The Speaker of the National Assembly of France will arrive in Armenia

The Speaker of the National Assembly of France, Yaël Braun-Pivet, will arrive in Armenia on a visit. He announced this on his Twitter page.

"On Christmas, my thoughts are directed to the Armenians, to whom I address my wishes of hope and peace.

I will come to Armenia next week to once again show the support of the French National Assembly," he said, adding that the French delegation will also include legislators.

Dictatorial Azerbaijan is not the country that should be called upon, the dictatorship and Aliyev’s criminal regime must be punished - Artsakh Human Rights Defender

Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan posted on Twitter commenting on the current situation with Azerbaijan.

"Many calls were also made during the 44-day war, but this did not prevent the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan. Dictatorial Azerbaijan is not the country that should be called upon, the dictatorship and Aliyev's criminal regime must be punished. Full stop," he wrote.

In Artsakh, scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical facilities operating under the ministry - Health Ministry of Artsakh

The Artsakh Ministry of Health reports that because of the blockade by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical institutions under the authority of the Artsakh Ministry of Health.

 13 children are in the neonatal and intensive care units in the "Arevik" medical unit.

We demand that the international community provide us with a humanitarian air corridor - Ruben Vardanyan

Artsakh Republic State Minister Ruben Vardanyan had interviews with international media, presenting the situation created as a result of Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh, reports the office of the Artsakh Republic State Minister.

In an interview given to Swedish National Radio, responding to the environmental reasons for the closure of the corridor presented by the Azerbaijani side and 2020  to the question about the violation of the tripartite declaration of November 9, Ruben Vardanyan noticed that Azerbaijan's claims do not sound credible to anyone, because the whole world knows that in an authoritarian country, nothing happens under the "responsibility of environmentalists".

"Can you remember how many environmental protests have taken place in Azerbaijan in the last 10 years?" he asked.  - We do not have mechanisms in Artsakh to put pressure on a country that has signed a document confirming the right to freely use the corridor, and today it is violating it.

Speaker Alen Simonyan congratulates Kevin McCarthy on his election as US House Speaker

Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan congratulated Kevin McCarthy on his election as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. 

“Congratulations to Kevin McCarthy for being elected US House Speaker! Looking forward to boosting Armenian-American traditional inter-parliamentary cooperation!” Simonyan tweeted, posting a photo of him shaking hands with McCarthy during a visit to the US in 2022.

Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy has been sworn in as US House speaker of the 118th Congress.

‘Josep Borrell must act now!’ – MEP Peter van Dalen on Azeri blockade of Nagorno Karabakh

Member of the European Parliament and European People’s Party member Peter van Dalen has called on EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy chief Josep Borrell to act over the brutal results of the Azeri blockade of Nagorno Karabakh.

“The brutal results of the Azeri blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh; empty shops and desperate people. Why is the EU so silent?! I do not understand! [High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy] Josep Borrell must act now!” the MEP tweeted, sharing a BBC article on the shortages of essential goods in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the blockade.

Ararat Melkumyan was appointed secretary of Artsakh Security Council

Vitaly Balasanyan was dismissed from the post of secretary of the Artsakh Security Council by the decree of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan. Ararat Melkumyan was appointed to that position by another decree of the President of Artsakh. This was reported by the Main Information Department of the Artsakh President's Office.

By another decree, Major General Ararat Melkumyan was dismissed from the position of the first deputy director of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia.

Other News

• The Azeri thesis that an Artsakh citizen will come under the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces is false - NSS of Artsakh.