Category: 2022

 14:46,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. United States Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy commented on the actions of the Armenian police during the ongoing demonstrations in the context of police reforms.

Speaking at the Armenian Forum for Democracy, Ambassador Tracy said there are concerns, they’ve seen images on police officers using force against demonstrators.

Ambassador Tracy said these episodes must be investigated and there should be accountability. “I have noticed the government’s approach to investigate these episodes, to carry out investigations, and there is also an approach of respecting the rights of the demonstrators and the work of journalists. Of course the demonstrators also have an obligation to demonstrate peacefully that doesn’t create a chaotic situation and doesn’t violate the rights of others,” she said.

The Ambassador said that democracy is a process for ensuring progress. “People write me about police reforms and ask me ‘is this your democracy?’ No, democracy isn’t perfect, democracy is a continuous process to ensure accountability, to protect human rights, but this isn’t just one part. In case of the police, what matters is the accountability of their actions,” the ambassador said.

She added that problems concerning police conduct occur in the United States as well. She said the United States seeks to carry out reforms in the area. “Meaning, this isn’t something that happens only in Armenia. What matters is for accountability to exist in these issues,” Ambassador Tracy said.

 15:16,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Over the years, the U.S. Embassy has been proud to send a number of artists and art community leaders to the United States on various exchange programs. The alumni of those programs came together to highlight the vibrant art scene in Armenia through a new program sponsored by the Embassy called: Art Alive!, the U.S. Embassy said in a news release.

The Art Alive! project will bring Armenian masterpieces to life through site-specific performance and video art projects. The first-of-its kind event was implemented in 2018 by Vahan Badalyan, CAO of the National Center of Aesthetics (NCA), Artistic Director of NCA Small Theater and alumnus of an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).  He traveled to the United States on a trip focused on exploring ways to use performing arts to empower youth to action. He hopes the Art Alive! effort will help museum visitors see Armenian art in new and exciting ways.

This year with the support from the U.S. Embassy, through the creation of large-scale immersive performance installations, museum visitors will witness the “revival” of the most significant exhibits of Yerevan Modern Art Museum, Parajanov – House Museum, and Dzitoghtsyan House-Museum in Gyumri.

“Referring to the success of the ‘ArtAlive!’ project with the public back in 2018, we have decided to continue the collaboration this year with several museums in Yerevan and Gyumri, with the aim of promoting and increasing appreciation among the public for the rich collections of the museums.  This year again the works, already well-known to the art lovers, will be presented with completely new artistic approaches, presentations, and interpretations,” Badalyan said.

Throughout the Art Alive! Events, three museums will open their doors to a new way of showcasing their art on May 21, 25 and 29.  Each installation will last between 3-7 minutes and will be performed several times over the course of the Art Alive! Experience.

Entry is free at participating museums during the Art Alive! Week of events. The complete schedule is as follows:

May 21: Modern Art Museum: 18:00-20:00 (21 Baghramyan str., Lover’s Park, Yerevan)

May 25: Sergey Parajanov House-Museum: 18:00-20:00 (16 Dzoragyugh, Yerevan) 

May 29: Dzitoghtsents House-Museum in Gyumri 15:00-18:00 (47 Haghtanaki avn, Gyumri)

 15:44,

STEPANAKERT, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Artsakh plans to transition to a semi-presidential system of government.

The Constitutional Reforms Commission under the Presidency of Artsakh published the draft concept for the reforms.

“Taking into account the imperative for ensuring the security of the Republic of Artsakh, the existing challenges facing the Republic of Artsakh, as well as with the goal of ensuring flexibility of the state administration system in times of martial law or state of emergency and in emergency situations, it is proposed to transform the government system by transitioning to a semi-presidential system of government,” reads the concept.

The semi-presidential system would rely on two centers: the President and a Prime Minister enjoying the trust of the parliament.

The President, being the guarantor of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Artsakh, will coordinate the work of the state bodies in the defense area, and will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the President of the Security Council.

The executive power will be vested in the government led by the Prime Minister, who will coordinate the work of the 15 members of the Cabinet (ministers). Currently, the President is the head of the executive power. There is no position of a prime minister now and the government is composed of the State Minister and Ministers who are appointed by the President.

Given the current military-political situation, the commission also proposed to hold general elections gradually – parliamentary elections with proportional system in 2023 and presidential elections in 2024. At the same time, the concept proposes to reserve parliament the right to elect a President in exclusive cases.

 16:01,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan Tech Forum 2022-YTF will be held in the Gabriel Sundukyan National Academic Theater on May 21.

The Forum will be attended by around 1000 specialists and local and international speakers.

The event aims at gathering tech specialists and companies around one platform to jointly discuss the global threats, develop solutions for the problems.

The Forum will focus on the following topics – technologies in the changing world, corporate governance, transformation of business process in transitional period, marketing in global changes, digital transformation of supply chains and security.

Panel discussions will also be held.

The Armenian Ministry of High Technological Industry is the official partner of the Forum.

For more information, visit the  of the Forum.

 16:10,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The delegation of the Defense Forces of Georgia Readiness and Military Training Department and the Ministry of Defense’s Personnel Management Department is in Armenia on a working visit, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a press release.

On May 19, the delegation was received by Colonel Gevorg Martirosyan, the Head of the Center of Human Rights and Integrity Strengthening of the Armenian Ministry of Defense.

During the meeting the sides attached importance to ensuring the continuity of the Armenian-Georgian cooperation in the defense area and exchange of experience in strengthening integrity. The implemented work, future actions and opportunities for cooperation in direction of strengthening integrity in the Armed Forces were discussed.

The members of the delegation also visited the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University of the Ministry of Defense and were briefed on the Good Management and Strengthening of Integrity education program’s methodology and introduction process.

