Month: September 2013

CHURCH CLAIMS ETCHMIADZIN PARK TO GET MUCH NEEDED FACELIFT

Grisha Balasanyan

12:26, September 24, 2013

For the past ten years, the park in Etchmiadzin has belonged to the
Armenian Church whose headquarters are located in the same town.

This means that the Church is responsible for the maintenance of the
park, located adjacent to the Mpother See.

When the park was under the purview of the municipality, it was the
favorite spot for children who came to ride the carousels and play
in the recreation area.

Today, the park has lost its former attractiveness. The benches are
in need of repair and there is only one cafe with a kiddy carousel
or two for children up to the age of seven. The park offers little
for older kids.

There is no grass at all to play on and several trees have withered
and died due to a lack of irrigation.

Recent rainfall has temporarily satiated the dry landscape of the park.

Father Vahram Melikyan, who heads the Mother See’s Press Service,
told Hetq that the grounds hadn’t been watered due to an accident at
the pumping station. He said the problem has been fixed and that the
park will once again get water.

Father Melikyan also noted that plans are being drawn up to improve
the park’s appearance and promised to keep Hetq informed regarding
the details.

From: Baghdasarian

GUNFIRE AS EXTENSION OF POLITICS ON AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA BORDER

Transitions online, Czech Rep.

Sept 23 2013

Mutual recriminations as both sides note a rise in cross-border
shooting. From IWPR.by Jasur Mammadov Sumerinli and Vahe Harutyunyan23
September 2013

While cross-border gunfire involving Azerbaijani and Armenian forces
is all too common, a recent sharp increase in incidents has left
analysts wondering what is going on.

The consensus is that the skirmishes are not a precursor to wider
hostilities. Instead, commentators on each side believe they are a
reflection of domestic political problems in the other country.

As an illustration of the rise in shooting incidents, Armenian defense
officials said one soldier died and six were injured in August,
whereas there had been no casualties in July.

An Armenian tank outside Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh,
serves as a war memorial. Photo by Marshall Bagramyan/Wikipedia.

The incidents happened on Armenia’s eastern border with Azerbaijan,
on its southeastern frontier with Nakhichevan – an Azerbaijani exclave
territory – and on the “line of control” around Nagorno Karabakh.

Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan said the
nature of the “enemy action” was unusual.

“This isn’t reconnaissance, nor is it designed to improve their
position, or to prepare for sweeping military operations,” he said.

“The Azerbaijanis’ aim is to inflict as much harm as possible on our
military personnel.”

In Azerbaijan, officials said it was the Armenians who started or at
least provoked the shooting. The Defense Ministry said its monitoring
indicated that most of the gunfire was taking place around Karabakh
and on the border with Nakhichevan.

Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu said the Armenians were
trying to divert public attention from their government’s own failings.

“We know that Armenia’s domestic affairs are in bad shape. People
express their unhappiness with the authorities every day. In order
to mitigate this, they [authorities] try to project attention onto
Azerbaijan,” he said. “This is always going to be a problem. Armenia’s
aggressive policy has not changed, so there will continue to be
trouble on the front line.”

Sabiroglu also spoke about an incident in early August, on the border
between Armenia and Nakhichevan. According to the Armenian account,
one soldier was killed and a second injured by Azerbaijani sniper
fire. But Sabiroglu described this as “an attempt by Armenia to divert
attention from problems inside its own army.”

“They’re trying to cover up the fact that there was a shootout between
Armenian soldiers, We have reliable information that several soldiers
died and several more were injured in a shootout in an Armenian
military unit deployed on the border with Nakhichevan,” he said.

A mirror-image view of the situation was articulated in Yerevan.

Alexander Arzumanyan, a former foreign minister of Armenia, said the
clashes were being instigated by Azerbaijan, where the authorities
are keen to ensure the re-election of President Ilham Aliev next month.

“The Azerbaijanis have resorted to deliberately escalating tensions
on the border ahead of general and presidential elections on more than
one occasion,” he said. “It’s the familiar policy of the Aliev clan –
dictatorships always need an external enemy.”

