Category: 2018

Friday, April 06, 2018
Journalists Barred From New Armenian President’s Inauguration
Ապրիլ 06, 2018
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Armen Sarkissian is seen in the parliament moment after being elected 
Armenia's next president, 2 March 2018. Journalists will not be allowed to attend the inauguration on Monday’s of 
Armenia’s new president, Armen Sarkissian, a senior official said on Friday. Sarkissian will be sworn in at a special session of the Armenian parliament 
which overwhelmingly elected him president last month. The session will be held 
at a large concert hall, rather than the parliament building in Yerevan. The chief of the parliament’s press service, Arsen Babayan, said parliamentary 
correspondents will only be able to watch a live broadcast of the ceremony from 
a National Assembly press room. Only the heads of 53 “leading media outlets” 
will be invited to attend the inauguration, he said, calling that an 
“additional opportunity for press coverage.”
“Journalists accredited with the National Assembly have no right to enter the 
main National Assembly auditorium,” Babayan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
(Azatutyun.am). “They cover [parliament sessions] from special rooms. The same 
principle will apply to the coverage of the special parliament session.”
Babayan also said that the invited media chiefs will be allowed to “freely 
carry out their professional activities” during the inauguration. He did not 
specify the news organizations whose chief executives will receive such 
invitations. Opposition leaders denounced these restrictions. One of them, Nikol Pashinian, 
said: “This is what we mean when we say that [the outgoing President] Serzh 
Sarkisian is building a deceitful Azerbaijani-style state.”
Sarkisian is widely expected to become prime minister and thus extend his 
decade-long rule just days after completing his final presidential term on 
Monday. His successor will have largely ceremonial powers. Armen Sarkissian has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that despite the lack of 
executive powers he intends to play a major role in Armenia’s political and 
economic life. In particular, he has pledged to strive to heal what he sees as 
serious divisions existing within the Armenian society. Foreign Investment In Armenia Down In 2017
April 06, 2018
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - The U.S.-based company Lydian International builds a gold mine at the 
Amulsar deposit, 9Dec2017. (Photo by Lydian Armenia)
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Armenia fell by 27 percent last year despite 
robust economic growth recorded by the government, official statistics show. According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), FDI inflows totaled nearly 
$246 million in 2017, down from $338 million in 2016.They stood at $178.5 
million in 2015. The Armenian Ministry for Economic Development and Investments on Friday 
declined to comment on reasons for this sizable reduction in FDI. Vahagn Khachatrian, an economist affiliated with the opposition Armenian 
National Congress (HAK), said the drop shows that foreign investors do not 
trust in Prime Minister Karen Karapetian’s reform pledges and, in particular, 
his cabinet’s stated efforts to improve the country’s business environment. Khachatrian said that investors continue to be scared away by bureaucratic red 
tape, government corruption and a lack of competition. Neighboring Georgia 
attracted $1.8 billion in foreign investment last year because it has a more 
investor-friendly environment, he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Shortly after being appointed prime minister in September 2016, Karapetian 
pledged to help attract over $3 billion in domestic and foreign investments in 
the next few years. He said at least $830 million will be injected in the 
Armenian economy in 2017. Karapetian’s government claimed to have honored the latter pledge earlier this 
year. In a 12-page report, it said $856.5 million worth of various “investment 
projects” were implemented across the country in 2017. Private investors 
accounted for just over two-thirds of this figure, the report said, adding that 
the remaining investments were financed from the state budget as well as 
foreign loans and grants obtained by the government. The NSS reported last month that the Armenian economy grew by 7.5 percent in 
2017 after stagnating in 2016. Opposition politicians and other critics of the 
government question the credibility of this growth rate. NSS figures show that the British island of Jersey was the main source of 
foreign investments made in Armenia last year. The tax haven is home to an 
Anglo-American company, Lydian International, which is currently building a 
massive gold mine in the southeastern Vayots Dzor province. Lydian has pledged 
to invest a total of $370 million in the Amulsar gold deposit. Azeri Military Buildup All But Complete, Says Aliyev
April 06, 2018
        • Gevorg Stamboltsian
Azerbaijan - President Ilham Aliyev (L) inspects a Russian-made Smerch 
multiple-launch rocket system deployed in Nakhichevan, 7Apr2014. Azerbaijan has essentially completed large-scale acquisitions of weapons for 
its armed force which began more than a decade ago, President Ilham Aliyev said 
on Friday. “We have practically finished the process of rearmament of our army,” he told 
the official Russian TASS news agency. “Today our army is equipped with the 
most sophisticated and precision-guided offensive and defensive weaponry. “We buy weapons from the world’s best manufacturers. The acquired weapons make 
us self-confident.”
