Presidential election legitimate and democratic in Armenia, ICES says

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has departed for France on a working visit, his press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, announced on Facebook.

Over 300 Armenian citizens, forced to remain abroad due to the escalation in the Middle East, have returned to Armenia from the UAE, India, and Japan, according to Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan.

During a telephone conversation on Friday, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Ararat Mirzoyan and Hakan Fidan, expressed concern over the ongoing escalation in the Middle East.

Due to the situation in Iran, some cargo carriers are reluctant to use its territory as a transit country, the Armenian State Revenue Committee stated, commenting to the Armenpress news agency on reports of a decline in cargo traffic between Armenia and Iran amid tensions in the Middle East.

The decision to fully nationalize Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) was made based on an expert opinion on the company's market value, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a briefing, responding to a question about whether nationalization would lead to an additional burden on the state budget.

The timeline for signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan is unclear, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a briefing on Thursday.