Author: Dabaghian Diana

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
December 9, 2017 Saturday
Armenian Ambassador meets with Lebanese minister of economy and trade
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Ambassador to Lebanon
Samvel Mkrtchyan on December 7 had a meeting with minister of economy
and trade Raed Khoury, the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress.
At the meeting the Ambassador presented the Armenian government’s
comprehensive steps taken over the last year aimed at improving the
investment environment and making it more attractive and easy for the
businessmen.
The meeting also touched upon the opportunities of the EAEU single
market, as well as the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership
agreement signed between Armenia and the EU on November 24 of this
year, the privileged trade regime and the free economic zone with
Iran.
The Lebanese minister introduced the overall economic situation of the
country to the Ambassador, the existing domestic and regional threats,
the upcoming positive trends and prospects. He expressed readiness to
assist in boosting the Lebanese-Armenian economic ties.

                                        Tuesday, 
Market Traders In Yerevan Protest Against New Tax Rules
 . Naira Bulghadarian
 . Astghik Bedevian
Armenia -- Market traders demonstrate in Yerevan, 31Oct2017.
Several dozen market traders rallied outside the Armenian parliament
on Tuesday to protest against new government rules that require them
to pay more taxes.
The traders mainly selling clothing at open-air markets in Yerevan
have paid fixed monthly taxes until now. Citing Armenia's new Tax
Code, the State Revenue Committee (SRC) informed them recently that
they will now be taxed under a different mechanism that will measure
their business turnovers. For that purpose, the government agency has
introduced standard accounting rules and other extra paperwork for
them.
The small business owners gathered outside the parliament building in
Yerevan after a series of meetings with SRC officials that attempted
to address their concerns. They insisted that the new rules are too
cumbersome and they cannot afford paying more taxes as a result.
"I would have to hire an accountant to write all that stuff," one of
them told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
The SRC chief, Vartan Harutiunian, dismissed these complaints,
accusing the protesters of trying to evade taxes. Harutiunian claimed
that they have rejected SRC offers to provide them with free
accounting services. "Everyone must pay taxes in a manner defined by
the law," he told reporters inside the parliament building.
Armenia - Vartan Harutiunian, head of the State Revenue Committee,
speaks at an Armenian parliament committee in Yerevan, 27Jun2017.
Harutiunian also claimed that the traders' discontent is fomented by
unnamed well-to-do individuals. He did not name any of them. He only
made clear that he did not refer to Gagik Tsarukian, one of the
country's richest men who owns a market where most of the protesting
traders sell goods.
A figure close to Prime Minister Karen Karapetian, Harutiunian pledged
to crack down on widespread tax evasion in Armenia after he was named
to run the SRC one year ago. The SRC reported a nearly 10 percent
increase in various taxes collected in the first nine months of this
year.
In Harutiunian's words, large companies accounted for as much as 85
percent of the government's tax revenue. He asserted that tax fraud is
now more widespread in retail trade than among wholesale trading
firms.
The SRC chief has made no secret of his and his family's business
interests. In particular, his two young sons are major shareholders in
a new agribusiness firm that was granted import tax breaks by the
government earlier this.
Harutiunian angrily denied journalists' suggestions that this amounts
to a conflict of interests. "My sons are building greenhouses and
fruit gardens," he said. "Why shouldn't they? Don't they have a right
to live in this country?"
Defense Minister Again Denies Draft Evasion
 . Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian speaks to reporters in
Yerevan, 31Oct2017.
Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian urged Armenian media on Tuesday to
stop questioning his past military service, reiterating that he had
never evaded conscription.
The issue came under the spotlight during last week's parliamentary
debates on a Defense Ministry bill that will essentially abolish draft
deferments enjoyed by male students of state-run
universities. Opposition lawmakers who voted against the bill said
that the authorities must first ensure that senior government
officials and their relatives are no longer able to wriggle out of the
two-year service.
Some of those lawmakers as well as media outlets critical of the
Armenian government specifically cast doubt on official records
showing that Sargsian technically served in the armed forces in
2000-2003 when he was an assistant to then Defense Minister Serzh
Sarkisian.
The wife of Sargsian's predecessor Seyran Ohanian added to the
controversy over the weekend, attacking an unnamed "high-ranking
official" who evaded draft in the 1990s.Ruzanna Khachatrian's claim
was widely construed as reference to the current minister who replaced
her husband one year ago.
An Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman responded on Monday by
implicitly warning that Khachatrian could risk being held accountable
for slander and "false denunciation."
Khachatrian doubled down on her attacks later on Monday, however. In
another cryptic Facebook post, she claimed that with his potbellied
physique the official in question resembles a "woman who is seven or
eight months pregnant" and "his lips are like Kim Kardashian's lips."
Sargsian would not say on Tuesday when he thinks Ohanian's wife
referred to him. "I don't know," he told reporters. "I guess you
should ask her."
"Why don't you close this topic?" the 42-year-old minister went on. "I
repeat that I served in the armed forces in a manner defined by the
law and I'm very proud of that. I don't blame those people who don't
realize that there are different types of military service and that
the proposed legislation opens up such opportunities for many young
people."
"I think that our discourse has to change and you should play a role
in changing it," he said.
Armenian Military Inaugurates U.S.-Funded Facility
Armenia - U.S. Brigadier General Dawne Deskins (C) and a senior
Armenian military official inaugurate a newly renovated training
center of the Armenian army, 31Oct2017.
Senior Armenian and U.S. military officials inaugurated on Tuesday the
newly renovated training center of an Armenian army brigade that
contributes troops to NATO-led missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo.
The main three-story building of the Zar Military Training Facility
has been refurbished and equipped as part of the first stage of the
renovation mostly financed by the United States.
Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held there, Defense Minister
Vigen Sargsian and Brigadier General Dawne Deskins of the
U.S. military's European Command hailed the development as another
milestone in U.S.-Armenian defense cooperation. Sargsian said that the
center will be further expanded and modernized in the coming years.
The reconstruction work was officially launched in March this year in
the presence of Sargsian, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills and
high-ranking officers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Armenian army's Peacekeeping Brigade has received considerable
financial and technical assistance from the U.S. and other NATO member
states since it was set up in the early 2000s. NATO assigned a higher
degree of combat readiness and interoperability to the brigade after
monitoring a four-day exercise held by it at Zar in 2015.
More than 130 soldiers of the brigade are currently deployed in
Kosovo, Afghanistan as well as Lebanon.
U.S. - Armenian soldiers are trained at a Kansas National Guard
facility in Salina in July 2017.
"We greatly appreciate Armenia's participation in international
peacekeeping operations and NATO-led and other multinational
exercises," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a September 21 letter
to his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian.
Armenia plans to join more peacekeeping missions abroad with
specialized medical and demining units in the near future. They will
undergo U.S. training before such deployment.
In October 2016, Sargsian and Mills inaugurated a new paramedic school
of the Armenian armed forces. U.S. military instructors trained the
first group of Armenian teaching personnel for the school in August
2015.
Mills said in July Armenia's military and political alliance with
Russia does not prevent it from forging closer security ties with the
U.S. "The cooperation between the United States and Armenia in this
area has moved forward and deepened in recent years," he said.
Press Review
"Zhamanak" says that Monday's shock hostage taking at a kindergarten
in the town of Armavir was a consequence of the exiting
"social-psychological atmosphere" in Armenia which the paper blames on
the increased number of suicides. "Out of desperation, people see
violence as a solution because they see no other ways out," it claims.
"The more we speak of violence, pass laws aimed at preventing
violence, open criminal cases as part of a fight against violence, set
up non-governmental organizations, build shelter for victims of
violence, the more violence occurs," writes "Hraparak." The paper says
that the Armavir incident only underlined the urgency of passing a law
against violence that has been drafted by the Armenian Ministry of
Justice.
"Zhoghovurd" speculates that the signing of Armenia's Comprehensive
and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the European Union,
widely expected during an EU summit in November 24, is still not a
forgone conclusion. "The thing is that Serzh Sarkisian is going to
leave for Russia on November 15 on a working visit during which he
will participate in the opening of Armenian Culture Days in Moscow,"
says the paper. "That means he will be in Moscow before the [EU]
summit in Brussels, presumably to ascertain some issues."
"Zhoghovurd" notes that Sarkisian announced his unexpected decision to
join the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union at the expense of
Armenia's Association Agreement with the EU right after a September
2013 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The alternative
deal with the EU might be scuttled in a similar fashion, it says.
