12:00 News in Brief: Tatoyan's Firm Response to Aliyev, Church Scandal in Georgia

The news from the past hour, summarized and substantive:

• Armenia has welcomed Turkey's decision to lift bilateral trade restrictions. Yerevan considers this a significant step towards normalizing relations and an important signal for the opening of borders and the expansion of economic ties.
• Ruben Rubinyan has announced that direct trade between Armenia and Turkey is now possible. He stated that efforts are also ongoing regarding the border and the opening of the Gyumri-Kars railway.
• Arman Tatoyan responded to the Azerbaijani president's statement, suggesting that issues related to the conflict be resolved in international courts. He noted that the Armenian side is ready to demand accountability for war crimes and ethnic cleansing through legal processes.
• Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the issue of banking services in villages needs to be addressed through digitization. The Prime Minister emphasized that the use of applications could replace physical branches and facilitate everyday transactions.
• Unknown persons removed icons from the church in the village of Marda in Akhaltsikhe and left them near a trash can. The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation, and church representatives have condemned the act as unacceptable.
• According to the Financial Times, Russia and Ukraine have become more skeptical about the prospects for peace negotiations mediated by the United States. A potential new mediation role is being discussed in Europe.