19:32, 1 February 2024

 20:00, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenians, the Republic of Armenia, fill 90 percent of the consciousness being formed in Azerbaijan today,  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.

"They form their perception of statehood and public relations on the basis of signals received from Armenia and sent from Armenia regarding how Armenia affects them, how Armenia and Armenia's perception affects their own perception. And this is a mutual process", Pashinyan said.

 14:43, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. The Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) has held its 23rd annual congress, during which the strategy for the next three years was adopted.

Furthermore, Alexander Yesayan was re-elected as UATE President and Sargis Karapetyan was appointed as UATE Director.

In his remarks, Yesayan said that new achievements will be recorded which will contribute to Armenia’s technological progress.

He said that 32 new members have joined the UATE, bringing the number of members to 132.

Armenia will host the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in 2024.

Vice Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan also attended the event.

He said that efforts must be joined to clarify the strategic vision of the future.

“This year we plan to have a clarification of the strategic priorities, and I’d like to call on the associations and companies to unite and accurately present our priorities at this stage both in Armenia and to the international community,” he said.

The new Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan highlighted the sector’s significance for the country. “I am sure that the high technology sector can become an important factor for the sustainability and development of Armenia’s economy, as well as increasing the country’s competitiveness in international markets and ensuring advanced defensive systems,” he said.

He praised the UATE as one of the most important partners of the High-Tech Industry Ministry.

UATE Director Sargis Karapetyan also announced that they are currently working with all stakeholders on a bill regulating the high-tech sector.

 20:18, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia, discussed the possibility of creating the Fourth Republic of Armenia in the context of the planned new Constitution.

When asked whether a new constitution is being proposed for the new Fourth Republic, the Prime Minister replied: "That is one of the ideas."

 20:33, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS.  The current national security strategy of the Republic of Armenia does not address the existing issues, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia. He addressed the question of how suitable the current strategy is today and whether it is an effective approach capable of providing security in the uncertain world, meeting security challenges.

"No, the national security strategy we have today does not address the existing issues. It is evident that we should have a new national security strategy," said the Prime Minister.

According to Pashinyan, the new national security strategy should be framed in the logic of protecting the legitimate territorial integrity and interests of the state.

 16:36, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Head of the Civil Contract faction in parliament Hayk Konjoryan on February 1 met with French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies.

In a readout, the parliament press service said the majority leader and the French ambassador discussed the course of the democratic reforms in Armenia and attached importance to the unwavering implementation of the fight against corruption. Views were exchanged around the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process. Konjoryan highly appreciated France’s strong support to Armenia in all sectors.

 20:54, 1 February 2024

 14:55, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Russia doesn't want Armenia’s accession to the ICC to negatively impact the bilateral ties, the Kremlin has said.

“That’s overall Armenia’s sovereign right,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti after Armenia officially joined the ICC on February 1. “But on the other hand, for us it is important that such decisions don’t negatively impact, both de jure and de facto, our bilateral relations, which we value and hope to further develop.”

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) officially entered into force for Armenia on February 1.

The Armenian parliament ratified the Rome Statute in October 2023.

Armenia’s ratification of the Rome Statute caused concerns in Moscow.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, after an investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine. The ICC arrest warrant for Putin accuses the Russian leader of unlawfully deporting thousands of Ukrainian children, a war crime. This has been denied by the Russian government. Countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute would have to enforce the arrest warrant once Putin travels into their territory. Earlier the Russian Foreign Ministry described it as an ‘unfriendly step’ and asked for explanations.

Armenian government officials have numerously said that ratifying the Rome Statute has nothing to do with Russia and is aimed at holding Azerbaijan to account for its aggression against Armenia.

 17:14, 1 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh exiled Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Gegham Stepanyan and former State Minister Artak Beglaryan represented the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s "inalienable rights, national interests, and democratic aspirations" at a Capitol Hill briefing featuring powerful remarks by Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and James Costa (D-CA), and organized by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the ANCA said in a press release. 

“We are here to demand the right of safe return of Artsakh’s [NK] refugees to their homes, homes that in many cases have been occupied by their families for hundreds and hundreds of years,” the ANCA quoted Rep. Sherman as saying, who urged the enforcement of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, sanctioning the Aliyev regime for the ethnic cleansing of NK. Citing Azeri President Aliyev’s escalating rhetoric falsely claiming Armenia’s capital Yerevan is Azerbaijani territory, Rep. Sherman urged the Biden Administration to provide defensive military weapons to Armenia, “to avoid the next tragedy, which is being planned in Baku.”  Rep. Sherman concluded his remarks, with a message to President Aliyev, who claims that his main enemies are the Armenians of the world. “Well, I have news for you, Mr. Aliyev. Your main enemies are every person in the world who believes in democracy, who believes in human rights, and who believes in justice.”