Arzumanyan pointed to the widening military imbalance between oil-rich
Azerbaijan and less affluent Armenia. Baku continues to purchase
high-tech weaponry, and Aliev and other officials often warn that if
talks on the future of Karabakh ultimately fail, the army is capable
of retaking it by force.

Armenian officials are clearly unsettled by this build-up but hope
their longstanding alliance with Moscow will safeguard them.

Despite the threats coming out of Baku, Arzumanyan said, “the years
go by, and the Karabakh problem remains unresolved.”

The Karabakh conflict ended in 1994 with a truce that has lasted ever
since, despite the sporadic outbreaks of gunfire. Talks intended to
produce a lasting settlement are mediated by the OSCE’s Minsk Group,
chaired by Russia, the United States, and France, but have failed to
make significant progress. The Karabakh Armenian administration says
it will never give up its claim to independence, while Baku insists
that the ultimate solution must involve regaining control over its
sovereign territory.

“There has been no substantive movement in the positions taken by
the parties to the conflict,” Arzumanyan said. “Then again, Karabakh
isn’t of such paramount importance to [external] states that it would
prompt serious pressure [for a solution] from outside.”

Even with high levels of mutual mistrust and little apparent prospect
of progress in the OSCE-mediated talks, commentators in Yerevan and
Baku are not predicting that things will get out of hand.

“I do not think that the option of returning to war will be decided in
Baku alone, so I see it as unlikely that Azerbaijan would go down that
road,” David Shahnazaryan, former head of Armenia’s National Security
Service, told IWPR. “What I mean is that a number of states are active
in this region, and they are driven by they own interests and by the
fact that they have a political, military, and economic presence –
there’s Russia, the United States, Turkey, the European Union, and
Iran. I wouldn’t say any of these countries wants to unleash a war
in the South Caucasus.”

Zumrud Mammadova, a researcher at the Simulated Forecasts think tank
in Baku, agreed that none of the big players wanted conflict.

“Analysis of what’s going on indicates that neither Armenia nor
Azerbaijan is preparing for war,” she added. “Each side wants to
show its strength and insure itself against current and possible
international responses to its domestic problems. Armenia and
Azerbaijan are doing this to get round the international community’s
demands for democracy.”

Dashdemir Aliev, a retired lieutenant-colonel in the Azerbaijani army
who now heads a veterans’ group, agreed with this point.

“Armenia and Azerbaijan have identical interests in this respect. Both
want to show the international community that they face problems
that are a lot more important than democracy, and hence ward off
international pressure,” he said.

On the Armenian side, Shahnazaryan predicted that the use of
small-scale warfare as a continuation of politics would continue.

“I believe tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will persist,
rising and falling on a regular basis,” he said. “The situation that
now pertains will continue for a long time since no new initiatives
have emerged in the OSCE Minsk Group [talks] format.”

Jasur Mammadov Sumerinli is a defense affairs reporter with the Zerkalo
newspaper in Azerbaijan. Vahe Harutyunyan is a freelance journalist
in Armenia. This article originally appeared on

From: Baghdasarian

MIN. AL-SALEH ATTENDS ARMENIA NAT”L DAY CELEBRATION

Kuwait News Agency, Kuwait
Sept 22 2013

23/09/2013 | 01:02 AM|Kuwait News

KUWAIT, Sept 22 (KUNA) — Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas
Al-Saleh on Sunday evening represented the Kuwaiti government at the
celebration of Armenia Embassy to mark the country’s 22nd National Day,
highlighting development of bilateral ties and cooperation.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the celebration, Al-Saleh
said his ministry developed plans to ward off any spillover of possible
regional economic problems on the citizens and expatriates in Kuwait.

“The government offers subsidy to staples for citizens but in case of
any eventuality the government will be responsible for ensuring the
minimum needs of both citizens and expatriates alike,” he made clear.

The minister was commenting on recent press reports that the government
mulls issuing ration cards for non-Kuwaitis.

Asked about the reported contamination of vegetables and fruits in
Syria, the Minister said: “Kuwait Municipality’s committee on food
safety and the Environment Public Authority work closely to implement
the ban on food imports from Syria.” On the bilateral ties with Armena,
Al-Saleh said the two countries maintain constantly growing relations
in such areas as economy and commerce.

