Tuesday, November 7, 2017 Israel's Netanyahu Sees Closer Ties With Armenia . Emil Danielyan Israel - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Jerusalem, 7Nov2017. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to improve Israel's uneasy relationship with Armenia after holding talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The two men were reported to have discussed not only Armenian-Israeli ties but also the situation in the Middle East and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, with Netanyahu expressing concern over Iran's "attempts to establish a military presence in the region." "We'll strengthen relations between Israel and Armenia in tech, cyberspace and agriculture," the Israeli leader, who is also his country's foreign minister, tweeted after the talks. The Armenian Foreign Ministry likewise said Netanyahu told Nalbandian that Israel is ready to "expand" its relations with Armenia and sees "great potential for cooperation" between the two nations. According to a ministry statement, Nalbandian expressed confidence, for his part, that bilateral contacts will gain "new impetus." They have already intensified of late, he said during what was apparently his first-ever official visit to Israel. The statement added that the two men explored ways of boosting modest bilateral trade and cooperating in the areas of agriculture, information technology, education and tourism. Israel's Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi similarly sought to "strengthen our relationship" when he visited Yerevan in late July. Hanegbi and Nalbandian signed agreements on avoidance of double taxation and mutual lifting of visa requirements for holders of Armenian and Israeli diplomatic passports. The Israeli cabinet member, who is affiliated with Netanyahu's Likud party, also met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian. Armenia - Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian (R) and Israel's Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi sign bilateral agreements after talks in Yerevan, 25Jul2017. Armenian-Israeli relations have been frosty until now, reflecting differing geopolitical priorities of the two states. Armenia has maintained a warm rapport with Iran to ease its geographic isolation, while Israel has pursued strategic cooperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Armenia has been particularly worried about Israel's large-scale arms deals with its arch-foe. In 2012, Israeli defense officials confirmed a reported deal to provide the Azerbaijani military with more weapons worth a combined $1.6 billion. The Azerbaijani army used some of these Israeli-made weapons, notably sophisticated anti-tank rockets, during April 2016 hostilities in Karabakh. Just weeks after Hanegbi's trip to Yerevan, an Israeli Defense Ministry agency halted exports to Azerbaijan of "suicide" drones manufactured by an Israeli company accused of using them against an Armenian army position in early July. The export control agency launched an investigation into the alleged incident in August. The Israeli daily "Maariv" reported at the time that representatives of the company, Aeronautics Defense Systems (ADS), traveled to Azerbaijan this summer to finalize a contract for the sale of Orbiter drones to the Azerbaijani military. The paper claimed that two Israeli drone operators working for the company rebuffed Azerbaijani officials' demand to demonstrate the use of the deadly drone by hitting the Armenian position with it. But other, more senior ADS executives agreed on launch the deadly craft on the target, according to "Maariv." ADS denied the report. It was not clear whether Nalbandian discussed the alleged drone attack with Netanyahu. The Armenian Foreign Ministry statement said only that he briefed Netanyahu on Armenia's and international mediators' efforts to achieve a "solely peaceful" solution to the Karabakh conflict. The ministry added that the two men also "exchanged views on pressing regional and international issues, developments in the Middle East." A short statement by a spokesman for Netanyahu said: "The Prime Minister raised the issue of Iran's attempts to establish a military presence in the region and its negative influence." It did not elaborate. Students Protest Against New Law On Military Service . Marine Khachatrian Armenia - University students protest in Yerevan against government plans to abolish military draft deferments, 7Nov2017. At least a hundred university students in Yerevan boycotted classes on Tuesday in protest against the Armenian government's plans to largely abolish temporary exemptions from military service enjoyed by most of them. The protesters rallied outside the main building of Yerevan State University (YSU), demanding a meeting with Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian. They marched to other YSU buildings after Mkrtchian and other Education Ministry officials declined to meet with their representatives. Male students of state-run Armenian university eligible for government scholarships have until now been allowed to perform compulsory military service after completing their undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate studies. Under a government bill passed by the Armenian parliament in the first reading late last month, draft deferments would be granted only to those students who would agree to undergo parallel military training and serve in the army as officers for three years after graduation. The Armenian Defense Ministry, which drafted the bill, says that that this would close a key loophole for evading military service and reduce "corruption risks" among military and university officials. Government officials