Category: 2017

                                        Tuesday, September 3, 2017
Meat, Butter Prices Soar In Armenia
 . Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - Meat sold in a food market in Yerevan, 3Oct2017.
Retail prices of meat and butter in Armenia have risen by more than 20
percent in the last ten days, making these foodstuffs even less
affordable for a large part of the country's population.
Particularly drastic has been a surge in the price of pork. It stood
at roughly 2,600 drams ($5.4) in grocery stores and markets in Yerevan
on Tuesday, up from 1,600-1,800 drams in August. Beef and lamb prices
soared by 20-30 percent to 2,100 and 2,200 drams per kilogram
respectively.
Butter, which is mostly imported to Armenia from New Zealand and other
countries, was sold for about 4,000 drams per kilo, up from 2,800
drams less than two weeks ago.
Traders in a Yerevan food market, where prices are lower than in
supermarkets and smaller stores, said their sales have fallen
significantly because of the price hikes.
"We are embarrassed to tell the price to pensioners," one butter
trader told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "Butter is now
more expensive than meat," complained his wife.
Armenia's state anti-trust regulator, the State Commission for the
Protection of Economic Competition (SCPEC), blamed the increased cost
of butter on external factors. "Butter prices have risen in virtually
all countries of the world," said Gnel Alaverdian, head of the SCPEC's
analytical department.
"According to the main companies exporting butter from New Zealand,
international butter prices rose by over 130 percent between May 2016
and September 2017." he added. "This is an unprecedented price
hike. In the same period, retail prices of butter in our country rose
by only 44-50 percent."
Armenia is far less dependent on imports of meat. The SCPEC could not
explain the sharp rise in the prices of this foodstuff, saying that it
is not monitoring the domestic meat market.
According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), year-on-year
consumer price inflation in the country averaged less than 1 percent
in January-August 2017.
Opposition Bloc Insists On Armenia's Exit From Eurasian Union
 . Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - Nikol Pashinian (L) and other deputies from the opposition
Yelk alliance attend a parliament session in Yerevan, 3Oct2017.
The opposition Yelk alliance forced the Armenian parliament on Tuesday
to debate its calls for Armenia to leave the Eurasian Economic Union
(EEU) which are opposed by the three other political groups
represented in the National Assembly.
The 90-minute debate came just days after the parliament committee on
foreign relations rejected a Yelk proposal to set up an ad hoc
commission that would look into consequences of the country's
membership in the Russian-led bloc. The pro-Western bloc responded by
taking the matter to the parliament floor.
Earlier in September Yelk drafted a parliamentary declaration saying
that the Armenian authorities must embark on a "process" of
invalidating their accession treaty with the EEU. It said that EEU
membership, effective from January 2015, has hurt the country's
economy and security. Yelk's leaders decided to postpone parliamentary
discussions on the document for now and focus instead on the idea of
the special commission.
One of them, Nikol Pashinian, said during Tuesday's debate that the
proposed parliamentary inquiry is aimed at "protecting Armenia's
sovereignty" which has been dealt "very serious blows" by the
EEU. Armenia must not only leave the EEU but also seek an Association
Agreement with the European Union, he said.
Parliamentary leaders of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
again dismissed the initiative. One of them, deputy speaker Eduard
Sharmazanov, insisted that most Armenian parties and ordinary citizens
oppose an exit from the EEU.
"This is one of the few issues on which both the authorities and the
majority of the opposition agree," Sharmazanov told fellow
lawmakers. "Secondly # what we should discuss first is not the
question of what the EEU has given us but the damage that would occur
in case of our exit."
Another senior HHK figure, Armen Ashotian, said that it is the
Armenian government, rather than the EEU, that is primarily
responsible for the country's economic woes. "Why aren't you demanding
the government's resignation and are seeking an exit from the EEU
instead?" he said.
Representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), the HHK's junior coalition partner, and businessman
Gagik Tsarukian's bloc, which claims to be in opposition to the
government, also made clear that they will vote against the Yelk
motion.
Yelk holds 9 seats in the 105-member parliament.
Armenian Businessman Sentenced For Fraud
 . Ruzanna Gishian
