Return of Armenian captives among Russia's priorities – envoyJune 22, 2021 - 18:04 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan is among Russia's priorities, Moscow's Ambassador to Yerevan Sergei Kopyrkin told reporters on Tuesday, June 22. "We welcomed the return of 15 captives. Right from the beginning, Russia has been doing everything possible to make this happen," Kopyrkin said. The ambassador said there is progress on the matter, citing "the huge contribution" of the commander of the peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh, Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, as well as of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Kopyrkin also weighed in on the expected deployment of Russian border guards in the province of Gegharkunik, on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, urging reporters to "wait for the next steps". His comments came after Gegharkunik governor Gnel Sanosyan said Russian border guards will be deployed in the area "in the coming days", to pave the way for the withdrawal of the militaries of both countries from the immediate vicinity of the border․ The Russian envoy revealed that the question of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' visit to the region is on the table but failed to provide concrete information. Azerbaijani forces violated Armenia’s border in several sections in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik on May 12 and 13 and are still refusing to withdraw their troops from the area. One Armenian serviceman was killed in Azerbaijan’s shooting on May 25, six troops were captured on May 27, although four of them have already returned home. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Baku: EU, U.S. share responsibility for Armenia’s “destabilizing actions” Azerbaijan has declared that the European Union and the United States will share responsibility for any destabilizing actions of Armenia |