168TVof “Trigger” the guest of the program The director of the Center for European-Asian Studies is Andrey Rusakov:

During the program, topics related to EU-EEU relations, possible changes in Armenia’s foreign policy, the history of Armenia’s membership in the EEU, benefits from this cooperation, trade with the EEU countries, possible affected sectors in case of leaving the Union, logistics in the South Caucasus, possible risks for Armenian exports, as well as Russia’s interests in the South Caucasus were discussed.

Hayk Derzyan

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Armenia will take a new loan from the World Bank to supplement the state budget. appropriate the decision was held at today’s government session. It is noted that with the loan amount of 170.3 million euros, the legislation “On Economic Competition” will be improved, additional legal guarantees will be provided to investors, and the powers of the Commission for the Protection of Competition and Consumer Rights of Armenia will be expanded to prevent price speculation and other anti-competitive actions.

Basically, this loan is another debt, which will become a new burden for citizens, especially in the context of the state debt, which has increased by almost 8 billion in recent years.

168․amin his comments about the debt policy economist Hrant Mikayelyan mentioned: “We see that the government of the day makes very big promises during the pre-election phase or makes some expenses that were not even planned in the budget. for political reasons, the government spends resources that will later lead to greater debt.

And who will close this debt? The budget of Armenia and the people of Armenia, at the expense of which the budget is created.”

By the way, in the last one or two years, for example, 102 million euros of credit was provided by the WB to prepare for the introduction of universal health insurance and to repair polyclinics, 70.4 million euros for the program to reduce irrigation and drinking water losses and increase the climate resilience of systems, $100 million approved in 2023 and 2026. $200 million in loans approved in March (Economic Transformation Program) aimed at digitizing the business environment, promoting small businesses and attracting investments, etc.

Referring to another political and economic issue that has become more acute these days, the toughening statements from Russia about the EU-EEU election and the possible positioning of Armenia in that context, the specialist first noticed why these two associations cannot objectively be combined.

“There are two reasons: economic and political. The economic reason is as follows: both the EAEU and the EU are closed zones, and if any country joins both, then the line opens between those 2, by which their customs border is violated and it is possible to re-export countless goods and without duties. Thus, the meaning of customs unions is lost, and Russia is especially worried because its market is smaller and less protected.

As for the political reason. because in the last 2 years, the European Union began to declare Russia as an enemy, a possible military opponent, and recently, for example, provided Ukraine with a military loan of 90 billion dollars, therefore, it considers any relationship, development in the direction of Russia as hostile.”

According to Hrant Mikayelyan, the view from the government circles that the current policy has a tendency to ensure the diversification of Armenia and reduce dependence on the Russian Federation, does not correspond to reality, because with these steps Armenia will not achieve any diversification, it will only break the relations with Russia.

“I claim that this was the goal, motivated by the policy of the West itself. In other words, there is no goal of diversification. it is just a propaganda statement. The reality is that there is a desire to reduce the level of relations with Russia,” he added.

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In the “Pressing” program Satik Seyranyan the guest “Genesis Armenia” cerebral center-foundation director, political of sciences candidate, associate professor Abraham Gasparyan is.

The main theses of the interview are below.

• The USA approaches the issue very pragmatically. there is a problem that needs to be solved. The US is reshaping the new global security architecture, China and Russia are challenging it. That’s why they don’t pay attention to small problems and states. What would Marco Rubio say here? Everything could be arranged with one call. All that, without the participation of this government, has already been negotiated. They brought the papers, they said, dear boy, we have brought them, sign them:

• The strategic document is a long-term cooperation plan, the framework agreement is more technical and bypasses the relevant schemes to implement these plans.

• Are there no normal translators in our country, or are they intentionally mistranslating documents? There is a huge difference between the Armenian and English documents of the framework agreement on strategic cooperation on the RA-US TRIPP project signed yesterday. Where will TRIPP be implemented, what is its geography? does not appear. In other words, Aliyev was right when he said that I should not see the face of an Armenian.

