Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at the ceremony held at the Russian Volunteer 2017 that he would nominate his candidacy for the presidency.
This is reported by Ria Novosti.
The next presidential election in March 2018 will start in December.
Vladimir Putin occupied the post of the RF President from 7 March 2000 to 7 May 2008, and then from May 7, 2012 tll today.
MS-Word document
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Wednesday What Caused Failure of Aviation Agreement between Azerbaijan and EU Baku / 29.11.17 / Turan: Despite the expected signing of an aviation agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union in Brussels during the Eastern Partnership summit on November 24, which had been announced by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammadguliyev, that did not take place. Of the Eastern Partnership program participants, only Azerbaijan and Belarus have not signed such an agreement. From the Caucasus countries, Georgia signed an aviation agreement in 2010, and Armenia signed it during the Brussels summit. It should be noted that this agreement is standard for the Eastern Partnership countries. For example, the agreement with Georgia on a single airspace provides for the development of a common aviation space between Georgia and the EU within two years after its signing on the basis of rules in the fields of flight and aviation security. Georgia will harmonize its legislation with the European standards and aviation regulations in such areas as flight safety, the environment, consumer protection, air traffic management, and economic regulation. According to the signed agreement, all the EU airlines will be able to fly direct to Georgia from any point of the EU, like Georgian air carriers. The agreement will remove all restrictions on prices and the number of weekly flights between Georgia and the EU. In other words, the country's aviation market should be open to the EU companies, and given the monopolistic nature of AZAL, the failure of signing the agreement for some reason is not surprising. First, the EU would not agree with the monopoly on the part of the national air carrier, and the treaty, as in the cases with Georgia and Armenia, would say about open airspace. On the other hand, given the anti-protectionist policy of the EU, it is unlikely that Brussels will agree with the continuation of state subsidies for AZAL. It should be noted that only direct subsidies for AZAL from the state budget are 10 million manat a year. The EU also prohibits the concentration of the airport and the national carrier in one hand, which is observed in Azerbaijan. Turan previously repeatedly wrote that the airport should be separated from the air carrier and the head of the airport should be a person independent of the President of AZAL, Jahangir Askerov ( /118339.htm). Negotiations with the EU are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the national government. And given the possibility of AZAL"s pressure on the government, one can understand why the agreement was not signed in Brussels. AZAL will not agree with the access of European companies, especially low-cost ones, to Azerbaijan"s airspace, as after that it would have to yield in the price policy. As a result, AZAL and its powerful leader have won. And the citizens of Azerbaijan have lost, as they continue to face the price disgrace of the national air carrier. Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Hikmet Hajiyev, in an interview with Turan said negotiations on the agreement are continuing. "The constructive negotiations are continuing between the parties. In the final document of the summit there was also a reference to this agreement," Hikmet Hajiyev said. -71D-
Tuesday, Armenian Government Cuts Major Reproductive Health Program . Narine Ghalechian Armenia - Inside the Erebuni hospital in Yerevan Couples with infertility in Armenia will not be able to benefit from a major state-funded reproductive health program next year after the government has excluded it from the 2018 state budget, casting doubts on its cost efficiency. Artificial fertility is an expensive medical treatment and procedure that most families in Armenia cannot afford. In 2015, the government decided to help couples who cannot conceive a child otherwise by covering the costs of the treatment. Initially, 35 couples were chosen as beneficiaries of the program and 50 million drams (over $100,000) were earmarked to finance it. Speaking during budget discussions in the National Assembly last week, Health Minister Levon Altunian suggested that on the average 12 million drams (some $25,000) were spent for one child that was eventually born under that program. "We have numerous other programs that are more effective for infertility treatment and these programs are now being considered," the minister said. Another reason for the suspension of the program, according to the official, is difficulties in objectively assessing the couples that really need it. "As soon as we can apply some principles of an objective approach, we will think about restarting this program," Altunian promised. In response to an RFE/RL Armenian Service inquiry the Armenian Ministry of Health said that in the period of 2016-2017, eight children were born under the state-assisted program of artificial fertilization. Another woman who has benefited from the program is currently pregnant. Data received from three Yerevan hospitals involved in the program shows, however, that during the same period 37 children were born under the program in question. A 38-year-old woman from Tavush in northeastern Armenia is one of the beneficiaries of the program. The woman who asked RFE/RL not to disclose her name five months ago gave birth to a child conceived through an extracorporeal fertilization technique. She says before that she spent years for treatment during which she had to frequently travel capital Yerevan. She says her family could not afford artificial fertilization and so she turned to a relevant state program that covered the costs. "After receiving the treatment I went through an extracorporeal fertilization procedure and now we have a baby," she says. In one of his recent policy speeches Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian called for an increase in the country's population from the current 3 million to 4 million people by 2040. According to opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinian, cutting finances for programs like artificial fertilization does not contribute to the cause. "Instead of cutting this spending, the government should quadruple it," he said during recent budget discussions in parliament. Healthcare manager Arsen Torosian considers it a disaster that drastic spending cuts are planned for the sector in next year's state budget. "The entire state budget will be reduced by 14 billion drams (about $29 million), of which a 5.9-billion-dram cut is foreseen for the healthcare sector alone. It's like healthcare is an orphan," he commented. Armenia Supports Continued Talks On Karabakh Settlement . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian during a joint press conference in Yerevan, 21Nov, 2017 Despite Azerbaijan's unconstructive position, negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement should be continued, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said during a joint press conference with his visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan on Tuesday. "Armenia is willing to continue with the Co-Chairs, in a constructive manner, meetings at the level of foreign ministers and presidents," Nalbandian stressed following talks with Lavrov in the Armenian capital. "We have never refused to meet at the level of ministers or presidents," he added. Lavrov arrived in Yerevan on Monday for talks with Nalbandian and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian focused on bilateral relations as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. The top Russian diplomat visited Baku on November 19-20 where he also discussed the conflict settlement with the Azerbaijani leadership. Speaking in Yerevan, Lavrov reiterated that all elements of the settlement are on the table. "There are all elements for a resolution of this problem. These elements are summarized in numerous documents that since 2007, 2009 and 2011 have been deposited with the OSCE secretary general. Thus they are fixed as the co-chairs' proposals, they are still fully on the table and the only thing that I would like to underline, like I did in Baku, is that these elements have been formed into one package and it is very difficult to take one, two or three of them and say: let's come to an agreement based on them. Because in that case their balancing elements will be left out and there will be no result that all of us expect," Lavrov said. According to the Russian foreign minister, it is important that the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan spoke positively about their last month's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by the OSCE Minsk Group that Russia chairs jointly with the United States and France. "It is very important that this positive attitude should help us move forward in essence. The co-chairs are engaged in this. We, along with Washington and Paris, will analyze where we have reached, will try to make some active efforts to reach a settlement," Lavrov said. "I won't be too optimistic, it's a challenging task, and the whole experience of our negotiations comes to prove that they will not end quickly," the top Russian diplomat concluded. Armenia/Russia - Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian receives Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Yerevan,21Nov,2017 Later on Tuesday Lavrov was received by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian. According to the press service of the Armenian president, the meeting focused on bilateral relations that Sarkisian described as "genuinely allied". Lavrov also reportedly praised the current level of Russian-Armenian relations and briefed Sarkisian on his talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandian during which, he said, they "reviewed all directions of our alliance and strategic partnership." Opposition Member Installed As First Deputy Mayor In Vanadzor After Power-Sharing Deal . Nare Stepanian Armenia - Arkady Peleshian, newly elected First Deputy Mayor of Vanadzor, 21Nov, 2017 An opposition party representative has been elected first deputy mayor of Vanadzor after his faction struck a controversial deal with the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) to end a stymie in the work of a local municipal council boycotted by its majority opposition groups. Following an offer from Vanadzor mayor Mamikon Aslanian representing the HHK, the leader of the five-member faction of the Armenian Revival party Arkady Peleshian agreed to sign a cooperation deal to share "responsibility for the work" of the city's legislature. The move changed the balance of forces in the 33-seat municipal council of Armenia's third largest city in favor of the HHK and its junior coalition partner, Dashnaktsutyun, which together with Armenian Revival unanimously elected Peleshian first deputy mayor with 20 votes. As a result of the October 2016 elections in Vanadzor the HHK and Dashnaktsutyun were a minority in the legislature, but they managed to install their candidate Aslanian as mayor of Vanadzor despite the agreement among three opposition parties, Bright Armenia, Prosperous Armenia and Armenian Revival, to have another candidate elected. Aslanian then received 19 council votes cast in secret ballot, meaning that four opposition councilors secretly broke the ranks amid allegations of pressure put on the opposition parties. Since that ballot all 18 opposition councilors have been boycotting sessions of the Vanadzor legislature. But despite the lack of quorum, the 15 other, pro-government councilors have held sessions of the council and adopted decisions on its behalf since March. The Vanadzor municipality has insisted that those decisions are valid, citing an article of Armenia's Law on Local Government. By its November 10 ruling Armenia's Constitutional Court, however, backed the opposition claim that the article is unconstitutional and effectively gave until March 31, 2018 to redress the situation. Edmon Marukian, an opposition lawmaker and leader of the Bright Armenia party, said the only way to comply with the Court's ruling was holding new elections in the city, since the Court has effectively recognized that the municipal council has not functioned for as long as a year. The opposition Yelk alliance in the Armenian parliament, of which Marukian is a senior member, on Monday called on the central government to terminate the powers of the Vanadzor municipal council and appoint early elections. "Now, in fact, the government will show how far it respects the decision of the Constitutional Court," he said. Pashinian called the deal reached between the pro-government forces in the Vanadzor municipal council and Armenian Revival "an ineffective attempt to revive a dead body." He also claimed that the signing of the deal has exposed the force that ensured an HHK candidate's victory in Vanadzor's controversial mayoral election in October 2016. Armenian Revival denies breaking ranks in the vote a year ago. Meanwhile, HHK parliamentary faction leader Vahram Baghdasarian said on Monday that there is no need to turn to the government over the situation in Vanadzor. He expressed an opinion that sessions of the city's municipal council were held in accordance with the law. "It is another question that [the Constitutional Court ruling] mentions a contradiction between the Law on Local Government and the Constitution. By March 31, this law should be brought in conformity with the Constitution," he said, stressing that he sees no reasons for holding pre-term elections in Vanadzor. Armenian Ruling Party Rebuffs Russian Propagandist TV Channel . Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - Eduard Sharmazanov, a spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, giving a news conference in Yerevan against the background of HHK banners, 15Feb2017. Armenia's ruling party has dismissed as "ridiculous and ignorant" a claim made by a Russian propagandist television channel that accused the South Caucasus nation's government elites of glorifying Nazism. Zvezda TV, which is known to be the propagandist arm of Russia's Ministry of Defense, last week aired a program in which it, in particular, compared the logo of the Republican Party of Armenia's (HHK) to the emblem of the Third Reich and Armenian military commander and thinker Garegin Nzhdeh, whose ideology the HHK espouses, to World War II-era Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, claiming that "Armenia's ruling elites glorify Nazi collaborators." The program, in particular, referred to the fact that a statue to Nzhdeh was recently unveiled in the center of the Armenian capital, Yerevan. "Garegin Nzhdeh is one of the greatest heroes of the Armenian nation and monuments to him should be erected not only in Yerevan, but also in different parts of Armenia," HHK spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov, who is also a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament, told RFE/RL's Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) on Tuesday. "Armenia is a sovereign country and will decide itself whose monuments to erect," Sharmazanov added. Sharmazanov described comparisons of the HHK's logo to a Nazi emblem as "ridiculous and political blind", at the same time downplaying the fact that Zvezda is a television channel patronized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Armenia already heard serious allegations related to Nzhdeh from official Moscow shortly after a monument to Nzhdeh was inaugurated in Yerevan in May 2016 in a ceremony attended by President Serzh Sarkisian and other senior officials affiliated with the ruling party. "We cannot understand why that statue was placed," Zakharova said then, stressing that the Russian government is strongly opposed to "any revival, glorification or other manifestations of Nazism, neo-Nazism and extremism." Armenia - The statue of Garegin Nzhdeh in Yerevan Born in the Russian Empire in 1886, Nzhdeh was one of the prominent military leaders of a short-lived independent Armenian republic formed in 1918. In 1920, he mounted armed resistance against the republic's takeover by Bolshevik Russia in Zangezur, a mountainous region in what is now southeastern Armenia. Nzhdeh and his supporters ended the resistance and fled to neighboring Persia in July 1921 after receiving assurances that the region will not be incorporated into Soviet Azerbaijan. Nzhdeh was one of several exiled Armenian leaders who pledged allegiance to Nazi Germany in 1942 with the stated aim of saving Soviet Armenia from a possible Turkish invasion after what they expected to be a Soviet defeat by the Third Reich. Nzhdeh surrendered to advancing Red Army divisions in Bulgaria in 1944 after reportedly offering Josef Stalin to mobilize Armenians for a Soviet assault on Turkey. In 1948, a Soviet court sentenced him to 25 years in prison on charges that mainly stemmed from his "counterrevolutionary" activities in 1920-1921. Nzhdeh was rehabilitated in Armenia after the republic's last Communist government was removed from power in 1990. He is widely credited with preserving Armenian control over Zangezur. He is also revered by many Armenians as the founder of a new brand of Armenian nationalism that emerged in the 1930s. The HHK has espoused Nzhdeh's Tseghakron ideology, which puts the emphasis on armed self-defense and self-reliance, ever since it was set up in the early 1990s. The HHK's current coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), which is one of the oldest Armenian political parties, also espouses Nzhdeh's teachings. Senior HHK figures rejected the Russian criticism back in 2016, downplaying Nzhdeh's collaboration with Nazi Germany and insisting that he is an Armenian national hero. The Russian Foreign Ministry later softened its stance on the matter, with its spokesperson Zakharova saying that the Armenian authorities' decision to place Garegin Nzhdeh's statue in the center of Yerevan was "Armenia's internal affair." In lambasting "certain ruling elites" in Armenia, Russia's Zvezda TV specifically pointed to a new accord that Armenia plans to sign with the European Union at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels on November 24. HHK spokesman Sharmazanov has refused to be drawn on whether the kind of program on Russian TV may indicate some dissatisfaction existing among the Russian leadership regarding Yerevan's planned deal with the EU. Officials in Armenia have repeatedly stated that their relations with Brussels do not affect Yerevan's allied relations with Moscow or jeopardize the South Caucasus nation's membership in the Russian-led trade bloc. Later on Tuesday Sharmazanov said that Zvezda TV had sent an official letter to the Armenian side admitting that "incorrect statements were made" in its program. Press Review Armenian newspapers focus on the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Baku and Yerevan. "Zhamanak" comments on Lavrov's statements made in the Azerbaijani capital ahead of his visit to Armenia: "In Baku Lavrov made a number of remarkable and significant statements, saying that in the Karabakh settlement issue Moscow has the same position as Washington and Paris. In practical terms this means that Russia tells Azerbaijan to have no expectations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked about this earlier when after returning from his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi he told reporters that he had raised the issue of [Azerbaijan] regaining five districts [surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh], but the Russian president, while agreeing with this option, did not express a hope that it was possible." "Haykakan Zhamanak" considers Lavrov's visit to Armenia in the context of Yerevan's upcoming signing of a new accord with the European Union. "On November 14, [Armenian President] Serzh Sarkisian was on a visit to Moscow where he held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to experts, the visit could be connected with the planned signing of a new EU-Armenia accord and Sarkisian was to understand Russia's attitude towards this circumstance. It is difficult to say what Putin said to Sarkisian, but a repeat of the 2013 about-face has not taken place yet# Three days before the planned signing, however, pressure on Armenia is growing as Russia's foreign minister is visiting Yerevan." Talking to "168 Zham", Russian political analyst Vadim Dubnov insists that Russia and its allies in the Eurasian Economic Union do not consider the expected EU-Armenia accord to be a challenge like it was in 2013 when Armenia was going to initial an association agreement with the EU of a totally different quality. (Tigran Avetisian) 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
Minority schools in Turkey, of which there are 24 currently, are struggling to survive as the populations of their communities dwindle.
The representatives of some of these schools, which are today facing the risk of closure, demand resources are allocated more fairly to them and are given a status other than “private schools” by the state.
Turkish Minority Foundations representative Toros Alcan told daily Hürriyet that one of the most pressing issues they faced was that the Education Ministry considered minority schools in the country as “private schools.” But because minority schools do not seek profit, they suffered a “status problem,” he said.
“This is why the donations granted [to minority schools] are seen as income. It should not be forgotten that we are public schools,” Alcan said.
“In Turkey, the Greek population today is between 2,500 and 3,000. There are currently six Greek schools. In the 1950s, this number was around 60 to 70. In the 2000s, it fell to 10. The only institution opened in the last years is the Gökçeada Greek School,” the head of the Association for Support of Greek Community Foundations in Turkey (RUMVADER), Andon Parizyanos, said.
“Because they have no students left anymore, the Greek primary schools in the Istanbul neighborhoods of Kadıköy, Kurtuluş, and Feriköy have been closed down. Our education institutions are gradually decreasing in number. In places that used to swarm with children, there are only 50 students now. For the number of students to increase, guest students can also be given diplomas. Improving the quality of our schools and teaching the Greek language to mixed-raced children are important to us. Our income is not enough, the foundations are having financial difficulties,” Parizyanos added.
“Our only wish is that the contribution of Greek mosaics to the Turkish culture continues. The increase in the number of mixed-marriages and a decrease in the [minority] population have an impact on the decline of the number of students,” the head of the Zoğrafyon Greek High School in Istanbul, Yani Demircioğlu, told daily Hürriyet. Only 50 students are currently enrolled in the 124-year-old school.
Turkey’s Education Ministry offers tuition assistance for those attending minority schools, which is also the case for students in private schools. The ministry paid 8.7 million Turkish Liras ($2.2 million) for 2,685 students attending minority schools in the 2014-2015 academic year, 9.4 million liras for 2,681 students in the 2015-2016 academic year, and 7.2 million liras for 1,910 students in the 2016-2017 academic year.
Sixteen Armenian schools in Turkey
For Turkey’s Armenian community, the meager number of schools for their children is also a problem. With a population of 60,000 and 16 schools across the country, only 3,000 students receive education in Armenian schools.
“There were around 9,000 students in 25 schools at the end of the 1950s. Now, there are 3,000 students in 16 schools. When the education system in Turkey changes, it affects our schools, too. Because high school and university entrance exams are conducted by a centralized education system, parents want classes like physics and mathematics to be taught in Turkish, which we have the right to offer in Armenian,” Istanbul Dadyan Armenian School’s founder Arsen Arşık said.
Only one Jewish school
The only school in Turkey for the Jewish community is the Ulus Private Jewish Schools in Istanbul, which offers education to kindergarten, primary, middle school, and high school students. The total number of students is 600 at the school, which offers all classes in Turkish. Hebrew and English are taught as second languages.
Three students attend Büyükada Greek Primary School
Once a home for many Greeks in Istanbul, the Büyükada island, off the coast of Istanbul, hosts one of the six Greek schools left in Turkey. But the school currently has three students only, two of whom are seven years old and the other is nine. They have two Greek teachers and one Turkish teacher. The students do not use the original building of the school, as it had received severe damage in the 1999 Marmara earthquake.
The Greek schools, like other minority schools, are in limbo, too. Established by various minority foundations, the schools are tied the Education Ministry. In these schools, students are required to take Turkish, geography, and history classes in Turkish. Other classes such as physics, music, and mathematics are taught in Greek. The curriculum, however, is determined by the ministry. The ministry appoints some Turkish teachers to the schools and makes it compulsory for the school principal’s assistant to be Turkish.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, one of the world’s prestigious cultural centers, will host an exclusive exhibition presenting the historical and cultural heritage of the Armenian people in the 4th-17th centuries. The opening of the exhibition is scheduled for Armenia’s Independence Day on September 21, 2018.
Hayern Aysor, citing Asbarez Daily, reports that on October 22, facilitator of the Byzantine Section of the Department of Medieval Arts and Monasteries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Helen Evans provided details about the exhibition at Ararat Eskijian Museum.
“The exhibition will present the history and culture of the Armenian people starting from the early Middle Age and ending with the 17th century, including the adoption of Christianity, the Armenian alphabet created by Mesrop Mashtots and its impact, samples from the years of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, manuscripts of different centuries and the first print books in Armenian,” Helen Evans informed.
The exhibition will mainly feature samples from the Museum of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts-Matenadaran and the History Museum, certain treasures of Armenian medieval culture kept at the St. Hakobyants Armenian Church of Jerusalem, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia and the Mekhitarist Congregation. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and certain non-Armenian sources will also provide samples.
Helen Evans stated that this is an exclusive opportunity to present the historical and cultural heritage of a nation bearing one of the world’s ancient cultures through a modern method.
In order to protect the rights of conscripts, HCA Vanadzor will continue to provide the conscripts and their relatives with legal assistance, legal advice, clarification of legislative provisions, making necessary documents, conducting inquiries, appealing against court decision, and so on, during the winter conscription of 2017.
An organization can also apply to all recruits who have health problems and do not agree with the medical commissions’ decisions on their health status. In case of disagreement, the Organization will provide a medical expert to study the results of their medical condition and the conclusion on the basis of which conscripts can challenge the legitimacy of recognizing them fit for military service.
For free legal support you may apply to HCA Vanadzor ( Vanadzor, Tigran Mets St. 59) from 9:30 to 18:30 or call HCA Vanadzor Peace Program Coordinator Armine Sadikyan / 0322/4 22 68 or our free hotline 0 8000 12 11. Or you can write to [email protected].
HCAV
World-famous jazz musician, two-time Grammy Award winner Marcus Miller said on Thursday, October 26 that he put off his concert tour for participating in Yerevan Jazz Fest 2017, Novosti Armenia reports.
The annual festival will be held in the Armenian capital from October 26 to November 3, with Miller’s concert slated for Thursday.
The musician said he had heard rave reviews about the Yerevan Jazz Festival before he was given the opportunity to come to Armenia and take part in it.
Miller said all his creative team has arrived in Armenia with him.
This year the festival is dedicated to the Avedis Zildjian Company, which is an American cymbal manufacturer founded in the 17th century.
Four defendants: Zhora Zakaryan, Andranik Kocharyan, Karen Kocharyan and Davit Harutyunyan, who were charged with money laundering today, refused to give evidence during the court hearing on the caseof Samvel Babayan, the former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, and others.
One of the defendants, Zhora Zakaryan, did not even want to comment on the charge. Arshak Vardanyan, judge of the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan, asked “Do you insist on your preliminary testimony? Don’t you have a wish to give testimony here in the courtroom? Don’t you want to answer the questions?”
The prosecutor filed a motion to release the defendant’s preliminary testimony.
Andranik Kocharyan had provided Zhora Zakaryan with a 20 euro banknote to eliminate red spots but Andranik could not manage it. Then two banknotes worth 20 and 50 euros were provided. However, he wanted to erase the spots with another material and ask for money. The judge read his preliminary testimony: “I did not know how the banknotes were going to be used after I cleaned them. Andranik told me that his brother Karen had given him the money. I am not close to him, but I knew that the money belonged to another person. I did not know that the above mentioned money belonged to Samvel Babayan,” was said in Zhora Zakaryan’s testimony.
Andranik Kocharyan, in the testimony given in the preliminary investigation, accepted him as a partly guilty. He mentioned that the money had been given to him by his brother.
During the preliminary investigation, Andranik Kocharyan’s brother, Karen Kocharyan, said that Samvel Babayan had given him the money.
David Harutyunyan, one of the defendants, used his connections so that the fraudulent 5,000 euros was transferred to Armenia from the RF, according to the preliminary investigation body. According to the pretrial testimony, he received the money, but could not convey to Karen Kocharyan as employees of the National Security Service detained him.
Samvel Babayan, Sanasar Gabrielyan and Armen Poghosyan will give testimony during the secons session.
Being the leader of the political majority President Serzh Sargsyan will remain in the political arena and will be one of the most prominent political figures of the country, Vahram Baghdasaryan – head of the RPA faction, said in response to a question what will President Serzh Sargsyan do after April 2018.
“Serzh Sargsyan is the President of Armenia until April of 2018, and we have not had any discussion what will happen after April, time will come, we will discuss and will inform you. When time comes, Serzh Sargsyan personally will talk about it”, Baghdasaryan told reporters in the Parliament.
After the Constitutional reforms the parliamentary system of governance will come into force in Armenia starting from April of 2018.