09:55,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan has met with U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien to discuss defense cooperation, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The meeting took place on January 18 over dinner at the invitation of the U.S. Ambassador.

Minister Papikyan and Ambassador Kvien discussed “issues pertaining to the Armenian-American cooperation in the defense sector and regional security, as well as issues of mutual interest,” according to a readout issued by the Ministry of Defense. Papikyan thanked the U.S. Ambassador for the warm reception.

 10:21,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met on Thursday in Zagreb with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

Mirzoyan and Plenković noted that the latest high-level contacts have intensified the bilateral cooperation which is based on friendship, mutual understanding and common values, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a readout. Mirzoyan and Plenković also noted that the visit is taking place in the year marking the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Croatia.

The Armenian FM and the Croatian Prime Minister discussed possibilities to further develop the agenda of cooperation between the two countries, deepen political dialogue and develop trade-economic ties, as well as enhance cooperation in other areas of mutual interest. The development of partnership in the context of strengthening Armenia-EU cooperation was also highlighted and the existing dynamics in this direction was emphasized.

Mirzoyan and Plenković also discussed issues pertaining to security and stability. FM Mirzoyan presented to the Croatian Prime Minister the Armenian side’s approaches based on the well-known principles regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process and the establishment of peace in the South Caucasus.

Speaking about the ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian Foreign Minister emphasized the need for restraining the approach of the use of force to resolve issues in the region, and for ruling out Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggressive rhetoric and territorial ambitions.

The Crossroads of Peace project developed by the Armenian government, namely its political and economic components, were also discussed.

 10:38,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is obstructing the unblocking of regional infrastructures, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan told Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, during a meeting on Thursday.

In a readout, the foreign ministry said Kostanyan and Klaar “discussed the recent developments on regional security and establishment of peace.”

“In this context, the Deputy Foreign Minister drew the attention of interlocutors to the destructive statements made by the President of Azerbaijan in his recent interview, which aim to deviate from the peace agenda. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vahan Kostanyan stressed that the former USSR member states, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, recognize each other's borders in accordance with the Alma-Ata Declaration of December 1991, and the delimitation work should be carried out on the basis of the latest maps available at the time of the dissolution of the USSR. The Deputy Minister also emphasized the imperative of the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territory of Armenia. Vahan Kostanyan noted that Azerbaijan is hindering the process of unblocking regional infrastructures, the 4 well-known principles of which — sovereignty, jurisdiction, reciprocity and equality — have been previously agreed between the parties,” the ministry said.

 11:08,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. The President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan has met Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Khachaturyan and Barzani discussed “a number of agenda items of bilateral interest,” the Armenian President’s office said in a readout. They also discussed “the general situation in the region and beyond, as well as current developments.”

 14:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan has met with Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard within the framework of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

President Khachaturyan and Callamard discussed the humanitarian situation and existing challenges in the region in the aftermath of the forced displacement of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. In this context, the Armenian President and the Amnesty International Secretary-General reiterated the imperative of the rule of international legal norms and fundamental human rights. They also discussed the Armenian government’s rapidly deployed relief programs for the forcibly displaced persons.

President Khachaturyan and Secretary-General Agnes Callamard both lauded the nearly 30 years of effective partnership between Armenia and Amnesty International and agreed to make efforts to strengthen and enhance cooperation.

 14:43,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan has met with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

President Khachaturyan and Administrator Power discussed “the general situation in the South Caucasian region and the existing humanitarian challenges,” Khachaturyan’s office said in a readout.

Power’s latest regional trip was also discussed.

President Khachaturyan reiterated Armenia’s principled position on achieving sustainable and lasting peace and noted that there is no alternative to the peace process.

Both sides emphasized the importance of uniting efforts for resolving humanitarian issues, as well as the need for further steps. In this context, President Khachaturyan and Administrator Power discussed the implementation of the agreements between the Armenian government and the USAID, and Power reaffirmed willingness to enhance the circle of cooperation.

President Khachaturyan and the USAID chief lauded the nearly 30 years of close cooperation between Armenia and USAID and attached importance to the continuity of joint steps aimed at deepening targeted partnership.

 15:34,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. The new Greek parliament has formed a friendship group with Armenia chaired by MP Stavros Kalafatis, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Group of the ruling Nea Dimokratia party.

The Greece-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group from the Greek side will be co-chaired by Zoe Konstantopoulou, the Head of the Course of Freedom party, the Armenian Embassy in Greece said in a statement. 

Katerina Notopoulou (SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance) will serve as the group’s Secretary. The group consists of 20 MPs.

 16:11,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan has held a meeting with Javier Colomina, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In a readout, the Ministry of Defense said the discussions "focused on the current course of the Armenia-NATO partnership and the prospects for its development."

"Additionally, the deliberations extended to encompass various matters on regional security and mutual interests," the ministry added.

 16:58,

YEREVAN, 19 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 19 January, USD exchange rate up by 0.17 drams to 405.42 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.38 drams to 441.10 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 4.58 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.11 drams to 514.07 drams.

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

Gold price up by 29.89 drams to 26241.16 drams. Silver price down by 2.48 drams to 294.65 drams.

 18:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan, in response to a question from a journalist of Croatia's public television about efforts aimed at establishing peace, stated that Armenia is engaged in negotiations with Azerbaijan in good faith.

''As I said, Armenia is engaged in negotiations with Azerbaijan in good faith and we are more than interested in establishing lasting peace in our region.

We believe that this will be beneficial not only for the people of Armenia, but for the countries in the region.

However, we see that our constructiveness sometimes does not meet the same constructive approach in the behaviour of our neighbours.

We have been engaged in negotiations by facilitation of the European Union, among other facilitators, and nowadays we see that Azerbaijan, unfortunately, refuses to resume the negotiations in the existing frameworks.

However, we are interested in continuing our negotiations. As I said, we attach importance not so much to the issue of who facilitates the negotiations, but to the principles, according to which the negotiations should continue.

And in this context I would like to emphasize again that those are territorial integrity, recognition of legitimate borders, inviolability of borders, respect for each other’s sovereignty.

These are the principles, according to which, I believe, peace should be agreed. When it comes to participation of Croatia or the European Union in general, I would like to express our appreciation that the EU and Croatia has shown in ensuring security in our region along the borderline.

I’ve already mentioned the EU’s Monitoring mission, but also I would like to express appreciation that Croatia and other EU countries showed in the context of meeting the urgent needs of the refugees who had to flee Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of military operation several months ago in September 2023,’’ the Foreign Minister said.