Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 28.12.21:

  • Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia has arrived in Russia on a working visit.

In Saint Petersburg, the premier will attend an informal meeting of the CIS countries’ leaders.

  • The Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] has carried out complicated tasks to divide the warring parties, and is now carrying out profile tasks in the region, Russian defense minister Sergey Shoygu said at a conference at the country's defense ministry.

"With the deployment of our peacekeeping forces, we managed to calm down the situation, and now steps are being taken to carry out the planned work; now it can be called planned. Life is gradually coming back to that region; there is more and more peace and tranquility there," Shoygu said.

According to him, "the merit of all those who were engaged in providing medical assistance and humanitarian aid is great in that."

"And, of course, of all those who stand in the position of peacekeepers around the clock," the Russian defense minister added.

  • The Yerevan Council of Elders has convened a special session Tuesday, and there were 22 matters on the agenda.

This is the first sitting of the Yerevan city council after Hayk Marutyan was dismissed from the post of mayor. At the December 22 special session, the ruling majority "My Step" Faction of the council had expressed no confidence in Marutyan.

  • After handing a letter to the UN office in Armenia, the group of forcibly displaced residents of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), who were protesting Tuesday, marched to France Square in Yerevan.

They informed that about 25 days ago they had sent a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron.

These Artsakh former residents were informed at the French embassy that their aforesaid letter had already been sent to France, and that they will be informed in case of a reply.

Subsequently, these displaced Artsakh residents ended their demonstration.

  • As of Tuesday morning, 109 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 344,649 in the country, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Also, six more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 7,965 cases.