Thursday,
EU Envoy Discusses Armenian-Azeri Transport Links
Armenia -- Toivo Klaar, the European Union’s special representative for the
South Caucasus, meets with Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian, Yerevan,
February 22, 2021.
A senior European Union diplomat has met with deputy prime ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan for further discussions on the planned opening of transport links
between the two countries.
Toivo Klaar, the EU’s special representative to the South Caucasus, described
the separate talks as “excellent.”
“Good to see strong commitment from both sides,” he wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
Klaar visited Baku and Yerevan on Wednesday and Thursday respectively as Russia
sought to wrest back the initiative in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process
following an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit organized by the EU in Brussels on
April 6.
Meeting outside Moscow on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian reaffirmed Russia’s key role in the international
peace efforts.
In a joint statement, Putin and Pashinian stressed the importance of
“revitalizing” the work of a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental
commission dealing with practical modalities of reopening regional transport
links.
“The Russian side is ready to take part in projects to restore the railway
infrastructure of Armenia, including the railway in Syunik and other regions of
Armenia,” read the statement.
It was a clear reference to a 45-kilometer railway which is expected to connect
Azerbaijan with its Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik.
The EU indicated after Pashinian’s April 6 talks with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev that it is ready to finance the restoration of Armenian-Azerbaijani
rail and road links.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted on April 8 that it was Putin who
had brokered Armenian-Azerbaijani understandings on these and other
confidence-building measures. Lavrov accused the EU of seeking to sideline
Moscow and use the Karabakh conflict in the standoff over Ukraine.
An Armenian government statement noted that the “unblocking of regional
transport links” discussed by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian and Klaar is
envisaged by a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war in Karabakh in
November 2020.
Pashinian spoke with European Council President Charles Michel by phone on the
eve of his visit to Russia.
Armenia May Ease Gun Restrictions
• Anush Mkrtchian
Ukraine -- A customer checks his rifle in a gun shop in Lviv
A group of pro-government parliamentarians have drafted legislation that should
make it easier for Armenians to acquire firearms.
Armenia has traditionally had strict restrictions on gun ownership. This is a
key reason why only a small percentage of its population legally possesses
weapons.
The Armenian police have the exclusive right to issue a firearm license. Only
members of the national Hunting Association can apply for one.
Under an Armenian law on gun ownership, association members are at first allowed
to possess only hunting rifles. They must wait for at least five years to get a
permit to buy more potent firearms.
Amendments to the law drafted by the lawmakers representing the ruling Civil
Contract party would scrap these requirements.
They also stipulate that a firearm license would be valid for ten years, as
opposed to just five years required by the current law. In addition, they would
increase from five to ten the maximum number of guns that can be possessed by a
single person.
One of the authors of the bill, Vilen Gabrielian, claimed on Thursday that it is
meant to improve gun control in the country, rather than loosen the existing
restrictions.
“Under our model, you need to pass an exam in order to get firearms,” he told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “The current law is much more liberal than what we
are proposing.”
Gabrielian said at the same time that the proposed amendments would expand gun
ownership in the country by making weapons more affordable for citizens. Rifles
and handguns are now mostly owned by wealthy Armenians because they are
expensive, he said.
It is not clear when the Armenian parliament will debate the bill. The Armenian
government’s position on the proposed changes to the gun law is not known either.
Nina Karapetiants, a human rights activist, questioned the wisdom of those
changes, saying that they could increase the country’s violent crime rate that
has long been quite low.
“[Gun control] is a complex mechanism,” she said. “I’m not sure the authorities
will make it work properly.”
The vast majority of residents of Yerevan randomly interviewed by RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service in the streets said they want no guns in their homes.
“We don’t need weapons now,” said one man. “That would create a dangerous
situation because we are hot-tempered people.”
“I wouldn’t like my husband or other family members to have guns,” said a young
woman.
Ashot Avetisian, another Yerevan resident, has owned a hunting rifle for the
last ten years. He believes that “everyone must know well how to use weapons and
ammunition.”
“For me, a gun is first of all a means of hunting and also a means of
self-defense,” said Avetisian. He admitted, though, that he has never gone
hunting since obtaining his rifle.
Opposition Leader Predicts Mass Protests
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Opposition leader Artur Vanetsian holds a news conference in Liberty
Square, Yerevan, April 18, 2022.
Opposition leader Artur Vanetsian predicted mass demonstrations against the
Armenian government on Thursday as he continued a nonstop sit-in in Yerevan’s
Liberty Square.
Vanetsian and a group of activists of his Fatherland party began the protest on
Sunday, urging Armenians to thwart what they say are sweeping concessions to
Azerbaijan planned by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Armenia’s other major opposition groups backed the move and pledged to take
coordinated actions aimed at toppling Pashinian. But they have so far given few
details of their promised campaign.
Vanetsian claimed that his sit-in is changing public mood in the country and
setting the stage for massive anti-government protests.
“In the last few days I have seen many people in Liberty Square who were
disappointed, didn’t like us and the authorities, blamed everyone and were ready
to emigrate,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “But people have now realized
that they are losing the homeland.”
“Believe me, in a short period of time there will be lots of people in the
streets and squares of Armenia who will voice demands and … definitely defend
Armenia and Artsakh (Karabakh),” he said.
Vanetsian’s party and the former ruling Republican Party (HHK) make up the Pativ
Unem bloc, one of the two opposition forces represented in the Armenian
parliament. Pativ Unem and the other parliamentary opposition bloc, Hayastan,
rallied thousands of supporters in Liberty Square on April 5 to warn Pashinian
against agreeing to restore Azerbaijan’s control over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels the following
day for talks hosted by European Council President Charles Michel.
Speaking in the parliament on April 13, the prime minister said the
international community is pressing Armenia to “lower a bit the bar on the
question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such concessions to Baku,
fuelling more opposition allegations that he has agreed to recognize Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Karabakh.
Some pro-government lawmakers insisted afterwards that Pashinian did not call
for the restoration of Azerbaijani control of Karabakh. But they did not say
what exactly “lowering the bar” on the territory’s status means.
Armenian Authorities Accused Of Blocking Hearings On Turkey
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Opposition deputies arrive for a parliament session on Turkey
boycotted and thwarted by the pro-government majority in the National Assembly,
Yerevan, February 23, 2022.
Opposition lawmakers on Thursday accused Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party
of obstructing parliamentary hearings on Turkish-Armenian relations in order to
avoid upsetting Turkey.
The hearings initiated by the main opposition Hayastan alliance were due to take
place on Thursday, three days before the 107th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The leadership of the Armenian parliament controlled
by Civil Contract said on Wednesday that they will not be held as planned for
“technical reasons.”
Artsvik Minasian, a senior Hayastan lawmaker, said he and his opposition
colleagues were told that the parliament staff cannot organize the hearings
because it is now busy preparing for a session of a Russian-Armenian
inter-parliamentary commission slated for Friday.
Minasian dismissed the official explanation as unconvincing and illegal. He
argued that the parliamentary statutes do not allow the leadership National
Assembly to block or delay such discussions demanded by the parliament’s
factions.
“We realized then that their decision is political,” said Minasian. “As we can
see from their recent behavior on Armenia-Turkey relations, they are afraid of
any thoughts containing demands [to Turkey.]”
“This once again shows that we are dealing with a government which is not only
inept but also shows its readiness to cater for Azerbaijani-Turkish interests,”
he told reporters.
Turkey - Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia and Mevlut Cavusoglu of
Turkey meet in Antalya, March 12, 2022.
Special envoys named by Ankara and Yerevan held earlier this year two rounds of
negotiations aimed at normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations. They are expected
to meet again in the coming weeks and months.
Armenian opposition leaders claim that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is ready
to make sweeping concessions to Ankara in return for the opening of the
Turkish-Armenian border and establishment of diplomatic relations between the
two nations. In particular, they say, the Armenian government could agree to
stop seeking a greater international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide
vehemently denied by Ankara.
Pashinian’s government and political allies maintain that Yerevan stands for an
unconditional normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties.
Turkey has for decades made the normalization conditional on a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. Turkish Foreign Minister
Cavusoglu has repeatedly made clear Ankara is coordinating its ongoing dialogue
with Yerevan with Baku.
In February, the pro-government majority in Armenia’s parliament rejected an
opposition proposal to condemn a joint declaration adopted by the Turkish and
Azerbaijani presidents during a visit to Karabakh last year. Lawmakers
representing Pashinian’s party said that it would complicate the
Turkish-Armenian talks.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Hovik Karapetian
Pashinyan signals launch of apartment renovation program to restore “worn out housing stock”
12:26,
YEREVAN, APRIL 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signaled the launch of the apartment renovation program and expressed hope that it will become a major economic project.
