According to the decision of the RA Prime Minister, the head of the Water Committee, Inessa Gabayan, was dismissed.
To remind, Inessa Gabayan was appointed to the position on July 10, 2018.
“Guided by Article 9, Part 7 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Public Service”, dismiss Inessa Gabayan from the position of the head of the water committee,” the draft decision says.
RPA first deputy chairman, RPA GM member Vigen Sargsyan, RPA deputy chairman, RPA GM member Mushegh Lalayan, RPA speaker, RPA GM member Eduard Sharmazanov, RPA GM member Vahram Baghdasaryan and RPA council member Artak Zakaryan hosted Sergey Kopirkin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RA RF on February 5.
During the meeting, issues of further development of the Armenian-Russian allied relations were discussed. The necessity of regular organization of similar meetings was emphasized on both sides.
Today, a number of YSU researchers marched from YSU’s central building to the RA government building, demanding the annulment of the 2018 decision to change the form of basic funding provided by the state.
As is known, according to the decision N 1515-N “On measures to ensure the implementation of the 2019 state budget of the Republic of Armenia” adopted by the RA government on December 27, 2018, the basic funding of scientific and scientific and technical activities provided by the state was defined as a grant, and it was decided to allocate it from now on through a tender procedure.
YSU researchers have repeatedly stated their positions about the consequences of the adopted decision, stating that it will have negative consequences and harm science. YSU scientific council, YSU vice-rector for scientific policy and international cooperation expressed its position on this issue. Gegham Gevorgyan also met with journalists and clarified the problem.
Today, researchers are already calling for “For the sake of science”, “Let’s not let science disappear” and “
During the march, 4th-year student of YSU Chemistry Faculty Hovhannes Adonts said that he is participating in the protest because he is a beneficiary of the educational sector and is concerned about its future. “I think that today the appropriate attitude is not shown to this sector and the interests of its representatives are not protected.”
In front of the RA government building, the researchers clarified what their demand was for the representatives of various media. YSU Semiconductor Devices and Nanotechnologies Center junior researcher, physical math. candidate of sciences Hayk Zakaryan said that they demand a final solution to the issue, approved by the RA government’s decision.
Hayk Zakaryan stated that before this innovation, the base funding was not tendered, but monitoring and inspections were always carried out. “In other words, the hypothesis that financing through a tender procedure solves the problem of efficiency is actually a misunderstanding.”
Anna Kotanjyan, deputy director of the YSU Physics Research Institute, said that YSU is not against the competition system, but against such drastic changes. “Making hasty decisions like this disrupts our normal work. We have planned many events, international conferences, which we have to implement, but today we do not know what work status we will have in the near future. That is, will we be able to implement them or not?”
Gevorg Grigoryan, a senior researcher at the base laboratory of the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry of YSU, noted that the protest does not have any political context. “We are not going to demand anyone’s resignation or make other calls. We are just here to point out the loopholes in the decision and the negative consequences that flow from it. We hope everything ends well.”
Hayk Zakaryan, a junior researcher at the YSU Semiconductor Devices and Nanotechnology Center, read the application-proposal of the researchers, which requests to suspend the government’s decision 1515-N, to organize public discussions for the improvement and improvement of science funding mechanisms, in particular base funding, and before making any decision about science, to discuss it publicly with the scientific community.
“Without questioning the need for reforms in the scientific and scientific-educational spheres, we hope that the government will find an opportunity to make changes in the said decision. In the future, it is necessary to develop a new law on science with the broad participation of scientific workers, making a smooth transition to a more effective scientific and scientific education system,” the application states.
The representatives of the scientific community signed the document, which was handed over to the relevant authorities.
By the way, during today’s session of the RA government, a decision was made to provide base and targeted program funding for 2019 to organizations with foundation or CJSC status.
While the researchers were voicing their grievances in the courtyard of the government building, the executive inside the building made a decision that the changes will take effect from next year, and before that the basic principles and standards of base funding will be defined, a new order of base funding will be proposed, etc.
“As a matter of fact, the state does not monitor or evaluate the results of the centers to which it provides basic funding, and this procedure will already define very clearly what purposes are served by all the funds that the state allocates to these centers,” said Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan.
Hakob Avagyan, the former Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments of RA, posted on his Facebook page stating the reasons for his resignation. In particular, he wrote:
“Dear friends and colleagues of the SME community, I’m sorry that I’m late responding to your hundreds of calls and letters.
