Author: Boris Nahapetian

 13:11, 8 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 8, ARMENPRESS. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said the people who elected him president are not ready for capitulation or ultimatums.

“The people who elected me aren’t ready for capitulation, we are not ready for ultimatums,” Zelensky told the American ABC in an interview.

According to Zelensky, they are heavily outnumbered. He said that 10 Russian soldiers are fighting against 1 Ukrainian soldier, while 50 Russian tanks are fighting against 1 Ukrainian tank. Despite this difference, he said, the Ukrainian forces are fighting but the question is how long they will be able to withstand.  In this context Zelensky again raised the issue of a no-fly zone over Ukraine and more active military support from the West.

“Establishing a no-fly zone in Ukraine is necessary for downing Russian missiles, I’ve said this to Biden. I think the US President can do more,” the Ukrainian president  said.

 13:43, 21 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Karen Trchunyan presented the plans and programs in the area of higher education.

He said they want graduates to be able to work by their profession. “To achieve this we must develop standards in the higher education area through licensing and accreditation tools,” Trchunyan said.

He added that the ministry plans to develop a new system of funding for specializations in universities.

He said the funding mechanisms will vary for each university.

“We have a target: to have at least four universities in the list of the [world’s] best 500 universities. I believe we can achieve this if we ensure all conditions for high-quality education,” Trchunyan said.

Another target will be encouraging the growth of foreign students in Armenia.

 17:36,

YEREVAN, 21 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. According to the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as a result of joint operations of the military and border guards, two infantry fighting vehicles of the Ukrainian army were destroyed, ARMENPRESS reports Ria Novosti informed.

According to the military, two combat vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered the territory of Russia and were destroyed. It is reported that 5 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, there are no casualties among the Russians.

 12:29, 16 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The General Prosecution of Armenia acted swiftly to prevent the potential deportation of an Armenian citizen to Azerbaijan from Russia, which could have happened as a result of an error in court documents.

The General Prosecution said that the Armenian citizen, who was born in Azerbaijan, committed an administrative offense in Russia and a Russian court issued an administrative deportation ruling. However, court documents erroneously mentioned the person’s citizenship as Azerbaijani and the person faced a potential deportation to Azerbaijan.

The General Prosecution said it usually doesn’t deal with this kind of matters and its authority doesn’t cover deportation processes, however it took immediate measures to thwart the process and resolve the matter. The Russian General Prosecution and Armenian governmental bodies were involved.

The Russian court subsequently corrected the error and the person returned to Armenia.

 15:23,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. The Antares Publishing House awarded the Book Friend award to ARMENPRESS News Agency for promoting books and literature.

The awarding ceremony was held on February 19 on the occasion of Book Giving Day. Other media outlets, journalists and organizations also received the award.

 “We want to say, continue what you are doing, write about books, help to promote books, create the right environment. This all will brighten tomorrow’s light,” said Armen Martirosyan, director of Antares.

He added that book sales increased twice after the 2020 war, and they were trying to understand what was making people buy more books and read more.

“It turns out the demand has equally increased for different books, but I have to say that today people are reading more thought-provoking books.”

 15:09,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s agenda for the negotiations with Turkey has not changed, it continues to be the opening of borders and establishment of diplomatic relations without preconditions, Vice Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan told reporters today.

“Since Armenia’s independence, the country’s borders are tense, and we had thousands of losses both during the war and the peaceful times. I think that the peace agenda we are currently pushing forward and for which we received a mandate from our people is directed to that purpose in order to ensure the security of our borders and Armenia as soon as possible so that no soldier will be killed in peaceful times, so that Armenia will never appear in wars”, Arshakyan said.

As for the recent meeting of the special envoys of Armenia and Turkey, Arshakyan said that it was their first meeting and it’s normal that there is not so much information.

“The first meeting took place, people got acquainted with one another, our side has presented its agenda on what we are interested in, the Turkish side brought its agenda, and a discussion has taken place. After that discussions the sides left for their capitals to clarify and discuss that agenda issues”, the Vice Speaker commented.

Asked what Armenia is interested in, Hakob Arshakyan said Armenia is interested in the opening of borders and the establishment of diplomatic relations without preconditions.

“Our agenda has not changed. All authorities of independent Armenia have announced that our agenda for talks with Turks is the following – the borders must be opened and diplomatic relations must be established with Turkey without preconditions”, he said.

Asked what trust there is that Turkey won’t push forward preconditions, the Vice Speaker said that there is such a risk. He reminded that those meetings, negotiations are taking place at Russia’s mediation, the Russian foreign ministry also has a positive reaction. “I hope that with the help of also international partners we will be able to solve the issue of opening borders, establishing diplomatic ties. And this derives from Armenia’s interests”, the Vice Speaker of Parliament added.

The first meeting of the special envoys of Armenia and Turkey for the dialogue between the two countries was held in the Russian capital of Moscow on January 14.