Armenian Speaker discusses property-for-debt agreement in Moscow
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
13 Apr 05
[Presenter] The speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Artur
Bagdasaryan, met the co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian
interparliamentary commission, [Russian Transport Minister] Igor
Levitin, today. During the meeting the sides discussed the work of the
Kavkaz-Poti ferry link and the need to reconstruct the Abkhaz railway.
Igor Levin assured the speaker of the National Assembly that the legal
side of the issues has been settled and only technical and economic
problems have to be resolved. They also discussed the easing of the
visa regime for Armenians living in Russia, which will allow them to
stay in Russia for 90 days without visas. At the moment, Armenians can
stay in Russia without entry visas for only three days.
[Correspondent Susan Badalyan from Moscow by telephone] Armenian
National Assembly Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan’s Moscow meetings are
continuing.
During a meeting with the chairman of [Russia’s] State Duma committee
for CIS affairs and relations with compatriots, Andrey Kokoshin, Artur
Bagdasaryan talked about visas for the Armenians residing in Russia.
Speaking about the Property-for-Debt Agreement, Artur Bagdasaryan told
Kokoshin and participants in the meeting that the handover of
enterprises to Russia to cover Armenia’s state debt was not an
economic but a political issue and that these five enterprises were
not functioning.
Russian MPs asked for the Armenian speaker’s opinion about the
Armenian peacekeepers in Iraq. Artur Bagdasaryan said that Armenia had
joined the antiterrorist coalition and sent its specialists to Iraq on
a humanitarian mission.
The Armenian speaker also met Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin
today. Levitin said that they were faithful to all their promises and
that they were working on the commissioning of the fifth unit of the
Razdan power plant [one of the enterprises handed over to
Russia]. Speaking about the work of the Kavkaz-Poti ferry link,
Levitin said that he would be meeting experts to discuss this problem
in Krasnodar on 15 April.
The National Assembly speaker’s two-day visit to Moscow has
ended. Tomorrow he is leaving for St Petersburg to attend the 25th
plenary session of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and an
international scientific forum dedicated to the 60th anniversary of
the Victory in Europe Day.