Category: 2023

 15:39,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan has met with Siemens Sub-Region Vice President for Turkey and Central Asia Maxim Zubov.

Siemens Armenia representative Armen Berberyan, Minister of High Tech Industry Robert Khachatryan and Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hakob Vardanyan also attended the meeting, the deputy prime minister’s office said in a readout.

Deputy PM Khachatryan attached importance to the intensification of activities in Armenia by reputed organizations like Siemens.

The parties discussed promising projects carried out by Siemens in Armenia, especially in the areas of high technologies and energy infrastructures.  The officials once again reiterated readiness to continue and develop cooperation.

 15:19,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan congratulated on Monday Nikolai Denkov on his election as Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

“I warmly congratulate you on your election to the high office of Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria,” PM Pashinyan said in a letter to PM Denkov. “I am sure that during your tenure you will bring your contribution to the further development and enhancement of our inter-state relations that are strongly based on the common values, cultural similarities and historical friendship between the Armenian and Bulgarian nations. Taking this occasion, I wish endless vigor and successes to you in your responsible mission, and prosperity and progress to the friendly people of Bulgaria. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration," Pashinyan said.

 16:01,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The criminal proceedings against the former commander of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Defense Army Lt. Gen. Jalal Harutyunyan has been temporarily suspended, the Investigative Committee said on Monday.

Investigative Committee spokesperson Gor Abrahamyan told ARMENPRESS that the proceedings were temporarily suspended after a military-science commission expertise was carried out to ensure comprehensive investigation.

The prosecution made the decision to suspend the case at the mediation of the investigator.

Harutyunyan is charged with negligence.

 16:08,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. On June 12, President of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Arayik Harutyunyan sent a congratulatory message to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day.

Below is the letter as published by Harutyunyan’s office.

"Honorable Vladimir Vladimirovich,

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you and the Russian people on Russia Day.

The long-standing friendship between the Armenian and Russian peoples, as well as the strategic and allied relations between the Armenian and Russian states, have forged a significant history and hold an immense potential for further development. Artsakh, as an important entity in the South Caucasus, has had and continues to have its own place within these relations. One of the indicators of that importance is the signing of the 2020 war ceasefire through active mediation and guarantees of Russia.

Therefore, we highly value the role of Russia and your personal contribution in halting the bloodshed in 2020, thereby preventing further large-scale aggressions and tragedies in Artsakh. The people of Artsakh have welcomed the presence of Russian peacekeepers, considering them a strong assurance of a free and dignified life in their homeland.

Now, as Azerbaijan persists in its efforts to dismantle the fragile security of Artsakh and the region, undermining the Russian guarantees through ongoing blockade and threats to Artsakh, we remain confident that by aligning our strategic interests and combining our efforts, our two nations will succeed in establishing a stable and dignified regional environment for all parties involved."

 16:39,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Servicemembers of the Homeland Defender military service option who successfully passed the qualification exams and were appointed to positions in the Peacekeeping Brigade received the blue beret of peacekeepers in a ceremony on Monday.

Defense Minister Suren Papikyan visited the Peacekeeping Brigade headquarters to personally hand over the blue berets to the servicemembers in an induction ceremony. 

Papikyan said that the new servicemembers who joined the peacekeeping brigade will assume the responsible mission with honor because they will represent Armenia in their mission deployments abroad.

Attaching importance to the qualification process in the military, Papikyan emphasized that the procedure must be continuous, serving as one of the important measures for developing the army as part of reforms.

After presenting the blue berets, Minister Papikyan also awarded Private Nver Chavishyan with a symbolic gift as the first servicemember in the Homeland Defender program to have garnered the highest score in the qualification exams.

 16:50,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The European Parliament will discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, the situation in Nagorno Karabakh and Lachin Corridor during the June 13 plenary session.

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission will hold a Question Time session with MEPs on “Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and at the Lachin Corridor”, according to the agenda of the session posted on the European Parliament website.

The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. 

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on February 22, 2023 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has so far ignored the order. Furthermore, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor in violation of the terms of the 2020 ceasefire declaration.

 17:14,

YEREVAN, 12 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 12 June, USD exchange rate up by 0.22 drams to 386.40 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.62 drams to 416.19 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.01 drams to 4.68 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.28 drams to 485.82 drams.

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

Gold price down by 61.87 drams to 24352.90 drams. Silver price up by 8.18 drams to 302.07 drams.

 18:24,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. On June 12, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh published an updated version of the ad hoc trilingual report on the violations of individual and collective human rights as a result of the 6 months (182-day) blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh.

The report comprehensively and in detail presents data on the violations of 7 individual rights, 5 rights of vulnerable groups and 4 collective rights, which reflect the deepening humanitarian crisis and the genocidal policy of Azerbaijan towards the people of Artsakh.

