Tuesday,
Armenian President Visits Georgia
Georgia - Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (L) and
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian meet in Tbilisi, 26Dec2017.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian met with Georgia's Prime Minister
Giorgi Kvirikashvili on Tuesday at the end of a two-day official visit
to Tbilisi.
The two men spoke of a "positive dynamic" in Georgian-Armenian
relations. Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili likewise praised
bilateral commercial ties when met with his Armenian counterpart on
Monday.
"Our relations are centuries old and they have always been as warm and
good-neighborly as they are today," Kvirikashvili said at the start of
his talks with Sarkisian. "We welcome the growing dynamics of our
bilateral relations."
The press offices of both leaders said they discussed ways of
deepening ties between the two neighboring states in "various fields"
but reported no further details. According to a statement by
Sarkisian's office, they also noted "considerable progress" in
bilateral commerce made this year.
"Even though we have signed the Association Agreement with the
European Union and we benefit from free trade with Europe while
Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), this
circumstance has not weakened economic cooperation between our
countries," Margvelashvili said after his separate meeting with
Sarkisian. "On the contrary, the [commercial] turnover between our
countries as well as the tourism indicator has significantly increased
this year."
GEORGIA -- Georgia's President Giorgi Margvelashvili (L) and President
of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan (R) inspect the honor guard during the
welcoming ceremony at the President's residence in Tbilisi, Georgia,
. Serzh Sargsyan on an official
Official Armenian statistics show that Georgian-Armenian trade
actually shrunk by 4 percent to just under $200 million in the first
ten months of this year. The two nations continue to have an
essentially free trade regime despite Armenia's membership in the
Russian-led trade bloc.
Speaking at a joint news briefing with the Georgian president,
Sarkisian urged Georgian entrepreneurs to set up shop in Armenia and
thus gain tariff-free access to markets in Russia and other EEU member
states. He also called on them to invest in a free economic zone that
has been created on Armenia's border with Iran.
It was not clear whether the two sides discussed the potential
creation of new transport corridors between Georgia and Russia that
would be used for cargo shipments to and from Armenia. Most of
Russian-Armenian trade is currently carried out through the sole
Russian-Georgian border crossing at Upper Lars. Traffic along that
mountainous road is frequently blocked by blizzards in winter months.
Kvirikashvili said last week that Tbilisi is ready to allow Armenia as
well as Turkey and other countries to use, in case of a "force majeure
situation," another road that passes through Georgia's breakaway South
Ossetia region. He pointed to the December 19 signing of an agreement
between the Georgian government and a Swiss company that would process
such cargo traffic.
Georgia and Russia have held negotiations on this politically
sensitive arrangement for the last few years. Armenian Transport
Minister Vahan Martirosian expressed hope earlier this year that the
talks will yield an agreement soon.
Sarkisian flew to Tbilisi two weeks after Kvirikashvili cancelled a
planned official visit to Yerevan at the last minute. The two
governments said the visit will take place after the Georgian
parliament approves a cabinet reshuffle initiated by the premier.
Yerevan Budget Criticized By Opposition
. Tatev Danielian
Armenia - A session of Yerevan's municipal council chaired by Mayor
Taron Markarian, 26Dec2017.
The opposition minority in Yerevan's municipal council accused Mayor
Taron Markarian of misusing public funds on Tuesday as he pushed
through the city budget for next year drafted by his administration.
The budget calls for 80.2 billion drams ($166 million) in expenditure
and almost as much in revenue. The council controlled by the ruling
Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) passed it by 47 votes to 16.
Voting against it were council members representing the opposition
Yelk alliance and the more radical Yerkir Tsirani party.
Yelk councilors said the budget will waste taxpayers' money on useless
programs while ignoring some of the Armenian capital's pressing
needs.One of them, Ani Samsonian, complained that the municipal
administration has no plans to replace aging and increasingly
dangerous elevators of many apartment blocks in the city.
Yerkir Tsirani councilors were even more critical. One of them, Marine
Khachatrian, launched personal attacks on Markarian. In particular,
she charged that the mayor uses budgetary funds to buy expensive suits
for himself.
Markarian brushed aside the allegations, implying that Yerkir Tsirani
receives lavish funding from foreign donors. "As regards your claims
about our clothing and foreign trips, I must tell you that a lot has
actually changed in your attire, your hairstyle and your gait ever
since you were elected to the council," he said. "So stop it."
"You can't carry on with empty talk," he added angrily during a
continued verbal exchange with Khachatrian.
Khachatrian and the two other Yerkir Tsirani councilors, including the
party leader Zaruhi Postanjian, were jeered by the HHK majority when
they walked out of the assembly in protest afterwards.
The leader of the Yelk faction in the council, Davit Khazhakian, also
rebuked them, saying that they are too disruptive."Your plan to raise
hell affects us too, which I understand wasn't one of your goals," he
said.
Meanwhile, one of Markarian's deputies, Vahe Nikoyan, rejected the
opposition criticism of the budget. He said that neither opposition
faction has submitted any concrete proposals on redistributing
expenditures planned by the municipal administration.
Press Review
"168 Zham" reports that the Armenian Ministry of Transport and
Communications has signed a $29,000 construction contract with a
private company chosen by it without a tender. The company, Armstroy,
is registered in the town of Sisian and has repeatedly won similar
contracts before. The paper says that the website of the Armenian
state registry of companies does not specify who owns it.
"The year 2017 does not seem to have brought substantial changes to
the lives of Armenia's ordinary citizens," writes "Haykakan Zhamanak."
"Life has not improved and the country has not become a decent
country. People have continued to struggle to make ends meet. Some
have managed to do that better because they have kept up with time,
gained new skills, become more educated. Others, being deprived of
such opportunities right from the beginning, have remained at the
mercy of employers and have spent the year doing grueling work for 12
hours a day and six days a week and making between 80,000 and 100,000
drams."
"Zhamanak" claims that the U.S. Treasury Department's decision to
impose financial sanctions on Russian-Armenian businessman Ruben
Tatulian and nine other Russian nationals accused of leading a crime
syndicate could have "severe consequences" for Armenia. The paper
speculates that the U.S. is also planning to penalize subsidiaries of
Russian companies already sanctioned by Washington.
"Zhoghovurd" says that Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's 2016 pledges
to boost food safety controls in Armenia have turned out to be
gimmicks. The paper points to last week's discovery of horse and
donkey meat that was sold as beef at a food market in Yerevan. "One
can only guess about what the situation is with other products that
have not been examined yet," it says. "In the meantime, we can
conclude that Armenia's citizens are still not protected against
low-quality or hazardous foodstuffs."
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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