Category: 2023

 13:22,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. The armaments bought from Russia haven’t been delivered to Armenia, the Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan said on May 16.

Speaking at a press conference, Safaryan was asked to comment on Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan’s recent statement that Armenia has ordered and paid for Russian armaments but Russia is not delivering them.

“Indeed, the armaments didn’t reach Armenia, and the works in this direction continue. I don’t have anything else to add regarding this statement,” Safaryan said.

 14:42,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. The EU should crack down on India reselling Russian oil as refined fuels including diesel into Europe, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell told the Financial Times.

Borrell told the Financial Times that Brussels was aware that Indian refiners were buying large volumes of Russian crude oil before processing it into fuels for sale in Europe, saying for the first time the EU should act to stop it.

“If diesel or gasoline is entering Europe . . . coming from India and being produced with Russian oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions and member states have to take measures,” Financial Times quoted Borrell as saying.

The trade is legal under EU sanctions but has been criticised by those who want to see harsher sanctions imposed on Russia and argue that it has allowed Moscow to keep earning large revenues from its oil sales.

 15:01,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia is ranked 952 out of 20,531 universities in the world in the Center for World University Rankings for 2023, Sofia University said Monday. 

Sofia University ranks 366th among higher education institutions in Europe and among the top 4.7% of higher education institutions in the world in the Center for World University Rankings for 2023.

The Center for World University Rankings publishes the largest academic ranking of the world's universities. In Bulgaria, the Center for World University Rankings ranked Sofia University first.

The Center for World University Rankings' methodology includes seven indicators grouped into four areas: quality of education, as measured by the number of alumni who have won major academic honours relative to the size of the university (25%); alumni employment, as measured by the number of alumni who have held senior management positions at major companies (25%); faculty quality, as measured by the number of faculty who have earned major academic honours (10%); research level, including: Research output (measured by the total number of research articles (10%); Publications (measured by the number of research articles published in top-tier journals (10%); Research impact (measured by the number of research articles published in highly influential journals (10%); Citations (measured by the number of highly cited research articles (10%).

 16:44,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Ucom, one of the largest telecom operators in Armenia, and Ericsson Nikola Tesla, a Croatian provider of modern ICT products, solutions, software, and services, and an associated Ericsson company continue their long-standing cooperation. The partners join their forces for the development and enhancement of telecommunications in Armenia, the stakeholders of which will be not only end users but also enterprises.  

"This new era of strategic development and modernization marks an important milestone for Ucom. We are grateful to our partners at Ericsson Nikola Tesla for taking this journey of innovation with us and trusting us with the employment of their most advanced technologies in Armenia. The modernization of Ucom's mobile network is crucial to ensure that we can continue providing our customers with the most reliable and innovative telecom services, which are essential for any modern business or institution to function effectively. With this investment, Ucom is determined to meet future demands from our customers with greater efficiency, readiness, and agility, creating a new type of user experience for everyone. This will empower the economy of Armenia and support its continued growth," said Ralph Yirikian, Director General of Ucom. 

This partnership introduces a new model of green responsibility with less adverse carbon footprint in addition to the lowest energy consumption. With this investment, Ucom will ensure even greater efficiency, readiness, and agility to meet the future demands of the network.  

“I am pleased that we have continued our successful long-term partnership with innovative telecom operator Ucom in Armenia. Based on our mutual cooperation and the latest software solutions, Ucom's network will be even more efficient in the future and will bring greater benefits to their customers,” reads the statement of Gordana Kovačević, President of Ericsson Nikola Tesla.

Ucom is the Speedtest Award™ winning fastest fixed and mobile services provider in Armenia. The Company is the absolute leader in IPTV and fixed internet market in Armenia and occupies the key position in the local mobile internet market. 

 

Ericsson Nikola Tesla is a Croatian company that, as an associated member of Ericsson Corporation, operates in the global ICT market. The company’s activities include the design of total communication solutions, and services in multi-service and mobile networks areas, including mobile Internet, and complex system integration in all business areas.

 15:29,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan inaugurated a cross-stone dedicated to the age-old Armenian-Polish friendship and to the late Pope John Paul II.

The cross-stone (khachkar) was inaugurated and consecrated in the Cross-stone Park on Buzand Street.

The opening of the cross-stone marks the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Armenia on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of adoption of Christianity as state religion.

Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Poland, was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century. He was head of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. 

High Commissioner for Diaspora Zareh Sinanyan delivered remarks at the ceremony, noting that the cross-stone symbolizes and reaffirms the centuries-old friendship between the Armenian and Polish peoples.

“The Armenian-Polish relations have a rich history, Armenians have been living in Poland for over six centuries and they were able to thrive and create a rich culture thanks to the kind attitude of the Polish people and government, and at the same time to contribute to the enrichment of Poland’s state, socio-economic and cultural life in various areas, which has been appreciated by the Polish people and government,” Sinanyan said.

