Category: 2022

 13:25, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. A positive progress has been registered in the field of food safety in Armenia in the recent years, Head of the Department of Food Safety at the Food Safety Inspectorate Vahe Danielyan said, calling this a result of not only the good job of the Inspectorate, but also the increase in the level of demand of the society.

“Back in 2007 when the State Food Safety and Veterinary Inspectorate was founded, I was working an inspector in Yerevan that time. During the inspection there was not a single store where we didn’t find a large number of expired products. This was connected not only with the bad control, but also with the lack of awareness among the citizens. The culture of paying attention to the expiry date while buying a good didn’t exist among the citizens. But today the picture is completely different. Today we can find unique cases when expired food is sold”, he said.

However, according to him, looking at only the expiry date of the product is not enough as he says attention should be paid also on the whole information existing on the good, which relates to the consumer. The Inspectorate’s aim is to make citizens pay attention to the full text of the mark through respective awareness-raising campaigns.

There is also positive progress in the approaches of economic entities. Vahe Danielyan says this is seen in the reduction of the number of business suspensions. In 2021 the Inspectorate made decisions on suspending the operation of more than 60 economic entities.

“When we detect non-compliance in any economic entity and apply a restriction, we are consistent that they eliminate the shortcomings after which only we allow them to resume their operation”, he said.

By keeping the problems of the field in focus, the Inspectorate will toughen the control and will carry out large-scale awareness-raising campaigns within the public.

 14:08, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan says that there is a common perception in the context of unblocking of regional communications according to which all transportation infrastructure and roads to be unblocked must operate under the sovereignty and legislation of those countries through which they pass.

While presenting the Foreign Ministry’s 2021 activity at the joint session of parliamentary standing committees, the FM assured that one of the key foreign policy directions has been the unblocking of transportation communications and economic ties in the region.

He reminded that the trilateral working group dealing with the unblocking of regional communications is chaired by the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan. This group held 8 meetings in 2021.

“As an outcome of the meetings of leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan held in Sochi on November 26, 2021 and the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the President of the European Council held in Brussels on December 15, an agreement over re-launching the railway communication has been reached. Works on this direction continue. There is a common perception that all transportation infrastructure, roads and railways to be unblocked should operate under the sovereignty and legislation of the countries through which they pass”, the FM said.

 15:08, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Zareh Sinanyan is on a working visit to the United States of America, his Office said in a news release.

For the first time, the High Commissioner visited the state of Michigan and held meetings with organizations and representatives of the Armenian community of Detroit.

On his first day visit, Zareh Sinanyan attended the St. John Armenian Church Women’s Guild annual membership dinner, where he met with 70 women leaders of the community and was acquainted with their work. The High Commissioner noted the importance of the inspiring activities of women in the community and their contribution to the preservation of the Armenian identity.

Afterwards, High Commissioner Sinanyan visited the Manoogian Manor, an assisted living facility for elderly Armenians and other nationalities, which was opened in 1949 as the first Michigan Home for the Armenian Aged by thirteen dedicated Armenian Women and the entire Armenian Community, and the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. Manoogian. Mr. Sinanyan had the honor of meeting one of the Manor’s oldest residents, 100-year-old Margret who told Mr. Sinanyan stories of her travels to Armenia.

Later on, the High Commissioner sat down with Edmond Y. Azadian and Harry Kezelian from the Armenian Mirror-Spectator at the Edward and Helen Mardigian Library for an in-depth conversation about the work of our Office and the future of Armenia-Diaspora Relations.

Then, Mr. Sinanyan visited the St. John’s Armenian Apostolic Church and complex in Southfield, Michigan which has been the pillar of the Armenian community in Greater Detroit. Very Reverend Father Aren Jebejian and Reverend Father Armash Bagdasarian introduced the High Commissioner to the church’s history and activities. Known for its large golden dome, the expansive church complex is home to the Parish Council, the Women’s Guild, the Komitas Choir, the Church Sunday School, The Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA), Detroit Junior and Senior Chapters, the Men’s Society, and the Armenian Heritage & Culture Lyceum. On the church grounds are the complex houses, the Armenian-American Veterans Building, dedicated to veterans of World War II and the Korean War, as well as the Alex & Marie Manoogian Museum, the Edward & Helen Mardigian Library, and Perish Bookstore.