The trade exchanges grew slightly in the farm and food sectors in
the recent years, he noted.

On his part, Armenia Ambassador to Kuwait Fadey Charchoghlyan commended
Kuwait’s “limitless relief effort” for the Syrian refugees in his
country.

The State of Kuwait was one of the first countries which responded
promptly to the humanitarian needs of the Syrian refugees in Armenia,
he said.

The Armenian-Kuwaiti ties are growing steadily in all political,
economic, cultural, social, commercial and educational fields thanks
to the supports of leaders of both countries, he pointed out.

Charchoghlyan noted that the exchanged visits on all levels help
promote the bilateral ties.

He appreciated the roles of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(KCCI) and Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) in promoting the joint
investments.

He voiced hope for signing an agreement with Kuwait on educational
cooperation, and academic and student exchanges, noting that Yerevan
University launched a college for Arabic teaching and Islamic sciences.

The Armenian diplomat also expressed hope for pushing the level of
relations of his country with GCC and other Arab countries to the
level of the relations with Kuwait.

Armenia has a 6,000-strong community in Kuwait who enjoy security
and welfare, he added. (end) rkf.nfa.gb KUNA 230102 Sep 13NNNN

From: Baghdasarian

BELARUS AND ARMENIA SUPPORT RUSSIAN POSITION ON CONFLICT IN SYRIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 23 2013

23 September 2013 – 5:17pm

Support of Belarus and Armenia for Russia’s efforts to resolve the
Syrian conflict was confirmed at a session of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization today.

Armenia supports an early settlement of the Syrian conflict on the
basis of dialogue, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said. “In this
context, we welcome the unique Russian-American agreement on a peaceful
settlement of the Syrian conflict.”

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko also expressed support for
Russia in this matter.

“In Syria and other issues we are acting together with the Russian
Federation,” the President of Belarus said.

SARKISYAN UNLIKELY TO BE REPLACED – 1

Vetsnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 24 2013

24 September 2013 – 11:00am

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sarkisyan is still in the center of
criticism of political, expert, and journalist circles. The Premier and
his government are accused of numerous mistakes, including the highest
level of monopolization of economy, growing prices, unemployment,
poverty and emigration.

The government and the Premier are criticized for non-fulfillment
of their promises to fight major monopolies. Monopolies continue to
improve their position. “It is impossible to stop migration in the
state which doesn’t plan to spend money and where oligarchs don’t
intend to invest their revenues into the country’s economy. The only
hope is that people will leave the country to earn some money,” the
former prime minister (1992-1996), MP from the opposition fraction
the Armenian National Congress, Grant Bagratyan, says.

“The economy is destroyed; poverty is huge; everybody escapes the
country, while the Premier smiles and sings songs. He should take
part in a waste-of-skin contest. He is an awful economist and an
awful singer,” says a member of the social-democratic party Ganchak,
Gurgen Egiazaryan.

Along with heavy criticism by the opposition, Tigran Sarkisyan is
still on focus of the off-shore row. Internet portal Hetq continues
publishing information giving details about the scandal. Meanwhile,
the case which seems to be typical money laundering is simply hushed
up – the off-shore row burst in late May, and now it is late September.

Moreover, according to information of the local mass media, two months
ago the National Security Service of Armenia sent a special group to
Cyprus for investigating circumstances of the off-shore scandal: to
gather information about Sarkisyan’s property in Cyprus and criminal
aspects in the Premier’s steps.

Why does President Serge Sargsyan prefer not to mention the story? In
Armenia when one is asked why the President doesn’t dismiss Premier,
people joke: “How can President dismiss Premier who is criticized
more than himself?”

However, the joke is truthful. It is quite possible that
psychologically Tigran Sarkisyan takes a part of protest attitudes
against the President. From this point of view the Premier is a very
comfortable figure. But this is only one of reasons. In fact neither
the President’s team nor the government has any clear plan on taking
the country out of the difficult economic situation. Probably it is
the main reasons for maintaining status quo without any changes in
many spheres, including the question on the Premier’s dismissal.

Moreover, any activities on taking the country out of the difficult
economic situation have to be directed against oligarchs. But as
the power involves clan and oligarchy capital, it is not interested
in changes. If the President intended to dismiss Tigran Sarkisyan,
it would be done after convincing information against him in the
off-shore scandal.

On the other hand, as a politician Sarkisyan is obedient to the
President, he provides policy which satisfies Serge Sargsyan and no
problems for him occur.

After Segre Sargsyan’s statement on the country’s intention to
join the Customs Union, the Armenian mass media began to discuss
possible shifts in the power. They are connected with appointment
to the position of the Prime Minister the pro-Russian politician,
the former head of the presidential administration Karen Karapetyan.

To be continued

ARMENIA: FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE GETS 14 YEARS FOR ALLEGED MURDER CONSPIRACY

EurasiaNet.org
Sept 24 2013

September 24, 2013 – 3:42am, by Elizabeth Owen

One of Armenia’s stranger political dramas reached a concluding
chapter on September 23 with the sentencing of former presidential
candidate Vartan Sedrakian to 14 years in prison for the attempted
murder of fellow former candidate Paruyr Hayrikian.

The storyline might almost fit one of the Armenian epic poems in
which Sedrakian is a self-described expert. Hayrikian, a Soviet-era
dissident, was shot and wounded on a Yerevan street on January 31,
a few weeks before the February 18 presidential election. After
considerable vacillation by Hayrikian, the election was not delayed,
but speculation over the shooting simmered on.

Sedrakian, who, like Hayrikian, was never considered a prime contender
for presidential office, was arrested in March for allegedly arranging
the shooting. He maintains his innocence and, according to his
lawyer, plans to appeal the ruling against him to the Strasbourg,
France-based European Court of Human Rights, a body which many South
Caucasus residents tend to look on as a sort of US-style Supreme Court.

He charges that prosecutors never identified his motive and that
the two men who allegedly attacked Hayrikian later withdrew their
confessions, RFE/RL reported.

The duo, Khachatur Poghosian, the alleged gunman, and Samvel
Harutiunian, received 14 and 12-year prison sentences, respectively.

Sedrakian, an occultist who predicted his own arrest, earlier had
conceded that both men had worked for him as house painters. Reasons
for his admitting such a detail if he had commissioned them to kill
Hayrikian have not been made clear. He initially lay blame for the
shooting on the Freemasons.

Hayrikian, who claims that he has survived six previous assassination
attempts, said, of course, that he doesn’t believe Sedrakian is the
brains of the operation, but that, at this point, “I care very little
about” the court ruling, Aysor reported.

Some critics may say the reason for that indifference is all too
clear. In April, in what many claimed was an attempt to hush up the
outcry over the affair, the government handed over 20.5-million drams
(about $50,000) to Hayrikian in recognition of his “contribution to
[Armenia’s] independence.” Officials maintained that the money was
for treatment of his wounds. With the case against Sedrakian closed,
the government now may well be heaving a sigh of relief. The attempt on
Hayrikian did little to reverse Armenia’s reputation for election-time
violence. In 2008, ten people died during clashes between police
and a crowd protesting election results that named Serzh Sargsyan
as president.

Sargsyan again swept the polls this year. Hayrikian finished with
just over one percent of the vote, while Sedrakian did not make it
to one percent.

ALL ARMENIAN BISHOPS TO GATHER TOGETHER

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 24 2013

24 September 2013 – 1:26pm

Armenia’s Echmiadzin will host a meeting of bishops and will be
attended by Armenian Catholicos Karekin II and Catholicos of the Holy
See of Cilicia Aram I today, News Armenia reports.

Vagram Melikyan, spokesman of Echmiadzin said that such meeting had
been held in Jerusalem in 1651. Bishops will discuss a wide range of
problems: baptism, publication of mass book stored at the Matenadaran
Institute for Ancient Manuscripts, restoration of the tradition for
canonization (the Armenian Church stopped the procedure in the 15th
century), secular and ecclesiastic life.

Participants of the talks plan to set a common baptism ritual.