also argue that more than 80 percent of 18-year-old Armenian men enrolled in state universities are already drafted to the armed forces because they pay tuition fees. Letting the other students continue their studies uninterrupted is unfair, they say. Critics say the measure would prevent many students from becoming scientists or scholars. They say it would also not stop the sons of many senior government officials, pro-government politicians and wealthy businesspeople from dodging military service. "Yes, we admit that there is corruption in the education system, but we also think that problems existing within the education system must be addressed within the system," said one of the protesting students. The protesters, among them female students, tried to enter some YSU departments in a bid to get more students to join their campaign. They found the entrance doors of most of those departments locked from inside, however. Students attending classes there were thus unable to leave the buildings. Marat Grigorian, the dean of the YSU's Geography and Geology Department, criticized the protest and backed the controversial bill, which is expected to be passed in the final reading next week. "That bill won't hurt higher education," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatuyun.am). Ruben Melkonian, who runs the YSU's Department of Oriental Studies, was also critical of the boycott. Still, he said the students have a legitimate right to voice their demands and concerns. Another Solar Plant Built In Armenia Armenia - A newly constructed solar power plant in Talin, 7Nov2017. Armenia's second major solar power plant was inaugurated on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and other senior officials. The 1-megawatt plant was built in Talin, a town 70 kilometers northwest of Yerevan, as part of a $1 million investment projected co-funded by a group of Armenian entrepreneurs and the German government. One of the local investors, Hayk Chobanian, said the facility, already connected to the national power grid, can meet the energy needs of about 400 households. He described its launch as the start of "a parade of solar plants" that will increasingly spring up in Armenia. "Our country's [solar energy] potential is great and I think that in the coming years we will introduce hundreds of megawatts of solar power capacity," Chobanian told reporters. Deputy Energy Minister Hayk Harutiunian, who also attended the opening ceremony, reaffirmed the Armenian government's declared commitment to greater use of renewable sources of energy in the country. He said nine more small solar plants are now under construction. Armenia's first major solar plant with a 0.5-megawatt capacity went on stream in late September. It was built by a company controlled by Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire businessman increasingly investing in the Armenian energy sector. A company representative said the "pilot project" could be a prelude to the construction of a much bigger facility of its kind that would also be financed by Karapetian. In addition, the government is expected to call soon an international tender for the construction of a separate 55-megawatt solar plant. Solar and wind power currently make up only a tiny share of electricity produced in Armenia. Press Review "Haykakan Zhamanak" says that local elections held in about 70 communities across Armenia over the weekend highlighted "the real political situation" and explained why numerous street protests organized by Armenian opposition groups have not brought about regime change in the country. "One of the reasons for that is that the opposition always rushed to occupy Liberty Square [in Yerevan,] while the authorities occupied neighborhoods and courtyards in response," the paper says. "In the fight between t between Liberty Square and neighborhoods the latter will always prevail because at the end of the day people return from Liberty Square to their neighborhoods where the [ruling] Republicans and elements loyal to them hold sway." Therefore, it says, having "regional leaders is imperative for the Armenian opposition. "Zhamanak" notes that Armenia's state budget for next year has been drafted by a government that has to resign in just five months from now. "There is no guarantee that the prime minister and members of that government will be reappointed to their positions [in April,]" writes the paper. Also, it says, the budget will be executed under a different, parliamentary system of government. Interviewed by "168 Zham," a Russian military analyst, Pavel Felgenhauer, comments on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's reported plans to present his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with proposals on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at their upcoming meeting in Russia. "In all likelihood, Putin will gently rebuff Erdogan," says Felgenhauer. "What is more, that will not affect relations between the two countries. Even in case of Putin's consent, Armenia will not agree to Turkey's intervention and involvement in the Karabakh conflict." "Hraparak" carries an editorial on the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. "Who could have predicted in Soviet times that in 2017, 100 years after the revolution, we will be living in the era of brutal capitalism, rather than Communism promised by leaders of the Soviet Communist Party?" the paper says. "Who would have thought that the omnipotent party will not only not govern the country but also become a wretched group whose members cannot even clear the 5 percent vote threshold [in parliamentary elections?]" (Siranuysh Gevorgian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org