A few days ago, I myself wrote an application for dismissal. It is natural that I did not come to that decision in one day, but by combining a number of circumstances, facts, and realities.
Of course, I was always pressured and forced by the responsibility and trust that I had from you. There was no issue of resisting/not resisting, it has never been a problem for me and I can resist for the sake of the goal.
It’s a simple efficiency issue that I wasn’t satisfied with. I think everything is said in the text of my application.
Thank you for your trust and support.
We are moving forward.
In the near future, we will implement our dream programs in more effective formats.”
VERELQ presents the most notable publications of the Armenian press.
“Publication” the newspaper writes. “The other day it was written in the press that on February 1 Serzh Sargsyanthey invited the SIS for questioning and interrogated them for several hours regarding the March 1 case. But it turns out that this was not the first interrogation of Serzh Sargsyan, before that he was invited to the CSI. Moreover, we learned that yesterday he also visited the CSI and stayed there for a long time. Although the SIS refused to answer our question, they said that they do not answer any questions on this topic. According to our information, a team of professional lawyers has been created for Serzh Sargsyan, who are conducting consultations with him these days on how to behave during the interrogation. The team is headed by two former ministers of justice Davit Harutyunyan and Arpine Hovhannisyan, both of whom engaged in human rights activities after the change of power. Davit Harutyunyan opened a legal consulting company with Arpine Hovhannisyan. We learned that yesterday Serzh Sargsyan’s “defense” team gathered at the RPA office and had a long discussion with Serzh Sargsyan. Other lawyers and advocates were also present. In response to our question yesterday, Davit Harutyunyan categorically denied that they are engaged in the protection of Serzh Sargsyan. “No, I will not answer that question. In general, I have no comment on whether or not to summon Serzh Sargsyan for questioning. Your information is wrong,” said Mr. Harutyunyan. When asked whether there was a discussion with Serzh Sargsyan in the RPA office yesterday, Harutyunyan said: “I had a discussion on other issues.”
“Publication” the newspaper writes. “Prime Minister’s son-in-law, deputy Hrach Hakobyanon the initiative of the National Assembly of the previous convocation, a legislative project was presented, which will ban the advertising of bookmaking companies on television and online, which will be a big financial blow to the media, which are mainly financed by advertising, and in Armenia, since the economy is not developing, therefore, the advertisers are mainly the bookmakers. This initiative can at least be seen as a step against the independence of the mass media, and a protest is brewing in the media world. The project is still in the working discussion phase, but today the author organized a closed discussion in the National Assembly regarding the issue, showing a discriminatory approach and not inviting some media. In any case, “Hraparak” did not receive an invitation. Moreover, even the “My step” faction did not know yesterday that such a discussion had been initiated. Hrach Hakobyan apologized that his assistant invited the mass media, he does not know who.”
“People” the newspaper writes. “The “Prosperous Armenia” faction also suffered because of the “Bright Armenia” faction of the National Assembly. The point is that at the session of the NA Council, when the issue of the proportion of the members of the delegation of the parliamentary assemblies and the composition of the delegations was discussed, the ruling “My Step” faction expressed its willingness to concede one seat to the opposition factions, so that at least one of them would be represented in all the delegations. But there was one condition that they would give in if there was a consensus. According to the sources of “Zhoghovurd” newspaper, among the members of the National Assembly, the representatives of the “Bright Armenia” factionEdmon Marukyan and Mane Tandilyan, demanded to be given more space, threatening to vote against the decisions. After that, NA Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan said that they will not concede anything.”
“time” the newspaper writes. “Yesterday Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan by his decision dismissed the chairman of the State Water Committee Inessa Gabayan: The reason was not Gabayan’s bad or good work at all, but the internal conflict within the government. Inessa Gabayan had a bad relationship with the water intake director Karen Epremyan, whose immediate superior she was. But Gabayan could not get rid of Epremyan, because he enjoyed being the director of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan sponsorship. And Gabayan’s patron is the deputy prime minister Tigran Avinyan was Thus, we can record that Vanetsyan came out victorious in the confrontation between Avinyan and Vanetsyan.
“Fact” the newspaper writes. According to “Past” newspaper, the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the National Assembly on February 4 did not satisfy the representatives of the “Lusavore Armenia” faction. In narrow circles, they complained that the minister did not properly present the details of foreign policy and held a domestic level discussion in an amateurish atmosphere. In other words, it was not a professional, but an amateur meeting.”
