Category: 2017

                                        Thursday, 
U.S. General Again Visits Armenia
 . Emil Danielyan
U.S. - Armenian soldiers are trained at a Kansas National Guard
facility in Salina in July 2017.
A U.S. general overseeing the Kansas National Guard is visiting
Armenia for a third time in less than a year shortly after his troops
trained more Armenian soldiers as part of growing U.S.-Armenian
defense cooperation.
Major General Lee Tafanelli, the Kansas adjutant general, met with
Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian on Wednesday. He reportedly pledged to
continue training programs for Armenian military personnel mostly
serving in a special brigade that contributes troops to multinational
peacekeeping missions around the world.
The Armenian Peacekeeping Brigade has received considerable technical
assistance from U.S. Army Europe and the Kansas National Guard. In
particular, U.S. instructors have been training the brigade's medical
personnel and demining experts. The Armenian military inaugurated a
U.S.-sponsored paramedic school in October last year.
U.S. - Kansas National Guard officers train Armenian soldiers in July
2017.
Tafanelli's department reported earlier this week that more soldiers
of the Peacekeeping Brigade have undergone training at a Kansas
National Guard facility in Salina, a small city in the
U.S. state. "The Guardsmen and Armenian soldiers conducted training
exercises in the Humvee egress rollover trainer and in the virtual
convoy simulator," it said in a statement.
The Kansas Adjutant General's Department also released several
photographs of the joint exercises held this month.
The U.S. has also helped Armenia to recruit and train more
non-commissioned contract officers. As part of that effort, 25
Armenian army sergeants underwent further training in Kansas in August
2016.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Sargsian and Tafanelli
discussed these training programs at their meeting. "The American side
expressed readiness to continue cooperation in these directions
through long-term programs," read a ministry statement.
Despite its military alliance with Russia, Armenia has deepened
defense cooperation with NATO and the United States in particular
since the early 2000s. It currently contributes troops to NATO-led
missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and regularly participates in
multinational exercises organized by U.S. forces in
Europe. U.S. military assistance to Armenia has totaled about $50
million since 2002.
Armenia - Major General Lee Tafanelli (C), the Kansas adjutant
general, and U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills (R) at a meeting with
Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian in Yerevan, 26Jul2017.
Tafanelli said that U.S.-Armenian military ties are now "as strong as
they have ever been" during his previous visit to Yerevan in
January. "Each year continues to get better and better with the
quality of the engagements and partnership between our two countries,"
he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
Tafanelli as well as a deputy commander of U.S. Army Europe, Major
General John Gronski, also attended last September official ceremonies
in Armenia that marked the 25th anniversary of the country's
independence. A military parade in Yerevan was the main highlight of
those celebrations.
In addition, the Kansas National Guard has been assisting Armenia's
Ministry of Emergency Situations. Emergency Situations Minister Davit
Tonoyan praised that assistance when he met Tafanelli on Thursday. In
a statement, Tonoyan's office said the two men discussed ongoing
training courses for Armenian firefighters and rescue workers
organized by the Kansas Guard and the British military.
The ten-day courses began on July 18 at two different locations in
Armenia. The statement said Tonoyan and Tafanelli will visit both
venues on Thursday and Friday.
Still No Agreement On Next Armenian-Azeri Summit
 . Artak Hambardzumian
Russia - President Serzh Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart
Ilham Aliyev start Russian-mediated talks in St. Petersburg,
20Jun2016.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet agreed on the date of a fresh
meeting of their presidents sought by international mediators, a
senior Armenian diplomat said on Thursday.
"As you know, there has been a proposal from the mediators," Deputy
Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian told journalists. "The [Armenian
and Azerbaijani] foreign ministers are working in that
direction. There is no final agreement and decision yet."
Armenia - Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian, 27July, 2017.
The U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
continued to press for such a summit when they met with Foreign
Ministers Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov in Brussels on July
11. In a joint statement issued after the talks, they said Nalbandian
and Mammadyarov agreed to meet again in September for further
discussions on the issue.