ALEXANDER ISKANDARYAN: “THE KARABAKH PROBLEM DETERMINES THE PARAMETERS OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT”

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 24 2013

24 September 2013 – 2:58pm

Interview by Vestnik Kavkaza

Vestnik Kavkaza interviewed two well-known political scientists
from Azerbaijan and Armenia, Professor of Western University,
Fikret Sadykhov, and the head of the Institute of the Caucasus,
Alexander Iskandaryan, on the problems of the Karabakh settlement –
what current positions of the sides are today, whether Azerbaijan
and Armenia are ready for dialogue. Today we publish the interview
with Alexander Iskandaryan.

– Whose problem is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict today, only Armenia
and Azerbaijan or the region and the world in general?

– Of course the Nagorno-Karabakh problem influences the region and
determines many parameters of regional development. It influences
relations between Armenia and Turkey, Iran and regional countries –
Armenia, Azerbaijan; it also influences Georgia and so on.

The problem is not only between Armenia and Azerbaijan, even though
they depend on this most of all.

– Is participation of international moderators necessary or does it
only delay settlement of the conflict?

– International mediators cannot resolve the conflict without the
desire of the sides in the conflict. Of significant importance are the
positions of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh. But internalization
of the process, when not only an Armenian and an Azerbaijani are in
a room, but also a Frenchman, a Russian, and an American, enables
continuation of the process. International experience shows that
conflicts which have no such international channel between the sides
are settled worse.

– Are Armenia and Azerbaijan ready today for a diplomatic settlement
of the conflict? And who should make the first step?

– They are not ready at all. It depends on what we call a
settlement. Of course, if tomorrow Azerbaijan is proposed to deport
the whole of Karabakh and Azerbaijanis will settle the lands, Baku
will agree to this. Or if Armenia is proposed recognition of the
independence of Karabakh by Azerbaijan, Yerevan will agree. But this
is not serious! A real settlement means concessions from both sides.

It means losses. Azerbaijan is not ready for the losses which should
be in Azerbaijan. Armenia is not ready for the losses which should
be in Armenia. So, resolution is impossible today.

– Can a moment when a diplomatic settlement be impossible come?

– I hope not. Why should it come? The Karabakh conflict is unique. It
has never involved peacemakers. The situation which appeared in 1994 is
supported only because of an absence of separating forces. There is a
certain balance between the sides, which enables the status quo to be
supported and to continue negotiations. Probably someday opportunities
for a settlement will occur, the sides will be ready for concessions,
and some changes will appear. At the moment it will continue. The
conflict is young. The conflict over Kashmir has existed since 1949;
over Cyprus – since 1963; the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – since the
late 19th century… To resolve a conflict, generations are needed. It
is a big deal.

– Is Armenia ready to go against the interests of Karabakh in favor of
wider strategic interests at the regional and international level? For
instance, in favor of closer cooperation with Russia.

– It depends on definition of “going against the interests.”

Armenia cannot give away Karabakh or go against the will of the
Karabakh residents. There are two ways of approaching the Karabakh
conflict.

The first approach is treating Karabakh as a territory. This is more
common in Azerbaijan. There, Karabakh is considered as a territory
which Azerbaijan believes to be a part of its state and actually says:
“Give me back what belongs to me.” It is an approach to Karabakh as
to a piece of land. It exists in Armenia as well, but the leading
approach is treating Karabakh as people.

The second approach is that Karabakh is not a territory, but people.

And nobody can marry me without me. It is impossible to tell Karabakh
residents that they would now live so. It’s like me telling you that
from now on you will live not with your wife, but with a lady. It
is impossible. Karabakh is people, a land populated by people. And
Armenia cannot solve their destiny without them. It is not serious
talking about this. The conflict will continue till somebody in
the world suggests an alternative to the current situation. At the
moment the army and the configuration of borders are guarantees of the
current situation for residents of Karabakh. But to suggest anything
instead of it, some other security guarantees are needed, until then,
there will be no resolution.