“time” the newspaper writes. “Although PAP left the coalition after the events of October 2 of last year, some PAP members continue to hold office very successfully. In particular, the vice president of the PAP Armen Arzumanyan is the Deputy Minister of Communications, Transport and Information Technologies. Other PAP members are deputy governors or hold other positions in the state administration system. And under these conditions, a logical question arises: is the PAP a semi-opposition or a semi-government?”
“Publication” the newspaper writes. “In January, a remarkable appointment took place at the NSS. The head of the service and control department of the law enforcement system of the NSS counterintelligence department was appointed Serob Harutyunyan: He was the former police chief of Kotayk region, the former head of “Nubarashen” prison and was released from that position in June 2018. At one time, there were publications in the press about his connections with the gangster world, in particular with Suro from Lennaka, Zap.”
“People” the newspaper writes. “Prime Minister was announced yesterday Nikol Pashinyan led government project project. At the same time, yesterday the government decided to carry out certain editorial works on the program until February 8 and only then submit it to the parliament for approval. The newspaper, studying this 71-page document, recorded a remarkable fact. it almost completely repeats the previous plan of Nikol Pashinyan’s government, that after the Velvet Revolution in 2018 was presented to the National Assembly in June. It’s just that the new program is written for the next five years, and there are specified specific indicators for the long term, for example, the average rate of economic growth should be at least 5 percent. At the same time, let’s note that there are several remarkable emphasis in the field of foreign policy. “The government will act exclusively in the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem in the format of the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group… The status of Artsakh and ensuring security are Armenia’s top priorities in the negotiation process. The existence of an atmosphere conducive to peace is essential for the effectiveness of the negotiations… The government reaffirms that Artsakh, as the main party to the conflict, should have a decisive voice and involvement in the resolution process aimed at establishing real and lasting peace.” Instead, there is no mention in the government’s program of improving relations with neighboring Turkey, although Pashinyan has expressed his support for establishing relations with that country without preconditions. The government’s plan only mentions steps towards international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”
“168 hours” the newspaper writes. “Unfortunately, the total government propaganda and the consistent and aggressive practice of creating idols from the April government change is already penetrating the educational system, schools. Thus, during the “Armenian Language” city-wide Olympiad of the 8th grade, the children were assigned an essay on the topic “When they walk, they walk, they walk…”. In particular, “168 hours” received information from the regional stage of the Olympiad held in Yerevan’s primary school No. 56, but the same picture was present during the regional stages of the entire city. This is an unprecedented situation, because, in fact, the compulsion of the party, government propaganda is coming to replace the patriotic themes given during the Olympiads, which were so stoned by the opposition. What should a 13-14-year-old child write on the above-mentioned topic, what image do the authors of this “epoch-making” idea want to see? Is this how the authorities envision the depoliticization of the education system? By the way, this was also done in the Soviet years, when schoolchildren had to learn lessons of “Lenin в шалаше” class. It will be “logical” if the topic of the essay of the republican phase refers to, for example, “squeezing” speedometers or covering them with underwear, or laying siege to the building of the National Assembly on October 2.
“time” according to the newspaper, a new player will soon appear in the oil products market of Armenia. The speech is the former vice-chairman of the Supreme Council and the National Assembly, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Kazakhstan Ara Sahakyan is about Sahakyan intends to organize the import of oil products of Kazakh production into Armenia, which will significantly increase the existing competition in this market, contributing to the reduction of prices.”
“People” the daily writes. “The Kotayk regional administration of the Republic of Armenia conducted inspections in the Yeghvard municipality. The identified shortcomings are quite telling. “Zhoghovurd” daily learned from official documents that it was found out that draft decisions of the Council of Elders were made with gaps. The justifications for the need to adopt decisions were missing, as well as the opinion formed as a result of the discussion in the competent committee of the council of elders. In other words, the issues included in the agenda of the meeting of the council of elders were previously discussed in the competent committees of the council, but the opinions formed as a result of the discussion were not attached to the materials of the agendas of the meetings of the council. In other words, in this case, the requirement of parts 3 and 5 of Article 14 of the RA Law “On Local Self-Government” was incompletely fulfilled. These are the mildest findings, however. A number of other abuses and omissions were also discovered.”
