Category: 2022

Demand for government bonds prevails over twice

Karapet Navasardian

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 18:17, 8 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Today the placement and buyback auctions of government bonds totalling AMD 28 billion have taken place on Armenian Securities .

In particular, the volume of auction allocation of government bonds (ISIN AMGN60294268) amounted to AMD 25 billion, with the demand surpassing AMD  64 billion. The maturity period of bonds is 5 years. The weighted average yield of the auction is 9.84%, and the annual yield of the coupon is 7%. This testifies to the stability of the financial market, its attractiveness, and the confidence in the bonds of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Armenia Securities .

The Armenia Securities informs that the primary auctions of government bonds through primary dealers, the list of which is published on the website of the Ministry of Finance of Armenia. To buy government bonds from the secondary market, you should connect  members or market participants.

Baku’s goal is to commit cultural genocide – Armenia-Greece Friendship Association

Kalashian Nyrie

Baku’s goal is to commit cultural genocide – Armenia-Greece Friendship Association

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 18:36, 8 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. The Armenia-Greece Friendship Association (AGFA) has condemned in a statement the initiative of the Azerbaijani government to establish a working group to eliminate the Armenian presence from Armenian churches, ARMENPRESS reports the Armenian Embassy in Greece presented the statement on its Facebook page.

“The Armenia-Greece Friendship Association condemns the initiative of the Azerbaijani government to set up a working group to destroy the Armenian presence from the Armenian temples in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan under the pretext that those temples belonged to the Caucasian Albanian Church,” reads the statement.

According to them, the reality is that the Albanian Church in the Caucasus was an autonomous church, established for a short time in the 5th century, and in 705 it was subordinated to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Albanian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405. “Therefore, it is almost impossible for the Armenian Church to use Albanian temples. It is obvious that Baku’s goal is to commit another cultural genocide through the action of cultural fascism,” the statement reads.

The Armenia-Greece Friendship Association condemned the act and called on the UNESCO and other international organizations to take a stand and do everything possible to prevent it.

PM Pashinyan convenes consultation on preliminary fiscal framework of 2023-2025 Medium- Term Expenditure Program

Chakrian Hovsep

PM Pashinyan convenes consultation on preliminary fiscal framework of 2023-2025 Medium- Term Expenditure Program

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 19:16, 8 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation on the preliminary fiscal framework of the 2023-2025 Medium-Term Expenditure Program, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Offic eof the prime Minister.

Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan presented the summary analysis made by the Ministry, the purpose of which is to provide information to the state agencies on the assessment of the current and capital expenditure limits of the fiscal space. The Minister referred to the main indicators of the fiscal framework, the opportunities for the implementation of the Government’s targets in terms of current and capital expenditures, the risks of the fiscal framework and the forecasted trends in other directions.

In this context, an exchange of views took place, issues related to the activities envisaged by the Government’s Action Plan were touched upon. The current and capital projects, the reform process initiated in various spheres and further actions were discussed.

The Prime Minister stressed that it is necessary to work actively and effectively in order to achieve the social, infrastructural and other targets in all the directions, and gave specific instructions to the officials in charge.

Artsakh’s MFA issues statement over the intention of Azerbaijan to appropriate the Armenian cultural heritage

Mary Lazarian

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 19:42, 8 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic issued a statement on the occasion of Azerbaijan’s intention to appropriate Armenian cultural heritage, noting that the establishment of a special commission in Azerbaijan, which is tasked with changing the appearance of Armenian cultural and religious monuments and with their subsequent appropriation is a gross violation of the order of the International Court of Justice, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic.

“We strongly condemn the decision of the Azerbaijani authorities to establish a special commission tasked with, according to subsequent statements by officials, destroying the traces of the Armenian identity of cultural and religious monuments located in the territories of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan. This serves as another convincing evidence of the fact that the Armenian cultural heritage that has come under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities is in real danger of being completely destroyed or torn off from their historical roots.
 
We have repeatedly stated that the falsification of history and the cultural genocide by Azerbaijan are an integral part of the broader anti-Armenian policy systematically pursued by Baku for several decades. If at the initial stage of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict, manipulations with history and culture served as a justification for the deportation of the Armenian population from the former Azerbaijan SSR, now they are aimed at legitimizing the results of the illegal use of military force by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.
 
The elimination of any traces of the Armenian presence both in the occupied territories of Artsakh and in Azerbaijan through the falsification of history, destruction of Armenian cultural monuments and renaming of autochthonous toponyms is, in fact, a continuation of Azerbaijan’s aggression by other methods.
 
There is a strong belief among the international community and in expert circles that the destruction of cultural monuments is an attack on the dignity of peoples, their values and ideals in order to undermine the nation’s ability to withstand historical trials and develop. By declaring war on Armenian history and culture, Azerbaijan is trying to achieve exactly this goal.
 
The destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage is not only an attempt to deprive the people of Artsakh of their rights, including the right to culture, but also a challenge to the international community and a threat to peace and security. Over the past decades, the international community represented by the UN, in response to the increasing number of cases of deliberate destruction of cultural monuments during conflicts across the world, has developed a position according to which the destruction of cultural sites is a war crime and amounts to acts of terrorism.
 
