Category: 2023

 17:11,

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is ready for a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting with Russia and Azerbaijan and soon the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs will visit Moscow to discuss the matter, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference when asked on the possibility of such meeting.

“Armenia is ready for that, I talked about it with the Russian President yesterday as well. The Foreign Minister’s visit to Moscow is expected soon, where it will be discussed…,” Pashinyan said.

He said that Armenia postponed the foreign ministerial meeting which was expected earlier not as a sign of boycott, but because of the acute crisis. “That situation required the minister to be in Yerevan. We’ve not rejected the meeting, that situation required the minister to be in Yerevan. We’ve said that the meeting hasn’t been cancelled, and we are ready for the meeting.”

 17:23,

YEREVAN, 14 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 14 March, USD exchange rate up by 0.35 drams to 388.79 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.31 drams to 416.78 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 5.16 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.00 drams to 472.65 drams.

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

Gold price up by 646.56 drams to 23891.03 drams. Silver price up by 12.79 drams to 263.69 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 17:40,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to immediately open the Lachin Corridor and stop the blockade of Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports, Rasmussen announced during a briefing with journalists in Jermuk.

“Yesterday I had meetings in Yerevan, and today I visited the southern regions of Armenia in order to see with my own eyes the consequences of Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia. I am in Jermuk, and the mayor told me what a negative impact the Azeri attack had on the city, particularly on the tourist life. Today I visited the beginning of Lacin Corridor. As you know, that corridor is the only link between Armenia and the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. That road has been under blockade since December of last year. This blockade is neither humane nor legal. I met with people who live in Nagorno-Karabakh and they told me about the critical situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The blockade means that only very small amounts of food or medicine can be delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh, which means a shortage of food and life-saving medicine in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are facing a humanitarian crisis that could turn into a humanitarian disaster. That blockade is illegal. A few weeks ago, the International Court of Justice made a decision obliging Azerbaijan to ensure free and safe movement through the Lachin Corridor. The decision is binding, which means that Azerbaijan is obliged to open the corridor for free movement. I send a message to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and tell him to lift the blockade immediately,” said Rasmussen.

He reminded that he last visited Armenia in 2012 as the Secretary General of NATO. “A lot has changed since that day, and I met the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, and expressed satisfaction with the efforts they are making to strengthen democracy in Armenia. I am here at the invitation of the Armenian government to help Armenia strengthen its ties with the European Union and the West in general,” he said.

 17:55,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Today, President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to Armenia Kirsti Narinen (residence in Helsinki), ARMENPRESS was informed from the President’s Office.

The President welcomed the Ambassador and noted that he is glad to see her in Armenia.

During the meeting, the sides discussed matters regarding the expansion of friendly relations between Armenia and Finland, as well as the deepening of cooperation in the fields of common interest.

The sides touched upon the general situation in the region and the issue of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor. The President noted that, in every possible way Azerbaijan evades the implementation of the decision of the International Court of Justice, by which the court ordered Azerbaijan to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. The President highlighted that this is a fully unacceptable position. Both sides stressed the imperative to restore the normal operation of the humanitarian corridor as soon as possible.

 18:18,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. In the present situation, when Azerbaijan, despite the decision of the international court, continues the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, the EU should strengthen the pressure on Azerbaijan.

ARMENPRESS reports, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former head of NATO, the founding chairman of Rasmussen Global international political consulting organization, told the journalists.

“The EU has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan in the field of energy, and this can be used as a critical platform for discussing the issue. Maybe President Ilham Aliyev is as much an autocrat as Putin, but I don’t think he would want to end up in the same situation as President Putin and become an international aggressor. And that’s why I once again call on Aliyev to immediately stop the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.

 19:09,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. International mechanisms should be created to guarantee the rights and security of the NK population, ARMENPRESS reports, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO Secretary General, the founding chairman of the international political consulting organization Rasmussen Global, told the journalists.

“We must do everything to reach a lasting and just peace treaty. A very important element in that agreement should be the guarantee of the rights and security of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. And to guarantee these rights and security, we must have international mechanisms that will monitor, control and guarantee them,” he said.

Referring to Armenia-EU relations, Rasmussen mentioned that they would like to cooperate very closely with the Armenian government.

“It will be a broad cooperation that will touch on broad topics. Naturally, we are talking about political support from the EU. I think that it is very necessary now that we raise awareness that there is a humanitarian crisis in NK. And the international community should put maximum pressure on Azerbaijan to resolve this issue,” he said.

He emphasized that they want to support the Armenian government to raise the dialogue with the EU to an even higher level, which will also include a dialogue on security policy.

“The EU has a wide range of tools that can be useful to Armenia. I think that Armenia needs even more international partners than it has today,” he said, noting that military cooperation with Armenia was not discussed in detail.

In conclusion, Anders Fogh Rasmussen noted that the EU has a European peace system, which can also be a framework for cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

 19:17,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s visit to Moscow is being prepared, ARMENPRESS reports, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told “RIA Novosti”,

“The visit is being prepared,” Zakharova said, answering the relevant question.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia will visit Moscow in the near future.

 20:13,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Germany is ready to provide its support in the direction of finding a long-term and feasible solution to the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh for the benefit of the local residents, ARMENPRESS reports, TASS informed, referring to the statement made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.

“Our joint goal should be finding a long-term and feasible solution to this conflict for the benefit of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said, adding that the peaceful settlement of the conflict should be based on preserving the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Speaking about the placement of the European Union Civilian Mission (EUMA) in Armenia, the head of the German government noted that Berlin supports it and ensures the leadership of the mission. The German Chancellor noted that the settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan should take place as soon as possible.

 20:38,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, based on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, released Tigran Parvanyan from the position of the commander of the United Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Russia, ARMENPRESS was informed from the President’s Office.

Major General (currently Lieutenant General) Tigran Parvanyan was appointed the commander of the United Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Russia in February 2018.

 18:34,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Yuri Babakhanyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of India, was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (residence: New Delhi) on the basis of dual accreditation.

ARMENPRESS reports, President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the appointment decree on March 13.