Author: Jack Hunanian

 11:49, 17 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to President of Syria Bashar al-Assad on the country’s National Day, the PM’s Office told Armenpress.

The letter says:

“I warmly congratulate you and the good people of Syria on the National Day of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Historically formed firm friendship, mutual sympathy, the spirit of cooperation and mutual support are typical to the Armenian-Syrian relations.

During the Syrian crisis Armenia showed its determined support to Syria, the vivid evidence of which is the activity of the Armenian humanitarian mission in Aleppo. I am convinced that the traditional dialogue between our countries will further expand and deepen in the future for the benefit of our two friendly peoples.

I am full of hope that Syria will overcome the current crisis and will enter into a new stage of progress and development. By using this opportunity I want to reaffirm our commitment to contribute to the restoration processes.

I wish you good health and success, and peace and progress to the friendly people of Syria”.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:51,

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan offered congratulations to law enforcement officers as Armenia is marking Police Day.

Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, the PM addressed Police Chief Arman Sargsyan, and said: “Mr. Sargsyan, allow me to congratulate you and the entire personnel of the police on this important holiday. Police is one of the most important institutions of maintaining the legal order of any state, just like our state, and the level of human rights protection, democracy, up to the preservation and application of economic and political liberties depends on the quality work of the police. We must admit that in Armenia the relations between the police and the public weren’t simple, they had many difficulties, even crises, and today our biggest objective is to establish complete mutual trust, total trust towards the work of the police. This is a highly important task on our agenda,” Pashinyan said.

He said that the government has been discussing the police reforms strategy for a long time and that it should’ve launched from April 1, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the plans. He said the agenda of reforms is based on two important cornerstones – the public’s complete confidence in the police and the effectiveness of the police work.

Pashinyan said the police must reform its image, and become the law enforcement agency which is in line with the present-day demands of Armenia, the aspirations that the state and the people bring forward.

After the speech, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet members held a moment of silence in honor of all police officers who fell in the line of duty.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

 14:36, 8 April, 2020

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. 1,997 more people have been infected with the novel coronavirus in Iran according to the latest data as of April 8, the Armenian Embassy in Iran said.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has reached 64,586.

The number of people who died rose by 121, and the death toll is 3,993.

Meanwhile, the number of recovered people increased by 2,773. So far, 29,812 patients have recovered from coronavirus in Iran.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. WHO declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a global pandemic and named the virus COVID-19. Cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in more than 200 countries.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

 13:13, 31 March, 2020

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia has retracted its bill from the second reading’s agenda in parliament on banning autopsies of coronavirus fatalities.

Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan told lawmakers that the government decided to withdraw the bill from the agenda of the parliament session.

He did not elaborate.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan