Author: Ekmekjian Janet

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                                        Monday, 
Tobacco Firm Remains Armenia’s Top Taxpayer
Armenia -- Workers at a tobacco fermentation factory in the town of Masis.
An Armenian tobacco company remained the country’s number one corporate taxpayer 
in the first half of this year, the State Revenue Committee (SRC) said on Monday.
The government agency comprising the national tax and customs services reported 
that the company, Grand Tobacco, paid 26.3 billion drams ($54 million) in 
various taxes in January-June.
The national gas distribution company owned by Russia’s Gazprom giant was the 
second most important contributor to Armenia’s state budget, followed by the 
country’s largest mining company, the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC). 
The SRC collected 26 billion drams and 21.6 billion drams respectively from 
these companies.
Armenia’s 20 leading businesses also include other tobacco and mining firms, 
fuel importers, telecommunication operators, a supermarket chain, two banks and 
the Metsamor nuclear plant. The SRC detailed their fiscal payments in a 
quarterly report listing the country’s 1,000 largest corporate taxpayers. The 
latter paid a combined 492.7 billion drams (just over $1 billion) in taxes in 
the six-month period, according to the report.
The figure accounted for more than 72 percent of all taxes and other duties 
collected by the SRC. The Armenian government’s first-half tax revenue was down 
by 4.6 percent year on year, reflecting the coronavirus-driven recession in the 
country.
Armenia - A tobacco field.
Grand Tobacco and two other local tobacco firms are part of the Grand Holding 
group founded by Hrant Vartanian, a prominent businessman who died in 2014.The 
conglomerate, which also comprises the country’s largest chocolate and 
confectionery manufacturer, is now owned and run by Vartanian’s two sons. Much 
of the tobacco used by it is grown in Armenia.
The Armenian cigarette manufacturers have rapidly expanded since 2013 on the 
back of their soaring cigarette exports to the Middle East and Iraq in 
particular. According to government data, Armenian exports to Iraq stood at 
about $58 million in the first five months of this year. Cigarettes accounted 
for most of those exports.
Grand Tobacco became Armenia’ second largest taxpayer in 2018 and topped the tax 
rankings last year with 57 billion drams ($118 million) in total payments.
Armenian Government Vows To Expand Coronavirus Testing
        • Tatevik Lazarian
Russia -- A staff member of AltraVita fertility clinic takes a swab from an 
outdoor booth as a woman undergoes a test for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) 
in Moscow, June 11, 2020
Health authorities in Armenia pledged on Monday to sharply increase the number 
of coronavirus tests as part of their ongoing efforts to stop the spread of 
COVID-19.
The authorities have carried out an average of more than 2,000 tests a day for 
the past month.
“Efforts are underway to increase the number of tests to about 3,000-4,000,” 
said Alina Nikoghosian, the spokeswoman for the Armenian Ministry of Health. 
“That will lead to the detection of more coronavirus and pneumonia cases.”
According to the ministry, the total number of tests carried out in Armenia 
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic reached 147,108 on Sunday. Nearly 
35,000 infections were detected as a result.
Critics have for months urged the government to significantly expand coronavirus 
testing, saying that is vital for tackling the pandemic in the virtual absence 
of lockdown restrictions in the country of about 3 million.
The government has put the emphasis of getting Armenians to practice social 
distancing, wear mandatory face masks in public and follow other anti-epidemic 
rules. Government officials insisted last week that this strategy is working.
They argued that the daily number of COVID-19 cases has averaged between 500 and 
600 in the last few weeks after growing steadily since mid-April. Deputy Prime 
Minister Tigran Avinian said it is projected to shrink by more than half by 
early September.
Armenia -- A doctor wearing a face mask and protective gear gives a call as she 
stands next to an ambulance at the Grigor Lusavorich Medical Centre in Yerevan, 
June 1, 2020
Nikoghosian likewise spoke of a decreased number of infected people requiring 
hospitalization. The authorities therefore do not need to set up more hospital 
beds for COVID-19 patients, she said.
“Until recently we discharged 20-25 people a day and as many hospital beds were 
immediately occupied by new patients,” said Karen Poghosian, the deputy director 
of one of the Yerevan hospitals treating such patients. “But now 8 to 10 beds 
remain vacant. This suggests that the overall number of infected people who need 
hospitalization has fallen.”
“So we too see a downward trend,” Poghosian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “We 
hope that it continues and we successfully complete our mission.”
So far there has been no noticeable drop in Armenia’s coronavirus mortality 
rate. The Ministry of Health reported on Monday morning that that 13 more people 
infected with the virus died in the past day. The ministry said COVID-19 was the 
primary cause of 9 of those deaths.
The official death toll thus rose to 650. The figure does not include the deaths 
of 209 other infected people which the ministry says were caused by other, 
pre-existing illnesses.
Armenia Says In Touch With Russian Military On Azeri Border Clashes
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia - Soldiers at a military base in Tavush province, October 30, 2018.
The Armenian and Russia militaries have communicated with each other in 
connection with deadly clashes that broke out on Armenia’s border with 
Azerbaijan on July 12, official Yerevan said on Monday.
The hostilities, which left at least 12 Azerbaijani and 4 Armenian soldiers 
dead, largely ground to a halt on July 16. The two conflicting sides have 
reported no serious ceasefire violations along the heavily fortified border 
since then. Each side continued on Monday to accuse the other of sporadically 
shooting small arms at various sections of the frontier, including the scene of 
last week’s fighting.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Anna Naghdalian, said the American, 
French and especially Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have been 
“actively involved” in efforts to restore the ceasefire in Armenia’s Tavush 
province bordering the Tovuz district in western Azerbaijan.
“The Armenian foreign minister [Zohrab Mnatsakanian] has been in constant 
contact with his Russian counterpart,” Naghdalian told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
service. “There have also been contacts at the level of military officials of 
the two countries”
Naghdalian did not give details of the Russian-Armenian military contacts.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani militaries established a new direct channel of 
communication after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev agreed in 2018 to boost the ceasefire regime along the 
internationally recognized border between their countries and “the line of 
contact” around Karabakh. Truce violations there decreased significantly as a 
result.
Yerevan and Baku blame each other for the July 12 flare-up which marked the 
worst escalation of the conflict since 2016. They also accuse one another of 
dealing a severe blow to the Karabakh peace process mediated by the Minsk Group 
co-chairs.
Aliyev on Thursday again threatened to withdraw from peace talks with Armenia, 
saying that they have been “meaningless” so far. He said the U.S., Russian and 
French mediators should do more to make the talks “substantive” in addition to 
trying to prevent violence.
In a weekend interview with the Sky News Arabia TV channel, Mnatsakanian said 
that last week’s hostilities demonstrated that “there can be no military 
solution to the conflict” and that continued negotiations are the only viable 
option.
Russia Said To Reassure Azerbaijan Over Military ‘Check’
Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu 
attend a military parade, which marks the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory 
over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, June 24, 2020
Russia has reportedly assured Azerbaijan that a snap "combat readiness check" of 
Russian troops ordered by President Vladimir Putin is not connected with the 
latest hostilities on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu announced the start of the "check" on 
Friday, saying that it will test the readiness of Russian armed forces for the 
Caucasus-2020 military exercises scheduled for September. He said it involves 
150,000 personnel and hundreds of aircraft and naval vessels deployed in 
Russia’s southern and western military districts bordering Ukraine, Georgia and 
Azerbaijan.
The state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that Azerbaijani Defense 
Minister Zakir Hasanov telephoned Shoygu on Saturday to discuss this military 
event and other issues of mutual interest.
“The Russian defense minister emphasized that this event was planned and is not 
connected in any way with the current situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
border,” it quoted an unnamed “military-diplomatic source” as saying.
The “check” began as Putin chaired a session of Russia’s Security Council that 
discussed deadly clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces that broke out 
on July 12 and left at least 16 soldiers dead. According to the Kremlin, Putin 
and other top Russian officials expressed “deep concern” over the fighting and 
stressed the “urgent need” to stop it.
The United States, the European Union as well as Iran have also urged Baku and 
Yerevan to show restraint without holding either side responsible for the 
escalation.
Armenia -- Armenian and Russian troops hold a joint military exercise, April 12, 
2019.
By contrast, Turkey, Azerbaijan’s closest ally, has blamed the Armenian side and 
promised military aid to Baku, raising the prospect of a more direct Turkish 
involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi 
Akar said on Thursday that the Armenians will “certainly pay for what they have 
done” to Azerbaijan.
As part of its military alliance with Russia, Armenia hosts about 5,000 Russian 
troops mostly stationed along the South Caucasus state’s closed border with 
Turkey. The Russian military base headquartered in the Armenian city of Gyumri 
is technically part of Russia’s Southern Military District.
Commenting on the “check” ordered by Putin, an Armenian military spokesman, 
Artsrun Hovannisian said: “Russia is a big country with a powerful military and 
it may often organize such activities. I cannot comment on their connection with 
political or other events.”
Hovannisian also told reporters that Russian troops stationed in Armenia as well 
as an Armenian army regiment will take part in Russia’s upcoming Caucasus-2020 
war games.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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