Author: Jane Topchian

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 17-12-21

Jane Topchian

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 17:25, 17 December, 2021

YEREVAN, 17 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 17 December, USD exchange rate up by 1.17 drams to 481.19 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.14 drams to 545.19 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 6.53 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.80 drams to 640.75 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 485.01 drams to 27780.59 drams. Silver price up by 6.54 drams to 343.06 drams. Platinum price up by 328.21 drams to 14387.67 drams.

Ancient Armenian cultural and religious heritage in and around Artsakh vulnerable, Armenian Deputy FM tells Ancient Civilizations Forum

Jane Topchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 17 2021
, 11:19

 3 minutes read

Պrotecting the cultural heritage of ancient civilizations and its transmission to future generations through continuous communication and cooperation is crucial as ever, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahe Gevorgyan said at the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Ancient Civilizations Forum.

“Cultural heritage is a driving force of identity and historical memory for societies. We strongly believe that the only way to protect global heritage is to apply a system based on the principles of dialogue, respect for cultural diversity and cultivation of peace. As a platform promoting dialogue and collaboration, this Forum, indeed, can play an essential role in meeting today’s global challenges and proposing constructive responses. The fulfillment of this objective requires joint efforts and commitment to encourage peace and sustainable development. Armenia is keen to contribute to the actions in this regard,” he noted.  

The deputy FM emphasized that “cooperation on preserving cultural heritage has a special meaning for the Armenian people, noting that we have monuments worldwide built by the Armenian communities in about one hundred countries.

“The care and attention that Armenian cultural property has been receiving are omnipresent. For instance, Iran is home to many Armenian monuments in our region. We appreciate that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken responsibility to protect them. The joint inscription of the 65 years old Pilgrimage to Iran’s Saint Thadeus Armenian Monastery on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO in 2020 is the latest example of existing and effective collaboration in this regard,” Vahe Grigoryan stated.  

“The richness of our nations’ historical memory shapes the very essence of civilization and moral values of our countries. Unfortunately, the number of cases of intentional destruction of the numerous cultural heritage sites due to ethnic or religious intolerance is progressively increasing and cultural property representing ancient civilizations is particularly endangered by those who consider these artifacts and history behind them as a threat,” he added.

He stressed that as never before, protection of the artifacts of ancient civilizations requires concentrated efforts of the international community.

“Ancient Armenian cultural and religious heritage located in and around Nagorno-Karabakh is particularly vulnerable in this regard. It is with this grave concern that Armenia tries to bring different international actors together in order to rescue 1500 objects of historical and cultural property, including ancient monasteries, historic quarters, burial and archeological sites,” the diplomat noted.

He noted that there are two important undertakings that deserve to be mentioned here. 

The Deputy Foreign Minister reminded that upon request of Armenia, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to “take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration towards Armenian cultural heritage, including churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artifacts.”

“This legally binding ruling is unprecedented in many senses. In the name of justice and humanity, the world highest court made a verdict by which it protects the right of existence of an ancient civilization. This order should be implemented with the involvement of Armenian indigenous people of the region without any due and reservation,” he said.  

“We also appreciate UNESCO’s efforts to ensure the dispatching of an independent expert mission to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, which Azerbaijan, unfortunately, continues to block up to date, creating artificial obstacles for the effective engagement of UNESCO,” Grigoryan continued.

“We acknowledge that cultural heritage constitutes tourism resources and as such, appropriate tourism management can contribute to safeguarding that very heritage and promoting sustainable development. Armenia is willing to contribute to the global efforts, prioritizing the protection of cultural heritage and development of sustainable tourism, in forming respect for cultural diversity. The Republic of Armenia is currently in the process of developing a strategy for 2025 in the field of culture, which, among other aspects, addresses the conservation and safeguarding of cultural monuments,” he noted.

“We think that the close cooperation between member states of the Forum within international organizations, particularly the UNESCO, regular consultations and possible joint initiatives on issues related to the protection of cultural heritage may serve this purpose as well,” Vahe Grigoryan said.