(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

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Tuesday
Tatul Manaseryan: Significant revival and growth of Russian economy
have beneficial impact on Armenia's economy
Yerevan October 24
Tatevik Shahunyan. The significant revival and growth of the Russian
economy has a beneficial effect on the Armenian economy. Economist
Tatul Manaseryan expressed this opinion during the round table "The
Role of the Expert and Educational Community of Armenia in the
Development of Eurasian Economic Integration", adding that the
Armenian economy is gradually emerging from the protracted process of
slow and low growth.
"This is not just about transfers, but also about the possibilities
for increasing investment, and as a result - increasing jobs and
increasing incomes of the population. "These opportunities can be
multiplied by effectively implementing the command competitive
advantages of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union," the
expert said adding , that difficulties remain in the interaction
between the EAEU countries.
As a proof of his words, he cited statistical indicators. So,
according to the expert, in January - September 2017, in comparison
with the same period of the last year, business activity grew by 5.1%,
but at the same time, there were also negative trends in the Armenian
economy - there is a decline in construction, a decline in the volume
of agricultural production, etc. "According to the estimates of the
Ministry of Finance, high economic activity for eight months and
further trends make it possible to expect that in 2017 Armenia will
complete with economic growth in the corridor 4-4.8%," he said.
According to Manaseryan, Armenia's foreign trade turnover is also
growing at a rapid pace - in the nine months of 2017, this indicator
increased by21.7%, while the growth of exports of goods and services
from Armenia amounted to 19.1%, while imports increased by 23.2%.
"It is difficult to find common ground in the segment of states that
do not have complementarity in terms of the production chain, for
example, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are not connected by chains, but today
the competition between representatives of Armenian and Belarusian IT
for the market of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is actively developing,
the marked competition will be fragmented taking into account that the
Armenian niche is a high-tech service of production complexes the
cooperation between Armenia and Kazakhstan, because there is a need to
develop such processes, unlike Kyrgyzstan," he stressed.
In Manaseryan's opinion, that the establishment of a free trade zone
between Iran and Armenia serving all the countries of the EAEU is of
great importance, in order to implement the advantages of cooperation
and cooperation. He said that many Russian companies are already
inclined to invest in this zone, it is interesting for Russian
business circles to participate in the work of this zone, as the
potential of not only bilateral cooperation between Russia and Armenia
but also a multilateral one with the potential to enter the Iranian
market is visible. "This cooperation is promoted by active trade and
economic ties between Armenia and Iran, Armenia registered an
unprecedented growth of exports to Iran in the first eight months of
this year - about 11.2% and will receive additional benefits." This is
an unprecedented growth, because for all the years of such growth in
Armenia According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, in
January-August of 2017, Armenia's exports to Iran amounted to $ 54.8
million, an increase of 11.2% over the same period of last year. m, we
can say that the Armenian economy is gradually emerging from a
protracted process of slow and low growth", summed up Manaseryan. It
should be noted that the roundtable was organized by the Eurasian
Economic Commission, the Eurasian Expert Club, the Research and
Analytical NGO "Integration and Development" and the Noravank
Foundation.

                                        Monday, 
Mediators `Satisfied' With Armenian-Azeri Summit In Geneva
Switzerland - Presidents Serzh Sarkisian (R) of Armenia and Ilham
Aliyev of Azerbaijan begin negotiations in Geneva, 16Oct2017.
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan reportedly agreed to
intensify the protracted search for a peaceful resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and bolster the ceasefire regime in the
conflict zone when they met in Geneva on Monday.
"The meeting took place in a constructive atmosphere," read a joint
statement issued by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as
well as the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group
after the talks.
"The Presidents [Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev] agreed to take
measures to intensify the negotiation process and to take additional
steps to reduce tensions on the Line of Contact," it said.
"The Co-Chairs expressed their satisfaction with these direct talks,
which took place after a long interval # As a next step, the Co-Chairs
will organize working sessions with the Ministers in the near future,"
added the statement.
The talks began at the official residence of Switzerland's permanent
representative to the UN office in Geneva in the presence of the U.S.,
Russian and French mediators. They continued in a tete-a-tete format
about an hour later.
Aliyev and Sarkisian then spoke one-on-one for over 45 minutes,
according to Vladimir Hakobian, the Armenian presidential press
secretary. In a series of tweets, Hakobian also posted a photograph
that showed the two presidents seated around a round table placed in
the courtyard of the Swiss diplomatic compound.
