Category: 2019

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s article was published on the Davos World Forum website. Nikol Pashinyan announced this through his Facebook page.

“My article was published on the Davos World Conference website. I myself am leaving on Sunday,” said Pashinyan’s post, where he also posted the link to the article.

The National Assembly approved the RA NA draft resolution “On approving the composition of the delegation of the seventh convocation of the National Assembly at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe”.

The delegation will lead Ruben Rubinyan (“My step” faction). The delegation includes: Hovhannes Igityan (“My step”), Naira Zohrabyan (“Prosperous Armenia”) and Edmon Marukyan (“Bright Armenia”).

The alternate members are: Vladimir Vardanyan (“My step”), Sos Avetisyan (“My step”), Tatev Hayrapetyan (“My step”) and Mikael Melkumyan (“Prosperous Armenia”).

Within the framework of the Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU, signed in November 2017 and ratified in April 2018, the Republic of Armenia has started a dialogue with the EU member states on the liberalization of the visa regime.

From January 15 to 17, the RA delegation headed by RA Police Colonel Hovhannes Kocharyan went to the Federal Republic of Germany.

The delegation included Davit Sargsyan, Advisor to the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tigran Samvelyan, Head of the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armen Ghazaryan, Head of the Migration Service of the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development.

During the visit, the delegation had meetings with the Chairman of the Conference of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, Minister of Internal Affairs and Sports of the State of Saxony-Anhalt Holger Stalknecht, State Secretary of Internal Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Helmut Teichmann, Deputy Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, Commissioner for Eastern Europe, Russia, South Caucasus and Central Asia Michael Siebert and the Standing Committee on Internal Affairs of the Bundestag with President Andrea Lindholz. 

During the meetings, the German side expressed its satisfaction for effective cooperation on the basis of international legal documents on readmission, emphasizing the high level of mutual trust and readiness to meet Armenia’s legitimate expectations.

During the meetings, the parties emphasized the need to clarify the foundations of the future program of actions towards the liberalization of the visa regime, the scope of mutual obligations and the terms of their fulfillment, and discussed other issues of interest.

On January 18, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan city decided to extend Robert Kocharyan’s detention for another two months.

Kocharyan’s lawyer said this in a conversation with journalists Aram Orbelyan։

Thus, the court satisfied the motion of the pre-investigative body, rejecting the motion of the defenders to change Kocharyan’s restraining order in exchange for bail.

For three days, the court considered the motion to extend Kocharyan’s detention for two months. The court adjourned to the conference room on January 16.

It should be reminded that on December 7, the Appellate Criminal Court decided to leave the decision of the first instance court unchanged, after which Kocharyan was detained. The defenders have already appealed this decision of the Appellant to the Court of Cassation. Kocharyan is accused of subverting the constitutional order.

VERELQ presents the most notable publications of the Armenian press.

“168 hours” writes. “Former head of Vedi Medical Center (MC), surgeon Melkon Taloyan filed a complaint against the governor to appeal the order to fire him. To remind, RA Prime Minister after the revolution Nikol Pashinyanled by the “Civil Agreement” party Garik Sargsyanafter assuming the position of governor, the first was “released” from the heads of Artashat, Masis and Vedu medical centers. All three passed the exam and were newly appointed to their positions. By the way, the governor’s handwriting, the means and the period of time to get rid of these three persons were also the same. The same is the demand of these three doctors who run the medical centers of the region from the court, in their lawsuits submitted to the court of general jurisdiction of Ararat region, all three of them challenge the arbitrary order of the head of the region. The head of Vedu Central Committee considers the governor’s decision to fire him exclusively personal. In a conversation with 168.am, Melkon Taloyan elaborates about the lawsuit against the governor and the strained relationship with him. “I have not been personally acquainted with Garik Sargsyan, there were no contacts in any format before he was appointed governor, but the tension in our relations, which has left such a deep impression on him, is actually related to the political defeat of his relative, that story dates back to the 2012 parliamentary elections. In the Aralez community, where I live, my father’s home is also in that village, I supported my friend from the RPA in the 2012 parliamentary elections.Araik Grigoryan (Avshari Araiki).

The opposing candidate, the owner of the Yeraskh winery in Marz Razmik Tevonyan(from the “Republic” party), suffered a shameful defeat in his own village and has not digested it to this day. That’s exactly what he said, on the same day, he openly announced in the crowd that he would take revenge on Taloyan. And today, Tevonyan remembered the undigested defeat in his political election campaign and “wrapped” it around the neck of the young governor, a representative of the executive power, taking advantage of his lack of experience, became a consultant, supports and guides him in various issues, and by abusing trust, takes his own revenge against many people from the region at the hands of the governor. The governor is a victim, practically that person was never interested in the regional hospitals the quality of the work of the medical staff, our personnel and technical resources, the expectations from him, from the revolution, he did not have that seriousness,” said the former head of Vedu Medical Center in a conversation with 168.am.

“Before Garik Sargsyan was appointed governor of the region, I still knew that he would be the first to fall after me. And I was not mistaken… at first he made it clear that I should leave voluntarily, then he sent a scam through him, threatened that I would reveal something, let him not cause trouble, I refused again. I tried to talk face-to-face, thinking that it is an employer-subordinate relationship that can be clarified and smoothed over, but it was avoided, and in the only meeting that took place, the governor “generously” advised me to go write your application for dismissal, go on vacation, rest as much as you want. And so the remote discourse with the governor, with provocations and blackmails, lasted for months.

He searched, carried out endless checks, then forced me to write my application for dismissal, I refused again, and during that entire period he invited about 10 people to the cabinet, offered me my position, my colleagues who refused also came out and called me. The last candidate he settled on was my deputy. Samvel Khachatryan also refused to go to the conspiratorial deal with the governor, but when he came to tell me, I asked him to return to the governor’s office and give his consent, only if he does not appoint someone from the air instead of me, and come and manage what he has created. And so it happened. The governor received the consent of my deputy and immediately gave the order for my release.” Surgeon Melkon Taloyan left the region, works at two hospitals in Yerevan at the same time: “Aramyants” and “Elit Med” medical centers. The head of the Artashat Medical Center who was dismissed by the governor moved to Yerevan, and the former Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia employed him in his private “Vardanants” clinic the very day after his release.Levon Altunyanas an anesthesiologist.

It turns out that the problem of urbanization in the New Armenia announced by the new authorities will be serious, the orders issued by the officials may be for the benefit of one and to the detriment of the health of the population of the entire region. Of course, it is possible that the governor Garik Sargsyan has ample opportunities, as well as the owner of the wine factory Razmik Tevonyan, and they can afford to turn to the best clinics in Yerevan or foreign countries for the treatment of family members if necessary. And are the poor peasants who live on daily bread guilty, who will become victims of the whims of these two people? After all, the region has been emptied of doctors, and this is already a serious issue that should be in the attention of the Ministry of Health, the Minister of Territorial Administration and the residents of Ararat region. P.S. Commander Vazgen Sargsyan Razmik Tevonyan, a close friend of the family, traditionally ran for the parliamentary elections in Ararat from the “Republic” party and was not elected, but today his son was elected as a member of the National Assembly on the list of the “Civil Agreement” party.

“time” the newspaper writes. “The increase in the price of Russian gas sold to Armenia was done by the former prime minister Karen Karapetyan within the drawn scheme. It’s no secret that Karapetyan has connections in “Rusgazprom” and the increase in gas prices was implemented to hide Karapetyan’s previous looting. According to energy experts, if the price of gas did not rise, there was a real possibility to lower it by $15, although according to other calculations, it could be done up to $30 per thousand cubic meters. By persuading the Russians to raise the gas tariff, Karapetyan managed to completely neutralize the possibility of selling gas cheaper to consumers.”

“People” the newspaper writes. “Having solved the issue of the offices of the deputies of the National Assembly, now another test is waiting for the staff to solve the issue of license plates provided to the deputies. Even yesterday, the MPs were driving in cars with normal number plates and parked them in front of the National Assembly building. If a license plate is provided to all deputies, then a means of transport is provided only to the chairman of the National Assembly, deputies, heads of factions and chairmen of committees. still the National Assembly has not been able to completely take back the license plates assigned to the former MPs. Until then, the National Assembly is in “idle time” for a month. the next session will take place already in February.”

“People” the newspaper writes. “Bezin prices have started to decrease in Armenia. “Zhoghovurd” daily newspaper became aware that the price of gasoline at RA gas stations has dropped by more than 40 drams. Accordingly, one liter of regular gasoline is sold for 400 drams, premium type for 420 drams. “Zhoghovurd” daily newspaper learned from businessmen involved in the import and sale of gasoline that in the near future it will gradually become cheaper by 50 drams. This is a consequence of price fluctuations in the international market, but let’s note that in the past there was no impact on the domestic market in such cases.”

“Fact” the newspaper writes. “The issue of red lines is again in the spotlight. This issue has been discussed many times, and it has been emphasized that this issue is a political decision. The other day, the members of the “Driver’s Friend” human rights non-governmental organization once again spoke about the issues arising from the problem, in addition, they urged the drivers to close the numbers. Referring to the above, co-founder of “Driver’s Friend” IOC, member of the public council attached to the RA police chief Sergey Ghahramanyan first we asked if the option of closing the numbers is the right way to fight. In response, he mentioned: “If we talk about the parking of the car on the red lines, then in that section, which is considered a permissible place for parking the car, the car can be parked even without a license plate. In addition, a car parked in a permitted place cannot be evacuated or an administrative record drawn up for that car.