Below are presented some basic data reflected in the Report on human rights violations as a result of the 182-day blockade:

• The movement of people passing through the Stepanakert-Goris highway (along the Lachin corridor) has decreased by about 198 times (2246 entries and departures instead of 445,900);
• Almost 58 times less car traffic was recorded on the road compared to what should have been in case of no blockade (2,867 car entries and departures, performed only by the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers, instead of 167,440);
• Approximately 13 times less vital cargo was imported compared to what should have been in case of no blockade (5,574 tons instead of 72,800 tons);
• Due to the suspension of the pre-planned operations, about 1400 citizens lost the opportunity to solve their health problems via operations;
• Azerbaijan has completely or partially interrupted the gas supply from Armenia to Artsakh for a total of 117 days;
• The electricity supply from Armenia to Artsakh has been completely cut for 154 days now, which led to the introduction of rolling blackouts followed by numerous accidents;
• According to preliminary estimates, about 11,000 people have actually lost their jobs and sources of income (including cases of job retention)
• The country's economy suffered loss in the amount of about USD 346 million;
• A number of violations of rights are more pronounced in case of vulnerable groups, in particular 30,000 children, 9,000 people with disabilities, 20,000 older people, 60,000 women (women and girls) and 15,000 displaced persons.

In addition to the continuous and multiple violations of the provisions of the Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020, the mandatory execution of the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the United Nations (UN) on ensuring unhindered entry and departure of people, cars and cargo along the Lachin corridor has not been implemented by Azerbaijan, which once again tramples on the highest international values and principles. Moreover, after that the Azerbaijani side resorted to new aggressive actions which resulted in human losses and new sufferings among Artsakh people. Since April 23, the Azerbaijani side has installed an illegal checkpoint near the Hakari bridge. Consequently, the international community has not only the right, but also an indisputable obligation to implement the decision of the Supreme International Court of Justice by practical means as soon as possible and to prevent future Azerbaijani crimes, including the new planned and brutal crime against humanity.

All the violations of Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh are carried out within the framework of its state policy of racial discrimination (Armenophobia) and are deeply directed against their right to self-determination and the fact of its realisation, aimed at finally resolving the conflict to their advantage via ethnic cleansing based on the “no people, no rights” logic.

The systematic and consistent policy of ethnic hatred pursued by Azerbaijan, which manifested itself both during the aggression against the people of Artsakh in 2020 and after the establishment of the ceasefire regime, indisputably proves that any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan is tantamount to ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and the genocide of the Armenians of Artsakh. Therefore, in the context of the Artsakh conflict, the right to self-determination is equal to the right of people to live in their homeland.

The fundamental right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh, as well as the Azerbaijani encroachments and threats against their physical existence on the basis of racial discrimination are more than sufficient grounds for the protection of the people of Artsakh by the international community, as well as the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh based on the principle of “remedial recognition”.

The report is available at the following link: https://artsakhombuds.am/en/document/1028.

 

 17:15,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. The Fifth Zeldovich meeting, organized by ICRANet, an international conference in honor of Ya. B. Zeldovich, will be held in Yerevan on June 12-17.

The seminar opened on Monday with over 100 scientists from Italy, Germany, China, Russia, United States, UK, India, Iran, Czech Republic and Belarus participating in the event.

Armenian government officials, foreign diplomats, lawmakers and scientists from the Armenian National Academy of Sciences attended the opening ceremony.

The seminar will also commemorate the 80th anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia whose Members gave equally fundamental contributions to the field of Relativistic Astrophysics.

The topics covered at the meeting will include:

• multimessenger astrophysics;
  • early universe, large scale structure, cosmic microwave background;
  • neutron stars, black holes, gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, hypernovae;
  • gravitational waves;
  • quantum and gravity.

Vice Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan delivered remarks at the event, highlighting participation of Armenian scientists in such programs, and emphasized the role of the National Academy of Sciences.

“I’d like to call for partnership upon the scientists who are today visiting Armenia, because it is obvious that otherwise the country can’t achieve big successes on its own. We must unite efforts in order for the modern scientific achievements to be served for humanity more efficiently,” Arshakyan said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Vahe Gevorgyan attached importance to the important role of ICRANet as a platform for international cooperation. He said that organizing the seminar in Armenia is an important step for the development of astrophysics not only in Armenia but all participating countries.

Russian scientist Marat Glifanov accepted the Marcel Grossmann Award on behalf of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Space Research.

The award was presented by ICRANet Director Remo Ruffini for the Spektr-RG/eROSITA satellite.

ICRANet – Armenia Director Narek Sahakyan said that the meeting has special significance. He said that they are happy to organize the event especially this year, when the National Academy of Sciences is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its foundation. “Over the past 80 years, our academy encouraged and implemented fundamental and applied research in various scientific directions,” he said.

 19:58,

YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan and Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Anahit Manasyan had an online discussion with representatives of the Armenian Bar Association of America, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh.

During the meeting, information was provided on the fact-finding activities carried out by the Human Rights Defenders’ institutions regarding human rights violations in Artsakh and border communities of Armenia as a result of the crimes committed by Azerbaijan, as well as information on the work carried out on the international platforms regarding the humanitarian conditions created in Artsakh under the ongoing blockade and existing problems.

Representatives of the Armenian Bar Association presented the Association’s work aimed at raising international awareness on human rights violations in Armenia and Artsakh and ensuring international engagement.  

The necessity of using legal instruments for the protection of human rights and ensuring the continuity of effective partnership was mutually emphasized.