Sinanyan added that the Polish community in Armenia, albeit small in numbers, is active and has a significant role in the public life of the country and serves as a unique bridge between the friendly peoples and countries.

Jan Dziedziczak, Secretary of State, Poland’s Government Plenipotentiary for Polonia and Poles Abroad was also in attendance. He said he’s happy to be in a place where Christianity has thrived.

“I am happy to be in a place where over 1700 years ago Christianity was adopted as a state religion for the first time. A place where over 20 years ago Pope John Paul II conducted a pilgrimage to Armenia on the occasion of the adoption of Christianity. Back then, he joined Armenians with prayers for the Christians killed during the genocide,” he said.

He described the cross-stone as a symbol of the connection between the faiths of Armenians and Poles.

The cross-stone was opened through joint efforts by Hrachya Boyajyan, the Honorary Consul of Armenia to Poland and Chairman of the Armenian-Polish Public Committee, and Andrzej Sosnowski, the Director of the Department of Religion and National and Ethnic Minorities, sponsored by the Prime Minister of Poland and the Armenian-Polish Public Committee.

 17:14,

YEREVAN, 16 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 16 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.88 drams to 386.35 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.34 drams to 420.85 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.05 drams to 4.83 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.13 drams to 484.14 drams.

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

Gold price down by 57.14 drams to 25090.07 drams. Silver price down by 0.24 drams to 296.75 drams.

 19:15,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The US State Department has released the International Religious Freedom Report 2022 of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Azerbaijan was included in the list of countries under special control.

ARMENPRESS reports, according to the report, the state of religious freedom in Azerbaijan had negative dynamics in 2022.

The report mentions the destruction of Armenian spiritual heritage by Azerbaijan in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh that passed under the control of Baku.

"International structures and other organizations continue to question the willingness of the government of Azerbaijan to protect and preserve the religious and cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories under Azerbaijani control. In February, the former Minister of Culture Anar Kərimov announced the creation of a working group, the purpose of which was to remove Armenian Apostolic inscriptions from churches, which he called "unreal". With most probability, the government abandoned the plan after the international community's outrage, and in March the European Parliament condemned Azerbaijan's continuous policy of erasing and denying the Armenian cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh," the document says.

USCIRF recommends that the US government "provide funding to the US Agency for International Development and the US Embassy in Baku for the restoration, preservation, and protection of places of worship and other religious or cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas."

 19:50,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Cooperation between the Investigative Committee of Armenia and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US Department of Justice is entering a qualitatively new phase.

As ARMENPRESS was informed by the Investigative Committee of Armenia, on May 16, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the two structures, which was signed by the Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee Arsen Ayvazyan from the Armenian side, and on the other hand by the Heather Berg, Attaché of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in Armenia and Georgia.

"This important event was attended by the Chairman of the Investigative Committee, Argishti Kyaramyan, and the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the USA to the Republic of Armenia, Kristina Kvien.

The memorandum of cooperation is aimed at combining the efforts of the Criminal Investigation Department of Armenia and the US FBI in the fight against transnational crimes and increasing their efficiency.

It refers to the fight against cybercrime, kidnapping, organized crime, illegal international activities in the economic, financial and banking spheres, including money laundering, all forms of illegal migration, trafficking, as well as other types of crimes.

During the meeting with the US Ambassador, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Armenia considered the signing of the memorandum extremely important, which will enable to regulate and make the legal cooperation between the two countries more systematic, raising it to a new qualitative level. The chairman of the Investigative Committee expressed hope that the day-by-day deepening cooperation between the law enforcement structures will be continuous.

In her turn, Ambassador Kristina Kvien considered the signing of the memorandum an important move for the comprehensive fight against transnational crime from the point of view of strengthening cooperation at all levels of international law enforcement agencies and preventing the increase in the threat of crime. She noted that the embassy will continue to contribute to the deepening of cooperation between Armenia and US law enforcement structures.

 21:12,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. On May 16, within the framework of his working visit to Brussels, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, had a working lunch with the NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomina.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of the Security Council, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia presented the security situation around Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, referred to the consequences of Azerbaijan's illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor.

Armen Grigoryan presented the latest developments in the negotiation process of the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the development of Armenia-NATO bilateral partnership.

 21:33,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The European Union expresses regret that Georgia did not join the European sanctions against the Russian aviation sector and restores air communication with the Russian Federation, ARMENPRESS reports, "Interfax" informs, citing Peter Stano, Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

"The decision of the Georgian government causes concern on the way to joining the European Union, in terms of compliance with decisions in the field of foreign policy conducted by the EU," he said at the briefing.

Georgia followed about 40 percent of EU decisions on foreign policy and security, which, according to Stano, is not enough. This year, that figure was 31 percent.

"We are sorry about that," he added.

According to Peter Stano, this week the UN's specialized body, the International Civil Aviation Organization, contacted the Georgian authorities to discuss the topic of the Russian aviation sector and the safety of Russian aircraft.