Author: Ani Tigranian

Armenia, Georgia stop movement of citizens between countries for 10 days to prevent spread of coronavirus

Ani Tigranian
Aysor, Armenia
March 13 2020

The move of citizens of Armenia and Georgia will be suspended for 10 days from March 14, 8 am, Armenia’s vice Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan reported.

“With the mutual agreement, Armenia and Georgia have decided to temporarily suspend the move of citizens between the two countries,” he stated, adding that the two countries will ensure the return of their citizens in case they express such wish.

“These restrictions involve all kinds of transportation means, except cargo transportations,” he stated, adding that all the steps are aimed at ensuring people’s safety.

Azerbaijani military opens cross-border heavy machine gun fire at Armenia troops

Ani Tigranian

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 16:47,

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani troops opened heavy machine gun fire across the Armenia border (Ijevan area) in the direction of Armenian combat positions around 12:00-12:30, March 13, Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan told ARMENPRESS.

“There are no damages or victims as a result of the shooting,” she said, adding that the Azerbaijani ceasefire violation stopped after Armenia’s response shots.

She said that Azerbaijani media reports on Armenia having opened fire in the direction of Abbasbeyli village are false. “Armenian Armed Forces remain committed to the adopted tactics and do not fire in the direction of settlements”.

 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

‘All her relatives rejected her, so we will bury the murdered woman’: Mayor of Gyumri

Ani Tigranian
Aravot, Armenia

                                                       
March 11,2020 15:14 37

The mayor of Gyumri, Samvel Balasanyan, spoke to Aravot Daily in an interview about the 43-year-old woman who was killed by her 28-year-old boyfriend, as well as the beating of her 12-year-old daughter by the boyfriend. “It seems that violence is associated with Gyumri. This is just one example- a woman was killed and her daughter is fighting for her life. Another case was the Avetisyan family, then our janitor’s murder… This all has an effect on the lives of our citizens. I am pleased with the fact that women gathered and organized a protest against violence in Gyumri. We have traditions, we are a traditional people, and we have been on a long road. This all needs to be taken into consideration. Families are sacred and we need to uphold our historical traditions. I consider families to be sacred and my own family plays the most important role in my life. Everyone needs to understand that, and that violence cannot be tolerated within families. The fact remains that there is violence all over Armenia, not just in Gyumri, which is condemnable. I condemned violence when I was a deputy in parliament. I suggested that we create a law against violence. It is good that a law was passed upon the first reading today about violence.”

Aravot Daily asked the mayor about who will take care of the 12-year-old girl, who is currently at the St. Astvatsamayr Medical Center in Gyumri. None of her relatives went to see her.

Samvel Balasanyan said that the Gyumri Guardianship Board of Trustees held their first session. “We held the first session and I was informed that, since the girl does not have either her mother or her father, she is an orphan and she needs a guardian, despite the fact that her older brother will turn 18 in September. At the moment, there are people who wish to become her guardian, but we will see how the process plays out. The first step on behalf of the municipality was taken through calling the commission. The girl was recognized as someone who needs guardianship. They told me that there are people who called and expressed the desire to become guardians, but now we are preparing to bury her mother because all of her relatives refused to do it. We have a service that does this, so we will organize the woman’s funeral. Now, we are talking to her relatives about which cemetery she should be buried in. We have a place, so we will bury her there,” Samvel Balasanyan said.

Nune Arevshatyan




BEL bags $40mn defence deal from Armenia

Ani Tigranian
The Hindu, India
March 2 2020

 

NEW DELHI, March 02, 2020 22:16 IST

Armenia eager to cooperate with Belarus in high technology

Ani Tigranian
BelTA, Belarus
March 3 2020
 
 
 
 
MINSK, 3 March (BelTA) – Armenia is interested in cooperation with Belarus in high technology, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Armen Ghevondyan told BelTA ahead of a meeting with representatives of the Belarusian business circles in the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
 
According to the ambassador, in 2018 Armenia-Belarus trade totaled $50 million, 17% up over 2017, and in 2019 the trade came at $70 million. The growth did not result from a spike in one or another industry or field, Armen Ghevondyan noted. “We managed to move forward in this area thanks to concerted efforts of the two countries and entrepreneurial spirit of the business communities,” the ambassador noted. “However, I am far from thinking that we have reached the point when we can say that this is our limit,” he added.
 
