Category: 2023

 16:52,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned OSCE PA delegates on Saturday that countries ought to plan the future to prevent future crises and clashes.

Speaking at the OSCE PA Autumn Meeting in Yerevan, PM Pashinyan said that the world will never be the same again after the crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“It is obvious that after the crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Gaza, and the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, the world will never be the same again, no one doubts this no more. But no one knows what the world of tomorrow will look like,” Pashinyan warned.

The Armenian PM said that it is extremely important to plan the future, otherwise crises and clashes could spread.

Speaking about the Armenian-Azeri peace process, the PM said there are both good news and bad news.

He said that the good news is that the main principles for peace are agreed upon, citing the May 14 and July 15 statements by President of the European Council Charles Michel.

The three principles are:  reciprocal recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty, based on the understanding that Armenia’s territory covers 29.800 km2 and Azerbaijan’s 86.600 km2; commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration as a political framework for the delimitation of border; unblocking of regional connections under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries through which they pass. There is also an understanding that both countries do not have territorial claims against each other and are ready to assume obligations not to do so in the future. “And this is the reason why we propose Azerbaijan to reciprocally pull back troops from the administrative borders of the USSR, and to address the exclave/enclave issues. The exclave of Artsvashen, a part of sovereign Armenian territory, has been under Azeri occupation for over 30 years,” Pashinyan said.

“The good news is that the main principles for peace with Azerbaijan are agreed upon. This has happened as a result of my meetings in Brussels with the Azerbaijani President under the mediation of the President of the European Council Charles Michel. These agreements are recorded in the May 14 and July 15 statements by Charles Michel following the trilateral meetings,” the Prime Minister said.

Armenia has presented its Crossroads of Peace project to ensure its share of the agreements.

Pashinyan warned however that the bad news is that Armenia and Azerbaijan still talk with different diplomatic languages and very often do not understand each other.

“Of course there are also objective reasons for this, such as the long lasting conflict, with certain historical context, thousands of victims, and it is very difficult to look into the eyes of their families, tens of prisoners, and there are no answers to the questions of their families, the prevailing atmosphere of hate for decades and the doubts that malicious intentions are concealed behind constructive statements. Moreover, in some sense what I’ve just said relates to both Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Azerbaijan, for example, hasn’t once publicly mentioned the abovementioned three principles, hasn’t reaffirmed commitment to these principles, which deepens the atmosphere of distrust,” Pashinyan said.

He also warned about the “extremely suspicious” Azeri state narrative of misrepresenting Armenia as ‘Western Azerbaijan.’

“They are teaching this concept in schools and universities, and in the media. This seems to us as preparations for a new war, new aggression against Armenia, and it is one of the main obstacles for progress in the peace process,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian PM said that Azerbaijan’s refusal to release Armenian prisoners is incomprehensible, despite Yerevan’s proposal to resolve the matter under the ‘all for all’ principle.

Pashinyan said that Armenia is committed to the peace agenda and the peace process.

 15:43,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE PA Autumn Meeting in Yerevan will feature discussions on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pia Kauma has said.

Kauma told reporters in Yerevan that the situation in Israel and Gaza, as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict will also be discussed.

 17:03,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hopes that the agreement with Türkiye on opening the land border for diplomatic passport holders and citizens of third countries will soon be realized.

“We are in dialogue with Türkiye. At least in the past we didn’t have such active dialogue, although we still don’t have any success in terms of establishing diplomatic relations,” Pashinyan said at the OSCE PA Autumn Meeting in Yerevan.

“But the normalization of Armenia’s relations with Türkiye is a highly important factor for the strategic vision of a peaceful, developing and safe environment of our region, South Caucasus. We hope to soon hear the news about the opening of the Armenia-Türkiye border for citizens of third countries and diplomatic passport holders, and this will be a very meaningful step,” Pashinyan said.

 17:23,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid in Yerevan.

Pashinyan and Schmid discussed the ongoing OSCE PA session in Yerevan, its agenda items, as well as cooperation between Armenia and the OSCE, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.

Issues related to the humanitarian problems of over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing, as well as the Armenian government’s measures in the direction of overcoming these problems were discussed.

Issues pertaining to the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process were also discussed.

The importance of continuing the peace process based on the principles agreed as a result of the May 14 and July 15, 2023 Brussels trilateral meetings was underscored.

Views were exchanged around regional peace and stability, as well as other issues of mutual interest.

 16:35,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The delegation led by the Minister of Defense of Georgia Juansher Burchuladze has arrived in the Republic of Armenia on an official visit, the Ministry of Defense has said.

 17:09,

YEREVAN, 16 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 16 November, USD exchange rate down by 0.20 drams to 402.72 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.74 drams to 436.75 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 4.53 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.59 drams to 499.57 drams.

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

Gold price down by 153.14 drams to 25354.28 drams. Silver price up by 13.58 drams to 303.11 drams.

 17:13,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem has warned that it is facing the “greatest existential threat” in its history.

In a statement, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said the developer who sought to buy some 25 percent of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem has ignored a letter by the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem cancelling the controversial real estate deal and has started demolition works, and moreover police now demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises.

