Category: 2023

 11:53, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is attempting to introduce certain items into the agenda to artificially delay the signing of the peace treaty with Armenia and make the process difficult, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.

“I think Azerbaijan is trying to introduce certain issues into the agenda to perhaps artificially make the signing of the peace treaty difficult,” Simonyan said when asked to comment on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that if Armenia wants to include the issue of the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in the peace treaty, then the rights to return of Azerbaijanis who left Armenia must also be addressed.

“I assess this very negatively. We, and they, know very well what proposals we have conveyed and what we are negotiating about. Speaking about it all the time now creates artificial problems. It’s obvious that we are actually speaking about peace, and not just signing a paper or pretending,” Simonyan said.

The Speaker said that Azerbaijan must reduce its hate speech against Armenians.

“You can’t accuse Armenia of the same, because in Armenia, the opposition and the media are accusing us of being tolerant, of pouring water to their mill. It must be clear that, indeed, after some time, I don’t rule out that some Armenians will go and live in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijanis will come and live in Armenia, and trade with one another. Yes, we are heading towards peace, peace doesn’t happen anyway else. And the claims that we fought against each other and it is an unsolvable issue for us are unacceptable, because history knows multiple cases. England and France were at war against each other for 116 years, and today they are allies,” Simonyan said.

 12:24, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said that participating in the CSTO PA session would have made no sense and that’s why he opted out. 

“There are outstanding issues, they are not implementing their obligations,” the Speaker said. “We only hear big talk against Armenia, whereas, if we look what happened after 9 November 2020, Azerbaijan, as an ally of Russia, numerously displayed very bad conduct, ranging from the killings of Russian troops, up to the violation of agreements. In other words, Azerbaijan did whatever it wanted in our region, and Russia either didn’t respond, or was unable to do so,” Simonyan said.

He recalled the discontent in Russia over Armenia sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, whereas Azerbaijan has numerously sent aid to Ukraine, and the Russian authorities haven’t said anything about it.

“Unfortunately, in case of Armenia, Russia is reacting very painfully, but in case of Azerbaijan, it is either unable to respond or pretends not to have noticed it, in order to save its face during a bad game,” Simonyan said.

Simonyan was also asked to comment on Russia’s failure to deliver the armaments which Armenia has paid for.

The Speaker expressed hope that the issue will be resolved in a collegial atmosphere. He said it is a chance for Russia to show that it remains committed to the principles it has declared, and to the documents it has signed.  “And the Russian side has a chance to show that nevertheless it continues to be committed to its declared principles and signed documents. If obligations aren’t being fulfilled, and it is a fact that they’re not fulfilled, Armenia must definitely protect its interests,” the Speaker said.

 13:13, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The government has appointed Kolya Mikayelyan as the new governor of Vayots Dzor province, replacing Ararat Grigoryan.

The decision was approved at the December 7 Cabinet meeting.

 12:26, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has responded to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest statement alleging that there is a ‘growing revanchism’ in Armenia and that Baku wants guarantees that such processes won’t happen.

Simonyan advised the Azeri leader to search for such guarantees in his own policy.

“He ought to search for those guarantees first of all in himself and his policy. A lot depends on the Azerbaijani side. You can’t shoot and kill an Armenian soldier, invade the territory of Armenia, and then say ‘I am afraid of revanchism.’ You can’t skip the meetings on the peace treaty and then say ‘I am afraid of revanchism.’ You are afraid of revanchism? Then establish normal relations with your neighbors, your direct neighbors, whom you can’t replace,” Simonyan said.

 13:46, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks forward to hosting the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Washington soon for peace negotiations, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien said after his trip to Baku.

“Had positive and constructive meetings in Baku. As I told President Aliyev, the U.S. welcomes visits by the Central Bank Governor and Energy Minister, and Secretary Blinken looks forward to hosting foreign ministers Bayramov and Mirzoyan in Washington soon for peace negotiations,” O’Brien said in a post on X.

 14:57, 4 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. Russia still hasn’t delivered any armaments to Armenia for which Yerevan has paid, Deputy Defense Minister Hrachya Sargsyan has said.

“I know that at the moment no deliveries have been made,” Sargsyan said when asked whether any supplies have been made and whether Armenia considers taking Russia to international courts to resolve the matter.

