Category: 2021

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 19:20, 11 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for the efforts aimed at restoring stability in the region and settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan said following the meeting with Russian President Putin and Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Moscow.

''Unfortunately, this conflict is not resolved yet. We managed to establish ceasefire but there are still issues that have not been solved. One of them is the status of Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia is ready to continue the negotiations in the sidelines of the OSCE Minsk Group format. Unfortunately, today we did not success in solving the issue of war prisoners, which is the most sensitive and painful issue. That's a humanitarian issue and we agreed to continue works in this direction, but we think that the 8th point of our joint declarations is not being fully implemented. I hope that we will be able to achieve concrete solutions in a short period'', Pashinyan said.

Mane Gevorgyan, PM's press secretary, had informed earlier that the trilateral meeting will address economic issues, according to the agenda elaborated in advance.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 19:48, 11 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the joint statement on the development of the region signed with the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan in Moscow on January 11.

ARMENPRESS reports  in a briefing following the meeting with the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan the Armenian PM said that the implementation of the agreements enshrined in the joint statement can change the economic prospect of the region. According to him, the new economic situation can lead to more security guarantees.

‘’We are ready to make constructive efforts in that direction. I think it’s not possible to solve all the issues during one meeting, but I hope we will move forward. At the moment, the humanitarian issues remain priority, particularly, the exchange of war prisoners provided by our November 9 declaration’’, Pashinyan said.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 20:05, 11 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. A joint statement has been adopted based on the meeting between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in Moscow.

ARMENPRESS reports the non-official translation of the text.

‘’The statement of the President of the Azerbaijani Republic, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and President of the Russian Federation. January 11, 2021.

1. We support the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on establishing a trilateral working group Co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of the Republic of Armenia, Russian Federation and Azerbaijani Republic aimed at the implementation of the 9th point of the November 9, 2020 declaration on unblocking all economic and transport communications of the region.
2. The working group will hold the first meeting until January 30, 2021, based on the results of which a list of the main directions for the implementation of the 9^th point of the declaration will be formed, giving priority to railway and road communications, as well as will define other directions agreed between the Azerbaijani Republic, Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation (Thereafter, the Sides).
3. For the implementation of the main directions, the Co-chairs of the working group will confirm the composition of the specialized sub-groups in the relevant spheres, which will include the representatives of the relevent bodies of the Sides and officials of orgaizations. The specialized subgroups shall submit a list of programs within one month after the meeting of the working group, in which they shall present the necessary resources and measures for their implementation and for approval by the Sides at the highest level.
4. The working group will submit for approval by the Sides at the highest level a list and timetable of measures for restoring and constructing new transport communications necessary for organizing international transportations and ensuring their safety through the territories of the Azerbaijani Republic and the Republic of Armenia, whic also refers to the transportations from the territories of the Azerbaiajni Republic and the Republic of Armenia, which need to cross the borders of the Azerbaijani Republic and the Republic of Armenia''.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

 20:52, 11 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin is underway, ARMENPRESS reports Mane Gevorgyan, the spokesperson to PM Pashinyan, wrote on her Facebook page.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan is in Moscow on a working visit. A trilateral meeting between the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders has already taken place based on which a statement was signed.

‘’I am very happy for we recorded some results based on those negotiations, and that’s quite important. The implementation of our agreements can change the nature of our region and foster its investment potential’’, Pashinyan said during the meeting.

 10:00, 12 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Kazakhstan’s ruling party Nur Otan secured victory in the January 10 elections to the lower house of parliament garnering 71.09% of the vote, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Konstantin Petrov said, reports TASS.

“Nur Otan party received 5,148,074 votes or 71.09%”, Petrov said.

Two other parties, the People's Party of Kazakhstan and the Ak Zhol Democratic Party, which received 9.10% and 10.95%, respectively, were also elected to the parliament. Another two parties garnered less than 7%.

Nur Otan will get 76 out of 98 seats in the lower house, the Mazhilis, while the People's Party of Kazakhstan and the Ak Zhol Democratic Party will have 10 and 12 seats, respectively, Petrov said.

