Makunts gives up parliament seat for reported U.S. envoy jobJuly 20, 2021 - 16:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawmaker from the ruling Civil Contract party Lilit Makunts has relinquished her seat in the Armenian parliament. The information was confirmed by Armen Smbatyan, the Secretary of the country's Central Electoral Commission on Tuesday, July 20, Sputnik Armenia reports. According to earlier reports and comments from Makunts herself, the former lawmaker is expected to be appointed Armenia's ambassador to the United States. Makunts was named the Minister of Culture in Armenia back in 2018, and was elected a member of parliament later in the year. She confirmed in January that her appointment as the Armenian Ambassador to the United States was on the table. While critics said the lawmaker does not have sufficient experience in diplomatic work for such an appointment, Makunts claimed back then that "in some cases" such experience does not play a "priority role." Armenia's last ambassador to Washington Varuzhan Nersesyan was recalled and appointed as the ambassador of Yerevan to Great Britain, according to two separate decrees signed by President Armen Sarkissian on July 16. 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 | PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |