NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news…

Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 03.05.22:

BLINKEN, MIRZOYAN

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan said.

Ararat Mirzoyan is currently in the US on a working visit, where he will take part in a session of the Armenian-American strategic dialogue.

A bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will launch a strategic dialogue between the US and Armenia, said US State Department spokesman Ned Price during a press conference on Tuesday.

The Secretary of State is committed to further strengthening bilateral relations in line with our shared democratic values and continued cooperation on the reform agenda in Armenia, Ned Price said.

They also did sign a nuclear cooperation Memorandum of Understanding, paving the way for increased cooperation on civil nuclear matters as Armenia looks to diversify its energy supply.

PROTESTS

Peaceful acts of civil disobedience have resumed in Yerevan early Tuesday morning, and a number of streets have been blocked again.

On Monday, the opposition began to carry out acts of civil obedience in Yerevan, and closed off a number of central streets and intersections in the Armenian capital.

The opposition forces had set up tents on May 1 at France Square in downtown Yerevan and stayed there overnight. Resistance Movement coordinator Ishkhan Saghatelyan had announced Sunday that peaceful acts of civil disobedience will begin Monday throughout Armenia, especially the downtown Yerevan streets will be closed off. Also, he called for boycotting school classes and holding labor strikes.

The police have used a particular brutal force to control these acts of protests. As of 2pm Monday, about 250 people were taken to police stations, including the son of second President Robert Kocharyan, Levon Kocharyan And there were attempts to apprehend several opposition MPs, too.

Also the citizens demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia have closed off the Sevan-Yerevan motorway.

As a result, numerous cars have amassed on this motorway.

GARO PAYLAN

Garo Paylan, the Armenian member of the Turkish parliament, is receiving many threats after submitting a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide to the Turkish parliament.

Paylan told Diken news agency that the female leader of the Turkish nationalist Good Party, Meral Aksener, has targeted him to the Turkish nationalists on Twitter.

"Meral Aksener threw me on the table of wolves," said Garo Paylan, stressing that Aksener could simply have criticized his bill, but making him a target for nationalists is unacceptable.

PACE

A group of PACE deputies on the eve of the annual World Freedom Day on 3 May initiated a resolution of the Assembly on threats to the life and security of journalists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. The initiative by Belgian MP Christophe Lacroix was supported by 37 PACE members from 24 countries.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is concerned about the increasing level of violence, intolerance and continuing threats against Azerbaijani journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, reads the petition signed by the mentioned MPs.

Journalist and human rights activist, well-known LGBT activist Avaz Shikhmammadov was murdered in his home on 22 February, 2022. Numerous requests to protect his life were ignored by the law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan.

UKRAINE

Ukrainian intelligence accused Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan of helping Russia evade Western sanctions.

According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, "Russia is negotiating with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan to re-export Russian products to international markets."

The supply is planned to be carried out under the guise of Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani products and exported to third countries. More than 200 companies have already been established in the territory of these countries.

Последние известия: Выпуск видеоновостей на английском языке – 03.05.22

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