Armenia Expected To Give President Another 5 Years

ARMENIA EXPECTED TO GIVE PRESIDENT ANOTHER 5 YEARS

Columbus Dispatch, OH
Feb 19 2013

MOSCOW – Armenians went to the polls yesterday in a presidential
election that seemed certain to return President Serzh Sargsyan
to office for a second five-year term, and to maintain stability
in a country that has become an important, if uneasy, U.S. ally in
monitoring Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

A veteran politician, Sargsyan, 58, is viewed as having presided over
modest economic improvements. But the country has struggled because
of closed borders with Turkey and with Azerbaijan, its enemy in a
war over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sargsyan’s expected second term will be watched for progress in
resolving the war, and for any indication that Armenia reduces support
for economic sanctions against Iran.