“Further arms purchases will have a more selective and concrete nature and be 
aimed at solving one or another issue,” Aliyev added without elaborating. Baku embarked on a massive military buildup in the early 2000s as it started 
earning billions of dollars in annual oil revenue. Russia, Israel and Turkey 
have been its main suppliers. Russia alone has sold an estimated $5 billion worth of various weapons to 
Azerbaijan in the last several years, prompting criticism from Armenia, its 
main regional ally locked with Baku in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian leaders say those arms supplies contributed to the April 2016 fighting 
in Karabakh which nearly escalated into an all-out war. Speaking to TASS, Aliyev again blamed Armenia for the lack of decisive progress 
in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. He said Yerevan is “doing everything” to 
maintain the status quo. Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian claimed the opposite in a newspaper 
interview published on Friday. He blamed the deadlock on Baku’s “maximalist” 
position on the conflict. Aliyev and Sarkisian pledged to reinvigorate the Karabakh peace process when 
they last met in Geneva last October. Their foreign ministers held follow-up 
talks in December and January. Press Review
April 06, 2018
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” scoffs at Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian’s 
announcement that Armenia’s next prime minister will have two offices because 
of wielding many more powers than the current premier. “They were saying that 
the parliamentary system of government will lead to a separation of powers,” 
writes the paper. “Now it turns out that one person will have so many powers 
that a single office will not be enough. But is the holder of that office 
enough to perform all those duties? Or does the [ruling] HHK plan to clone 
Serzh Sarkisian so that our long-suffering people get several such goodies? That would be useful in all respects. One [Serzh Sarkisian] would deal with 
foreign policy issues, another with the economy, while a third one would 
participate in weddings and engagement parties.”
“One can presume that Serzh Sarkisian will be issuing orders relating to the 
police, the military, the security service and the country’s overall governance 
from [the presidential palace on] 26 Bagramian Avenue,” writes “Zhoghovurd.” 
“This is where sensitive intra-governmental processes will be masterminded. By 
contrast, orders to the deputy prime ministers and ministers will be given from 
the main government building where cabinet meetings are held. This is really 
pathetic. It means that the efficiency of a state official’s work depends on 
the number of their offices.”
“Zhamanak” continues to analyze the deepening rift within the opposition Yelk 
alliance. The paper says that successive opposition alliances in Armenia have 
failed because of pursuing maximalist objectives, instead of accepting “small 
but institutional victories.” “As a rule, the opposition has not gained the 
whole thing and has only lost its main resource: public trust,” it says. “In 
all likelihood, lessons have not been learned because the lumpen public keeps 
subjecting the opposition to tests.”
“Past” quotes Grigor Harutiunian, a senior member of Stepan Demirchian’s 
People’s Party, as criticizing other opposition forces that are planning street 
protests against Serzh Sarkisian. Harutiunian argues that they refused to 
campaign against Sarkisian’s constitutional changes which made his continued 
rule possible in the first place. He notes that they also refused to challenge 
the official results of last year’s parliamentary elections. (Tigran Avetisian)
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

                                        Saturday, April 07, 2018
Sarkisian Sees Key Government Role For Himself, Karapetian
April 07, 2018
        • Emil Danielyan
Armenia - Outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian and outgoing Prime Minister Karen 
Karapetian meet in Yerevan, 7 April 2018.
Two days before completing his second term in office, President Serzh Sarkisian 
made clear on Saturday he and the outgoing Prime Minister Karen Karapetian will 
bear "the burden of responsibility” for Armenia’s government for the next four 
years.
Meeting with Karapetian in the presidential palace, Sarkisian gave further 
indications that he will take over as Armenia’s prime minister later this month 
and thus remain the country’s most powerful man. He said he also envisages a 
key government role for Karapetian, praising the latter’s 18-month track record.
“Taking this opportunity, I want to thank you for the good job and friendship 
and want you to pass on my thanks to the members of the government,” Sarkisian 
said in televised remarks.
“We have worked together very well in this period but must also bear in mind 
that our party won a popular vote of confidence in the [April 2017] 
parliamentary elections and that the Republican Party (HHK) has a mandate to 
form a government until 2022,” he went on. “And that means the burden of 
responsibility for the country’s development will be on the Republican Party 
and us in the first instance: me, as the party’s chairman, and you, as the 
party’s first deputy chairman.
“Obviously, members of the party’s executive body, council and territorial 
chapters will bear responsibility, but I am talking here about personal 
responsibility. And we are certainly obliged to stay the course.”
“So we still have a lot to do,” he said, implying that the HHK leadership will 
formally nominate its candidate for prime minister next week.
The ruling party, which has a comfortable majority in the parliament, is widely 
expected to install Sarkisian as prime minister on April 17. Karapetian, for 
his part, is tipped to become first deputy prime minister chiefly responsible 
for the Armenian government’s economic policies.
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian and Prime Minister Karen Karapetian arrive 
at an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 31Mar2017.
Karapetian and all members of his cabinet will tender their resignations 
immediately after Armen Sarkissian, a businessman and diplomat who has lived in 
Britain for nearly three decades, is sworn in as Armenia’s new president on 
Monday. Sarkissian (no relation to Serzh) will have largely ceremonial powers 
due to the country’s switch to a parliamentary system of government.
Karapetian told Serzh Sarkisian that his cabinet has succeeded in achieving 
“all macro-objectives which were set up by you.” He said he looks forward to 
striving to meet “very ambitious” socioeconomic targets in the years ahead.
“That will certainly require hard and consistent work and audacity,” said the 
54-year-old former business executive. “We do see the directions in which we 
should move forward. I think that very interesting times await us.”
“According to our forecasts, for the next three or four years we are going to 
achieve certain economic successes which will allow us to implement 
long-lasting, fundamental and profound reforms,” he declared.
Karapetian pledged to embark on such reforms after being appointed prime 
minister in September 2016. His government’s stated efforts to improve the 
domestic investment climate and tackle corruption have been praised by the 
International Monetary Fund but dismissed as a gimmick by the Armenian 
opposition. Opposition leaders have questioned official statistics showing that 
Armenia’s economy grew by 7.5 percent last year.
Opposition groups are even more critical of Sarkisian’s decade-long presidency, 
calling it a gross failure. They also accuse the outgoing president of breaking 
a 2014 pledge not to become prime minister in 2018. Some of them are planning 
to stage street protests next week against his apparent plans to extend his 
rule.
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

                                        Monday, 
New Armenian President Sworn In
Armenia - Armen Sarkissian is sworn in as new president of Armenia in Yerevan, 
9 April 2018.
Armen Sarkissian, a former scholar who has long lived in Britain, pledged to 
strive for a “new Armenia” able to meet challenges of the modern world as he 
was sworn in as the country’s new president on Monday.
He took the oath of office at a special session of the Armenian parliament 
attended by hundreds of other dignitaries.
The ceremony took place at a concert hall in Yerevan just over a month after 
the National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to elect Sarkissian president of the 
republic. His candidacy was nominated by the outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian 
(no relation) and the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) earlier this 
year.
Sarkissian, 64, is the first Armenian president not elected by popular vote. 
The change stems from controversial constitutional changes that have 
transformed Armenia into a parliamentary republic. Sarkissian will therefore 
have largely ceremonial powers.
The HHK-controlled parliament is widely expected to appoint Serzh Sarkisian as 
prime minister next week. The latter met with his handpicked successor shortly 
before the inauguration ceremony broadcast live by national television.
Armenia - Armenia's outgoing and incoming presidents and their wives meet in 
Yerevan, 9 April 2018.
Putting his right hand on the Armenian constitution and a 7th century Armenian 
Bible, Armen Sarkissian vowed to stay “impartial” in performing his duties and 
do his best to “strengthen national unity.”
In an ensuing speech, Sarkissian mentioned challenges facing the country. “We 
must jointly and consistently fight against negative and vicious practices in 
the state system, society and our environment: from corruption to social 
injustice, from indifference to irresponsibility,” he declared. “In this just 
and uncompromising fight, each of us has a role to play. We will succeed if we 
not only criticize but also propose, if we join forces and work together, 
rather than create divisions.”
The new president, who has tried to reach out to various political and civic 
groups, intellectuals and business circles in recent weeks, went on to stress 
the need for faster economic development. “No matter how attractive and 
substantiated promises of the bright future are, people want to feel their 
fruits now, and they are right,” he said.
“The 21st century is a century of thought and rapid scientific progress,” said 
Sarkissian. “Accordingly, we must build a new Armenia; a young Armenia; a 
dynamic, flexible, and creative Armenia.”
The inauguration was attended by 92 of the 105 members of the parliament. Most 
of the absent deputies are affiliated with the opposition Yelk bloc, which 
controls 9 parliament seats. Seven Yelk deputies voted against Sarkissian while 
the two others did not vote at all on March 2.
Armenia - Armen Sarkissian is sworn in as new president of Armenia in Yerevan, 
9 April 2018.
A physicist and mathematician by education, Sarkissian worked at the Cambridge 
University when he was appointed as newly independent Armenia’s first 
ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1991. He served as prime minister for four 
months in 1996-1997 before being again named ambassador in London.
His second ambassadorial stint was cut short in 1999 by then President Robert 
Kocharian. Sarkissian stayed in Britain and made a fortune there in the 
following decade, working as an advisor and middleman for Western corporations 
doing business in the former Soviet Union. He was appointed as Armenian 
ambassador to Britain for a third time in 2013.
Under the amended constitution, Sarkissian will serve for a seven-year term. He 
will be primarily tasked with ensuring “observance of the constitution” by 
various branches of government. In particular, he will be able to send 
parliament-approved bills to the Constitutional Court for examination in case 
of objecting to their provisions. The bills will have to be signed into law if 
the court certifies their conformity with the constitution.
The president will also formally appoint members of the government, Armenian 
ambassadors abroad and the Armenian army’s top brass nominated by the prime 
minister. In addition, he can sign international treaties recommended by the 
ruling cabinet.
Russia’s Lavrov Upbeat On Karabakh Peace
        • Aza Babayan
RUSSIA -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint press 
conference with his Chinese counterpart following their talks in Moscow, April 
5, 2018.
Joint efforts by Russia and other world powers to help resolve the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will eventually end in success, Russian Foreign 
Minister Sergey Lavrov said over the weekend.
In an interview with an Armenian reporter, Lavrov also praised Armenia for 
remaining firmly allied to Russia while forging closer links with the European 
Union.
Commenting on prospects for a Karabakh settlement, he said: “The most important 
thing [for the conflicting parties] is to step back from distrust, which still 
manifests itself sometimes during negotiations, and to concentrate on 
realistic, pragmatic ideas which are in abundant supply.”
“The parties seem to conceptually agree to do that, but when things start 
developing into concrete wordings … complications arise. But I think that we 
will continue to consistently overcome them and achieve a result,” Lavrov said 
in the televised interview publicized by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents pledged to try to break the deadlock in 
the Karabakh peace process when they last met in Geneva in October. Their 
foreign ministers held follow-up negotiations in December and January. The 
U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group said in 
February that the two sides intend to “continue intensive negotiations, taking 
into account the current electoral period.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will likely win another term in office in a 
snap election scheduled for Wednesday. Aliyev’s Armenian counterpart, Serzh 
Sarkisian, served out his final presidential term on Monday. Sarkisian is 
widely expected to become Armenia’s prime minister and thus extend his rule 
later this month.
Aliyev and Sarkisian most recently came close to reaching a framework peace 
accord at a 2011 meeting held in Kazan, Russia. Armenian officials accused 
Aliyev s at the time of scuttling the deal with last-minute additional 
concessions demanded from the Armenian side.
“During the [Kazan] summit there emerged additional questions and comments,” 
said Lavrov. “Such things happen. We don’t regard that as a tragedy. Efforts 
will continue. I am sure that a lot of what is contained in the so-called Kazan 
document is still in demand.”
“So I think nothing from what was worked out at that time has been lost, even 
though some new ideas, which the co-chairs are now furthering in their contacts 
with the parties, have emerged since then,” he added without elaborating.
The Kazan document is thought to be one of the versions of the Basic Principles 
of a Karabakh peace which were first put forward by the U.S., Russian and 
French mediators in 2007. The framework accord calls for a phased settlement 
that would start with Armenian withdrawal from virtually all Azerbaijani 
districts around Karabakh. That would be followed by a referendum on Karabakh’s 
internationally recognized status.
Lavrov was also satisfied the current state of Russian-Armenian relations, 
saying that they have grown even closer in the political, economic and military 
areas in the past decade. He praised Armenia for joining the Russian-led 
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) at the expense of an Association Agreement with 
the EU which was due to be finalized in 2013. Yerevan signed a less 
far-reaching Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU last 
November.
“It’s wrong to leave countries in the post-Soviet space with the choice of 
either with the West or with Russia,” Lavrov said in a jibe at the EU. “That is 
an absolutely ideological and politicized approach. And I think the fact that 
Armenia insisted on the kind of relationship with the EU which involves … 
recognition of Armenia’s rights and obligations in other integration processes 
is a step in the right direction.”
Serzh Sarkisian’s Continued Rule All But Confirmed
Armenia - Outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian (R) and outgoing Prime Minister 
Karen Karapetian meet in Yerevan, 7 April 2018.
Outgoing Prime Minister Karen Karapetian effectively confirmed on Monday that 
Serzh Sarkisian will remain Armenia’s top leader even after completing his 
second and final presidential term.
Karapetian made the announcement shortly after tendering his and his ministers’ 
resignations to Armen Sarkissian, the new president of the republic who took 
office earlier in the day.
The resignations are mandated by Armenia’s amended constitution envisaging a 
parliamentary system of government. This means that the next Armenian prime 
minister will be the country’s most powerful official.
Serzh Sarkisian, who also leads the ruling Republican Party (HHK), signaled his 
plans to become prime minister when he met with Karapetian on Saturday.
Commenting on that meeting, the outgoing premier said: “We decided to propose 
to our party comrades to maintain the current government configuration in this 
period: namely, to nominate Serzh Sarkisian as the number one figure.”
“Because it is extremely important to expedite a smooth and effective 
transition to the new government system which will minimize risks,” he added in 
comments reported by his press office.
The Armenian parliament, in which the ruling HHK has a solid majority, is due 
to elect the next prime minister on April 17. In recent weeks, many senior HHK 
members have backed Sarkisian to take up the top executive post.
Sarkisian said on Saturday that he and Karapetian will “bear the burden of 
responsibility” for Armenia’s government for the next four years. This was a 
further indication that the politically inexperienced Karapetian will be 
appointed first deputy prime minister primarily responsible for the 
government’s socioeconomic policies.
The Armenian opposition has strongly condemned Sarkisian’s plans to extend his 
decade-long rule, calling it a gross failure. Some opposition groups are 
planning to launch daily street demonstrations in Yerevan later this week in a 
bid to thwart those plans.
Opposition leaders also accuse Sarkisian of backtracking on his 2014 promise 
that he will “not aspire” to the post of prime minister if Armenia becomes a 
parliamentary republic. Sarkisian claimed last month that his political 
opponents are taking his 2014 statement “out of context.” “I still do not 
aspire to the post of prime minister,” he said.
