Author: Bedik Zaminian

Moscow does not expect any radical changes in Armenia’s foreign policy after elections to the parliament, the National Assembly, due this April, despite the country’s switch to the parliamentary form of government, Russia’s Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin said in an interview with .

“We consider that the elections scheduled for April 2, 2017 are rather interesting as Armenia is switching to the parliamentary form of government,” the ambassador said. “Under the country’s new Election Code, the opposition should occupy not less than one third of seats in the National Assembly.”

“At the same time, an important moment is the guarantee of a “stable majority” in the country’s parliament that should ensure continuity of the political process in Armenia,” the diplomat said. “Taking into consideration these facts, we see no solid reasons for Yerevan to change its foreign policy line radically,” he said.

US business magazine Forbes named Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin the most influential person in the world for the fourth time in a row, Sputnik reports.

The magazine also included US President-elect Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the list of The World’s Most Powerful People, granting them the second and the third places, respectively.

“For the fourth consecutive year, Forbes ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin as the world’s most powerful person. From the motherland to Syria to the U.S. presidential elections, Russia’s leader continues to get what he wants,” the magazine said.

The magazine ranks global state leaders, capitalists, philanthropists and entrepreneurs along four criteria. The magazine editors assess the extent and use of the person’s political power, influence and financial resources.

Dec 8 The European Union will soon let Ukrainians and Georgians visit the bloc without needing a visa after officials said a deal had been struck on Thursday to end an internal EU dispute that had been holding up the promised measures, reports.

Late-night talks involving EU member states and the European Parliament had reached a compromise on the terms of a mechanism that can be used to suspend the visa-free schemes in emergencies.

The two former Soviet republics are seeking to move further away from their former master Moscow and closer to the West but have grown frustrated that the EU was failing to deliver. After last year’s migration crisis, EU governments had grown nervous of popular reaction against a move to make visits easier for 45 million Ukrainians, as well as 5 million Georgians.

Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sargsyan met with Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanayee to discuss the ways of creating a free trade zone between Iran and the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), reports.

Tigran Sargsyan thanked Mehdi Sanayee for the opportunity to discuss trade cooperation and noted that the issue of the free trade zone remains a crucial aspect of the constructive dialogue between the Eurasian integration association and Iran. According to the Chairman of the EEC Board, Iran is one of the priority countries for the EEU to set up a free trade zone with. The Presidents of the EEU member states have repeatedly spoken in favor of strengthening relations between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran. “We believe that our mutual relations have a big potential for economic growth,” the Chairman of the EEC Board said.

Mehdi Sanayee, for his part, emphasized the seriousness of Iran’s intention in setting up a free trade zone with the EEU countries and reaffirmed his country’s interest in speeding up the process. “Iran maintains good trade and economic relations with all the EEU member states. We have every chance for efficient cooperation,” the Ambassador said.

Mehdi Sanayee also suggested gathering scientists and businessmen for a conference in Iran to talk over the operation of the EEC and the EEU, as well as the prospects of economic cooperation between Iran and the EEU states.

Photo: Reuters

 

Europol has warned that militants from so-called Islamic State (IS) will aim to step up attacks on European targets, as they face defeat in the Middle East, the BBC reports.

The European police force says more foreign fighters will try to come back to Europe, and “several dozen” capable of attacks could already be there.

Their tactics could include car bombs, kidnappings and extortion, it said.

But the report plays down the likelihood of attacks on critical infrastructure, such as nuclear sites.

It says that IS militants now prefer soft targets, and there is now a greater emphasis on “lone actors” such as the perpetrator of the lorry attack in Nice in July.

It warns that some Syrian refugees in Europe may be vulnerable to recruitment by extremists who infiltrate refugee camps.

Europe has been shaken by a series of attacks in recent years blamed on IS militants.

On the anniversary of the murder of Tahir Elci, Friends of Hrant demanded justice for the Kurdish lawyer, reports.

“The first step in the investigation on Dink murder was taken 9 years after the murder. We shouldn’t let something like this happen in investigation on Tahir Elçi murder,” the group said.

Jaklin Celik read the press statement on behalf of Friends of Hrant and reminded that Diyarbakir Bar Association Chair and human rights defender Tahir Elci was murdered a year ago: “There are many similarities between the murders of these two peace envoys, these two doves. The state has been trying to conceal both of these murders.”

