No one exerted pressure on us over the Customs Union membership and Armenia is still ready to initial the Association Agreement with the EU at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area is another matter.  As for the AA, we are ready to initial it, as it does not run contrary to the Customs Union membership, Armenian Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan told media, Thursday. 

On September 3 in Moscow, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan confirmed Armenia's intention to join the Customs Union and the process of the formation of the Eurasian Union. Vladimir Putin supported Sargsyan's decision and promised to contribute to Yerevan's accession to the Customs Union in every possible way. Afterwards, the two leaders signed joint statements.  The Customs Union has been created within the Eurasian economic space for trade and economic integration of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
 "The EU representatives will be in Armenia tomorrow. They will have meetings with our leadership and adopt a decision to continue joint activity with the EU towards reforms. We keep on holding meetings and negotiations to further enhance the relations with the EU that meet Armenia's interests. The decision to join the Customs Union was not hasty. When the document will be ready, it will be submitted to the parliament.  It is the Armenian authorities that determine the country's foreign policy course," Abrahamyan said. The speaker believes that accession to the Customs Union is economically and politically viable for Armenia.  Abrahamyan is sure that Armenia can refuse to sign the agreement on accession to the Customs Union, if it founds that document disadvantageous. 

The newly-appointed U.S Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick handed over a message from U.S. President Barack Obama to the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. The President's Press Office has published the message:

 On September 12, the National Assembly of Armenia introduced amendments in the Code of Administrative Violations in the first reading.   

Participants in the civic movement "We pay 100 drams" are displeased with the fact that the Police are not in a hurry to detect the persons guilty of physical violence against the activists

 "Armenia's accession to the Customs Union is impossible, as a matter of fact", Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan said during a roundtable in Yerevan on Thursday.   

Kaps water reservoir may save National Park "Arpi." Last year environmentalists alarms of lowering water level in Lake Sevan. In fact, two islands, where Dalmatian pelican and Armenian gulls put on the Red List of threatened species lay eggs, have turned into peninsulas. Environmentalists explain this with operation of the small HPP on the River of Akhuryan.  Head of WWF-Armenia Karen Manvelyan told ArmInfo that the level of water in the lake keeps falling. 

Armenia's joining the Customs Union will enhance its positions in the region, the former ambassador of Russia to Armenia, director of the regional programmes of the Caspian Cooperation Institute, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, said over today's televised bridge Yerevan-Moscow.  

During a press- conference in Yerevan on Thursday the newly appointed US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick refused to comment on the reports of violation of the rights of Hakop Injighulyan, an Armenian POW in Azerbaijan.

 Armenia is the 54th on the FIFA World Ranking with 592 points.

 The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to install an Armenian Genocide Memorial at Memorial Park on Monday at about 11 p.m. to a standing ovation in the packed chamber.

The development of the information technologies in Armenia is not connected with the state financing programmes and with declaring the IT sector a priority branch in Armenia, deputy chairman of the public organization "Internet-society", Grigor Saghyan, made such a statement on 12 September. 

He recalled that in December 2000, according to the decree of Armenia's prime minister, IT industry was recognized the priority branch. "The IT in Armenia  has been developing with progress since 2000 but not thanks to declaring this sector a priority one. ", - he said and added that the republic has got the development potential thanks to formation of a good school for IT specialists and mathematicians. He said that the state financing programmes did not affect the IT development process. Moreover, some programmes are doubtful. For instance, the state allocated 20 million drams to the innovation centre "Microsoft" as a state financing. "It is strange that the state shows financial aid to "Microsoft", but not visa versa", - he said. 

 The newly appointed US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick has gone from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with the local authorities and to see the situation on the Nagorno-Karabakh-Azeri contract line.

The United States Embassy in Armenia released a statement with respect to the attacks against civic activists in the country.

The newly appointed US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick told Armenian journalists on Thursday that he is looking forward to cooperation with his Russian colleague Igor Popov.

To achieve a long- term solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the conflicting parties must be ready for concessions, the newly appointed US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick said during a press-conference in Yerevan in Thursday.

 Head of the Judiciary Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service of Armenia Mihran Poghosyan used budgetary funds for personal needs, MP from the Armenian National Congress Levon Zurabyan said in the parliament on Wednesday.

 The impression is that it has become the Armenian authorities' habit to give promises on accession to all possible international organizations, Alexander Arzumanyan, MP from the Heritage Faction, ex-Foreign Minister of Armenia, said in Parliament when commenting on Armenian Prime Minister's recent statement that Armenia wants to become an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). 

The Head of OSCE Office in Yerevan Ambassador Andrey Sorokin issued the following statement today on recent cases of violence and intimidation against civic activists in Armenia. 

The issue of the Indoor Market, which has turned from a historical monument of Yerevan into an ordinary supermarket, was raised during a meeting of parliamentarians and government members on Wednesday.  

 ArmenTel CJSC (Beeline trademark) has launched a campaign for the fixed telephony subscribers. The company's press service reports that before 31 October 2013 individuals and legal entities can have their fixed telephone numbers reinstated by paying only 10 AMD instead of the previous 1,200 AMD.