"THEY TAKE LOANS TO DISTRIBUTE AMONG OLIGARCHS"

A1Plus.am
18/01/10

"In a year Armenia will beg for the proposed variant on the Karabakh
conflict settlement it is denying today," Armenia’s ex Prime Minister
Hrant Bagratyan said speaking about the Karabakh conflict on January
18.

"Today Armenia has appeared in a sorrowful plight. Azerbaijan is
buying missiles from Israel which can be later used to bomb Yerevan
from Baku. I think that next time Azerbaijan will wage a war with
Armenia and not with Karabakh. Azerbaijan is trying its best to show
the world that a war is the only solution to the Karabakh issue. They
buy rockets with that purpose," said Mr. Bagratyan.

The ex premier is surprised at those who were caught unawares or
delighted with the Constitution Court’s decision on finding the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols constitutional.

"Armenia and Turkey are still uncertain about their future
relationship. Presently, the score is 1 to 0 in favour of Turkey which
has conditioned the bilateral relations with the Karabakh conflict
regulation and signed a document on the Armenian Genocide as a result,"
he said.

Speaking about the country’s economic system, Mr. Bagratyan
criticized the acting authorities for artificially appreciating
the Armenian currency – dram. "Authorities take loans to distribute
among oligarchs and keep the rate of the dram. They had better think
of giving production and importing it overseas instead of opening
new restaurants in Armenia. The country’s economy doesn’t register
development as the authorities never distribute the income. The tax
and custom sphere is adjusted to meet the interests of few people. "

The country’s leadership has never turned to Mr. Bagratyan for advice.

"Today Armenia is on the verge of a gulf. Instead of asking me for
advice they take me to court," the ex prime minister said jokingly.
From: Baghdasarian