Hungary will continue blocking a 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) loan ‌for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia as long as oil flows via ⁠the Druzhba pipeline remain suspended, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday in Brussels, Reuters reports.

Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to ‌Hungary ⁠and Slovakia have been suspended since late January. Kyiv says a Russian ⁠strike hit Druzhba pipeline equipment in western Ukraine, ⁠while Slovakia and Hungary say Ukraine ⁠is to blame for the prolonged outage.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has ruled out his country’s participation in the US-Israel war against Iran, according to Reuters news agency.

“We lack the mandate from the United Nations, the European Union or Nato required under the Basic Law. It was therefore clear from the outset that this war is not a matter for Nato,” Merz said.

From March 9 to 13, Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan participated in the 119th Plenary Session of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) of the CoE in Strasbourg, serving as the Committee’s member representing Armenia.

During the session, the Committee discussed and adopted reports on visits conducted in several countries. It also reviewed draft new standards regarding places of detention for immigration purposes and social care institutions, the Armenian Human Rights Defender’s Office said in a statement.

As part of the session, oral reports were presented on the Committee’s recent visits to several countries, and the outcomes of high-level meetings, as well as plans for future visits and meetings, were discussed.

Anahit Manasyan was elected as Armenia’s member of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on November 29, 2023. Her term as a member runs until December 19, 2027.

Mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan, announced on Monday that City Hall plans to buy new waste disposal equipment to improve urban sanitation services.

“Dear residents of Yerevan, the Yerevan City Hall plans to purchase 69 units of equipment in 2026 to improve street cleaning and waste disposal services,” Mayor Avinyan said during the City Hall executive meeting.

Armenian Greco-Roman wrestlers won 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal at the U23 European Wrestling Championships held in Zrenjanin, Serbia, bringing Armenia’s total medal count to eight.

Suren Aghajanyan (60kg) and Aramayis Harutyunyan (130kg) won gold.

Manvel Khachatryan (55kg) took bronze, while Samvel Terteryan (77kg) won silver. Earlier in the championships, Armenian freestyle wrestlers had won 1 gold and 3 bronze medals.

Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan announced on Monday that the text of the proposed new Constitution, developed to replace the current one via referendum, is ready and will be discussed at the ruling Civil Contract party’s board meeting, as well as by its parliamentary faction.

Galyan made the announcement during the first session of the ministry’s public council.

“The Constitutional Reform Council is working very actively. We hold meetings every week, and the text is ready, as I promised. However, I don’t have any news about its publication yet, because it has been decided to also discuss the text within the Civil Contract party board and parliamentary faction. After that, a decision will be made regarding its publication,” the minister said.

The minister clarified that the conceptual provisions of the draft new Constitution of Armenia had been previously developed, while the text itself was drafted based on those provisions.

According to Galyan, the approach is as follows: the focus is on the individual—the citizen, the people—while there is no deviation from the established system of governance.

“We believe that the best _expression_ of the principles of democracy lies in parliamentarism. But we have made significant changes in the context of trying to further decentralize the branches of power and balance them, for example, by providing oversight mechanisms to the National Assembly over the activities of the Prime Minister, and so on,” Galyan said.

Regarding the judicial branch, the draft will allow for the institution of the jury system. It will also, as a principle, provide for the possibility of two-tier appeals, written case examination, and the ability to appeal decisions of the Supreme Judicial Council—options that do not exist today.

Galyan had earlier announced that the text of the draft new Constitution would be published in March 2026.

Ruben Vardanyan, the former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister and philanthropist wrongfully convicted in Azerbaijan, has been barred from delivering a message to Azerbaijan’s Ombudsperson, his family said in a statement.

Below is the full statement released by Vardanyan’s family.

“On 13 March, during a phone call with his family, Ruben Vardanyan attempted to deliver a public address to Azerbaijan’s Ombudsperson, Sabina Aliyeva. The call was forcibly terminated.

This address was an act of last resort: over the preceding ten days, Ruben had repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to reach her through his lawyer, written requests, and phone calls.

The trials took place a month ago. To date, neither Ruben nor the other Armenian prisoners have received the official texts of their verdicts – neither in Russian, nor in Armenian, nor in Azerbaijani. They do not know under which charges they were convicted, or when and where they will be transferred.

We are deeply concerned by the current situation. The absence of reliable information about his condition and the condition of other Armenian prisoners, combined with the dismantling of independent human rights mechanisms in Azerbaijan – including the departure of the International Committee of the Red Cross — leaves all prisoners without any institutional protection.

We also fear that even brief phone calls – the only remaining means of contact – may be cut off entirely.

We are publishing the audio recording of Ruben’s address to Azerbaijan’s Ombudsperson Sabina Aliyeva – an address he was not permitted to complete.

We hope that this appeal will reach its intended recipient,” Vardanyan’s family said. 

They also released the audio recording.

Earlier in February, Vardanyan decided not to file an appeal against the 20-year prison sentence handed down by an Azerbaijani military court, widely seen as a wrongful conviction following a sham trial. The announcement was made by his family in a statement posted on social media. Vardanyan said that filing an appeal would imply recognition that the trial met at least minimal standards of law, whereas it was, in fact, a “staged performance.”

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has expressed gratitude to Armenia for facilitating the safe evacuation of hundreds of Indian nationals from Iran.

“Thank the Government and the people of Armenia for facilitating the safe evacuation of over 550 Indian nationals from Iran so far. Appreciate their support in these challenging times,” Jaishankar said on X.

Earlier on March 11, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said that since the outbreak of the war in Iran on February 28, citizens of 46 countries have been evacuated through Armenia.

The list includes Georgia, Iran, Türkiye, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Uruguay, Austria, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Greece, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine, Finland, France, Australia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, New Zealand, China, Tajikistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Guinea, Egypt, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Lebanon, South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Syria.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan held a meeting with the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Armenia, Nikola Nikolov.

Minister Khudatyan highlighted the need to deepen bilateral relations, the ministry said in a readout.

Issues related to transportation, energy, and local self-government were discussed.

The two sides emphasized the importance of interregional cooperation between regions and communities. The Minister also stressed the necessity of direct air connections with Bulgaria. A number of other issues of bilateral interest were also discussed.

YEREVAN, 16 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 16 March, USD exchange rate down by 0.13 drams to 377.41 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.26 drams to 432.96 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.0276 drams to 4.6571 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.17 drams to 500.79 drams.

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

Gold price down by 1059 drams to 61211 drams. Silver price down by 40.8 drams to 1015.6 drams.