Condemning Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of NK, Rep. Costa noted, “We must do more” to provide US humanitarian assistance to Artsakh’s forcibly displaced population through the foreign aid supplemental currently under consideration.  “We must hold the Azerbaijan government responsible for not only the ethnic cleansing but the cultural genocide that they continue to attempt to implement as part of a systematic effort that has long been the history of Azerbaijan and their attitude toward the Armenian people and the culture and the religion.  The threats that Azerbaijan is now making toward Armenia, I believe, are serious and real, and therefore should be treated as such,” stated Rep. Costa.  He also called for concrete US action to secure the return of Artsakh leaders and Armenian POWs illegally held hostage by Azerbaijan.  “Artsakh’s rights were center stage this week in Washington, DC, as two of the Republic’s most eloquent voices – Artak Beglaryan and Gegham Stepanyan – made the case to U.S. legislators and international religious freedom leaders for the safe return of indigenous Armenians to their ancient homeland,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Today’s Congressional briefing was a great opportunity for legislators to hear first-hand about the Artsakh Genocide and also for them to consult among themselves about the concrete U.S. steps needed to restore this integral part of the Armenian homeland.”

During the briefing, Stepanyan and Beglaryan offered eyewitness accounts of the brutal realities of Azerbaijan’s ten-month blockade of Artsakh, which culminated in the September 2023 genocidal attack that forcibly emptied Artsakh of its indigenous Armenian population.  The Artsakh leaders shared the history of Azerbaijan’s premeditated attacks against Artsakh’s Armenians, which laid the foundation for the 2023 genocide.
Beglaryan and Stepanyan called for bold US and international leadership to hold Azerbaijan accountable for the Artsakh genocide, including via:

— Sanctions on Azerbaijan, building on Senate passage of S.3000, which enforce Section 907 restriction on U.S. military and security aid to Azerbaijan.  They also encouraged the application of Magnitsky sanctions on Aliyev government officials for war crimes and ethnic cleansing committed during the 2020 Azerbaijan-Turkey war against Armenia and Artsakh and subsequent genocidal aggression.

— US aid for NK’s forcibly displaced Armenian community, including housing and job placement assistance, until a secure mechanism can be put in place through international oversight and mediation with NK authorities to guarantee the safe return of forcibly displaced Armenians to their Artsakh homes.

— Expanded U.S. and international efforts to help secure the immediate release of Artsakh leaders captured in September 2023, and POWs illegally held by Azerbaijan since the 2020 Azerbaijan/Turkey attacks.

— Preservation of NK’s Armenian cultural and religious heritage already under threat of destruction by Azerbaijan.

Stepanyan and Beglaryan stressed that without international efforts to address the Artsakh people’s right to safe return and justice for the crimes committed, it will be impossible to establish sustainable peace in the region. They also emphasized that the systemic anti-Armenian hatred fomented by the Azerbaijani Government must be eradicated to ensure an enduring settlement of the conflict and regional stability.

The speakers underscored that enforcement of Section 907, via enactment of S. 3000, would represent a meaningful contribution to regional peace. They also touched on related initiatives, among them ANCA-backed resolutions pending in the U.S. House, H.R. 5686 and H.R.5683. These measures would hold Azerbaijan accountable for ethnic cleansing against NK’s indigenous Armenians, and help deter further military aggression against Armenia by providing foreign military financing (FMF) aid to Armenia. They also raised H.Res.735, requesting a report on Azerbaijan’s human rights practices under Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act; and H.Res.861, a bipartisan resolution introduced by Rep. Schiff calling on the United States to ensure the immediate release of Armenian POWs and other detained persons illegally held by Azerbaijan.

The ANCA is accompanying Beglaryan and Stepanyan as they represent Artsakh interests during two weeks of Washington DC meetings with elected officials, policymakers, and religious freedom advocates, as part of a 120,0000 Reasons coalition effort supported by the Tufenkian Foundation and the Philos Project.

Earlier this week, Stepanyan offered powerful remarks on Capitol Hill at an International Religious Freedom Summit-related forum calling for U.S. government and non-governmental organization leadership to provide for the secure return of Artsakh Armenians, protection of Artsakh’s Christian heritage, and sanctions against the Azerbaijani government.  Throughout the IRF Summit, they discussed the broad range of challenges and opportunities for international action to assist forcibly displaced Artsakh refugees.

 21:30, 1 February 2024