Monday, January 29, 2017 Sarkisian Vows To Implement Defense Plan For 2018-2024 . Sisak Gabrielian Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian gives a speech at the Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan, 27 January 2018. With just over two months to go before the end of his final term, President Serzh Sarkisian pledged at the weekend to personally help to implement a seven-year program of modernizing Armenia's armed forces. "We will continue to consistently enhance the combat readiness of our army," Sarkisian said in a speech delivered at the Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan. "To that end, we have adopted a seven-year program of modernizing the army which we will put into practice in accordance with a timetable." "I personally will spare no effort to ensure that our army becomes more modern and stronger," he added during an official ceremony to mark the 26th anniversary of the official creation of the Armenian military. He did not specify in what capacity he will be doing that. Sarkisian's second and final five-year presidential term will end on April 9. It will be immediately followed by Armenia's transition to a parliamentary system of government. Most of the existing presidential powers, including that of army commander-in-chief, will be transferred to the next Armenian prime minister. Local observers believe that the outgoing president, who leads the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), will remain in power in one way or another. Many of them think that he will become prime minister. Sarkisian himself has not clarified his political plans yet. The seven-year plan cited by him was drawn up by the Armenian Defense Ministry earlier this month. It has not yet been formally endorsed by the head of state. Speaking to reporters at Yerablur, Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian declined to divulge any details of the unpublicized document."There is a different format for doing that," he said. "We will definitely address it." The Armenian president said in October that the plan in question will call, among other things, for sizable annual increases in defense spending. It is projected to rise by about 18 percent to 247 billion drams ($515 million) this year. Armenian Health Ministry Seeks Heavy Fines For Smoking . Anush Muradian Armenia - An anti-smoking campaigner talks to passersby in Yerevan, 31May2011. The Armenian Ministry of Health has drafted a bill that would introduce a blanket ban on smoking in cafes, restaurants and other public places and impose heavy fines on people violating it. The bill posted on a government website is part of the ministry's efforts to reduce the large number smokers in Armenia blamed by medics for the country's high incidence of lung cancer. According to ministry estimates, 55 percent of Armenian men are regular smokers. The smoking rate among women in the socially conservative society is much lower: 3 percent. It is considerably higher in Yerevan where around 10 percent of women aged between 30 and 40 are tobacco addicts. The Armenian authorities already took a set of anti-smoking measures over a decade ago. A special law that came into force in 2005 banned smoking in hospitals, cultural and educational institutions and public buses. Additional restrictions introduced a year later required other entities, including bars and restaurants, to allow smoking only in special secluded areas. But with no legal sanctions put in place against their violation, those measures have proved largely ineffectual. The new bill would extend the ban to cafes, bars, restaurants, government offices and even elevators. People caught smoking there would be fined 250,000 drams ($520), a figure exceeding the average monthly salary in the country. A repeat offense detected within three months would carry an even heavier fine: 500,000 drams. Smoking inside public buses or minibuses and even at bus stops would be punishable by 100,000 drams. The fine for smoking bus drivers would be set at only 50,000 drams. The bill, which the Ministry of Health has submitted to the Armenian cabinet for approval, also calls for some restrictions on sales of cigarettes and a ban on any form of tobacco advertising. Armenian TV and radio stations were banned from airing cigarette ads several years ago. People randomly interviewed by RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in Yerevan on Monday generally approved of the proposed anti-smoking measures, while objecting to the proposed amount of fines. "It's definitely about health and it's is very good," said one smoking man. "In my view, it's the right thing to do," agreed another male smoker. "But how are they going to enforce the fines? The figure is too high. But I think they would be right to fine people." "Let them fine smokers. The state will get richer," another Yerevan resident commented with sarcasm. A middle-aged minibus driver criticized the proposed penalty for fellow drivers smoking at the wheel."Fining is a wrong solution," he said. "In this nervous job, people smoke to calm their nerves." Armenian Ratification Of Key Deal With EU Imminent, Says Nalbandian . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian speaks at a news conference in Yerevan, . Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian confirmed on Monday that the Armenian parliament will likely ratify by the end of March an extensive agreement on deepening Armenia's political and economic ties with the European Union. The chairman of the parliament's foreign relations committee, Armen Ashotian, predicted the impending ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) when he spoke RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on January 10. "Armenia has stated that it is taking steps to ratify this document before April," Nalbandian told a news conference. "But we are looking further. We hope that it will also be ratified by other European countries." One EU member state, Estonia, has already ratified the CEPA. The 350-page agreement also needs to be endorsed by all other EU member states as well as the European Parliament. But some of its provisions can be implemented even before the ratification process is complete. Nalbandian emphasized this fact. "That may start on May 1 or June 1," he said of the CEPA's provisional implementation which is conditional on Armenian parliamentary ratification. The minister also described the deal as an "important milestone" in Armenia's relations with the EU. Under the CEPA, the Armenian government is to carry out political reforms aimed at democratizing the country's political system and boosting human rights protection. It must also gradually "approximate" Armenian economic laws and regulations to those of the EU. President Serzh Sarkisian set up on December 25 an ad hoc government commission tasked with ensuring Yerevan's compliance with the deal. Sarkisian's Preferred Successor Starts Talks With Armenian Parties . Ruzanna Stepanian . Sisak Gabrielian Armenia - Former Prime Minister Armen Sarkissian visits Echmiadzin, 18 October 2012. The outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian's preferred successor met lawmakers representing the ruling Republican Party (HHK) on Monday at the start of political consultations which he has said will help him decide whether to become Armenia's next president. The HHK's governing board unanimously accepted on January 19 Sarkisian's proposal to nominate Armen Sarkissian (no relation), Armenia's ambassador to Britain, for the post. The latter did not immediately accept the nomination. He said he needs to talk to major political parties, civic groups, prominent intellectuals and "business circles" before making a "final decision." Sarkissian, who had briefly served as Armenian prime minister, repeated that statement when he was approached by reporters after the meeting with members of the HHK's parliamentary faction. He refused to comment further. Sarkissian met with leaders of the HHK's junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, later in the evening. The HHK's parliamentary leader, Vahram Baghdasarian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) earlier in the day that he and his colleagues expect their potential presidential candidate to give a short speech before answering their questions. He made clear that the ruling party will continue to support his candidacy regardless of the course of the meeting. "Armen Sarkissian could get clearer ideas as a result of this meeting," said Baghdasarian. "This is why he will be meeting with political forces." Armenia - Armen Sarkissian meeting representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in Yerevan, . The next Armenian president will be elected by the parliament, rather than popular vote, and unlike the previous heads of state, will have largely ceremonial powers. President Sarkisian expressed hope on January 19 that should he decide to accept the HHK nomination the former prime minister would try to win the backing of the three other political groups represented in the National Assembly. One of them, the opposition Yelk alliance, has already made clear that it would vote against Armen Sarkissian. Yelk's Edmon Marukian said on Monday that he and other leaders of the bloc have nonetheless accepted Sarkissian's proposal to meet. The meeting will take place next week, said Marukian. It is not clear when Sarkissian will meet with representatives of the Tsarukian Bloc, the second largest parliamentary force which also claims to be in opposition to the government. According to a senior Tsarukian Bloc member, Mikael Melkumian, no agreements to that effect have been reached yet. Sarkissian, 64, has lived in London for nearly three decades. A physicist and mathematician by education, he worked at the Cambridge University before being appointed as newly independent Armenia's first ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1991. He served as prime minister for four months in 1996-1997 before being again named ambassador in London in 1998. Sarkissian's second ambassadorial term was cut short in 1999 by then President Robert Kocharian. The ex-premier stayed in the UK and made a big fortune there in the following years. He was named ambassador for a third time in 2013. Press Review (Saturday, January 27) "Zhamanak" looks at possible reasons why a new plan to modernize Armenia's armed forces, which is due to be approved by President Serzh Sarkisian, will span a seven-year period. "Generally speaking, seven years is probably the length of time envisioned by Serzh Sarkisian for the continuation of his rule," writes the paper. "If there are elections in Armenia during which no vote bribes are handed out, the ruling party does not abuse its administrative resources, opposition forces are not pressurized, that will surely be a successful test of maturity for our country," writes "Haykakan Zhamanak." "Or if the scale of corruption in Armenia substantially falls, the pace emigration significantly decreases, the poverty rate falls noticeably, government officials stop engaging in business activities, economic competition rises sharply, courts administer even a bit of justice, impunity is eliminated and the quality of education improves. These are probably the other tests. Our independent state, which is nearly 30 years old, is still failing to pass those maturity tests for one simple reason: these are not regarded as important subjects by the Armenian authorities." "Hraparak" wonders if Armenians will take to the streets this spring to voice their grievances to the authorities. "Are people different and are their leaders solving totally different issues now?" asks the paper. "Zhoghovurd" claims that the Armenian government is "jubilant" about official statistics showing that economic growth in Armenia sharply accelerated last year. "The government is also buoyed by foreign trader indicators," says the paper. "The rise [in foreign trade in 2017] came in at 26.9 percent. Exports rose by 25.2 percent and imports by 27.8 percent." But, it says, Armenian exports are still dwarfed by imports. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org