Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 30.09.21:

• Ex-defense minister of Armenia Davit Tonoyan, as well as David Galstyan, the director of an arms supplying company, were detained on Wednesday on suspicion of large-scale embezzlement.

On the same day, they were included as defendants in embezzling AMD 2,277,323,840 (approx. US$4,624,380), as well as committing falsifications and publicly dangerous actions, and petitions were filed with the court to remand them in custody.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted also against several former and current high-ranking members of the armed forces — and for abusing power and committing official falsifications.

• Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the current situations in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

According to him, the parties particularly focused on regional issues. He added that Putin emphasized that the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict need compromised solutions.

“The Russian side emphasized that the parties need to find compromised solutions with regard to the development of transport infrastructures and the demarcation of borders,” Peskov added.

• The ground forces of the Iranian army on Friday will start military exercises in the northwestern part of the country, said the commander of the ground forces, General Kioumars Heydari.

According to him, the howitzers, drones, helicopters, and armored vehicles of the Iranian armed forces will be used during these exercises.

Earlier, in an interview with Anadolu news agency, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had commented on the Iranian military exercises on the border with Azerbaijan, calling them an unexpected event.

• To-be Ambassador of the United States to Turkey Jeff Flake has announced his intention to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Menendez asked him about his stance on applying the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) against Turkey, to which Flake said Ankara’s use of the Russian missile systems will entail new sanctions.

During a question-and-answer session, Flake said he intends to recognize the Armenian Genocide and attend the ceremonies dedicated to the tragic events of April 24th. This is the first case when a US Ambassador to Turkey initially makes such an announcement. However, as a former Congressman, Flake has never voted in favor of Armenian Genocide recognition.

• Armenian ex-Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan has visited the Syunik Province.

"This week, board member of Civil Contract Party Arman Boshyan and I visited Syunik Province and met with our teams in Meghri, Tegh, Tatev and Kapan. This is what board member of Civil Contract Party," former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan wrote on his Facebook page.

"We expressed our support to all the candidates running for head of community or member of council of elders in the local self-government elections," he added.

• 7 people, 3 of them minors, have been taken to Yerevan hospitals with poisoning.

The 911 emergency hotline received a call from the ambulance service informing that they had taken seven people—with symptoms of poisoning—from a residential building to several hospitals in Yerevan.

The information was passed to the police, and the latter are investigating the circumstances under which these persons were poisoned.

• As of Thursday morning, 1,022 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 261,697 in the country.

Also, 20 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 5,319 cases.