Armenian News- NEWS.am informational agency presents a daily digest of Armenian top news as of 14.06.2019:
- A soldier of Karabakh Defense Army was fatally wounded in fire by Azerbaijani side at a military outpost in the northern direction of the line of contact.
Artyom Khachatryan (born in 1999) was killed at around 5:05p.m. Thursday. An investigation has been launched, the Defense Army said in a statement.
According to the military registration office of the Vayots Dzor Province, military serviceman was from Malishka village of Armenian Vayots Dzor Province and was going to be demobilized in 20 days.
The Armenian Investigative Committee initiated on Friday a criminal case on the fact of the murder of soldier.
Artsakh President, in his turn, signed a decree, posthumously awarding a soldier with the Medal for Service in Battle, and in recognition of his bravery during the defense of the Artsakh state border.
- Russian Ambassador Sergey Kopyrkin on Thursday visited the office of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, and met with him.
The talks reportedly lasted more than an hour and was held in a tête-à-tête format.
According to the statement, issued by Russian embassy on Friday, the meeting was held within scheduled meetings with representatives of political and business circles.
"As part of his regular meetings with representatives of the socio-political and business circles, the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of Russia to Armenia, Sergey Kopyrkin, met with the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan,” the statement said.
- On June 20, the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan is scheduled to take place in Washington D.C., under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Armenia MFA’s press service reported.
“Following the meetings held in Paris in January and in Moscow in April, consideration was given to hold the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers in the third Co-Chair country - the United States. As it was before, this time as well the participants agreed to announce the meeting simultaneously. Armenia respects that agreement,” the statement said.
- Two more members of Armenia’s Supreme Judicial Council, a state body overseeing Armenia’s courts, have submitted their resignations on Thursday and Friday.
Accordingly, members of the Supreme Judicial Council of Armenia Armen Khachatryan and Sergey Meghryan have submitted their resignations.
In his application for resignation, Meghryan asked to consider his powers terminated during the upcoming session of the Council, providing parliamentary forces to replenish, through a transparent procedure, the Council with another member who has experience, high professional qualities, is publicly perceivable and has the ability to act independently.
- The second Partnership Council meeting between the European Union and Armenia took place in Brussels on 13 June 2019, Armenian MFA’s press service reported.
The Council reaffirmed the commitment of the EU and Armenia to implement effectively the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The CEPA implementation roadmap, adopted by Armenia on 1 June 2019 following consultations with civil society, was welcomed by the Council as an important tool underpinning reforms in the country. The Council welcomed the current efforts aiming at comprehensive judicial reform in Armenia in accordance with the Armenian Constitution and with international standards.
To improve the mobility of citizens and people-to-people contacts, the EU and Armenia will continue promoting the mobility of citizens through the Visa-facilitation and the Readmission Agreements and consider in due course the opening of a Visa-liberalisation Dialogue, provided that conditions for well-managed and secure mobility are in place.
Finally, the Council discussed regional and international issues. The EU reiterated its support to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs' efforts aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The EU stands ready to support initiatives aimed at overcoming the conflict divide and preparing populations for peace. On Syria, the Council gave its strong backing to the work of the UN Special Envoy for the resumption of the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva
On Turkey, the EU reiterated its support for the normalisation of Armenia-Turkey relations and stressed the need for both sides to engage in this process without preconditions. Armenia reiterated its long-standing position on establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey without preconditions.
During the press conference, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she would never compare the work of the present Armenian government with the previous one.
“Nice try, but I would never compare one government with another. I can clearly and definitely assess the work done during this year and several months with the incumbent authorities as excellent,” she said.
- US Congresswoman, member of the Armenian Caucus Jackie Speier has called on the US government to allocate $40,000,000 to Armenia.
In her speech, Speier stated that impressive changes have taken place in Armenia over the past year.
“The revolution in Armenia was followed by fair elections that helped bring Nikol Pashinyan to power. Recently, his administration signed a 2-3-year $60,000,000 agreement with the US government for economic growth and improvement of public administration. Although we can applaud these efforts, they are not enough. The US supports those changes and provides resources,” the Congresswoman said.
- The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has issued its new World Ranking.
Accordingly, the Armenian national squad have climbed nine spots and are currently 97th in the FIFA standings. The team’s once 30th ranking, however, was a record-breaking high for the country.