Armen Ghevondyan stressed that Belarus and Armenia do not use the full potential of cooperation. “We should also take into account that the economies of Armenia and Belarus are undergoing evolutionary changes. This is primarily due to close attention of the governments to such a trend as high technology. We could hardly imagine an economy of the 21st century without it. I am sure that in addition to traditional areas of cooperation, we will also greatly boost cooperation in IT, and our enterprises in this area will not only achieve their goals, but establish closer ties,” the ambassador said.
 
He also believes that the two countries should promote interregional ties. “They should encompass even more fields of practical cooperation. This will broaden the scope of our cooperation and will have a positive impact on the indicators,” Armen Ghevondyan added.

Armenpress: Armenian Ombudsman meets with CoE Commissioner for Human Rights in Strasbourg

Ani Tigranian

Armenian Ombudsman meets with CoE Commissioner for Human Rights in Strasbourg

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 10:32, 4 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARH 4, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan met on March 3 with Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe Dunja Mijatović in Strasbourg, the Ombudsman’s Office told Armenpress.

Various issues relating to the prevention of torture, the rights of women and children in Armenia, the public awareness raising activities were discussed during the meeting.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Putin, Merkel discuss Idlib over phone

Ani Tigranian

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 16:59, 3 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during which they expressed hope that the upcoming Russian-Turkish high-level meeting in Moscow will be productive, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

“The sides discussed in detail the issues of the Syrian settlement given the current worsening situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone. In this context, they voiced hope that the upcoming March 5 Russian-Turkish high-level meeting will bear fruit”, the statement said as reported by TASS.

The phone talk was held at the initiative of the German side. 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Armenian, Kuwaiti PMs discuss possibility of organizing direct flights between two countries

Ani Tigranian

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 17:02,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah in Munich, the Armenian PM’s Office told Armenpress.

The officials discussed the development and expansion of the bilateral relations. They highlighted the development of political, economic, educational and cultural cooperation.

Emphasizing the importance of strengthening the ties between the two peoples, the Armenian and Kuwaiti PMs touched upon boosting the cooperation in tourism sector, and also in this context the possibility of organizing direct flights.

PM Pashinyan introduced Armenia’s actions to improve the business climate, fight against corruption and stated that the government is interested in attracting the Kuwaiti business to the Armenian market, adding that it will allow investors to enter into the market of the Eurasian Economic Union.

They agreed to task their respective Cabinet members to take necessary actions for boosting business ties.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan




Sports: Armenia’s Artur Aleksanyan clinches gold at European Championship

Ani Tigranian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 13 2020

Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Aleksanyan (97 kg) defeated Italy’s Nikoloz Kakhelashvili to win gold at the European Championships under way in Rome, Italy.

In total, the Armenian athletes won two gold and two bronze medals at the Championships.

Artur Aleksanyan and Gevorg Gharibyan claimed gold medals, while Karen Aslanyan and Karapet Chalyan won the bronze.

Nicknamed the “White Bear,” Aleksanyan is now a five-time European Champion.

He won a bronze medal at 2012 Olympics and was crowned Olympic Champion in 2016.

In November 2019 he was named UNICEF National Ambassador for Armenia.

Newspaper: Armenia Constitutional Court referendum may not take place

Ani Tigranian
News.am, Armenia
Feb 7 2020

09:36, 07.02.2020
                  

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: The National Assembly (NA) yesterday adopted (…) the draft decision on putting the constitutional amendments to a referendum.

As it is known, by the draft constitutional amendments, the MPs propose to terminate the term of office of the CC [Constitutional Court] President and the members elected until April 9, 2018.

Now this decision must be followed by appropriate processes, including by RA President Armen Sarkissian.

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced yesterday at the NA podium that he had reached an agreement with the RA President during his last meeting, and the latter agreed to settle the issue through a referendum.

But there are some interesting nuances hidden here. In any case, the authorities’ backstage does not rule out the possibility that the referendum will not take place, and that will be the case when the CC judges take advantage of the early retirement plan.

As it is known, the law on voluntary early retirement of CC judges is valid until the end of this month. (…) And, by yesterday's initiative, the authorities made it clear that it’s all the same, they [the serving CC judges] would be dismissed from their positions if the referendum was adopted.

This is certainly one of the options. And with the other option, a referendum is really going to take place. In that case there are clear deadlines, and in fact, the referendum on constitutional amendments will take place in May (…).

And, according to the Law on Referendum, the referendum campaign will last 60 days. Then, according to preliminary calculations, the power will need about 650 thousand "yes" votes.