“Since Soviet times, there are cases of apartments being built especially in provinces and their huge part simply not being used and becoming abandoned.The second issue that we must focus on is that during this period the demand for rental apartments abruptly increased in the country and prices have gone up. In addition, well-known circumstances brought uncertainties for our citizens who were working seasonal foreign jobs, and we thought the following: we will launch a state program that will offer our citizens to take subsidized loans and rebuild their apartments with the condition that 20-30% of these expenditures will be used for energy saving in those apartments,” Pashinyan said.
He said they expect citizens to pay less payments for electricity and gas in the mid-term and long-term and that this investment will justify itself.
“We also expect that with this loan program citizens will be able to rent out the unused parts of their apartments and also develop supply in the tourism sector. We also expect that as part of this program we will ensure with potential jobs our compatriots who are traveling for seasonal work abroad, if they’d be unable to do so,” Pashinyan said.
“Under the first phase we will issue ten thousand such loans and evaluate the course,” he added, noting that if targeted goals are reached in a year the program will be continuous. “A huge part of our housing stock is worn out and we hope that with this we will make a significant investment in both apartments, the economy, small businesses and overcoming poverty,” he said.
Armenian FM, French Co-Chair highlight OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship’s role in NK conflict settlement process
15:34,
YEREVAN, APRIL 11, ARMENPRESS. During their meeting in Yerevan today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and the French Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Brice Roquefeuil highlighted the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within its mandate, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a news release.
“The role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within its mandate was highlighted.
The current situation caused by the incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into Parukh village and adjacent sections, which are under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh, was discussed at the meeting. The Armenian FM presented the humanitarian problems that Azerbaijan is creating deliberately for Armenians of Artsakh and its actions aimed at conducting ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh. The necessity of the return of Azerbaijani armed units to their initial positions as of March 23 was emphasized.
Ararat Mirzoyan presented the position of Armenia on starting negotiations with Azerbaijan around a peace treaty, in this context highlighting the mediation role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship and the Co-Chairing countries”, the statement says.
Politician: The solution of the Artsakh problem is in the "remedial secession"
ARMINFO
Armenia – April 7 2022
David Stepanyan
ArmInfo.The solution to the problem of Artsakh in the current geopolitical realities seems to be in the implementation of the principle of international law - remedial secession – secession for the sake of salvation. Leader of the party Aram Sargsyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
"I think that the time has come to take the initiative in the Artsakh issue. The leadership of Armenia, by all its actions and behavior, clearly demonstrated to the international community its own unwillingness to seize any territories through military force. This was a direct message to the international community, which, according to my information, was properly appreciated," he said.
According to politican, Yerevan's second step in this direction is the need for Armenia to recognize the independence of Kosovo. According to him, nothing prevents Armenia from taking this step today, there are simply no obstacles on this path. In this light, Sargsyan recalled that Kosovo was recognized by the international community precisely within the framework of the "secession for the sake of salvation" principle. Otherwise, the Kosovo Albanians would simply be forcibly deported. And by recognizing the independence of Kosovo today, Armenia, in his opinion, will clearly demonstrate the existence of clear parallels between the inhabitants of Kosovo and the inhabitants of Artsakh, as well as between their problems.
Sargsyan describes all the recent actions of the Aliyev regime against the people of Artsakh, in Parukh, Karaglukh, the explosion of the gas pipeline, etc., as manifestations of ethnic cleansing, with a clear intention to forcibly evict the people of Artsakh from their own homes.
In this light, he drew parallels with the once-Armenian Nakhichevan, whose population had been subjected to similar oppression for decades. As a result, Nakhijevan became part of Azerbaijan after not a single Armenian remained there.
In the opinion of the politician, one should not rely on the solution of the Artsakh problem and in ensuring the security of the people of Artsakh on Russian peacekeepers as well. According to his forecasts, the Russian military will not stay in Artsakh forever and will leave sooner or later, despite all the calls and entreaties of the pro-Russian parties in Armenia and Artsakh. After that, Artsakh will have no choice but to share the fate of Nakhijevan.
"That is why it is necessary to act here and now, within the framework of international law. And I do not think at all that the issue of the status of Artsakh was discussed in Brussels on April 6. Discussion of this issue is the prerogative of the OSCE Minsk Group, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made clear to Nikol Pashinyan and Aliyev on April 5 by phone," Sargsyan summed up.
Following the talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on April 6, an agreement was reached to establish a bilateral commission on the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan by the end of April. The trilateral talks in Brussels were preceded by separate meetings between the head of the European Council and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. An agreement on the establishment of the commission was reached in Brussels in accordance with the statement adopted on November 26, 2021 in Sochi. The commission will also deal with issues of ensuring security and stability along the entire perimeter of the border. The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan instructed the foreign ministers to begin work on preparing peace talks.
