Author: Garnik Zakarian

Turkey’s support to Armenia in fighting COVID-19 not on the agenda – MFA

Garnik Zakarian
Public Radio of Armenia
April 9 2020


Turkey’s support to Armenia in fighting the coronavirus is not on the agenda, Spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan has said.

The comments come after the Armenian Patriarchate of Costantinople said in a press release Turkey was offering assistance to Armenia in fighting the virus.

“We are familiar with the Patriarchate’s press release on the phone conversation with the Turkish President. As a third country, we would refrain from commenting on official information. In any case, there is no such issue on the agenda,” Naghdalyan said in comments to Armenpress.

She said the return of Armenian citizens from Istanbul has been organised in agreement with the Turkish and Georgian authorities.

“Armenia is taking all measures to organize the return of its nationals, and preference will be given to those in hardest-hit regions,” the Spokesperson noted.

The Foreign Ministry is financing the transportation of about 70 citizens through the Georgian territory. All citizens will be subject to 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

Georgian and Armenian teenagers brought to Tbilisi from USA on special flight

Garnik Zakarian
JAM News
12.04.2020
    JAMnews, Tbilisi

79 Georgian and 35 Armenian teenagers flew to Tbilisi on April 12 on a special flight from the United States, where they were studying as part of international student exchange programs.

The American government organized the flight to Doha, the capital of Qatar, and the Georgian government booked the flight from Doha to Tbilisi.

Upon landing at the Tbilisi airport, all children underwent mandatory thermal screening.

Then, Georgian citizens were taken by bus to Tbilisi and the Kakheti region, where they were placed in two hotels for the duration of a two-week quarantine. They are under round-the-clock doctor supervision and the quarantine zone is guarded by police.

Armenian citizens left for Yerevan from the airport.

As of April 12, there are 242 reported cases of coronavirus in Georgia. 60 patients have recovered, and three people have died.

Three infected Georgian citizens were sent home to Georgia from abroad for treatment.

4,929 people are in quarantine, and 405 are under stationary surveillance.



Armenia to start producing coronavirus test kits – PM

Garnik Zakarian
Public Radio of Armenia
April 7 2020


Armenia considers setting up production of coronavirus test kits, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a Q&A on Facebook.

He said the Government will direct about $550 thousand for the purpose.

The funds will be provided to the Institute of Molecular Biology to buy raw materials and set up the production, Pashinyan said.

“Specialists have assured it is possible to organize the production of tests at the Institute,” the Prime Minister noted.

Nikol Pashinyan said they are purchasing a large number of test kits (about 700 thousand) and are planning to test 1,000 people every day instead of the current 200-400.

Former president Kocharyan files defamation suit against PM Pashinyan

Garnik Zakarian
Panorama, Armenia
April 7 2020

Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan has dropped a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday. In the legal claim published on DataLex judicial information system, the ex-president demands ‘protection of his dignity and honor from public slander.’

The lawsuit has been assigned to judge Tigran Grigoryan of Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.

Kocharyan’s lawyer Hovhannes Khudoyan clarified that during the recent campaign of the Constitutional referendum Pashinyan had voiced number of statement about the former president ‘that have no touch with reality’.

“Those are defamatory statements, and my colleague, Mr Alumyan, has filed a lawsuit. It remains principal for us to prove the statements made Mr Pashinyan have nothing in common with Robert Kocharyan,” Khudoyan told reporters at a briefing. 

First time since coronavirus outbreak, Armenia reports more recoveries than new cases in 24 hours

Garnik Zakarian

Save

Share

 11:03, 7 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in Armenia, the number of recovered patients in 24 hours is more than the number of new cases, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on social media.

He said that there have been 20 new cases of the coronavirus in the past one day, and 25 patients have recovered.

As of April 7, 11:00 GMT+4, the total cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Armenia is 853. With 8 fatalities and 87 recoveries, the number of active cases is 758.

Earlier on April 6, the number of new cases was 11, which prompted the authorities to voice optimistic assessments. The PM had urged the population to continue strictly adhering to the lockdown rules to keep the numbers down so that the government will start considering lifting the restrictions gradually.

Pashinyan said that the healthcare ministry and the government’s coronavirus response task force are both maintaining “cautious optimism”.

 

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Azerbaijan disregards calls of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and UN Secretary-General, says Armenia

Garnik Zakarian

Save

Share

 11:55, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s attempts to escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a result of which a 14-year-old child from Voskevan village of Tavush province has been injured, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement says:

“We strongly condemn the attempts by Azerbaijan to escalate the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a result of which a 14-year-old resident of Voskevan village of Tavush province has been wounded. At the same time, two soldiers of the Armenian Armed Forces have been injured while preventing the sabotage infiltration attempt of the Azerbaijani side in the direction of Armenian positions in the same territory.

This ceasefire violation, not provoked by any means, has no justification, especially these days when the medical resources of all countries are mobilized in fighting the novel coronavirus. With these actions Azerbaijan disregards the calls of the international community, in particular the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the UN Secretary-General to unconditionally maintain the ceasefire and refrain from provocative actions during this period.

This military incident shows that either the Azerbaijani side does not control the actions of its armed forces on the border or deliberately escalates the situation by bearing the whole responsibility for its consequences.

