Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 15.12.21:

 

CHIEF

https://news.am/eng/news/677504.html

The EU will make available an expert mission/consultative group to support the border delimitation and demarcation issues by providing technical assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is noted in the statement released by President Charles Michel of the European Council following his trilateral meeting in Brussels with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

“President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan agreed that in the context of the planned launch of negotiations on the delimitation and demarcation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, further tangible steps will need to be taken to reduce tensions on the ground to ensure a conducive atmosphere for the talks. President Michel called on both Yerevan and Baku to actively engage in good faith and to work towards de-escalation. He stressed that ensuring the appropriate distancing of forces is an essential element of incident prevention,

 

ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN

https://news.am/eng/news/677556.html

European Council President Charles Michel left Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev alone for a moment during their trilateral meeting Tuesday in Brussels so that they can speak with each other directly. Michel stated this at a briefing after his meeting with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Also, the European Council head attached great importance to establishing a direct link between the leaders of the two countries, expressing conviction that such meetings—as the one held in Brussels—are also important.

 

PRESIDENT

https://news.am/eng/news/677552.html

The Karabakh conflict is over, and there is no return to the debates on the status of Karabakh. The statement came from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with El Pais daily of Spain, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports.

"Azerbaijan's position [on the matter] is open and clear. We want peace, we do not want war. We have won the war [last], we are winners, and this reality must be taken into account. The Karabakh conflict is over, there is no return to any debate on the status of Karabakh or anything like that," Aliyev said.

According to him, Azerbaijan has resolved the conflict by military and political means.

 

BLINKEN

https://news.am/eng/news/677557.html

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reacted to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's statement on normalization of relations with Armenia and the response by Armenian foreign ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan.

"We welcome and strongly support statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and MFA of Armenia on appointing Special Envoys to discuss the process of normalization," Blinken wrote on Twitter.

Cavusoglu had made such a statement on Monday. Also, he had noted their intention to open charter flights with Yerevan. The next day, Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan announced that the Armenian side was also ready to appoint a representative for discussions on the normalization of relations with Turkey.

 

COVID-19

https://news.am/eng/news/677545.html

As of Wednesday morning, 212 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 342,977 in the country, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Also, 11 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 7,856 cases.