Kremlin reveals details of Putin-Pashinyan phone talk
Panorama
Armenia – April 9 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed preparations for Pashinyan’s visit to Russia in a phone call, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Saturday, TASS reported.
"The parties discussed pressing issues on the bilateral agenda, including preparations for the Armenian prime minister’s upcoming visit to Russia," the statement says.
According to the press service, the conversation was initiated by Yerevan. "Russia and Armenia will maintain active contact at various levels," the Kremlin added.
Putin and Pashinyan confirmed the importance of the implementation of trilateral agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh. "Nikol Pashinyan briefed [Putin] on his talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on April 6. In this regard, Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the importance of the consistent implementation of the trilateral agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh that the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia had reached on December 9, 2020, January 11, 2021, and November 26, 2021, including the creation of a commission on the delimitation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the launch of projects aimed at restoring economic and transport links," the statement reads.
Putin and Pashinyan also touched upon issues related to the development of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Defense Minister receives Head of CoE Armenia Office
17:28, 6 April, 2022
YEREVAN, APRIL 6, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan received today Martina Schmidt, Head of the Council of Europe’s Office in Yerevan, the ministry said in a news release.
“The process of the 2nd phase of the project “Human Rights and Women in the Armed Forces in Armenia” and its implementation were discussed during the meeting.
The Minister of Defense highly valued the activities carried out so far within the Armenia-CoE partnership aimed at raising awareness in the armed forces, protecting human rights, including rights of female officers, strengthening the efficiency of legal processes on military cases, developing and ensuring the continuation of military education, the staff skills and capacities”, the ministry said in the press release, adding that Suren Papikyan attached importance to the continuation of the aforementioned project and expressed the readiness of the Armenian side for the further development of cooperation.
NATO not planning to send armed forces and air forces to Ukraine. Stoltenberg
19:33, 5 April, 2022
YEREVAN, 5 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. NATO is not going to send its armed forces and air force to Ukraine, ARMENPRESS reports, “Interafax” informed , citing the announcement of Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg.
“The allies agree that we should not send armed forces of NATO to Ukraine and should not send airplanes to air space of Ukraine”, he said.
He emphasized that the alliance is of that position because “is responsible for preventing war between Russia and NATO”.
At the same time, according to Stoltenberg, ministers of foreign affairs of NATO countries on 6-7 of April meeting will discuss what kind of other support they will be able to provide to Ukraine.
He reminded that the alliance provides military, financial and humanitarian support to Kyiv.
Previously unknown leopard individual caught on camera at Armenia’s Caucasus Wildlife Refuge
10:40, 30 March, 2022
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. (Press Release: FPWC )Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife Cultural Assets camera traps captured a male adult leopard which has been compared with the only other male recorded in the area and confirmed as a new individual․ Within the same day, with only about 2 hours’ interval and about 3 kilometers direct airline distance at CWR, Neo (the resident male leopard of this habitat) have been captured by FPWC camera traps as well․
The third individual, Nova, is six kilometers away from the other leopards, again in the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge․ The fact that three different leopards use the same area of the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge almost simultaneously is unprecedented.
"The population of leopards around the world has significantly decreased due to several human factors, in particular, due to cross-border tensions, new borders, and barriers in our region. This species is on the verge of extinction. Since 2011, FPWC has been operating in the area, this is the 6th individual leopard that was filmed through our cameras”, -the director of the FPWC Ruben Khachatryan noted adding that this is evidence of the fact that the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge is an effective conservation measure.
FPWC made it possible to identify this new leopard using trained rangers with upgraded knowledge regarding tracking leopard trails and locating the best possible place for camera trapping. It also reveals the urgent need for focused studies on the leopard trails and corridors for understanding the most relevant population estimation as well as threats that leopards can face within these corridors.
It should be noted that the FPWC has announced a competition to name the leopard.
The Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) has been operating since 2002. The Foundation is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The key activity of the foundation is the preservation of the unique fauna and flora of Armenia, using the latest technologies and modern models.
WHO reports 43% growth in COVID-19 fatalities worldwide in past week
14:14, 30 March, 2022
YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. Over 10 million people contracted the novel coronavirus infection worldwide over the past week, more than 45,000 patients died, TASS reports citing the World Health Organization (WHO).
The number of new infections declined by 14%, while the number of fatalities grew by 43% compared to the previous seven-day period.
"During the week of 21 through 27 March 2022, the number of new cases declined again with a 14% decrease as compared to the previous week. On the other hand, during the same period, the number of new weekly deaths has increased by 43%, driven by changes in the definition of COVID-19 deaths in countries in the Region of the Americas (Chile and the United States of America) and retrospective adjustments reported from India in the South-East Asia Region," the global organization said in its COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update,
Overall, a total of 10,805,132 new cases and 45,711 deaths were reported to the global organization on March 21-27.
The decline in case incidence was reported by all the six WHO global regions, particularly Eastern Mediterranean (down 32%), Africa (down 29%) and Western Pacific (down 24%). In Europe, which accounts for 49% of all new cases registered worldwide in the past week, the case count declied by 4%.
Mortality grew in America (up 182%) and Southeast Asia (up 116%), but declined in other regions, including Africa (down 30%), Eastern Mediterranean (down 22%) and Europe (down 17%).
The biggest number of infections was reported by the Republic of Korea (2,442,195), followed by Germany (1,576,261), Vietnam (1,127,716), France (845,119) and Italy (503,932). Chile accounts for the biggest number of fatalities in the past seven days (11,858), followed by the United States (5,367), India (4,525), Russia (2,859) and the Republic of Korea (2,471).
As of 19:10 Moscow time on March 29, the WHO cumulative global statistics indicated 481,756,671 cases and 6,127,981 fatalities registered worldwide since the start of the pandemic. The number of new cases grew by 1,342,231 in the past day, while fatalities increased by 2,841.
Armenpress: Government issues 2021 defense sector report
Government issues 2021 defense sector report
10:48, 16 March, 2022
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The structures of the military units of military bases, army corps and formations were revised in the direction of defense and border security, the Armenian government’s 2021 performance report on the defense sector said.
The works directed at equipping military positions, improving conditions for active duty and the safety of servicemembers continued during the year.
With the purpose of adjusting the level of defensibility to the level of predicted potential military threats, the possible nature of military operations were defined, structural changes were implemented, new objectives were set for troops and comprehensive logistical works were carried out. The 2021-2025 concept for conscription and mobilization preparation was developed.
According to the report, the following actions were carried out in the border troops in 2021:
The preliminary military training for conscripts was organized and implemented; the training programs of servicemembers of all units of the border troops were improved; the number of personnel was increased, structural changes were made, construction and renovation of temporary deployment locations, infrastructures and border roads were implemented; temporary border posts and observation posts were equipped; barbed wire fence and other fences were constructed in various areas adjacent to the border with the purpose of preventing the movement of domesticated animals into the territory of the adjacent state; 55 signs, 51 modular houses and surveillance systems were installed in the border layer; border troops units were equipped with unmanned aerial vehicles, computer equipment, surveillance devices and monitors and personnel and cargo vehicles, as well as other special vehicles; the construction of border troop posts in 8 villages in Syunik commenced, and 50% of the work was completed.
Surveillance systems were installed in combat positions and posts. Communication was set up and improved in combat posts and military positions, new transmitter stations were installed, mainly to ensure the radio-networks of the military bases, formations, intelligence and air defense troops deployed in new borderlines. The equipment of military positions was updated and the quality of all standard-issue items for servicemembers was increased.
The minimum timeframe for signing up for voluntary military service was changed from 5 to 12 months.
Moreover, a rifle company for women servicemembers was formed to increase the involvement of women in the military.
Construction of Permanent Deployment Locations, Weaponry Replenishments:
With the purpose of raising the level of security of strategic facilities and infrastructure, the construction of permanent deployment locations using light metal frames commenced in new borderlines. The construction of permanent deployment locations is ongoing.
New weapons systems and other equipment acquired in 2021 include: helicopters, drones, rocket-artillery systems, anti-tank systems, artillery, communication and engineering measures, firearms, armored vehicles, automobile equipment, air defense systems and artillery radio-locating stations. New software-technical measures were installed to ensure network security as part of ensuring the security of information and cyber infrastructure.
With the purpose of increasing the social protection of servicemembers and their families:
Qualified mortgage loan agreements were signed with 384 participants with the purpose of acquiring or building homes. 7,3 billion drams in mortgage loans were issued.
340 servicemembers received a total of 770 million dram in government support through the donation of the 10% prepayment of their apartments.
421 beneficiaries received government support totaling 248 million drams through the subsidization of the 3% of interest rates.
The report also mentions that in 2021 the National Security Service uncovered 8 cases of high treason and espionage, with 26 suspects under investigation in 8 different criminal cases.