At the meeting with Serzh Sargsyan, there was no coercion, even in terms of concessions. This was stated by Artsakh Security Council Secretary Vitaly Balasanyan in a conversation with “Artsakhpress”, referring to the statement of the former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, Samvel Babayan, that Serzh Sargsyan mentioned territorial concessions during discussions with the current authorities of Artsakh and the authorities did not oppose those proposals.
Balasanyan mentioned that with Serzh Sargsyan in 2016 After the April fighting, they had two main meetings. one at the end of April, the other on July 16, one day after the coup attempt in Turkey and one day before the capture of the SDF regiment and the surrounding area in Yerevan. The first meeting was attended by the pair of presidents and the parliamentary factions of Artsakh, and the second one had a larger group of invitees. veterans of the movement and the war were also present, including the first squad leader Arkady Karapetyan, “Dashnak Agon”.
To the question: what was discussed during the meetings and whether there was pressure from the retired President Serzh Sargsyan to push the Artsakh side to make concessions, the secretary of the security council answered:
“The only issue on the agenda of those meetings was how we, the Artsakh elite, imagine the solution of the issue and the further strengthening of Artsakh’s security. A free discussion was held on this topic as well. There was no coercion, even in terms of concessions. We have clearly stated that any negative change regarding the status and security of Artsakh is unacceptable for us. As for Serzh Sargsyan, who at that time was actively involved in the negotiation meetings with the Azerbaijani side, the latter, listening to us, came to the conclusion in a very simple way that regardless of everything, we should be ready for war,” said Balasanyan.
According to the latter, relevant conclusions were made during those meetings in 2016 as well. from the mistakes raised during the April battles. “Serzh Sargsyan promised that the gaps that appeared during April will be corrected, and I must mention that this promise was fulfilled both in terms of the supply of weapons and engineering works,” Vitaly Balasanyan concluded.
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Former Army Chief Wants To Run For Karabakh President
February 06, 2019
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Samvel Babayan, a retired army general, is greeted by supporters in
Yerevan after being released from prison, 15 June 2018.
Samvel Babayan, Nagorno-Karabakh’s former military leader, has expressed his
desire to run in a presidential election that will be held in the
Armenian-populated territory next year.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service, Babayan said he will start
collecting next month signatures of local residents in a bid to circumvent a
legal provision that bars him from running for Karabakh president.
“I realize that I still have a role to play there,” he said. “I’m not finished
and will try to do everything to be of use [to Karabakh.]”
Babayan, 53, was the commander of Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army during and
after the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. He was widely regarded as the
unrecognized republic’s most powerful man at that time.
Babayan was arrested in 2000 and subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison
for allegedly masterminding a botched attempt on the life of the then Karabakh
president, Arkady Ghukasian. He was set free in 2004.
Babayan lived in Russia for five years before returning to Armenia in 2016. He
was again arrested in Yerevan in March 2017 on charges of illegal arms
acquisition and money laundering which he strongly denied.
The arrest came about two weeks before Armenian parliamentary elections.
Babayan unofficially coordinated the election campaign of an opposition
alliance challenging then Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian.
A Yerevan court sentenced the once powerful general to six years in prison in
November 2017. Armenia’s Court of Cassation overturned the verdict in June
2018, ordering Babayan’s release from prison. The decision came more than a
month after Sarkisian was overthrown in a popular uprising led by Nikol
Pashinian, the current Armenian prime minister.
Around the same time Bako Sahakian, Karabakh’s president, announced that he
will not seek reelection when his current term in office ends in 2020. Sahakian
has been in power since 2007.
Under Karabakh law, only those individuals who have resided in Karabakh for the
past 10 years can participate in the 2020 presidential election. Babayan does
not meet that requirement.
Citing another legal provision, the former strongman said that he can overcome
that hurdle if his presidential candidacy is backed by thousands of Karabakh
Armenians. “We will start the signature collection in March and then see if the
authorities comply with or ignore what the constitution stipulates,” he said.
Asked whether he thinks the current Karabakh leadership will let him enter the
presidential race, Babayan said: “At my penultimate meeting with Bako Sahakian,
I said: ‘Let’s draw a line and forget everything: all the conflicts and
problems.’ It seemed to me that they must realize that Armenia and Karabakh are
now in such a difficult situation that it makes no sense to keep having
grudges, settling scores or feuding with one or another person.”
