29 February - 07 March

Հայացք Երևանից 08 March 2020

Weekly update

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, on his Facebook page, urged citizens to create networks for the campaign “Yes” for the referendum on constitutional changes in a networked way, ARMINFO According to him, those supporters who, for various reasons, were not involved in the work of the “Yes” headquarters, can form their own teams at their workplaces, in places of residence, with the involvement of family members, and conduct a campaign. Thus, as the Prime Minister noted, from one to two, from two to three, etc. a network system will be created, and the movement in favor of a referendum will acquire not an official, but a nationwide character. “Use all the possibilities for this in transport, at work, during breaks, during walks,” the prime minister jokingly said, adding that “Yes” can be said even during broadcasts of football matches.

President Armen Sarkissian received today the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin. The parties exchanged views on the issues related to cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and Russian Federation in different areas, the Presidential Office Ambassador Kopyrkin expressed gratitude for the recently organized Russian Romance event held in the framework of the Presidential Concert Series which was dedicated to the 75^th anniversary of the Great Victory. Discussed were also opportunities of organizing joint events dedicated to the 75^th anniversary of the Victory. The interlocutors spoke also about cooperation in the areas of science, education, and new technologies.

According to TASS, the Russian-Turkish summit that focused on the situation in Syria’s Idlib has ended in the Kremlin. The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan lasted almost 6 hours. Russia, Turkey and Iran signed the memorandum, according to which the Idlib province became part of one of the four de-escalation zones in Syria, in May 2017. In September 2018, the Russian and Turkish presidents reached an agreement to set up a demilitarized zone in that province along the line of engagement of Syrian government forces and the armed opposition. Despite the agreements, extremists were not withdrawn from Idlib and continued to shell government forces’ positions. Since then, the situation in the region has deteriorated several times, including at the beginning of 2020.

The Constitutional Court of Armenia has accepted for consideration two bills that had been earlier submitted by the president, PANORAMA To remind, President Armen Sarkissian earlier refused to sign the law citing “apparent legal-constitutional problems” emanating from them and asked the Constitutional Court to pass judgment on them. The bills in question are “On making amendments and Supplements to the RA Code of Criminal Procedure and “Supplements to the Law on Bank Secrecy.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Georgia on an official visit. Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani met the Prime Minister of Armenia at the Shota Rustaveli International Airport in Tbilisi. Nikol Pashinyan headed to the Office of Georgian government to hold high-level Armenian-Georgian talks, said the Prime Minister Office. Meetings are scheduled with Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, President Salome Zurabishvili, Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze and Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II.

Advisor to the Minister of Justice of Armenia Hasmik Sardaryan and Head of the Department of International Legal Cooperation at the Ministry of Justice Tigran Grigoryan today received the delegation of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR, as reported the Department of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Justice, said News.am. The draft of the Constitutional Law “On making amendments and supplements to the Constitutional Law “On political parties” was touched upon during the meeting. In response to the delegates’ questions, the Advisor to the Minister of Justice touched upon the interpretation of several provisions stated in the bill. Summing up the meeting, the parties agreed to continue correspondence in regard to the opinions and questions that were expressed and raised during the discussion.
Armenia’s government closed all schools, universities and kindergartens until March 8 after reporting the first case of coronavirus in the country on Sunday. Authorities also quarantined three dozen people who have been in contact with a 29-year-old Armenian man who tested positive for the virus overnight. RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) reported. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in the morning that the infected man and his wife were among Armenian nationals evacuated from neighboring Iran on a special Tehran-Yerevan flight on Friday.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, accompanied by his family, Cabinet members and other government officials, paid tribute to the memory of the 2008 March 1 unrest victims today, on the 12^th anniversary of the events, ARMENPRESS The PM laid a wreath near the Myasnikyan statue in central Yerevan. A rally was scheduled to take place, but the mass gathering was cancelled after authorities confirmed the first novel coronavirus case in the country.