Category: 2023

 13:53, 13 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Certain improvement is observed in the health condition of the troops who were wounded during the April 11 Azerbaijani attack near the village of Tegh, Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan said on April 13.

“We have positive dynamics, yesterday the critically wounded serviceman’s health condition stabilized, which is very good, and we hope that the recovery will proceed positively. There’s improvement in the condition of the others as well, and I think everything will be all right,” she said.

Avanesyan said she personally visited the wounded troops at a Yerevan hospital to wish them swift recovery.

 On April 11, Armenian troops carrying out engineering works near the village of Tegh close to the border with Azerbaijan were ambushed by Azerbaijani forces in an unprovoked attack. Four Armenian soldiers were killed and six wounded.

 14:00, 13 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The Chairman of the Television and Radio Commission of Armenia Tigran Hakobyan called on lawmakers to watch their language and refrain from using profanities during debates in order to reduce negative content and hate speech on television.

Hakobyan made the remarks in parliament during the debates on the commission’s 2022 report and freedom of information in the audio-video media, when asked by MP Gegham Nazaryan about the violations of the ethical norms and spread of hate speech and violence by online television companies.

“How will Armenia get rid of this garbage and disaster? People watch channels on their phones full of hate speech, evil, fake news. What can be done to regulate this issue?” Nazaryan asked.

“It is very difficult to fight against calls of violence, hate speech, generally negative content on the air if the same is happening in parliament during live broadcast debates. I don’t have the right to call upon you. But, if you want to reduce this on television, you must watch your language and not allow such lexicon here,” Hakobyan told lawmakers.

 15:27, 13 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani that he is visiting Armenia in a difficult period of time for the country when it is facing threats and challenges that are directly related to the OSCE ‘s fundamental principles and mandate, regional security and stability.

“The visit by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office to Armenia is a good opportunity to discuss the existing issues in the region, to emphasize the OSCE’s role and possibility of involvement, prospects of our future cooperation with the organization,” Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with Osmani in Yerevan, Armenia.

FM Mirzoyan said that Armenia is constantly providing the OSCE partners with reliable information on the security situation in the region and developments on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and around Nagorno Karabakh.

“During our meeting today we discussed the latest developments of the situation, I presented my colleague the consequences of Azerbaijan’s aggression and attacks, occupation of sovereign territory of Armenia since May of 2021, as well as the Azerbaijani provocation and aggressive actions in the area of Tegh village in Syunik province on April 11, a day before the visit,” the Armenian FM said, adding that Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions constitute gross violations of the OSCE values and a number of fundamental principles of the Helsinki Final Act.

In this context the Armenian FM attached importance to the deployment of the OSCE fact-finding mission to Armenia that took place immediately after the 2022 September aggression, which enabled OSCE monitors to see the Azerbaijani military aggression and its humanitarian consequences on the ground. The Armenian Foreign Minister said that the mission’s observations and the final report must be accessible for all member-states, as well as for other representatives of the international community, as a source of objective information on the situation resulting from the Azerbaijani aggression.

 15:31, 13 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. In the context of the latest geopolitical developments the OSCE is facing the most serious challenges, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with visiting OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani on April 13.

“These challenges require all participating states to address the existing issues through the use of all mechanisms of the organization’s toolkit in the OSCE area of responsibility and _expression_ of a clear position on them, without selective approach, political preferences or geopolitical priorities,” Mirzoyan said.

He said that during his meeting with Osmani they also discussed the priorities of the North Macedonian chairmanship in the OSCE, as well as the obstacles facing the organization and the possible efforts for resolving them.

 15:37, 13 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani delegation to the European Weightlifting Championships 2023 due on April 15-23 has already arrived in Yerevan. The delegation consists of 12 persons, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office Arayik Harutyunyan said at a press conference.

Harutyunyan is the chairman of the steering committee tasked with organizing the event.

“We’ve communicated with the Azerbaijani team through correspondence, the security conditions for the athletes and the team have been clarified. The Azerbaijani delegation, with a total of 12 representatives, is already in Yerevan. I am sure that the tournament will have the sports component in its core, and not political. We will ensure the security of all athletes,” Harutyunyan said.

 15:41, 13 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. It’s already been nearly four months that Azerbaijan is illegally blockading the Lachin Corridor, ignoring the February 22 binding ruling of the International Court of Justice and the clear demand by the international community to fulfill it, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani on April 13.

“With the blockade of Lachin Corridor, the terror, as well as other actions aimed at making the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh forcefully leave their homes, Azerbaijan seeks to implement a coordinated policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh. I want to especially underscore that the International Court of Justice has stated the presence of direct threats of irreversible damages to the rights of Armenians under the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination,” FM Mirzoyan said.

FM Mirzoyan repeated that in this situation, unimpeded access of international humanitarian organizations into Nagorno Karabakh and the deployment of an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh and Lachin Corridor can have important significance to end the fake narratives generated by Azerbaijan, to prevent the aggression, end human sufferings and establish stability in the region.

Mirzoyan also mentioned the violations of other terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement by Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan refuses to return all Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held as hostages, by continuing false trials against them,” FM Mirzoyan said.

He added that along with refusing to ensure the return of IDPs and refugees to Nagorno Karabakh under the supervision of the UNHCR as envisaged under the 9 November statement, Azerbaijan is populating the Armenian settlements that have gone under its control with Azerbaijanis.

By displaying explicit disregard for fundamental principles of international law, Azerbaijan continues belligerent rhetoric and hate speech, threatening with renewed aggression and seriously jeopardizing regional stability, the Armenian FM added.

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022.