Armenian Police Chief Objects To Amnesty For Radical Group
February 06, 2019
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Valeri Osipian (R), the chief of the Armenian police, arrives in a
courtroom in Yerevan, February 6, 2019.
The chief of the Armenian police, Valeri Osipian, on Wednesday spoke out
against pardoning members of a radical group who stormed a police base in
Yerevan and held him and several other officers hostage in 2016.
The three dozen gunmen demanded that then President Serzh Sarkisian free the
jailed leader of their Founding Parliament movement, Zhirayr Sefilian, and step
down. They laid down their weapons after a two-week standoff with security
forces which left three police officers dead.
Shortly after Sarkisian resigned in April 2018 amid peaceful mass protests, all
but two members of the group calling itself Sasna Tsrer were set free pending
the outcome of their trials. The two defendants remaining behind bars stand
accused of murdering Colonel Artur Vanoyan and Warrant Officers Gagik Mkrtchian
and Yuri Tepanosian.
Last fall the new Armenian authorities declared a general amnesty applying to
hundreds of convicts and criminal suspects, including the Sasna Tsrer members.
A relevant law passed by the Armenian parliament made clear, however, that the
latter can be pardoned only with the consent of their former hostages and other
victims of the deadly attack.
Osipian made clear that he is not giving his consent to the amnesty for Sasna
Tsrer as he testified at an ongoing trial of the group’s members. “I lost
comrades,” he told the presiding judge. “Had I not lost comrades my position
may have been different. I think that everyone must be subjected to a
punishment defined by the law.”
“There was a crime and everyone involved in it must bear responsibility,”
Osipian insisted when he spoke to reporters in the courtroom.
Armenia - The funeral in Yerevan of Yuri Tepanosian, an Armenian police officer
killed in a standoff between security forces and opposition gunmen, 1Aug2016.
Osipian was a deputy chief of Yerevan’s police department when the police base
located in the city’s southern Erebuni district was seized by Sasna Tsrer in
July 2016. He went into the sprawling compound shortly after the pre-dawn
attack. He and the other policemen taken hostage there were released a few days
later.
In his court testimony, Osipian said that he was beaten up by several gunmen
while being captured by them. He claimed that they also threatened to kill him
if he refused to tell police forces to join Sasna Tsrer.
Together with Sefilian, the freed leaders and members of the armed formed last
year a political party also called Sasna Tsrer. It was one of the 11 groups
that ran in parliamentary elections held in Armenia on December 9. According to
the official election results, Sasna Tsrer won only 1.8 percent of the vote and
thus failed to win any seats in the new parliament.
Armenian Government Unveils Economic Growth Targets
February 06, 2019
Armenia - Workers at a tech company based in the Engineering City just outside
Yerevan, August 22, 2018.
Armenia’s economy should grow by at least 5 percent annually and thereby
“substantially” cut poverty in the country, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
government said in its five-year policy program unveiled on Wednesday.
The 70-page program laying out the government’s priorities and policies was
made public two months after Pashinian’s My Step alliance won snap
parliamentary elections by a landslide. Speaking at a cabinet meeting in
Yerevan, the premier said it will undergo minor “editorial” changes before
being submitted to the Armenian parliament by the end of this week.
The document’s almost certain approval by the National Assembly will amount to
a vote of confidence in the government. My Step holds a two-thirds majority in
the parliament.
The program declares the government’s commitment to a “competitive and
inclusive economy” primarily driven by hi-tech industries. It says the
government will strive for this by significantly improving tax administration,
easing business regulations, guaranteeing fair competition, attracting foreign
investment and stimulating exports and innovation.
This, the document adds, should translate into an average GDP growth rate of at
least 5 percent in 2019-2023. “At the same time, a considerably larger number
of citizens should participate in economic development, and economic output
created as a result of their work should be distributed more evenly,” it says.
Armenia’s former government set practically the same growth targets in its last
five-year program drawn up in 2017. It pledged to reduce the official poverty
rate, which stands at around 30 percent, by 12 percentage points by 2022.
Pashinian’s government is likewise promising “substantial” reductions in the
poverty and unemployment rates. But it has set no specific targets.
Also, both the current and former government programs describe a steady and
rapid increase in Armenian exports as the main engine of faster GDP growth.
