RoA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met today with Grigory Tabatadze the newly appointed Georgian Ambassador to Armenia.Congratulating Ambassador Tabatadze on his new post, PM Sargsyan expressed confidence that he would contribute to continued progress in Armenian-Georgian relations.

PM Sargsyan attached special importance to promoting economic cooperation and stressed the insufficient volume of the current commodity turnover between the two nations. »»»»»

On December 1, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg, released the following statement  subsequent to the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Athens.

“The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg met in Athens on December 1 with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian. »»»»»

Today, the biggest problem facing the 12,000 Armenian community in Moldova is the lack of priests. According to Venera Gasbaryan, a community representative, “If a priest comes to perform services at our churches just once a year, how can this issue be resolved?”

Ms. Gasbaryan raised the issues facing the community at a press conference held today in Yerevan. She said that the community, which traces its roots back to after the fall of Ani, will be looking for assistance from the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the Mother See at Etchmiadzin regarding the shortage of priests. »»»»»

Armen Melikyan, a former NKR Foreign Minister, stated that since Karabakh still didn’t have a law regarding citizenship, the country remains an “imaginary” state and that its residents are as well. He argued that it was incumbent that the NKR government pass citizenship legislation as soon as possible, thus clearing the way for former Armenian residents of Azerbaijan to obtain citizenship in Karabakh.

“It is Artsakh that must stand for the rights of those dispersed from Azerbaijan. I demand that land in the liberated territories be freely handed over to former Armenian citizens of Azerbaijan as private property,” Mr. Melikyan stated at a press conference today. »»»»»

The trial of Nikol Pashinyan, editor of “Haykakan Zhamanak”, charged with assaulting a police officer on October 23, 2008, during an opposition rally, continued today at the Shengavit District Court.

In the medical report of Vazgen Dabaghyan, the alleged injured officer, it talks about a .2-.3 millimetre injury. Mr. Pashinyan’s lawyer, Lusineh Sahakyan, stated that she found this claim to be quite suspicious. She said that the injury is about the width of the ball of a pen and couldn’t have been inflicted by a blow from the foot of Pashinyan, as claimed by the officer.

Turkish studies specialist Ruben Safrastyan stated today that the time had come for serious Turkish studies to take hold in Armenia and welcomed the signs that this process is slowly happening. “I am glad that this is now happening and we must use recent political developments to give a boost to serious Turkish academic study,” he said.

Mr. Safrastyan also noted that Armenian studies in Turkey had entered a new stage of development as well and that, contrary to the past, when all efforts were geared to distorting history, there are many Turkish specialists who are taking an objective approach to Armenian studies. »»»»»

At the behest of the RoA Ministry of Health, additions to the law regulating the price and distribution of various medicines are being drafted that would create mechanisms allowing the government to intervene in the marketplace and regulate the price.

This move is in response to the recent price rise in certain drugs, especially those now in demand due to the drastic increase in swine flu cases in Armenia.