In a televised interview aired on July 16, President Serzh Sarkisian
said a "preliminary agreement" on his face-to-face talks with
Azerbaijan's Ilham was reached during the co-chairs' tour of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone last month. "My expectations from the
meeting are not big, but that meeting could take place this autumn,"
he told the Armenia TV station.
The two presidents most recently met in May and June last year shortly
after four-day deadly hostilities around Karabakh. They agreed to
allow the OSCE to deploy more field observers in the conflict zone and
investigate truce violations occurring there.
The Azerbaijani government has since been reluctant to implement these
safeguards, however, saying that they would cement the status quo in
the absence of progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. The
Armenian leadership insists, meanwhile, on an unconditional
implementation of the confidence-building measures that were agreed by
Aliyev and Sarkisian.
Sarkisian claimed on July 16 that Baku is now refusing to seek a
Karabakh settlement based on the so-called Madrid Principles that have
been advanced by the mediating powers for the past decade.
The proposed framework peace accord calls for a gradual resolution of
the Karabakh dispute that would start with a gradual liberation of
virtually all seven districts around Karabakh that were fully or
partly occupied by Karabakh Armenian forces in 1992-1993. In return,
Karabakh's predominantly ethnic Armenian population would determine
the territory's internationally recognized status in a future
referendum.
Government OKs Major Borrowing By Armenian Electric Utility
 . Tatevik Lazarian
Armenia - A newly refurbished energy distribution facility in Gyumri,
13Sep2014.
Armenia's government on Thursday allowed the national power
distribution network to borrow $160 million from foreign banks for
further cutting its losses and modernizing its aging facilities.
The private owner of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) utility
needed government permission to offer 70 percent of its stock as a
collateral for the two equal loans to be provided by the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Asian Development
Bank (ABA).
Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's cabinet authorized the transaction
on the condition that should the ENA default on the loan repayments
the banks will not be able to sell the ENA shares to other investors
without the Armenian authorities' consent.
The Manila-based ABA announced the impeding disbursement of its $80
million credit to the ENA early this month. It said the money will
help the company cut electricity distribution losses from around 10
percent in 2016 to around 8 percent by 2021. This will be achieved by
"rehabilitating, reinforcing, and augmenting the distribution network,
connecting new customers and introducing international standards of
management and automated control system," the ABA said in a statement.
The ENA had incurred mounting losses since 2010, despite repeated
increases in electricity prices approved by Armenian state
regulators. The company had $220 million in outstanding debts to
Armenian power plants and commercial banks when it was acquired by the
Tashir Group of the Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian
from Inter RAO, a state-run Russian energy giant, in October
2015. Karapetian pledged to make the troubled utility "much better
under our management."
The most recent electricity price hike announced by Armenia's Public
Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) in June 2015 sparked two-week
demonstrations in Yerevan. While defending the tariff rise, the
government officials acknowledged that the power grids have been
mismanaged by the Russians.
Artak Manukian, a Yerevan-based economist, was skeptical about the
rationale for the new loans sought by the ENA. He said that the loans
could be misused because the company has been notorious for a lack of
transparency.
"But formally we have no grounds to prove that and have to accept for
now the explanations presented by the company," Manukian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
U.S. Lawmaker Seeks IT Education Grant For Armenia
U.S. -- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), ranking member of the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, speaks during a discussion at the
Washington Post office building, in Washington, June 7, 2017
A leading pro-Armenian U.S. congressman has called for
multimillion-dollar U.S. funding for public schools in Armenia which
would ultimately benefit the country's burgeoning information
technology (IT) industry.
Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence
Committee, said the U.S. government should allocate such assistance
under its Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) program designed to
foster reforms in developing nations.
Armenia qualified for the aid scheme shortly after Washington launched
it in 2006, receiving over $170 million for the rehabilitation of
rural irrigation networks. The Armenian government tried in vain to
secure more MCA funding after the irrigation upgrades were completed
in 2011.