Armenia - Businessman Ashot Sukiasian stands trial in Yerevan,
5May2016.
An Armenian businessman has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for
defrauding another entrepreneur who has implicated former Prime
Minister Tigran Sarkisian in the high-profile case.
A district court in Yerevan convicted Ashot Sukiasian late on Monday
of having misappropriated most of a $10.7 million loan which his
former business partner, Paylak Hayrapetian, borrowed from an Armenian
commercial bank in 2012. Sukiasian had pledged to invest that money in
diamond mining in Sierra Leone. He never did that, according to
prosecutors.
Sukiasian was arrested in Georgia, extradited to Armenia and charged
with fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in 2014. The Armenian
police issued an international arrest warrant for him in 2013 after a
series of reports published by Hetq.am.
The investigative publication discovered that Hayrapetian's money was
transferred to the offshore bank accounts of several Cyprus-registered
companies. It disclosed a document purportedly certifying that one of
those firms is co-owned by Sukiasian, then Prime Minister Sarkisian
and Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Both Sarkisian, who resigned as prime minister in April 2014, and
Kchoyan strongly denied having any stakes in the company, saying that
it was registered in their names in Cyprus without their
knowledge. Sukiasian claimed to have forged their signatures shortly
after his arrest.
Hayrapetian, a formerly wealthy man now living in a modest Yerevan
apartment, continued to implicate Sarkisian in the alleged scam,
however. The former premier, who now heads the Moscow-based executive
body of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, filed a libel suit
against him in 2015.
During his trial, Sukiasian denied not only the ex-premier's and
Archbishop Kchoyan's links to the offshore firm but also the charges
levelled against him. His lawyer, Yuri Khachatrian, told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that he will appeal against the
verdict.
Khachatrian said earlier that Sukiasian himself is a victim of
fraud. He claimed that his client lost control over a diamond mine in
Sierra Leone because he was cheated by a Belarusian partner. The
lawyer also dismissed Hayrapetian's complaints, saying that the latter
was always aware that doing business in the war-ravaged African state
is very risky.
In addition to the lengthy prison sentence, a district court in
Yerevan also ordered the arrested businessman to pay Hayrapetian
almost 9 billion drams ($19 million) in damages.
Press Review
"Zhamanak" disagrees with assertions that recent independence
referendums in Iraqi Kurdistan, Spain's Catalonia region and other
parts of the world bode well for a pro-Armenian solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "Catalonia and Iraqi Kurdistan cannot be a
precedent for Karabakh," the paper says. "Neither can, from the
Azerbaijani perspective, Crimea, Abkhazia or South Ossetia, which are
cases rejected by the international community. We won't discuss
motives and evaluations. At any rate, they are extremely subjective."
"Our strength probably lies in the notion that [ethnic] conflicts
around the world are not identical and therefore cannot serve as an
example to each other," continues "Zhamanak." "That approach ensures a
much less vulnerable and a much easier, in terms of room for foreign
policy maneuver, situation for Armenia because Armenia does not have
to side any parties to other conflicts."
"Zhoghovurd" claims that the Armenian authorities expect to receive
large-scale economic assistance from the European Union after signing
the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the
EU in November. "For that purpose they have started flattering
European officials, expressing their gratitude for the assistance
provided to date. That assistance includes cooperation with the EU
during the [April 2017 Armenian] parliamentary elections # The
authorities are used to asking for money for the implementation of one
or another program but that funding does not always serve its
purpose. And when donors demand reports on the use of their money the
authorities immediately go on a counteroffensive."
"Haykakan Zhamanak" says that socioeconomic factors are the main
reason for a continuing out-migration of people from Armenia. "In
essence, the key to Armenia's development lies in cutting off the
direct link between [migrant] remittances, economic growth and
out-migration," writes the paper. "All we have to do is to ensure a
qualitative change in the economy. That in turns means radical reforms
of management of the economy, a de-monopolization [of the economy,] a
separation of business and politics, a reduction in the scale of
corruption, and greater efficiency of the judicial system."
(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

Please find the attached press release of the Ministry of Diaspora.
Sincerely,
Media and PR Department:
( 374 10) 585601, internal 805
----------------------
Sincerely
Department of Press and Public Relations
( 374 10) 585601, extension 805

1.jpg
JPEG image

2.jpg
JPEG image

393. The Minister of Diaspora participated in the opening of the exhibition of the Bulgarian-Armenian artist Petik Petrosyan.docx
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

Please find the attached press release of the Ministry of Diaspora.
Sincerely,
Media and PR Department:
( 374 10) 585601, internal 805
----------------------
Sincerely
Department of Press and Public Relations
( 374 10) 585601, extension 805

395. The Minister of Diaspora received Hrach Gaspar, the chairman of the executive board of "Armenian Trade Network" and board member Va��ram Pirjan��an.docx
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

JPEG image

Please find the attached press release of the Ministry of Diaspora.
Sincerely,
Media and PR Department:
( 374 10) 585601, internal 805
----------------------
Sincerely
Department of Press and Public Relations
( 374 10) 585601, extension 805

396. RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received a group of Brazilian journalists.docx
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

JPEG image

Star. Turkey
Sept 30 2017
Did We Reach Agreement With Putin or Over Which Issues Can We Reach Agreement?
by Sevil Nuriyeva
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Turkish]
Why did Russia for days, contrary to expectations, not issue very
strong statements about the referendum in Northern Iraq?
First of all, there is one issue that we should be aware of! As a
state, Russia is a federal entity. And as far as Russia is concerned
and in line with its founding philosophy, realization of a people's
own wishes within the framework of autonomy is acceptable. However,
there is a limit to that! It is normal for Russia to extend its
backing to Kurds who want autonomy in Northern Iraq. However, Russia
cannot possibly say ''yes'' to independence.
It is very clear; if Russia says ''yes'' to a situation that poses a
threat to Iraq's territorial integrity, it then opens the door to the
autonomy of Turkish Muslims in Russia such as Tatarstan, Dagestan,
Chechnya, Bashkortostan, and their demands for independence in the
future! This is tantamount to Russia's collapse. Therefore, as far as
Russia is concerned, an autonomous Kurdistan province in Northern Iraq
is something that needs to be backed within Iraqi lands.
Secondly, given that Russia strongly objected to the ethnic cleansing
of or demographic changes against the ethnic Russians in the Donetsk
and Luhansk regions in Ukraine, it cannot accept the cleansing against
the Turkmen in Kirkuk. Otherwise, its demands in Ukraine will be
refuted. On the other hand, while seeking to get everyone to agree to
a referendum in Crimea, Russia cannot strongly object to Erbil's
referendum.
Russia is in favour of establishing dialogue with the Kurds in an
environment of chaos without taking on Turkey and Iran and absolutely
without having a favourable view of the independence. At a time when
everyone is at loggerheads with each other, Russia does not wish to
lose the arbitrator role to the Americans. In such a situation, by
using a calm language, Russia is seeking, absolutely without having a
favourable view of the independence, to become a state confessed as
''desirable and invited forces'' [as received] at the table. This
situation will, in the future, strengthen Russia's hand and help the
country always to have a say in terms of its dominance in the former
Soviet landscape.
One should not forget that in the past Russia always used the red
Kurdistan as an anti-Turkey force against Turkey, a NATO ally, and to
bypass Turkey's alliance with the Turkish Muslim communities in its
region. Turkey enjoys some serious significance in the Caucasus and in
Russia. This is not only true for the present time. The bond Tatars,
Chechens, Bashkirs, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Sakhas, and Circassians have
with Turkey, despite them being evacuated [as received], are still
strong. Given the likelihood that this may cause problems in the
future, Russia sees the entity in Iraq and the Kurdish leverage in
Syria as some leverage that can be used [as received].
Putin does not wish to lose Erdogan at all because he sees Erdogan as
a serious figure in terms of global balance. Turkey's and Erdogan's
stance is one fact that saves Putin from being ''the only target.''
Turkey's power in Russia's sphere of influence and its definition is
something that cannot be grasped for the time being. Putin is aware of
that! Given his statist stance, his wish to liberate Russia from
pressures, and his awareness of the ambition of the US political
establishment to finish him off, Turkey and Erdogan are for him an
indescribable support. That is why efforts of the Armenian and Jewish
lobby, which is seriously vocal in the Russian media, to create an
anti-Turkey public opinion are growing by the day. That the
Anglo-Saxon alliance and the Israeli lobby keep this alive is a
serious situation that should not be ignored.
Russia is currently advocating the integrity of the state in Syria and
Iraq just like Turkey is doing. In the meantime, Russia is hoping that
oil prices will drop in this chaotic environment. When there is a war,
its arms sales will increase and this means a contribution to Russian
economy. Therefore, it is not right to expect Putin to use a stronger
language than the one he is currently using. In this situation, Russia
will be active in the region and consolidate dialogue with everyone.
Russia's own fate depends on this. To those ignorant people who are
incapable of assessing Turkey's value even though they live in Turkey,
I make the following suggestion, ''reread the codes of this nation.''
Scientific political path is currently the path that is most
desperately needed. We will not be humiliated nor will we humiliate!
Turkey is strong enough to decide both its own fate and the fate of
the world of Islam through scientific politics, national codes, state
reason as well as its political and national will. As for the
worst-case scenarios of certain people, this is part of the operation
against Turkey. Those who have a path, faith, and cause will
undoubtedly reach their goal.