Category: 2023

 14:22,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin commented on the visa liberalization issue between the EU and Armenia during a press conference on May 15.

Asked on the problem of queues at EU embassies for entry visas, Wiktorin said she personally wants the dialogue around visa liberalization to commence, but this requires consent from all 27 members of the EU.

“I know that now there is a difficult situation. We maintain close contact with the foreign ministry, also with member states to try to understand how to facilitate and improve the visa procedures,” she said at the press conference on Europe Day and EU-Armenia relations. 

The ambassador mentioned that many European embassies experienced problems in returning to normal course of work after the COVID-19 pandemic.

She added that many travel agencies in Armenia are booking all available hours in advance, which is a problem. “That’s why we need to work in this direction. That’s why Germany and Lithuania changed their procedures,” Wiktorin said, mentioning that it is highly important for people to know that making an appointment is free of charge in all embassies.

Speaking about launching the visa liberalization dialogue, the ambassador said: “We are ready. This issue must be discussed with member countries because we can only start the dialogue when we have consent from all 27 member countries. But I know that the Armenian foreign ministry is very much involved. And it is now working with countries that have some issues of concern. I hope the process will start soon. I personally want this process to start, but we need to listen to the positions, opinions and concerns of member states.”

 16:08,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Observers from the EU monitoring mission (EUMA ) were not present on the ground during the latest Azerbaijani aggression in the direction of Sotk, Armenia, but the observers later visited the area, prepared a report and sent it to Brussels, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin said at a press conference when asked whether there is a report from EUMA on the latest aggression.

The reports are not shared with Armenia or Azerbaijan, she added.

“But, as the mission is accompanied by the officers of the Ministry of Defense, the Armenian side is well aware of what they see. Naturally, they cannot be everywhere. So, they can only monitor something, then they report back to Brussels. But they cannot report on things that they have not seen.  Which is a rather logical element. So far with the latest incursion and hostilities they were not present on the ground… when the incursion happened. You have quite a long border and there is a schedule of the patrols. It is also not an intention that they had to be there while something happens. They are monitoring the border and they see what they see around the border, but it does not mean that they are actually on the spot when something happens,” Wiktorin said when asked on the Azerbaijani aggression in Sotk.

Asked if the observers weren’t supposed to visit the area where an escalation had happened, Wiktorin said: “They had the opportunity later, after it was done, but you also have to see that the Armenian side has a responsibility for the security of the monitors, there can be also moments when we are advised to refrain from visiting a certain spot in a certain moment, but then afterwards they went and they made their own assessment which goes directly to Brussels.”

On May 12, Azerbaijani armed forces attacked Armenian positions deployed near Sotk and Kut, using mortars and UAVs. One Armenian soldier was killed.

 15:41,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court on Monday sentenced the former Chairman of the Urban Development Committee Vahagn Vermishyan to 8 years imprisonment on corruption charges denied by him.

Vermishyan’s lawyer Alexander Kochubayev told reporters that his client will appeal the verdict to a higher court, while a complaint has already been filed to the European court concerning his remand.

Vermishyan has been remanded in pre-trial detention since early 2020.

He is accused of bribery and abuse of power.

 16:17,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan has met with NATO Deputies Committee members during a visit to Brussels.

Grigoryan’s office said in a readout that “issues relating to the regional security environment” were discussed.

“The Secretary of the Security Council presented the security situation around Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and the crisis in Nagorno Karabakh, which contains risks of ethnic cleansing. Armen Grigoryan called on the international community to react to not allow the abovementioned. The Secretary of the Security Council also presented details on the recent Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in Washington D.C., and Brussels. He attached importance to the Armenian side’s commitment on normalizing relations with Turkey without preconditions. Issues of the development of Armenia-NATO bilateral partnership, namely the Individual Partnership Action Plan were discussed,” Grigoryan’s office said

 17:34,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The President of Turkey's Supreme Election Council, Ahmed Yener, presented the results of the presidential and parliamentary elections held on May 14 and noted that none of the presidential candidates received 50+1 percent of the vote, therefore, the second round of the presidential elections will take place on May 28, ARMENPRESS reports, the Turkish Hurriyet.com.tr informs.

The two candidates who received the most votes passed to the second round of the presidential elections: incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who received 49.62 percent of the vote, and opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who received 44.89 percent of the vote.

 17:24,

YEREVAN, 15 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 15 May, USD exchange rate up by 0.85 drams to 387.23 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.16 drams to 421.19 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.12 drams to 4.88 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 484.27 drams.

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

Gold price up by 104.26 drams to 25147.21 drams. Silver price down by 12.14 drams to 296.99 drams.

 17:38,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The reputation of the European Union has significantly improved after the Union decided to send an observation mission to Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with the Czech "Respekt" magazine, answering the question whether Armenia's perception of the EU has changed over the past year.

"It has changed significantly, but it has nothing to do with the events taking place in Ukraine. The reputation of the EU significantly improved after it decided to send an observation mission to Armenia. It made the people understand that the Union cares about the security of Armenia. In an emotional and political sense, it improved the reputation of the EU, although it was never perceived negatively," Pashinyan noted.

According to the Prime Minister, the EU is Armenia's main partner in implementing democratic reforms.

According to the Prime Minister, the EU is Armenia's main partner in implementing democratic reforms.

"If you were to ask citizens what are the biggest visible changes in Armenia, they would probably mention the creation of the patrol police. We are doing this in cooperation with the EU, and this year we are expecting the arrival of a new batch of "Skoda" cars in Armenia, so we have a very broad agenda in relations with the EU.

After the 2021 elections, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, visited Armenia and promised 2.6 billion euros of support within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. We would like that process to go a little faster," said the Prime Minister.

 19:41,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Most of the people who came to Armenia from Russia are dual citizens. have both Russian and Armenian citizenship, ARMENPRESS reports, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with the Czech "Respekt" magazine.

Answering the question of how many people from Russia arrived in Armenia as a result of the military operations in Ukraine and what effect this had on Armenia, the Prime Minister noted that approximately 30 thousand people who only have Russian citizenship came to Armenia.

"They have contributed to our economic growth because most of them are highly qualified and often work in the field of innovative technologies, which leads to economic activity. We are happy for their presence," Pashinyan stressed.

 18:34,

 20:03,

YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan believes that the main goal of Armenia's foreign policy should be the establishment of normal relations with all neighbors, ARMENPRESS reports, Pashinyan said in an interview with the Czech "Respekt" magazine, answering the question about what lessons Armenia has learned in the last 15 months.

"Because of our complicated history, we have learned not to have normal relations with some of our neighbors. Changing that is vitally important to our country. It seems very simple, but its implementation is connected with dozens of problems. there are some psychological and practical problems. Such a message is not easy for the Armenian society to digest," said the Prime Minister.

He said that he recently spoke in the National Assembly about establishing diplomatic relations with Armenia's neighbors, and an opposition member objected, saying that the Prime Minister is speaking as if Armenia's neighbor is Sweden.

"I replied, it would be good if we study the history of Scandinavia and Europe. If we think that Scandinavia has always been as peaceful as it is now, we are wrong. At that time, I was opposed, they said that unlike in our case, there was no genocide in Scandinavia. Yes, there are many differences between us and Scandinavia, but I think the essence is clear: people make history," Nikol Pashinyan emphasized and added that Armenia has good relations with Georgia and Iran and should continue to improve those relations.

According to him, Armenia now has almost no relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, which should not remain like that.