12:02,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. 2124 new cases of the coronavirus infection were confirmed over the past week (August 22-28), bringing the total cumulative confirmed cases to 434,398, the Armenian healthcare ministry said Monday.
1788 recoveries brought the total recoveries to 421,316.
7 people died from COVID-19, increasing the death toll to 8655.
The number of active cases stood at 2745 as of August 29.
6,131 tests were administered in the past week (total tests: 3,184,464).
12:32,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Armenia and Russia.
In its statement the Russian MFA said that the Treaty has greatly defined the principles and priorities of the Armenia-Russia inter-state relations. It added that this document has become an important milestone on the path of raising the bilateral partnership to a real allied level.
“The past period has convincingly demonstrated that the further strengthening of historical ties between Moscow and Yerevan is in full accordance with the vital interests of our nations, serves to the socio-economic development of the two countries and the goals to strengthen stability in the South Caucasus. We successfully move forward with the broad cooperation framework, fill it with a concrete content and raise the efficiency of the mutual partnership.
The regular contacts between the leaderships of Russia and Armenia based on trust are of decisive importance for the formation of the bilateral potential, and these contacts enable not only to solve the urgent issues, but also to coordinate the positions on key regional and international matters”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
It reminded that the joint statement signed by President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan during Pashinyan’s April 19-20, 2022 official visit in Moscow, has affirmed the intention to comprehensively deepen and expand the inter-state relations based on the principles set in the 1997 Treaty.
“We are inclined to help Yerevan in the future as well from the positions of a key ally in strengthening its defense capabilities and border security, normalizing relations with its neighbors.
We are convinced that the strict observance of the 2020 November 9, 2021 January 11 and November 26 trilateral agreements is the path to stability in the region. The Russian peacekeeping contingent remains a key factor in ensuring security in Nagorno Karabakh.
We sincerely value the friendship with brotherly Armenia and are inclined to further strengthen the Russian-Armenian allied relations for the prosperity of our countries and peoples”, the Russian MFA stated.
12:18,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. NATO must prioritize its military presence in the Arctic, the military alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday, DW reports.
Stoltenberg’s comments come amid heightened concerns in the West about Russia's increasing military activity in the polar region.
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Stoltenberg said the Arctic was of "great strategic importance" to NATO.
"NATO must increase its presence in the Arctic," Stoltenberg was quoted by DW as saying.
He said the defense alliance is "already investing in maritime reconnaissance aircraft to be able to get a clear picture of what is going on in the far north. But we will continue to step up our efforts."
Stoltenberg said that Russia has recently intensified its activities in the resource-rich area by "reopening Soviet-era bases" and "stationing and testing new state-of-the-art weapons there, such as hypersonic missiles."
China, too, is increasingly interested in the Arctic, he added, noting how the region is becoming increasingly important for shipping due to climate change.
12:37,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Artur Martirosyan met with Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy Azamat Zhamankulov in the Kyrgyz city of Cholpon-Ata on the sidelines of the first CIS and EAEU Youth Forum, the Armenian ministry said.
Welcoming the guests, the Kyrgyz minister said that youth is the future of every country, and those who are today called youth, are going to determine the country’s fate in the future.
“The role of state is to help the youth to become creative and highly qualified specialists. And this Forum is unique platform for dialogue where high-ranking officials, young people and public employees of the participating countries met to discuss and develop projects that will unite the youth of the CIS and EAEU member states to contribute to further intensifying and developing their countries”, Azamat Zhamankulov said.
Sharing the same view, the Armenian deputy minister said in his remarks that Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are cooperating both in bilateral and multilateral formats in the person of a number of organizations – CIS, EAEU, CSTO. “I am sure that current and future young leaders from the CIS and EAEU states have gathered here who have something to say and do for the prosperity, development of their countries and for building the best cooperation in international platforms”, the deputy minister said and thanked for initiating this kind of Forum.
12:24,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. France congratulated Philip Reeker on his appointment as the new United States Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.
“Congratulations to Philip Reeker on his appointment as Senior Adviser for Caucasus Negotiations and as Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group for the United States,” the French Mission to the OSCE said on twitter.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed Ambassador Philip T. Reeker as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, who will also serve as U.S. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair.
13:56,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. President of Russia Vladimir Putin will hold a telephone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on August 29, TASS reported citing the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
14:22,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. Temperature will rise by another 2-4 degrees Celsius September 1-3 with an incoming heat wave from Iraq, the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center of Armenia reported.
Daytime temperature will reach +38…+40 Celsius in Yerevan, in the Ararat Valley and elsewhere in the provinces of Aragatsotn and Vayots Dzor.
Clear weather is expected from August 30 to September 3 across Armenia and in Artsakh.
15:14,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. On August 29, Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan chaired a regular sitting of the Security Council.
Issues related to the operation of the new route connecting the Artsakh Republic with the Republic of Armenia were on the agenda of the sitting, the Artsakh presidency said in a press release.
Secretary of the Security Council Vitaly Balasanyan, Minister of Internal Affairs Karen Sargsyan and Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hayk Khanumyan delivered reports.
It was noted that, according to point 6 of the Statement signed by the leaders of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation on November 9, 2020, the new route will retain the status of the corridor. Asphalting works on the 4.7 km road section temporarily connecting the route to the Goris-Stepanakert highway have been completed.
In their speeches, the participants of the sitting emphasized the importance of ensuring the necessary guarantees related to the safety and urban development norms of the new road, and the significance of the coordinated work between the relevant state structures and the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed in Artsakh.
As a result of the discussions, the Security Council made a decision that starting 8 PM, August 30 the communication with the Republic of Armenia will be carried out along a new route, via the territory of Berdadzor sub-region of the Shushi region.
15:32,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is considering the idea of creating a Eurasian Agency of Strategic Initiatives, reports TASS.
The issue has been discussed by the economy ministers of the Union’s member states and has been presented to the Eurasian Economic Commission in the platforms of the Eurasian Inter-governmental Council.
EEC Minister of Integration and Macroeconomics Sergei Glazev said that it is proposed to build the work based on the consortium of national strategic planning agencies. “The purpose of the activity of that consortium could be the development of a general methodology for the assessment of investment projects, on raising the investment attractiveness and preparing investment projects”, he said.
The sides agreed to continue the work in that direction and proposed the EEC to develop a concept for creating the Eurasian Agency for Strategic Initiatives and a draft agreement.
16:33,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 29, the PM’s Office said.
The sides congratulated each other on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which marks today. They expressed confidence that the Armenian-Russian allied mutually beneficial relations will continue developing and strengthening in an efficient way.
Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin exchanged ideas about a number of issues of the Armenian-Russian agenda.
The situation around Nagorno Karabakh was also touched upon. In particular, the importance of consistently implementing the trilateral agreements of 2020 November 9, 2021 January 11 and November 26 was emphasized.