Friday,
Armenian, Azeri Leaders ‘Agree To Ease Tensions’
Turkmenistan -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev attend a meeting of heads of the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) in Ashgabat, October 11, 2019
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
have promised more efforts to “prepare the populations for peace,”
international mediators said after ending a fresh tour of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict zone late on Thursday.
The U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group met with
Pashinian and Aliyev during their latest trips to Yerevan, Stepanakert and Baku.
“The two leaders briefed the Co-Chairs on their recent conversation during the
CIS summit in Ashgabat and presented their ideas on how to advance the
settlement process,” read a joint statement issued by the mediators. “The
Co-Chairs welcomed the prospect of implementing specific humanitarian and
security measures to prepare the populations for peace and reduce tensions.”
The mediators shed no light on those measures. They said they urged the
conflicting parties to remove “obstacles potentially interfering with” the work
of a small OSCE mission monitoring the ceasefire regime along the Karabakh
“line of contact” and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. They did not specify
what those obstacles are and who created them.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) meets with OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs, Yerevan, 15Oct2019.
Aliyev and Pashinian already agreed to take “a number of measures in the
humanitarian field” and help create “an environment conducive to peace” when
they met in Vienna in March. There seems to have been no further progress in
the negotiation process since then.
The two leaders publicly traded barbs during the October 11 summit of former
Soviet republics held in Turkmenistan’s capital. Still, they reportedly talked
to each other at great length at an official dinner hosted by Turkmen President
Gurbaguly Berdymuhamedov.
In their statement, the mediators also announced that the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers “confirmed their intention to meet again under
Co-Chair auspices before the end of the year.” The Russian co-chair, Igor
Popov, said in Stepanakert on Wednesday that the talks could be held in
December.
Like Aliyev and Pashinian, the two ministers have met on a regular basis over
the past year, most recently in New York late last month. In an interview with
the Russian newspaper “Izvestia” published on Thursday, Azerbaijan’s Elmar
Mammadyarov said he is “a bit disappointed” with the results of the New York
talks.
“If we want to move forward and really want a political settlement of this
dispute then we should start … ‘substantive negotiations,’” said Mammadyarov.
He complained that the mediators believe such talks are contingent on a further
decrease in shooting incidents on the frontlines. More serious truce violations
there did not prevent Baku and Yerevan from making progress in their past
negotiations, he said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry dismissed Mammadyarov’s criticism on Friday.
Armenian Government Denies Additional Concessions To Ryanair
• Naira Nalbandian
UKRAINE -- Passengers get off a Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS aircraft at the Boryspil
International Airport near Kyiv, September 3, 2018
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian insisted on Friday that the government did
not make far-reaching financial concessions to the Ryanair in return for the
Irish low-cost airline’s decision to launch flights to Armenia.
After months of negotiations with the government, Ryanair announced on
Wednesday that it start flying from Yerevan to Milan and Rome in January and
open two more routes next summer. The announcement was widely welcomed in
Armenia, with government officials predicting a significant drop in the cost of
air travel and major boost to the domestic tourism sector.
Ryanair’s decision is understood to be tied to government plans to exempt the
company from a fixed $21 tax levied from every air ticket sold in the country.
The tax break will also apply to any other airline that will launch flights to
new destinations from Armenia.
Some travel bloggers and public figures said that the government has also made
other, more significant concessions to Ryanair. In particular, they claimed
that it will pay for the Irish carrier’s airport ground services in Armenia
worth around $80 per passenger. Such a subsidy would presumably require
millions of dollars in annual government funding.
Avinian denied those claims. “We are not giving Ryanair any additional
privileges at taxpayers’ expense,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Avinian said that the government is only planning some financial incentives for
airlines that will fly to Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city whose
international airport is much smaller and more underused than Yerevan’s
Zvartnots airport. He gave few details of that “additional support.”
Ryanair is due to launch flights between Gyumri and the southern German city of
Memmingen in the summer of 2020.
The government also hopes to attract other European budget airlines, notably
Wizz Air, to Armenia. Tatevik Revazian, the head of Armenian Civil Aviation
Committee who negotiated the agreement with Ryanair, indicated on Wednesday
that it is close to reaching a similar deal with Wizz Air.
