Category: 2022

 11:14,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Freedom House published its annual report Nations in Transit 2022.

The report says that since 2004 “three authoritarian regimes made democratic strides and joined the ranks of hybrid regimes: Moldova, Kosovo, and now Armenia”.

According to the Freedom House report, Armenia made an improvement in its democracy score, from 2.96 to 3.04, on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the lowest and 7 the highest level of democratic progress. Armenia registered progress in areas such as national democratic governance, electoral process, judicial framework and independence.

The country’s democracy percentage is 34%. According to the Freedom House, “the countries that have moved from authoritarian to hybrid forms of governance present a somewhat more promising picture, though they still fall short of democratic standards”.

“In Armenia, for example, citizens used a protest movement in 2018 and a series of competitive elections, most recently in 2021, to decisively end the Republican Party’s multidecade reign. The incumbents were replaced with a new generation of politicians who, despite notable flaws, possess a basic commitment to democracy and the public interest”, the report says.

The report also said that one-party dominance is typified by so-called “legislative turbo mode”. “This behavior is also on display in Armenia and Moldova, both of which feature postauthoritarian single party-dominated parliaments”, it added.

The report also noted that in Armenia, “local civil society groups were able to prevent the ruling party from pushing through a bill that would have placed its Human Rights Defender’s Office under greater government control”.

The report also touched upon the 2020 war in Nagorno Karabakh unleashed by Azerbaijan. It says that the 2020 military offensive launched by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Nagorno Karabakh killed thousands of people and displaced many more.

 11:17,

MOSCOW, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier in Moscow’s Alexander Garden on the second day of his official visit to Russia.

The Armenian PM laid a wreath at the memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame in honor of the memory of the fallen soldiers of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War, ARMENPRESS reports from Moscow.

Pashinyan had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 19 in Moscow.

He is scheduled to meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other government officials on April 20.

 11:48,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Vahram Dumanyan met with Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova in Moscow on April 19, the Armenian ministry said.

The Russian Deputy Minister of Culture Alla Manilova also attended the meeting.

During the meeting minister Dumanyan expressed readiness to develop the cultural dialogue, promote the cultural contacts and implement joint cultural programs between the two countries.

Minister Olga Lyubimova highly appreciated the regular performances of Armenian singers and bands in Russia and highlighted the meeting which is taking place within the framework of the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Russia.

The meeting sides also discussed the Cultural Days of Armenia in Russia which is expected to be held this year. The Russian Minister proposed to hold the opening of the event on June 10 in Moscow’s State Academic Philharmonic. She particularly attached importance to the participation of the Komitas State String Quartet to the event and stated that the organizers of the two sides are in constant contact with each other for holding the event at a high level.

The Armenian minister highlighted expanding the cultural cooperation between the two friendly countries and for that purpose the signing of the 2022-2025 cultural cooperation program between the two ministries which clearly determines the key directions of the upcoming years. He expressed the ministry’s readiness to host the Spiritual Cultural Days of Russia in Armenia in 2022.

The Russian minister invited her Armenian counterpart to attend the annual St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum and the concert of talented youth organized by the St. Petersburg Music House.

The aforementioned cultural cooperation program was signed during the meeting.

At the end of the meeting Vahram Dumanyan invited Olga Lyubimova to visit Armenia, expecting that the visit will take place on September 5-10, 2022, within the framework of the “Starmus Festival VI: 50 Years on Mars”.

 12:29,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The periodical visits of Armenian school students to the Armenian Genocide Memorial and discussions with teachers led experts at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and education authorities to conclude that there really is an issue regarding teaching the subject of the Armenian Genocide.

The opening of the three-day seminar titled the 21st Century Challenges of Teaching the Armenian Genocide Subject took place at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute on April 20.

“We realized that there is a problem for teachers, there is a problem for us, there is a problem in terms of methodology, and this seminar is meant to address these issues. This is perhaps the first seminar of its kind in the Armenian reality,” the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Director Harutyun Marutyan said in opening remarks.

He said that through discussions with renowned foreign scientists they want to understand how the Armenian Genocide topic is being taught abroad, both in Armenian and non-Armenian environments, given the fact that the foreign experts mostly represent the nations which were subjected to genocide throughout their history as well. These countries include Israel, Rwanda, Cambodia and others.

According to the organizers of the seminar, the main objective is to find out how to avoid the formation of the stereotype of the victim or its risks in the consciousness and psychology of children.

The seminar is organized with support from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and the Science Committee.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan said in her opening remarks that they hope the seminar would enable them to have a picture of the best strategies for teaching the subject.