 17:01,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. On May 20, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Turin on a working visit to participate in the 132nd session of the CoE Committee of Foreign Ministers, met with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

The sides stressed the importance of expanding and deepening the bilateral relations, highlighting the need for promotion of political dialogue, regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries on issues of mutual interest.

The Armenian side highly appreciated the support of Czech Republic to the promotion of democratic reforms in Armenia and strengthening capacities of civil society.

The Foreign Ministers discussed issues of Armenian-Czech multilateral agenda.

In this context, emphasizing the forthcoming Czech Presidency of the EU, Minister Mirzoyan stressed the interest of the Armenian side in the issue of continuous expansion and strengthening of the Armenia-EU partnership. Reference was also made to the cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership.

During the meeting the interlocutors exchanged views on issues of regional and international importance.

Minister Mirzoyan presented to his counterpart Armenia’s position on the processes aimed at establishing regional peace and stability. The mediating role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in promoting the peace process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was emphasized.

Touching upon the consequences of the 44-day war, specially the resulting humanitarian issues, Foreign Minister of Armenia particularly stressed the need for repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and others detained.

 17:15,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The two Azerbaijani saboteurs who had crossed into Artsakh in 2014 and murdered a 17-year-old and a soldier have confessed that they were acting on the orders of the then-Azeri deputy Prime Minister Ali Hasanov.

Saboteurs Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilham Askerov, heavily armed, illegally crossed into Artsakh’s Karvajar on June 29, 2014. They kidnapped and murdered 17-year old Smbat Tsakanyan, an Armenian resident of Karvajar. Guliyev and Askerov had a third accomplice, Hasan Hasanov, who was shot dead during an armed confrontation with Artsakh security forces. Hasanov killed an Armenian serviceman, Major Sargis Abrahamyan, and seriously wounded a civilian woman – Karine Davtyan – on the Vardenis-Martakert highway.

Askerov and Guliyev were eventually apprehended by Artsakh security forces. An Artsakh court sentenced Askerov to life in prison, while Guliyev received a 22-year sentence.

Both were denying the charges and their narrative on how they appeared in Artsakh was that they wanted “to visit the grave of their family members”.

As part of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement terms, both Askerov and Guliyev were handed over to Azerbaijan in prisoner exchange.

In a 2020 May 18 live interview with the Azeri Xural TV, Guliyev admitted that they were sent to Karvajar at the orders of the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov.

“We were sent to Karvajar from Ali Hasanov’s office. They gave us weapons, grenades and sent us. They called us and said ‘the state needs you’. Initially they wanted to send me alone. I said ‘Dilham knows that territories better’. At that time, Dilham had problems with the police in Shamkir. He was released from jail and forced him to accompany me,” Guliyev said.

 17:18,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan received Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Armenia Bedrich Kopecky, the ministry said in a news release.

During the meeting the engagement of Czech companies into energy and transportation sectors was discussed.

The sides emphasized the importance of the cooperation of the Armenian NPP with the Czech companies in the field of nuclear technologies.  

The discussion also focused on the issue of production of small aircrafts by the Czech Balus Tech company in Armenia’s Stepanavan town. The Czech Ambassador highly appreciated the readiness of Armenia to cooperate with the Czech companies.

Other issues of mutual interest were also discussed.

  

 17:33,

YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Head of the Migration Service of Armenia Armen Ghazaryan delivered speech at the International Migration Review Forum in New York, highlighting the format of the Forum as an opportunity to better reflect the migration trends and unite the global efforts since the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees, the Migration Service said.

Armen Ghazaryan said that in close cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Armenia approved its national voluntary report on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, for the first time in 2020 and the second time this year.

“Armenia is taking continuous efforts for the implementation of the goals set by the two Compacts, by improving the management of migration and the protection of displaced persons”, Armen Ghazaryan said.

Ghazaryan presented that one of the latest large-scale projects of the Migration Service relates to the housing problem of persons in a protracted refugee situation, by providing certificates on purchasing apartment.

“At the same time, we have faced another wave of displacement as a result of the aggression and the force used against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. A large number of people displaced from Artsakh may not have an opportunity to return safely, even now, after the establishment of ceasefire”, Armen Ghazaryan said, reminding about the assistance measures launched by the Armenian government and stating that in this respect the efforts of Armenia absolutely coincide with the two Compacts, strengthening the independence of refugees and the social solidarity in host societies.  

He particularly emphasized the importance of the engagement and support of the international community in this context.

In his remarks Armen Ghazaryan also touched upon the impact of COVID-19 on Armenia and the measures taken, particularly in migration sector, as well as the return migration flow registered in this context.

Then, he presented the digitization trends of processes in the field of migration management in Armenia, touching upon the single electronic platform launched for giving a work permit and an employment-based residency status to foreigners.

Ghazaryan said that this is in accordance with the goals set by the Compact – to facilitate the availability of the necessary documents, ensure the regular migration routes and prevent trafficking.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the solutions based on multilateral efforts and human rights, in terms of resisting the challenges emerging in migration and movement field”, Armen Ghazaryan said.

Commenting on the reaction of the representatives of the Azerbaijani delegation during the general discussion, the Head of the Migration Service of Armenia said that this Forum is a platform for discussing the migration trends and developments, rather than a propaganda reproduction place, by totally rejecting such manifestations.

 17:39,

YEREVAN, 20 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 20 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.42 drams to 458.98 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.67 drams to 485.74 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.41 drams to 7.81 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.96 drams to 572.99 drams.

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

Gold price up by 467.68 drams to 27211.07 drams. Silver price down by 1.84 drams to 318.15 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.