Asia Times correspondent Kourosh Ziabari recently conducted an exclusive interview with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian in the capital Yerevan. Ziabari: And back to Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions – do you agree with the interpretation that there is a religious element to the conflict going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan? The same way Armenia has deplored Azerbaijan’s desecration of churches …

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan today had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, MFA said, adding that a wide range of issues related to the implementation of the agreements reached in the November 26 trilateral statement in Sochi were discussed. Also were discussed steps to de-escalate the situation and to increase the …

Given the buildup of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, NATO responded with the first concrete military action, increasing operational readiness of its 40,000-strong Response Force, according to the Die Welt. The Alliance seeks to protect its Eastern European members, the newspaper writes. According to the move, NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force …

Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan received on December 22 Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Stanislav Zas, on a working visit in Armenia, Ministry of Defense reported. The parties discussed the priority directions of the organization’s activity during Armenia’s presidency in the CSTO. Papikyan stressed that one of Armenia’s priorities will be …

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly around the world, has become prevalent in the United States, US President Joe Biden said in an address to nation. “This is not March 2020. We are ready. We know more [about the virus].” He said. Biden reminded that vaccination centers have been set up …

Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan was fired as Yerevan mayor in a secret ballot at the session of the Council of Elders with 44 members voting for the dismissal and 10 voting against. The first deputy mayor, Hrachya Sargsyan, replaced as mayor. Sargsyan worked for the Ardshinbank between 2014 and 2018 as the head of the …

The President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse says that the 2020 Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Armenia was a warning for all of Europe. “I think what happened in Armenia was an important warning for Europe, and it would be very wrong for us to underestimate its importance and think that everything that happened …

An informal summit of CIS leaders, which is being prepared for December 28 in St. Petersburg, will be held not online, but face-to-face, Russian President’s Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, TASS reported. “Yes, preparations are underway for a personal meeting of the leaders,” Peskov said. Earlier, CIS Executive Secretary Sergey Lebed had told reporters that …

On December 22, I met with Stanislav Zas, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, who is on a working visit in Armenia, Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan wrote on his Facebook page. “During the meeting, we discussed the programs to be implemented during Armenia’s chairmanship in the CSTO. In this context, we …