Around 30 experts in genocide studies and other adjacent areas from Armenia, United States, Russia, Lebanon, Israel, Rwanda, Spain, Cambodia and South Africa are participating in the seminar.

 13:23,

MOSCOW, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is meeting with Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko in Moscow, Armenpress correspondent reports.

From the Armenian side the meeting is attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan, Vice Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Vahram Dumanyan and Minister of Justice Karen Andreasyan.

PM Pashinyan also left a note at the Honorary Guest Book of the Russian Federation Council.

The Armenian governmental delegation led by the Prime Minister arrived in Russia on April 19 on a two-day official visit.

 14:20,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of his official visit to Russia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the State Duma and met with the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

The latter welcomed the Prime Minister’s official visit to Russia, underlined the fact of the continuous development of the Armenian-Russian allied relations. “I know that you had fruitful talks with the Russian President, based on the results of which an important joint statement was adopted,” Volodin said, emphasizing that the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia is a special event in the further expansion of bilateral relations. The Chairman of the State Duma also attached importance to the strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties, adding that there is a close dialogue in this direction. According to Mr. Volodin, the existing mutual trust between the two countries gives a good opportunity to further develop ties.

Prime Minister Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception, noting that such contacts give a new impetus to interstate relations and cooperation. The Prime Minister of Armenia also attached importance to the strengthening of inter-parliamentary cooperation and active dialogue. “We had a fruitful discussion with President Putin, we adopted a joint statement,” Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that they reached an agreement on a number of important issues, including the security of Nagorno Karabakh, the unblocking of regional infrastructure, and delimitation and demarcation processes of the Armenian-Azerbaijan border.

During the meeting the interlocutors exchanged views on the activities of the Armenian-Russian interparliamentary commission, the holding of the sitting of the CSTO Interparliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh and other issues.

 15:02,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The cooperation of Armenia and Russia on the inter-parliamentary level has a rather successful course of development, the Chairperson of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matviyenko said during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Matviyenko thanked Pashinyan for supporting the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation.

“The inter-parliamentary commission is successfully working. From the Russian side the commission is led by Federation Council Deputy Chairperson Yuri Vorobyov, who is very responsibly fulfilling his work. They will travel to Yerevan tomorrow to hold the already 34th session of the commission,” she said.

Matviyenko also underscored the productive work of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and thanked the Armenian lawmakers.

Matviyenko added that they developed friendly relations with Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan.

 15:12,

MOSCOW, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Russia is interested in developing the cooperation with Armenia, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenpress correspondent reports from Moscow.

“Welcome to the government headquarters. Your official visit is very important for the further development of our friendly and allied relations that link Armenia and Russia. This year we celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 25^th anniversary of the treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual support with Armenia. As a result of yesterday’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, you have reached large-scale agreements on the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation almost in all directions that exist on the agendas of our countries. The Russian Federation will take all measures for the implementation of the decisions made at a high level”, the Russian PM said.

PM Mishustin said Russia is in the first place among Armenia’s foreign partners and investing countries. He praised the fact that last year the trade turnover between the two countries increased by almost 13%, reaching 2 billion 600 million dollars, and in January and February 2022 it increased by 42% compared to the same period of 2021, comprising 430 million dollars. “Russian investments in Armenia’s economy amount more than 2 billion dollars. We are interested in the development of the bilateral cooperation, the implementation of new projects in areas such as energy, mining industry, transport infrastructure, pharmaceutics, agriculture and digital technologies”, Mishustin said, adding that the inter-governmental commissions of the two countries deal with such initiatives.

PM Mishustin also proposed to accelerate the process of signing a new economic cooperation program between the inter-governmental commission of Armenia and Russia. “Under conditions of illegal sanctions imposed against Russia by non-friendly countries, of course, it is important to more actively use the national currencies in the bilateral trade, develop the industrial cooperation and create new opportunities for trade”, he said.

 15:36,

YEREVAN, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. The relations between Armenia and Russia have dynamically developed over the past 30 years, and today it is a good occasion to analyze the work done so far, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during the meeting with Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko in Moscow.

“Dramatic events have also taken place at this period, it is necessary to analyze everything and see where we have reached to the results we have outlined, and in this context to plan our future actions and joint programs. I think the inter-parliamentary ties play a vital role in these processes”, the Armenian PM said.

He said that the visit of Russian parliamentarians is expected to Armenia on April 21, which, he called, very important.

Nikol Pashinyan noted that a productive partnership exists with the Russian partners within the EAEU, CIS and CSTO. He emphasized that even in successful formats it is necessary to think about how to organize the works to make them more effective, especially when new challenges arise.