23:17, 25 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenia's understanding of the security sphere, first of all, is based on the fact that we should try to make our environment as manageable and predictable as possible in terms of security. And Armenia, in turn, should be predictable for the environment. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this in an interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov

Answering the correspondent's following  question : "When you talk about diversifying your relationship, what do you mean by that, what can other countries do?" Do you expect the military presence of other partners, an American or French military base or maybe India? In practice, how do you see it?" Nikol Pashinyan answered: ''I want to say that we  do wrong when by security we mean only the army, only weapons, because, unfortunately, in many cases we see that there are countries that do not have a problem with weapons, but have a problem with security. And there are countries that have a weapon  problem but no security problem. Of course, it depends on many circumstances, environment, etc.

Now, our understanding of security is, first of all, based on the fact that we should try to make our environment as security-manageable and predictable as possible. And we have to be predictable for the environment. That is, the threats are generally mutual, and sometimes it is very difficult to find the starting point, because it is always a chicken and egg situation.

And sometimes there is no point in even looking for this starting point, because nothing changes from it. And when we talk about regulating our security relations, by regulating security relations we do not mean that we should bring weapons from other places and shoot at neighboring states. In this very area of security, we must shape relationships with our neighbors to build the right security relationships.

PM Pashinyan considered the delimitation of borders with Azerbaijan, mutual recognition of territorial integrity, rules for opening communications, all of them to be very important parts of the security policy.

‘’The approach according to which we must find allies somewhere, bring weapons to shoot at our neighbors, is not our approach. Of course, we have fears that our neighbors will shoot at us. But these concerns also need to be managed. But on the other hand, I think that any modern country should and has the right to have a modern army, has the right to develop its armed forces, has the right to meet its security needs. We think that security should not be ensured only by the army, but we also need to go for peace in the region…. By the way, in my speech in the European Parliament I said that we mean by  saying peace.

When we talk about peace, we mean that the borders of all countries in the region are open to each other on the same principles; we mean that these countries are connected by economic ties, connected by political dialogue and conversation, and connected by cultural ties. This is an important security component. Because it allows your opponent to understand you better, and it allows you to understand your opponent better. This is what makes it possible for mutual ties to be formed, and the security of your opponent to some extent becomes important for you, and your security also becomes important for your opponent, because otherwise economic risks, political risks may arise,'' said Nikol pashinyan.

''You talked about interconnectivity, which presumably also includes transit from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan. The existing agreements call for the role of Russian FSB in controlling, managing this traffic. Do you think FSB should really play a role here, or can Armenia and Azerbaijan deal with this on their own, without Russia's involvement?'' asked Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov.

''First of all, I would like to emphasize that there is no separate agenda regarding the connection between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. Such an agenda exists in the context of the opening of regional communications, when all regional communications must be opened. This is the second. Thirdly, it is not written anywhere that any body of the Russian Federation should have control over any territory of the Republic of Armenia. Nowhere is it written that the Republic of Armenia agrees for any limitation of its sovereign right. It is not written anywhere that any function assigned to the state institutions of the Republic of Armenia should be delegated to someone else. It is not written anywhere and it is not intended, there is no such thing that someone else should provide security in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. No such thing was written.

In general, after the failure of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation in Nagorno-Karabakh, many questions arise, and these questions are legitimate, because by saying failure I mean that it is a fact that the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation were unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Very serious questions arise here, but on the other hand, there has never been any talk of restricting any sovereign right of the Republic of Armenia and there can be no such talk.

But on the other hand, I want to say that as I already said at the European Parliament, and as we already agreed at the last Brussels meeting and which was expressed in the July 15 statement of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the opening of regional communications should take place on the basis of countries' sovereignty and jurisdiction,'' Nikol Pashinyan answered.

As a result, should the western regions of Azerbaijan have a transport connection with Nakhichevan, including through the territory of Armenia? Yes of course. Can the Republic of Armenia use those same routes, for example, to provide a railway connection between its different parts? Yes of course: In that case, can Azerbaijan use the transport routes of Armenia for international trade? Yes of course. Should Armenia have the opportunity to use the roads of Azerbaijan for international trade? Yes of course. Should international trade participants have the opportunity to trade with Turkey, Iran, and Georgia through the territory of Armenia as a global trade route? Yes of course. And we make this proposal, we are ready for this solution and we call this proposal "Crossroads of Peace" and we invite all our partners to make this project a reality together.

 23:41, 25 October 2023

 23:59, 25 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The Republic of Armenia can be peaceful if our region is peaceful. That's why Armenia does not oppose its ideas of peace in any way to the regional interests of peace and does not separate them from them. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this in an interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov.

Answering the correspondent’s following question: “The international environment has obviously changed in the last three years and in the war in Ukraine, Russia and the USA, together with its allies, are at opposite sides. In your opinion, how did Russia's invasion of Ukraine impact Armenia's security environment?” Nikol Pashinyan expressed his belief  that all the events taking place are interconnected by internal connections, including the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.

“ Of course those impacts are very direct and now in the modern world they are felt, visible and significant even thousands of kilometers away, but the events you mention are happening in our region, near our transport routes, or on our transport routes.

But also our reaction to the events is that our region needs peace, and we consider it important to pursue this policy consistently, because you see, there is a very important nuance that I mentioned again in my speech in the European Parliament, which sometimes can remain unnoticed, unrecorded. When we say that we have a peace agenda, the Republic of Armenia can be peaceful if our region is peaceful, there cannot be such a situation that our region is not peaceful, but the Republic of Armenia is peaceful. And for that reason, we do not oppose or separate our ideas of peace from the regional interests of peace in any way. And this is a very important wording, a very important feature that I would like to emphasize,’’ Pashinyan noted.

“If we look at the history of relations between the Armenian people and Russia over the centuries, this tension that we see now, I would not call it break necessarily, but maybe for many people the feeling of being betrayed, how historical is this tension?” asked Trofimov.

You know, if you emphasize the historical context, in that historical context I would not so much emphasize the relations between Armenia, the Armenian people and Russia, as I would emphasize the relations between Armenia and Turkey or between Armenia and the Turkish-speaking peoples of the region, or rather, Armenia's relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Here are all the questions and here are the answers to all the questions. And I bring forward this logic that we should work, first of all, to improve our relations in our region, with whom we have good relations, to make those relations better. We are talking about Georgia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. And with countries, with which we have strained relations or no relations at all,  we should create these relations and try to move forward step by step.

It is a very important circumstance and, frankly speaking, I do not have the answer to that question and I am trying to find the answer to the question what Armenia should do. It is very important to what extent we will be able to formulate regional interests, moreover, in this context, we can understand regional interests a little narrower and a little wider, in the context of the South Caucasus and in a wider context.

Much depends on to what extent we will be able to formulate regional interests, because when there are no formulated regional interests, tensions begin to arise between the interests of sovereign countries, which, if not managed, turn into escalations and wars. But the correct and competent way to manage these tensions is to have an understanding of regional interests, because you know, we cannot make all the countries and peoples of the region to be identical, with identical thinking, identical ideas, perceptions and so on, and there is no need to do that, because what becomes a cause of contradictions can sometimes become a cause of complementarity, not to mention that these cultures, histories, traditions can complement each other.

But it is necessary to find that formula of how to formulate and arrange them so that they do not collide, but complement one another.

In other words, it’s not so that we have defined the task but we cannot solve it, we just have not defined the task, that is, we still do not have the title. Now I think we should have that title and try to create content under that title. 

I cannot boast of the fact that we are doing this work in the region to a sufficient extent, but I think that if we stay within the framework of those agreements that are already known and about which I have spoken, the chances that something similar will happen will increase,'' the Prime Minister said.

 09:35, 26 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is visiting Georgia on Thursday to participate in the 4th Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.

During the one-day visit, the Armenian Prime Minister will also have a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili.

 10:01, 26 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Yan Girls will represent Armenia in the "Junior Eurovision 2023" Song Contest with the song called "Do It My Way". Armenia’s entry for this year was chosen through a competition announced by the Public TV of Armenia.

In 2023, Nané, Nancy, Kamilla, Syuzanna, and Aida formed the group Yan Girls to participate in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Inspired by the legendary K-pop artists, Yan Girls brings the familiar sound to a completely new level with influences from traditional Armenian music elements. Young, colourful, rebellious and poppy, they sing about the importance of staying true to yourself, being confident and doing things the best way – their way. “Do It My Way” was composed by Tokionine, the lyrics are written by Maléna and Vahram Petrosyan – the same team behind JESC 2021 winning song “Qami Qami”. The music video is directed by Artur Manukyan.

Nancy is 11 years old. Most of all, she loves singing and painting and is fond of art. Her favourite music genre is Pop. Her favourite music artists are Iveta Mukuchyan, Aram MP3, Dua Lipa, Beyonce, Black Pink, and BTS. Her biggest dream was to represent Armenia in Junior Eurovision.

9-years-old Aida is passionate about singing and dancing. Her favourite music genres are K-pop and Hip-hop, with her favourite groups being BlackPink, Triple Charms, and BTS. In her free time, she loves surfing. She has many dreams – one being the lead actress in a movie, and the biggest one is having her own song and dance studio. 

Syuzanna is 10 years old. She sings, dances, plays piano, and does artistic gymnastics. Her best friend is her dog – the first to listen to all her songs.

Kamilla is 11 years old. She has played piano, and drums and has sung since the age of 4. She loves active games and puzzles. In her free time, she builds unique structures with Legos. Her favourite music genre is classical and contemporary pop music.

Nané is 11 years old. She loves to sing and dance and pose for the camera. Her hobby is painting, and she’s proud that some of her paintings have been parts of different exhibitions.

 11:21,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Eurowings will launch Yerevan-Berlin roundtrip flights in May 2024, the Armenian Embassy in Germany has announced.

The embassy’s discussions with Eurowings were conducted together with Berlin legislator Martin Petzold and   European and Armenian Professionals Association official Mikayel Minasyan, the Armenian Embassy said in a statement.

”Over the past few months, the Armenian Embassy in Germany, together with Member of the Berlin House of Representatives, Prof. Dr. Martin Petzold and European and Armenian Professionals Association official Mikayel Minasyan has had many discussions with Eurowings , aimed at including this route in the summer flight schedule.”

Flights can already be booked for May 31, 2024  at the following link: https://www.eurowings.com/de.html ։

 11:40,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has congratulated Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala on the Czech National Day.

"I warmly congratulate you on the national holiday of the Czech Republic,” PM Pashinyan said in a letter addressed to PM Fiala published by his office. “I am pleased to note the activation of interstate relations between Armenia and the Czech Republic in the current year. I fondly remember our meeting and constructive discussion within the framework of my official visit to the Czech Republic in May of this year. I highly appreciate the Czech Republic's support for democratic reforms in Armenia, as well as for the process of establishing and strengthening peace and stability in our region. Taking this opportunity, I wish new successes to you, and peace and prosperity to the friendly people of the Czech Republic,” the Armenian PM said.

 12:06,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Foreign Ministry has congratulated Czechia on Independence Day.

''Our heartfelt congratulations to Czechia on Czechoslovak Independence Day. Wishing peace and prosperity to the people of Czechia. Looking forward to further enhancing our relations anchored in shared values of democracy and human rights,'' the Armenian foreign ministry said in a post on X.

 12:22,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. President Biden met Friday with China’s top diplomat at the White House ahead of a potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Hill reports.

''Biden met with Wang Yi, the foreign minister and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and the president “emphasized that both the United States and China need to manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication,” the White House said in a readout of the meeting. 

He underscored that the United States and China must work together to address global challenges,” the White House said.

Wang also met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and with national security adviser Jake Sullivan.