Moreover, he said, “we see a huge potential in developing collaboration with experts from the member states of this Forum. In this regard, we welcome the outcome of the two expert meetings held in May and October 2021.” “Notably, we think that creating a committee of experts from the Forum of Ancient Civilizations will allow member states to regularly share experiences on the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage, sustainable tourism, and restitution of cultural property.”

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 15-12-21

Jane Topchian

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 17:23,

YEREVAN, 15 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 15 December, USD exchange rate down by 6.43 drams to 482.02 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 8.72 drams to 543.28 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.11 drams to 6.53 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 6.96 drams to 638.92 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 538.52 drams to 27537.15 drams. Silver price down by 5.36 drams to 343.58 drams. Platinum price down by 565.23 drams to 14118.04 drams.

Armenia ruling party MP fails to answer question about price to pay for normalization of ties with Turkey

Jane Topchian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 14 2021
16:05, 14.12.2021

There is no Turkish corridor. This is what Chair of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security of the National Assembly of Armenia, deputy of the ruling Civil Contract Party Andranik Kocharyan told reporters today, commenting on the statements of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and Armenia on the willingness to designate special envoys to discuss the actions for normalization of relations.

According to him, the public is assured every day that there are no discussions on a corridor. “There will be discussions on the region within the scope of Armenian-Turkish relations,” he clarified. Kocharyan expressed confidence that Armenian reporters need to serve the official news, even though most of them are serving the statements of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Cavusoglu declared that there is a need to speak to Armenia, and there are people who are designated by Turkey and Armenia. When the name of the person [special envoy of Armenia-ed.] is announced, reporters will have the chance to interview the official and receive answers to questions right from the start of the process,” he assured.

Kocharyan recalled that there was a group set up to discuss the Armenian-Turkish relations during the administration of Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanyan, but the processes were suspended when the discussions became public.

The member of the ruling party didn’t answer the question whether the price for Armenian-Turkish relations is renunciation of the right of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination and recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Azerbaijani servicemen fire at the Armenian military water truck

Jane Topchian

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 18:33, 8 December, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire from different caliber firearms in the direction of the rear support vehicle (water truck) of the N military unit of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia located in the south-western direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Defense Minister informed ARMENPRESS that the incident claimed no casualties.

Asbarez: Azerbaijan Returns 10 Captured Soldiers

Jane Topchian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 December 6, 2021

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

A plane carrying 10 Armenian captives landed in Yerevan on Dec. 5

Azerbaijan has repatriated to Armenia 10 soldiers its forces had captured during an invasion attempt on Armenia’s southeastern borders on November 16.

A day after the foiled invasion attempt, Armenia’s Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani forces had captured 13 Armenian soldiers, while another 24 had gone missing.

There are still unknown numbers of Armenian POWs and civilians, who were captured during and immediately following last year’s war, being held by Azerbaijan.

Below are the names of the repatriated soldiers, as reported by Armenpress.

Yerimyan Narek Volodya
Arakelyan Arayik Arshaluys
Amirkhanyan Serzhik Samson,
Hakobyan G. Arayik,
Nalbandyan Robert Mamikon,
Sargsyan Harut Aramayis,
Manasyan Artyom Suren,
Avetisyan Eric Hunan
Tosyanan Arman Arthur,
Hakobyan Tigran Armen