Armenian High Court Chief’s Relatives Questioned By Security Service
• Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Supporters of Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasian protest
outside the National Security Service headquarters in Yerevan, .
The National Security Service (NSS) interrogated Hrayr Tovmasian’s father and
two daughters on Friday one day after another law-enforcement agency launched
separate criminal proceedings against the embattled chairman of Armenia’s
Constitutional Court.
The NSS said it decided to seek “explanations” from his close relatives and
other individuals during “the preparation of materials” for a potential
investigation. It gave no other details in a short statement issued amid
opposition allegations that the Armenian government is targeting Tovmasian’s
family as part of its efforts to force him to resign.
A lawyer for the family, Hayk Sargsian, said NSS officers asked Tovmasian’s
daughters questions mainly relating to their assets, notably a car and a garage
which they received as a gift from a cousin who emigrated to the United States
in 2016.
Sargsian said they also inquired about another car which one of the young women
owned until donating it to Nagorno-Karabakh’s army around the same time.
Neither woman was asked questions about her father’s activities, he told
reporters after the interrogations.
Tovmasian’s father Vartan was questioned at the NSS headquarters in downtown
Yerevan earlier in the day. According to his lawyer, Amram Makinian, NSS
officers asked him questions about the roof of his one-story house located in a
village near Yerevan. In particular, he said, they wondered when it was
repaired and who financed that work. The 75-year-old told them that he fixed
the roof at his own expense and with the help of his neighbors, added the
lawyer.
NSS officers already visited and talked to Vartan Tovmasian at his home in the
village of Darakert on Thursday. He said they were mainly interested in the
house roof.
The NSS sent summonses to Tovmasian’s father and daughters as Armenia’s Special
Investigative Service (SIS) launched a criminal inquiry into a possible
“usurpation of power” by the Constitutional Court chairman and former senior
officials.
Such an inquiry was demanded by a lawmaker who alleged recently that Tovmasian
colluded with key members of Armenia’s former leadership to illegally become
head of the court in March 2018. The SIS has not charged anyone so far. Under
Armenian law, Tovmasian cannot be prosecuted without the consent of at least
five of the nine Constitutional Court justices.
Seven of those judges issued on Friday a joint statement saying that they are
“monitoring developments relating to Hrayr Tovmasian and members of his family
and will react if need be.”
The Constitutional Court refused to oust its chairman as recently as on
Tuesday. The Armenian parliament called for his dismissal in an October 4
appeal to the court drafted by its majority loyal to Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian. The parliament accused Tovmasian of mishandling appeals lodged by
the arrested former President Robert Kocharian. It also cited his past
membership in the former ruling Republican Party (HHK).
Opposition politicians and other critics claim that Pashinian’s government is
now using law-enforcement bodies in its efforts to force Tovmasian to step
down. Several dozen of them, including senior HHK figures, rallied outside the
NSS building in downtown during Friday’s interrogations.
“The only state structure which more or less protects the constitution and
serves the Republic of Armenia, rather than Nikol Pashinian’s regime, is the
Constitutional Court,” claimed Eduard Sharmazanov, the HHK spokesman. “What is
happening now is [the result of] a fabricated political order.”
“It emerged yesterday that our authorities took a step, which is at odds with
not only the rule of law but also morality, in order to achieve their political
objective of getting rid of Hrayr Tovmasian,” said Ruben Melikian, a lawyer and
Karabakh’s former human rights ombudsman.
Pashinian’s political allies strongly denied, however, that Tovmasian is
persecuted for political reasons.
“I can understand representatives of the rejected [former] authorities,” said
Vahagn Hovakimian, a parliament deputy from the ruling My Step bloc. “They see
things within the bounds of their mental horizon, namely [imagine] what they
themselves had done.”
“Nobody is subjected to political persecution,” Hovakimian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian service. He argued that relatives of Armenian state officials do not
have legal immunity from prosecution.
Tovmasian himself has not yet commented on the latest developments. He claimed
on October 2 that the authorities want to force him out in order to gain
control over Armenia’s highest court.
Senior Government Official Resigns
Armenia -- Sarhat Petrosian, head of the Cadaster Committee, at a meeting in
Yerevan, October 14, 2019.
The head of a government agency regulating Armenia’s real estate market
resigned on Friday, citing policy differences and “dilettantism” of senior
officials in charge of urban development in the country.
The official, Sarhat Petrosian, is a well-known architect and public figure who
was appointed as head of the Cadaster Committee in the wake of last year’s
“Velvet Revolution” in which he actively participated. The committee maintains
a state registry of real estate and registers property deals.
“I do not agreed with our government’s policy and existing approaches in the
area of urban development which I believe encompasses the cadaster sector as
well,” Petrosian said in a statement.
“Despite the unprecedented upswing registered in the real estate market [since
the revolution] we have regressed in the area of urban development,” he said,
accusing the current and former heads of the government’s Urban Development
Committee of imitating meaningful activities.
Petrosian complained that he has had only sporadic influence on government
policies. “As head of a government agency and urban development architect by
education, I can no longer tolerate dilettantism and sectarianism bordering on
corruption,” he said.
Petrosian did not give examples of mismanagement alleged by him. He said he
will talk about concrete cases “in the future.”
The 37-year-old official also thanked Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for
appointing him to the post and engineering last year’s “incredible change” in
Armenia.
“I continue to regard the changes of 2018 as one of the most important
achievements in the modern history of the Armenian people which must be
preserved, developed and spread so as to not allow stateless opportunists to
discredit or use them for personal welfare,” concluded the statement.
Pashinian’s office did not immediately react to the announcement of Petrosian’s
resignation.
Press Review
“Aravot” says that the Armenian authorities must not target Hrayr Tovmasian’s
family in their drive to oust the chairman of the Constitutional Court
Chairman. It says that Tovmasian for years “served” Armenia’s former
leadership, rather than “the state and the law,” and must therefore not
continue to sit on the country’s highest court. The newspaper editor believes
that his resignation is a “political and ethical” issue. “Should it also have
criminal consequences?” he writes. “I don’t know. Even if it should, only
Tovmasian, and not his father and children, must be held accountable.
Disturbing his relatives can leave the impression of psychological pressure
aimed forcing Tovmasian to step down after the Constitutional Court’s refusal
to do so.”
“Zhamanak” says that many Armenians were shocked by this week’s killing of an
on-duty police officer in Yerevan by suspected robbers. The paper says that
Tigran Arakelian’s death could spur a public debate on the role of Armenian
law-enforcement bodies and their radical reform.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” looks at the “propaganda war” which it says is waged
against the Armenian government. “One gets the impression that some invisible
hand is consistently raising tensions in Armenia-Artsakh relations,” writes the
pro-government paper. “And they do that in a quite inept fashion … They spread
false rumors that Nikol Pashinian addressed Bako Sahakian as ‘Mr. Governor’ and
try to cinch a tough reaction to that from Artsakh’s military circles. That is
to say that they are playing a very dirty game aimed at heightening tensions
between Armenia and Artsakh.” It points the finger at Armenia’s former rulers,
saying that they latter are desperate to return to power.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Author: Garnik Zakarian
168: PM sacks chief advisor Valery Osipyan
Category
Politics
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has sacked his chief advisor Valery Osipyan.
The decision on relieving Osipyan posted online at e-gov.am did not indicate a reason for the dismissal.
Osipyan was Police Chief of Armenia from May 2018 until September 2019.
He was fired on September 18th, and on the same day was appointed Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Azerbaijani press: MFA: Position of current authorities of Armenia – nothing but self-deception
5 October 2019 09:52 (UTC+04:00)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5
Trend:
The position of the current authorities of Armenia is nothing more than self-deception and misleading of its own people, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said, answering a question from the media, Trend reports.
In response to a question regarding the last comment of the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, where the thesis about the interests of the “people of Nagorno-Karabakh” was again voiced, Abdullayeva stated that Azerbaijan’s position was repeatedly voiced on this issue.
“President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in his speech within the Valdai Discussion Club quite clearly and decisively spoke about this,” she noted. “The position of the current authorities of Armenia is nothing more than self-deception and misleading of its own people, however it is impossible to deceive the international community. It is obvious that there is an urgent need for leadership of Armenia to carefully study the international documents adopted as part of the settlement process of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as statements by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.”
“None of the documents on the conflict’s settlement uses the concept of “people” regarding the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan,” she said. “In this regard, I would like to remind that both the joint statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the relevant agreements of the two parties to the conflict referred to by the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry clearly note the necessity to prepare the populations for peace. The president of Azerbaijan in an accessible and clear form noted that there is no concept of “the people of Nagorno-Karabakh”, there are the Azerbaijani and Armenian populations in this region of Azerbaijan.”
“If the Armenian side is really interested in the victory of democracy in this region, then Armenia, as a country that really controls the occupied Azerbaijani territories, should, first of all, withdraw its troops from these territories and not prevent the return of the forcibly expelled Azerbaijani population there, and this will serve to ensuring its legal and democratic rights,” said Abdullayeva.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
AEF’s School Supply Project Provides Materials for Students in Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk
AEF placed collection boxes at Armenian school’s in order to gather supplies for their SSP
It’s that time of year again. Schools have begun a new academic year and welcomed students from all walks of life. Some have all the necessary supplies, while others are less fortunate and struggle to meet the bare minimum standard. There are even those who regrettably don’t have any school supplies at all. This is especially true for some elementary, middle, and high school students in the small towns and villages of Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk. This condition is not publicly evident, most notably due to the pride and self-respect of the parents of less fortunate students. However, a chance encounter during a memorable trip to the Ararat region of Armenia triggered multiple successful initiatives to help ameliorate the situation.
This is a story of how, in 2007, a family’s visit to a newly renovated school in Orgov village initiated the Armenian Educational Foundation’s School Supply Project. To date, 18,000 students have received basic supplies including backpacks, calculators, notebooks, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, colored pencils, and coloring books. This year alone, 300 students in Javakhk and 340 more in Artsakh have already received school supplies to begin the new school year.
When Ara and Lily Savadian along with their family visited the Orgov school, students dressed in their Sunday best greeted them with wildflower bouquets. Being unaware of the challenges of village life, the Savadians were taken aback by the sight of students sitting at their desks with hardly any supplies in classrooms with bare walls. The decorative stickers they had brought to share with the children were not enough to address the issues these students were facing. Regardless, the Savadians were overwhelmed by the resilient spirit of students who exhibited a fierce drive and determination to learn. In some cases, families with more than one child sent each of their kids to school on alternate days, because they only had one pair of shoes that had to be shared in the family.
Upon returning from the trip, the Savadian family committed to helping in any way they could. Collection boxes were placed in AGBU’s Manoogian-Demirdjian School in Canoga Park to collect supplies and classroom decorations. The boxes were then sent to the school in Orgov and letters of gratitude came pouring in. To expand the program and involve other volunteer sponsors, Lily Savadian proposed to Vahe Hacopian – AEF president at the time – to make the project an integral part of the foundation’s annual program and budget.
The School Supply Project is focused on smaller, remote schools that require the most assistance. Due to recent restrictive custom regulations, rather than collecting supplies, new ones are bought in the United States and sent to Armenia and Artsakh. As for Javakhk, the supplies are bought in Georgia from Armenian merchants. Many young volunteers from the U.S., as well as Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk, assist in acquiring the supplies, filling the backpacks, boxing, shipping, and distributing the supplies to the students.
This year, university students helped distribute the supplies in Javakhk. Armenuhi Shirinyan, an AEF scholarship recipient studying in Tbilisi University who was raised in Javakhk, described the event:
“When we were giving the school supplies to the children, I was particularly impressed by a 14 to 15-year-old girl with blue eyes, who was not only intelligent but also had a brilliant mind. It feels as if the _expression_ of her face has been tattooed on my heart. She said ‘When anyone cares about us, our hearts fill with gratitude. We must study as hard as we can because it is a great responsibility being part of this kind and caring organization.’”
Anahit Yazyan, another AEF scholarship recipient, who volunteered in the distribution wrote:
“I am very proud that our nation has such worthy people as benefactors. Not only do they help university students, but also school children in need. On August 9, they helped school children in three villages of Ninotsminda. You should have seen the smiles on the faces of the school children as they received their supplies for the new school year. Their parents blessed both the benefactors and us for their presence.”
AEF’s SSP provides schol supplies for students in Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk
For these two volunteers, it was like looking into a mirror of their childhood – they saw themselves in the students they were helping. They reminisced their first day of school, with an unsharpened pencil in their pencil pouch and a fresh, crisp notebook on their desk, eagerly waiting for the chance to use them both.
Even at a young age, students understand the impact of new school supplies. Not only does it give them the tools they need to excel, but it also cascades to their self-esteem knowing others are advocating for their success.
Pencils, markers, notebooks, paper – these supplies are all meant to help students excel. Students need to focus on learning, instead of worrying about having enough pencils to write the next great novel or compose the next symphony.
We’re here to help. Until students no longer have the need, the School Supply Project is dedicated to helping those who need it most. For further inquiries regarding the School Supply Project and other gratifying Armenian Education Foundation projects, please contact the AEF office at 818.242.4154.
Message For Turkey? Modi Meets Leaders Of Armenia, Cyprus After Erdoğan’s Pro-Pakistan UN Speech On Kashmir
Swarajya, India
Sept 27 2019
On the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, as well as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in two separate meetings.
This comes at a time when Turkish President Recep Erdoğan has taken an increasingly pro-Pakistan position on the Kashmir issue, aligning his country’s stance on the same with the talking points used by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to whip up anti-India sentiment and separatism.
Most recently, Erdoğan brought up Kashmir during his UN General Assembly speech as well, making statements widely seen to be aiding Pakistan’s aim of internationalising the issue.
Modi’s decision to meet with the leaders of Armenia and Cyprus may be interpreted to be a hint to Erdoğan that if he keeps pushing his country towards a pro-Pakistan stance, then India will respond.
Both Cyprus and Armenia are neighbouring countries of Turkey and have had strained relations historically. Armenians accuse Turkey of playing down the mass killings of Armenians during the early 20th century in the Ottoman Empire/Republic of Turkey.
In 1974 Cyprus was invaded by Turkey and violently partitioned between a Turkish Cypriot controlled Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island controlled by Greek Cypriots, with the latter being recognised by the international community.
Armenia MOD on Azerbaijan military infiltration attempt into Karabakh: Something very strange has happened
News.am, Armenia
Sept 24 2019
Armenia MOD on Azerbaijan military infiltration attempt into Karabakh: Something very strange has happened Armenia MOD on Azerbaijan military infiltration attempt into Karabakh: Something very strange has happened
17:36, 24.09.2019
New criminal case launched against brother of ex-President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
JAM News
Sept 12 2019
Lyova Sargsyan is accused of abuse of authority related to the construction of the North-South Highway – the most expensive transport project in Armenia
A criminal case has been opened against the brother of the ex-president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan for alleged abuse of authority during the construction of the North-South interstate highway.
The ex-president’s brother, Lyova Sargsyan, has been announced wanted.
This is not the first criminal case against both this brother and other relatives of the ex-president.
• New government of Armenia to continue construction of North-South highway
The circle of relatives and acquaintances around Serzh Sargsyan came into the focus of law enforcement immediately after the Velvet Revolution of spring 2018.
They have been charged with numerous accusations of fraud, drug trafficking, illegal weapons possession, illegal enrichment and concealment of property.
• Former Armenian President Sargsyan’s entourage under scrutiny of law enforcement agenices
Lyova Sargsyan has been accused of using his influence on responsible officials in choosing subcontracting organizations and money laundering the money received for these services.
The case concerns the North-South highway project, which is the largest and most expensive transport project of independent Armenia. The part of the road discussed here is expected to cost $250 million./
According to the press service of the Investigative Committee, the selection of subcontracting organizations was carried out along criminal lines.
According to the law, the main contractor was supposed to have chosen the subcontractor. In te case, that meant Spanish organization Corsan Corviam Construction.
In addition, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the program engineer and relevant officials of the project customer, that is, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Armenia.
However, in fact, it turned out that these processes were led by Lyova Sargsyan.
He acted in collusion with the program’s subcontractor, the Politransport organization, owned by Suren and Gevorg Vardanyan.
The Investigative Committee said in a statement that the ex-president’s brother “demanded from the director of one of the organizations 50% of the profits expected from the work, the receipt of which he organized by laundering.”
Sargsyan and the Vardanyans have been put on the wanted list, and a petition for their arrest submitted to the court.
The North-South highway will better connect the north of the country with the south.
From the north, it will connect Armenia with Georgia and through it will provide access to the Black Sea and EU markets. From the south, the motorway connects the country with Iran.
Thanks to this project, Armenia can become a transit country.
According to the most conservative estimates, the 490-kilometer highway will cost more than two billion dollars.
Construction work began in 2012, but so far only one of the five sites has been commissioned.
The authorities have to find financing to complete the construction, and most likely it will be the money of international lenders.
Since December 2018, construction has been suspended.
According to experts, this project is too costly, and instead say the country should be investing in other strategic programs which will also have a great economic effect.
The fact is that the construction of one kilometer of the North-South road costs $ 3.6 million, and in complex areas the price can rise to $12 million.
However, back in July 2019, the new authorities of Armenia, that is, the post-revolutionary government of Nikola Pashinyan, announced that the construction of the road would continue.
Leva Sargsyan has also been accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale.
In another criminal case, he is charged with concealing data that would expose illegal enrichment.
His daughter Ani Sargsyan is also involved in this case.
Criminal cases were also instituted against another brother of the ex-president – Alexander Sargsyan and his sons.
In July 2019, the court granted the motion submitted by the investigation for the arrest of Ara Minasyan.
This is the father of the son-in-law of the former president, that is, the father-in-law of the daughter of Serzh Sargsyan.
168: Phenomenon or disease? Crystal tears fall from eyes of young woman from Spandaryan village of Armenia’s Shirak Province (video)(photos)
Category
Society
SHANTNEWS has prepared an exclusive report in the Spandaryan village of Armenia’s Artik region. Two months ago, the Mikayelyans’ 22-year-old daughter-in-law, Satenik Ghazaryan noticed a strange phenomenon that was so incredible and amazing for all the members of the family that they were all shocked, and the phenomenon is the following: crystal tears form in the 22-year-old woman’s eyes and fall 4-5 times a day.
A1+: Damage of about 36.7 billion drams to the state found
September 9, 2019
During the first half of 2019, 440 surveys on the state of defense of the state interests were carried out in different spheres of the RA Prosecutor’s Office, which revealed a total of 454 violations.
The majority of studies have been carried out in the field of enforcement of environmental legislation, in particular forest and subsoil protection, as well as in education and science, state social insurance and social security.
Over the course of this half-year, the total damage caused to the state amounted to more than AMD 36.7 billion, and the total damage caused to the state in criminal cases amounted to more than AMD 1 billion 216 million.
For comparison, let’s note that in the same periof 2018, the total damage caused to the state by criminal cases and materials sent to investigative bodies alone amounted to about 2.7 billion drams, which is about 10 times less than in the first half of this year.
Deputy PM Avinyan holds meeting with Moldovan Ambassador
Deputy PM Avinyan holds meeting with Moldovan Ambassador
14:41, 6 September, 2019
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan received on September 6 Ambassador of Moldova to Armenia Ruslan Bolbochan (residence in Kiev, Ukraine), the deputy PM’s Office told Armenpress.
During the meeting the Ambassador said that the two peoples have deep historical roots, and Moldova wants to develop comprehensively the friendly relations with Armenia. In this context the role of continuous dialogue between the officials of the two countries and official mutual visits was highlighted.
Avinyan said it’s necessary to work actively to form a broad cooperation agenda, especially paying attention to the commercial field.
The officials also discussed issues relating to the expansion of a legal base, humanitarian, cultural cooperation and air communication.
Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan