Monday, Sarkisian's Continued Rule `Unacceptable' To Opposition Bloc . Nane Sahakian Armenia - Leaders of the opposition Yelk alliance hold an anti-government rally in Yerevan, 19Jan2018. Leaders of the opposition Yelk alliance denounced at the weekend President Serzh Sarkisian's perceived plans to extend his decade-long rule by becoming prime minister after Armenia is transformed into a parliamentary republic in April. They declined to specify just how they will be trying to prevent such a scenario which looks increasingly likely. "For the Yelk alliance, Serzh Sarkisian's third term is unacceptable," said Edmon Marukian, who heads one of the three parties making up the bloc. "As regards other, technical, tactical and strategic issues, we will discuss them." Another Yelk leader, Nikol Pashinian, said the bloc's key objective now is to prevent Sarkisian from holding on to power after his second and final presidential term expires on April 9. "This is one of the most important issues on which we need to adopt a common position," he said. "No one within the alliance disputes that." Pashinian already warned on February 9 that the outgoing president "could drastically escalate the political situation in Armenia" if he takes over as prime minister later in April. But he did not say whether Yelk will stage street protests in that case. Aram Sarkisian (no relation), whose Hanrapetutyun party is also part of Yelk, admitted on Friday that the bloc's leaders disagree on how to fight against Serzh Sarkisian's continued rule. He declined to refute media reports that Marukian believes the Armenian opposition missed its chance to oust the president during the April 2017 parliamentary elections won by the ruling Republican Party (HHK). Both Marukian and Pashinian denied on Saturday any differences within the Yelk leadership, however. Although Serzh Sarkisian has still not publicly clarified his political plans there are growing indications that he is planning to become prime minister. A deputy chairman of the HHK hinted a week ago that this scenario is a forgone conclusion. Russian Intelligence Chief Visits Armenia Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) meets with Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, in Yerevan, 19 February 2018. The influential head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, reportedly praised close ties between Russian and Armenian security services during a visit to Yerevan on Monday. Naryshkin held separate meetings with President Serzh Sarkisian and the chief of Armenia's National Security Service (NSS), Georgi Kutoyan. An NSS statement said he discussed with Kutoyan "issues related to the fight against international terrorism and other manifestations of transnational crime." It gave no details. Sarkisian, who ran the NSS in the 1990s, said Russian-Armenian relations are "developing dynamically" in "all areas" when he received Naryshkin later in the day. It is only natural for the security services of the two allied nations to cooperate closely through "intelligence sharing, assessment of the situation and constant active interaction," he was quoted by the presidential press office as saying. According to a statement released by the office, Naryshkin noted the SVR's "close links" with Armenia's NSS and "the proper level" of their cooperation." He briefed the Armenian leader on their ongoing joint activities and "further plans," the statement added without elaborating. Naryshkin is a longtime associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who managed the Kremlin staff before serving as speaker of the lower house of Russia's parliament from 2011-2016. He repeatedly visited Armenia in his capacity as State Duma speaker. Putin appointed Naryshkin as head of the Russian spy agency in September 2016. Naryshkin made international headlines recently after it emerged that he secretly visited Washington and met top U.S. intelligence officials in January. According to the Russian ambassador to the United States, they discussed "the joint struggle against terrorism." It was not clear whether political developments in Armenia were also on the agenda of Naryshkin's trip to Yerevan. Sarkisian will serve out his final presidential term on April 9. He is widely expected to remain in power as prime minister. Russian officials have not publicly commented on the outgoing president's political future. Criminal Inquiry Launched Into Yerevan Council Brawl . Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - Marina Khachatrian of the opposition Yerkir Tsirani party is confronted by pro-government members of Yerevan's municipal assembly, 13 February 2018. Armenian law-enforcement authorities have formally launched a criminal investigation into last week's violent clash between opposition and pro-government members of Yerevan's municipal council. The incident occurred during a session of the council chaired by Mayor Taron Markarian on February 13. Two female councilors affiliated with the opposition Yerkir Tsirani party were confronted by their pro-government colleagues when they tried to hand Markarian glass containers filled with sewage collected from a damaged sewer pipe in the city's Nubarashen district. They called the foul-smelling substance a "gift" from Nubarashen residents. The two sides scuffled and shouted insults at each other. Yerkir Tsirani's Marina Khachatrian, slapped a male councilor representing the ruling Republican Party (HHK) after being jostled by him. The latter slapped her in response. Khachatrian and two other Yerkir Tsirani members, including the party leader Zaruhi Postanjian, were then physically forced to leave the council auditorium. Postanjian sent a "crime report" to the Armenian police. The police also received a separate complaint from the municipal administration which blames the outspoken oppositionists for the violence. A police spokesman, Ashot Aharonian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on Monday that a criminal case has been opened in connection with the incident under Criminal Code articles dealing with hooliganism and assault. He said the police have sent the case to another law-enforcement body, the Investigative Committee, for further investigation. It was not immediately clear which side is risking prosecution for the high-profile incident which was witnessed and filmed by many reporters. In what appears to be a related development, officials from the Mayor's Office on Monday stopped Postanjian from showing a group of journalists around the municipality building and an adjacent parking lot reserved for Yerevan officials and council members. Postanjian and the two other councilors affiliated with her party have been unable to park their car there since the February 13 violence. The Yerkir Tsirani leader also said that the municipal administration is refusing to clean up their room. She further demonstrated purported evidence of staffers playing cards in another room during their working ours. Moments later, the head of Mayor Markarian's press service, Artur Gevorgian, told the reporters, among them an RFE/RL correspondent, to leave the building. "No journalist has the right to enter the municipality building and move around it without our special permission, even if Mrs. Postanjian can escort you to the room allocated to her faction," he said before telling police officers to usher them out. Postanjian as well as Arayik Harutiunian of the Yelk alliance, a more moderate opposition group represented in the Yerevan council, accused Markarian of arbitrarily restricting media coverage of the municipal authorities. "This is illegal because they thereby restrict the work of the city council," Harutiunian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He said Yelk has repeatedly appealed to the Markarian's staff but has still not received any written rules of conduct for journalists or other citizens visiting the building. The mayor, meanwhile, met with municipality lawyers and press officers later in the day to instruct them to propose ways of "regulating the work of media" in the building. It was not immediately clear what kind of restrictions he is planning to impose. Press Review Armenia -- Newspapers for press review illustration, Yerevan, 12Jul2016 (Saturday, February 17) "Zhamanak" speaks of a "large scale intra-governmental regrouping" unfolding in Armenia in a commentary on the official confirmation that Armen Sarkissian will become the next president of the republic. "This raises one very important question," writes the paper. "If Serzh Sarkisian is not going to be replaced, will the other changes [in the state hierarchy] really matter? The composition of the government and the choice of [three] deputy prime ministers will be very important. But will that matter if Serzh Sarkisian is not replaced?" It says that while Sarkisian's continued rule will preclude any "fundamental change" in the country some state officials could be able to push through certain reforms. "Zhoghovurd" claims that the new constitutional provisions on the role and authority of the Armenian president will come into force one month after Armen Sarkissian will be chosen by the parliament as the new head of state in early March. The paper says that up until April popular vote will remain the only legal way of electing the president. "Armen Sarkissian will thus become yet another president whose legitimacy cane be called into question," it says. "The history of presidential elections in Armenia shows that if they decide in the upper echelons that in this particular situation the aspirant to the top post is more important than the constitution then they can easily circumvent requirements of the basic law without any qualms," writes "Hraparak." "Especially given that there is such a precedent. When Robert Kocharian was seeking the post of Armenia's president in 1998 he had to have permanently resided in Armenia for the past 10 years. Nevertheless, the Central Election Commission registered Kocharian, who was brought in from Karabakh, [as a presidential candidate] without any fuss." The paper says that Armen Sarkissian's ascent to the presidency will follow a similar pattern. "Haykakan Zhamanak" reacts to the shocking suicide of an Armenian woman and her 9-year-old daughter, who jumped to their death from a bridge in Yerevan last week. Citing official statistics, the paper says that last year 562 people in Armenia tried to kill themselves and 157 of them died as a result. Nearly two-thirds of them were unemployed. "This is terrible statistics," comments the paper. "It leaves us with no room four doubting that the socioeconomic plight [of people] is the main cause of suicides committed in Armenia." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org