But we certainly do not welcome number blocking, we are against number blocking in general, except when you can park your car in the permitted area. That is, in those parts of the streets where parking is not allowed, yards and other similar places. And in all cases when people drive with closed numbers or do it in an unauthorized place, it is naturally not welcome. Now this is just an extreme step because they have been trying to mislead drivers for months. are constantly hinting at upcoming changes to the red lines, but they are still not being implemented.” To the observation: are you sure that your exhortation will be correctly perceived by the drivers, our interlocutor recorded. “Yes, because we highlighted what was said “in red lines”. There are people who stand at intersections with closed numbers, we have always criticized that phenomenon. This is about parking in a permitted place.” As for what “Driver’s Friend” offers in terms of red lines in general, the co-founder of IHB mentioned that they had various meetings and presented many suggestions. One of the proposals, according to S. Ghahramanyan, the amount of the parking space is to be included in the property tax. “In general, the point is that there will be no unnecessary administration. That is, “red lines” were introduced to penalize. By paying 100 drams, people simply insure themselves against being fined 5,000 drams,” he said.

Another suggestion is to organize parking spaces in more convenient places. “The reason is that it is not possible to organize parking spaces in all places. In addition, we have proposed to prohibit parking altogether in a number of streets in order to eliminate traffic problems and traffic jams. Also, different values ​​may apply in different neighborhoods. This is also a proposal,” our interlocutor noted, also citing the example of Prague, where, according to him, the issue of paid parking spaces has a very good solution. “The mayor can invest the experience there in Yerevan. There are different values ​​in different parts of the city. In addition, you can enter different tariffs, for example: the citizen may not give money at all at his place of residence”, he said. Sergey Ghahramanyan emphasized that significant changes are expected in a short period of time. “First of all, the problem is illegal administration. Incorrect administration is carried out, as a result of which illegal fines are sent to people. And in the future, we expect changes and correct investment around the general idea of ​​red lines. It has been said for months that there will be a change, and a city government has arrived, which is also against red lines. But all that does not change, although it is said that we will change it. A considerable period of time has already passed, but in administration nothing has changed, administrative protocols are being drawn up illegally, without facts. There are drivers who even want to hold demonstrations. We constantly urge them to wait a little longer, because the city government elected by the same drivers must change something in this area.

Moreover, we did not say eliminate it and that’s it. We have proposed reasonable solutions to avoid unnecessary administration of people, to have an effective mechanism that will reduce the high density of vehicles. And the density and accumulation of cars in Kentron and Arabkir is much higher than in other communities,” he concluded.”

Political scientist Suren Sargsyan referred to one of the gaps in Armenia’s foreign policy, which, according to him, is extremely important to correct.

He writes on his Facebook page:

“For Armenia, the Middle East is a region of vital importance. There is no other region in the world where Armenians have such a widespread community, political influence, cultural wealth, the most important church values, brilliant examples of coexistence, why not also enemies, enemies and challenges.

And with all this, unfortunately, we don’t have a coordinated Middle East foreign policy, or even more so, a strategy.”

RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan left Cairo on a working visit to Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation, where he participated in the inaugural session of the Eurasian Economic Commission Council this year.

As VERELQ was informed by the RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan’s office, during the session, the members of the council exchanged ideas on prospective integration projects within the framework of EAEU and opportunities for development of cooperation in the trade and economic sphere. The EAEU digital agenda was discussed, as well as the process of EAEU negotiations with third countries and the work planned for them in 2019. During the session, the agenda of the upcoming session of the EAEU intergovernmental council was also approved.

Mher Grigoryan, as the Chairman of the EEC Council, summarizing the results of the session, thanked the Chairman of the EEC Council, the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation during the last year. Anton Siluanov for effective work done in that position.

After his visit to Davos, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will leave for an official visit to Germany. The Prime Minister announced this on Facebook live, noting that the visit will take place at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“After returning from Davos, I will leave for Germany on February 1,” he said. Besides this, another visit is expected in the near future, to Moscow. Pashinyan informed that since Armenia is taking over the presidency of the EAEU, he will also go to Moscow, where he will give a speech at the headquarters of the EAEU commission.

To remind, Pashinyan will leave for Davos tomorrow, Sunday.

President of the United States of America Donald Trump sent a congratulatory message to Nikol Pashinyan on his appointment as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.

In particular, it is said in the message:

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister
I congratulate you on your appointment as the Prime Minister of Armenia and in 2018. in connection with the success of your alliance in the December 9 parliamentary elections.

The United States supports a prosperous, democratic and peaceful Armenia with its neighbors. Together, we can make progress in deepening trade and economic ties between our countries, strengthening global security and fighting corruption. The peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will contribute to these efforts.

I send my best wishes to you and the people of Armenia.”