Author: Ani Tigranian

                                        Tuesday, 

Armenian Government Reports Further Rise In Tax Revenue

        • Artak Khulian

Armenia -- Davit Ananian, head of the State Revenue Committee, arrives for a 
news conference in Yerevan, July 9, 2019.

The Armenian government’s tax revenues soared by about 25 percent in the first 
half of this year, the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Davit 
Ananian, said on Tuesday.

Figures released by Ananian show that the sharp rise was made possible by about 
63 billion drams ($132 million) in additional taxes and other duties collected 
by the SRC in this period.

Armenia’s 2019 state budget calls for a total of almost 651 billion drams in 
first-half tax revenues, up from 572 billion drams in the year-earlier period. 
The SRC surpassed that target, collecting over 713 billion drams ($1.5 
billion), according to Ananian.

Ananian cautioned that his agency’s performance will not necessarily be just as 
strong in the second half of this year.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian promised an additional budgetary revenue of at 
least 62 billion drams at a May 8 news conference in Yerevan. Meeting with 
foreign diplomats in Yerevan two weeks later, Pashinian said his government has 
already raised that sum thanks to “a little trick.” He did not elaborate.

Ananian likewise did not specify factors behind the surplus when he met with 
the press. The SRC chief reported only a 21 percent rise in the monetary value 
of cash receipts issued by Armenian shops, restaurants and other businesses in 
January-June 2019.

Pashinian regularly urges Armenians to demand such receipts when buying goods 
and services in order to prevent businesses from evading taxes. He has said 
that this is essential for the success of an “economic revolution” promised by 
him.

Pashinian’s government pledged to crack down on widespread tax fraud when it 
took office following the April-May 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” Armenia’s tax 
revenues rose by over 14 percent, to 1.3 trillion drams ($2.7 billion), last 
year. They were projected to reach 1.4 trillion drams in 2019.

Pashinian said in May that most of the extra taxes collected by the authorities 
will be spent on road construction. They have also allowed 10 percent increases 
in the salaries of schoolteachers and military personnel.

In Ananian’s words, the improved fiscal performance is also enabling the 
government to finance its recent decision to make healthcare free for all 
citizens aged under 18.



Iran Looks To Boost Gas Supplies To Armenia

        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Iran -- President Hassan Rouhani (R) meets with Armenia's Deputy Prime Minister 
Mher Grigorian, Tehran, July 3, 2019.

The Armenian and Iranian governments are exploring the possibility of expanding 
a swap arrangement allowing Armenia to import Iranian natural gas, Deputy Prime 
Minister Mher Grigorian said on Tuesday.

Under the commercial scheme launched a decade ago, Iran has supplied up to 500 
million cubic meters of gas to Armenia annually. The latter pays for it with 
electricity delivered to the Islamic Republic.

The rest of Armenia’s gas imports totaling roughly 2 billion cubic meters per 
annum come from Russia. According to the current and former Armenian 
governments, Russian gas has been cheaper, in monetary terms, for the South 
Caucasus state than Iranian gas.

Speaking after talks with Grigorian held in Tehran last week, Iranian Energy 
Minister Reza Ardakanian said that his country is ready to increase the gas 
supplies and also accept other Armenian “goods” in payment for them.


Iran -- Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian (R) meets with Armenia's Deputy 
Prime Minister Mher Grigorian, Tehran, July 2, 2019.

Grigorian confirmed that the Iranian side floated the idea during the talks. 
“Such an issue was discussed and negotiations regarding this will certainly 
continue,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “We expect that a group of 
Iranian specialists will visit Yerevan soon and I think that discussions on 
this issue will continue.”

“This topic needs further elaboration because it is quite interesting in 
itself,” said the Armenian vice-premier.

Grigorian said the Armenian government is interested in greater gas supplies 
from Iran because it believes they could cut domestic prices of gas and 
electricity. He made clear that “the most desirable option” for Yerevan is to 
continue to pay for Iranian gas with electricity, rather than other goods.

Armenia is currently building a third high-voltage transmission line that will 
connect Armenian and Iranian power grids. The new line, slated for completion 
next year, will allow it to almost triple power supplies to Iran.

While in Tehran, Grigorian also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The 
latter told him that the two neighboring nations should deepen their relations 
despite the U.S. economic sanctions against Tehran.

The gas issue was high on the agenda of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
February 2018 visit to Iran. Speaking after talks with Pashinian, Rouhani 
expressed Tehran’s readiness to sell more gas to Armenia.



Tsarukian Also Sees No Constitutional Court Crisis

        • Astghik Bedevian

Armenia -- Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian arrives for a 
parliament session in Yerevan, July 9, 2019.

Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian joined on Tuesday other 
opposition figures in defending the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court 
challenged by its newest judge and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political 
allies.

Immediately after being elected by the parliament and sworn late last month, 
the judge, Vahe Grigorian, claimed that only he and another judge of the 
9-member court, Arman Dilanian, can make valid decisions.

Grigorian argued that under constitutional amendments which took effect last 
year the Constitutional Court now consists of “judges,” rather than “members,” 
as was the case until April 2018. He said that the seven other members of the 
court therefore cannot be considered “judges.”

The eight other members of the Constitutional Courts, including Dilanian, 
dismissed the claims in a joint statement, saying that they “cannot have any 
legal consequences.”

Senior lawmakers from the BHK and the other opposition party represented in the 
parliament, Bright Armenia, also disagreed with Grigorian. The BHK’s Gevorg 
Petrosian said an article of the amended constitution makes clear that the 
court members appointed before 2018 can serve as judges until they turn 65.

Tsarukian also denied the existence of a constitutional crisis in the country. 
“I don’t see anything [wrong,]” he told journalists. “People can’t just wake up 
and express a thought or draw a conclusion so that things move in that 
direction.”

Grigorian elaborated on his claims in a lengthy letter to Armenia’s government, 
parliament and top judicial officials publicized on June 28. He urged them to 
help resolve the “crisis” and proposed three different solutions, including the 
election of seven new Constitutional Court judges by the National Assembly. 
None of those state institutions has officially replied to Grigorian’s letter 
so far.

Some parliament deputies from the ruling My Step alliance have publicly sided 
with the judge in the dispute. Still, My Step’s parliamentary leader, Lilit 
Makunts, said on Tuesday that the parliament’s pro-government majority has not 
yet formulated an official position on the issue.

“Our parliamentary faction does not have a decision at the moment as to what 
roadmap we will be following,” Makunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “We have 
certainly familiarized ourselves with the letter but are in no rush to come up 
with any solutions or proposals.”

“I don’t exclude that we will accept Vahe Grigorian’s proposal,” she said. “Nor 
do I exclude that we will propose our own solutions.”



Poll Shows Continuing Support For Armenia’s Government

        • Susan Badalian

Armenia -- Supporters of Armenian protest leader Nikol Pashinian gather in 
Republic Square as parliament holds a session to elect a new prime minister in 
Yerevan, May 8, 2018

One year after the “Velvet Revolution” that brought Nikol Pashinian to power, 
most Armenians continue to support his government and remain optimistic about 
their country’s future, according to a U.S.-funded opinion poll.

The nationwide poll was commissioned by the Washington-based International 
Republican Institute (IRI) and conducted in May by the Baltic Survey/The Gallup 
Organization and the Armenian Sociological Association (ASA). It was financed 
by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

The survey released by the IRI late on Monday shows, in particular, that 60 
percent of 1,200 randomly interviewed people across Armenia believe that their 
country is heading in the right direction.

Although the figure represents a 12 percentage point drop from the previous IRI 
survey conducted in October, the U.S. institute said it indicates a 
“significant expression of continued confidence in the new government.”

Accordingly, 59 percent of those polled said they would vote for Pashinian’s My 
Step bloc if Armenia held general elections next Sunday. Businessman Gagik 
Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) would finish second with 12 percent, 
followed by the former ruling Republican Party (HHK), whose top leader, Serzh 
Sarkisian, was overthrown in last year’s revolution. The HHK was backed by 5 
percent of respondents, making it the third most popular party.


Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends a parliament session in 
Yerevan, January 14, 2019.

My Step garnered over 70 percent of the vote in the December 2018 elections. 
The opinion poll suggests that popular support for Pashinian’s bloc has 
somewhat declined since then. It indicates slight increases in the BHK’s and 
the HHK’s popularities.

In the December polls, the HHK narrowly failed to clear the 5 percent vote 
threshold for entering the new Armenian parliament. Gevorg Poghosian, the ASA 
head whose organization carried out the fieldwork for the survey, predicted 
that Sarkisian’s party will attract a larger following over time because it is 
the country’s “most pronounced opposition force” that regularly and strongly 
criticizes the current authorities.

When asked about the Pashinian government’s biggest achievements, the largest 
proportion of respondents (27 percent) pointed to a decrease in corruption, 
while 11 percent singled out “the improved psychological state of people.” Only 
3 percent chose “socioeconomic improvement” as an answer to the question.

“Bad management” was the most frequent answer (22 percent) to a question about 
the government’s biggest failures. And almost one in ten respondents blamed it 
for “political instability” in the country.

Even so, as much as 72 percent of respondents were satisfied with Pashinian’s 
performance. President Armen Sarkissian, who has largely ceremonial powers, and 
the Armenian military had even higher approval ratings: 81 percent and 80 
percent respectively.

“The goodwill expressed by the Armenian people presents the Armenian government 
with an unprecedented opportunity to undertake fundamental reforms that 
strengthen the country’s democracy and improve the economic well-being of its 
people,” Stephen Nix, the IRI director for Eurasia, said in a statement.

“The government’s speedy delivery on reforms will be key to maintaining its 
strong public support and the momentum to press on with its agenda,” Nix added.



Press Review


“Hraparak” reports that a pro-government member of Armenia’s parliament, Hayk 
Sargsian, has demanded that law-enforcement launch criminal proceedings against 
several media outlets that have published reports critical of him. Sargsian is 
quoted as saying that those reports are not only slanderous but also pose a 
threat to the country’s national security. The paper ridicules that claim, 
saying that Sargsian does not seem know that libel had long been decriminalized 
in Armenia.

“The parliament deputy [Hayk Sargsian] does not realize that after getting 
elected to the legislative body one must be ready for being the target of 
harshest criticism,” writes “Zhoghovurd.” “Being a representative of the state 
authority is not only a pleasure or privilege but also responsibility along 
with a portion of inevitable criticism that comes with it.” The paper too 
dismisses Sargsian’s claims about national security threats. “The most worrying 
thing in this situation is the very fact that it occurred to Hayk Sargsian and 
his lawyer to have media outlets undesirable for them shut down,” it says. 
“This is a serious blow to not only the freedom of expression but also broader 
democracy in our country. One must revolt against this development. Or else, 
this precedent could be irreversible and everyone could ask the Special 
Investigative Service to shut down media outlets under the guise of national 
security.”

“Zhamanak” comments on recent days’ deadly car accidents which have rekindled 
public debate about the poor state of road safety in Armenia. The paper says 
that the Armenian traffic police alone cannot seriously reduce such accidents 
because “it is simply not possible to have so many police officers and 
surveillance cameras that would ensure a close monitoring of everyone and 
everywhere.” It calls for greater public awareness of the risks of reckless 
driving and the creation of a more adequate road infrastructure. “In this 
regard, nearly 90 percent of Armenia’s roads do not meet those [safety] 
standards,” it says.

(Lilit Harutiunian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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