Last weekend, a group of citizens and civil initiatives held a sit-in under the slogan “Reject Serzh”, blocking the roads leading to Yerevan’s Mashtots Avenue and Republic Square. Their demand was one: the current president Serzh Sargsyan should not be nominated as a candidate for the prime minister after April 9. “During the ten years of Sargsyan’s rule, Armenia has recorded a decline in all areas,” the participants of the demonstration stated. In addition to the approximately 20-minute sit-in, the protesters marched through the central streets of the capital, reached the headquarters of the ruling Republican Party and even posted posters on the entrance door and walls. Fortunately, all the actions of the protest passed without police obstacles.

…The members of the civil initiative were mainly young people, representatives of various public institutions and activists. As is known, on April 9, when the powers of Serzh Sargsyan as the President of RA will end, the National Assembly factions will nominate candidates for the Prime Minister within a week, and the election will be held the day after the deadline, with an open vote of the deputies. Although the Republicans declare that they have not yet discussed the issue of their candidate, but according to the participants of the demonstration, Serzh Sargsyan will become the Prime Minister, who, according to the new Constitution, will continue to rule the country at least until 2022. A figure who during the ten years of his presidency, around 400 thousand citizens emigrated from Armenia, the level of poverty increased significantly, the foreign debt increased by 5 billion dollars, and in the four-day war of April 2016, the country lost more than 800 hectares of territory. That is why there are centers of resistance in Armenia against Sargsyan’s future tenure as the de facto head of the state. The “Civil Contract” party, which is a part of the “Exit” opposition bloc, has developed a program map of the street struggle against the latter’s prime ministership, which, however, will not be joined by the other two political forces of the bloc, “Republic” and “Lusavore Armenia”. The representatives of the government hastened to announce the beginning of intra-union ferment in “Yelk”, but about that for another occasion. The “For Armenia State” front, which unites a number of extra-parliamentary parties, has also chosen a tactic of street struggle. Armen Martirosyan, a member of the initiative and the chairman of the “Heritage” party, was also in the ranks of the march last Saturday. According to him, the citizens’ demand is logical, and the initiatives fighting against Sargsyan’s “third term” can act with a united front. Unfortunately, the so-called “united front” is the most vulnerable point of the Armenian opposition. Time will tell if it will be possible to overcome the syndrome of sectionalism at least this time.

On March 26, the parliamentary hearings initiated by the “Tsarukyan” faction started in the National Assembly on “Forms of Prescriptions, Procedure for Writing Prescriptions, Dispensing Medicines, as well as Defining the Procedure for Accounting for Medicines and Pharmaceuticals.” As it is known, according to the decision of the Government, from March 1, a citizen should have a doctor’s prescription to buy drugs containing antibiotics, hormones and codeine. The sale of prescription-only drugs caused the dissatisfaction of citizens, a number of doctors and pharmacy owners. The government had partially suspended the decision to sell prescription drugs effective March 1.

…At a parliamentary hearing, many MPs expressed concern that banning the sale of over-the-counter drugs would encourage the growth of the “shadow” industry. In other words, in their opinion, banned drugs will quickly appear on the “black” market, creating shady opportunities. In the press, news has already been spread about the drugs appearing on the “black” market, people have been arrested, who illegally sold the drugs distributed to them with prescriptions. Deputy Minister of Health Sergey Khachatryan gave clarifications about the new order established by the government and the questions of the hearing participants. “When this order did not exist, the ministry was accused of not exercising control over the market, and drugs that were supposed to be prescribed were freely sold. In this case, I think that the Government’s decision, whether it is good or bad, is determined by the direct influence on a number of interested groups,” said the Deputy Minister. One can agree with the idea emphasized during the discussion that the goals of this decision may be good, but at the same time flawed. It causes panic among the public, medical institutions and pharmacy employees, who are particularly wary of the dangers of illegal sale of drugs. MP Naira Zohrabyan, for example, is sure that there are other dangers hidden under the Government’s decision. “With this, we will open a green road to the drug mafia. Because it’s no secret that we have many, let’s say, faces who import medicine, have their own hospitals and pharmacies, so they will direct people from their hospitals to the pharmacies where their representative will give the medicine imported by the given oligarch. Who doesn’t understand what this system will lead to, what kind of monopoly this system will lead to,” Zohrabyan said. The deputy minister constantly urged not to politicize the issue. “After saying one negative thing, don’t forget to mention 10 positive ones too,” was how Khachatryan responded to all tough questions. What can be said, uncertainties certainly exist in the context of the Government’s decision in question. For now, the public can be consoled by the fact that from October, exactly half of the more than 4,000 names of drugs registered in Armenia will be sold only by prescription. The other half, the most mundane and vitally urgent, will be available over the counter. At least, that’s what the industry official claimed.

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The Guardian writes that on March 26, more than 20 Western allies forced the deportation of dozens of Russian diplomats in response to the attack in Great Britain. “The solidarity shown is the biggest blow inflicted by the West on Russian intelligence networks since the Cold War. “More than 100 Russian diplomats accused of spying in Western countries will return to Moscow as a result of the agreed response to the March 4 chemical weapons killing of former Russian intelligence official Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury,” the newspaper writes.

As reported Bloomberg, UK takes notice of Putin and his oligarchs. “There are rich Russians investing millions in London, especially in real estate, who can also be Putin’s allies. There are signs that the UK government is looking for ways to target these oligarchs,” the newspaper emphasizes. Those wealthy Russians, according to the article, typically apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, which is reserved for people who want to invest £2 million or more in the UK. May talked about “illegal and corrupt finance” and hinted that it could tighten the rules that allow foreign nationals to apply for these visas.

Later it became known that Britain anti-propaganda war will begin against Russia as Theresa May unveils the new defense plan. The Telegraphreports that the Prime Minister has instructed intelligence services to use social media to counter disinformation as he vowed to use “every opportunity at our disposal to tackle the threat to Britain”.

President Donald Trump  demanded the deportation of 60 Russian officials and the closing of the Russian consulate in Seattle. US State Department  stated that Russia must be held accountable for its destabilizing behavior; “On March 4, Russia used military chemical gas in an attempt to kill a British citizen and his daughter in Salisbury. This attack on our ally the United Kingdom put the lives of many innocent victims at risk and seriously injured three people, including a police officer. Today, the United States is deporting 48 Russian officials who serve at Russia’s bilateral mission in the United States for violating the Chemical Weapons Convention and international law. We also demand that the Russian government by 2018 to close its consulate in Seattle on April 2. We are taking these actions to demonstrate our unwavering solidarity with the United Kingdom and to impose serious consequences for Russia’s continued violations of international norms… The United States calls on Russia to accept responsibility for its actions and demonstrate to the world that it can fulfill its international commitments and responsibilities as a member of the United Nations Security Council to maintain international peace and security.”

On March 26, 2018, an EU-Turkey leaders’ meeting was held in Varna, Bulgaria the meeting. The EU was represented by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov.

The leaders had extensive discussions about EU-Turkey relations and upcoming developments. In particular, they discussed cooperation on the management of migration flows, common interests in the fight against terrorism, the rule of law in Turkey, Turkey’s recent actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, and Turkey’s involvement in Syria.

Politicothe writes: “From Erdogan’s dismantling of Turkey’s democratic institutions to Turkey’s attempt to attack Kurdish forces in Syria, EU leaders fear that Ankara has become more of a problem than a partner.” However, despite all that, “both sides are mutually dependent.”

“Turkey needs Europe to keep the two-year deal on refugees, which is very important to manage the entry of Syrian refugees into the EU… What Erdogan gets from the EU can be summed up in one word: survival. Forget Erdogan’s rhetoric about anti-Turkish “terrorists” in Europe. The reality is that Turkey is almost completely dependent on the EU to keep the economy going.”

Before the meeting, Erdogan claimed. “EU membership remains our strategic goal.” However, as the author writes, “such comments, which do not coincide with Ankara’s actions in recent years, aim to reassure the Turkish electorate and financial markets that, despite the recent upheavals, the country remains devoted to the West.”

The TelegraphAccording to , the leader of North Korea went to Beijing to meet the leader of China, Xi Jinping. “The trip of the North Korean leader is the first trip after coming to power and the first meeting he had with foreign heads of states, which lasted from Sunday to Wednesday,” reports the newspaper. According to official sources, Kim Jong-un told Xi Jinping that he is ready to get rid of nuclear weapons and reaffirmed his willingness to hold a summit with President Donald Trump. “The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved if South Korea and the United States should respond to our efforts with good will, create an atmosphere of peace and stability by taking simultaneous measures to establish peace,” Kim Jong-un said during his visit.

The Telegraphalso reports that China reported the meetings to the US president. In response, the White House issued a statement that specifically stated: “The United States is in close contact with our allies South Korea and Japan. We see this development as further evidence that our policy of maximum pressure is creating an environment conducive to dialogue with North Korea.”

Prepared by Marina Muradyan