Here is the statement of Friends of Hrant:

“We gathered here for another hearing of Dink murder case exactly one year after the murder of dear Tahir Elci. There are many similarities between the murders of these two peace envoys, these two doves. The state has been trying to conceal both of these murders.

Dink murder remained concealed for many years, though the evidence was staring in our face. They wanted to conceal the murder and abuse it for their political interests. This is still true. The public officials who have a hand in this crime started to stand trial 9 years after the murder. However, we know that the instigators haven’t been punished as they deserve. Just like Hrant Dink, Tahir Elci was also targeted by the dark forces of this country, which always manage to remain in power. He was shot to death in Diyarbakir that he loved very much; just like Hrant Dink was shot to death in front of Agos. They want to conceal the murder of Tahir Elci as well. Though it’s been a year since the murder, which was committed for all the world to see, still there is no suspect or concrete progress.

Here, some police chiefs will stand trial once again; they were so powerful once. Probably, they will try to put the blame on each other, just like they did in previous hearings. We will watch them. And we continue to demand justice until every one who had an hand in this murder is punished. The first step in the investigation on Dink murder was taken 9 years after the murder. We shouldn’t let something like this happen in investigation on Tahir Elci murder. We cannot let it happen.

We continue to call to account for these two doves of peace.

This case won’t be over, until we say it is over.”

The Public Services Regulatory Commission ruled today to cut the gas prices.

The price will be set at 100,000 AMD annually per 1 thousand cubic meters of gas for socially vulnerable families, which use up to 600 cubic meters of gas, and 139,000 AMD for those consuming over 600 cubic meters of gas.

Consumers using up to 10 thousand cubic meters of gas monthly will pay 139,000 AMD (down from 146,700 AMD) per 1 thousand cubic meters of gas, while those consuming over 10 thousand cubic meters of gas will pay $242.1 per 1 thousand cubic meters.

Different tariffs have been set for greenhouse economies and manufacturers of agricultural products.

The new tariffs will come into effect from January 1, 2017.

Kazakhstan’s parliament called on Wednesday for the capital city to be renamed after President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a week ahead of a national holiday dedicated to the 76-year-old leader who has the power to accept or reject the proposal, Reuters reports.

The unanimous vote in favor of renaming Astana adds to the growing personality cult around Nazarbayev who has run the Central Asian country since 1989.

Last week, Kazakhstan’s central bank said the portrait of the President would appear on a bank note for the first time, which enters circulation on Dec. 1, the officially celebrated Day of the First President.

Astana simply means “capital” in Kazakh and was given to the city in 1998 shortly after the government relocated there from Almaty, the country’s biggest city and commercial hub.

Lower house deputy Kuanysh Sultanov, who read out the proposal in parliament, said he expected Nazarbaev to respond within weeks.

Nazarbayev has rejected similar proposals in the past but appears in the last few years to be more favorable to such moves. Several monuments featuring him have been erected and a prestigious university and network of schools have been named after him.

 

 

 

“NATO and Armenia have a very reliable, steady and substantial partnership,” James Appathurai NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said in a video message on the occasion of the NATO Week in Armenia.

According to him, the most obvious element of that long-standing cooperation is Armenia’s contribution to NATO peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

He pointed to other non-military fields of cooperation, such as defense education, fight against corruption, science for peace programs. “It’s a very good two-way, mutual relationship, which benefits both parties,” he said.

“Armenia has a balanced foreign policy,” he said, adding that Armenia-NATO cooperation is in no way detrimental to Armenia’s other bilateral or multilateral relationships,” James Appathurai said.

The NATO Week that kicked off in Yerevan today will continue through November 18 and will be accompanied by a number of events. It’s aimed at raising awareness about Armenia-NATO relations among the society.

German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler considers that NATO Week is yet another opportunity to discuss important issues of bilateral interest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved and instructed to sign the draft Agreement on a joint group of forces in the Caucasus region with Armenia, TASS reports.

According to the project, Russia and Armenia are planning to create a joint group of forces in the Caucasus region.

The document states that a Unified Command structure will be created to manage the force, which will be established “to ensure the security of parties in the Caucasus region.”

The group’s prerogatives will include repelling any armed attack on either party, as well as defending the state borders of Armenia and Russia.