Category: 2022

 18:03,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Today, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received members of the Coalition for Inclusive Legal Reforms. Representatives of interested state agencies and institutions took part in the meeting, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed and encouraged such meetings, which are an effective platform for discussing issues related to the inclusion process and ways to resolve them.

Coordinator of the Coalition for Inclusive Legal Reforms Mushegh Hovsepyan welcomed the Government’s policy of keeping the inclusion process in the center of attention and supporting the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities through legislative initiatives. Referring to the activities of the coalition, he noted that founded in 2017, it is a union of 14 organizations operating in Armenia and provides legal assistance to persons with disabilities.

Content-related, legislative and technical issues related to inclusion were discussed at the meeting. The members of the coalition presented to Nikol Pashinyan a number of issues related to the establishment of independent resource centers for people with disabilities, access to education, access to infrastructure through subsidy programs, increase of day care services, mental health strategy, development of assistive technologies, etc. They expressed satisfaction with the availability of public transport in Yerevan, noting that there is need to increase the availability of public transport in the regions.

Touching upon the observations, the Prime Minister noted that the Government is consistent in supporting the inclusion process, for this purpose 4 billion AMD have been allocated from the state budget this year. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan presented the state programs and the steps taken in the context of the issues raised.

During the exchange of views, the current reforms and joint actions to promote inclusion were discussed.

The Prime Minister noted that since 2018, there has been no program that was not implemented due to lack of funds, so it is necessary to focus on the implementation of substantive programs, focusing on education and employment components. The Prime Minister proposed to inventory the existing needs in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and the National Assembly to develop the state support strategy according to those needs.

Based on the results of the discussion, Nikol Pashinyan gave instructions to those responsible, as well as suggested to the NGO representatives to come up with proposals for solving the problems.

 18:34,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan again spreads misinformation, announcing that on June 24 the units of the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire from different caliber firearms in the direction of the Azerbaijani military positions located in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.

The Defense Ministry notes that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable and is under full control of the Armenian Armed Forces.

 19:06,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. A trilateral meeting took place in Minsk between the Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan, the Prosecutor General of Russia Igor Krasnov and the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan Kamran Aliyev.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Prosecutor General’s Office, within the competences of the prosecutor’s offices of the three countries the sides discussed ways to find new opportunities for resolving the existing humanitarian and legal issues arising as a result of the war unleashed against Artsakh and issues related to the implementation of the agreements reached during the previous two meetings on the same agenda in 2021.

The parties stressed the importance of maintaining the trilateral format of the Prosecutor Generals as an effective platform for maintaining contacts in the legal sphere for ensuring stability, legitimacy, de-escalation, basic living rights and security of the population in the region.

In this regard, the diligent and consistent efforts of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, and personally the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov aimed at fully complying with the humanitarian requirements of the November 10 trilateral statement, was emphasized.

Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan noted that despite the agreement reached during the previous trilateral meetings on the incidents on the contact line of the Armenian-Azerbaijani armed forces and on the mediated exchange of operative information on the ongoing investigations, ceasefire violations continued, resulting in human casualties, new threats to the realization of vital rights and security have been created for the civilian population.

As an obvious example, the Prosecutor General of Armenia referred to the actions carried out by the Azerbaijani armed forces in the direction of Parukh settlement, as a result of which 3 servicemen were killed and 16 servicemen were injured. Arthur Davtyan stressed the need to properly investigate the actions in the village of Parukh, as well as other cases of gross violations of the ceasefire.

Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan raised especially the issue that the 8th point of the trilateral declaration of November 10, 2020 has not been implemented. He stressed that the speedy return of 38 Armenian detainees confirmed by Azerbaijan is crucial for restoring trust between the parties, establishing lasting peace in the region and establishing security guarantees, emphasizing the full fulfillment of the humanitarian requirements of the trilateral declaration by Armenia.

An agreement was reached to continue the talks with the mediation of the Russian side in order to fully resolve the humanitarian issues in a short time.