Ever since he swept to power in May 2018, Pashinian has repeatedly promised to
carry out an “economic revolution” that will significantly improve the lives of
ordinary Armenians. He has said his government has already succeeded in
practically eradicating corruption and breaking up economic monopolies that
have long hampered the country’s development.
According to official statistics, Armenian economy grew by 7.5 percent in 2017.
It was on course to expand by roughly 5.3 percent in 2018.
According to the latest World Bank projections, Armenian growth will slow to
4.3 percent in 2019 and accelerate slightly in the following years.
April 24 Declared Commemoration Day Of Armenian Genocide In France
February 06, 2019
France - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the Co-ordination
Council of Armenian Organisations of France (CCAF) annual dinner in Paris,
February 5, 2019.
French President Emmanuel Macron has declared April 24 as a day for the
commemoration in France of the 1915 genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
Macron announced the move late on Tuesday at an annual dinner of the
Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF). The Reuters
news agency quoted him as saying that France was among the first nations to
denounce “the murderous hunt of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire.”
“France is, first and foremost, a country that knows how to look history in the
face,” he said, according to the France24 TV channel.
France officially recognized the World War One-era slaughter of some 1.5
million Armenians as genocide with a law passed by its parliament 2001. It is
home to an estimated 500,000 ethnic Armenians, most of them descendants of
survivors of the genocide.
Macron spoke of his “admiration” for the French-Armenian community and visited
the Armenian genocide memorial in Paris when he ran for president in 2017. The
CCAF, which is an umbrella structure uniting the leading French-Armenian
organizations, endorsed his presidential candidacy.
Turkey strongly condemned Macron’s decision on Wednesday. According to the
Associated Press, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
Macron tried to "save the day" and make political gains in the face of
"political problems in his own country.”
Press Review
February 06, 2019
“Zhoghovurd” says all eyes are now on a policy program of Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian’s government that will be unveiled this week. The paper says this is
so because public expectations from the government are much greater than from
the previous Armenian cabinets. It claims that the latter came up with nicely
written programs that were rarely put into practice. “Pashinian’s government
came to power as a result of a popular movement,” says the paper sympathetic to
it. “The people’s expectations and requirements from the government are
therefore great.”
“Zhamanak” says that Nagorno-Karabakh’s former military leader, Samvel Babayan,
has effectively announced his return to active politics and, in particular, his
intention to run in next year’s Karabakh presidential election. “It is clear to
everyone that Armenia’s and Karabakh’s internal political realities are
interconnected,” comments the paper. “It just could not have been otherwise. In
essence, it’s impossible to return to active Karabakh politics without also
becoming active in Armenia’s political domain as well.” It says that Babayan’s
political comeback will have important implications for both Karabakh and
Armenia.
“Aravot” seems skeptical about a recent series of high-level
Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations that have fuelled renewed speculation about
progress towards the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “The Armenian
prime minister has made important and correct emphases: the lands-for-status
formula will not be discussed,” writes the paper. “We need to take the next
step and say what the Armenian side thinks should be discussed: Karabakh’s
internationally recognized independence and reunification with Armenia. We
should counter [Azerbaijani] maximalism with our own maximalism.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org
Aznavour’s son gifts duduk to President Macron
11:05, 6 February, 2019
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. Nicolas Aznavour, the son of late Charles Aznavour, the legendary French-Armenian crooner, has given a duduk as a gift to President of France Emmanuel Macron.
Jean Eckian, a freelance journalist and photographer, posted a photo from a dinner organized by the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France showing Nicolas gifting the Armenian musical instrument to Macron.
Charles Aznavour died in October last year.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
Watchdog issues warning to Gazprom Armenia
11:21, 6 February, 2019
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Public Services Regulatory Commission has issued a warning to Gazprom Armenia for violating a deadline of submitting documents.
The decision was made at a sitting of the agency today.
According to the Public Services Regulatory Commission, Gazprom Armenia filed information documents on its 2018 November activities on December 28, 2018, whereas by law it had to submit the documents by the 25th.
The company had later clarified to the commission that it had disagreements with Electric Networks of Armenia about electricity volumes and fines, that’s why it was late to submit the documents since it had to make adjustments in the initial document.
However, the commission did not acknowledge the explanation to be an “objective reason”.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
New rector of agrarian university named
11:21, 6 February, 2019
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet today confirmed the results of an election of the National Agrarian University Rector, installing Vardan Urutyan in the position.
Prior to being elected rector, Urutyan served as interim rector of the university.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan