U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch is planning a trip to the U.S on October 3-14 to meet with representatives of Americain-Armenian Diaspora communities in Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, reports the US Embassy in Yerevan.

According to the Embassy statement, the Ambassador “is looking forward to exchanging views on current developments in Armenia, U.S-Armenian relations, and U.S. assistance to Armenia.”

Armenian-Turkish relations were among issues discussed by the presidents of Russia and Armenia who met in a southern Russian city on Tuesday.

(Serzh Sargsyan was in Rostov-on-Don reportedly to attend the annual horse race for the Russian Presidential Cup.)

A report made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s press service quoted the Russian leader as saying ahead of his meeting with Serzh Sargsyan in Rostov-on-Don that “the current situation required an exchange of opinions”.

A new government website launched this week attempts to concentrate all electronic services provided by state agencies in one place. A government representative says the purpose of creating this new option as well as upgrading the existing official website is to achieve more “dynamism and transparency”.

Two dozen servicemen of a small Armenian contingent deployed in Afghanistan have been awarded with medals and certificates by their immediate German commanders for “being active in the process of realizing the peacekeeping mission”, according to a report by the Armenian Defense Ministry.

A 40-strong Armenian peacekeeping brigade has been on mission as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since February 14 to help NATO-led allied forces fight Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

Armenia will render humanitarian aid to Tajikistan to help the Central Asian republic cope with the consequences of heavy floods that claimed human lives and caused vast destruction early this month.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan hosted Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the newly elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Thursday.

Greeting the Turkish guest, the Armenian President voiced hope that the visit of the delegation headed by the PACE President will help them get acquainted and make a more objective opinion about the challenges existing in Armenia and the region.

Head of “Noravank” Scientific Educational Foundation Gagik Harutyunyan moderated the first and second sessions of April 26 of the scientific workshop on “Preservation of Features of Armenian Identity in Mixed Marriages” organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora. Attending the scientific workshop were RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, leader of the Gegharkunik Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Markos Hovhannisyan, employees of the RA Ministry of Diaspora and guests.

On April 26, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, accompanied by members of the Brotherhood of Holy Etchmiadzin, arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, to participate in the World Summit of Religious Leaders, being held April 26-27, 2010. The summit is dedicated to the issues of globalization and their impact on religious and traditional values. 300 religious leaders from 40 countries are in attendance.

On April 26, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, will pay a one day visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, to participate in the World Summit of Religious Leaders. His Holiness is attending at the invitation of the co-chairs: His Holiness Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Grand Mufti of the Muslims of the Caucasus. The Catholicos of All Armenians will also participate in a private meeting with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, and the Grand Mufti.

The President of the Republic of Armenia and the National Security Council Serzh Sargsyan called Wednesday a session of the National Security Council.