.
The total number of confirmed cases has reached 423,417.
4992 tests were conducted within a week.
No death case has been registered. The death toll stands at 8626.
The number of recoveries rose by 62, bringing the total to 412,817.
The number of active cases is 290.
Remains of the cathedral in Ani, are seen in eastern Turkey, only a few hundred meters from the border with Armenia, April 3, 2015. (AFP Photo)
Ankara and Yerevan are making progress in normalizing ties as the two countries recently agreed to open their land borders to other nationals who are not Turkish or Armenian citizens "at the earliest date possible," in another step before "full normalization.”
Ankara has been mending ties with several regional countries and has emphasized the need for enhanced cooperation, within this scope steps were also taken with Armenia, particularly following the latest Karabakh war between Baku and Yerevan.
Since then, both Russia and Azerbaijan have voiced support for closer ties between Turkey and Armenia, which is seen within the sphere of regional normalization.
Turkey had offered Armenia to host the first round of normalization talks between the two countries in the Armenian capital Yerevan, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday.
"We made an offer to Armenia, saying that we can have the first meeting in Yerevan, but Armenia is not ready for this yet due to domestic pressure," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told a joint news conference of foreign and interior ministers of Turkey and Austria in the capital Ankara.
Çavuşoğlu said that the Armenian diaspora was divided over the Turkish-Armenian normalization process, adding that there were some protests by extremist groups on Armenian streets.
"We thank Austria (for hosting the normalization talks), but why shouldn't the next meetings be held in Turkey or Armenia?" he questioned.
The Turkish foreign minister also reiterated that his country is in consultation with Azerbaijan at every stage regarding the normalization process.
"After all, we want to continue the process gradually," Çavuşoğlu said. "On the other hand, we support the normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he added.
On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that both countries also agreed to start direct air cargo trade between each other as soon as possible, according to a written statement following the talks.
The land border between the two neighbors has been closed since 1993, in the wake of clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Turkey and Armenia restored diplomatic contacts last December after they were suspended for years.
In January, special envoys from Ankara and Yerevan began talks to fully restore ties "without preconditions."
Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kılıç and Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, the special representatives for the normalization, held their fourth meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
The Turkish and Armenian officials also "discussed other possible concrete steps that can be undertaken toward achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization between their respective countries," it added.
"Finally, they reemphasized their agreement to continue the normalization process without preconditions," the statement said.
The first round of normalization talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released after that meeting.
The Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24, and the third meeting was held on May 3, also in the Austrian capital.
Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.
Azerbaijan's victory that ended the occupation of its Karabakh region, previously known as Nagorno-Karabakh, also helped pave the way for the normalization between Turkey and Armenia.
Relations between the two former Soviet countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost three decades.
13:02, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. The Secretary for West of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Sanjay Verma arrived in Armenia on July 4 for the 8th session of the Armenian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in the fields of Trade, Economy, Technology, Science, Education and Culture.
Before the launch of the session, Sanjay Verma met with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan at the Foreign Ministry of Armenia.
In his opening remarks Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan welcomed his Indian colleague and all participants of the session, stating that the comprehensive development and deepening of the relations with India are among Armenia’s foreign policy priorities.
“It’s glad to see that India is registering significant achievements today with its vibrant democracy and dynamic economy in many areas, which contributes to raising the country’s reputation globally. Armenia also highly values India’s stabilizing activity in these times of global shocks. I should praise the fact that the traditional warm relations and mutual support between our nations, dating centuries, continue strengthening, and the inter-state ties continue expanding and deepening”, the FM said.
He called the arrival of the Indian delegation to Armenia symbolic as this year the two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
According to Mirzoyan, a lot of time has passed since the last session of the Armenian-Indian Interovernmental Commission, but the sides have carried out major works recently for developing the bilateral relations and cooperation. He reminded that mutual visits at a level of high-ranking officials have taken place recently, adding that there is an active cooperation within international organizations and that Armenia and India have also organized business forums and meetings.
Particularly, Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar visited Armenia in October 2021, during which an ambitious roadmap of Armenian-Indian cooperation has been developed. This year in April the delegation led by the Armenian Foreign Minister paid a visit to India. During the working visit Ararat Mirzoyan met with the leadership of India, which provided a good opportunity to continue the Armenian-Indian dialogue.
“We highly appreciate the fact that we visited India in April with quite serious economic proposals, by organizing business forums in New Delhi and Mumbai and thus, greatly promoting the cooperation between the business communities of our countries”, Ararat Mirzoyan said.
He also praised the fact that the Armenian-Indian trade turnover has drastically increased in the past 5-6 years, and if in 2016 the bilateral trade was comprising around 21 million dollars, in 2021 the bilateral trade volumes reached 181 million dollars.
“I think our Indian colleagues will agree that we need to take actions to develop our partnership in information and communication technologies, pharmaceutics, science and education. I also want to note that defense, military-technical sectors, agriculture, transport, civil aviation and tourism also have a big potential and are very promising for both countries. The ongoing discussions on these directions will turn into practical agreements and new opportunities for our governments and businessmen”, the Armenian FM said.
In this context it’s worth mentioning India’s technical support to Armenia in high and information technologies field, particularly the establishment of the Armenian-Indian Center for Excellence in ICT in Yerevan, as well as the opening of two computer classrooms in two provincial schools.
Armenia and India are also effectively cooperating in the field of territorial development. In this respect FM Mirzoyan welcomes the signing of memorandum between the Armenian and Indian governments on providing grant support by India for the implementation of community development high efficiency programs. The signing will take place at the end of today’s session.
Minister Mirzoyan also highlighted the effective partnership between Armenia and India in humanitarian sector, which involves both educational and cultural programs. Currently, around 2200 Indian students study in Armenia, mainly in medical professions, and there is also an opportunity to improve and expand the educational exchange program.
Reporting by Aram Sargsyan
13:08, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Armenian national football team defender Varazdat Haroyan has left Cádiz CF, the football club said in a statement.
“Cádiz CF and Varazdat Haroyan have agreed on the termination of the contract between both parties”, the statement says.
Haroyan joined Cádiz CF in May 2021. He has participated in 19 matches.