The creation in Azerbaijan of a special commission tasked with changing the appearance of Armenian cultural and religious monuments and with their subsequent appropriation is a gross violation of the order of the International Court of Justice on provisional measures, which require official Baku to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration of the Armenian cultural heritage, including, but not limited to, churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts. The order of the International Court of Justice is binding on Azerbaijan. The refusal to implement it demonstrates Baku’s intention to undermine, albeit at a local level, the system of international relations that ensures international peace and security.
 
We once again call on the world community and specialized international organizations to urgently take all necessary measures to make Azerbaijan comply with its international obligations to preserve and respect the cultural heritage of the Armenian people and to fully implement the order of the International Court of Justice on provisional measures”, reads the statement.

Ambassador of Belarus visited Foreign Ministry of Armenia – official confirmation

Emil Lazarian

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 20:09, 8 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vahan Hunanyan confirms the information that the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Armenia Alexander Konyuk visited the Armenian Foreign Ministry today, February 8, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a conversation with ARMENPRESS correspondent, refraining from additional comments.

Yesterday, in an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that the Union State between Russia and Belarus should expand and include most of the ex-Soviet republics. Particularly, speaking on Armenia, he said “Armenia has nowhere to run…..what, you think anyone needs them? They have already seen it, Nikol Vovayevich [Pashinyan] has already seen it.”




Armenpress: Armenian Church calls on the international community to strictly respond to the undisguised cultural genocide of Baku

Emil Lazarian

Armenian Church calls on the international community to strictly respond to the undisguised cultural genocide of Baku

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 20:53, 8 February, 2022

ETCHMIDZIN, 8 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin calls on all countries involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, first of all, the co-chairing states of the OSCE Minsk Group, sister churches and religious institutions, specialized international organizations to strictly respond to the undisguised cultural genocide implemented by Azerbaijan. ARMENPRESS reports the statement published on the Facebook page of the Mother See reads as follows,

 “Recently the authorities of Azerbaijan, in the person of the Minister of Culture, made another anti-Armenian initiative.

According to the statement of the latter “Working Group of professionals of Caucasian Albanian history and architecture” has been set up, comprised of local and foreign experts, the aim of which is to remove “the false traces left by Armenians” from the so-called the Caucasian Albanian religious temples.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin strictly condemns this initiative of the Azerbaijani authorities and qualifies it as anti humanitarian and anti-civilizational activity with manifestation of hostility and hate against Armenia, Artsakh and Armenian people.

The Armenian identity of Christian sanctuaries under control of Azerbaijan is a scientifically proven reality and can’t become a subject of dispute within the framework of reasonable and objective thinking.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin calles on all countries included in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, first of all, the co-chairing states of the OSCE Minsk Group, sister churches and religious institutions, international professional organizations to strictly respond to the fact of undisguised cultural genocide implemented by Azerbaijan in order to stop and prevent such expressions of vandalism.”

“Who needs Lukashenka?” – Yerevan responds to Belarusian President’s anti-Armenian statement

Boshkezenian Garik

Feb 9 2022


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

President Lukashenka’s criticism of Armenia

Another scandalous statement by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka has become the main topic of discussions in Armenia. His words – “Armenia has nowhere to run. Do you think anyone cares about them?” were discussed both on social media and in parliament. Press secretary of the Foreign Ministry Vahan Hunanyan also commented on it:

“We are convinced that the peculiar geopolitical analysis of the President of Belarus aims to serve, first of all, his own domestic political agenda and has nothing to do with Armenia and its foreign policy”.

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“Armenia has nowhere to run. Do you think anyone cares about them? They have already seen it… Nikol Vovayevich [Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia] saw it [meaning the defeat in the war in Karabakh].”

This was the answer of the President of Belarus to a question about the prospects for the Russia-Belarus union state and the accession of other countries of the former USSR to it in an interview with Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov.

“Azerbaijan is out of this cohort, we made a lot of mistakes there. This is a separate conversation. And, of course, Turkey very seriously supports Azerbaijan. Roads, gas, oil go through Turkey… And Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, due to their economic necessity, I think that they will also join”, Alexander Lukashenka said.

A member of the ruling Civil Contract faction, Vagharshak Hakobyan, said that the statements of the President of Belarus are “inadmissible” and are not appropriate for the head of state:

“The leader of the partner state [Armenia and Belarus are members of the Eurasian Economic Union and the military bloc of the Collective Security Treaty Organization operating under the auspices of Russia] has no right to express such thoughts to other partner countries. And I want to remind you who needed Armenia during the recent events in Kazakhstan. I am sure that Mr. Lukashenka understands better than anyone who needs the Republic of Armenia”.

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Another member of the ruling party, deputy Rustam Bakoyan also commented on the matter:

“Who needs Lukashenka? I think this rhetorical question was asked by his people. And the processes that took place in this country are a clear assessment of the stage of his reign, the state that he kept his country in and what came of it.

According to another member of the ruling party, Hovik Agazaryan, “Lukashenko and Margarita Simonyan [editor-in-chief of the Russian RT agency] are doing the Russian authorities a disservice by such actions”.

Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on the creation of a union state back in 1999. It provides for unified legislation and parliament, a common currency and state symbols.

After the presidential elections in Belarus in 2020, the results of which caused massive protest, Russia began to speed up negotiations on the formation of a union state. Negotiations on integration intensified even more after Lukashenka managed to suppress protests against his power.

In the begining of 2022, Lukashenka again made a statement about the union state:

“I must tell you that this year will not be easy. The world will change in a major way. The world will change in terms of uniting peoples and states into unions. It will not only be difficult for states like us to survive alone, it will be impossible”.

And a few days after that, speaking at the CSTO online summit, Lukashenka said that this military bloc should be strengthened without looking at the West or individual Western states:

“If we keep looking around, we will break our necks. Therefore, you need to attend to your own issues and see your own safety. When they have the slightest problem, they do not think about democracy, do not look back at us, but act in accordance with their own interests. We need to take that into account too”.

According to political observer Hakob Badalyan, Armenian society is inspired by sharp responses in the spirit of “Lukashenko, who are you? We are the masters of our country”. But he believes that Armenia gave rise to statements similar to Lukashenka’s attack:

“Let’s admit that the course of our country over the past three decades, unfortunately, has given and is giving Lukashenka or Lukashenkas the opportunity to say what they say”.

Badalyan says that nothing will change with the answers given to Lukashenka’s statement, instead of words, things in the country should be put in order, only this will change the image of Armenia, its potential and attitude towards it.

“Let’s treat not treat our state as a “laid table” that lacks a toastmaster, but as a complex organism in need of functional harmonization”.

According to Hakob Badalyan, “Lukashenko is here today, he will be gone tomorrow”, and in Armenia they should understand what is happening with the country now and what it should be like tomorrow.

Belarus’ Lukashenko Says Armenia ‘Can’t Escape’ Union State With Russia

Garnik Tadevosian
Feb 8 2022
 February 8, 2022 

By PanARMENIAN

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes the Union State with Russia could in the near future include other countries as well, such as Armenia, which he said “can’t escape it”.

“Armenia can’t escape it. You think anyone needs them? They have already seen it,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov.

He added that Belarus is already in the common “security space”, and Kazakhstan has learnt a “good lesson”. Ukraine, he maintained, may end up there within 15 years “if no mistakes are made”.

“And Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, I think, will also join due to economic necessity,” Lukashenko noted.

The Union State is a supranational organization consisting of Russia and Belarus, “with the stated aim of deepening the relationship between the two states through integration in economic and defense policy.”

Georgia protects the brand of its products – why are they unhappy in Armenia

Mary Lazarian
Feb 8 2022
TBILISI, Feb 8 – Sputnik. Georgia prohibits the transit to Russia through its territory of a fermented milk product labeled “matsun” produced in Armenia, Sputnik Armenia reported. “In Georgia, “matsoni” has been registered as a geographical indication since 2012, despite the fact that our office filed objections, explained that this name is very similar to the name of a dairy product produced in Armenia,” the acting director said. Head of the Office of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Kristine Ghambaryan. head of the intellectual property office, an agreement has already been reached with the Georgian side to discuss this issue and conclude an agreement on mutual recognition and observance of geographical indications. It is planned to give a legal solution to the issue. As expected, the agreement will be signed for a period of 5 years. “We must agree with Georgia that their “Matsoni” can be freely imported into our territory, and our “Matsun” can be freely exported to Georgia, and that they will allow it to be sold to export to third countries both in their own country and as a transit state,” Gabrilyan noted. Until an agreement was reached, Armenian producers began to export matsun to Russia under the Armenian Mountain Yogurt brand. The Mariana company said that Georgia registered a geographical indication many years ago, but until recently there were no requirements, no prohibition and no obstacles.


USCIRF urges Azerbaijan against removing Armenian traces from churches

Maghakian Mike
Feb 8 2022
February 8, 2022 – 12:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) Nadine Maenza has expressed concern over Azerbaijan’s plans to remove Armenian Apostolic inscriptions from churches.

“We urge the government to preserve and protect places of worship and other religious and cultural sites,” the USCIRF cited Maenza as saying on Tuesday, February 8.

Maenza’s remarks came after media reports that Azerbaijan’s government has announced that it intends to erase Armenian inscriptions on religious sites in the territory that came under Baku’s control in the 2020 war.

Concerns about the preservation of cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh are made all the more urgent by the Azerbaijani government’s history of systemically destroying indigenous Armenian heritage—acts of both warfare and historical revisionism. The Azerbaijani government has secretly destroyed a striking number of cultural and religious artifacts in the late 20th century. Within Nakhichevan alone, a historically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani forces destroyed at least 89 medieval churches, 5,840 khachkars (Armenian cross stones) and 22,000 historical tombstones between 1997 and 2006.