Category: 2023

 10:14, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan has talked over the phone with US acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Derek Hogan.

FM Mirzoyan and Hogan discussed issues of regional security and stability, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Ahead of the discussions which are planned in Washington in a few days, the key issues of the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were touched upon, including border delimitation and security, proper addressing of the rights and security issues of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the importance of ensuring the maximum possible certainty in the delimitation process, particularly the commitment regarding the map of 1975.  

FM Ararat Mirzoyan once again drew the attention of the American side to the aggressive rhetoric expressed by the top leadership of Azerbaijan in parallel with the negotiation process, stressing the need to exclude the threat of use of force and mutual respect for territorial integrity.

 10:31, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has congratulated the five newly elected non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“Congratulations to the newly elected members of UN Security Council. Wishes of every success in their responsible mission to maintain international peace & security,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry tweeted.

Algeria, Guyana, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia will join the premier body for maintaining international peace and security, starting in January, serving for a two-year period. 

The UN Security Council is composed of 15 countries, five of which – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – are permanent members, granting them the right to veto any resolution or decision. 

The 10 non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly, which comprises all 193 UN Member States, and in line with geographical distribution by region.  

Voting is conducted by secret ballot and candidates must receive a two-thirds majority, or 128 votes, even if they run uncontested. 

Overall, 192 countries voted to fill three Council seats allocated to the Africa and Asia-Pacific Groups, and one each for Eastern Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Slovenia beat Belarus in the race for Eastern Europe, receiving 153 votes versus 38, while Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and the Republic of Korea ran unopposed. 

The five newly elected countries will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland as non-permanent members of the Council. 

They will take up seats currently occupied by Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates when their two-year terms end on 31 December.

 10:41, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau has met with Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia.

“The Armenian Canadian community is strong and vibrant – and when His Holiness Catholicos Aram I and I met today, we spoke about that. We also spoke about the atrocities committed during the Armenian genocide, and our support for enduring peace in Nagorno-Karabakh,” PM Trudeau tweeted on June 7.

 11:34, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security Affairs is debating the agreement between Armenia and the Czech Republic on military-technical cooperation submitted by the government for approval and ratification.

Deputy Minister of Defense Arman Sargsyan presented the agreement to lawmakers on June 7.

He said that the agreement will define the direction of cooperation in the military-technical area, including the production of military-grade products, imports and exports procedures, licensing and quality control, as well as training of specialists and maintenance staff. The agreement also covers support for defense industry companies and relations concerning information exchange and storage.

The authorized bodies for implementing the agreement are the defense ministries of the two countries, as well as a working group that will be set up for military-technical cooperation as part of the Armenian-Czech Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation.

Sargsyan said that the Constitutional Court has approved the agreement.

It was signed in April 2019 and will take effect after passing national procedures in both countries. The Czech Republic notified Armenia on completing its national procedures of approval back in May 2019.

The agreement will be introduced for ratification in parliament after being debated in the committee.

 11:04, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will be on a visit to Russia on June 7-9.

The Armenian Prime Minister will participate in the meetings of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, the CIS Council of Heads of Government, as well as the Eurasian Congress in Sochi, his office said in a press release.

 11:51, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Defense Arman Sargsyan said Wednesday that the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable.

“The situation is relatively stable, there were shootings yesterday that were reported. We immediately respond in case of intensive shootings by the adversary,” Sargsyan told reporters.

 11:46, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian national gymnastics team athletes are set for the World Challenge Cup in Croatia after their successful performances in the tournament’s Bulgaria edition.

Team Armenia’s Artur Davtyan, Artur Avetisyan, Artur Tovmasyan and Gagik Khachikyan will compete in the men’s division while Mane Poghosyan will participate in the women’s division.

Armenia head coach Hakob Serobyan will be among the judges.

Hayk Nazaryan and Knarik Brsoyan will be the coaching staff of the Armenian team at the event which will kick off June 8 in Osijek, Croatia.

In the previous World Challenge Cup held in Varna, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan took gold in vault and bronze medals in the pommel horse and the rings, while Artur Avetisyan won gold in the rings.

 12:13, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The Youth Palace building in downtown Yerevan which was once one of the most iconic landmarks of the Armenian capital ever since it was built in the 1970s until its demolishment in 2006 will be brought back to life.

A project by Aprelu Yerkir Party and Artur Tarkhanyan Center called Public Initiative for Development of Yerevan, supported by Ruben Vardanyan Foundation, seeks to rebuild the Youth Palace building resembling a giant corncob (hence its nickname Kukuruznik in Russian) in the very same location overlooking Teryan Street, with the same design, but with modern solutions.

Aprelu Yerkir President Mane Tandilyan said that their project will also feature many other major programs. She attached importance to giving back the iconic building back to the city. 

Architect Anahit Tarkhanyan, whose father was one of the architects of the original Youth Palace building – said that the private company who had acquired the building and subsequently demolished it committed multiple violations of the law. The company had signed a contract assuming an obligation to invest five million dollars within three years, something it failed to do. Moreover, the building was demolished based on falsified documents, Tarkhanyan said, expressing hope that law enforcement agencies will eventually prosecute those guilty.

The project is still in a preliminary phase and experts are now working on the future concept of the building.

In a best case scenario the building will be completed in two years, and another two years will be needed for interior works.