There was no meeting between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and leader of Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan, secretary of the party's parliamentary group Naira Zohrabyan told ArmInfo on Friday.

 President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and Leader of Prosperous Armenia Party, Head of the National Olympic Committee, Gagik Tsarukyan, had a tough talk in the course of the opening ceremony of the Pan-Armenian Winter Games in Tsakhkadzor, a local Hraparak newspaper writes.

 By official data, there are nearly 9,000- 11,000 thousand Armenians and most of them are not involved in the ongoing processes in Ukraine safeguarding neutrality.

 "We also remember Somgait," US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said on Twitter. 

 A seminar on the Armenian Genocide has been held at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague.

 Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Armenian Parliament Artak Zakaryan has sent a letter to parliamentarians from different countries on the occasion of the 22nd year of the Agdam events (the Khojaly provocation).
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Areximbank-Gazprombank Group and Visa Company have launched contactless payments in Armenia introducing Visa payWave card. Areximbank has become the first Armenian bank to introduce contactless payments in the country.  The first contacless transaction with Visa payWave card was made on 27 February at one of the stores of the Moskvichka chain in Yerevan. Manager of Visa Payment System for Caucasus Irina Kamkhadze made the contacless payment for a purchase.

 The interim parliamentary committee for inquiring into the gas deals with Russia will hold its first meeting early next week, Naira Zohrabyan, Secretary of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Faction, said on Thursday.   

 Gasprom's position is a cornerstone in Armenia's relations with the Customs Union. Much will depend on the position of this company, Chairman of the Armenian Union of Employers, Gagik Makaryan, said at today's press-conference.  

Social Democratic Party Hnchakian will not join the March 1 rally by the Armenian National Congress, Leader of SDP Hnchakian Narek Galstyan said in response to ArmInfo's question, Thursday.

The Embassies of the Republic of Poland and the Swiss Confederation in Armenia have the honor to inform that as from March 1, 2014 the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Yerevan will represent the Swiss Confederation regarding visa issuance for Armenian nationals, as well as third country citizens legally residing in Armenia.

The most significant human rights problems during the year were corruption and lack of transparency in government, limitations on the right of citizens to change their government, and the limited independence of the judiciary, says Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 published by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor , the U.S. Department of State.

Further in the report: "Armenia's constitution provides for a republic with an elected head of state and a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. The country held a presidential election on February 18, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) described the election as administered in an overall professional, open, and transparent manner with respect for fundamental freedoms, but marked by shortcomings including an uneven playing field, some serious election day violations, and concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. Authorities maintained effective control over security forces; some members of security forces committed human rights abuses."
According to the authors, allegations of persistent corruption at all levels of government undermined the rule of law, although the government took limited steps to punish corruption by low- and mid-level officials. "Despite candidates' ability to campaign freely, flaws in the conduct of the presidential election included a lack of impartiality by the public administration, the misuse of government resources to support the ruling party, credible allegations of vote buying, continued shortcomings in the implementation of the electoral code, and a complaints and appeals process that failed to provide for effective redress. OSCE/ODIHR also noted a tendency of significantly better final results for the incumbent in the majority of stations with above-average turnout, indicating "possible serious problems with voting and counting" which raised "concerns about the integrity of the electoral process." Courts remained subjected to political pressure from the executive branch, which resulted in some politically motivated prosecutions and sentencing, and the Court of Cassation exercised considerable control over judges' decisions at all levels.
Other abuses reported during the year included suspicious deaths in the military under noncombat conditions, continued hazing and other mistreatment of conscripts by officers and fellow soldiers, and lack of accountability for such actions. Police allegedly continued to employ torture to obtain confessions and reportedly beat citizens during arrest and interrogation. Many prisons were overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacking in medical services for inmates. Authorities continued to arrest and detain criminal suspects without reasonable suspicion and to detain individuals arbitrarily. Trials were often lengthy, and courts failed to enforce laws providing for fair trials. Authorities did not adequately enforce laws against government intrusion on the right to privacy and unlawful searches. Outside of the pre-election period, media coverage during the year lacked diversity of political opinion. While the government released all imprisoned Jehovah's Witnesses, government restrictions affected some minority religious groups, although most registered religious groups reported no significant legal impediments to their activities. Members of religious minorities suffered from societal discrimination.  Domestic violence remained a problem but largely went unreported to authorities. Human trafficking was a problem, but authorities made efforts to combat it. Persons with disabilities experienced discrimination in almost all areas of life. Military and prison authorities subjected lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons to abuse and discrimination; societal discrimination also was a problem. The government limited workers' rights and weakly enforced labor laws.
Although the government took some steps to punish officials in the security forces and elsewhere who committed abuses, some members of the security forces continued to commit human rights abuses with impunity while under the direction of civilian leadership. As of year's end, authorities had not held anyone accountable for the 10 deaths that occurred following postelection clashes in 2008," according to the executive summary of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013.

In 2015 the Hellenic Parliament will host an exhibition dedicated to the Armenian Genocide centenary, Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice Speaker of Armenian Parliament, Head of the Armenia-Greece Friendship Group in Armenian Parliament, told journalists on Thursday. 

Armenia gives high priority to relationship with Georgia, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at today's joint press conference with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili in Yerevan.

The head of the Public Relations Department of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, Natalia Sarjanyan, has refuted the rumors on possible bankruptcy of the company. 

Tbilisi. On February 26-27,  Georgian Defence Minister, Irakli Alasania, is participating in the NATO Defence Ministerial, hosted by NATO HQ in Brussels-the Defence Ministry reports.

Tbilisi. Ex-President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, was offered some high posts in Kiev. Saakashvili told about on air of the  program Archevani (Choice) on air of Rustavi-2 TV Company.

Tbilisi. On Tuesday, February 25, President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, issued a decree on appointing Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Moldova, the President's Administration reports. 

Tbilisi. On February 26, U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, will host Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and convene the fourth plenary session of the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of State reports.

Tbilisi. In the framework of the working visit to the USA, Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvilil, met with Senators John McCain and  Ted Poe, the government's press- service reports.