Armenia's first Foreign Minister barred from entering KarabakhAugust 1, 2022 - 13:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The first foreign minister of Armenia and the founder of the Heritage party Raffi Hovannisian was barred from entering the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) by Russian peacekeeping troops on Sunday, July 31. Hovannisian was traveling to Karabakh to participate in the baptism of his grandchild in the capital Stepanakert, the party said in a statement. "Showing him their commanding officer's order, along with an accompanying photo, the soldiers at the checkpoint didn't give any articulate reason or justification for the rejection, but confirmed that the ban could have come from "the very top" of Yerevan," the statement reads. "The government of Artsakh, unaware and greatly surprised by such a decision, tried for a long time to clarify and then settle the illegality, but in vain. Its representatives did not rule out the possible connection of the Baku dictatorship to this permissiveness." The party blamed the incident of the "failed leader" of the current Armenian government, which it said must resign to pave the way for "real regional peace and security". Top stories As a result of floods in Armenia’s northern Lori and Tavush provinces, 17 bridges, including five large ones, have collapsed. David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with Stephan Schütz, Executive Partner at Gerkan, Marg and Partners. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. Partner news Most popular in the section | Aliyev travels to Turkey at Erdogan's invitation On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. |