Wednesday, Georgia Extradites Key Suspect In High-Profile Armenian Case . Anush Muradian Georgia - A screenshot of official video of the arrest in Tbilisi of an Armenian man suspected of smuggling weapons to Armenia, 27Mar2017. Law-enforcement authorities in Georgia have extradited to Armenia a man accused of providing a sophisticated weapon to Samvel Babayan, the jailed army general linked to an Armenian opposition group, it emerged on Wednesday. The 40-year-old Armenian national, Robert Aghvanian, was detained in Tbilisi in late March just days after Babayan's controversial arrest. Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) said at the time that the former commander of Nagorno-Karabakh's army paid two other arrested suspects to smuggle a shoulder-fired surface-to-air rocket from or through Georgia. It claimed to have found and confiscated the Russian-made Igla system in Karabakh. Subsequent NSS statements were more ambiguous about the origin of the weapon. Investigators said only that Aghvanian delivered the weapon in return for $38,000 that was promised by Sanasar Gabrielian, a longtime Babayan associate. Gabrielian allegedly acted on the general's orders. Babayan repeatedly denied the accusations as baseless before being sentenced to six years in prison by a Yerevan court late last month. Gabrielian, who received a three-year prison sentence, insisted at their trial that it was he, not Babayan, who commissioned the confiscated Igla. The two men were arrested about two weeks before Armenia's last parliamentary elections. Babayan was unofficially affiliated with the ORO alliance led by former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and two other opposition politicians. ORO condemned the criminal case as politically motivated. The opposition bloc failed to win any parliament seats. Armenia - Samvel Babayan (R), Nagorno-Karabakh's former military leader, stands trial in Yerevan, 20Nov2017. According to Armenia's Office of the Prosecutor-General, Aghvanian was extradited from Georgia on Monday. He has already been formally charged with illegal arms acquisition and smuggling, the law-enforcement agency said in a statement. Babayan's lawyer, Avetis Kalashian, said he does not expect the extradition to seriously influence his client's fate. "It cannot have any impact on Samvel Babayan because they definitely did not know each other," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "Samvel Babayan did not know personally any of the other suspects except Sanasar Gabrielian," insisted Kalashian. Neither the NSS nor the prosecutors have clarified yet why the once powerful general would seek to get hold of the rocket designed to shoot down planes and helicopters. Babayan, who led Karabakh's Armenian-backed army from 1993-1999, emigrated to Russia in 2011 and returned to Armenia in May 2016, citing the increased risk of renewed war with Azerbaijan. He strongly criticized Armenia's and Karabakh's current governments in the following months. Babayan was already arrested in 2000 and subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly masterminding a botched attempt on the life of the then Karabakh president, Arkady Ghukasian. He was set free in 2004. Ruling Party Urges Caution Over Russian Tycoon Blacklisted By U.S. . Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia -- Eduard Sharmazanov, the spokesman for the ruling Republican Party, at a press conference in Yerevan, 27Dec2017. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) on Wednesday urged media to respect "the presumption of innocence" of a Russian businessman of Armenian descent blacklisted by the United States for his alleged ties to an organized-crime syndicate. The controversial businessman, Ruben Tatulian, is one of 10 Russian nationals on whom the U.S. Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions late last week. The department's Office of Financial Assets Control (OFAC) accused them of involvement in "serious transnational criminal activities." Tatulian holds an Armenian diplomatic passport. He was also one of three dozen Russian-Armenian entrepreneurs who pledged last January to support Prime Minister Karen Karapetian with large-scale investments in Armenia's economy. Tatulian's inclusion on the U.S. blacklist therefore raised questions about his ties to the Armenian government. "Democracy requires respect for the presumption of innocence," the HHK spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, told reporters, commenting on the U.S. sanctions against Tatulian. "If a person has not been convicted by a judicial body then that person cannot be considered a criminal. I'm neither defending nor not defending him. I'm just noting a fact." Asked whether the very fact of U.S. accusations levelled against Tatulian is not significant in itself, Sharmazanov said: "This is beyond the scope of my responsibilities." The official also would not say whether the authorities in Yerevan would now welcome any investments from Tatulian. "Financial investments in Armenia and their sources must be legal," he said. "But in order to judge whether they are legal or not you must not hand down a [guilty] verdict against any citizen as long as there is no official decision." According to media reports, Tatulian is based in the Black Sea city of Sochi and has extensive business interests as well as strong government connections in southern Russia. An OFAC statement released on December 22 described him as a regional "overseer" of the criminal group in question. The Russian-Armenian tycoon has not yet publicly reacted to the U.S. accusations. Karapetian Laments Economist Cost Of Armenian Political Limbo . Emil Danielyan Nagorno-Karabakh - Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetian visits a manufacturing firm in the Martuni district, 16Dec2017. The lingering uncertainty over who will govern Armenia after President Serzh Sarkisian completes his final term in April is adversely affecting the country's economy, Prime Minister Karen Karapetian said in an interview published on Wednesday. "Unfortunately that is the case," he told the "168 Zham" newspaper. "We have to acknowledge that and # ensure that there are not many [business-related] expectations based on those [political] factors. But the approach that `let's wait for Monday and see what happens' is definitely having a certain impact on the economy." Karapetian referred to unnamed entrepreneurs who he said are delaying their planned investments until after April 9, the final day of Sarkisian's decade-long presidency. The president, who holds a tight grip on the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), has still not clarified what he is planning to do afterwards. Sarkisian said on December 15 that "the time has not yet come" for him to announce whether he will become prime minister or take up another state post. The HHK spokesman, Eduard Sharmazanov, again made clear on Wednesday that Sarkisian will remain the party's top leader in any case. He said that nobody else can do a better job of dealing with security and foreign challenges facing Armenia. Several other senior HHK figures have openly stated in recent weeks that Sarkisian should stay in power as prime minister. Also in April, 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 retain his post. Armenia -- Prime Minister Karen Karapetian gives an interview to "168 Zham" reporter Babken Tunian in Yerevan, 27Dec2017 Speaking to "168 Zham," the premier again said that the HHK leadership will decide in April "who will occupy what post." "Of course, individuals always play a [major] role," he said. "But the more the role of individuals is minimized # the more predictable and promising that [government] system becomes." Joined by key members of his team such as Finance Minister Vartan Aramian and Economic Development Minister Suren Karayan, Karapetian spent most of the extensive interview defending his more than yearlong track record. In particular, he argued that economic growth in Armenia is on track to beat a 4.3 percent target that was set by his cabinet for 2017. He also claimed to have significantly improved tax and customs administration. "We are committed to creating the kind of a business environment in Armenia that will make it easy to do business # so that our businessmen feel safe and secure, so that our domestic investors get buoyed and bring in many other investors," he said. Opposition politicians and other critics say that Karapetian's government has not eased socioeconomic hardship so far. They have also strongly criticized its decision not to raise public sector salaries, pensions and poverty benefits despite a sizable rise in public spending envisaged by the 2018 state budget. Most of that spending increase will be channeled into infrastructure projects. Government officials say this, coupled with continued economic growth, is a better way to boost living standards in the country. "I think that by 2019 many more people will feel that we have moved and are moving the economy in the right direction," said Karapetian. The 54-year-old former business executive vowed to speed up economic growth through major reforms and a fight against corruption when Sarkisian named him prime minister in September 2016. The ruling HHK's governing board gave a largely positive assessment of his track record a year later. Press Review "That official Yerevan hopes Tbilisi will express readiness to make use of Armenia's [commercial] potential seems to suggest that Serzh Sarkisian regards Armenian-Georgian relations on a new plane and expects a new quality and level of cooperation from Georgia," writes "Aravot." "This is a very important message. It must be pointed out that Sarkisian's latest visit to Tbilisi took place in a noteworthy atmosphere." The paper cites last week's statement by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili to the effect that that Armenia could be able soon to use a road passing through South Ossetia in its trade with Russia. "Whether this move by the Georgian government is the result of Armenian-Georgian negotiations will probably be clear later on," "Aravot" goes on. "A new situation that has emerged around Armenia has played a role in that. In all likelihood, the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia and the European Union, the start of a new phase of Armenia's European integration, and Armenia's increased role in the region have created a new situation." "Hraparak" says that the November 24 signing of the CEPA was one of the two most important events of 2017 for Armenia. The paper says that the agreement is important in terms of both the domestic and foreign policies. The April 2017 parliamentary elections are the other major event singled out by it. "Zhamanak" comments on U.S. plans to sell lethal weapons to Ukraine. "The Russian hysteria about that is not comprehensible, to say the least, because the United States is not a mediator in the conflict in Ukraine and it is only natural that it is arming its ally," writes the paper. It says the Russian reaction is particularly "cynical" given Russia's large-scale arms sales to Azerbaijan that run counter to its alliance with Armenia. (Elen Chilingarian) 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