“I think the matter won’t reach the [courts] and the issue will be resolved in a collegial atmosphere,” Sargsyan said.

Asked whether Armenia has any expectations to eventually receive the armaments from Russia, Sargsyan said, “There’s always hope.”

Armenia ordered armaments from Russia in 2021. According to unconfirmed reports, Armenia paid $400,000,000 for the weapons, which Russia has failed to deliver.

 14:27, 4 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. French senators have called on the authorities to explore the possibility of sending CAESAR self-propelled howitzers to Armenia in addition to the other recently shipped weapons, according to a defense budget bill of the French Senate.

The document mentions that Armenia will receive a total of 50 Arquus Bastion armored personnel carriers. 24 of these vehicles are already being shipped, while the rest are currently in production.

Armenia recently bought Thales-made GM 200 radars and Mistral 3 air defense systems from France.

 “Armenia recently signed an order for three GM200 radars from Thales and there is talk of a delivery of MISTRAL 3 surface-to-air missiles. The rapporteurs are able to indicate that 24 Bastion-type armored vehicles, produced by the French group Arquus, are being delivered to Armenia and should be joined by 26 other vehicles of the same type currently in production. The French authorities have initiated the delivery of “defensive” weapons to Armenia. This distinction between defensive and offensive weapons is in reality not very operational, as the war in Ukraine demonstrated. Let's not repeat the same mistakes by late delivering equipment that would have been necessary from the start. This is why we must respond quickly to all the requests from the Armenian authorities, particularly regarding their need for artillery. The rapporteurs recommend, in this regard, that the delivery of CAESAR artillery systems be studied as soon as possible taking into account the effectiveness of this equipment and the new production capacities of Nexter in 2024,” Senators Hugues Saury and Helene Conway-Mouret said in a recommendation for the 2024 budget.

 17:02, 4 December 2023

SOFIA, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS/BTA. A conference on "The Foreign Policy Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria: Challenges and Opportunities" is taking place here on Monday.

"We can all make Bulgaria a factor of stability and security in Southeastern Europe, a factor of growth, a regional innovation leader," Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Garbiel said, opening the forum. "Before getting to this clearly stated ambition, it is crucial to take into consideration the comprehensively changing world around," she added.

The participating politicians, academics, experts and journalists are discussing the development and adoption of a national strategy for Bulgaria's foreign policy.

Gabriel's idea is to hold a series of debates on the subject, her Ministry said.

The Deputy PM said that the strategy is planned to be developed as a public document spelling out the principles and the short-term and medium-term objectives and tasks of Bulgarian foreign policy. She argued that the foreign policy strategy is needed because of the radically changed international environment, growing fragmentation, overlapping crises, a different security architecture, Russia's aggression against Ukraine, hybrid actions and cyber attacks. 

"We are witnessing global transformations, climate change, disrupted supply chains, digitization and migration pressure. New strategic partnerships are taking shape worldwide, with North America, Latin America, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. We are clear that economic diplomacy is gaining new dimensions," Gabriel said. "Against this backdrop, the adoption of a strategic document, to be approved in advance by the National Assembly, is intended to increase the transparency, predictability and public support for Bulgarian foreign policy," the Bulgarian Foreign Minister said. 

"It is important to build new strategic partnerships. Bulgaria has a lot to contribute to cultural diplomacy acquiring new dimensions," Gabriel said. She believes that the country should be better prepared to tackle disinformation and hybrid threats.

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

 17:59, 4 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. "Fly Arna" Armenia’s national airline continues its operations, staying true to its promise to provide its passengers with a comfortable and reliable flight experience. The airline has issued a statement about this, denying the news circulating in the media about the suspension of flights in recent days.

“Over the past few days, we experienced technical issues with our reservation system, which temporarily affected our flight booking service. However, we are pleased to announce that the technical issues have been resolved, and our reservation system is now back to normal,” reads the statement.

As a shareholder of “Fly Arna" Armenia’s national airline, ANIF has informed that the company continues its operations.

“During its 1.5 years of existence, Fly Arna has proven that quality, both in terms of services and other operational standards, is central to the company's activities. Today, the company provides more than 125 jobs that includes high- quality personnel trained according to the best international standards. We are confident that the company will continue to be the advocate and pioneer of the implementation of all standards of modern aviation in Armenia,” ANIF said.