Azerbaijan will receive gas from Turkmenistan via Iran

Jane Topchian
BBC Azeri
28 November 2021
A meeting between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Iran Seyed Ibrahim Raisi was held in Ashgabat on November 28.
This was reported by official sources in both countries.
The meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Seyid Ibrahim Raisi took place within the framework of the Economic Cooperation Organization summit in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Iranian President Seyed Ibrahim Raisi said recently that “there are very good contacts” between Baku and Tehran at the level of ministers and deputy ministers.
“Issues in relations between our countries can be resolved through such contacts and visits,” he said.
Seyid Ibrahim Raisi noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran are “not just neighborly relations, they are the relations of our hearts, the hearts of the peoples of the two countries beat together.”
“We have a union of history and civilization. All this unites us even more. We must never allow others to interfere in our relations. We must solve our own problems, work together to advance our relations and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation. “The experience so far shows that we have always managed to resolve many of them when we discuss our issues ourselves, and we have overcome the obstacles ahead,” he said.
According to Seyid Ibrahim Raisi, Iran’s position on the Karabakh issue was “transparent and unambiguous.”
“The position of all officials in the state structures, from the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, was that the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan should not be harmed and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan should be ensured,” he said.
President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that the meeting would “give a very strong impetus to the development of Iranian-Azerbaijani relations.”
“Our peoples are fraternal peoples. We have lived together for centuries. The ties of kinship are quite wide. Our peoples are united by a common history and common culture. This is a very beautiful ground. We are writing a modern history of bilateral relations on this basis,” said President Ilham Aliyev.
According to the official media of Azerbaijan and Iran, the sides discussed “cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran within the North-South transport corridor, as well as the Zangazur transport corridor.”
“It was stressed that Iran will also benefit from the implementation of the Zangazur corridor and will be able to use this transport hub.”
“The issues of establishing an energy hub between Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran were discussed at the meeting.”
At the end, with the participation of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Iran, an “Agreement defining the terms of transit of natural gas through the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran” was signed.
Speaking to Iranian media after the signing of the agreement, President Ilham Aliyev said that “from now on, Iranian-Azerbaijani relations will continue to grow in all areas.”
“Our peoples are fraternal peoples, our countries are fraternal countries, and the issues discussed today show once again that Iran-Azerbaijan relations are at a very high level.”
According to Ilham Aliyev, the signed document is also “of great importance.”
“This is a historic document. It shows once again how deep the Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are. Azerbaijan will receive Turkmen gas through Iran. This is a very good basis for trilateral cooperation and shows our intention. This document is very important in terms of economic and energy security. It is important, “the Azerbaijani President said.
President Seyed Ibrahim Raisi told Iranian media that “issues of interest between the two countries were discussed” with the President of Azerbaijan.
“Our relations with Azerbaijan are cultural, friendly and sincere, the history of our relations is very old. There should be no misunderstandings in these relations,” he said.
“The gas agreement signed today between Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan will serve the development of relations between our countries, relations between two and three countries. It is necessary to take serious and numerous steps in this area. “Cooperation in the cultural sphere should be aimed at expanding relations between the two countries,” he said.
According to Iranian media, starting from December 25, 2021, Azerbaijan will receive 1.5-2 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Turkmenistan through Iran.
Thanks to the profits from this deal, Iran will be able to direct its gas to five regions of the country.

Arsen Babayan: How authorities infect victims’ phones with Pegasus spyware

Jane Topchian
Panorama, Armenia
Nov 27 2021

Arsen Babayan, a member of the opposition Homeland Party Board, reflected on the Pegasus spyware attacks targeting Armenia’s opposition.

"There has been much talk recently about the well-known Pegasus software. The authorities, as you know, have spent millions of dollars to use a super-powerful and most inhumane cyber-weapon against opposition figures,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

“The authorities infect the phones of the victims using the Pegasus software through:

1. An ordinary phone call. Even if you don't answer that call, using the operator, the Pegasus software is installed on the phone. It cannot be uninstalled even if the phone is completely formatted.

2. An ordinary test message. No matter whether you click on the message or just delete it, as soon as you get the SMS, that's it, the phone is infected.

3. The same actions outlined in the first and second points are performed through WhatsApp,” Babayan said, adding all the information is available on the international media and on Google.

“Incidentally, there is no real antivirus or any other program to fight against this. But it is 99% possible to protect yourself,” he said, promising to further elaborate on the matter in the future.

Opposition boycotts parliament session

Jane Topchian

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 10:19, 16 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem blocs of the Armenian parliament are boycotting today’s session in protest of the majority’s refusal to convene an emergency sitting to discuss the situation at the country’s borders earlier on November 15. 

The session’s agenda includes the 2022 government budget.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan