NEWS.am daily digest: 11.11.21

Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 11.11.21:

STATEMENT

The Azerbaijani side has informed the Armenian side that starting today at 12 a.m. it will perform the function of border and customs control on the Goris-Kapan motorway, meaning it will set up customs points.

According to the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, he "would like to declare that the Armenian side will also take appropriate actions, that is, it will set up customs and border control points on the motorway."

"We had initially launched activities so that we can work in this direction, but since the Kapan-Tatev road is ready, as already announced, it is safe to say that Armenia has a safe road leading from the Kapan-Tatev road to Goris or Yerevan, and the alternative road is ready for the transfer of goods and any type of vehicle. What is very important is the fact that this is a newly built road,' the Secretary of the Security Council added.

PROTESTS

The opposition was holding a protest in front of the main building of the government of Armenia after Security Council secretary Armen Grigoryan announced that the Azerbaijani side had informed the Armenian side that it would set up customs checkpoints on the Goris-Kapan motorway of Armenia.

A large number of police officers were standing at the entrance to this building.

The police started to use force to apprehend protesters, including women and the elderly, from in front of the main building of the government of Armenia. No justification was provided by the police.

Several opposition MPs tried to enter this building, but they were allowed by police, causing a scuffle between the police and the participants of the opposition rally outside this government building.

ARMENIA ALLIANCE

The opposition “Armenia” Alliance has issued a statement stating that there will be more concessions so long as the incumbent authorities are in power

“The authorities, which symbolize defeat, made another agreed concession — the Goris-Kapan motorway is fully under the control of Azerbaijan. The capitulator declared that we Armenians will always move freely via that motorway. He was deceiving the people once again, and now he is announcing an alternative road," the statement said.

SHOOTING

Four people have been killed and four wounded as a result of the shootings in Yerevan.

A criminal case has been filed into this incident.

A total of 45 cartridges and bullets, 4 pistols, and 2 rifles with bullets were found at the scene of the shooting.

Among those killed is former MP Artush Simonyan.

FMS

PARIS. – French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian on Wednesday had separate meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, who are visiting Paris to attend the 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference.

According to the French foreign ministry, at the end of the bilateral talks, Le Drian opened the joint meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs—and which is called to continue their discussions that began in New York on September 23.

COVID-19

As of Thursday morning, 1,482 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 325,521 in the country.

Also, 36 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 6,867 cases.

The quarantine regime has been extended until June 20, 2022, due to the coronavirus situation in Armenia.

The decision was made at the meeting of the Government of Armenia on November 11.

The current restrictions in connection with the coronavirus have been preserved.

ERDOGAN

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sues the Greek newspaper Dimokratia (Democracy) for a headline published on the front page on September 18, 2020, according to the Greek Reporter.

Erdogan's lawyers in a lawsuit filed in Ankara court against the newspaper's director, two editors-in-chief, and a journalist, demanded up to five years in prison, Greek Reporter reported.

An article in Dimokratia, detailing the actions of Erdogan and other Turkish officials during the tense period between Greece and Turkey, was titled "Siktir Git" which roughly translates to “f*ck you,” or “screw you,” in Turkish.

called the lawsuit a parody.