Zareh Sinanyan also visited the Alex & Marie Manoogian Museum which is North America’s largest museum of Armenian art, artifacts, and culture. The museum’s eight galleries offer a unique glimpse of Armenia’s past and present, paintings, sacred vessels and vestments, rugs and carpets, household and personal objects, early printed books, manuscripts, textiles, and ancient objects.

High Commissioner Sinanyan’s next visit was at the AGBU Alex & Marie Manoogian School, a tuition-free, multi-cultural school located in Southfield, Michigan that serves students in preschool through 12th grade, with a robust Armenian language program for all grades. The AGBU Alex & Marie Manoogian School’s Middle and High School programs have both been ranked by U.S. World & News Report as high-performing charter STEAM-focused and college-prep schools.

During the tour, High School Principal Dr. Hosep Torossian showed the recent expansion of the school for the STEAM program, which will soon have a fully functioning robotics workshop. Mr. Sinanyan also had the opportunity to speak with the 12th-grade students in their Armenian class and introduce them to the work of our Office and opportunities for youth in Armenia.

High Commissioner Zareh Sinan‎yan’s visit to Michigan was concluded with a meeting attended by community leaders from various Armenian churches, educational and cultural organizations in the Greater Detroit area. During the meeting, Mr. Sinanyan presented our Office’s programs, emphasizing the importance of professional repatriation and the need for highly skilled employees in the public sector. The meeting was attended by the leadership of multiple key Armenian-American active organizations. Zareh Sinanyan also touched upon the current challenges of Armenia-Diaspora cooperation and our Office’s work to create and deepen healthy relations with the Diaspora. The meeting continued in the format of questions and answers. Very Reverend Father Aren Jebejian thanked the High Commissioner for his visit and meetings, stressing the importance of working locally with the community.

 15:15, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. The issue of the return of Armenian captives, who are illegally held in Azerbaijan, has been raised last year at different international platforms, various international organizations made statements calling for the release of the captives, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said during the joint session of parliamentary standing committees, while presenting the ministry’s 2021 activities.

“The works on the release of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians illegally held in Azerbaijan, presenting the issue to high-ranking international officials, heads of state, advisors, human rights organizations and experts continued, with the use of respective procedures of the UN, the CoE, and the OSCE. The issue of the return of captives has been raised during the meetings held within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, it was touched upon in the statements of the Co-Chairs, including in the December 7 statement made on behalf of the co-chair countries”, FM Mirzoyan said.

Documents over the issue of captives have been circulated in international organizations in New York, Geneva, Strasbourg, Vienna and Brussels. The FM assures that Armenia’s permanent representatives abroad are always raising this issue during all meetings and events. As a result the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, the Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearance made a statement titled “Nagorno-Karabakh: captives must be released”.

The issue of Armenian captives was also raised by a number of foreign officials, including the President of the European Commission, the Speaker of the EU External Action Service and over 100 MEPs. The PACE Monitoring Committee released a statement, urging Azerbaijan to return them to homeland.

FM Mirzoyan said that Human Rights Watch has published a report on the result of the visit to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh which also makes a reference to the torture of Armenian captives, calling it a war crime.

Freedom House also touched upon the issue of the return of Armenian captives.

On May 20 the European Parliament adopted a resolution with 607 of the votes calling for the immediate release and return of Armenian captives.

 15:21, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. The session of the Council of Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) launched in Yerevan’s Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex on June 6, Armenpress correspondent reports.

The session is attended by 128 delegates from the CSTO member states.

During the session Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, who is also the chair of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, will present Armenia’s activity in resisting the challenges and security threats in the context of the fulfillment of its presidency priorities. In his turn Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan will touch upon the implementation process of the decisions approved at the September 2021 session of the CSTO Collective Security Council and the activity of the organization in the reporting period.

CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas will talk about the measures to improve the legal insurance of the peacekeeping activity of the CSTO member states.

The 2021-2025 strategy, the funding of the CSTO PA activity and a number of other issues will be discussed during the session.

 15:26, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. On June 6, President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan convened a working consultation dedicated to a number of socio-economic issues the regions face, his office said.

Legal and organizational issues arising during the reconstruction and renovation of the old housing stock in the communities and the mechanisms for their solution were on the discussion agenda.

Regarding another issue of the agenda, it was decided to dissolve “Artsakhantar” SNCO under the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, transferring most of its powers and functions to the regional administrations.

The President noted that within the framework of the policy of decentralization of management and developing the potential of the regions, new steps will be taken that will allow the community and regional authorities to be more operative and efficient in solving issues of local importance.

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, heads of regional administrations and other officials partook in the consultation.

 16:20, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. The European Union provided grants worth 4 billion 875.4 million drams last year, Armenian Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan said at the joint session of parliamentary standing committees dedicated to the debate of the 2021 state budget performance report.

“The grants received from the European Union in 2021 comprised 4 billion 875.4 million drams, which comprised 39.4% in the total official grants received during the year. The total sum of official grants comprised 12 billion 380 billion drams”, the minister said.

The state budget deficit of 2021 amounted to 320 billion drams, of which 88 billion 227 million drams were the loans and borrowings, which were attached to the expenditure directions defined by the state budget, in other words, the targeted loans. “19 billion 403 million drams or 22% among these targeted loans were received from the EU”, the minister said.

A total of 17 billion 684.8 million drams were spent at the expense of loans and grants provided by the EU.

 16:47, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian national football team left for Glasgow on June 6, the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) said.

UEFA Nations League match between Scotland and Armenia will take place at Hampden Park, Glasgow on June 8.

29 players left for Scotland. 

Goalkeepers

David Yurchenko-FC Pyunik

Arsen Beglaryan-FC Urartu

Stanislav Buchnev-FC Pyunik

Henri Avagyan-SC Noravank 

Defenders

Varazdat Haroyan-Cádiz CF (Spain)

Hovhannes Hambardzumyan-FC Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus)

Kamo Hovhannisyan-FC Astana (Kazakhstan)

Hayk Ishkhanyan-BKMA Yerevan

Arman Hovhannisyan-FC Pyunik

Taron Voskanyan-FC Alashkert

Hrayr Mkoyan-FC Ararat

Styopa Mkrtchyan-BKMA Yerevan

Monroy Ararat-FC Noah

Zhirayr Margaryan-FC Urartu 

Midfielders/Forwards

Solomon Udo-FC Ararat-Armenia

Wbeymar Angulo-FC Ararat-Armenia

Wbeymar Angulo-FC Ararat-Armenia

Artak Grigoryan-FC Alashkert

Eduard Spertsyan- FC Krasnodar (Russia)

Hovhannes Harutyunyan-FC Pyunik

Rudik Mkrtchyan-FC Ararat

Artak Dashyan-FC Pyunik

Khoren Bayramyan-FC Rostov (Russia)

Edgar Malakyan-FC Ararat

Edgar Babayan-Vejle FC (Denmark)

Tigran Barseghyan-ŠK Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia)

Artur Serobyan-BKMA Yerevan

Vahan Bichakhchyan-MSK Pogoń Szczecin (Poland)

Sargis Adamyan-Club Brugge KV (Belgium)

 17:15, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, 6 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 6 June, USD exchange rate down by 2.53 drams to 437.62 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 3.20 drams to 469.39 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.05 drams to 7.19 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.70 drams to 549.30 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 150.07 drams to 25957.39 drams. Silver price down by 1.76 drams to 304.05 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 17:30, 6 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan delivered speech at the session of the Council of CSTO Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan on June 6.

Armenpress presents the text of the speech:

“Dear colleagues, I am glad to welcome you.

Colleagues, last year Armenia assumed the chairmanship of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). I would like to inform you, in general, about the procedure of the implementation of priorities of the chairmanship of the Republic of Armenia to the CSTO during 2021-2022.

Assuming the chairmanship of the Organization as a priority a problem was laid down to modernize the crisis response, monitoring, the forecast of crisis situations and the prevention mechanisms. I would like to mention with satisfaction that appropriate steps have been undertaken in these priority directions. I mean the crisis response mechanisms.

As you know, at the beginning of this year, taking into consideration the bid by the President of Kazakhstan Mr Tokayev, Armenia as chairing country to the CSTO, urgently initiated consultations with the heads of the countries of the organization, as a result of which Prime Minister Pashinyan announced about his decision of sending the CSTO peacekeeping corps. The results of the peacekeeping action assured the readiness of the Organization on taking measures on time in counteracting the security challenges and threats of the member states and showed the role of the CSTO in preserving the regional stability. We always considered that the CSTO crisis response mechanisms should work in a right way. Meanwhile, Armenia was in a situation, when we were waiting for the mechanisms to work, but unfortunately they didn’t work.

Armenia pays special attention to the deepening of the external political coordination and the mutual support for the elaboration of the agreed approaches over the international and regional issues, which touch upon the interests of the CSTO member states. I am fully convinced that such unity should be displayed towards any ally state of the organization.

This year considerable efforts are made to the improvement of the response system to the crisis situations in the regions of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the modernization of the mechanism of the adoption of the appropriate decisions, first of all, the normative-legal base development, as well as the establishment of cooperation within the framework of the crisis response centre.

The nest priority of the Republic of Armenia is the further development of the CSTO troops (collective forces), the preservation of their readiness for the fulfillment of the targeted tasks, taking into consideration the forecast of the dynamics and change of the military-political situations in the regions being in the immediate vicinity of the CSTO responsibility zone.

I would like to separately emphasize the role of the parliamentary measurement of the Organization on which our priorities are the rapprochement and harmonization of the national legislation of the CSTO member states in ensuring the security, taking into account the challenges and threats, including the digital, economic, financial and environmental spheres.

We also make efforts for the institutional continuous development and activation of the Parliamentary Assembly. In this context I consider important on time the proposal for the improvement of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly structure.

I shall note that the chairmanship of the Republic of Armenia passes in the hard transformation period of the security architecture of the world.

We witness that in the CSTO responsibility zone the situation is tense, and the member states of the Organization continue clashing with the new challenges and threats. The conflict potential continues growing along the perimeter of the allied states’ borders. The situation is hard and grave on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. We hope that the problems existing between the conflicting countries will be resolved through diplomatic means. The situation also remains tense in Nagorno Karabakh. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan continues pursuing rather aggressive policy against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The invasion of the Azerbaijani sub-divisions into the Russian peacekeepers’ responsibility zone in Nagorno Karabakh causes concern. We hope that the representatives of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, which have a key role in ensuring security of the Armenian population of the Nagorno Karabakh, will restore the status-quo of November 9, 2020 trilateral statement.

The Republic of Armenia is faithful to the implementation of all agreements and the next trilateral statements of the heads of the states. In the context of the created humanitarian problems because of 44-day war, the priority is the unreservedly and urgent return of Armenian prisoners of war and other civilians held in Azerbaijan, as well as the preservation of the Armenian religious and cultural heritage in the territories passed under the Azerbaijani control.

Dear colleagues, I would like to once again underscore that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is not a territorial dispute, but the issue of the right of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to live safe in their homeland. We believe that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship should play a key role in the advancement of the peaceful process of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. At the same time, we call on the leadership of Azerbaijan not to violate the steps aimed at ensuring the stability and peace in the South Caucasus with their bellicose and expansionist rhetoric.

Armenia is committed to the establishment of peace and welfare in the region and repeatedly recorded the willingness of beginning negotiations on the settlement of the relations with Azerbaijan. We filled in the agenda for reaching the comprehensive peace with our proposals and handed them over to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Concluding my speech, I would like to mention that no matter how up-to-date the priorities of the development of the Organization sounded by Armenia, we can reach results only due to the joint efforts directed to the further strengthening of the security system, constructive and effective cooperation and the dynamic development of the allied relations between the member states of the Organization.

Thank you for your attention”.