Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news 22.06.21:

•             Russian peacekeepers will be deployed in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia.

According to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Artak Davtyan, 'the final decision is not the wish of only our side, talks are underway, the other side is also participating.'

He also noted that by the order of the Minister of Defense, a committee investigating the course of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war last fall has been set up.

•             Armenian second president Robert Kocharyan has not yet decided whether to refuse or accept the parliamentary mandate.

The leader of the 'Armenia' bloc has won parliament seats as a result of the snap parliamentary elections on June 20.

"I am a man of the executive [branch] power. I have a hard time imagining myself in the legislature. Part of my [political] team thinks that I should be in the parliament, use that tribune for political struggle. The other part thinks it is not necessary. I do not have such a wish. I have not made a final decision yet. A decision must be made cool-headedly, without emotions. I find it difficult to imagine myself in the parliament," Kocharyan said.

•             President Ilham Aliyev has passed a law declaring the occupied Armenian city of Shushi in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) as the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.

According to Azerbaijani media, under this law, a state reserve shall be established in the administrative territory of Shushi.

This document also defines the main directions of the state development policy for the city.

•             The US Department of State has released a press statement in connection with the snap parliamentary elections that were conducted in Armenia.

The United States congratulates the people of Armenia on their June 20 parliamentary elections.

'We welcome the overall positive assessment by the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. We are pleased that ODIHR’s preliminary conclusions noted voters’ human rights and fundamental freedoms were generally respected, contestants were able to campaign freely, and that ODIHR assessed election-day vote counting as positive.'

•             People held on Monday a protest rally in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, demanding the resignation of President Arayik Harutyunyan.

Citizens claimed that Harutyunyan does not reflect the point of view of the Artsakh people.

Another rally demanding the leader's resignation was scheduled in the capital Stepanakert's Renaissance Square on Tuesday.

•             As of Tuesday morning, 77 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 224,330 in the country, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Also, three more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 4,502 cases.

One more case of coronavirus patients dying from some other illnesses was recorded in Armenia in the past one day, and the corresponding overall death toll in the country is 1,096 now.