• When you sign an intergovernmental agreement, if you are a state and you sign with a state, it is not the same as if you sign with a private company. If you sign a contract with a private company, to which you give 74% of the profit, in case of escalation of the situation, you can say: step aside, I have to protect my safety. I will tell in clear points how this government has trapped Armenia by not giving the entire package of territorial control to the USA, but taking it upon itself. There is unclear wording in the document. All day long, the speaker of the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia uses the wording “Armenia”. What is it, which Armenia is it about? the word Apart from that, according to the document, Armenia should take all responsibility for road safety on its own. This is already a problem.

• What they objected to, they signed. This is not a diplomatic document. If 10 diplomats negotiated this document, all 10 should be fired.

• Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a member of the largest Jewish lobbying organization in the US and has close ties to Jewish oligarchic circles. You are opening the gates to the big American organizations created by Kushner, which will come here, supposedly to invest, but not pay you taxes. Those American companies come here, violating all points of the EIA. No environmental norms are observed, and if the USA sues us again, the USA will not answer, but Armenia. The USA literally says: you have to give your territory, I will do whatever I want. Do you want me to write “sovereignty” several times in order to bait your people?:

• Armenia only benefited from this document was the signature of the US on paper. Soft power at the core of American foreign policy rests on strategic absorption. This was practiced both during the USSR and after the end of the Cold War and now. When you are induced to be absorbed of your own free will, a mutually beneficial cooperation is allegedly taking place.

• Who is talking today about the arrest of Nicolás Maduro or his wife? no one

• Horizontal disengagement implies American patronage. The situation would have been the same in the case of the same Zurich agreements, if the former authorities of Armenia had not shown principle and the signing of the documents had not failed. These authorities do not have any complex, the situation is the same now: Armenia is hindering you, let me take the patronage.

• China embargoed its mining of rare and precious metals. The US is looking for new markets. Ukraine’s version came first here. They agreed with Russia, they shared. Russia blocked the road in Africa. Now Armenia is giving territory to the USA, what will the superpower states like China and Russia say – you are doing well, Armenia, that you are changing vectors in one day? 

• States with imperial traditions and diplomatic institutional memory react in a completely different way.

• When the Russians block the way of the Armenian agricultural products producer, they do not harm the government, but generate hatred towards you among the Armenian people. 

• If Nikol Pashinyan is reborn, we will not have Armenia with today’s borders, we will have some semi-state entity. First, spiritual Armenia will be finally crushed, the third most powerful wave of emigration will open. Quality pulp will not live in the garbage. Do you seriously believe that the sectarians are concerned that we will not have a homeland?:

• Conservative think tanks like IRI have one principle of operation: they operate where American interests are protected and human rights are paramount. Seriously, can this government protect American interests? Who has a guarantee that in case of serious Russian pressure, the USA will not be thrown?

• We have made Armenia the epicenter of the trap. Armenia has always become a bone of contention because of fools. A state like China, on which states like Russia and the USA are dependent, some small group like Armenia makes this area a point of conflict between China, Russia and the USA.

• Nikolism is raging in Armenia as an ideological terrorism. People don’t talk, they are afraid to talk. These threaten to harm the child. People say, “To hell with me, they won’t touch my children and grandchildren.”:

• Even if Pashinyan loses, this will not go away without blood, this is bloodthirsty, it will do everything to start a civil war. After receiving the three-finger combination from three presidents, this continues to be abysmal:

• He is defeated in Yerevan, our task is to encourage the maximum number of people to vote. If we can secure at least 55% participation in Yerevan, the balance of power will be broken. If Yerevan said no to this with a high percentage, it will have no chance. Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor… The choice of these 3 cities will be decisive:

• In the last week, the dose of anti-Russianness will be increased by the government operating here and the velvet machines that serve it.

• Dear friends, seeing the face of this, sugar, pressure, what we have is rising. Even children’s lives are poisoned. If you think you shouldn’t live in the same space where these breathe in and out, if your intellect is offended by the sound of this, this is our fight, by all means go to the polls. Dear compatriots, we have a chance to be saved. it is not for us to despair, to be disappointed. Don’t be afraid, take 15 minutes out of your daily routine, go to the election. Let’s change the system and ideology… Let’s end the consequences of humiliation and national humiliation on June 7:

Details in the video.

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