Trilateral meeting between Nikol Pashinyan, Emmanuel Macron and Ilham Aliyev takes place in Brussels
At the end of the EaP Summit, a trilateral meeting was held in Brussels between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The meeting was held at the initiative of the President of France.
The Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan Met With US President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
US President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser conveyed the commitment of the United States to peace, security, and prosperity in Armenia and the South Caucasus region
During the meeting with the Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, US President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan conveyed the commitment of the United States to peace, security, and prosperity in Armenia and the South Caucasus region. He expressed concern over ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and emphasized that military movements near un-demarcated borders are irresponsible and provocative. He welcomed the ongoing communication between the two sides and emphasized the U.S. commitment to continue supporting confidence-building measures and regional reconciliation both bilaterally and as a Minsk Group Co-Chair.
“We will never abandon the Armenians” – President Macron vows to seek solutions for lasting peace |armenpress.am|
We will never abandon the Armenians. We will always seek solutions for lasting peace. I call for the holiday season to be one of humanitarian advances, one of peace. [French President Emmanuel Macron]
Ankara is considering applications of airlines for Istanbul-Yerevan flights
Ankara will consider applications from Turkish and Armenian airlines for Istanbul-Yerevan-Istanbul flights. The attitude of the Turkish side to this issue is positive. [Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu]
PM Pashinyan refers to the agreement on the construction of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway
If we manage to start a certain and effective dialogue with Turkey, if we manage to achieve the opening of the border and communications, this program can get a much larger scale. That is, in fact, the railway we are talking about exists from Yeraskh to Gyumri, you know that there is also a railway from Gyumri to Kars. But I say all this because we have to start the construction of the railway, of course, before starting the construction there is a lot of work to be done, to design, to announce tenders, to reach agreements. Of course, part of that work has already been done, but now we have to solve this problem with practical, everyday work. Of course, we will hold a consultation in a narrower format in the coming days to further specify our ideas – the timetable and the roadmap. And, of course, our intention and desire is to have that railway as soon as possible. [Nikol Pashinyan]
President Armen Sarkissian met with the Ambassador of China to Armenia Fan Yong
Today, President Armen Sarkissian met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Armenia Fan Yong. During the meeting, President Sarkissian and the Ambassador exchanged views on the agenda of the Armenian-Chinese bilateral relations, perspective directions for cooperation, and opportunities for deepening it in various fields. They touched upon Issues of regional security and stability as well.
Railway construction from Armenian border to Horadiz could require more than $1 billion |armenpress.am|
I know that very little money is required for repairing the passing from Armenia to Iran near Yeraskh. It’s just about a few hundred meters of renovation here. The second more major investment is the restoration of the railway in Meghri, which is rather costly because the past railway has been entirely dismantled and turned into a automobile road. I think we don’t have a concrete project here and we don’t have an approximate estimate. I think the issue can be solved for around 200 million dollars. While the construction of the railway from the Armenian border to Horadiz will require more major investments. The investments here are greater, it will take more than a billion dollars. [Vahan Qerobyan]
Turkey’s envoy for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is known
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that Ankara’s special representative for the settlement of relations with Yerevan will be former Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kılıç. There is no official information about the representative of the Armenian side yet.
Armenian PM, President of Cyprus meet in Brussels
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Summit. The interlocutors discussed a range of issues related to the further development of cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres. The sides attached importance to the partnership between the two Governments aimed at promoting mutually beneficial projects. The results of the Eastern Partnership summit were touched upon.
President Armen Sarkissian received the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Bolat Imanbayev
Today, President Armen Sarkissian received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Armenia Bolat Imanbayev. President Sarkissian congratulated Ambassador Imanbayev on Kazakhstan’s state holiday, Independence Day, and sent his best wishes to the friendly people of Kazakhstan. The sides exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation. They touched upon the issues of regional security and stability as well.
Coronavirus update
On December 16 as of 11:00 in Armenia registered:
Confirmed cases in total – 343 157 (+180)
Recovered – 327 029 (+470)
Active cases – 6 767
Total tests – 2 472 320 (+7 571)
Deaths – 7 874 (+18)
Deaths, caused by other reasons – 1 486 [Ministry of Health]
