In an interview with Hamshahri daily of Tehran, Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Toumanian spoke on the coronavirus situation in Armenia.

The envoy said that the respective pandemic situation in Armenia is currently satisfactory, and the EU has considered the country as a "green zone" in terms of assessing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ambassador reflected also on Iranian citizens coming to Armenia for coronavirus vaccinations, and on certain Iranian officials urging their citizens not to travel to Armenia for vaccination.

"It is obvious that unnecessary raising of inaccurate and unimportant topics is inappropriate for Armenia-Iran high-level relations. (…). On April 23 of this year, the order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia was published, which has allowed the vaccination of foreigners in Armenia free of charge and on a voluntary basis. Such a decision was based on numerous petitions for getting vaccinated in our country by a number of foreign diplomatic and international organizations operating in Armenia, as well as by other persons who are in Armenia due to various circumstances.

It should be noted that the vast majority of vaccinations carried out so far have been administered to Armenian citizens and permanent residents of Armenia, and to some extent this service has also been used by foreigners," the ambassador said.

Toumanian noted that an addition has been made to the current respective procedure in Armenia, according to which coronavirus vaccinations are allowed for foreigners if they are in Armenia for more than ten days. "This will enable to make the vaccination process more targeted, targeting foreigners who are in Armenia with objective need," the ambassador added.