I am excited to be in Charles Aznavour’s homeland. Zaz is looking forward to the Yerevan solo concert

 19:27,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of “Haya” music festival, Armenia hosted French singer, composer Zaz, who performs pop, jazz music combined with soul-acoustic genres. Zaz will give a solo concertin Yerevan on June 25 at Hrazdan Stadium.

ARMENPRESS reports at a meeting with journalists on June 24, the singer said that she is very happy to be in Armenia and is looking forward to the concert evening, during which she wants to share her energy with the musicians and the audience, making the day a real holiday for everyone.

Speaking about the great chansonnier Charles Aznavour, with whom Zaz performed the song Paris au Mois de Mai Paris, the singer stressed that she attaches great importance to Aznavour’s advice, but Aznavour urged Zaz to learn English, which the singer did not do.

“I am excited to be in Armenia, because this is Charles’s homeland, and I feel responsible. The last time I was here was in 2018 within the framework of Francophonie. I was excited when I had to leave. People here are warm, full of love. I love the Armenian duduk, I often listen to Levon Minasyan ‘s performances, which give me positive energy,” she said.

Aznavour had compared Zaz with Edith Piaf and considered her the future of French music. The singer modestly mentioned that it is nice that the chansonnier said that about her, but there are many artists who present French music wonderfully. Zaz thinks that there are tones in her voice that are reminiscent of old French songs, and there is something new, and that combination gives a good result.

The duet of Zaz and Aznavour was included in the singer’s album dedicated to Paris. According to her, Paris is colorful because people of different nationalities live there. The singer likens Paris to a rainbow.

 19:52,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China Fan Yong paid an official visit to the Shirak Province on June 24 and met with Governor Nazeli Baghdasaryan.

The Ambassador shared his first impressions of the Shirak Province with journalists, noting that he liked Gyumri very much, the local climate is cooler than in Yerevan.

“I think that when Chinese tourists come to the Shirak Province, they will have the same impressions as I do,” said Fan Yong.

In a conversation with ARMENPRESS, the Ambassador attached importance to the cooperation between the two countries in various spheres, particularly in the spheres of education, trade, tourism, agriculture.

“The most important thing is to be able to export the products of the Shirak Province to China, so that the Chinese people can better recognize the Armenian products and Armenia,” said the Ambassador, attaching importance to the cooperation between Gyumri and  Chinese cities.

During the meeting with the Governor of Shirak Nazeli Baghdasaryan, the prospects of future cooperation were touched upon.

“The delegation of Shirak Province signed a memorandum of cooperation and mutual understanding in China’s Hainan province in 2019, which is already a practical step in terms of establishing close relations between the two regions. Today we have the opportunity to further develop those relations,” said the Governor.

During the meeting, reference was made to the opening of the Chinese Confucius classroom in the Shirak Province, issues related to the teaching of the Chinese language. The Governor assured that she will be one of the first in terms of learning Chinese.

Ambassador Fan Yong thanked Nazeli Baghdasaryan for the warm reception, noting that the past 30 years of Armenian-Chinese diplomatic relations have been quite productive.

Within the framework of his first official visit to Shirak Province, Fan Yong also visited Gyumri Municipality, where he was received by Deputy Mayor David Arushanyan. The Ambassador then visited the Gyumri regional library, where in 2018, thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Culture, the Chinese Embassy in Armenia, a mobile library was launched and “Smile” preschool, the building of which was renovated in 2019 with the help of the Chinese Embassy.

 20:00,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS.  On June 24, a memorandum on trilateral cooperation on diaspora issues was signed between Armenia, Greece and Cyprus in Athens.

The memorandum was signed by High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia Zareh Sinanyan, Greek Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Andreas Katsaniotis and the Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues and Overseas Cypriots, Fotis Fotiou.

As RAMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia, the signing ceremony was preceded by a face-to-face meeting between the two sides and a “2+1” meeting between the delegations.

Armenian Ambassador to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan was also present at the meetings and the signing ceremony.

The Memorandum sets the directions of cooperation between the three countries in the Diaspora, including the exchange of experience, inter-community cooperation, joint educational and cultural events, youth initiatives and more.

During the press conference that followed the signing, Zareh Sinanyan stressed the importance of historical friendship and common values of the three countries.  “I would like to stress that our Diaspora communities in the different countries are cooperating with each other and it is our commitment to encourage them to more actively collaborate and exchange best practices and know-how and finally to take actions toward promoting common values and interests to the greatest extent possible.” said the High Commissioner.

During his working visit, Zareh Sinanyan also met with the Armenian community in Greece and presented the activities, programs and policies of our Office. Then, they discussed the repatriation process, integration programs, the establishment of the first Repatriation and Integration Center in Armenia, and investment policy.

During the meeting, Zareh Sinanyan also touched upon the domestic policy of the Republic of Armenia, external and internal challenges, and the development of the regions of Armenia.

 20:52,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan participated in the regular sitting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states in Moscow on June 24.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia, over 20 issues on the agenda were discussed, including international military-political developments, growing dangers and challenges for the security environment of the CIS member states.

The participants of the meeting discussed a number of issues related to the establishment of a joint humanitarian demining engineering unit, the deepening of cooperation in the military education sphere, as well as the necessary legal and organizational work for the establishment of joint air defense systems.

Based on the results of the sitting, all the decisions of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states were signed, as well as the joint statement dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers.

Taking into account the rich agenda of the Armenian-Russian military cooperation, the allied nature of the relations, an additional agreement was reached to organize a meeting of Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in Moscow in August.

Mirzoyan assures Armenia is consistent in its peace agenda

 21:32,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is consistent in its agenda of establishing peace, which it has repeatedly stated both publicly and in the international platforms, and during direct contacts with the Azerbaijani side. ARMENPRESS reports Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan gave an interview to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Question: The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated that their proposal to commence the works on the peace agreement has not received a response from the Armenian side yet. How would you comment on that? 

Answer:  Both publicly and in the international arena, as well as in the direct contacts with the Azerbaijani side, Armenia has repeatedly stated its consistency in the agenda of establishing peace on the highest levels, and that we do not consider anything unacceptable in the proposals of Azerbaijan regarding the future peace agreement, certainly, completing those proposals with our ideas. 

We have conveyed our proposal for the framework of the agenda of comprehensive peace negotiations to Azerbaijan through the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, but so far we have not heard any official response. In other words, contrary to the statements of the President of Azerbaijan, Armenia not only did not reject but also responded positively to the proposal of peace talks, waiting for Azerbaijan’s response. At the same time, we have proposed Azerbaijan to launch consultations on the peace agreement between the Foreign Ministers, but so far we have not received any response. The Republic of Armenia reaffirms its readiness to launch consultations on a peace agreement at once.

Question: The President of Azerbaijan also noted that one and a half years later, the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, is not fully implemented, referring, in particular, to the issue of unblocking regional transport communications. What can you say about that?

Answer: Indeed, the Trilateral Statement of November 9 has not been fully implemented yet. Azerbaijan, violating not only its obligations under the Trilateral Statement but also international humanitarian law, continues to illegally hold in captivity the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, using them as hostages, bargaining and subjecting them to human trade.

Moreover, Azerbaijan denies one of the basic realities enshrined in the Trilateral Statement, stating that there is no Nagorno-Karabakh, and there is no Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Meanwhile, the President of Azerbaijan confirmed the existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh entity by signing a Trilateral Statement. And as long as there is the Trilateral Statement, the existence of that entity cannot be denied.

A gross violation of the Trilateral Statement of November 9 is also the fact that the Azerbaijani armed forces, violating the first provision of that statement, invaded the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 24, 2022, and still remain there.

As for the unblocking of regional transport communications, we have repeatedly stated that Armenia is greatly interested in the success of this process.

The process would have been completed much faster if it were not for the continuous groundless statements of the Azerbaijani authorities on the exterritorial corridor, which have nothing to do with reality and the agreements reached in the presence of several international partners. Anyway, for the sake of justice, it should be noted that the discussion on the issue of unblocking is carried out in a constructive environment. I hope that it will not fail due to incomprehensible political intrigues and will be successfully completed soon.