Category: 2023

 11:30,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan has awarded the Medal of Gratitude to journalist Talal Khrais, the founder of Assadakah, for his significant contribution in strengthening and developing the friendly ties between Armenia and Italy.

President Khachaturyan awarded the medal to Khrais in Rome.  He described the journalist as a “true friend of the Armenian people.”

Khrais said that he learnt about the Armenian Genocide when he was 16 living in Beirut. “I’ve been committed to the Armenian cause ever since and I won’t stop my struggle for a fair resolution of the issue,” he said.

Talal Khrais is the correspondent of Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) in Rome and the Holy See.

 12:55,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index of Armenia grew 11,4% in January-June 2023 compared to last year’s same period, according to official data published by the Statistical Committee.

Industrial production volume grew 1% and stood at 1 trillion 167 billion 535 million drams.

Construction grew 17% and comprised 174 billion 155 million 400 thousand drams.

The trade turnover grew 23,6% and amounted to 2 trillion 280 billion 859 million 800 thousand drams. Services grew 16,8%.

The consumer price index grew 4,2%, while the industrial product price index dropped 1%. Electricity production dropped 2,7%.

Total foreign trade turnover grew 72,9% in the reporting period and stood at 3 trillion 467 billion 200 million drams (exports amounted to 1 trillion 273 billion drams (72,8% growth), while imports comprised 2 trillion 194 billion 200 million drams (73% growth)).

 13:24,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that it’s not up to his administration to determine the fate of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and that the representatives of the latter should be a party to the negotiations and dialogue with Azerbaijan. 

“Armenia cannot decide the fate of the people of Nagorno Karabakh,” Pashinyan said at a press conference on July 25. “With the logic that representatives of Nagorno Karabakh must themselves be a party to talks and dialogue,” he added.

“This is the agenda that we’ve been advancing, taking into consideration that the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh must be discussed with participation of Nagorno Karabakh representatives in a Baku-Stepanakert dialogue format under an international mechanism. I believe that within the framework of such formula, the people and government of Nagorno Karabakh will have the chance to address issues of their concern, and not only put forward questions or generate content, but also, which is highly important, bear the political responsibility pertaining to this content,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan said that his administration, as stated previously, still doesn’t have a decision whether or not a possible peace treaty with Azerbaijan should include Nagorno Karabakh, or that the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh should be addressed in another logic. He did stress that although they don’t have a decision on this matter, they do have a stance.

 13:30,

STEPANAKERT, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Nagorno Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan has formally declared Nagorno Karabakh to be a disaster zone amid the total blockade.

Announcing the disaster declaration, Harutyunyan said he expects an urgent international reaction in the form of either collective or individual security, political and humanitarian support.

“Right now Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh] is the only territory in the world to be in total isolation and under blockade, without any humanitarian aid or international presence,” Harutyunyan said, adding that Nagorno Karabakh could be considered to be a “concentration camp” if his disaster declaration fails to garner international aid.

Speaking about his expectations from the international community, President Harutyunyan said , “First of all we have demands to the parties of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, especially Russia, to implement the obligations of the guarantor of security, and we demand Armenia to respect the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh and refrain from any statement or action that would recognize Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan.”

He added that Artsakh demands the UN Security Council to take action to prevent the genocidal policy carried out by Azerbaijan and ensure the latter’s compliance with the ICJ and ECHR orders on opening the Lachin Corridor.

Harutyunyan also called on the UN to urgently intervene.

“I demand the UN Secretary General to display moral and political responsibility and leadership to warn the international community on the grave situation facing the people of Artsakh. I demand Mr. Guterres to launch, without hesitation and delay, the UN system to resolve this situation,” Harutyunyan said, adding that he’s ready to personally contact the Secretary General online and present the situation.

 13:35,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called for the development of a non-confrontational regional policy and clarification of Armenia’s role in the region’s future architecture amid the tense and unstable international geopolitical situation.

“The geopolitical impacts in our region have reduced due to the events in Ukraine and the traditional East-West formulas aren’t functioning sufficiently enough for us. In this situation, the development and launch of a regional, non-confrontational policy and the clarification of Armenia’s place and role in the future architecture of the region is becoming of vital importance for us,” Pashinyan said at a press conference.

He said that the threats coming from the geopolitical instability are visible and real for Armenia.

The Armenian PM said that none of Armenia’s neighbors have confrontational relations with one another and that problems are resolved through cooperation. Pashinyan said that signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan and normalizing ties with Turkey is a necessity, with the perception that Armenia’s relations with Iran and Georgia are developing normally, and must continue doing so.

Pashinyan said his administration remains committed to the peace agenda.

 14:00,

STEPANAKERT, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan has slammed the Azerbaijani government’s narrative claiming that Nagorno Karabakh is its domestic matter for being similar to what the Nazi leaders tried to represent as justifications for their actions during the Nuremberg trials.

“The Azerbaijani claims that the Artsakh issue is their domestic matter reminds us of the Nazi Germany leadership’s justifications during the Nuremberg trials when they were describing mass murder as a domestic matter,” President Harutyunyan said at a press conference.

He called on the international community to take action and prevent genocide against the people of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan is deliberately creating the kind of conditions that are aimed at either partial or complete destruction of the people of Artsakh. This constitutes genocide under international law, and it provides for all members of the international community to take steps to prevent the crime of genocide,” he said.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.

 14:32,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has commented on the probability of Russia withdrawing its peacekeeping troops from Nagorno Karabakh and the subsequent possible scenarios.

Speaking at a July 25 press conference, Pashinyan said that the Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno Karabakh has a goal which is stipulated in the decision of the Russian parliament which authorized the deployment in 2020.

 “The decision says that the Russian Federation Council authorizes the Russian president to deploy a peacekeeping contingent to Nagorno Karabakh to prevent the massacre of the local population. Now, if Russia were to decide to withdraw, regardless of nuances, this would at least mean that there’s no such threat in Nagorno Karabakh anymore, because if there is such a threat in Nagorno Karabakh it’s difficult to imagine a decision like that being made,” Pashinyan said.

If a threat of massacres would no longer face the people of Nagorno Karabakh, it would mean that the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue under an international mechanism was effective and the sides decided that there is no longer a need for a peacekeeping presence.

 14:43,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that his administration is trying to take steps what would overcome the distrust between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He said he’s never heard Azerbaijan refuse to engage in talks about the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh during negotiations, but on the other hand the public statements made by Azerbaijani representatives don’t show such willingness. At the same time, Pashinyan stressed that he doesn’t understand the positions voiced in Nagorno Karabakh on ruling out discussions and talks with Azerbaijan on this matter. Pashinyan also noted that there are some in Nagorno Karabakh who do speak about the need for dialogue.

“I’m also talking about the agreement made during the previous Brussels meeting. Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to reciprocally recognize each other’s territorial integrity, taking into account that there is an issue regarding the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh and this issue must be addressed, which can’t be denied. It is another matter that understandably there is big distrust from Azerbaijan against Armenia and vice versa, therefore, the question is as to how to overcome this distrust. That’s the reason why we want to make steps that would overcome this distrust,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan added that addressing the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh and dialogue with the agenda of addressing the rights and security of Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh is highly important.

“The distrust between the parties is the reason why we believe that a more or less effective dialogue could only take place within the framework of an international mechanism, during which vague steps or hopes for creating trust could appear. We must change our perspective on issues, with what logic we view issues,” he said.

 15:46,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that his administration maintains permanent contact with Nagorno Karabakh authorities in an attempt to find opportunities or approaches that could help mitigate the humanitarian crisis resulting from the Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin Corridor.

“And it is also due to our work that various international organizations are making decisions related to this issue. An attempt is made in the negotiations process to find solutions. As you know, a task force led by the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia has been formed for a long time now regarding the ongoing humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh, which is engaged in daily discussions on what steps could be taken, what steps could be most effective. As long as the danger of a humanitarian disaster isn’t resolved, the actions aren’t sufficiently effective, therefore with every day we should think what else can be done in order to eventually be able to achieve a result, even just an interim result. There are the most various ideas, and I think you’ll see these ideas implemented at some point,” Pashinyan said.

He refused to disclose details on the ideas but clarified that all possible steps must be of humanitarian nature. What matters is the timely, accurate utilization of the ideas, and not speaking about them, he added.

 16:28,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that he sees some degree of harmonization of stances of the West and Russia in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations process.

Speaking at a press conference on July 25, PM Pashinyan praised Washington’s efforts and noted that Russia’s activeness in the negotiations process has indeed reduced because of the ‘developments in Ukraine.’

“I highly appreciate the efforts of the United States. They are making truly serious efforts for making a peace treaty possible. Yes, Russia’s negotiations activeness has reduced to some extent. But not because they don’t want a resolution of the issue, but because they aren’t investing the presumed time and energy because of the developments in Ukraine. In relation to our current situation, we see harmonization trends happening in the positions of the West and Russia,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian PM said that he’s held most of his meetings in Western platforms for objective reasons, and not because Armenia wanted to push Russia out of the process.