Monday,
Former Sarkisian Bodyguard Again Freed On Bail
• Anush Muradian
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) and his chief bodyguard Vachagan
Ghazarian (L), Yerevan, April 14, 2012.
A court in Yerevan has granted bail to former President Serzh Sarkisian’s
former chief bodyguard less than two months after he was again arrested on
corruption charges.
Vachagan Ghazarian, who headed former Sarkisian’s security detail for over two
decades, stands accused of illegal enrichment and false asset disclosure. The
charges stem from his failure to declare to a state anti-corruption body more
than $2.5 million in cash that was mostly held in his and his wife’s bank
accounts.
Ghazarian was obliged to do that in his capacity as deputy head of a security
agency providing bodyguards to Armenia’s leaders. He held that position until
the end of May.
Ghazarian was first detained in June after police raided his apartment in
Yerevan and found $1.1 million and 230,000 euros ($267,000) in cash there. The
National Security Service (NSS) said he carried a further $120,000 and 436
million drams ($900,000) in a bag when he was caught outside a commercial bank
in Yerevan.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals ordered his release from custody in July after he
offered to post a 1 billion-dram ($2.1 million) bail. The higher Court of
Cassation overturned that ruling on November 15 following an appeal lodged by
prosecutors.
Ghazarian’s lawyer, Armen Harutiunian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that the
Yerevan court agreed on Saturday to free his client on a much smaller bail
worth 50 million drams.
The decision came just one day after the Court of Appeals rejected Ghazarian’s
appeal against his pretrial detention.
Earlier in December, the NSS said that Ghazarian, who has the rank of NSS
general, has offered to pay the state as much as $6 million in compensation.
His lawyer confirmed the information.
Armenian PM Reports Gas Deal With Russia
• Artur Papyan
RUSSIA -- Russian President Vladimir Putin (Right) shakes hands with Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (Left) during their meeting in the Kremlin in
Moscow, Russia, 27 December 2018
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Monday that he has reached an agreement
with Russian President Vladimir Putin on new prices of Russian natural gas for
Armenia which will be set in 2019.
“Yesterday I spoke twice with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone,” he
said in a live Facebook transmission. “The theme of those phone conversations
was the price of natural gas supplied to Armenia. I can say that we found a
solution, at least for the foreseeable future.”
Pashinian announced that he and Putin agreed that Armenia’s national gas
distribution network owned by Gazprom will pay more for the gas supplied by the
Russian energy giant. Nevertheless, he said, the price will remain unchanged
for Armenian consumers as a result of “our certain internal adjustments.” He
did not elaborate.
Gazprom reported later on Monday that its chairman, Alexei Miller, and Armenian
Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian signed a deal raising the wholesale gas
price from $150 to $165 per thousand cubic meters. In a statement, the Russia
gas monopoly said it will continue to negotiate with the Armenian government on
“the structure of internal gas tariffs” in the South Caucasus state.
The Gazprom-Armenia network has paid its parent company $150 per thousand cubic
meters under a previous Russian-Armenian deal that expired on December 31.
Putin and Pashinian failed to agree on a new tariff when they met in Moscow on
December 27. Miller and Grigorian also reported no agreements after holding
talks in Saint Petersburg on December 28.
Gazprom-Armenia cut its retail prices for Armenian households and corporate
consumers in late 2016. Its chief executive, Hrant Tadevosian, complained in
November 2018 that the company has operated at a loss since then. It is not yet
clear whether it will be compensated by the Armenian government for the higher
gas price and the resulting of loss of revenue.
Pashinian insisted that unlike in the past Armenia will not incur any debts or
hand over any energy assets to Russia as a result of his latest understandings
with Putin. He said nothing about political concessions to Moscow.
Gazprom cut the wholesale price for Armenia from about $190 to $165 per
thousand cubic meters in 2015 and on to $150 in 2016.
Karabakh Parties Call For Kocharian’s Release
Nagorno-Karabakh -- Supporters of Armenia's arrested former President Robert
Kocharian demosntrate in Stepanakert, December 22, 2018.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s three leading parliamentary parties have called on
authorities in Armenia to release Robert Kocharian, the Karabakh-born former
president facing coup charges, from custody.
In a joint statement issued over the weekend, the Free Fatherland, Democratic
Artsakh and Movement-88 parties said Kocharian should be freed pending
investigation “given his considerable contribution to the establishment of the
two Armenian republics.”
The largest of those parties, Free Fatherland, is led by Ara Harutiunian, who
was Karabakh’s prime minister until June 2018. Democratic Artsakh is headed by
the Karabakh parliament speaker, Ashot Ghulian, while Movement-88 claims to be
in opposition to the authorities in Stepanakert.
Kocharian was again arrested on December 7 on charges of illegally using
Armenian army units against opposition supporters who protested against alleged
fraud in a disputed presidential election held in February 2008. He strongly
denies the accusations, saying that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is waging a
political “vendetta” against him.
Born and raised in Karabakh, Kocharian was one of the leaders of the 1988
movement for the Armenian-populated territory’s unification with what was then
Soviet Armenia. He became Karabakh’s top government official in 1992 during its
war with Azerbaijan.
Kocharian, 64, governed Karabakh until becoming Armenia’s prime minister in
1997. He served as the country’s president from 1998-2008.
The Karabakh parties called for the ex-president’s release two days after the
unrecognized republic’s president, Bako Sahakian, met with Pashinian in
Yerevan. Sahakian’s office said vaguely that they discussed cooperation between
Armenia and Karabakh “in different areas.” Pashinian’s press service issued no
statements on the meeting.
The two men met for a second time since Pashinian’s public spat with Karabakh
Armenian leaders which erupted during Armenia’s recent parliamentary election
campaign.
One of the Armenian premier’s key political allies, Sasun Mikaelian, declared
during the campaign that this spring’s protest movement that brought Pashinian
to power was more important than the Armenian victory in the 1991-1994 war for
Karabakh.
Mikaelian’s remark was condemned by Armenian opposition politicians as well as
senior officials in Stepanakert, including the spokesmen for Sahakian and
General Levon Mnatsakanian, the then commander of Karabakh’s Armenian-backed
army.
Pashinian accused the critics of misinterpreting what Mikaelian meant to say.
He specifically lambasted the Karabakh leadership, accusing it of “meddling” in
the Armenian parliamentary race.
Mnatsakanian was sacked on December 14.
Armenian Defense Chief Visits Russian Troops
Armenia -- Russian troops in Armenia march at their headquarters in Gyumri,
December 29, 2018.
Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan praised the Russian military base in Armenia and
its geopolitical role when he visited its headquarters in Gyumri on Saturday.
Tonoyan attended and addressed an official ceremony there marking the 77th
anniversary of the establishment of the Russian military unit.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, he said in a speech that the
Russian military presence in Armenia “stems from the long-term strategic and
political interests of our countries.”
“Davit Tonoyan stressed the importance of the military base’s role in
maintaining regional stability and expressed confidence that the close
[Russian-Armenian] partnership will continue to be strong and fruitful,” read a
ministry statement.
Armenia - Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan inspects the uniform and
equipment of a Russian soldier in Gyumri, December 29, 2018.
The Russian base numbers up to 5,000 troops mainly deployed along Armenia’s
closed border with Turkey. It has hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, and
artillery systems as well as over a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets. Moscow has
bolstered the base with helicopter gunships and other military hardware since a
2010 Russian-Armenian agreement extended its basing rights in Armenia to 2044.
Armenian leaders have long said that Armenia hosts Russian troops on its
territory primarily because of a perceived security threat from Turkey. From
Yerevan’s perspective, they preclude Turkey’s direct military intervention on
Azerbaijan’s side in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Troops from the base and the Armenian army’s Fifth Corps make up a joint
Russian-Armenian military force originally set up in 2000. Moscow and Yerevan
signed in November 2016 an agreement designed to upgrade its mission and
ascertain its command-and-control structure.
The Russian-Armenian United Grouping of Troops most recently held exercises in
October. Tonoyan watched them together with other senior military officials.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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