Category: 2021

 14:53,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. There are numerous programs in terms of upcoming investments both from the side of Polish businessmen in Armenia and from Armenian businessmen in Poland, the Ambassador of Poland to Armenia Pawel Cieplak said at a press conference in Yerevan’s Media Center.

Asked about potential Polish investments in Armenia, Ambassador Cieplak said he hopes that an investment program in the banking system will soon be implemented, and that business ties between Armenia and Poland will be strengthened after the Armenia-Poland inter-governmental commission meetings.

Cieplak said the business environment in Armenia became more favorable after the 2018 revolution.

“Armenian investors are also making steps for investing in Poland. At the current moment we have information on numerous projects but as long as contracts aren’t signed I can’t reveal details," the Ambassador said.

Ambassador Cieplak says the limited trade turnover between Armenia and Poland – which doesn’t surpass 70 million dollars annually – is due to the fact that exports are done through a mediating country, namely Bulgaria.

Overall, he described the Armenia-Poland relations as being “based on traditional friendship”.

The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled many planned bilateral visits and joint projects, but the ambassador is hopeful that in 2022 the two countries will return to normal.

He mentioned the visit of Armenian President of the Constitutional Court Arman Dilanyan and two justices to Poland which took place in 2021. 

The ambassador said that Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau is expected to visit Armenia in the first quarter of 2022 after assuming the OSCE chairmanship.

Inter-parliamentary visits and meetings are also planned.

Ambassador Cieplak thanked Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan for the formation of the Armenia-Poland parliamentary friendship groups in the parliaments of the two countries. He said he hopes that the group will also pay a visit to Poland.

Cooperation between the foreign ministries continues as well, and Poland is hopeful that political consultations at the level of deputy ministers will be held in Yerevan in 2022.

The Ambassador said they also want to intensify economic cooperation and hope that meetings will be held between the Armenia-Poland Intergovernmental commissions for economic affairs.

 15:21,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Russia believes that the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey would contribute to the recovery of the general situation in the region and formation of trust and good-neighborliness, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing.

“It’s not once that Russia announced that it is ready to assume a mediating role in the issue of the normalization of relations between the two countries,” Zakharova said.

She described the appointment of the special envoys for dialogue by Armenia and Turkey as a “reasonable and logical” step, underscoring that Moscow is ready to assume a mediating and organizational role for the contacts between the envoys.

 15:24,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Meetings and discussions over the visa liberalization between Armenia and European Union countries continue, namely on the level of law enforcement and migrations services, the Ambassador of Poland to Armenia Pawel Cieplak said at a press conference at the Media Center in Yerevan when asked about the possibility of launching the dialogue over visa liberalization as part of CEPA – the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed between Armenia and the EU in 2017 which entered into force in March 2021.

Ambassador Cieplak said liberalizing EU visas for Armenian citizens is possible like in the case of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, but he stressed that it’s very early to speak about potential timeframes.

He underscored that Poland favors visa liberalization.

“Nevertheless, this should be the common decision of all member countries of the European Union. At this moment, certainly no foreign ambassador in Armenia is able to give a promise like that, and it is impossible to speak about timeframes. Two years ago visa liberalization happened for citizens of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which is possible also for citizens of the Republic of Armenia, but it is impossible to speak about timeframes because this is a very delicate matter,” the Ambassador said, expressing hope that the government of Armenia will succeed in this issue.

 16:02,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin congratulated Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the upcoming New Year and Christmas holidays, the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office said.

In a telegram sent to Pashinyan, Mishustin noted that in 2021 the Russian-Armenian relations based on friendship, good-neighborliness and strategic partnership have continued developing, and the trade-economic and investment cooperation are being expanded, while inter-regional and business ties are strengthening.

“I am sure that in 2022 joint efforts by our governments will ensure further progress of practical partnership. We will continue creating favorable conditions as part of the Eurasian Economic Union for the implementation of promising projects and integration initiatives. This is entirely in the interests of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia,” Mishustin said, wishing good health and happiness to PM Pashinyan and his family, and peace and prosperity to the Armenian people.

 16:40,

STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Army of Artsakh is denying the reports from Azerbaijani authorities accusing the Artsakh Defense Army in opening fire in the direction of employees of the Azeri Bakcell company. The Defense Army said these reports are “a total lie and disinformation”.

“The media reports circulating in Azerbaijani media claiming that the Defense Army units opened fire on December 29 in the direction of the employees of the Azerbaijani Bakcell company which resulted in one Azerbaijani getting wounded is a total lie and is another disinformation,” the Defense Army said.

 17:16,

YEREVAN, 30 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 30 December, USD exchange rate up by 1.50 drams to 480.14 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.70 drams to 542.61 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.08 drams to 6.42 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.22 drams to 646.17 drams.

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

Gold price down by 81.98 drams to 27697.58 drams. Silver price up by 3.72 drams to 352.5 drams. Platinum price down by 92.10 drams to 14850.26 drams.

 17:33,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenian aviation authorities have issued a permit to Flyone Armenia airline to operate charter flights in the Yerevan-Istanbul-Yerevan route.

“Flyone Armenia had recently applied to the aviation authorities of both Armenia and Turkey with the request to operate charter roundtrip flights from Yerevan to Istanbul. We are thankful to the Armenian aviation authorities for the approval,” Flyone Armenia President of the Board Aram Ananyan told ARMENPRESS when asked to comment.

Asked when the flights will be launched, Ananyan said they are awaiting the permit from the Turkish aviation authorities.

Earlier on December 16, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara is considering bids from both Turkish and Armenian airlines for operating flights between Istanbul and Yerevan. Then, the Turkish authorities said that the Turkish Pegasus airline will operate the flights.

 17:47,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin sent a congratulatory message to President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian on New Year and Christmas, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the President of Armenia.

“The past year is marked by further strengthening of Armenian-Russian relations based on friendship, strategic partnership and allied principles. Commercial-economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation develops smoothly. Significant results were achieved in promoting joint large-scale projects.

I hope that in 2022 new impetus will be given to bilateral partnership and prerequisites will be created for the implementation of new mutually beneficial initiatives”, reads the message of the Prime Minister of Russian Federation.

 18:05,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 signed by US President Joe Biden contains important provisions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, which particularly emphasizes that Azerbaijan continues to hold about 200 Armenian prisoners of war, distorting their status, emphasizing that Azerbaijan should immediately and unconditionally return all captured persons. ARMENPRESS reports the law is published on the official website of the Congress.

The law points out the conclusions of the Congress on the 44-day war, in particular:

(A) On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan, with support from Turkey and foreign militia groups, launched a military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, resulting in the deaths of thousands and displacing tens of thousands of ethnic Armenian residents.

 (B) On November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia signed a tripartite statement to end the conflict.

 (C) In signing the November 9 statement, all parties agreed that the “exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees as well as the remains of the fatalities shall be carried out.''.

(D) The Third Geneva Convention, of which Azerbaijan is a signatory, and customary international law require the release of prisoners of war and captured civilians upon the cessation of hostilities and require that all detainees be treated humanely.

 (E) Despite Azerbaijan's obligations under the Geneva Conventions and their commitments in signing the November 9 statement, long after the end of the conflict, the Government of Azerbaijan continues to detain an estimated 200 Armenian prisoners of war, hostages, and detained persons, misrepresenting their status in an attempt to justify their continued captivity.

(F) Human Rights Watch reported in December 2020, that Azerbaijani military forces had mistreated ethnic Armenian prisoners of war and subjected them to “physical abuse and humiliation''.

(G) Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights issued a report on the conflict that “document[s] crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed by Azerbaijani armed forces and Turkish-backed Islamist fighters against Armenians'', including beheadings, summary executions, and the desecration of human remains.

(H) There is limited reliable information about the condition or treatment of prisoners of war and captured civilians, and there is significant concern that female detainees in particular could be subject to sexual assaults and other mistreatment.

(I) The continued detainment of prisoners of war and captured civilians by Azerbaijan calls into serious question their commitment to human rights and negotiating an equitable, lasting peace settlement.

(J) Armenia has fulfilled its obligations under the November 9 statement and international law by returning Azerbaijani prisoners of war.

(K) The United States is a co-chair, along with France and Russia, of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group, which was created to seek a durable and peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Sense of congress.– It is the sense of Congress that– (A) Azerbaijan must immediately and unconditionally return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured  civilians; and (B) the Biden Administration should engage at all levels with Azerbaijani authorities, including through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group process, to make clear the importance of adhering to their obligations, under the November 9 statement and international law, to immediately release all prisoners of war and captured civilians.

The ban on the import of goods of Turkish origin will not be extended

 18:58,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Based on the results of the interdepartmental discussions in Armenia, a decision was made not to extend the embargo on Turkish goods, ARMENPRESS reports the Ministry of Economy of Armenia informs.

In particular, the Ministry notes that the ban on Turkish goods over the past year has had both positive and negative economic consequences.

"One of the positive consequences is a number of newly established or expanded productions in the light industry, construction materials, furniture production, as well as in agriculture, but the main negative effect of the embargo is the significant impact on inflation, which was reflected especially in a number of consumer goods. There are many requests from our businessmen to lift the ban on the import of Turkish goods”, the Ministry said.

During this year, a number of businesses have started to produce goods to replace Turkish ones. The Ministry assured that there will be consistency in ensuring the viability and competitiveness of such companies in the new conditions, assisting them with additional tools if necessary.

"By lifting the ban on the import of Turkish goods, the principle of reciprocity is expected to create more favorable conditions for the export of Armenian goods," the Ministry said.

By the decision of October 20, 2020, the Government of the Republic of Armenia imposed a temporary ban on the import of final goods of Turkish origin. The ban was then extended until .