12:58,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament Gevorg Papoyan has dismissed as “unreasonable” the statements made by Azerbaijani authorities about the need for guarantees ruling out possible revanchism in order to sign a peace treaty.

Papoyan, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, said that signing a peace treaty in itself would mean that no revanches would happen.

“Our perception of peace doesn’t have such things [revanchism],” Papoyan said.

“I think that a peace treaty itself is about no revanches happening…..We must understand, if we want Armenia to get stronger, for it to have lasting statehood, independence, then this path goes through dialogue with neighbors, and we need a peace treaty as much as they do,” Papoyan added.

MP Papoyan said that after the signing of a peace treaty he envisions regional integration at all levels, development of economic relations, prosperity and growth in living standards.

He warned that some “external forces” could try to incite revanchist sentiments. “But we must not become an instrument in the hands of third countries,” Papoyan said.

 14:19,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Giorgos Gerapetritis, has said that he plans to visit Armenia in the near future.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels within the framework of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the Greek FM said he will meet with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan today.

“We’ve come today to the foreign affairs council with a difficult and important agenda. We’ll start with the issue of the relations between Armenia and the European Union. Greece welcomes the ongoing peace process in the South Caucasus. Thanks to the efforts of Greece, today Armenia is invited to the Foreign Affairs Council to present positions aimed at sustainable peace in the broader region. I have personally spoken at length with the Armenian Foreign Minister, and I intend to visit Armenia in the near future, and today I will also have the chance to see the foreign ministers of both Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the Greek FM said.

 15:00,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Former manager of the Armenian national football team Vardan Minasyan has endorsed Aras Ozbiliz for the presidency of the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA).

Ozbiliz, the former Armenia midfielder, is running for the FFA presidency against Armen Melikbekyan, the incumbent FFA chief seeking re-election. The election will take place on December 23.

Minasyan announced his support for Ozbiliz in a statement posted online.

“I know you as a person, and I know your ideas and plans in football. The fact that you went through the European football school and you know the modern trends in football also matters. Good luck, Aras,” Minasyan said.

 15:38,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan on Monday held a meeting with Member of the National Assembly of France, head of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Bertrand Bouyx.

Speaker Simonyan lauded the warm relations and productive cooperation between the Armenian and French delegations in PACE.

He thanked the 97-member France-Armenia parliamentary friendship group, which includes Bouyx, for supporting Armenia, the parliament’s press service said in a readout.

During the meeting the sides discussed the strengthening and deepening Armenia-EU ties, the Armenia-EU visa liberalization dialogue, opportunities for intensifying bilateral economic ties and the unwavering implementation of democratic reforms in Armenia.

Bertrand Bouyx said it’s inspiring to see that democracy in Armenia is strong and visible despite the difficulties. He said Armenia’s ratification of the Rome Statute was an important step.

Speaking about regional challenges, the sides exchanges views on the ongoing talks around a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the immediate release of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan, as well as the normalization between Armenia and Turkiye.

Bouyx reiterated that France is committed to its friendship with Armenia and stands with Armenia at this difficult time.

Vice Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, the head of the Armenian delegation to PACE, also participated in the meeting.

 16:13,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The situation in Armenia requires the EU’s strong support, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission Josep Borrell has said.

“[Now] I am going to have first a meeting with the Armenian Foreign Minister [Ararat Mirzoyan], because you know that after we have the Eastern Partnership meeting at the Ministerial level. So many things are happening in the whole region, it is important to continue to pay attention to them and, in particular, to Armenia, that has been in a very difficult situation and still is. So, I will start my day with the Armenian Foreign Minister,” Borrell told reporters ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

During a Q&A with reporters, Borrell was asked on the Eastern Partnership meeting.

“On the Ministerial of the Eastern Partnership, I mentioned that so many things happened in this part of the world. The Belarusian seat will be empty. We continue to try to do our best to isolate Lukashenko’s regime and support the Belarusian opposition. I hear that they are going to hold elections in Belarus. I wonder what kind of elections they will do. But we have the whole Eastern Partnership in a difficult situation – Belarus, Ukraine, then the Caucasus. The good news is Georgia advancing towards [EU] membership, but the situation in Armenia requires our strong support. We will see how we can increase it and how we can continue having the Eastern Partnership on our agenda, because it is our Eastern border, and our Eastern border is the place in the world where more hotspots are growing,” he said.

 16:47,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has presented at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting the current Armenia-EU partnership programs, steps aimed at further enhancing them, as well as Armenia’s vision for establishing lasting stability and peace in the region, the foreign ministry said in a press release.

Mirzoyan presented the course and achievements of the democratic reforms in Armenia and discussed several key issues of Armenia-EU political and security dialogue, including the EUMA. He emphasized the importance of a final decision regarding the launch of visa liberalization dialogue in the context of bringing Armenia closer to the EU and people-to-people contacts.

FM Mirzoyan also spoke about the Armenia-EU ambitious agenda in the economy and other areas, including the inclusiveness of regional initiatives and Armenia’s potential to join the Black Sea energy cable.

Foreign Minister Mirzoyan presented Armenia’s efforts aimed at establishing peace in the region, the process of normalization with Azerbaijan and main approaches around the peace treaty in line with the well-known principles.

FM Mirzoyan presented the Crossroads of Peace project developed by the Armenian government, discussing its individual components, emphasizing the importance of the project not only for the South Caucasus but also the broader region.

 17:11,

YEREVAN, 11 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 11 December, USD exchange rate up by 0.30 drams to 403.54 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.08 drams to 434.77 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 4.44 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.09 drams to 507.37 drams.

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

Gold price down by 224.37 drams to 26053.31 drams. Silver price down by 1.33 drams to 308.65 drams.

 17:56,

 18:24,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Monday  had a meeting with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis in Brussels.

During the meeting, the Armenian-Lithuanian bilateral agenda, as well as key issues related to the Armenia-EU partnership  were discussed. Both sides emphasized their readiness for close interaction on the EU platform and for bringing Armenia closer to the European integration structure, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

According to the source, following the discussion in the format of the Council of EU Foreign Ministers held on the same day, Ararat Mirzoyan with his Lithuanian counterpart exchanged ideas on regional security and stability issues.

It is noted that FM Mirzoyan emphasized the importance of strong support from international partners for Armenia's efforts to implement the peace agenda.

 19:24,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The only thing Iran and Israel share is that both do not believe in a two-state solution, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday via translation at an international forum in Doha, Al Arabiya reports.

According to the source, during the forum, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran’s proposal that a referendum be held to determine the fate of Palestine, with only descendants of those who lived there prior to 1948 being permitted to vote.