– Is it possible that Azerbaijan would leave Karabakh to Armenia? For
example, in the 1990s the Megrin shuffle was discussed – Armenia
gives the Megrin Region and gets the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh…

– Nagorno-Karabakh is not a toy which can be exchanged. It is not
something you can take or give. All these verbs make Karabakh an
object, while Karabakh is a subject. Whether it is legally recognized
or not, that is a different question. I am a political scientist,
not a lawyer. But speaking about the political component, we cannot
ignore the interests of the people who live there, have their own
administrative principles, ways of supply, households, all institutes,
roads, drains, the parliaments, presidential elections and political
parties for 20 years. I think the perfect position for Azerbaijan
would be an attempt to attract these people somehow, rather than to
scare them that tomorrow we will buy armaments, start a war and take
away the territory because it is ours. In such a concept there are
no people. Armenia cannot ignore them. The brightest example is the
resignation of Ter-Petrosyan in 1998.

– Are informal meetings frequent between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

– The situation is bad. Meetings take place from time to time, but
there is a problem – the meetings can take place only outside the
region, i.e. in Tbilisi, in Europe, somewhere far away.

Unfortunately, for some reasons Armenian experts, analysts, political
scientists, representatives of civil society have no opportunity to
visit Azerbaijan. The last time I went to Azerbaijan was in 2000,
and not because I don’t want to visit it, but as a citizen of Armenia,
an Armenian, I cannot visit the country. Not just citizens of Armenia,
but people of Armenian origin cannot visit Azerbaijan. Even if they
are not of Armenian origin, but they have an Armenian name. Once a
Russian citizen with an Armenian surname, Kyurchan, decided to make
a business trip to Azerbaijan; he wasn’t aware of the situation at all.

And he couldn’t fly because he was told that he was an Armenian. He
said: “I am not an Armenian, I have never been there, I am a citizen
of Russia!” But he couldn’t. And when informal meetings have to
take place outside the region, it is more expensive and complicated,
from the organizational point of view. People who come to Karabakh
get onto the Azeri blacklist, and they cannot visit Azerbaijan any
more. I think it should be done vice versa. To prevent isolation and
paranoid ideas, Karabakh should be opened, rather than closed. They
have to try to work with them, to talk with the people. Finally, if
the Azerbaijani side thinks it is its territory, why can’t a citizen
of Azerbaijan go there? And he cannot go there. I think it is not
even politics, but unsuccessful PR. Thus, it is not easy for civil
societies to cooperate and try to promote new ideas. It is being done,
I do it for example. I have Azerbaijani colleagues with whom I meet
regularly, we work together, but in general it is not easy.

ARMENIA’S C.BANK KEEPS REFINANCING RATE UNCHANGED AT 8.50 PCT

Reuters
Sept 24 2013

YEREVAN, Sept 24 | Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:10pm IST

(Reuters) – Armenia’s central bank kept its key refinancing rate
unchanged at 8.50 percent on Tuesday after data showed annual inflation
went beyond the government’s target.

Inflation came at 9.3 percent in August, the central bank said,
up from 8.5 percent recorded in July, higher than the government’s
target range of between 2.5 percent and 5.5 percent for the whole year.

Monthly inflation in August was 0.3 percent, compared to inflation
of 0.4 percent in July.

The central bank raised refinancing rate to 8.50 percent from 8.00
percent in July. (Reporting by Hasmik Lazarian; Writing by Margarita
Antidze; Editing by Louise Heavens)

RUSSIA AND ARMENIA TO RATIFY DIRECT WEAPONRY PURCHASE DEAL

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Sept 24 2013

24 September 2013 – 7:12pm

Russia and Armenia are going to ratify an important agreement,
envisaging direct purchases from Russian military plants in the near
future, PanArmenian.net reports on Tuesday.

The deal will provide Armenia with exclusive rights. “There’s a
similar agreement with Belarus, yet it contains some reservations,
which the deal with Armenia does not,” the news agency cites a source
in the Armenian parliament as saying.

During the visit of the Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai
Patrushev to Armenia in June 2013 a military and technical cooperation
agreement was signed by the two countries.

The agreement stipulates that each side supply military products with
the same specifications as for their own armed forces. The agreement
also enables the supplier to exert control over the presence of
products and their compliance with the intended use to be described
in an additional treaty, PanArmenian.net reports.

According to another deal, Armenia and Russia will form a joint
defense enterprise as well as training centers for border guards
and emergency situation experts. With Russia’s assistance, Armenia’s
defense industry will launch production of ammunition and armaments,
as well as form a repair base for land, air and air defense forces,
the news agency informs.

From: A. Papazian