12:40,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. The Albanian Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs extended condolences to the families of the victims of the Yerevan market blast.
“Deeply saddened by the horrible news of the massive explosion at Sumarlu market in Yerevan, Armenia. Our sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Wishing full and speedy recovery to those injured," the Albanian foreign ministry tweeted.
The death toll in a large explosion at the popular Surmalu shopping strip in Yerevan rose overnight to 16.
Four families received new homes in the southern Armenian border village of Shurnukh.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu met for talks in Moscow.
11:54,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, ARMENPRESS. Retired Armenian army general, former MP Seyran Saroyan has died, the Public TV’s newswire reported.
Saroyan, 54, began his military career in the late 1980s, serving in the military during the First Nagorno Karabakh war.
He was elected Member of Parliament in 2007 and again in 2012 and 2017.
Saroyan’s awards and decorations include the Courage Medal (1994), Combat Cross Class II (1996, 2002 (NKR), Marshal Baghramyan Medal (1997), For Services to the Fatherland Medal Class I (2006), Andranik Ozanyan Medal (2004) and others.
The cause of death wasn’t immediately reported.
The provocative actions that are regularly provoked are aimed at de-Armenianizing Artsakh, devaluing both the already fragile peace established by the trilateral statement, and the mission of the Russian peacekeeping contingent which has assumed the function of maintaining that peace. Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan stated this Saturday in Chartar town of the Martuni region.
According to the press service of the President, Harutyunyan noted that it is necessary to be patient and not deviate from the path of independence of Artsakh, and that the latter’s authorities will continue to make all possible efforts toward resolving the existing security issues, ensuring the necessary living conditions for a prosperous life, and guaranteeing a stable future.
16:02,
HRAZDAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. Hrazdan, the city declared as Youth Capital of Armenia, is celebrating International Youth Day with various events, concerts and tours.
The UN General Assembly has titled this year’s International Youth Day as “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages”.
The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan, the UN Resident Coordinator for Armenia a.i. Lila Pieters Yahia, Kotayk Governor Aharon Sahakyan and Hrazdan Mayor Sevak Mikayelyan attended an event opening the celebrations.
“Any investment done for youth is an investment for tomorrow, for having a better future,” Dumanyan said. “Be sure that the Armenian government will continue carrying out multiple youth programs aimed at discovering the potential of young people, developing opportunities and capabilities, forming a favorable environment for self-_expression_.”
The acting UN Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia said it is impressive to see the senior generation and young people together at the same event. She conveyed some of the remarks voiced by the UN Secretary General: “Solidarity and cooperation are very important for withstanding the challenges of the future. That is why only through joint efforts we can achieve the UN sustainable development goals. And to reach these goals we must first of all support our youth in developing education and skills.”
The events will be concluded with a concert by Nemra.
09:47,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a phone conversation with President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
PM Pashinyan and President Raisi discussed issues related to regional developments and security challenges, PM Pashinyan’s office said in a readout of the call.
The Armenian PM presented details about the recent border incidents between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In the context of establishing stability and peace in the region, PM Pashinyan underscored the importance of full implementation of the 9 November 2020, 11 January and 26 November, 2021 trilateral agreements.
Speaking on the tense incidents taking place in South Caucasus in the recent days, the Iranian President cited Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s statement during the recent meeting with the leaders of Russia and Turkey that Iran is sensitive in the matter of its borders in the Caucasian region and will counter any attempt to change them.
The sides exchanged ideas also about bilateral ties and emphasized the importance of deepening relations.
PM Pashinyan expressed satisfaction over the development of Armenian-Iranian relations and said that Armenia is ready to maximally promote transit of goods between the two countries and develop cooperation in infrastructure sector, including in roads, energy and other directions.
President Raisi described the relations between Armenia and Iran as historic and deep and underscored the need to raise the level of stable Armenian-Iranian economic cooperation.
10:05,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov’s statement on connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhijevan through Iranian territory doesn’t at all mean that Azerbaijan is abandoning its aspirations to get a corridor through Armenian territory, warns expert on Azerbaijan Taron Hovhannisyan.
“Azerbaijan anyhow has a road to Nakhijevan through Iranian territory, now Azerbaijan is trying to build a shortcut from the southern regions of Artsakh it occupied during the war. The Azerbaijani authorities had announced about this very early on, there is simply another issue here, that they are trying to use this to exert additional pressure on Armenia by saying that the transit road will pass through Iranian territory and Armenia will be sidelined from regional projects, and they are attempting to exert additional pressure on Armenia to agree in the issue of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor”,” Hovhannisyan said.
