Author: Antonian Lara

                                        Tuesday, 
Karapetian Quitting Leadership Post In Former Ruling Party
Armenia - Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetian holds a cabinet meeting in 
Yerevan, 3 May 2018.
Former Prime Minister Karen Karapetian has decided to resign as first deputy 
chairman of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), it was 
announced on Tuesday.
The HHK spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, said Karapetian feels that he must 
resign from the party leadership because he is no longer “actively involved in 
political processes.”
“I find that very normal,” Sharmazanov told reporters. “Karen Karapetian is a 
mature politician. It’s up to him to decide whether or not to be the first 
deputy chairman. I respect that decision by Karen Karapetian.”
Asked whether Karapetian will also end his membership in the HHK altogether, 
Sharmazanov said: “There is no such decision at this point. There has been no 
talk of leaving the party.”
Karapetian took up the number two position in the HHK hierarchy in November 
2016 two months after then President Serzh Sarkisian appointed him as Armenia’s 
prime minister. He ran the government until Sarkisian served out his final 
presidential term and controversially became prime minister on April 17.
Karapetian remained in government as first deputy prime minister serving under 
a new, parliamentary system of government. The former business executive took 
over as acting prime minister on April 23 immediately after Sarkisian resigned 
amid mass protests against his continued rule.
The HHK-controlled parliament reluctantly chose the protest leader, Nikol 
Pashinian, as the country’s new leader on May 8. Karapetian has made no public 
statements since then. Some Armenian media outlets have claimed that he is 
considering setting up his own party.
In Sharmazanov’s words, it is not yet known whom the party, still headed by 
Sarkisian, will pick as its new first deputy chairman.
Earlier this month, the HHK lost its majority in the parliament following a 
series of defections from its ranks.
More Cash Seized From Sarkisian’s Former Security Chief
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Vachagan Ghazarian empties his bag filled with cash after being 
arrested by the National Security Service in Yerevan, .
Law-enforcement authorities confiscated a further $1 million worth of cash from 
a man who has long been former President Serzh Sarkisian’s chief bodyguard when 
they arrested him on Monday.
Vachagan Ghazarian was detained by the National Security Service (NSS) five 
days after other law-enforcement bodies raided his apartment in Yerevan and 
found $1.1 million and 230,000 euros ($267,000) in cash there. The money was at 
least deposited with the Central Bank of Armenia pending investigation into its 
origin.
Investigators said on Friday that Ghazarian and his wife failed to disclose it 
in their income and asset declarations submitted to an anti-corruption state 
commission. Such declarations are mandatory for Armenia’s high-ranking state 
officials and their close relatives. Ghazarian was among them until Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian dismissed him last month as first deputy head of a 
security agency providing bodyguards to the country’s leaders.
An NSS video released late on Monday showed masked officers arresting the 
formerly powerful general outside a commercial bank in Yerevan. He was then 
shown emptying his bag, filled with stacks of banknotes, in an interrogation 
room.
An NSS statement said the bag contained $120,000 and 436 million drams 
($900,000) in cash he withdrew from one of his bank accounts. It said Ghazarian 
claimed that he was going to give the money to its “real owner” but refused to 
identify that person.
The NSS said Ghazarian was also planning to withdraw another 1.5 billion drams 
($3.1 million) kept by him and his wife at another Armenian bank. According to 
it, he claimed that he “forgot” to add these large sums to his official income 
declarations.
Despite being placed under arrest, Ghazarian was not formally charged with any 
crime as of Tuesday afternoon. Under Armenian law, he cannot be kept in custody 
without charge for more than three days.
Ghazarian is the first person in Armenia who could be prosecuted on charges of 
“illegal enrichment” and/or false asset disclosure carrying up to six years in 
prison. He headed Sarkisian’s security detail for more than two decades.
Armenia’s new government was instrumental in a series of high-profile 
corruption inquiries launched against former officials and other individuals 
linked to the former Armenian leader. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has 
repeatedly pledged to “root out” endemic corruption in the country since taking 
office on May 8.
Pashinian discussed his anti-graft drive on Tuesday with the heads of the NSS, 
the Armenian police and other law-enforcement bodies. He told them to make sure 
that “this process continues more effectively” while “strictly” complying with 
laws and respecting human rights. According to Pashinian’s press office, they 
briefed the premier on their respective agencies’ “ongoing and upcoming works 
towards combatting corruption.”
Aliyev Again Threatens Military Action Against Karabakh, Armenia
Azerbaijan - President Ilham Aliyev speaks at a military parade in Baku, 26 
June 2018.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev talked tough at a military parade in Baku on 
Tuesday, threatening military strikes against “strategic” Armenian targets and 
saying that Azerbaijan will "reinstate its control" over Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We are for the peaceful resolution of the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict but 
[Armenia] has to understand that there is no military or strategic object that 
the Azerbaijani Army is unable to destroy," Aliyev said.
"The war is not over. Only its first phase has ended," he said, calling 
Karabakh "primordially Azerbaijani territory."
Armenia was quick to condemn the threats. “War mongering and saber rattling are 
irrelevant, deplorable, if not preposterous,” Foreign Minister Zohrab 
Mnatsakanian wrote on his Twitter page. “Inconsistency of language for internal 
consumption and at negotiations doesn’t work. Need a more responsible and 
sensible negotiating party across the table.”
Aliyev spoke at a major military parade marking what his government considers 
the 100th anniversary of Azerbaijan's armed forces. He stressed that Baku will 
continue to buy weapons abroad to strengthen its army.
Some 4,000 military personnel took part in the parade and 240 pieces of 
military equipment, including Belarusian-made Polonez and Israeli-made LORA 
missiles, were on display.
Senior military officials in Yerevan and Stepanakert say that the Azerbaijani 
military has deployed more troops along the “line of contact” around Karabakh 
since April. They have warned Baku against launching offensive operations 
there, saying that the Armenian side is prepared for any scenario.
There have been no high-level Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations since the 
recent dramatic change of Armenia’ government. U.S., Russian and French 
mediators indicated their intention to organize a meeting of Armenia’s and 
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers soon when they visited Yerevan two weeks ago.
Press Review
“Zhamanak” wonders why former President Serzh Sarkisian’s brother Aleksandr was 
freed on Monday several hours after being detained on suspicion of illegal arms 
possession. The paper suggests that law-enforcement bodies may content 
themselves with prosecuting only Sarkisian’s former chief bodyguard, Vachagan 
Ghazarian, for now. “It must be concluded that serious processes are underway 
in the country which on one hand provide answers to questions that have long 
preoccupied the public but on the other hand raise new ones,” it says. “One of 
those questions is as follows. The law-enforcement system is doing its job but 
what about the judiciary?”
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reports that the cost of various procurements made by the 
Armenian Defense Ministry is going down amid the ongoing crackdown on 
corruption in the country. The paper says this is particularly true for food 
supplies to the army. “This is noteworthy because the supplies are carried out 
as part of contracts signed before,” it says. “In other words, a number of 
suppliers have started delivering the same products to the Defense Ministry at 
lower prices.” Those prices have fallen by around 8 percent, it says.
Stanislav Tarasov, a Russian political analyst, tells “168 Zham” that foreign 
powers must act fast to prevent a possible escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict. “The dangerous thing is that I see no efforts by any foreign player 
to get the parties to the negotiating table,” he says. “Waiting [and seeing 
what happens] could prove more dangerous.”
“Zhoghovurd” says Armenian politicians and pundits broadly agree that any 
improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations will remain unlikely after Turkey’s 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected in a weekend presidential ballot. 
The paper argues that Ankara continues to make normalization of its relations 
with Yerevan contingent on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
(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

Arminfo, Armenia
French entrepreneurs interested in implementing investment programs in Armenia
Yerevan June 20
Alina Hovhannisyan. French entrepreneurs are interested in
implementing investment programs in Armenia, taking into account the
possibility of exit through Armenia to the markets of the EAEC
countries. This was stated by members of the France-Armenia
parliamentary friendship group during a meeting with Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan.
As the press service of the government reports, Jacques Marilossian,
who headed the group of French deputies, noted that positive changes
are felt in the country, including in the business environment. He
noted that the evidence of this is the opinion of French entrepreneurs
doing business in Armenia.
"I am confident that the changes will attract new investments to
Armenia from France. Any foreign investor in our country will not have
any problems and should work in equal conditions. We are aware of the
great responsibility that has been assumed by the people, and in this
regard we hope for the assistance of our external partners interested
in the economic and democratic development of Armenia, "the prime
minister said.
At the same time, Pashinyan noted that the parliamentary diplomacy
plays an important role in the Armenian-French relations and expressed
hope that the bilateral cooperation will continue to deepen at various
international venues. The prime minister, recalling Armenia's
transition to a parliamentary form of government, in this connection
stressed the importance of strengthening inter-parliamentary ties.
Speaking about the Francophonie, which will be held this fall in
Yerevan, the premier assured that the event will be held at a high
level.
According to the source, during the meeting the parties discussed a
number of issues related to the development of the Armenian-French
cooperation in the economic, educational and cultural spheres.
According to the Armenian National Statistical service data, the
foreign trade turnover between Armenia and France in 2017 was $ 82.1
million, with an annual growth of 44.6%. In particular, exports
increased by 17% to $ 4.5 million, with imports increasing by 46.6% to
$ 77.6 million.