Friday, Sarkisian Still Vague On Political Future Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian holds a meeting with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian (L) and other state officials in Yerevan, 27Oct2017. President Serzh Sarkisian has again declined to clarify what he is planning to do after serving out his second and final term in April. In an interview with the Armenia TV channel aired late on Thursday, Sarkisian also praised Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and said the latter's desire to retain his post next year is "very good" and "healthy." Sarkisian said that "the time has not yet come" for him to announce whether he will become prime minister or take up another state post after his decade-long presidency. "When it comes I will declare," he went on. "There are different factors [at play,] ranging personal to other factors. I think that at the end of the day we, the Republican Party (HHK), have a right to decide, together with our coalition partner, who can do a better job where." Asked whether he will stay in politics in any case, the president replied: "We'll see, we'll see." Immediately after the end of his second term, Armenia will switch to a parliamentary system of government, meaning that most of the sweeping powers currently enjoyed by the head of state will be given to the prime minister. Karapetian has repeatedly indicated his desire to stay on as prime minister come April. "As for Karen Karapetian's desire, it's a very good, healthy, logical desire," Sarkisian said in this regard. "And generally speaking, I believe that Karen Karapetian, is very acceptable and useful to us as a prime minister and as a person. I mean to me personally and to the party." Sarkisian noted that Karapetian's cabinet has pledged to ensure that the Armenian economy grows by roughly 5 percent annually in the coming years. "That is not a bad indicator," he said, adding that the results of such growth would be "visible and tangible." Karapetian vowed to improve the socioeconomic situation in the country through major reforms and a fight against corruption when Sarkisian named him prime minister in September 2016. The ruling HHK's governing board headed by the Armenia president gave a largely positive assessment of his track record a year later. Turkey Sticks To Linkage Between Karabakh, Ties With Armenia . Emil Danielyan Switzerland -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (2ndR) and his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian shake hands as they hold signed Turkish-Armenian protocols, Zurich, 10Oct2009. Turkey has again made clear that it will not implement Western-backed agreements to normalize its relations with Armenia without a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. The Turkish Foreign Ministry at the same time denounced Yerevan's plans to formally annul the two protocols that were signed in Zurich in 2009. "These Protocols are still on the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Commission and for their ratification it is essential that a favorable political atmosphere and peace in the South Caucasus is secured," the ministry said in a statement issued late on Thursday. "In this vein, it is necessary that in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict progress is achieved, based on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and in light of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council," it said. "In any case, Armenia must put an end to its invasion of Azerbaijan's territories." The statement came in response to Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian's statement on Wednesday reaffirming Yerevan's intention to withdraw its signature from the protocols because of Ankara's "groundless preconditions" for their parliamentary ratification. "We will enter the spring of 2018 without those futile protocols," President Serzh Sarkisian declared earlier. The protocols committed Turkey and Armenia to establishing diplomatic relations and opening their border which Ankara has long kept closed in a show of support for Azerbaijan. Shortly after the high-profile signing ceremony in Zurich, Ankara said that Turkey's parliament will ratify the deal only if there is decisive progress towards a Karabakh peace. The Armenian government rejected that precondition, arguing that the protocols make no reference to the conflict. The United States, the European Union and Russia have also repeatedly called for their unconditional implementation by both sides. While reaffirming the Karabakh linkage, the Turkish Foreign Ministry insisted that Ankara is not responsible for the effective collapse of the 2009 accords. It claimed that Armenia itself introduced "preconditions and restrictive clauses" through a January 2010 ruling handed down by the country's Constitutional Court. The court upheld the legality of the protocols. But it also indicated that they cannot have any bearing on the Karabakh conflict or inhibit Armenia's pursuit of greater international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. Unlike Turkey, the U.S. welcomed that ruling. Philip Gordon, a U.S. assistant secretary of state at the time, called it a "positive step forward in the ratification process of the normalization protocols." Then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Ankara to drop the Karabakh linkage when she visited Yerevan later in 2010. "Now the ball is in the other court," Clinton said. Armenia Opens Tax-Free Zone On Iranian Border . Hovannes Movsisian Armenia - A newly established free economic zone near Meghri, 15Dec2017. The Armenian government inaugurated on Friday a free economic zone on Armenia's border with Iran, saying that it will attract more foreign investment in the domestic economy and expand commercial ties with the Islamic Republic. Businesses operating in the zone close to the southeastern Armenian town of Meghri will be exempt from virtually all types of taxes. They will be allowed to engage in not only manufacturing but also trade, cargo transport and even tourism. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Karen Karapetian indicated that his government expects the tax haven to attract Iranian companies seeking to capitalize on Armenia's tariff-access to Russia's market and privileged trade regime with the European Union. It will also allow other foreign investors to do business with Iran, he said. "I am sure that the free economic zone has very good prospects," Karapetian told reporters. "But this is just the beginning. We must now work hard every day," he added. Armenia - Prime Minister Karen Karapetian speaks to journalists at the official opening of a free economic zone near Meghri, 15Dec2017. Minister for Economic Development Suren Karayan, who also attended the ceremony, said the government anticipates that between 50 and 70 firms will set up shop in the tax haven in the coming years. He said their combined output should increase Armenia's exports by around $250 million annually. Vahe Hakobian, the governor of the Syunik province encompassing the border area, estimated that this should translate into 2,000 new jobs. "That will definitely be an addition boost for the socioeconomic development of our region," he said. Hakobian also told journalists that businesspeople from Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus have already expressed readiness to invest in the Meghri zone. And a large delegation of Iranian government officials and entrepreneurs will arrive in the provincial capital Kapan on Wednesday, he added. A separate statement released by Karapetian's press office said that the business zone will be expanded by 70 hectares in the next few years. Armenia - The Armenian and Iranian foreign ministers open an Armenian-Iranian business forum in Yerevan, 28Nov2017. The Armenian premier discussed the upcoming launch of the zone with Iranian officials during an official visit to Tehran in October. He called on Iranian firms to set up branches there. Economic issues were also high on the agenda of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's November 28 trip to Yerevan. Zarif arrived with a large group of Iranian businessmen who held a one-day conference with fellow entrepreneurs from Armenia. "There are quite good opportunities for expanding economic relations between the two countries," Zarif said after talks with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian. According to official Armenian statistics, Armenian-Iranian trade stood at a relatively modest $211 million in the first ten months of this year. Iran accounted for less than 5 percent of Armenia's overall foreign trade. U.S. Mission Cooperating With Armenian Terror Probe . Naira Bulghadarian Armenia - The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said on Friday that it is cooperating with Armenian law-enforcement authorities in their criminal proceedings against a U.S. national accused of calling for and plotting terrorist attacks in Armenia. "We are working with Armenian law-enforcers on that case. In the interests of the investigation we cannot give further details at this point," the embassy told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) said on Thursday that the U.S. citizen of Armenian descent opened recently a Facebook account to promote a radical group campaigning for a violent overthrow of the Armenian government. It said the account user posing as "Martin Avagyan" posted messages calling for violent attacks on government and law-enforcement officials. The group called Fighters for Justice (MHA) has also sought to recruit disgruntled Armenians willing to carry out such attacks, according to the NSS. The security agency claimed that the Armenian American, whom it identified as R.K., also "prepared for terrorist acts" through "accomplices" in Armenia. It said it has asked U.S. law-enforcement bodies for assistance in the probe "in order to prevent the planned crimes." The Yerevan newspaper "Haykakan Zhamanak" revealed afterwards that the suspect facing arrest in Armenia is Robert Koorkian, a resident of California. Koorkian told the paper that he has already been questioned by U.S. law-enforcement officers. Koorkian did not deny opening the "Martin Avagyan" account but insisted that he never plotted any violence. The Facebook page contains statements attributed to the Fighters for Justice (MHA) group. One of them says that the nationalist group will use "guerilla methods" to "punish the pillars of the ruling regime." Another Facebook status calls for the murder of a police officer who allegedly ill-treated one of the opposition activists currently standing trial in connection with their July 2016 attack on a police base in Yerevan. "Martin Avagyan" claimed on December 6 that MHA has embarked on "the second phase of the armed struggle" launched by the jailed gunmen. Vartan Harutiunian, a human rights activist, questioned the credibility of the NSS allegations, saying that the case may well turn out to be a "bubble." He argued that individuals plotting terrorist acts would hardly use social media to announce their plans. Harutiunian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that a growing number of Armenians express "extreme" views on the Internet because they think it is impossible to change the government by peaceful means. He also said that the authorities have failed to learn lessons from the July 2016 standoff in Yerevan and its underlying causes. Incidentally, "the fight against terrorism" was on the agenda of a meeting of President Serzh Sarkisian's National Security Council held on Friday. The presidential press service reported that the council approved a new plan of actions designed to prevent such violence in view of the "high degree of terror threats in the region" and the changing nature of contemporary terrorism. It gave no details of that plan. Press Review "Zhamanak" comments on President Serzh Sarkisian's latest televised interview in which he again refused to shed light on his political future. "Serzh Sarkisian was even more reticent about the subject this time around, effectively adding to the uncertainty," writes the paper. "At the same time, he clearly hinted that Karen Karapetian's ability and readiness to continue serving as prime minister are not a sufficient condition for keeping that post." "Haykakan Zhamanak" quotes an opposition activist, Davit Sanasarian, as criticizing a government decision to revoke a contract with an Armenian firm that was due to carry out construction work on the Armenian-Iranian border. That work was allegedly blocked by Russian border guards deployed along the frontier. "This is an absurd decision," says Sanasarian. "It is a condemnable indicator of [the government's] being spineless." "Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" quotes Gagik Melikian, a senior parliamentarian from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), as defending President Sarkisian's controversial remark that the authorities will no longer show "clemency" for corrupt town and village mayors. Melikian claims that Sarkisian referred to those local government chiefs who "accidentally found themselves in such situations." The paper laughs off this explanation. It says tartly that Melikian must not be blamed because he made such a claim "accidentally." "He is obliged to do so by his party affiliation," it says. "Aravot" says the latest upsurge of tensions between Turkey and Israel means that there will be renewed calls in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, for an official recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. "Some Armenians may be buoyed by that development," editorializes the paper. "They would be wrong. First of all, [Israeli recognition of the genocide] will hardly happen. This issue has long been used for political blackmail. But most importantly, genocide recognition or non-recognition by anyone does make a difference for us." The only potential benefit for Armenia, it says, is that Israel could stop selling weapons to Azerbaijan for a while because of Baku's support for the Turkish stance on the status of Jerusalem. (Tigran Avetisian) 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