Author: Jagharian Tania

                                        Wednesday, 
Armenian Tycoon Wins Government Contract Without Tender
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Khachatur Sukiasian attends a meeting of a standing committee of the 
Armenian parliament, Yerevan, January 23, 2023.
Amid growing questions about integrity in public procurement in Armenia, the 
government has awarded, without a competitive tender, another contract to a 
company belonging to the family of Khachatur Sukiasian, a pro-government 
businessman and parliamentarian.
The Armenian Interior Ministry will pay the company, SIL Insurance, about 
$500,000 to buy yearly insurance coverage for some 2,000 vehicles used by the 
national police. SIL reportedly signed earlier similar deals with other 
government agencies.
The Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that it had checked with other insurance 
firms and found out that they would charge higher fees for the mandatory 
insurance. It did not disclose those fees or explain why it did not formalize 
the procedure through a formal tender.
Armenian anti-corruption experts criticized the ministry’s decision. Varuzhan 
Hoktanian, who runs the local branch of the Berlin-based watchdog Transparency 
International, said the no-bid contract awarded to Sukiasian’s firm carries a 
“corruption risk.”
“I cannot be sure that they really sent inquiries [to other insurers,]” 
Hoktanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“It’s hard to presume that they did that without a tender because of a lack of 
time,” said Hayk Martirosian, a lawyer advising a German company.
Armenian law allows the government not to put contracts for the delivery of 
goods or services out to competitive tender in some cases. The number of such 
government decisions has reportedly increased in recent years, prompting 
concerns from opposition figures and civil society activists.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian inspects new Patrol Police vehicles in 
Gyumri, April 16, 2022.
Hoktanian pointed out that the government’s handling of procurements is one of 
the reasons why Transparency International downgraded Armenia’s position in its 
annual survey of corruption perceptions around the world released late last 
month.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian last week expressed concern at the downgrade and 
admitted shortcomings in his government’s stated fight against corruption. At 
the same time, he blamed Armenian media outlets accusing members of his 
political team of illicit enrichment.
Pashinian pledged to separate business from politics when he swept to power 
during the 2018 “velvet revolution.” He declared shortly afterwards that 
Armenian entrepreneurs no longer need parliament seats in order to protect and 
increase their assets.
Sukiasian and another wealthy businessman were elected to the current Armenian 
parliament on the ruling Civil Contract party’s ticket in June 2021.
Sukiasian and his extended family have reportedly expanded their business 
interests since 2018. In particular, the Hetq.am investigative publication 
reported in 2021 that a fuel importing company set up by them in 2020 has signed 
with the Armenian Defense Ministry supply contracts worth $14 million.
The tycoon could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Drug Trafficking Soars In Armenia
        • Narine Ghalechian
Armenia -- A photo released by the State Revenue Committee on March 3, 2021 
shows an Armenian customs officer and a sniffer dog searching through boxes 
which authorities say contained heroin smuggled from Iran.
Drug trafficking cases registered by Armenian law-enforcement authorities nearly 
doubled last year, raising serious concerns in a country not accustomed to 
widespread drug abuse.
The sharp increase is widely blamed on increasingly accessible synthetic drugs 
mainly sold through the internet and, in particular, social media platforms such 
as Telegram.
The Armenian police reported a total of 743 trafficking cases in 2022. Gevorg 
Sargsian, a prosecutor dealing with illegal drug trade, downplayed the figure on 
Tuesday, saying that it also reflects an increased number of cases detected and 
solved by the police and other law-enforcement bodies.
Sargsian claimed that his foreign colleagues are impressed with the success of 
Armenia’s fight against such crimes.
“The law-enforcement bodies of countries with much greater capacities have the 
same difficulties as the Armenian law-enforcement bodies do,” he told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service.
Critics, notably relatives of Armenians suffering from drug addiction, are 
unconvinced by these assurances, pointing to the rapid spread of banned 
substances in the country.
The walls of residential buildings and other public areas across Yerevan now 
have inscriptions showing the links to Telegram channels selling drugs. A young 
woman who asked not to be identified said her brother was one of their regular 
clients before ending up in a psychiatric hospital.
“People can buy everything on those Telegram channels,” she complained.
The Telegram logo is seen on a screen of a smartphone, April 13, 2018.
Sargsian insisted that the authorities are cracking down on the illegal online 
trade. In his words, over the last three years they have identified and charged 
over two dozen members of four criminal associations that old several million 
dollars’ worth of narcotics through social media. Two such individuals are now 
standing trial on relevant charges, added the prosecutor.
Gayane Vartazarian, a deputy director of Armenia’s main narcology clinic, said 
she is especially concerned about the growing number of juveniles and women 
using narcotics. She said the number of women who applied to the clinic rose 
from 76 in 2021 to 116 in 2022.
“I wouldn’t say that these numbers are catastrophic,” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service. “But these are large numbers and they are rising.”
Some critics of the Armenian government link the alarming trend with recent 
years’ increase in Armenia’s overall crime rate, saying that the country is not 
as safe as it used to be. The total number of various crimes registered by the 
police rose by over 24 percent in 2022.
Armenian FM Visits Quake-Hit Turkey
Turkey - Foreign Ministers Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey and Ararat Mirzoyan of 
Armenia meet in Ankara, .
Armenia’s assistance to victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkey could 
facilitate the normalization of relations between the two neighboring states, 
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after holding talks with his 
visiting Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan on Wednesday.
Mirzoyan flew to Ankara hours after Turkey again opened a border crossing with 
Armenia to receive a second batch of humanitarian aid sent by Yerevan.
A convoy of Armenian trucks loaded with food, medicine and other relief supplies 
headed to the southeastern Turkish city of Adiyaman where a 27-strong Armenian 
rescue team has been searching for possible survivors of the quake that killed 
at least 35,000 people.
Mirzoyan visited Adiyaman and spoke with the Armenian rescuers later on 
Wednesday.
"Armenia has extended its hand of friendship, showed solidarity and cooperation 
with us in this difficult time ... We need to continue this solidarity," 
Cavusoglu told a joint news conference in Ankara with Mirzoyan.
“The normalization process in the South Caucasus region is going on. We believe 
that our cooperation in the humanitarian field will support this process,” he 
added, according to Reuters.
In that regard, Cavusoglu pointed not only to ongoing efforts to improve 
Turkish-Armenian relations but also Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.
Turkey - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan inspects an Armeian 
search-and-rescue team in Adiyaman, .
The two ministers said they discussed their governments’ efforts to normalize 
bilateral relations. In Mirzoyan’s words, they reached understandings on 
rebuilding a medieval bridge on the Turkish-Armenian border and transport 
infrastructure “in advance of a full opening of the border.” He gave no details.
Turkey has for decades made the opening of the border and the establishment of 
diplomatic relations with Armenia conditional on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace 
deal acceptable to Azerbaijan. Turkish leaders have repeatedly reaffirmed this 
precondition since the start of the normalization talks with Yerevan in January 
2022.
Turkish and Armenian officials held four rounds of negotiations before 
announcing in July that the border will be opened for citizens of third 
countries. Mirzoyan reiterated Yerevan’s hopes for the “full normalization of 
relations” and “complete opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey.”
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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