Category: 2022

Sketches of the new design for the uniforms of the Customs Service of Armenia will be approved in the context of reform in this service. Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned about this from the unreported matters at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government.

A total of 2,500,000 drams (approx. US$6,232) will be allocated to develop the aforesaid sketches of these new uniforms. And based on the requirement of the legal regulation, the above-mentioned work is planned to be completed in a short period of time; that is, within a maximum of ten days after the contract to be signed with the respective design company comes into force.

The government informs that the purchase will be made from one person because such a short period will not be met in any other way.

Thus, sketches of the summer and winter festive and everyday uniforms of Armenia’s customs officers will be designed.

The Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Azerbaijan has suddenly decided to threaten with its weapons.

"The anti-aircraft defense units of the [Azerbaijani] Air Forces are on round-the-clock duty, the [Azerbaijani] airspace is under constant control, appropriate measures are being taken," the MOD of Azerbaijan suddenly announced.

And in the report disseminated by the Azerbaijani mass media, it is noted that, "On August 13, an Armenian quadrocopter was found and landed, which was trying to conduct reconnaissance flights over the Azerbaijani positions in the vicinity of Shusha [i.e., Sushi city of Nagorno-Karabakh]."

"The personnel of the Azerbaijani army is ready to prevent any provocation," the MOD of Azerbaijan declared.

Russian peacekeepers will not move an inch from the existing Lachin corridor until the new road is operational. Maksim Seleznyev, an advisor-attaché at the Russian embassy in Armenia, told this to RFE/RL.

The high-ranking Russian diplomat emphasized that there are arrangements in this regard and the parties are in direct contact, but without detailing what kind of arrangements we are talking about and between whom exactly.

Yerevan has announced that it will complete its section of this new motorway in May next year.

Seleznyev stressed that the Russian mission in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) is doing what is possible within the scope of its powers.

At the same time, the Russian diplomat conveyed that Moscow is ready to expand the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh if both Yerevan and Baku come to an agreement on this matter.

A requiem service will be held Saturday at the Armenian cathedral of Jerusalem—and for the peace and rest of the souls of those who died as a result of the explosion at the Surmalu shopping market in Yerevan on August 14.

And the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, has issued message of condolences in this regard, in which it is said as follows, in particular,:

"In order to overcome the consequences of such disasters, it is necessary to show national unity and focus all our potential to avoid such accidents in the future."

Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, head of the Customs Department Riza Tuna Turagay told APA that the "Preferential Trade Agreement" between Azerbaijan and Turkey will be extended. Turagay noted that the goal was set to increase trade turnover between the two countries to $15 billion: "Currently, our trade turnover is about $5 billion. In 2021 we had imports of $2.3 billion and exports of $2.7 billion. We're working to increase that trade turnover."

One of the most important issues for expanding trade relations, he said, is the opening of the Zangezur corridor. "The opening of this corridor will give us an advantage in terms of getting access to Azerbaijan, and from there to Central Asian countries, to increase the volume of trade. High-level negotiations with Russia to open the Zangezur corridor are ongoing. We expect the corridor to be opened in the very near future," the Turkish deputy minister said, thus hinting at some secret negotiations with Russia.

The presidents, the prime minister, the speakers of the parliaments of Turkey and Azerbaijan, and today the Turkish Deputy Minister of Trade are talking about providing a corridor for Turkey and Azerbaijan through Syunik in the near future, Former Armenian Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan wrote on his Facebook page.

"I don't understand. Presidents, Prime Minister, Speakers of the parliaments of Turkey and Azerbaijan (plus the Speaker of the Parliament of Pakistan), and today the Turkish Deputy Minister of Trade are talking about giving Turkey and Azerbaijan a corridor through Syunik in the near future. But our people are silent.

They say they do not conduct such negotiations. Maybe others do it instead of you? Why doesn't the Ministry of Economy officially respond to the statement by the Turkish deputy minister saying there is no such thing? Maybe you think that you will give a corridor, but pretend that you did not give anything?"

Opposition parties represented in Artsakh parliament, Justice, ARFD and Democratic Party of Artsakh applied to the heads of Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in Artsakh with the request to meet and get comments on the statement made by the advisor-consul of the Russian Federation in Armenia Maxim Seleznyov.

Russian peacekeepers' leadership is ready to meet and comment on this statement in the coming days.

Earlier Seleznyov said that Russian peacekeepers will not move an inch from the current Lachin corridor, until the new road is used.

The high-ranking diplomat stressed that there are agreements on this matter and the parties are in direct contact, without explaining what agreements and between whom exactly they are talking about.

"Russian peacekeepers will move only when the new Lachin corridor is opened. The trilateral statement (of November 9, 2020) spelled out the steps, the sequence of steps: first the corridor is completed, before it comes into effect, Russian peacekeepers occupy a five-kilometer corridor around this road," Seleznyov said.

"Russian peacekeepers will not occupy the new corridor until it is operational, and there are agreements on this. The parties are in direct contact, and I assure you, the peacekeepers will not move an inch until the new corridor is in place," Maxim Seleznyov said.