Category: News

Iran is prepared to remove its highly enriched uranium from the country on the condition that it is transferred to China, Al Arabiya reported, citing unnamed senior officials.

“Iran is ready to remove highly enriched uranium from its territory. Iran demands that it be handed over to China,” informed sources told the outlet.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 25 that the United States has a good chance of reaching a temporary agreement with Iran on the nuclear issue.

Earlier, The Washington Post reported that the Iran-US framework agreement, which has not yet been confirmed by Tehran, envisages that Iran would give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. However, an Iranian official told the newspaper that the issue concerns not a final agreement on the nuclear file, but a temporary arrangement to postpone further discussions on the matter to a later date.

The Armenian Air Force will conduct training flights over central Yerevan on Monday as part of preparations for the May 28 military parade, the Defense Ministry announced.

The flights will take place from 10:00 to 11:00.

The May 28 parade, which will begin at 10:00 in Yerevan’s Republic Square, will showcase defense equipment acquired by the Armenian military as part of reforms carried out over the past several years.

The Defense Ministry has announced a ban on photographing and filming the movement of Armenian Armed Forces military equipment in Yerevan ahead of the May 28 military parade, stating that violations will result in legal responsibility.

“Dear compatriots, dear media partners, ahead of the military parade scheduled for May 28, photography and video recording of the movement of Armenian Armed Forces military equipment on the streets of the capital Yerevan are strictly prohibited.

Filming will be allowed on May 28 in accordance with the established procedure.

The use of UAVs for filming is also strictly prohibited.

Violations will result in legal responsibility,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The military parade, scheduled for May 28 – Republic Day – will showcase recent defense equipment acquisitions as part of military reforms over the past four years. It will begin at 10:00 in Republic Square, Yerevan.

Eduard Spertsyan, captain of the Armenian national football team and FC Krasnodar, has hinted at a possible departure from the Russian club.

Speaking at a press briefing after the Russian Cup final between FC Krasnodar and FC Spartak Moscow, Spertsyan said the match may have been his last for the club.

“Let’s see what happens. Anything is possible. Maybe this was my last match for Krasnodar,” Spertsyan said.

FC Krasnodar lost to Spartak Moscow 4–3 on penalties after the match had ended 1–1 in regular time.

Spartak’s Pablo Solari opened the scoring in the 35th minute, while Douglas Augusto equalized for Krasnodar in the 56th minute.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday led the Civil Contract party’s campaign tour in the city of Gyumri.

Pashinyan and senior members of Civil Contract toured the city’s streets, spoke with residents, and presented the party’s election manifesto.

A rally will take place at 20:00 in Vardanants Square, with Pashinyan calling on residents from across Shirak Province to attend.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia will take place on June 7.

Nineteen political forces (17 parties and two blocs) are running for office.

Civil Contract’s election motto is “Uphold Peace!”

The ruling party’s electoral list comprises 283 candidates, with Pashinyan nominated as its prime ministerial candidate.

Strong Armenia alliance leader Samvel Karapetyan revealed on Monday that, in the event of winning the elections on June 7, his administration would enact a law banning Azerbaijani nationals from acquiring real estate in Armenia.

The legislation, he said, would be called the Safarov Prevention Act, in reference to Ramil Safarov, the convicted murderer of Armenian military officer Gurgen Margaryan. The latter was asleep in his dormitory room during a 2004 NATO training program in Hungary when Safarov broke into his room and killed him with an axe. Safarov was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison by a Hungarian court. However, in 2012, Hungary extradited him to Azerbaijan, where he was released upon arrival.

“We will adopt a law at the very first meeting of our Cabinet that prohibits Azerbaijanis from acquiring land and property or receiving them as donations within the territory of Armenia. We have named this law the ‘Safarov Prevention Act,’” Karapetyan, currently under house arrest amid an ongoing investigation into allegedly publicly calling for a coup, said during a meeting with representatives of the alliance.

The details of the initiative were presented by lawyer Aram Vardevanyan, who is second on the alliance’s electoral list, noting that the proposed legislative package concerns citizens of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani legal entities.

“We propose that any individual or legal entity holding Azerbaijani citizenship, including as a beneficial owner, and operating in the Republic of Armenia, should not be able to acquire any real estate in our country,” he emphasized.

Although the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia stipulates that “foreign citizens and stateless persons do not enjoy the right of ownership of land, except in cases prescribed by law,” Vardevanyan believes that a prohibition on acquiring real estate should also be explicitly enshrined in legislation.

Earlier this year, Strong Armenia named business magnate Samvel Karapetyan as its prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming general election, despite an apparent constitutional barrier.

Constitutional requirements for a prime minister in Armenia include having resided in the country for at least the previous four years and holding exclusively Armenian citizenship during that period. Karapetyan is reported to hold dual citizenship and has been based mostly abroad.

The party announced that if it wins the election, it would initiate legislative amendments, change the relevant law regarding the requirements, and elect Samvel Karapetyan.

His nephew Narek is the alliance’s lead candidate on the electoral list.

Law enforcement agencies arrested five people on Monday amid an ongoing investigation into alleged vote-buying involving the Strong Armenia party.

The Anti-Corruption Committee announced that investigators carried out a search of the Strong Armenia offices in the Avan district of Yerevan as part of a criminal investigation.

Other details were not immediately available.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Armenia on May 26, the Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will hold a meeting with Secretary Rubio. Mirzoyan and Rubio will then deliver statements to the media.

Bilateral documents are expected to be signed.

The Armenian foreign minister will then hold a press conference.

Armenia’s tourism season is showing extended growth and stronger year-round activity, according to Mekhak Apresyan, president of the Armenian Tourism Federation.

In comments to Armenpress, he said the traditional tourism season has expanded from March to mid-November, with rising visitor numbers and increasing arrivals during the New Year period. Apresyan also noted a year-on-year increase in inbound tourism.

Apresyan lauded the “promising” start of the tourism season.

While many years ago the tourism season in Armenia used to begin in April with Easter celebrations and end in October, it has now been significantly extended, he said.

“The tourism season now starts to become active from March through mid-November. In other words, our policy of extending the tourism season is producing results,” he said.

According to Mekhak Apresyan, the number of tourists spending New Year in Armenia is also increasing year by year.

He said that from mid-January to March, tourist flows usually become less active, and the task is to fill that period, with significant work also being carried out in that direction.

The president of the Armenian Tourism Federation noted that 386,741 tourists visited Armenia in the first quarter of last year, while in the same period this year the number increased by 66,397. 

“We had about 453,000 inbound tourist visits this year. Russia is in first place with about 39 percent, followed by Georgia, then Europe as a whole, and then Iran and the United States,” he said, adding that in recent years there has also been increased activity from Gulf countries, as citizens of those states often prefer to spend the winter in Armenia.

The situation in the Middle East has also had a negative impact, according to Apresyan. He said that there were no visits during the Nowruz celebrations this year, whereas usually many Iranians travel to Armenia during these holidays.

Speaking about outbound tourism, Apresyan noted that Armenians continue to prefer coastal destinations, while European countries also remain popular choices.

Addressing sector challenges, he said that one of Armenia’s main problems is that it is landlocked. However, he added that direct flights have partially helped address this accessibility issue in recent years.

He also pointed to difficulties at European embassies and visa centers in issuing visas to Armenian citizens.

“Tourism is, by its nature, a phenomenon that feeds other sectors of the economy and is also fed by them. Therefore, we must properly value the role and importance of tourism, as well as adequately present our historical and cultural heritage,” Apresyan added.