Last year, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) started
lobbying the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government
agency running the program, to support science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) education in Armenia with a grant worth at
least $100 million. The advocacy group's chairman, Raffi Hamparian,
said the money would "add new energy" to the Armenian IT sector,
reduce poverty and strengthen U.S.-Armenian relations.
Schiff, whose California constituency is home to the largest
population of ethnic Armenians in the United States, voiced support
for the ANCA efforts on Thursday. "I believe the time is right for a
new [MCC] compact, focusing on STEM education to help Armenia take the
next step towards sustainable economic growth and a growing middle
class," an ANCA statement quoted him as saying.
Schiff said that in recent weeks he spoken with ANCA leaders as well
as Armenian Embassy officials in Washington about "how to move forward
on this important project." "I look forward to continuing to work
closely with all of the stakeholders to ensure Armenia receives every
consideration," he added.
Armenia - Students at the newly opened Gyumri branch of the Tumo
Center for Creative Technologies, 25May2015. (Photo courtesy of
Tumo.org)
IT is already the fastest-growing sector of the Armenian economy,
having expanded by over 20 percent annually in the past decade. The
sector employing about 15,000 people is dominated by local
subsidiaries of several U.S. tech giants.
Industry executives say a lack of skilled personnel has hampered an
even more rapid growth. They have long complained about the inadequate
professional level of many graduates of IT departments of Armenia
universities.
An Armenian IT association has been trying to address this problem
with extracurricular robotics classes organized by it in more than 100
public schools across the country since 2008. The effort has attracted
only limited financial assistance from local and foreign donors so
far.
Thousands of other Armenian schoolchildren are enrolled in Yerevan's
Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, mainly studying computer
programming, robotics and animation. The state-of-the-art center was
founded by U.S.-Armenian philanthropist Sam Simonian in 2011 and has
since opened several branches in other parts of the country.
Press Review
"Aravot" reacts to a scandalous revelation that the press secretaries
of several Armenian government agencies discussed in a closed Facebook
group the possibility of blacklisting some journalists disliked by
them. The paper says that although relations between government
spokespersons and reporters have never been perfect it is totally
wrong to penalize the latter for critical reports about relevant
government agencies. "A civil servant must stay away from such
emotions and provide their services to all beneficiaries, regardless
of their political views and their attitudes towards a particular
agency and its head," it says in an editorial.
"The spokespersons' talk of blacklists is disgraceful," Ashot
Melikian, chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Speech,
tells "Hraparak." "I think that if they have really done such a thing
they must be held accountable. All of them. If they didn't like a
particular report they should have exercised their right to respond
[to a corresponding media outlet,] rather than have a grudge and draw
up a so-called blacklist. I consider that unprofessional." Melikian
also reminds those officials that under an Armenian freedom of
information law they must answer journalists' questions within five
days. "So these discriminatory attitudes towards media outlets are
simply unacceptable and run counter to spokespersons' duties," he
adds.
"Hayots Ashkhar" criticizes the Armenian government's plans to cut the
share of its spending on education in the country's Gross Domestic
Product in the coming years. "We believe that such cost saving is
extremely worrying," comments the paper. "International experience
clearly proves that education spending cuts could be disastrous for
any country # and that only rising human capital can guarantee future
development. There can be nothing worse for Armenia's future than a
reduction in education spending."
(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

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Tuesday
9th international barbeque festival to pass in Armenian Akhtala
 Yerevan July 25
Ani Mshetsyan. On August 20 in Armenian launches 9th international
barbeque(khorovats) festival which is one of the most popular
festivals in the republic.
Contest part of the festival will be held on August 19 in Akhtala,
Lori district of Armenia. Within the framework of this event, not only
Armenian but also foreign travel companies organize tours to Armenia.
"And already there is a large army of tourists who go to Armenia to
participate in this festival," said Mekhak Apresyan, first deputy
chairman of State Tourism Committee of Ministry of Economic
Development and Investments, at a meeting with journalists on July 25.
According to Apresyan, the chefs from Georgia, Russia, Lithuania,
Austria and Armenia will participate in the competition part of the
festival. In the field of tourism development this festival is of
great importance, since not only the sights and history of the country
are interesting for tourists, but also the national cuisine. The
festival also provides an entertaining part in which the Istanbul
singer Sevil and other famous local and foreign pop stars will
participate.
In turn, the head of the public organization "Development and
preservation of Armenian culinary traditions" Sedrak Mamulyan said
that for the first time Armenia will organize this festival according
to international standards, since it really gained wide popularity.
About 30 pavilions will be open at the festival. The competition will
also differ from the previous ones in that the chefs will cook 5
different types of shish kebab for a certain period of time, and then
present culinary masterpieces to the jury. As a reward, the winners
will be awarded "Good-will cups of shish kebab". "From now on, Akhtala
will receive the status of a shish kebab capital, since of all the
cities in which such events are organized, Akhtala is the oldest city
and ideally suits as a capital," Mamoulian concluded.

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition
July 24, 2017 Monday
Azerbaijan condemns trip of Armenian Foreign Minister to Kalbajar
Baku/24.07.17/Turan: The trip of the Armenian Foreign Minister to the
occupied region of Azerbaijan Kelbajar and participation in the
religious event "Gandzasar777" is another confirmation of historical
and religious falsification at the state level by Armenia. "We would
like to remind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia that this
Albanian-Christian church located on the territory of the Kelbajar
region of Azerbaijan occupied by the Armed Forces of Armenia is called
not Gandzasar, but Gyankyasar, it has nothing to do with the Armenian
Gregorian church. This is proved by serious facts by Azerbaijani and
international historians by specialists, "the head of the press
service of the Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev said.
According to him, the architectural planning and compositional
solution of the temple complex, sculptural samples confirmed that this
monument belongs to the Caucasian Albania, which has centuries-old
traditions.
The head of the press service said that after the occupation of
Azerbaijan by Azerbaijan, in 1836, according to a special decision of
the "Russian Holy Synod", the Albanian church and all its property was
transferred to the disposal of the Armenian Gregorian church.
"Since then, the Armenian Gregorian church has pursued a policy of
armenization of the Albanian Christian heritage, including the
Gyankasar Monument and Albanian written sources."
According to Hikmet Hajiyev, all this is the policy of armenization in
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan of the historical heritage of
the Azerbaijani people, Islamic and Christian churches and others is a
gross violation of international humanitarian law, in particular, the
Geneva Convention.
The participation of the Armenian Foreign Minister in this event once
again shows that Armenia is not interested in settling the conflict
through peaceful negotiations. Armenia implements a policy of
annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, the head of the
press service said. -03D04-

                                        Wednesday, 
Israeli Minister Seeks Closer Ties With Armenia
 . Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian (R) and Israel's
Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi sign bilateral
agreements after talks in Yerevan, 25Jul2017.
An Israeli government minister spoke of a "breakthrough" in Israel's
uneasy relationship with Armenia on Wednesday during an official visit
to Yerevan that focused on ways of boosting bilateral economic
cooperation.
"The aim of my visit is to strengthen our relationship," Minister of
Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi told RFE/RL's Armenian service
(Azatutyun.am) shortly before meeting with Prime Minister Karen
Karapetian.
"The friendship [between the two nations] has been there for many
years," said Hanegbi. "Diplomatic relations have existed for 25
years. But now we are thinking of more practical mutual fields to work
together and to make this friendship mutually beneficial in many
fields."
"I think that for more than ten years there have been no visits of an
Israeli minister [to Armenia.] So this is a new breakthrough, and I'm
happy to be part of it," he added.
Hanegbi, who is affiliated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
Likud party, began his trip on Tuesday with talks with Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian. "Minister Hanegbi noted that Israel wants
to develop friendly relations with Armenia and this is the main
message of his visit," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a
statement.
The two men signed agreements on avoidance of double taxation and
mutual lifting of visa requirements for holders of Armenian and
Israeli diplomatic passports. The Israeli cabinet member also signed a
separate document on bilateral cultural exchanges with Armenia Culture
Minister Armen Amirian.
