18:43,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Brussels intends to continue its mediation in the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel said at a briefing with journalists.

''We have discussed the situation in the South Caucasus. We are committed to promoting EU mediation efforts to achieve the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the basis of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty,'' said Michel.

European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar announced earlier  the meeting planned for late October between the President of the European Council Charles Michel, the Armenain Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will not take place.

 19:23,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The Iranian Army's Ground Force has begun a massive military exercise in the central region of the country with the objective of assessing combat capabilities of various military units and testing new weaponry.

The drills started in the Nasrabad region of Isfahan on Friday..

A spokesperson for the drills provided details about the exercise, stating that it involves various units of the Army, including infantry, armored, missile, artillery, aviation, drones, as well as electronic, modern and cyber warfare units, IRNA reports.

 19:31,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS.  Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, Vahan Kerobyan, had a meeting with Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade, Timothy Minto, in London.

Kerobyan informed on his Facebook page, adding that issues related to trade, services, and investments were discussed during the meeting.

"We have also discussed the possibility of organizing direct flights between Armenia and Great Britain," wrote Kerobyan.

 20:16,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Georgian parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili has noted that the main goal and task of Georgia is to establish peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"I am glad that there are positive developments in this regard for the signing of a peace agreement. I hope that it will be implemented as soon as possible, as it is in our shared interest to make our region an area of peace and security," Papuashvili said, reports Sputnik Georgia.

According to Georgian parliament speaker, Georgia has always been a country that has given friendly Armenia and Azerbaijan an opportunity to meet for substantive discussions, maintaining neutrality towards both countries.

 20:52,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Israel offered the Hamas movement a ceasefire in exchange for the release of all hostages and the release of the bodies of dead citizens of the Jewish state from Gaza, Al Arabiya reports with reference to sources.

According to sources, Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, are negotiating the release of the hostages.

“Israel offered a ceasefire in exchange for the release of all hostages and the transfer of the bodies of the dead Israelis”the message says.

It is emphasized that Hamas rejected this proposal from the Israeli side and also demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners.

In addition, it is reported that Hamas asked for a long-term truce, but representatives of the Jewish state refused to respond to this proposal.

 21:16,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. On October 26, Tobias Billström, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden received Ambassador of Armenia Anna Aghadjanian, Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Sweden informs. 

FM Billström reiterated Sweden's strong support to Armenia. Discussion focused on regional developments, ways to further expand bilateral agenda, as well as the cooperation through EU framework.

 21:30,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. On October 27, His Holiness Garegin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, received the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The Catholicos of All Armenians, welcoming the visit of the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, referred to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Hungary. His Holiness Garegin II noted that the minister's visit to Armenia will undoubtedly contribute to the further development and strengthening of Armenian-Hungarian relations.

During the conversation, the Catholicos of All Armenians touched upon the expansionist policy of Azerbaijan and the security challenges facing Armenia, and also noted the need for clear and consistent steps by the international community to curb the unrestrained aggressive aspirations of Azerbaijan.

The Catholicos expressed gratitude to the government of Hungary for the assistance in the repatriation of five Armenian prisoners of war in 2021, as well as for the support provided to Christian communities in the countries of the Middle East, the Armenian Church, Armenia and forcibly  displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh in these difficult days.

The Catholicos also touched upon the problems of the return of prisoners and the preservation of the spiritual and cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In his turn, Minister Szijjártó valued the role of the Armenian Apostolic Church in restoring diplomatic ties between Armenia and Hungary.

The minister emphasized that the Armenian and Hungarian peoples have a universal Christian value system, which is an important basis for further strengthening and development of relations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary also emphasized that Hungary is ready to implement various programs to support displaced Artsakh citizens, as well as take consistent steps in the direction of preserving the spiritual and cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh.

 21:55,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. On October 27, Human Rights Defender of Armenia Ms. Anahit Manasyan received the member of the French National Assembly and co-chair of the France-Armenia friendship group Anne-Laurence Petel and the head of the Armenia-France friendship group of the Armenian Parliament, the chairman of the standing committee on state-legal issues, Vladimir Vardanyan.

At the meeting, Anahit Manasyan presented the issues related to the protection of the rights of people of Nagorno- Karabakh forcibly displaced as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression, which were recorded as a result of the fact-finding activities.

The Defender specifically referred to the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as other cases of torture, mutilation, and ill-treatment by the Azerbaijani forces prohibited by the international law.

The mentioned information was included in the extraordinary report of the Human Rights Defender, which was the first to be presented by the Defender to international organizations and actors with a mandate to protect human rights.

Anne-Laurence Petel and Vladimir Vardanyan expressed their gratitude for the reception and emphasized the role of the Human Rights Defender's institution in the implementation of the high mission of human rights protection.

 10:50,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will visit Malta on October 27 at the invitation of Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg.

Grigoryan will participate in the Peace Formula meeting, his office said in a press release.

 10:54,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The top 1000 taxpayers in Armenia paid a total of over 1 trillion 266 billion 911 million drams in taxes and customs duties to the state budget in January-September 2023, the State Revenue Committee has said.

The sum of taxes paid to the tax service amounted to more than 967 billion 676 million while the sum of payments to the customs body amounted to 299 billion 235 million drams.