Tuesday, August 1, 2017 Sarkisian Touts Armenia's `Special' Ties With Iran . Emil Danielyan Iran - The front page of the reformist "Shargh" daily carrying an interview with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, 31Jul2017. President Serzh Sarkisian has reaffirmed his desire to deepen Armenia's relations with neighboring Iran "in all areas" of mutual interest. "Many prerequisites are in place for further development of the special relationship between our countries and peoples," Sarkisian told the Iranian daily "Shargh" in an interview published on Monday. "Our countries are the inheritors of ancient and rich civilizations of the region firmly linked to each other by millennia-old neighborhood," he said, according to the Armenpress news agency. Armenian-Iranian relations, Sarkisian went on, are also based on a "dialogue between Christianity and Islam," "cultural similarities" as well as common geopolitical interests.Both nations are "builders" of regional security, he declared. Sarkisian will underline those relations when he flies to Tehran later this week to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran's recently reelected President Hassan Rouhani. The Armenian leader was also present at Rouhani's first inauguration in August 2013. "Our countries belong to the same culture and civilization," Rouhani said during an official visit to Yerevan in December. He also said that Iran will increase exports of natural gas to Armenia and deepen broader economic ties with its Christian neighbor. Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) greets his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at Yerevan airport, 21Dec2016. Speaking to "Shargh," Sarkisian stressed the importance of boosting bilateral commerce. He pointed to the ongoing construction of a new power transmission line, which should significantly increase Armenian electricity exports to the Islamic Republic, and the upcoming launch of a "free economic zone" on the Armenian-Iranian border. Sarkisian further noted that ongoing negotiations on a free trade deal between Iran and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) were initiated by his administration. Iranian investors could also take advantage of Armenia's preferential trade regime with the European Union, he said. Earlier this year, officials from Armenia's Transport Ministry and national rail network encouraged Iranian businesspeople to use Armenian territory for shipping commercial freight to and from Europe. At a meeting in Yerevan, they presented financial and logistical details of the proposed transport corridor that would also pass through Georgia and the Black Sea. In June 2016, Rouhani attended the signing in Tehran of an Armenian-Iranian agreement on visa-free travel between citizens of the two states. In Sarkisian's words, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has significantly risen since then. There have also been signs of growing military cooperation between Yerevan and Tehran. Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsian held talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehqan during an official visit to Iran in January. Sargsian referred to defense industry as a potential area of bilateral cooperation. Four Killed In Shooting Spree In Armenia . Anush Muradian Armenia - A building in the village of Shamiram where four men were shot dead and seven others wounded on 1Aug2017. Armenian law-enforcement authorities were hunting on Tuesday for a man who killed four people and wounded seven others in a village about 50 kilometers west of Yerevan. The gunman went on a shooting spree after bursting into a building in the Yazidi-populated village of Shamiram where hundreds of men gathered in the morning for a Yazidi religious feast. He fled the scene but left his empty car on the village outskirts. "A guy approached one of our men and fired the first gunshots," an eyewitness told reporters. "The moment we heard the gunfire we all ducked under the tables." Police officers and forensic experts cordoned off the crime scene in the following hours. In a statement, the Armenian police said the gunman opened fire with a hunting rifle. "Measures are being taken to track down the suspect," said the statement. Another police statement released later in the day, identified the suspect as Telman Kalashian, a 50-year-old resident of another village. The man's photograph was attached to the statement. Another law-enforcement body, the Investigative Committee, said that "large-scale investigative and search operations" are underway. It said the mass shooting resulted from the gunman's "unfriendly personal relations" with the victims but did not elaborate. Some Shamiram residents suggested that a financial dispute was behind the killings that shocked the country. One man who was present at the ill-fated dinner said the shooter shouted "give me my money back" before firing the first gunshots. Other villagers confirmed that the gunman is not a Shamiram resident.They said that two of the victims lived in Shamiram while the two others were visitors from Russia. Armenian Exports Up In 2017 Armenia - A copper ore-processing plant in Kajaran, 6Feb2016. Armenia's exports continued to grow rapidly in the first half of this year, helped by higher international prices of copper. According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), they were up by 21 percent year on year, at $994 million. Copper, molybdenum and other base metals and their ore concentrates remained the country's number one export category with a 43 percent share in the total. First-half export revenue from them soared by 30 percent on the back of last autumn's sharp rise in the copper prices. This appears to explain why Armenian exports to the European Union, the main buyer of Armenian mining output, rose just as rapidly and totaled almost $302 million in January-June 2017. By comparison, Armenia exported nearly $220 million worth of goods -- mostly prepared foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages and fresh fruits and vegetables -- to Russia, the NSS data shows. Those exports were up by 27 percent in the same period. Armenia - Workers at a commercial greenhouse in Ararat province, 19Apr2017. The government agency also recorded a nearly 26 percent rise in Armenia's first-half imports that exceeded $1.8 billion. With domestic consumer demand remaining sluggish this year, this growth may stem, in part, from a government crackdown on widespread corruption within the national customs service. Earlier this year Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's government effectively pledged to ensure a steady increase in exports that would eliminate Armenia's huge trade deficit within the next five years. Senior officials from the Ministry for Economic Development forecast that exports will approach the $2 billion mark this year and rise by another $450 million in 2018.They said Russia and other members of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will absorb most of the extra exports anticipated by them. In its policy program approved by the Armenian parliament in June, the government committed itself to achieving an annual economic growth rate of around 5 percent in 2017-2022. The program describes rising exports as "the key engine" of that growth, saying that the government will strive to facilitate Armenian manufacturers' access to Russia, the EU and other foreign markets. Press Review "Aravot" laments a lack of reaction from Armenian parties to possible negative consequences for Armenia of new U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia. "The Russians will not leave us alone and that is clear," writes the paper. "They will greatly step up pressure within their country and seek to reinforce what they consider a buffer zone which they have built around Russia under [President Vladimir] Putin and which comprises Armenia. One should not exclude that Moscow will demand that Yerevan rein in the [pro-Western] media and civil society and escalate the situation long the [Karabakh] line of contact or activate pseudo-radical groups in Armenia." "These tensions in U.S.-Russian relations have caused serious concern in Armenia as well," writes "Zhoghovurd." "It is evident that this could have a direct negative impact on our country and its economy in particular. After all, Armenia and Russia are in the same economic area and the Armenian economy is deeply connected with the Russian economy." The paper claims that the Armenian government has done little to ease this economic dependence and diversify Armenia's commercial partners. "On the contrary, Armenia's economy has grown more dependent on Russia during Serzh Sarkisian's tenure," it says. In an interview with "Hayots Ashkhar," Gagik Makarian, the chairman of an Armenian business association, dismisses some opposition leaders' calls for Armenia's exit from the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Makarian says that Armenia has benefited to a certain extent from its membership in the trade bloc. "There are goods that are now imported [from Russia] without customs duties and cumbersome procedures and at low prices," he says. "But we are not quite affected by EEU regulations and mostly feel the impact of Russian laws. Russia tells us directly or indirectly that its national laws take precedence over EEU ones and thus creates artificial obstacles. We don't operate on an equal footing. We seem to be looked down on." (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