We wish speedy recovery to our citizens who were injured as a result of these operations”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan






Potato reserves in Armenia decreased by 30%

Garnik Zakarian
Potato System, Russia
March 30 2020
Mar 30, 09:47
в World News 

The reduction in potato acreage in Armenia in 2019 reduced its reserves by 30%, said the Chairman of the Agrarian-Peasant Association public organization Hrach Berberyan on March 27 at a meeting with reporters.

“Last year, the sowing of potatoes, which along with bread is of strategic importance, decreased, and this year its stocks in the country are 30 percent less,” the expert said.

Berberyan noted that in addition to potatoes, there was a decrease in grain crops. He pointed out that the reduction of agricultural products per se in the domestic market and the emergence of low-quality imports are the result of the absence of subsidies to farmers. Agricultural machinery enterprises are subsidized instead of seed producers, the expert explained.      

Minister: Highly discussed bill does not provide for wiretapping

Garnik Zakarian
Arminfo, Armenia
April 1 2020

ArmInfo.Yeserday the Armenian parliament adopted a draft amendment to the laws "On the legal regime of emergency" and "On electronic communication", which gives a green light to the receipt of data on the movement and phone calls of  citizens. The bill caused mixed reactions in connection with fears  that telephone conversations will be tapped. Meanwhile, RA Minister  of Justice Rustam Badasyan notes that such mechanisms are not  provided for by the document.

At a press conference on April 1, the minister emphasized that it was  exclusively about establishing a circle of contact persons of a  citizen who has coronavirus. A system specially developed for these  purposes will generate and analyze data on the location and phone  calls of the virus carrier. If the data on the geolocation of the  contacting persons and their telephone conversations coincide, then  the relevant information will be sent to the Ministry of Emergencies,  the Police and other state bodies that are competent to resolve  issues related to self-isolation of persons who came into contact  with the patient.

The above adjustments can be applied only in case of emergency  declared in connection with the risk of an epidemic. Thus, in the  case of an emergency introduced in connection with other  circumstances, they are not applicable.

As Badasyan emphasized, listening and recording text messages, based  on the draft law, are technically impossible. In addition, the  possibility of transferring data to third parties and foreign  organizations is excluded. The Minister also informed that all the  data collected should be deleted upon completion of the emergency or  other emergency measures.

The program for monitoring telephone calls and establishing  geolocation has been developed taking into account international  experience, and will make it possible to quickly identify a circle of  potential virus carriers. They will be contacted by representatives  of the Ministry of Emergencies, and when deciding on self-isolation,  additional data will also be taken into account. Badasyan recalled  that, according to the RA Ministry of Health, in Armenia the number  of patients with coronavirus doubles every 7 days, which indicates  the importance of expanding preventive measures.

Answering a question regarding the possibility of hacking the  database by hackers, the minister noted:  "There is a chance that an  asteroid will fall on Earth tomorrow and there will be serious  consequences, or hackers will attack the database of operators. There  is a possibility of everything, but this bill has nothing to do with  it>. Badasyan also expressed hope that citizens would not boycott the  bill by switching from telephone communication to various instant  messengers, thereby endangering the health of their loved ones. 

Armenia tourism industry’s Q1 losses estimated at $134,7 million as Q2 projections are worse

Garnik Zakarian

Save

Share

 16:45,

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian tourism industry has suffered approximately 134,750,000 dollars in losses in Q1 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s tourism committee said.

Tourism Committee chief Susanna Safaryan told a news conference that the tourism flow to the country in the first three months of 2020 was 175,000 tourists less than usual. However, Safaryan said they haven’t done official calculations yet.  

“If we calculate how much one tourist is spending in Armenia, then it would be approximately 175 thousand times 770 dollars. This is a very significant loss for the tourism industry given the fact that the first quarter isn’t even the most active season,” she said, adding that the Q2 may be worse because of the closed borders and suspended flights.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan




Armenia Civil Aviation Committee’s announcement on March 29 flights

Garnik Zakarian
News.am, Armenia
Armenia Civil Aviation Committee's announcement on March 29 flights Armenia Civil Aviation Committee's announcement on March 29 flights

14:06, 29.03.2020
                  

The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia has issued an announcement on the flights for March 29.

Dear citizens,

The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia would like to inform that, according to the data presented by airline companies:

On :

  • Aeroflot will carry out

AFL 1860 Moscow (Sheremetevo)-Yerevan (at 10:45 a.m.) and AFL 1861 Yerevan-Moscow (Sheremetevo) afternoon (at 2:35 p.m.) flights

  • Siberia Airlines will carry out

SBI 3205 Moscow (Domodedovo)-Yerevan (at 1:40 p.m.) and SBI 3206 Yerevan-Moscow (Domodedovo) (at 5:25 p.m.) flights,

  • Ikar Airlines will carry out

KAR 377 Moscow (Sheremetevo)-Yerevan (at 3:45 p.m.) and KAR 378 Yerevan-Moscow (Sheremetevo) (at 7:40 p.m.) flights.

Taking into consideration the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), there may be rapid developments and changes of flights. Thus, the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia would like to ask you to be consistent, follow the events developing by the hour and contact the airline companies.

Sincerely,

Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia,” the announcement reads.