Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 18.04.22:

The parties plan to discuss topical issues of further development of Russian-Armenian relations of strategic partnership and alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue a series of economic meetings this week and will discuss the situation in metallurgy, while Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will pay an official visit to Moscow, Kremlin spokesman said during the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program.

According to Dmitry Peskov, in the current international situation, this is an event of ‘special significance.’

As PM Pashinyan’s press service noted, on April 20, Nikol Pashinyan will also meet with Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin and other high-ranking officials.

The prime minister's visit to Nizhny Novgorod is also planned.

People are protesting PM Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that the international community is pressing Armenia to “lower its bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh a little.” PM also noted that they could have prevented the war, as a result of which ‘we would have had this same situation—of course without the casualties.’

Meanwhile, Nver Kirakosyan and Artur Avagyan, two veterans of the 44-Day Artsakh War in 2020 have also started an indefinite hunger strike in Yerevan’s Freedom Square on Sunday.

And the relatives of the fallen soldiers came to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia as they ‘expect to see Nikol Pashinyan punished in accordance with the law.’

The parents added that they will take part in any movement that will be able to hold Pashinyan accountable. About 60 parents have joined the initiative.

  • American Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Andrew Schofer visited Armenia to discuss how the US can help support Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal process.

Schofer has already held meetings with Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

The sides exchanged views on starting talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on reaching a comprehensive peace agreement. In this context, FM Mirzoyan highlighted the mediating role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels for rare talks mediated by the European Council President Charles Michel.

The meeting came after a flare-up in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 25 that allegedly saw Azerbaijan capture a strategic village in the area under the Russian peacekeepers’ responsibility, killing three Armenian troops.

During the meeting, the two leaders “ordered foreign ministers to begin preparatory work for peace talks between the two countries”, the foreign ministry in Yerevan said in a statement.

"This year in Greece we remember the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Our thoughts are with the Armenians living in our homeland and around the world. Expanding the geography of international recognition of the Genocide is a duty of humanity," Dendias wrote on social media.

He posted a photo of himself taken in October 2020 during a visit to Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan, where the minister laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the Genocide.

  • Seven people were killed and 11 injured after Russia launched at least four missile strikes on Lviv, regional military governor Maksym Kozytskyy said.

At least one strike hit a tire repair shop, forcing civilians to flee their homes. The toll could rise further as rescue efforts continue, Kozytskyy said.

The mayor of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, said previously that the city had been hit by "five aimed missile hits." Strikes were also reported in Dnipro, injuring two people and destroying railway infrastructure.

Both Ukrainian officials and the Russian Ministry of Defense have reported widespread military action and a ratcheting up in fighting in the east over the past 24 hours. Ukrainian officials say forces have used fired mortars, artillery, and multiple rocket launchers, while Russia said its forces had used precision air-launched missiles.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces said they are continuing to resist Russian attacks in the besieged southeastern city after rejecting a deadline to surrender. Russian forces have been bombarding the Azovstal steel plant, a bastion of the Ukrainian defense, said Petro Andriushchenko, a mayoral adviser.

  • The Ukrainian president said on Saturday that the final document on ending the war with Russia may consist of two separate treaties – a treaty on security guarantees and a bilateral treaty between Kyiv and Moscow.

"I believe that these (peace documents) can be two different documents – (a treaty on) security guarantees from countries that are ready to provide these security guarantees and a separate document with Russia," Volodymyr Zelenskyy told various media outlets.

However, Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia wants to “literally finish off and destroy Donbas” in eastern Ukraine and accused Russian forces of committing humanitarian violations — including use of "torture chambers," "blackmail" and "starvation" — in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The Ukrainian President told CNN the country is not willing to give up territory in the eastern part of the country to end the war with Russia, and Ukraine's military is prepared to fight Moscow's military in the Donbas region in a battle he says could influence the course of the entire war.

  • Around 200,000 people are at risk of losing their jobs in the Russian capital following foreign companies leaving the country after Russia started military operation in Ukraine

Authorities will continue to implement plans in order to support workers at risk of being unemployed, setting aside 3.36 billion rubles ($41 million) for these plans, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in a blog post Monday.

The employment assistance plan includes personnel training, employment in temporary and public works and incentives for organizations and firms who employ these workers, he added.