Switzerland - Presidents Serzh Sarkisian (R) of Armenia and Ilham
Aliyev of Azerbaijan begin negotiations in Geneva, 16Oct2017.
"We have no concrete agreements on variants of resolving the problem,"
Sarkisian told members of Switzerland's Armenian community shortly
after the summit. "But we agreed to take measures to further ease
tensions so that we have no casualties on the frontlines. I must say
that both the president of Azerbaijan and I are deeply interested in
that."
"God willing, [Aliyev] will always think so," Sarkisian said. "He too
realizes the complexity of the problem very well and obviously so do
I, but the problem is such that there will never be an easy solution
to it."
Sarkisian went on to again rule out any solution that would restore
Azerbaijani control over Karabakh. "No Armenian leader will ever take
and implement such a decision," he said.
Aliyev and other Azerbaijani officials did not make public statements
immediately after the talks.
Neither Sarkisian nor the joint statement by the two foreign ministers
specified the agreed steps aimed at preventing ceasefire violations
along "the line of contact" around Karabakh and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
The two presidents previously met in May and June last year shortly
after four-day deadly hostilities around Karabakh that nearly
denigrated into an all-out war. The negotiation process again stalled
later in 2016. Aliyev and Sarkisian blamed each other for the deadlock
when they addressed the UN General Assembly in New York last month.
EU Reveals Landmark Deal With Armenia
 . Emil Danielyan
Belgium -- EU flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters
in Brussels, October 30, 2014
The European Union has publicized an extensive agreement to deepen its
political and economic relations with Armenia which is expected to be
signed during an EU summit next month.
Citing "common values" shared by the two sides, the draft
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) calls for
"increasing the participation of the Republic of Armenia in policies,
programs and agencies of the European Union." It commits the Armenian
government to implementing political reforms and "approximating"
national economic laws and regulations to those of the EU.
Armenia controversially joined the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU) less than two years ago, following an unexpected decision that
was announced by President Serzh Sarkisian in September 2013. The
volte face, widely attributed to Russian pressure, thwarted the
signing of an Armenia-EU Association Agreement which had a
far-reaching free-trade component. Most political provisions of that
ill-fated agreement are thought to have been incorporated into the
CEPA.
"The Parties shall intensify their dialogue and cooperation in the
area of foreign and security policy, including the common security and
defense policy," reads the alternative accord, which is more than 350
pages long. It calls for joint efforts to combat international
terrorism, prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and
promote conflict resolution.
Another stated aim of the accord finalized in March is the
"strengthening of democracy and of political, economic and
institutional stability" in Armenia. The EU is to help the Armenian
authorities prevent human rights abuses and reform Armenia's judicial
and law-enforcement systems.A lack of independent courts and
widespread corruption among judges and law-enforcement officers remain
a serious obstacle to the rule of law in the country.
Armenia - Armenian and EU officials initial the Armenia-EU
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement in Yerevan,
21Mar2017.
The CEPA contains much more extensive and specific provisions on
economic matters. Armenia, it says, will "gradually approximate its
economic and financial regulations and policies to those of the
European Union, as appropriate." Yerevan will regularly report to
Brussels on "the progress made with regard to approximation" specified
by several annexes to the agreement.
This "regulatory harmonization" would cover a wide range of areas,
including business regulation, agriculture, transport, environment,
consumer protection and even energy. In particular, the CEPA envisages
EU-Armenia cooperation on "the diversification of energy sources and
routes."
Armenia currently buys nuclear fuel and more than 80 percent of its
natural gas from Russia. These energy resources generate more than
two-thirds of its electricity.
The CEPA also covers bilateral trade. "Each Party shall apply import
duties and charges in accordance with its obligations established
under the [World Trade Organization] Agreement," it says. Each side
must also ensure "most-favored-nation treatment to goods" imported
from the other.
There is no reference to Armenia's membership in the EEU which means
that import duties set by Russia and the five other ex-Soviet states
making up the Russian-led bloc are largely identical.
The EU and Armenia would also seek to ease non-tariff barriers to
their trade such as technical regulations and licensing and labelling
requirements. The CEPA contains even more detailed provisions on the
enforcement of intellectual property rights and mutual recognition of
patents.
The draft agreement further makes clear that the authorities in
Yerevan can count on greater financial assistance from the EU. It
cautions, however, that the scale of extra aid will depend on "the
pace of the reforms" promised by them.
Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighborhood policy,
hailed "the groundbreaking new agreement" with Armenia when he visited
Yerevan earlier this month. He said it will not only deepen the EU's
ties with Armenia but also serve as an "example" to other countries.
Speaking after talks with Hahn, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
confirmed that the deal is due to be signed at the EU's November 24
summit in Brussels.
Earlier, President Sarkisian dismissed suggestions that the CEPA, just
like the Association Agreement, may collapse at the last minute. "We
have no reason to not sign that document," he said.
Government Vows To Tackle Election-Related Abuse Of Power
 . Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Armenians vote in parliamentary elections at a polling
station in Yerevan, 2Apr2017.
Just months after being accused of forcing public sector employees to
campaign for the ruling Republican Party (HHK), the Armenian
authorities plan to introduce tougher penalties for abuse of
administrative resources during elections.
A government bill to be debated by the Armenian parliament soon would
make it a crime for government agencies, public schools and other
government-funded institutions or their personnel to participate in
election campaigns using their state resources or
positions. Individuals flouting this ban would risk up to five years
in prison or heavy fines.
Armenian law currently imposes such restrictions only on those public
sector employees who run for the parliament or local government
bodies.
The Ministry of Justice drafted the package of amendments to various
Armenian laws in response to domestic and international criticism of
the authorities' handling of parliamentary elections held in April.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
cited "credible information" about "pressure on civil servants and
employees of private companies" exerted during the election
campaign. According to various news reports, they were forced to
campaign for the HHK or risk losing their jobs.
The Union of Informed Citizens (UIC), a non-governmental watchdog,
revealed in the run-up to the April 2 elections that its activists
posing as HHK representatives telephoned 136 schools and kindergarten
chiefs across Armenia. It said 114 of them admitted drawing up lists
of children's parents as well as schoolteachers and kindergarten staff
who pledged to vote for the HHK. The UIC said the lists were submitted
to local government bodies or HHK campaign offices. It also publicized
audio of those phone conversations.
Armenian opposition forces portrayed the revelations as further proof
of their allegations of HHK foul play in the parliamentary race.
The HHK admitted that many school principals participated in its
election campaign. But it claimed that they did so "beyond their work
hours and work duties." None of them was fired or prosecuted.
A UIC representative, Daniel Ioannisian, welcomed the government bill
but said it is overdue. "I wish we had these changes before, not
after, the elections," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am).
"Had we had this before the elections, then the case of the school
principals exposed by us should have had much more serious legal
consequences," said Ioannisian.
Varuzhan Hoktanian of the Armenian branch of Transparency
International likewise acknowledged the proposed toughening of
punishments for election-related abuse of administrative
resources. But he questioned the authorities' commitment to enforce
the measure.
Press Review
(Saturday, October 14)
In an interview with "168 Zham," a Russian military analyst, Vadim
Yevseyev, comments on news of a fresh $100 million Russian loan to
Armenia that will finance more acquisitions of Russian weapons by
Yerevan. Yevseyev expects the Armenian military to buy more "attack
systems" and air-defense weapons that will "protect Armenia's airspace
against surprises." He also says that a Russian-Armenian joint
military force could step in if Azerbaijan attacks the territory of
Armenia proper.
"Haykakan Zhamanak" quotes the chairman of the Armenian parliament
committee on defense and security, Koryun Nahapetian, as saying that
the October 16 meeting in Geneva of Armenia's and Azerbaijan's
presidents might result in "surprises." Nahapetian says at the same
time that the run-up to the summit has been anything but encouraging
as evidenced by continuing Azerbaijani truce violations. "This means
that they will not revise their [Karabakh-related] political views
anytime soon," he says. "In any case, we must wait and see how the
negotiations shape up. It's possible that there will be some
surprises."
"Zhoghovurd" reports that Prime Minister Karen Karapetian chaired on
Friday the latest meeting of the Armenian government's Anti-Corruption
Council. A government statement said that the meeting focused on
measures aimed at tackling "corruption risks" in tax collection and
public healthcare. "Prosecutors, judges, road policemen and prison
administration officials have been arrested on corruption charges
lately," the paper says. "Given this context, maybe the
Anti-Corruption Council headed by the prime minister should have
started out by targeting this [area.] Especially considering the fact
that the authorities like to speak of attracting investments in
Armenia."
(Anush Mkrtchian)
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