Monday, Sarkisian Still Vague On Political Future Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisan has lunch with soldiers at a military base in Tavush province, 13Jul2017. President Serzh Sarkisian has again declined to shed light on his political future, claiming that "it doesn't matter" who will be Armenia's prime minister after he completes his final term next April. In an interview with the Armenia TV channel aired late on Sunday, Sarkisian did not rule out the possibility of becoming prime minister after the country's transformation into a parliamentary republic, which will also happen in April 2018. He at the same time praised Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's economic policies. Asked whether he plans to take up Karapetian's post, Sarkisian said: "I have repeatedly said and I have said it frankly # that I have never thought about what my next area of activity will be. I continue to think in the same way. There is still a lot of time [left before April 2018.]" "But does it really matter? It doesn't, right? Our county now has a parliamentary system of government. Who has the parliamentary majority will nominate the prime minister," he went on, referring to the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) headed by him. "Of course a lot depends on individuals. But Armenia no longer has a person-centered government, and I think our people deserve credit for that," added the president, who turned 63 on June 30. Most Armenian observers do not expect Sarkisian to leave the political arena after the end of his decade-long presidency. Some of them say he will likely become prime minister. Others believe that he will hold the reins of power in another capacity, including as chairman of the HHK, which won parliamentary elections held in April 2016. Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian and Prime Minister Karen Karapetian arrive for a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, 29Jun2017. A former business executive appointed as prime minister last September, Karapetian has repeatedly indicated his desire to retain his post next year. In recent weeks some Armenian media outlets have been rife with speculation about a rift between Karapetian and Sarkisian. Sarkisian dismissed those claims as "untrue" on June 6. He stated on June 29 that Karapetian's government continues to enjoy his "full trust." In his latest televised remarks, the president praised the government's efforts to speed up economic growth in Armenia by improving the business environment and attracting large-scale investments promised by Karapetian. "I do see positive changes in our economy," he said. "I see possibilities for an increase in investments, a substantial increase. This is very important to me. Processes matter to me and processes are on a positive track." Sarkisian said vaguely in March that he would like to "play a role, in some capacity, in ensuring the security of our people" after April 2018. He wore a military uniform when he spoke to Armenia TV in the northern Tavush province bordering Azerbaijan. He inspected Armenian troops deployed there hours before the interview. Armenia Seeks More Russian Arms Supplies . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - The Armenian military demonstrates a Russian-made Tochka missile during a parade in Yerevan, 21Sep2016. Armenia is discussing with Russia the possibility of obtaining another loan which it would spend on buying Russian weapons, Finance Minister Vartan Aramian revealed on Sunday. Speaking at a news conference, Aramian declined to specify the amount of the Russian loan sought by the Armenian government. He said only that Russian-Armenian talks on the issue began earlier this year. Two years ago Russia already lent Armenia $200 million for arms acquisitions from Russian manufacturers. The Russian government subsequently publicized a long list of items which the Armenian side is allowed to buy with that money. It includes, among other things, Smerch multiple-launch rocket system, TOS-1A heavy flamethrowers, anti-tank weapons and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. The Armenian military demonstrated Smerch systems as well as several other new weapons at a September 2016 parade in Yerevan. According to Aramian, the Armenian government has already spent $170 million of the low-interest loan. He confirmed that the arms supplies financed from the loan are carried out at internal Russian prices that are set well below international market-based levels. Armenia is entitled to such discounts because of its military alliance with Russia. Armenia - The Armenian army demonstrates Buk air-defense systems recently acquired from Russia as well as S-300 surface-to-air missiles during a parade in Yerevan, 21Sep2016. The close alliance has not prevented Moscow from selling billions of dollars worth of heavy weapons to Azerbaijan in the past several years. Russian arms sales to Baku continued even after unusually strong criticism voiced by Armenian leaders following the April 2016 fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. In televised comments aired over the weekend, President Serzh Sarkisian reiterated Yerevan's discontent with the Russian-Azerbaijani arms dealings while seemingly downplaying their impact on the military balance in the Karabakh conflict. "Nothing serious has happened yet," he told the Armenia TV channel. "If there are serious consequences at some point we could be able to accuse [the Russians.] If there are no serious consequences, we will regard that as the Russian side's long-term political effort to stabilize the situation in the region." Sarkisian also dismissed as "extremely dangerous" some Armenian politicians' and pundits' calls for his administration to revise Armenia's close ties with Russia because of the Russian-Azerbaijani defense cooperation. "When you say `revise,' with whom do you want a rapprochement?" he said. "With [NATO member] Turkey? And is everyone in NATO waiting with open arms for Armenia to come to them?" School Chiefs Drop Post-Election Lawsuit Against Civic Group . Astghik Bedevian Armenia - Children wave the ruling Republican Party's flags at an election campaign rally in Aragatsotn province, 20Mar2017. The directors of 30 public schools and kindergartens have dropped their controversial lawsuit against an Armenian civic group that tricked them into confessing that they are campaigning for the ruling Republican Party (HHK) in parliamentary elections. The Union of Informed Citizens (UIC) revealed in the run-up to the April 2 elections that its activists posing as HHK representatives telephoned 136 schools and kindergarten chiefs across Armenia. It said 114 of them admitted drawing up lists of children's parents as well as schoolteachers and kindergarten staff who pledged to vote for the HHK. The UIC said the lists were submitted to local government bodies or HHK campaign offices. It also publicized audio of those phone conversations. Armenian opposition forces portrayed the revelations as further proof of their allegations of HHK foul play in the parliamentary race. The HHK admitted that many school principals participated in its election campaign. But it claimed that they did so "beyond their work hours and work duties." The party headed by President Serzh Sarkisian also denied that they illegally pressurized their staffs and children's parents. Shortly after the elections, 30 principals filed a libel suit against the UIT and one of its leaders, Daniel Ioannisian. They demanded a formal apology and a total of 60 million drams ($124,000) in damages for the information which they said compromised their "honor and dignity." The legal action was strongly criticized by the Armenian opposition and civil society. The HHK defended it, however. A lawyer for plaintiffs, Harutiun Harutiunian, said on Monday that they decided to withdraw the lawsuit after one of them, Susan Galstian, publicly urged her colleagues to be "forgiving" towards Ioannisian's group. The announcement coincided with the first court hearing in the high-profile civil case. Neither the plaintiffs nor their lawyers were present in the courtroom. Ioannisian suggested that the principals' latest decision was ordered by the HHK leadership. "Our revelations amounted to an accusation of abuse of administrative resources addressed to the HHK, and it was the HHK, not the school directors, who had a problem with those revelations," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). But one of the plaintiffs, who runs a kindergarten in Yerevan, denied that. "It was my personal decision," claimed Naira Gevorgian. "I was angry with [Ioannisian's] actions at that moment but have now forgiven him," she said. In their final election report released last week, observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mentioned the UIC recordings in the context of "credible information about vote-buying, and pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies." First Anniversary Of Yerevan Police Attack Marked . Sargis Harutyunyan . Artak Hambardzumian Armenia - Flowers are laid at a memorial in Yerevan to police officers killed during a July 2016 standoff with opposition gunmen, 17Jul2017. The Armenian police marked on Monday the first anniversary of an armed attack on one of their bases in Yerevan, unveiling a memorial to three police officers killed during a two-week standoff with members of a radical opposition group. Meanwhile, hundreds of people rallied in the Armenian capital in a show of solidarity with the arrested gunmen, some of whom went on trial last month. The 30 or so gunmen seized the police base in Yerevan's southern Erebuni district and took several police officers hostage on July 17, 2016. They demanded President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation and the release of Zhirayr Sefilian, the jailed leader of their Founding Parliament movement. Sefilian was arrested on June 20, 2016 for allegedly plotting an armed revolt against the government. He is currently standing a separate trial on charges which he rejects as politically motivated. Security forces avoided storming the Erebuni facility during the standoff, which also sparked anti-government demonstrations by thousands of people. Instead, they shot and wounded some of the armed oppositionists. The 20 remaining gunmen holed up in the compound surrendered to the authorities on July 31, hours after freeing medics who were also held hostage in the besieged compound. The trial of the 18 key members and supporters of the armed group, which called itself "Sasna Tsrer" (Daredevils of Sasun), began on June 8. The defendants are facing a wide range of charges, including illegal seizure of government buildings and weapons and hostage taking. Two of them also stand accused of murdering the three police officers. They deny the accusations. The memorial to the slain policemen -- Colonel Artur Vanoyan and Warrant Officers Gagik Mkrtchian and Yuri Tepanosian -- was unveiled inside the Erebuni base at a ceremony attended by their colleagues and relatives. The chief of the national police service, Vladimir Gasparian, was also in attendance. Gasparian refused to talk to reporters after laying flowers there. Valeri Osipian, a deputy chief of Yerevan's police department who was held hostage in the sprawling compound for several days, also declined a comment. "Excuse me but I would like to stay silent today," Osipian told journalists. Armenia - People demonstrate in support of opposition gunmen who seized a police station in Yerevan in July 2016, 17Jul2017. The attack anniversary was also marked by hundreds of radical opposition supporters who gathered in Yerevan's Liberty Square later in the day. They marched through the city center, holding pictures of some of the arrested oppositionists and chanting "Sasna Tsrer!" and "Death to the regime!" Among the protesters was Zaruhi Postanjian, the outspoken leader of the opposition Yerkir Tsirani party. She said the Erebuni gunmen are "heroes" who took the first step towards the creation of a "free and independent Armenia." "The current regime is as dangerous as our external enemy," Postanjian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) during the march. Eduard Sharmazanov, the spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), denounced the Erebuni attack as a "terrorist act," however. "For me, attacks on our state borders and the police regiment [in Erebuni] have the same gravity," he said. "Not to mention the killing of Armenian officers. That is unacceptable and condemnable." Davit Sanasarian, an opposition activist who actively participated in July 2016 rallies in Yerevan, rejected Sharmazanov's characterization. "This cannot be regarded as terrorism in any way because terrorism is a process of mass murders and mass intimidation," Sanasarian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "Quite the opposite happened [after the seizure of the Erebuni police facility.] People turned out and applauded the rebels." Zhanna Aleksanian, a human rights activist, agreed. "The Sasna Tsrer probably wanted to wake up the people, to make them rise up. What they tried to do was an uprising," she said, accusing the authorities of unleashing "mass repressions" against the gunmen's supporters during the July 2016 standoff. Armenia - A general view of Erebuni police station seized by gunmen and supporters of fringe jailed opposition leader Zhirair Sefilian, in Yerevan, July 30, 2016 Aleksanian also said that the radical oppositionists opted for armed struggle because regime change through elections is impossible in Armenia due to chronic electoral fraud. Sharmazanov dismissed that argument, saying that parliamentary elections held in Armenia in April were not followed by customary opposition demonstrations against alleged vote rigging. "We don't need upheavals," he added. "We need a strong Armenia. A strong Armenia cannot be created by fratricide." The United States condemned the Erebuni attack, while urging the authorities in Yerevan to exercise "appropriate restraint." The European Union likewise said during the standoff that "the use of force to achieve political change is unacceptable." Press Review (Saturday, July 15) Lragir.am says that the April 2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh only intensified the Armenian-Azerbaijani arms race. The online publication says that the four-day hostilities also reduced chances of a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. "Hraparak" reports that Russia has stopped recognizing driver licenses issued by Armenia and other foreign countries. A law passed by the State Duma stipulates that only citizens of those countries where the Russian language has an official status can use their driver licenses in Russia. "It is not clear what the Russian language has to do with driving," writes the paper. "What is clear is that they are forcing us to recognize Russian as a state language and allow greater use of Russian," comments the paper. "How to stop this Russian attack to which there is no end in sight? After all, disadvantages of being within the Russian orbit are big while advantages insignificant." "Haykakan Zhamanak" quotes an Armenian driver working in Russia as complaining that the Armenian authorities are doing nothing to support people like him gravely affected by the latest Russian ban. "Don't they understand that we send money earned here to Armenia?" he says. "Aravot" carries front-page photographs highlighting the poor state of public transportation in Armenia. "During campaigning for the [May 14] mayoral elections, the municipal authorities were promising to put in place a new transport system meeting European standards," writes the paper. "For this purpose city officials have already taken concrete measures: they have attracted new loans. As much as 800,000 euros ($900,000) has been paid to international experts to look into the transport network and give advice. Two months after the municipal elections, no practical steps in that direction have been taken yet. It remains unclear when we will get rid of overcrowded and unhealthy minivans." (Tatevik Lazarian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org