Category: 2023

 18:11,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan touched upon the issue of lifting the blockade and noted that, in his opinion, some progress has been recorded in this issue in the recent Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations.

ARMENPRESS reports, during the question and answer session with members of the Government in the National Assembly, Mirzoyan once again reaffirmed Armenia's position, that is, the Republic of Armenia is greatly interested in the unblocking of transport and economic infrastructures in the region.

"Obviously, these infrastructures should be unblocked based on several well-known principles, such as, for example, they should operate under the sovereignty of the countries they pass through, these infrastructures should be under the jurisdiction of the countries they pass through, these infrastructures should be opened based on the principle of equality and reciprocity.

These issues are regularly discussed under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. My personal and subjective impression is that there is some progress, especially during Mr. Grigoryan's last meetings, but we still don't have the final result and, unfortunately, we cannot make it public for now," said Mirzoyan.

 18:21,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. On June 15, the representatives of the international diplomatic corps accredited in Armenia will visit the part of Yeraskh, in the direction of which the Azerbaijani side resorted to aggression, ARMENPRESS reports, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan announced during the question-and-answer session with members of the government in the National Assembly.

The Foreign Minister considered it remarkable that the EU monitoring mission visited that place, that part of Yeraskh. "Tomorrow, at our invitation, representatives of the international diplomatic corps accredited in the Republic of Armenia will also be present there. We will certainly keep the issue in the center of their attention," said Mirzoyan.

Earlier, it became known that on June 14, around 11:45, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan opened fire in the direction of the metallurgical plant being built with foreign investments in Yeraskh, as a result of which 2 foreign citizens were injured.

 09:59,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The United States has reacted to the June 14 Azerbaijani cross-border shooting targeting a steel plant construction site in the Armenian village of Yeraskh.

In a twitter post, United States Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said Washington was “deeply concerned” that two civilian workers of the U.S.-affiliated company sustained injuries from “gunfire from the direction of Azerbaijan.”

“We are deeply concerned that two civilian employees of a U.S.-affiliated company in Armenia sustained injuries from gunfire from the direction of Azerbaijan. We reiterate our call for restraint along the borders as the parties work toward a durable and balanced peace,” Miller said.

The steelworks construction site targeted by the Azeri forces is a $70 million Armenian-American project in Yeraskh. The steelworks, often referred to as a “metallurgical plant”, is expected to produce 180,000 tons output annually after being launched.

On June 14, two workers at the construction site of the plant were shot and wounded by Azerbaijani forces. The victims are nationals of India. Both were successfully operated on and are in moderate condition.

 09:52,

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military on June 14 breached the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh in three different directions, the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Defense Ministry said Thursday.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani troops opened small arms fire in the northern, eastern and north-western directions of the line of contact.

Furthermore, around 09:15 – 11:14 on Wednesday, the Azerbaijani forces opened small arms fire at farmers carrying out agricultural works in the Matchkalashen and Tchartar communities.

Nagorno Karabakh did not suffer casualties.

The Defense Ministry said it reported the ceasefire violation to the Russian peacekeeping command.

As of 09:30, June 15 the situation on the line of contact was relatively stable.

 10:31,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank doesn’t view the fight against inflation to have ended, Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan told lawmakers.

“Inflation last year was due to both supply and demand. The main component of demand was of external origin, meaning we had an inflow of international visitors who developed the demand for Armenia’s goods and services, and as a result we see that even until now the inflation in accommodation and food services is 8,7%,” Galstyan said, adding that they don’t find the fight against inflation to be completed.

The Central Bank is forecasting 6,9% economic growth for 2023. “But we must understand that in long-term and mid-term the economy can’t endlessly keep on growing beyond its potential,” Galstyan warned.

 10:53,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia maintains daily contact with its colleagues in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), the Governor of the Central Bank Martin Galstyan told lawmakers when asked about the state of the Artsakh financial system.

“We maintain daily contact with our colleagues in Artsakh. Without going much into details, I can say that whenever some problem occurs we react very swiftly. At this moment, according to my information, there is no problem related with financial issues in Artsakh,” Galstyan said.

 10:41,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenian security forces on Thursday morning took countermeasures to thwart the Azerbaijani military’s attempt to advance, authorities said in a statement.

The National Security Service Border Guards said that a group of servicemen of the Azerbaijani Border Guards attempted to advance into the territory of Armenia from the direction of the Hakari Bridge around 08:40, June 15 with the purpose of raising a flag in the territory of Armenia.

“As a result of measures taken by the Armenian side, the attempt by the Azerbaijani servicemen to advance and install a flag in the territory of Armenia was thwarted,” the NSS Border Guards said in a statement.

As of 10:00 the situation was relatively stable.

 12:07,

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh has denied opening fire at Azeri positions. Nagorno Karabakh said Azerbaijan is again “distorting reality” by spreading false accusations.

“The statement released by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accusing the Defense Army units of opening fire around 08:45, June 15 at Azerbaijani positions deployed in the occupied territories of Martuni region of the Republic of Artsakh is yet another disinformation,” the Nagorno Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh) Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan, trying to substantiate the fire by its units targeting civilians carrying out agricultural work, is once again distorting reality, once again claiming to have disrupted alleged engineering works in the Martuni region. As reported earlier, the Azerbaijani side opened small arms fire around 09:15 – 11:14, June 14, at civilians conducting agricultural work in the Matchkalashen and Tchartar communities of Martuni region,” the ministry added.

 11:48,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Italy have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the area of road infrastructures.

The agreement was signed between Gor Avetisyan, the CEO of the Road Department Foundation of Armenia, and Aldo Isi, the CEO of Anas S.p.A., the Italian company dealing with the construction and maintenance of Italian motorways and state highways.

Avetisyan and his staffers visited Italy together with the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan to get acquainted with Italy’s road infrastructures, strengthen partnership in the sector and exchange experience.

Anas CEO Aldo Isi said the signed document is an important opportunity for cooperation and exchange of engineering skills between the two countries.

Avetisyan said that Armenia is eager to study the best global experience in road construction and maintenance. He highlighted continuous training of specialists as a prerequisite for the development of the sector.

The memorandum envisages training of specialists, regular introductory visits to contribute to the improvement of road infrastructures, as well as joint seminars, meetings and other projects.

 12:09,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani armed forces opened gunfire at military positions of Armenia deployed in the section of the village of Tegh in Syunik Province at 11:45, June 15, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said in a statement.

The Azeri troops used small arms and mortar fire in shelling the Armenian positions.