Karapetian told Hanegbi that Yerevan too would like to boost
Armenian-Israeli ties when they met on Wednesday. "The interlocutors
exchanged views on the prospects of economic relations and business
contacts between Armenia and Israel," read a statement issued by the
prime minister's office.
Armenia - Prime Minister Karen Karapetian meets with Israel's Minister
of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi in Yerevan, 26Jul2017.
Karapetian was also reported to say that his government is interested
in attracting Israeli investments in various sectors of the Armenian
economy and information technology (IT) in particular. Transport and
Communications Minister Vahan Martirosian said technology centers
operating in Armenia "would be happy to host Israeli IT companies"
during his separate talks with Hanegbi held earlier in the day.
According to official Armenian statistics, Armenia's trade with Israel
stood at a modest $8.5 million in 2016.
Relations between Armenia and Israel have been frosty ever since the
Soviet collapse, reflecting conflicting geopolitical priorities of the
two states. Armenia has maintained a warm rapport with Iran to ease
its geographic isolation, while Israel has pursued strategic
cooperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Armenia has been particularly worried about Israel's large-scale arms
deals with its arch-foe, Azerbaijan. In 2012, Israeli defense
officials confirmed a reported deal to provide the Azerbaijani
military with more weapons worth a combined $1.6 billion. The
Azerbaijani army used some of these Israeli-made weapons, notably
sophisticated anti-tank rockets, during April 2016 hostilities in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Israel's current Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is a staunch
backer of close ties with Baku. Lieberman reportedly reaffirmed last
December his support for Azerbaijan's "territorial integrity and
inviolability of borders" in the Karabakh conflict.
Hanegbi, who held key security positions in the Israeli cabinet in
2003-2006, declined to comment on the Israeli arms supplies to
Baku. "My trip here is concentrated on positive sides of enhancing the
relationship between our countries," he said.
According to the Foreign Ministry statement, Hanegbi presented
"Israel's approaches to regional developments" at the talks with
Nalbandian. The latter briefed the Israeli minister on international
efforts to end the Karabakh conflict.
Nalbandian did not meet with any Israeli cabinet members when he
visited Israel in March 2015 to attend a concert by the Jerusalem
Symphony Orchestra dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide. Nalbandian again flew to Jerusalem in March this year to
take part in official ceremonies marking the completion of restoration
works at the Church of Holy Sepulcher. He held no talks with Israeli
leaders.
Government Vows To Liberalize Armenian Energy Sector
 . Artak Hambardzumian
Armenia - Officials hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the
construction by an Italian company of a new power plant in Yerevan,
20Mar2017.
The government plans to liberalize Armenia's energy sector in hopes of
attracting large-scale investments from U.S. and other foreign
companies, a senior official in Yerevan said on Wednesday.
"The government has initiated a process of energy market
liberalization," Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures Hayk
Harutiunian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "We have
already presented a plan of actions which will ensure that the energy
sector switches to a new, liberal model by 2021."
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills, stated last month that
U.S. energy firms could invest as much as $8 billion in the sector if
the authorities in Yerevan open it up to competition and remove all
obstacles to electricity exports to neighboring Georgia and Iran.
Harutiunian dismissed suggestions that Mills made a case for reducing
Armenia's heavy dependence on Russia for energy. "I believe that the
ambassador definitely meant the process of energy market
liberalization which we have initiated. The energy market is
completely regulated and there is no free competition there right
now."
"The $8 billion figure was an estimate made by our ministry mainly
about the commercially viable potential in the area of solar energy,"
argued the official. "That potential can certainly be realized. But it
will be realized in a phased manner and that will greatly depend on
international prices."
"There are regular meetings with the U.S. ambassador and American
companies on finding formats for expanding American companies'
activities in Armenia's energy sector," he added.
Harutiunian noted that one U.S. company, ContourGlobal, already
privatized Armenia's largest hydroelectric complex two years ago in a
$250 million deal strongly backed by the U.S. government. Also, he
said, an Italian company started building a thermal power plant in
Yerevan in March.