Opposition Leader Congratulates New President
        • Harry Tamrazian
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian (R) congratulates the new 
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian after an inauguration ceremony in Yerevan, 
9 April 2018.
Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian attended Armen Sarkissian’s inauguration on 
Monday, saying that the new Armenian president is more legitimate than his 
predecessor.
Hovannisian was the main opposition candidate in Armenia’s last presidential 
election held in 2013. He rejected as fraudulent the official election results 
that gave victory to the incumbent Serzh Sarkisian. A series of demonstrations 
organized by Hovannisian in Yerevan at the time failed to force the authorities 
to invalidate the vote.
The new president of the republic was elected by the Armenian parliament, 
rather than popular vote, in line with controversial constitutional changes 
enacted in 2015.
“Five years on, we have a new electoral system,” Hovannisian told reporters 
after the inauguration ceremony. “You can say it’s still based on fraud, but 
it’s a de facto new electoral system and we had today an inauguration which was 
more or less far from illegitimate. And so I congratulate Armen Sarkissian.”
“Let’s hope that with his proposals and experience he will help to mark, little 
by little, the beginning of a new, free, independent and creative Armenia for 
which our people fought not only five years ago but also for the last 25 
years,” said the U.S.-born politician.
Sarkissian’s swearing-in ceremony was boycotted by all nine lawmakers 
representing the opposition Yelk alliance. They have questioned his eligibility 
to serve as head of state.
Armenia’s amended constitution requires presidential candidates to have had 
only Armenian citizenship for the last six years. Sarkissian has admitted 
receiving British citizenship in 2002. He insists that he gave it up in 2011. 
Yelk has been unconvinced by these assurances, demanding that Sarkissian 
produce a British government document certifying that.
One of the opposition bloc’s leaders, Nikol Pashinian, hit out at the new 
president as he continued to tour northern and central regions of Armenia on 
foot in an effort to drum up popular support for his upcoming anti-government 
rallies in Yerevan.
“His [British-based] sons and grandchildren will tell their grandchildren, ‘You 
know, our grandfather was Armenia’s president,’” scoffed Pashinian. “But if the 
grandchildren are a bit more mindful, they will realize that that story is far 
sadder than is presented.”
Pashinian, whose campaign is not supported by other Yelk leaders, is planning 
to hold daily demonstrations immediately after reaching Yerevan on Friday. They 
will be aimed at preventing former President Serzh Sarkisian from becoming 
prime minister later this month.
Also campaigning against Sarkisian’s “reproduction” is the For the Armenian 
State coalition of more radical opposition groups and activists, including the 
Zharangutyun party which Hovannisian founded and headed until last month. The 
grouping held its latest rally on Monday several hours after Hovannisian 
attended the presidential inauguration.
Press Review
(Saturday, April 7)
“Zhamanak” notes that the Armenian-born billionaire Samvel Karapetian is not in 
the latest group of more than two dozen Russian oligarchs and government 
officials sanctioned by the United States. The paper speculates that Karapetian 
is keen to have one or possibly more American companies join his energy 
projects in Armenia to try to “neutralize his risks in Russia.”
“Zhoghovurd” says Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian have used foreign media 
outlets to accuse each other of impeding a peaceful resolution of the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Aliyev said that Armenia is “imitating” peace talks 
with Azerbaijan, while Sarkisian again blamed the lack of progress on Baku’s 
“maximalist” position. The paper says the conflict remains unresolved because 
both Aliyev and Sarkisian are not interested in peace.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reacts to the Russian-Turkish agreement to build a 
Russian-designed nuclear power station in Turkey. The paper says the Armenian 
government had pledged to build a new nuclear plant with Russian aid even 
before the Turks decided to utilize atomic energy. It also blames Moscow for 
the failure of the Armenian nuclear project and claims that the Russian-Turkish 
deal is “directed against Armenia’s interests.”
(Tatev Danielian)
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