ARMENIA NAMES DEFENCE MINISTER AS NEW PM

Agence France Presse — English
April 2, 2007 Monday 5:19 PM GMT

Armenia’s ruling Republican party on Monday named Defence Minister
and presidential favourite Serge Sarkisian as the country’s new
prime minister.

Sarkisian is a close ally of President Robert Kocharian, who is
expected to approve the nomination on Wednesday, parliamentary speaker
Tigran Torosian told AFP.

Sarkisian, 52, will succeed Andranik Margarian, who died of a heart
attack on March 25 after seven years as prime minister.

The defence minister is considered the favourite to replace Kocharian
when the president’s second term expires next year.

Like Kocharian, Sarkisian is from the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh and fought in the 1988-1994 war in which Armenia
seized the region from Azerbaijan.

He also chairs the Republican party’s ruling council and is expected
to play a key role in the party’s campaign for May 12 parliamentary
elections.