11:15,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece George Gerapetritis visited on Wednesday the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide a day after arriving in Armenia on an official visit.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan accompanied his Greek counterpart at the memorial.

FM Gerapetritis placed a wreath at the memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame.

[see video]

 11:47,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Greece have a rich bilateral agenda in all sectors, Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis.

Mirzoyan said that Gerapetritis’ visit to Armenia was highly important in this period of time.

“The friendship between the Armenian and Greek peoples stems from the depth of centuries and millennia, the Armenian and Hellenic states closely cooperated in various times throughout history,” Mirzoyan said.

He added that Armenia and Greece built strong, friendly ties over the course of the past thirty years. “Our agenda is very rich in all sectors. Today’s meeting is a very good opportunity to address this agenda, to boost our relations, and advance our intensive political dialogue by covering numerous issues, ranging from the economy, security, defense to culture. We also outlined the actions and roadmap for this year on mutual high-level visits and events in various sectors. The meeting of the intergovernmental commission planned to take place in the first half of the year can have a very big role,” Mirzoyan said.

The Armenian FM thanked his Greek counterpart for supporting the development of Armenia-EU ties.

“We are really set to develop these ties based on the values we share in Armenia, in Greece, and in the EU. I am talking about democracy, human rights and other values. I expect future support from Greece in this process,” the Armenian FM said.

 12:42,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Greece supports the strengthening of the Armenia-EU ties and the deployment of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis has said.

“Regarding the Armenia-EU relations, Greece supports strengthening relations with Yerevan and the deployment of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia,” the Greek FM said at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

“Greece will work to strengthen institutional dialogue on the level of our expert skills, being one of the oldest EU members,” the Greek FM said.

Thanking Mirzoyan for the warm reception, Gerapetritis added, “I am happy and honored to be in Yerevan for the first time as foreign minister, and to reiterate the excellent level of bilateral ties and our willingness to further deepen our relations. Indeed, Greece and Armenia have strong historical ties, friendly relations that have been built over centuries. And I have also regular contact and cooperation with my good friend and colleague.”

 13:49,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be anchored on several fundamental principles to prevent escalation or aggression in the future, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Greece George Gerapetritis in Yerevan, Mirzoyan said that on January 4 Armenia responded to Azerbaijan’s proposals on a peace treaty which was received in late December 2023.

“I’d say that in terms of content we see certain regress in some parts of the Azerbaijani proposals, but also progress in several other directions. And we’ve worked very constructively on these offers and we’ve sent our proposals, which, I am sure, are very constructive,” Mirzoyan said.

What matters are the principles on which the peace must be based, he added.

“Regardless whether any specific clause of the new offer is regress or progress, the final peace must definitely be anchored on several fundamental principles. The countries must recognize each other’s territorial integrity without any ambiguity. This is a matter that requires maximum clarity, and the final peace treaty must ensure that clarity. Also, understandably, if the delimitation of borders can take a long time, we must at least see in the peace treaty the clear grounds upon which the delimitation process must take place in the future. These are the issues where the Republic of Armenia cannot see or allow any uncertainty. Also because of the reason that uncertainty is grounds for future aggression or escalations. Therefore, if we are establishing peace, we are establishing the kind of peace that would be maximally difficult to doubt or violate,” Mirzoyan said.

The next principle is the unblocking of economic links and infrastructures in the region, based on fair and fundamental principles, Mirzoyan added.

Reiterating Armenia’s interest on opening the links, Mirzoyan said, “Peace isn’t only the absence of gunfire. Peace is open borders and the movement of goods and persons on each other’s territory. It’s difficult to talk about the establishment of peace in South Caucasus when Armenia continues to be blockaded.”

 09:55,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government plans to enhance the country’s ties with its Diaspora through special commissioners who will work with Armenian communities around the world.

Diaspora Commissioners will be appointed in various cities across the world with large presence of Armenians.

Zareh Sinanyan, the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs of Armenia, told Armenpress that his agency has a list of potential candidates for the job.

“Over the past two years we’ve been mostly working in the communities, explaining what the commissioner’s job is going to be like. The first commissioner was appointed in 2023 to Poland by the Prime Minister. We are now considering several candidates and the appointments will be made soon. We have a big list that’s under consideration. We will work with the candidates, and when the time comes, we will ask the prime minister to make the appointment,” Sinanyan said.

Launching the network of commissioners is expected to increase the capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs.

The commissioners will have a “very simple” job, Sinanyan explained. “The Office of the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs has a limited staff, whereas we have a very big Diaspora. Therefore, we need people on the ground to act as the link between the community and my office,” he said.

“In the past there was a practice when our diplomats were the contact persons of the community. As a result they became community attachés instead of dealing with diplomacy. We want to avoid this and that’s why we are launching the institute of commissioners. We are not going to send anyone from Yerevan to the community, we will appoint the commissioner from within the community. They will be well-known, acceptable people for the community.”

The number of commissioners in any given country will depend on the size of the local Armenian community.

Upcoming appointments are expected in several countries of Western Europe.

[see video]

Interview by Anna Gziryan

 11:17,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. A Russian foreign ministry official has visited the Armenian town of Kapan to discuss Moscow’s plans to open a consulate-general there, the Russian Embassy in Armenia said in a press release.

The issue was discussed between Russian Foreign Ministry official Sergey Chashchikhin and Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan.

The Russian official thanked the Kapan leadership for support.

The importance of establishing and developing close ties between Kapan and Russian cities was underscored.

Promising directions for cultural-humanitarian and trade-economic cooperation were discussed.

 11:10,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Last year Armenia received a total of 411 readmission applications from EU countries, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan told lawmakers Wednesday.

She said that Armenia approved over 92% of the applications.

Sargsyan made the comments during parliamentary committee hearings on the bill on ratifying the protocol on the application of the Armenia-EU readmission agreement between Armenia and Austria.

The Deputy Minister said that statistically Armenia is in a very good situation, which gives EU partners trust to continue cooperation with Armenia within the framework of the readmission process.

“From January to December of 2023 we received 411 applications among EU countries, and 92,99% received positive response from our side. This doesn’t imply that Armenia refuses to receive the people who are residing irregularly in various EU countries. In many cases the persons in question could still be in unclarified circumstances who are not subject to readmission. And those who are not subject to readmission did not receive positive response,” she said.

Most of the applications are made from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Norway.

Speaking about the bill on ratifying the protocol, Sargsyan said that so far similar protocols have been ratified with Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, France, Estonia and Poland.

“Practice shows that such agreements contribute to more constructive visa liberalization talks between Armenia and the EU. This also allows to underscore Armenia’s readiness to ensure readmission processes for persons residing irregularly in various EU countries,” the Deputy Minister added.

 11:21,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) reaffirms its commitment to fostering economic development in Armenia by providing a USD 5 million senior loan facility to its long-standing partner ARARATBANK. With this new facility, the partners aim to facilitate access to finance for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and importantly those that are majority-owned or led by women and contribute to increased business competitiveness and inclusiveness in Armenia. ARARATBANK is a leading SME financier in the country with a proven strong track record in gender finance. EFSE’s investment will further solidify the Bank’s dedication to supporting women-owned or -led enterprises and promoting socio-economic empowerment and inclusiveness.

EFSE Regional Director Oxana Binzaru said: “We are honored to continue our journey with ARARATBANK, a trusted partner that shares our mission to foster economic development. This USD 5 million investment is a testimony to our joint commitment to supporting MSMEs, particularly women-owned or led enterprises, and making a meaningful impact on Armenia’s economic landscape.”

Mher Ananyan, Chairman of the Executive Board of ARARATBANK, concluded: “This strategic partnership reflects our commitment to fostering local economic progress and empowering MSMEs, which play a vital role in driving innovation, job creation, and overall economic stability. With the European Fund for Southeast Europe's expertise in financing and our bank's extensive network and resources, we are confident that this collaboration will have a significant impact on the business environment in Armenia."

 11:52,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenia hasn’t been offered to engage in direct, bilateral talks with Azerbaijan, a senior lawmaker has said.

“I assume that no offer has been to Armenia to take part in bilateral negotiations with Azerbaijan at any given time and place,” Sargis Khandanyan, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, told reporters when asked to comment on statements made from Baku on bilateral talks.

“We attach importance to the formats that have already been developed to be continuous, because they convey international reputation to the negotiations, further legitimize the negotiations and make the risks more manageable. Particularly, foreign ministerial talks were held in Washington, and summits were held in the EU platforms,” the MP said.

Bilateral discussions continue in the delimitation commission talks.

Direct bilateral talks took place in December 2023 on the release of POWs. Khandanyan said Armenia is ready to continue talks.

“Our priority is the content and stipulation of the principles of the talks, regardless where they will go on, or if the talks will be bilateral. If the principles aren’t recorded, then the agreements won’t have the value we expect,” he said.