“The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is under possibly the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history. This existential-territorial threat fully extends to all the Christian communities of Jerusalem. The Armenian Patriarchate has recently cancelled a contract tainted with false representation, undue influence, and unlawful benefits. Instead of providing a lawful response to the cancellation, the developers attempting to build on the Cow's Garden have completely disregarded the legal posture of the Patriarchate toward this issue, and instead have elected for provocation, aggression, and other harassing, incendiary tactics including destruction of property, the hiring of heavily armed provocateurs, and other instigation. In recent days, the vast destruction and removal of asphalt on the grounds of the Armenian Quarter has been done without the presentation of permits from the municipality by neither the developer nor the police. Despite this fact, the police have chosen in the last few days to demand that all members of the Armenian Community vacate the premises. We plead with the entirety of the Christian communities of Jerusalem to stand with the Armenian Patriarchate in these unprecedented times as this is another clear step taken toward the endangerment of the Christian presence in Jerusalem and the Holy Land,” the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.

 17:30,

SOFIA, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS/BTA. Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel thanked Germany for its strong support for Bulgaria’s prompt Schengen accession during a joint press conference with her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin on Thursday.

“This means a lot for Bulgaria and for the Bulgarian people. Germany is our trusted ally and long-standing partner and its support for Schengen at this crucial moment is essential,” Gabriel stressed.

Baerbock said that Bulgaria and Romania have worked hard in this direction and now it is the turn of the Schengen countries to keep their word and accept them.

Gabriel also thanked Germany for its support for Bulgaria’s candidacy for membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEC). She expressed confidence that the two countries cан work together in the sphere of investments, new technologies, cooperation in education and culture.

The enlargement of the EU, the fight against illegal migration and the situation in the Middle East вере also topics of the talks between the two foreign ministers.

The fight against illegal migration remains a key priority for Bulgaria, given that it is an external border of the EU, Gabriel said. She added that the country supports efforts to establish an effective fair and well-functioning migration and asylum system within the EU.

“It is crucial that support for Ukraine continues in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. We will continue to work for the sanctions regime against Russia. Bulgaria also provides political, diplomatic, military and humanitarian assistance and is home to thousands of Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war,” the Bulgarian Foreign Minister pointed out.

Berbok praised Bulgaria’s support for Ukraine. “I am happy to note that solidarity is not just a word for Bulgaria and that the country is providing assistance to Ukraine,” emphasized the German minister. 

She pointed out that Bulgaria is among the countries that continue to keep the Ukrainian grain export corridor functioning together with Greece and Romania. 

Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, which began on October 7 after the radical group “Hamas” attacked Israel, the German minister said that she saw the situation firsthand during her visit to the region. 

Baerbock praised the support provided to Ukraine by Bulgaria. “I am glad to note that solidarity is not just a word for Bulgaria,” the German Minister underlined. 

She pointed out that Bulgaria is among the countries that continue to maintain a functioning Ukrainian grain export corridor together with Greece and Romania. 

Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, which started on October 7 after the radical group Hamas attacked Israel, Baerbock said she had seen the situation on the ground during her visit to the region.

“Clearly, there is no easy answer to this issue,” she noted and added that opening a humanitarian corridor is necessary to allow people in need, especially children.

She called for the release of the hostages captured by Hamas in the attack and said Israel had the right to defend itself, but Israel must take into account the civilians in the Gaza Strip during its military operations.

“For there to be peace and security in the region, there must be two independent states,” Baerbock stressed.

“Bulgaria strongly condemns the brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel… We express our full support for Israel’s right to self-defence, in accordance with the norms of international law,” Gabriel said.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)

 18:12,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan  on November 16  received  Ambassador of Canada to Armenia Andrew Turner.

Armenia’s Security Council Secretary  congratulated the Canadian Ambassador on the opening of the resident embassy of Canada to the Republic of Armenia and expressed hope that the Armenian-Canadian bilateral multi-sectoral relations will develop with new intensity, Grigoryan’s office said in a readout.

According to the source, Armen Grigoryan noted that Armenia highly appreciates Canada's willingness to be involved in the activities of the EU civilian observation mission in Armenia.

It is mentioned that the interlocutors discussed the security situation in the region and the negotiation process for the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

 19:10,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. On November 16, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia the official signing ceremony of the Framework Agreement on the Establishment of the International Solar Alliance by Armenia was held, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

According to the source, the signing ceremony was attended by Gnel Sanosyan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia and the Ambassadors of co-founding countries of the International Solar Alliance – Ambassador of France Olivier Decottignies and Ambassador of India Nilakshi Saha Sinha.

The Agreement was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan, and the signed original copies were officially handed over to Nilakshi Saha Sinha, Ambassador of India – the Depositary State of the Agreement.

''The Agreement will then undergo an internal ratification process and enter into force on the thirtieth day following the handover of the instrument of ratification by Armenia to the Depositary.

Armenia's accession to the International Solar Alliance is an important step towards combating climate change, developing renewable and green energy resources, ensuring energy access and energy security,'' reads the statement.

The International Solar Alliance was established through the joint efforts of India and France towards working together to combat climate change and harness solar energy resources. The concept of the Alliance was developed in 2015 within the framework of the 21st Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) held in Paris. In 2020 The Alliance made changes to the Framework Agreement, according to which all UN member states have the opportunity to join the Alliance. Currently, 116 states have signed the Framework Agreement of the Alliance, 94 of which have submitted the necessary ratification documents to become full members of the Alliance. The decision-making body of the Alliance is the Assembly, convened once a year at the level of relevant ministers from the member states. The Alliance is headquartered in India.

Renewable energy is one of the most important directions of the development of the energy system in Armenia, where solar energy has developed particularly well during recent years. Today, more than 5 percent of the total electricity produced comes from solar plants; the strategic program on energy development foresees by 2030 to increase the share of solar energy in the total to 15 percent.