Category: 2023

 18:20,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. With the launch of the new patrol police, the residents of Syunik will have an opportunity to collaborate more closely with representatives of the law enforcement and justice system, thereby fostering a greater sense of security. The US Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, Kristina Kvien said during her attendance at the event dedicated to the inauguration of the Syunik Police Patrol Service division.

"On behalf of the United States government, I am honored to join you today for this important event. I am aware that following this solemn ceremony, the patrol officers of Syunik will officially commence their duties throughout the entire region. This marks a significant milestone in the establishment of patrol police across the entire territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Given the opportunity that I am here in Syunik, I want to tell you about the important work that you will carry out in Syunik. In the recent letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Armenia, President Biden reaffirmed the United States' unwavering support for Armenia's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and democracy.

First of all, this obligation is applicable and refers to the Syunik region itself, which has been particularly affected by the regional conflict and external aggression and the region of Syunik has recently received more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, despite these difficulties and problems, the commitment of Armenia and Syunik region to strengthen the rule of law has remained unwavering.

It is due to this commitment that Armenia continues to be a beacon of democracy in the South Caucasus," The US Ambassador emphasized.

The US Ambassador noted  that it was a great honor for the United States to collaborate with the Republic of Armenia in the implementation of this ambitious police reform program.

"I would like to commend the efforts of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in leading the reform processes within the country.

The United States is allocating an additional $1 million, in addition to the $15 million already provided by the United States to date, in support of police reforms."

This additional funding will be used to conduct the next patrol police academy scheduled for 2024," Kvien said.

 18:33,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. In the sidelines of the visit to Syunik region, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan familiarized himself with the renovation works of Kindergarten No. 10 in Kapan carried out within the framework of the subsidy program. the Prime Minister's Office said.

The number of students in the pre-school institution is 99, as a result of the renovation, attendance of about 140 students is planned. The total cost of the project is 293.8 million AMD, 80 percent of which was allocated by the Government. The two-story building was built in the 1980s. Under the project, repair works of the building were carried out: waterproofing, replacement of doors and windows, interior finishing, roof repair, installation of children's playground, fencing and beautification of the area.

 18:42,

 09:48,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Slovenia is allocating €120,000 to Armenia through the ICRC to support the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The aid was announced by the Slovenian Foreign Ministry on social media.

“In the face of multiple humanitarian crises, we haven't forgotten refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia extended its support to Slovenia during last August's floods, now Slovenia reciprocates by donating EUR 120.000 through ICRC to aid Armenia in hosting Karabakh refugees,” Edvin Skrt, Director-General of the Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid at the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs said on X.

 09:52,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS Pobeda Airlines has launched direct flights from the Russian city of Sochi to Armenia’s Gyumri.

The roundtrip flights will be operated 4 times per week from Sochi International Airport to Shirak International Airport in Gyumri, Armenia International Airports said in a statement.

 10:32,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The tense international situation creates serious threats for Armenia, but the skillful management of these threats could create equally serious possibilities for the country, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“The international situation escalated significantly over the past two years,” Pashinyan told lawmakers during a joint committee hearing on the 2024 state budget. “The likelihood of a nuclear war has become a serious topic of discussion among politicians and experts. We are living in conditions of a collapsing world order that existed since the end of the Cold War. This situation creates serious threats for Armenia, but the skillful management of these threats could create equally serious possibilities for our state,” Pashinyan said.

He said that the management of threats in turn requires a conceptual work.

“What does independence mean to us? What’s our collective understanding of our sovereignty and independence, what kind of a tool is statehood to us and what purpose do we need it for? The expert public discussions of these questions is a national security agenda,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said that adjusting the conceptual foundations of the statehood is of key importance.

He proposed a new state concept – ‘the homeland is the state, you love your homeland, strengthen your state’.

“In a collapsing world order, the only tool of ensuring our security is the identification of our homeland with the state, its territory, internationally recognized borders and territorial integrity.”

 11:00,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that the Government of Armenia plans to sign a peace treaty and establish relations with Azerbaijan and normalize relations with Türkiye.

“Signing a treaty on peace and normalization of relations with Azerbaijan, and the normalization of relations with Türkiye is in our plans. As much as we realize that this won’t be easy, moving forward with this plan is in the state interests of Armenia,” Pashinyan told Members of Parliament at a committee hearing on the 2024 state budget. In the collapsing world order, the only tool for ensuring security of Armenia is the identification of the homeland with the state, its territory, internationally recognized borders and territorial integrity, the PM said.

“The key, practical issue stemming from this perception, as strange as it may sound, is the realization of the state’s geographic location, and before the global discussion on East-West, North-South, I find it important to realize that we are situated in the South Caucasian region, we have four neighbors, and all the main threats and possibilities that we could have are hidden in the relations with them. In this regard, the further deepening of the friendly and cooperative nature of relations with Georgia and Iran are also important,” Pashinyan said.

 10:40,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan, in the framework of his working visit to the People’s Republic of China, on October 30 attended the “10th Beijing Xiangshan Forum” opening ceremony and a plenary session, the Ministry of Defense said in a press release.

 11:03,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The three main principles of normalization of relations and peace with Azerbaijan are agreed upon and the signing of a peace treaty will be realistic if both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides remain committed to these principles, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“Essentially the three main principles of normalization of relations and peace with Azerbaijan are agreed upon. And if the parties remain committed to these agreed principles, the signing of the treaty on peace and normalization of relations becomes realistic,” Pashinyan said at a committee hearing in parliament on the 2024 state budget.

The principles are: the mutual recognition by Armenia and Azerbaijan of each other’s territorial integrity, with the understanding that Armenia’s territory is 29,800 square km and Azerbaijan’s 86,600 square km. These numbers are taken from the latest USSR encyclopedias. The demarcation and delimitation will be carried out during further discussions and agreements. The second principle is that the parties agree to carry out delimitation based on the Alma-Ata Declaration, which means that the administrative borders that existed between the Armenian SSR and Azerbaijani SSR have become the state borders between the two countries when the USSR collapsed. The inviolability of these borders is recognized by the parties based on the Alma-Ata Declaration.

“The presence of maps recording the situation when the Alma-Ata Declaration was adopted is of key importance in the delimitation process. Essentially, the parties have the maps that reflect those realities. Thus, in case of political will by the sides it is possible to swiftly and effectively move forward in this process as well,” Pashinyan said.

The third principle is the opening of the regional connections based on the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the sides, and the regional connections will function on the basis of reciprocity and equality. The Armenian government has presented its position in the Crossroads of Peace concept in this regard.

 11:13,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has expressed hope that the Armenia-Türkiye land border would soon be opened for citizens of third countries and diplomatic passport holders.

“Speaking about the Armenia-Türkiye relations, I’d like to express hope that soon we will have the implementation of the agreements reached as a result of the discussions and negotiations between the special representatives, which pertains to the following: At this phase the Armenia-Türkiye border gets opened for citizens of third countries and diplomatic passport holders. Besides the political agreement, significant infrastructure work has been done. In particular, we worked in the Margara checkpoint in the direction of re-equipping and restoring it and in this regard, we are already ready for such developments. We hope that these agreements get implemented,” PM Pashinyan said at a committee hearing in parliament on the 2024 state budget.