“We work equally in all the spheres, making efforts aimed at deepening cultural, economic and political ties with Armenia,” Mr. Bernhard Matthias Kiesler, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Armenia, said at a press conference on Monday, reflecting on the question whether the professional diplomats envy cultural figures who sometimes register more success in cultural diplomacy.

The Goethe-Institut announced at its annual press conference on Monday in Berlin that it would be setting up shop in Baku, Azerbaijan and Yerevan, Armenia, in the coming year. The German parliament has reserved three million euros for the branches, which would host language courses and cultural programming. The organization already runs 159 institutes in 98 countries.