Hovhannisyan reminded that the Azerbaijani FM Bayramov threatened Armenia in one of his recent interviews to the Turkish Anadolu news agency, saying that “the corridor will be opened whether Armenia wants it or not”.
“The Azerbaijani side hasn’t abandoned this idea, and this is first of all a political goal for them, and also for Turkey. It is another matter that they are trying to make diversification and gain a shorter road through Iranian territory and another road through Armenia’s territory,” Hovhannisyan added.
Historian and Orientalist Armen Petrosyan told ARMENPRESS that Azerbaijan had and still has the only connection with Nakhijevan through Iranian territory, while the recent agreements are simply about the construction of a new road from territories of Artsakh that are now under Azerbaijani control after the war.
“There is nothing new here, they are simply trying to develop more affordable and beneficial connections. And they are trying to use this to blackmail and pressure Armenia. Meaning, they say that if Armenia doesn’t provide the corridor-logic road to Azerbaijan then it will be sidelined from the process of unblocking of regional connections and will remain isolated and Azerbaijan will continue its connection with the Iranian road. There is no change in Azerbaijan’s rhetoric and they still continue to demand from Armenia unblocking in the logic of corridor,” Petrosyan said.
17:09,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan awarded gold medals to the Armenian men’s team for winning silver medal at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad.
“I am proud of your victory and I want you to be sure that we are ready to help with whatever we can to develop and advance the sector. I wish you new achievements. We thank everyone who had contribution in this victory,” Dumanyan said.
Dumanyan’s deputy Karen Giloyan said that before going into the tournament they thought that even finishing in the top five would be a good result, whereas the team captured 2nd place.
In a phone conversation Wednesday, Raisi told Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian that Iran is ready to use all its capacities to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region and its growth and development.
The Iranian president touched on the recent border skirmishes between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, saying the "adherence of the signatories of the tripartite ceasefire statement to its provisions and solving the remaining issues through dialogue and diplomatic solutions is the best way to create peace and security in the Caucasus region".
The tripartite statement was signed by President Pashinian and his Azerbaijani and Russian counterparts Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin in November 2020 for a "complete ceasefire and termination of all hostilities in the area of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" following a 44-day war.
Under the ceasefire, Armenia undertook to return the districts of Aghdam, Lachin and Kalbajar to Azerbaijan after about 30 years and "guarantee the security of transport connections between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to arrange unobstructed movement of persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions".
Azerbaijan undertook to "guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions".
Under the ceasefire agreement, the peacekeeping forces of Russia consisting of 1,960 troops armed with firearms, 90 armored vehicles and 380 motor vehicles and units of special equipment were deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor.
The parties also agreed that "new transport links shall be built to connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the western regions of Azerbaijan", but the condition has turned to a new bone of contention between the warring side, with Baku demanding that Yerevan make way for the establishment of a corridor which the latter refuses.
Raisi on Wednesday evening touched on the "strategic statements" of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei during his meetings with the presidents of Russia and Turkey last month regarding the sensitivity of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards its borders in the Caucasus region and confronting any attempt to change them.
"Iran does not accept any changes in the political geography of the region and is ready to use all its capacities to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region and its growth and development," the Iranian president said.
The Armenian prime minister gave a detailed report on the recent conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan in this telephone conversation.
Pashinian also expressed his satisfaction with the development of Tehran-Yerevan relations and emphasized his country's readiness to facilitate the transit of goods between the two countries and to increase cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, including road and energy.
11:05, 9 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 9, ARMENPRESS. Cargo shipments in the first half of 2022 grew 11,2% compared to the previous year’s same period, according to data released by the Statistical Committee.
Rail shipments grew 1%, automobile shipments – 12,9%, air shipments – 5,3% (includes also cargo shipments carried out by airlines of other countries), “trunk pipeline” shipments – 18,4%.
In total, 8 million 332,6 thousand tons of cargo was shipped by all types of vehicles.
Passenger transport:
Passenger transportation by general-use transport vehicles grew 40,4% (71,million 030.5 thousand people transported).
Railway passenger transportation grew 22,5%, automobile transport – 43,9%, air transport grew 75,6% (including with aircraft of other countries), and electric transport – 25,4%.
It is noteworthy that the automobile transport passenger indicator shows only the volume of taxi services by legal entities, which recorded a 23,4% drop against the previous year.
The double digit growth of cargo and passenger transportation shows that the sectors are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic effects.