17:45,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS.  Armenia has considered and continues to consider the Russian Federation a friendly country, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said in response to a question from the public.

“As before, so now we consider Russia our friendly country. And in relations with friendly countries there are issues that need to be addressed. And we are guided by this logic. We hope and will do everything possible so that our relations with the Russian Federation are built on mutual respect, and respect for the interests, independence, and sovereignty of the parties," added Pashinyan.

 11:08,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Azerbaijan will hold a meeting on border delimitation, foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan has said.

The meeting will take place on the state border.

“According to preliminary agreement, the next meeting of the Commission on State Border Delimitation and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, from the Armenian side, and the Commission on State Border Delimitation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, from the Azerbaijani side, will take place on November 30 on the state border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Badalyan said.

 12:40,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has set a new historic record in the number of registered jobs, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“We’ve surpassed the number of 730,000 , setting a new record in registered jobs, according to data of October 2023,” he said at the Cabinet meeting.

Pashinyan said that approximately 183,000 jobs were created during his administration since 2018.

New jobs will be created, Pashinyan said citing the economic dynamics.

He expressed hope that the economic growth dynamics will become better as a result of fully involving the forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh in the job market and the economic system.

 12:11,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine has issued a statement stating that neither the company nor its shareholders are included in any sanctions list.

Below is the full statement:

"Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine" CJSC (hereinafter referred to as the "Company"), established and existing under the laws of the Republic of Armenia, hereby declares that neither the Company nor its shareholders or ultimate beneficial owners are included in any sanctions lists issued by relevant sanctions authorities as of the date of this statement, and no international sanctions are applicable to the Company.

“Mr. Gleb Trotsenko, who formerly held a beneficial ownership position in the Company, no longer retains such status due to the alienation of all his indirect shares in the Company on October 27, 2023. Currently, there is no relationship between Mr. Trotsenko and the Company.

“Comprehensive information regarding the ultimate beneficial owners of the Company is accessible on the official website of the State Register of Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia and can be found at the following link: https://www.e-register.am/am/companies/1501219/declaration/09d58b41-5083-4abd-86c6-179b7740531d.

“Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine” CJSC remains steadfast in its commitment to transparent corporate governance, and periodic publication of UBOs declarations according to the Armenian legislation underscores the Company's continuous efforts to uphold the highest standards of business conduct.”

 13:00,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Stolen Asset Recovery Division of the Prosecutor-General’s Office is seeking to confiscate a total of 500 billion drams in assets suspected to be of illicit origin in 93 different cases.

Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetyan said November 23 that the stolen asset recovery division, officialy known as the Department of Confiscation of Illegally Obtained Assets, has filed 93 cases to court since 2020. The assets in question include over 1000 real estate properties, 200 movable properties and shares in 270 companies.

So far 4 settlements have been reached, and the persons involved in the cases surrendered 6 real estate properties and 1 movable property worth over 2 billion drams, as well as 79 million drams.

 13:22,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan is hosting the IBA Junior World Boxing Championships.

Armenia will be represented by 16 athletes in the championships.

Scheduled from 23 November to 4 December at the MIKA Sport Arena, this event marks a significant milestone in junior boxing, hosting around 600 young talents from around 60 nations across 26 weight categories.

Armenia was chosen as a host country by IBA given the recent success of Armenian athletes, as well as the high-level organization of the 2022 and 2023 European championships in Yerevan.

 14:45,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Business tycoon and former MP Gagik Tsarukyan is under investigation by the Stolen Asset Recovery division of the General Prosecution.

The General Prosecution said in a statement that it launched a probe into suspected illegally obtained assets owned by Tsarukyan in 2020.

Tsarukyan and persons affiliated with him have since failed to produce any evidence proving the assets in question were obtained legally, the prosecution said.

In October 2023, the prosecution filed a motion to the Anti-Corruption Court seeking the forfeiture of multiple illegally obtained assets owned by Tsarukyan, including 79 units of real estate, 42 cars, over 340 million drams spent on eight unidentified vehicles, market value of 10 other real estate properties, shares held in 39 companies, the right to claim 63 billion drams in transactions, another 16,8 billion drams transferred to 12 unidentified individuals and companies and 86 billion 400 million drams in illegal revenue.

 14:53,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will compensate the 2023-2024 1^st semester tuition fees of forcibly displaced students from Nagorno-Karabakh who’ve formally transferred to universities or other educational institutions in Armenia after September 19, 2023. 

The decision was adopted during the November 23 Cabinet meeting.

 15:28,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Some issues in the talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan require the presence of mediators, Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan has said.

“We’ve numerously said that there are issues where the presence of mediators is mandatory. There are issues where the presence of mediators has a very important role,” he said when asked whether Armenia is in favor of holding talks with Azerbaijan without mediators.

Such issues include the rights of the forcibly displaced population of Nagorno-Karabakh, Safaryan said, adding that Armenia attaches importance to the presence of international mechanisms in this issue. There are other issues that require guarantees, he said.

“At this moment the issue of the rights of the forcibly displaced population is being raised by Armenia,” Safaryan said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to hold a meeting on border delimitation on November 30.

 17:05,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenia did not veto the documents that were adopted during the CSTO summit in Belarus which it did not attend, Belarus State Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Volfovich has said.

He said that the documents were agreed upon beforehand.

The Belarusian foreign minister, Sergei Aleinik, confirmed that CSTO decisions are made by consensus. “I have had a telephone conversation with my Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan. We discussed, among other things, these issues and decision-making mechanisms. All decisions that will be made today will be absolutely legitimate. In accordance with the rules and procedures of the organization, all decisions are made by consensus of all member countries. We agreed that following the summit, the CSTO secretary general will visit Yerevan. And, naturally, we will forward all the decisions finalized here within the framework of the conciliation commission to our Armenian partners. And we will count on them to join these decisions,” BelTA quoted him as saying.