Armenia - A hydroelectric plant in Syunik which is part of the Vorotan
Hydro Cascade, 11Nov2013.
Russian natural gas and nuclear fuel generate at least 60 percent of
Armenia's electricity. In addition, Russia's Gazprom monopoly owns the
country's gas distribution network. Another Kremlin-controlled energy
giant, Inter RAO, owned the Armenian national electric utility until
selling it to an Armenian-born billionaire in 2015.
And just last month, the RusHydro group also controlled by the Russian
government reaffirmed its intention to sell off Armenia's second most
important hydroelectric complex belonging to it.
The European Union is also supporting greater use of renewable energy
in Armenia. As part of that effort, the EU Delegation in Yerevan
installed two solar-powered bus stops in Yerevan earlier this
month. The delegation chief, Piotr Switalski, said the EU is thereby
"contributing to Armenia's energy independence."
Harutiunian insisted that Switalski did not seek to convey any
geopolitical messages to the Armenian government. "The development of
renewable energy must not be viewed only through the prism of energy
security," he said. "It should also be viewed in terms of cutting
prices and measures taken against climate change. So I don't think it
is appropriate to politicize such statements."
The official added that more than 100 small solar power plants are
already operating in Armenia.
Armenian Villagers Oppose Gold Mining Project
 . Karine Simonian
Armenia - Residents of Ardvi village protest against a private
company's plans to mine gold in the area, 26Jul2017.
Dozens of residents of a village in Armenia's northern Lori province
blocked a local road on Wednesday to protest against an obscure
private company's plans to mine gold near their community.
They fear that the project, if implemented, will wreak havoc on the
local ecosystem by contaminating forests and pastures surrounding
their village of Ardvi. They say that open-pit mining there will also
scare away tourists visiting 10th century shrines located Ardvi.
The company in question, called Miram, has so far divulged few details
of its plans to develop a gold deposit located in the mountainous
area. It has yet to secure government permission for the proposed
mining operation.
Armenian law requires companies seeking mining licenses, among other
things, to hold public hearings in communities that would be affected
by their operations. Miram planned to hold such a discussion on
Wednesday.
The protesting villagers thwarted the procedure by blocking a road
leading to Ardvi and defying police officers' calls to unblock
it. "Our gold is our nature," said one of the angry protesters.
"Their aim is to destroy our village. We won't allow any hearing,"
cried another villager.
Representatives of Miram never showed up. The company's shareholders
until now included Arayik Zadoyan, the manager of a restaurant in the
provincial capital Vanadzor. The restaurant belongs to Vahram
Baghdasarian, the parliamentary leader of the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK).
Zadoyan claimed on Wednesday that he no longer holds a stake in
Miram. He said that the company is controlled by one of his friends
based in Russia.
Press Review
Margarit Yesayan, a parliament deputy from the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK), tells "Aravot" that only a handful of opposition
figures are calling for Armenia's withdrawal from the Russian-led
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). "It would be unserious to change our
foreign policy just because of some proposal," she says. "It is too
early to summarize the results of our membership in the EEU. Let us
acknowledge that the organization is still establishing itself and
many issues are solved right now, with our participation." She also
points to Armenia's rising exports to Russia and other EEU member
states.
"Hayots Ashkhar" says that this stage the U.S., Russian and French
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group can reach a settlement acceptable to
all parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, impose a particular
solution on them or maintain the status quo. The paper believes that
the latter scenario is the most realistic one is the existing
circumstances, saying that Azerbaijan is not prepared for a compromise
solution and that the United States and Russia are too mistrustful of
each other to jointly force the parties to accept a peace accord.
"Government representatives themselves have rung alarm bells over the
demographic situation in Armenia of late, even though they had for
years countered experts and civil society activists who spoke about
the sad demographic situation in Armenia," writes "Hraparak." The
paper notes that President Serzh Sarkisian personally expressed
concern about the problem when he addressed the National Assembly in
May.
(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