15:46,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that his administration maintains permanent contact with Nagorno Karabakh authorities in an attempt to find opportunities or approaches that could help mitigate the humanitarian crisis resulting from the Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin Corridor.

“And it is also due to our work that various international organizations are making decisions related to this issue. An attempt is made in the negotiations process to find solutions. As you know, a task force led by the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia has been formed for a long time now regarding the ongoing humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh, which is engaged in daily discussions on what steps could be taken, what steps could be most effective. As long as the danger of a humanitarian disaster isn’t resolved, the actions aren’t sufficiently effective, therefore with every day we should think what else can be done in order to eventually be able to achieve a result, even just an interim result. There are the most various ideas, and I think you’ll see these ideas implemented at some point,” Pashinyan said.

He refused to disclose details on the ideas but clarified that all possible steps must be of humanitarian nature. What matters is the timely, accurate utilization of the ideas, and not speaking about them, he added.

 16:10,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said on July 25 that the government of Nagorno Karabakh ought to do its part in managing the humanitarian crisis there. His comments came shortly after the Nagorno Karabakh President declared the entire Nagorno Karabakh to be a disaster zone amid the total blockade.

“I’d like to draw attention on an issue. Yes, we can say that Russia ought to do this, the US ought to do that, the EU ought to do this, and Armenia ought to do that, and Azerbaijan ought to do this. But we must also outline what the Nagorno Karabakh authorities ought to do. You can declare a disaster zone, but don’t the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh have something to do in managing the crisis? I think, in any case, by virtue of being the authorities they do. I think they ought to do their part, and we are ready to support them in the direction of doing that,” Pashinyan said at a press conference. 

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.

 16:28,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that he sees some degree of harmonization of stances of the West and Russia in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations process.

Speaking at a press conference on July 25, PM Pashinyan praised Washington’s efforts and noted that Russia’s activeness in the negotiations process has indeed reduced because of the ‘developments in Ukraine.’

“I highly appreciate the efforts of the United States. They are making truly serious efforts for making a peace treaty possible. Yes, Russia’s negotiations activeness has reduced to some extent. But not because they don’t want a resolution of the issue, but because they aren’t investing the presumed time and energy because of the developments in Ukraine. In relation to our current situation, we see harmonization trends happening in the positions of the West and Russia,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian PM said that he’s held most of his meetings in Western platforms for objective reasons, and not because Armenia wanted to push Russia out of the process.

 16:38,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has accused Azerbaijan of trying to use Armenian prisoners of war as a bargaining chip.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan refuses to release Armenian prisoners of war because it tries to use them as a tool to pressure Armenia.

“Azerbaijan is trying to use the captives as a political bargaining chip, moreover not in specificity but as a tool to pressure Armenia generally ,” Pashinyan said.

He also explained why Armenia agreed to provide Azerbaijan with the minefield maps of the territories that went under Azeri control after the 2020 war.

“The international community was urging us to take steps to increase trust. And we made this step as a humanitarian step, to show our sincerity in the peace efforts,” Pashinyan said.

 17:07,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan has met with the Ambassador of Georgia Giorgi Sharvashidze.

The defense attaché of the Georgian embassy Lieutenant Colonel Jaba Toroshelidze also participated in the meeting.

“Issues related to the course and prospects of expansion of the Armenian-Georgian cooperation in the defense sector were discussed,” the defense ministry said in a readout.

 18:01,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral meeting of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has started in Moscow.

ARMENPRESS reports, the trilateral meeting was preceded by the meeting of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov with Azerbaijani FM Jeyhun Bayramov.

 17:24,

YEREVAN, 25 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 25 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.35 drams to 386.74 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.21 drams to 427.15 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 4.30 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.22 drams to 496.57 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 29.52 drams to 24370.60 drams. Silver price down by 2.02 drams to 305.75 drams.

 18:59,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, ARMENPRESS reports, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ani Badalyan, wrote in her “Twitter” microblog.

“The security situation in the South Caucasus, the aggravation of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan’s illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, the lack of food and medicine, the need to take concrete steps were touched upon,” wrote Badalyan.

 19:18,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh complicates the negotiation process, ARMENPRESS reports, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan stated on July 25 at the trilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, which took place in Moscow.

Mirzoyan emphasized that the meetings and negotiations are quite intense. On some issues there are concrete results, on some issues perspectives are visible where the parties can reach a mutual agreement, but there are also problematic issues on which the positions of the two sides are very far from each other.

“We are constructive and conduct negotiations on all platforms and in all directions. Alas, the situation in the world, in particular, Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh complicates the negotiation process,” the Armenian FM said.

He emphasized that there is now a serious humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the situation is close to a real humanitarian disaster. “The situation is getting more serious hour by hour. Neither food nor medicine enters Nagorno-Karabakh, the supply of gas and electricity is stopped, and if we do not manage to find a solution and Azerbaijan does not stop the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the humanitarian disaster will have a negative impact on the overall negotiation process. However, I repeat that the Armenian side is constructive. We will continue the negotiations,” the Armenian FM concluded.

Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia is interested in peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

“Our efforts are aimed at stabilizing the situation both on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as solving humanitarian problems, unblocking economic and transport links, developing communication between people, civil societies, experts-political scientists,” he said.

 20:16,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. On July 25, in Moscow, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Armenia.

The interlocutors focused on issues of regional security and stability, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and existing humanitarian problems.

Ararat Mirzoyan highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is deepening with every passing hour as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan and the imperative to immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the provisions of the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 and the Orders of the International Court of Justice. The need to take concrete steps by the signatories of the Trilateral statement and the possibility to use the existing international tools was emphasized.

During the meeting, the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan was touched upon. In the context of delimitation and border security between the two countries, Minister Mirzoyan stressed the commitment to take the 1975 map as the basis for ensuring maximum clarity in the process of further border delimitation. In the context of unblocking all economic and transport communications in the region, the absence of an alternative to the functioning of the relevant communications under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries was once again emphasized. Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of addressing the issues of rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh under an international mechanism.

In order to reach mutual agreement on the above-mentioned issues, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the need for the constructive approach from the Azerbaijani side.

During the meeting issues of bilateral agenda between the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation were also touched upon.