Elections to the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament were held on January 10.

 10:43, 12 January, 2021

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Bodies of 10 servicemen and a civilian have been found during the search operations in the battle zones, in particular in the directions of Sghnakh, Jabrayil and Hadrut, the official of the State Emergency Service of Artsakh Hunan Tadevosyan told Armenpress.

“The bodies of the fallen troops were found from the sections of the military positions. The dead civilian is an elderly man. His body was found at home. He has been identified. Forensic examination has been set to clarify the circumstances of his death.

So far, a total of 1222 bodies of servicemen and civilians have been found during the search operations.

Today the search operations will continue in Hadrut, Fizuli and Jabrayil sections”, the official said, adding that in line with this the search for missing in action, who are likely hiding, is also underway.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:13, 12 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Center for Disease Control and Prevention says 355 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed over the past 24 hours in the country, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 162,643.

729 patients recovered, raising the number of recoveries to 150,602.

1885 tests were conducted over the past day.

10 patients died from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 2941. This number doesn’t include the deaths of 707 other individuals (5 in the past 24 hours) infected with the virus, who died from other pre-existing illnesses, according to health authorities.

As of January 12, 11:00 the number of active cases stood at 8393.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 12:16, 12 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Russia will keep flights to and from the United Kingdom suspended until February 1, 2021, TASS reports citing the anti-coronavirus crisis center.

Russia suspended flights to and from the UK on December 22.

According to the World Health Organization, a new, more contagious strain of the coronavirus, initially found in the UK, has been recorded in more than 40 countries. Russia detected the new strain in late 2020. Head of the country’s sanitary watchdog Anna Popova said that Russian testing systems were capable of detecting the new variant of the virus.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on December 14 that the country’s researchers had discovered a new strain of COVID-19, which could be the reason behind a rapid rise in infections in the country.

 12:35, 12 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenian health authorities say they plan to acquire the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines either in the end of January or by mid-February.

The National Center for Disease Control’s Deputy Director-General Gayane Sahakyan said at a news conference that they are holding negotiations for acquiring the vaccines which have passed necessary trials and studies, such as the Sputnik V, the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines.

“We plan to acquire vaccines for the 10% of the population to initially conduct vaccinations for at-risk people. We are holding negotiations over the timeframes of importing the vaccine. The first batch of the vaccine will be supplied by end of January or mid-February and the vaccination of at-risk groups will start. As to which vaccine we will have in the beginning is unclear now, we are working simultaneously in the direction of acquiring all four abovementioned vaccines,” Gayane Sahakyan, who is also in charge of the National Immunization Program, said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 13:00, 12 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan alarms that several problems regarding roads that have come under Azerbaijani control remain unresolved.

“Different parts of the road are under Azerbaijani control and Azerbaijani flags and signs are installed there. Moreover, 21 kilometers of the 68 kilometer section of the Goris-Vorotan-Shurnukh-Kapan road is under Azerbaijani control. The Azerbaijani soldiers are installing the road signs with explicit provocation. In addition, as residents reported, [Azerbaijani soldiers] may appear on the road with weapons. They may stop on the road and conduct observations. These are roads which link our peaceful settlements with one another. This issue emerged because of using a mechanical approach in demarcation,” Tatoyan said at a news briefing.

He said that Armenian citizens are advised to travel via these roads quickly and without stops, otherwise the Azerbaijani side will consider it a provocation.

Tatoyan pointed out numerous problems that would arise in the event of hypothetical incidents which could happen on these parts of the road, for example traffic accidents.

“If, for example, a traffic accident were to happen between not only Armenian motorists but for example an Armenian motorist and an Azerbaijani motorist. What would happen if a car broke down in those parts of the road and the driver must stop and fix it? What would happen if traffic violations, crimes or other things were to happen in those parts? If we find this to be Azerbaijani territory, what does that mean? Does it mean that the Azeri investigative body must carry out investigative actions against an Armenian citizen? These issues aren’t regulated at all,” he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan