Author: Manouk Vasilian

Mehr News Agency (MNA), Iran
 Sunday
Official emphasizes Iran-Armenia coop. to invest in Aras, Mogri free zones
TEHRAN, Oct. 13 (MNA) – Presiding Board Member of Parliament Plan and
Budget Commission Hadi Ghavami placed special emphasis on the
necessity of cooperation between Iran and Armenia to invest in Aras
and Mogri free zones.
By launching equipped refineries in Aras and Mogri free zones, huge
revenues will be earned in the country, he said, adding, "under such
circumstances, the country can overcome sanction conditions
successfully."
In the current situation, economic diplomacy especially with
neighboring countries is of paramount importance, so that economic
situation of the country will be promoted through identifying economic
capacities and potentials of neighboring countries, he maintained.
Establishing amicable relationship with Armenia should be taken into
consideration, so that identifying potentials between the two
countries will help promote bilateral trade and economic relationship
considerably, Ghavami reiterated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to the trade exchanges between
Iran and Armenia and reiterated, "presently, Iranian gas is bartered
with Armenia's electricity and with the expansion of cooperation in
the field of supplying fuel, many problems facing ahead in sanctions
period can be settled."
Ghavami emphasized on the necessity of cooperation between Iran and
Armenia in Aras and Mogri free zones and added, "once we could set up
a refinery with the production capacity of 200,000 barrels in Aras and
Mogri free zones, the country will earn huge revenues in this
respect."
In other industries such as plane manufacturing, capacities and
potentials of regional countries should be used optimally through
strengthening economic diplomacy, he said, adding, "such similar
projects can be put into operation in other neighboring countries."
Presiding Board Member of Parliament Plan and Budget Commission Hadi
Ghavami added that strengthening economic diplomacy with the
neighboring countries will help diversifying and creating added value
in the country significantly.

ArmenPress, Armenia
Oct 10 2018
PM Pashinyan assures Armenian Government will support all innovative
and creative ideas
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Government will support
anyone wanting to do business in Armenia with the condition that their
activities will be fully in line with the law, ARMENPRESS reports
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced in his speech at
the economic forum in the sidelines of the Francophonie summit.
The PM welcomed the participants in Armenia, at the symbolic “Tumo”
center, which, according to the PM, embodies the new Armenia.
“As you know Armenia is in a stage where once again its commitment to
values such as freedom, democracy, equality before the law, human
rights was reaffirmed. These values are also the basis of Francophonie
and the slogan of the velvet revolution. The velvet revolution was not
just a political act, but also a revolution of values. Finally, that
revolution will have no value if we fail to carry out an economic
revolution. In that sense, now we are in the most important stage of
our revolution and we have to ensure economic success with clear rules
for everyone who want and can start a business in Armenia”, Nikol
Pashinyan said.
The PM noted that those rules have been announced numerous times. But
the PM, taking advantage of the presence of numerous businessmen,
reiterated that they have two preconditions for anyone who wants to do
business in Armenia. “Any activity should be fully in line with the
law and we will help everyone to create maximally many jobs and of
course, pay taxes”, Pashinyan said, reassuring that the Government
will support everyone who will respect the two rules.
The PM noted that he was glad to learn that the main emphasis of the
works of the economic forum was on digital economy, since the goal of
the Government is to transfer Armenia into a high-tech country from an
agrarian one. “Those who are familiar with Armenia know that there are
enough human resources for implementing the economic transformation”,
PM Pashinyan underlined, adding that any creative and innovative idea
will be supported by the Government of Armenia.
The International Organisation of La Francophonie represents one of
the biggest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than
just a common language. They also share the humanist values promoted
by the French language. The French language and its humanist values
represent the two cornerstones on which the International Organisation
of La Francophonie is based.
The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970.
Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member
states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together
represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and
account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274
million French speakers.
IOF organizes political activities and actions of multilateral
cooperation that benefit French-speaking populations. Its actions
respect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the
French language, peace and sustainable development.
IOF has concluded 33 cooperation agreements with international and
regional organisations and has established permanent dialogue between
the major international linguistic zones (the English, Portuguese,
Spanish, and Arab-speaking zones).
The IOF has its head office in Paris as well as four permanent
representations in Addis Ababa (at the African Union and at the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa), in Brussels (at the European
Union), in New York and in Geneva (at the UN). It has three regional
offices (West Africa; Central Africa and Indian Ocean; Asia-Pacific)
located respectively in Lomé (Togo), Libreville (Gabon) and Hanoi
(Vietnam) and two regional antennas in Bucharest (Romania) and in
Port-au-Prince (Haiti).
Alongside the IOF, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie and
the four direct operators are responsible for implementing the
programs decided at the Summits. The four direct operators are: the
Academic Agency of La Francophonie, TV5Monde, the International
Association of Francophone Mayors and The Senghor University of
Alexandria.
58 Member States and Governments: Albania, Principality of Andorra,
Armenia, Kingdom of Belgium, French Community of Belgium, Benin,
Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada,
Canada-New-Brunswick, Canada-Quebec, Cape Verde, Central African
Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, , Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon,
Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos,
Lebanon, Luxembourg, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco,
Niger, New-Caledonia, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Säo Tomé
and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia,
Vanuatu, Vietnam.
26 Observers: Argentina, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Canada-Ontario, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Dominican Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia,
Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay.
Armenia is a member of the organization since 2008 and will assume the
presidency over the organization during this summit.
Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

                                        Tuesday, 
Republican Lawmakers Side With Armenian PM
ARMENIA -- Supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian protest outside the 
parliament building in Yerevan, October 3, 2018
At least ten lawmakers representing the former ruling Republican Party of 
Armenia (HHK) have broken ranks to voice support for Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s efforts to force snap parliamentary elections in December.
They include Gevorg Kostanian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament 
committee on legal affairs who served as prosecutor-general from 2013-2016.
Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Monday, Kostanian said that Pashinian 
is “honest in his goals and desires,” enjoys overwhelming popular support and 
must therefore be able to execute his political plans.
Nine other members of the HHK’s parliamentary faction on Tuesday signed a 
statement that called for a quick dissolution of the current National Assembly. 
“The Armenian people stand by these authorities,” one of them, Knyaz Hasanov, 
told reporters.
The statement was also signed by seven other parliamentarians. Six of them 
defected from the HHK faction shortly after Pashinian swept to power in May in 
wave of mass protests that toppled the country’s former government headed by 
Serzh Sarkisian. The latter remains the HHK’s chairman.
The HHK, which now controls 50 of the 105 seats in the parliament, is opposed 
to holding the elections in December. It says that they should be delayed until 
May or June so that political forces have enough time to properly prepare for 
them and enact anti-fraud amendments to the Electoral Code.
Armenia - Deputies from the Republican Party of Armenia attend a parliament 
session in Yerevan, 22 May 2018.
Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament can be dissolved only if it 
fails to elect, within two weeks, another prime minister in case of Pashinian’s 
resignation. Pashinian has pledged to tender his resignation this month.
The HHK’s parliamentary leaders have so far declined to clarify whether they 
will respond by nominating or endorsing a prime-ministerial candidate. The 
effective defections of more HHK lawmakers dealt a further blow to the party’s 
ability to scuttle Pashinian’s plans.
The 43-year-old premier on Monday secured the crucial backing of businessman 
Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) which holds 31 parliament 
seats. In a joint memorandum, Tsarukian and Pashinian said the fresh elections 
must be held in December.
As recently as on October 2, the BHK helped the HHK to enact a bill that could 
have complicated the conduct of the vote. Pashinian reacted furiously to the 
move, telling his supporters to rally outside the parliament building in 
Yerevan and firing government ministers representing Tsarukian’s party.
Pashinian, who controls only a handful of seats in the current legislature, 
stepped up his push for snap general polls after his My Step alliance won as 
much as 80 percent of the vote in the September 23 municipal elections in 
Yerevan. Observers believe that his political team could do just as well if the 
polls are held in the coming weeks. By contrast, the HHK would most probably 
struggle to win any seats in the next National Assembly.
U.S. Hopes For Democratic Elections In Armenia
Armenia - U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills (R) gifts a book to Armenian Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian, Yerevan, 8 October 2018.
The United States hopes that the widely anticipated snap parliamentary 
elections in Armenia will be free and fair, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in 
Yerevan, Richard Mills, said on Tuesday.
“The date for elections is a matter for political parties, the government and 
the Armenian people to come to a decision,” Mills told a news conference.
“What the U.S. government and, I think, all the friends of Armenia want to see 
out of these elections is a free, fair and credible process that gives all 
parties … a chance to fairly participate, and a process that will have 
credibility with the Armenian people and produce solid multi-party democracy 
that has a loyal opposition as well as a ruling majority,” he said.
Mills, who had a farewell meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on 
Monday, added that he is “very encouraged” by his election-related discussions 
with Armenian government officials and politicians. He praised their “spirit of 
sitting down and reaching a compromise on what’s the best way to move forward 
on elections.”
The current Armenian parliament has been widely expected to be dissolved ever 
since Pashinian-led mass protests brought down this spring the country’s 
previous government headed by Serzh Sarkisian.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised those protests when he congratulated 
Pashinian on Armenia’s Independence Day marked on September 21.
“A peaceful, popular movement ushered in a new era in Armenia, and we look 
forward to working with you to help you execute the will of your people to 
combat corruption and to establish representative, accountable governance, rule 
of law buttressed by an independent judiciary, and political and economic 
competition,” Trump wrote in a congratulatory message.
The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan gave a largely positive assessment of the conduct 
of Armenia’s last parliamentary elections held in April 2017. It said “voters 
were able to freely exercise their right to vote.”
An April 2017 statement by the embassy backed the findings of an OSCE-led 
monitoring team which said that the elections were “tainted by credible 
information about vote-buying” and pressure on voters. But it also said that 
electronic anti-fraud equipment installed in the Armenian polling stations 
helped to prevent more serious irregularities.
Sarkisian’s Party Decries ‘Government Pressure’
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Armen Ashotian, a deputy chairman of Republican Party of Armenia.
A senior member of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) on 
Tuesday accused the authorities of forcing some of its deputies to agree to the 
early dissolution of Armenia’s current parliament.
“According to my information, pressure was exerted on and the state repressive 
apparatus was used against a number of deputies,” claimed Armen Ashotian. “They 
even tried to find ways of influencing some deputies from abroad.”
“But I don’t exclude that there are also [HHK] deputies who willingly changed 
their positions,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
At least ten HHK lawmakers have openly voiced support for Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s efforts to force snap parliamentary elections in December. The HHK 
leadership says that the vote must not be held before May.
Ashotian argued that none of the HHK dissenters voiced objections when the 
former ruling party’s parliamentary faction issued last week a statement that 
argued against holding the elections in December. He said at least some of them 
subsequently voiced support for Pashinian’s plans as a result of government 
pressure and intimidation.
Ashotian refused to name any of those lawmakers, however. “Let those people 
themselves talk about that pressure,” he said. “It is evident that such 
pressure first occurred when some deputies left our 58-member faction [in June] 
and we became a 50-member faction.”
Hrachya Hakobian, a lawmaker representing Pashinian’s Yelk alliance, dismissed 
Ashotian’s allegations. He challenged the HHK representative to present 
evidence of his claims to law-enforcement authorities.
“It looks like Mr. Ashotian is confusing the current situation with the 
situation that existed during their rule,” said Hakobian.
Pashinian on Monday praised HHK parliamentarians for breaking ranks. He said 
they should be “encouraged” by his supporters.
Meanwhile, the HHK faction issued another statement on Tuesday saying that it 
will not nominate a candidate for the post of prime minister if Pashinian 
resigns to pave the way for the December elections. But it said it continues to 
believe that the polls must be held in May or June next year.
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” is confident that fresh parliamentary elections will be held in 
Armenia before the end of this year. The paper says that Serzh Sarkisian’s 
Republican Party (HHK) is “falling apart,” with several members of its 
parliamentary faction openly saying that the elections should be held in 
December. It points out that the current parliament’s dissolution is now also 
supported by Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK). “It must also be 
noted that political processes seem to be unfolding without shocks,” it says.
Lragir.am notes that former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian is one of those 
HHK parliamentarians who have effectively sided with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian. Another HHK lawmaker, Alik Sargsian, has expressed readiness to 
leave the HHK’s parliamentary faction. The online publication notes that these 
developments followed the weekend arrest of Samvel Mayrapetian, a wealthy 
entrepreneur reputedly linked to former President Robert Kocharian. “The 
[former] system is crumbling and any attempted resistance only accelerates the 
depletion of its resources,” it says.
“Zhamanak” comments on a joint memorandum of understanding that was signed by 
Pashinian and BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian on Monday. “In terms of current 
political affairs, Gagik Tsarukian tried to save the chance to be second [most 
important political force,]” writes the paper. “The question, however, is 
whether by voicing support for Pashinian and agreeing to holding elections in 
December he managed to reverse the losses suffered by the BHK on October 2. It 
is possible that the BHK leader does not care about that and is now more 
concerned with his personal rating seeing as the BHK’s ‘political period’ 
probably ended a long time ago.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

                                        Thursday, 
Snap Elections Good For Armenian Economy, Says Tax Chief
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Davit Ananian, head of the State Revenue Committee, arrives for a 
news conference in Yerevan, 13 July 2018.
The Armenian economy will suffer if snap parliamentary elections sought by 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian are delayed until next year, the head of the 
State Revenue Committee (SRC), Davit Ananian, said on Thursday.
“In places where the situation is not stable in the political sense business 
takes a back seat and waits to see what kind of political solutions there will 
be,” Ananian told reporters. “So the prime minister is definitely right.”
“The longer this wait-and-see situation persists, the worse for the country,” 
he said.
Vahagn Khachatrian, an economist affiliated with former President Levon 
Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) party, agreed. “Business loves 
stability,” Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
Pashinian began pushing for the holding of such elections in December 
immediately after his political alliance won municipal polls held in Yerevan on 
September 23. He has argued, among other things, that political uncertainty 
resulting from his team’s modest presence in the current Armenian parliament is 
hampering badly needed investments in the domestic economy.
The Republican (HHK) and Prosperous Armenia (BHK) parties, which control the 
two largest parliamentary factions, want the elections to be held in May. A 
senior BHK lawmaker on Monday challenged Pashinian to name those investors who 
are reluctant to expand or set up businesses in Armenia before the polls.
Meanwhile, Pashinian’s chief adviser, Arsen Gasparian, said on Thursday that 
“pre-term parliamentary elections have absolutely nothing to do with 
investors.” “Pre-term elections are first and foremost the people’s demand,” he 
said.
“In August and September many investors from various parts of the world visited 
my office,” Gasparian told reporters. “I must say that entrepreneurs regard the 
political changes that have occurred in Armenia as very positive.”
Moscow Encouraged By Armenian-Azeri Talks
RUSSIA – MOSCOW, AUGUST 3, 2018: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria 
Zakharova holds a weekly press briefing. Sergei Savostyanov/TASS
The Russian Foreign Ministry praised on Thursday the latest high-level contacts 
between Armenia and Azerbaijan aimed at reviving the Nagorno-Karabakh peace 
process.
“We welcome the positive trends that are apparent,” said the ministry 
spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. “It is now important to build on them and not to 
harm them with careless rhetoric which has unfortunately happened lately.”
“From our part, we will provide necessary support to these positive trends,” 
Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
spoke with each other during a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States 
held in Tajikistan on September 28. Pashinian said afterwards that they agreed 
to stop ceasefire violations in the conflict zone which had intensified in 
recent weeks.
A top aide to Aliyev also gave a positive assessment of the conversation as 
well as a fresh meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers held 
in New York on September 26.
According to the U.S., Russian and French mediators co-chairing the OSCE Minsk 
Group, Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian and Elmar Mammadyarov “confirmed 
the importance of taking measures to intensify the negotiation process and to 
take additional steps to reduce tensions.”
“The Ministers agreed to meet again before the end of the year,” they said in a 
joint statement.
Pashinian and Aliyev were first introduced to each other by Russian President 
Vladimir Putin when they attended in June the opening ceremony of the 2018 
football World Cup hosted by Russia. They have held no formal negotiations yet.
Armenian Public Debt To Rise Further In 2019
        • Sisak Gabrielian
Armenia - Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian speaks at a news conference in 
Yerevan, 4 October 2018.
Armenia’s public debt will rise by about 3 percent to $7.3 billion next year, 
Finance Minister Atom Janjughazian said on Thursday.
Janjughazian downplayed the anticipated increase, saying that the debt will 
fall as a share of Gross Domestic Product. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected 
at around 55 percent for this year.
In Janjughazian’s words, Armenia’s government and Central Bank will owe a total 
of $7.1 billion to mainly foreign creditors in December, up from almost $6.9 
billion in January 2018.
Their combined debt rose by $863.5 million in 2016 and by 832.5 million in 
2017. It totaled just $1.9 billion before the 2008-2009 global financial crisis 
that plunged the county into a severe recession.
Janjughazian defended the current government’s plans for more borrowing, saying 
that it is needed to finance the state budget deficit which is projected to 
fall to 2.2 percent of GDP in 2019. “We borrow not to take care of our current 
expenditures or to please a part of the society but to create more output which 
can generate new capacities,” he told a news conference.
“When we say that we are going to borrow that creates the impression that we 
are making the situation worse,” complained the minister. He insisted that the 
situation will actually improve because the debt burden will ease in relative 
terms next year.
The draft state budget for 2019 approved by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
cabinet last week sets aside 85 billion drams ($176 million) for debt 
servicing. The sum is equivalent to roughly 5 percent of overall budgetary 
expenditures planned by the government.
Three New Armenian Ministers Appointed
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian arrives for a cabinet meeting in 
Yerevan, 4 October 2018.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Thursday replaced three of the six government 
ministers fired by him following the collapse of his power-sharing agreements 
with the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Dashnaktsutyun parties.
Pashinian announced the sackings on Tuesday as he accused the BHK and 
Dashnaktsutyun of cooperating with Serzh Sarkisian’s Republicans (HHK) in 
trying to prevent fresh parliamentary elections in Armenia.
Both parties denied the accusations, saying that they only want the elections 
to be held next year, rather than in December, as is demanded by Pashinian. 
Dashnaktsutyun said it itself has decided to withdraw from the de facto ruling 
coalition formed after Pashinian came to power in May in a wave of mass 
protests.
Dashnaktsutyun was represented in the government by two ministers, while the 
BHK had four ministerial posts. Six provincial governors affiliated with these 
parties were also dismissed.
In separate decrees, President Armen Sarkissian formalized the appointment of 
the new ministers of energy, transport and emergency situations handpicked by 
Pashinian. Their predecessors represented the BHK.
The newly appointed Emergency Situations Minister Felix Tsolakian held senior 
positions in the administrations of former Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and 
Robert Kocharian. A former KGB officer, Tsolakian served as a deputy director 
of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) from 2007-2013 after heading the 
national tax service from 2003-2007. He governed the northwestern Shirak 
province before being elected to the parliament on the HHK ticket in 2017.
Tsolakian, 66, broke ranks to vote for Pashinian’s becoming prime minister in 
May. He went on to leave Sarkisian’s party.
Hakob Arshakian, a 33-year-old member of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, was 
named to run the Armenian Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information 
Technology. Arshakian served as first deputy minister of transport until now.
The post of energy minister was given to Garegin Baghramian, a 41-year-old 
technocrat not affiliated with any party. He worked as deputy minister before 
the appointment.
“I want to thank the former ministers for their cooperation,” Pashinian said at 
a cabinet meeting held earlier in the day. “The staff changes were made in view 
of the known political events, and I want to wish all of our colleagues 
success.”
Press Review
“Zhoghovurd” reports that President Armen Sarkissian may not sign a 
controversial bill adopted by the Armenian parliament on Monday into law. In 
that case, Sarkissian will have to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the 
bill’s conformity with the Armenian constitution. An article of the 
constitution gives the parliament two weeks to elect a new prime minister in 
case of the current premier’s resignation. The bill says the two-week period 
must not cover possible disruptions of parliament sessions by protesters. The 
paper suggests that the Constitutional Court could validate the bill not least 
because its members were appointed by the former authorities.
“The National Assembly must be dissolved,” writes “Aravot.” “We need a new 
parliament. The sooner the better. That [new] National Assembly will not 
necessarily have more decent, let alone more competent, members. But the new 
parliament will be trusted by the majority of Armenia’s citizens, at least 
during the first one or two years of its tenure. And that is extremely 
necessary for Armenia. Besides, this uncertain period will come to an end, 
which will allow our state to address pressing internal and external issues.” 
The paper says that the current parliamentary majority will not dare to appoint 
a new prime minister in the event of Nikol Pashinian’s tactical resignation.
“Zhamanak” criticizes the leading parliamentary forces -- the Republican Party 
(HHK), Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Dashnaktsutyun -- for saying that the 
elections must be held in May. The paper dismisses their arguments that 
political groups need more time to properly prepare for the polls. “A force not 
prepared for elections in December will not be prepared in May either,” it 
says. “In essence, a few more months [of preparation] would change nothing in 
terms of the readiness of political forces or their competitiveness. These 
objections are only designed to win time.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org