Armenia, France discuss cooperation in defense field
09:49,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s delegation led by Deputy Defense Minister Karen Brutyan is in Paris for participation to the Eurosatory international weaponry industry trade fair, the defense ministry said in a news release.
On June 13 Karen Brutyan met with French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, discussing a number of issues relating to the cooperation of Armenia and France in the field of defense.
Parliament session kicks off – LIVE
10:00,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament of Armenia convened a session today.
22 items are on agenda.
The lawmakers will debate at second hearing the bills on making amendments to the Law on Prosecution, as well as a number of other laws.
The Parliament will also debate the 2021 state budget performance annual report.
10:01,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral statement signed between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020 was a step to stop violence in Nagorno Karabakh, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview to Al Jazeera during the official visit in Qatar.
“But I should state that this statement hasn’t addressed the Nagorno Karabakh issue, and Nagorno Karabakh issue should be addressed, and we hope that in upcoming times we will be able to address Nagorno Karabakh issue as well”, the PM said.
Pashinyan stated that Armenia has several tracks with Azerbaijan. “Recently we have established a commission for border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and it is very important to continue that work. Only one meeting occurred, but we have already agreed that the second meeting will take place in Moscow, the Russian capital, and the third meeting will take place in Brussels. And we hope that with the support of our international partners and of course through the direct work we will be able to delimit our borders”, he said.
Asked what will be the position of Armenia if the border commission decides that the entire territory of Nagorno Karabakh should belong to Azerbaijan, the Armenian PM said: “The commission for border delimitation has nothing to do with the Nagorno Karabakh issue, because, as I said, we have different tracks with Azerbaijan. One track is border delimitation, and border security also, it is very important, and is under the mandate of this commission because we need to keep the stability and security alongside of our borders. The second issue is the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is one more track connected with the opening of the regional transportation and economic communication. But, of course, the most important and the most urgent issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and for the peace in our region is Nagorno Karabakh issue”.
Pashinyan highlighted Russia’s role as the guarantor of the trilateral statement. “Russia is the strategic partner and ally of Armenia, but Russia is a very close country for Azerbaijan too”, he noted.
10:15,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia, like all the countries around the world, is very concerned about the situation around Ukraine, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview to Al Jazeera.
“What we see now? We see actually the collapse of the international order, and no one knows what will be the next international order. And of course, we are in favor of solving all issues through dialogue and peacefully”, he said.
When asked to comment on what impact the war in Ukraine could have on the Armenian economy, the PM noted: “Of course, it isn’t a pleasant situation in terms of economy for us. But to be honest, we had a 8.6% economic growth in the first quarter and we hope that we will be able to continue that dynamics. After the events in Ukraine many people and many businesses transferred from Russia to Armenia because we have mutual economic space and both Armenia and Russia are members of the Eurasian Economic Union”.
Pashinyan stated that not only the economic situation in Russia directly impacts the Armenian economy, but also the global economic tension connected with food supplies, inflation, etc. “But now the numbers of the economy of Armenia are quite positive”, he added.
Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia is trying to be direct, honest and reliable partner for Russia, for the European and Western partners, and for neighbors. “It isn’t easy task, but I think, the leadership is stipulated for situations like we have now. And it is our duty to manage this situation and keep the proper relations with our partners and not to betray anyone”, the PM stated.
10:26,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on the ongoing process of normalizing the relations between Armenia and Turkey in an interview to Al Jazeera, calling the current dialogue “positive” and expressing hope for achieving “tangible results”.
“We have started conversation through special representatives of Armenia and Turkey. The situation is that the conversation itself is very positive, and we hope that we will have tangible results. Now I can’t say that we have no any results because after the start of the conversation, for example, we have established direct flights between Armenia and Turkey. But it is something that we had before. I hope we will be able to establish diplomatic relations and open the border between Armenia and Turkey which is closed for thirty years”, he stated.
10:52,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. In an interview to Al Jazeera, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the issue of opening of regional communications, stating that the wording of the so-called corridor in this context is unacceptable for Armenia.
The reporter asked what is Armenia’s approach and position over the “corridor” that is supposed to connect Azerbaijan and Ankara by passing through the territory of Armenia, and the PM said: “You know the wording, the narrative of so-called corridor is unacceptable for us, and it is red line for us. Because in our region, according to the trilateral statement, which was mentioned in the beginning of our conversation, we have one corridor in our region, and this is Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia. But we have another point in our trilateral statement which is about the opening of communications, meaning, for example, railways, roads, etc. And we are ready to and we are discussing that actually, to open regional communications both for Armenia and Azerbaijan with the respect of sovereignty and the laws of our countries”.
11:02,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has expressed hope for increasing the bilateral trade between Armenia and Qatar in an interview to Al Jazeera.
“I should say that in Armenia we have very positive approach towards the Arabic world because we have traditional relations, and now I hope to have the increase of bilateral trade between Qatar and Armenia because we have very good political atmosphere in our bilateral relations with this great country”, the PM said.
11:10,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. “Arabic reports from Armenia: Heritage for Cultural Dialogue” temporary exhibition will open in the National Library of Qatar on June 14 with the support of the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport.
The Armenian governmental delegation led by the Prime Minister is in Qatar on a two-day official visit.
9 duplicate samples from the numismatic and archeological collections of the History Museum of Armenia will be displayed at the exhibition, the ministry of culture said.
The posters will display cultural values and historical facts about the Armenian-Arabic long-lasting relations.
The exhibition will be open at the Qatar National Library for a week.
11:14,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. In an interview to Al Jazeera in Qatar, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan touched upon also the relations of Armenia with its neighbors, particularly with Iran.
“We have four neighbors, and with two of them we have very good relations, I mean Georgia and Iran. Iran is a friendly country for us, and we consider Iran as a friendly country, which also has good relations with Azerbaijan too. It isn’t our intention not to have good relations with countries which have good relations with Azerbaijan. But now we have very close ties with Iran”, he said, expressing hope that with the cooperation with Iran, Armenia will be able to enhance the bilateral trade with Qatar as well.
“And we are working on developing the communications connecting Iran with Armenia, and now we are in the process of constructing a very strategic highway named North-South, connecting our Georgian border with our Iranian border. And we hope that as a result of that project, our economic relations with Iran will increase. By the way, the Eurasian Economic Union has free trade agreement with Iran which is very important for our bilateral relations as well”, the Armenian PM said.
11:21,
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. The official visit of the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan to Bulgaria kicked off on June 14, the Foreign Ministry said.
The meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev took place.