Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 08.10.21:

  • Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that he had discussed with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the initiative to establish a 3+3 negotiation format with the engagement of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.

It is, in particular, about unblocking economic and transport links in the region.

According to the Armenian ruling bloc MP Vahagn Aleksanyan, the Armenian side needs to consider and grasp the opportunities of the "3 + 3" negotiation format.

He added that it is necessary to determine the possible expediency of this format.

The Georgian side noted that it will be difficult for Georgia to participate in the 3+3 format together with Russia; nevertheless, the country must be represented in some form in large geopolitical projects.

By the way, Lavrov noted that Iran has a positive attitude towards this initiative, as do Turkey and Azerbaijan. He noted that the Russia Federation is working with Armenian colleagues. According to him, the Russian side expects that Georgia, despite the problems it is experiencing, will be able to see its interest in creating such a mechanism.

  • As of Friday morning, 1,202 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 269,874 in the country.

Also, 33 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 5,499 cases.

Meanwhile, as of December, the treatment of unvaccinated people who have been infected with the coronavirus may cost AMD 800 thousand (approx. US$1,650), or less—depending on the patient's condition.

The issue is being discussed in the health ministry now.

  • The opposition "Armenia" Faction at the National Assembly has challenged, at the Constitutional Court (CC), the law package on community enlargement.

The respective statement disseminated Friday by the "Armenia" bloc adds as follows, in particular: "Taking into account the urgency of the issue, the ‘Hayastan’ Faction has also submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court to immediately suspend the operation of this legislative package. The petition has been entered to the CC yesterday.”

 

  • Appeals have been filed with the court against the decisions to arrest former Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan, and Davit Galstyan, the head of a company that was supplying arms to Armenian armed forces.

These appeals have already been processed at the appellate court, but have not been assigned to judges yet.

Tonoyan and Galstyan are charged with embezzling more than 2 billion drams (approx. US$4.1 million) from the state, as well as committing falsifications and publicly dangerous actions.

  • The Armenian national football team on Thursday held their pre-match training session in Reykjavik, preparing for their 2022 World Cup qualifier in the group phase against the host nation, Iceland.

The Iceland vs. Armenia game in round seven of Group J in the European qualifiers will be played Friday and will start at 10:45pm Armenia time.