Author: Aram Torosian

                                        Friday, 

Sarkisian Still Vague On Political Future


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian holds a meeting with Prime
Minister Karen Karapetian (L) and other state officials in Yerevan,
27Oct2017.

President Serzh Sarkisian has again declined to clarify what he is
planning to do after serving out his second and final term in April.

In an interview with the Armenia TV channel aired late on Thursday,
Sarkisian also praised Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and said the
latter's desire to retain his post next year is "very good" and
"healthy."

Sarkisian said that "the time has not yet come" for him to announce
whether he will become prime minister or take up another state post
after his decade-long presidency. "When it comes I will declare," he
went on. "There are different factors [at play,] ranging personal to
other factors. I think that at the end of the day we, the Republican
Party (HHK), have a right to decide, together with our coalition
partner, who can do a better job where."

Asked whether he will stay in politics in any case, the president
replied: "We'll see, we'll see."

Immediately after the end of his second term, 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 stay
on as prime minister come April.

"As for Karen Karapetian's desire, it's a very good, healthy, logical
desire," Sarkisian said in this regard. "And generally speaking, I
believe that Karen Karapetian, is very acceptable and useful to us as
a prime minister and as a person. I mean to me personally and to the
party."

Sarkisian noted that Karapetian's cabinet has pledged to ensure that
the Armenian economy grows by roughly 5 percent annually in the coming
years. "That is not a bad indicator," he said, adding that the results
of such growth would be "visible and tangible."

Karapetian vowed to improve the socioeconomic situation in the country
through major reforms and a fight against corruption when Sarkisian
named him prime minister in September 2016. The ruling HHK's governing
board headed by the Armenia president gave a largely positive
assessment of his track record a year later.



Turkey Sticks To Linkage Between Karabakh, Ties With Armenia


 . Emil Danielyan


Switzerland -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (2ndR) and his
Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian shake hands as they hold signed
Turkish-Armenian protocols, Zurich, 10Oct2009.

Turkey has again made clear that it will not implement Western-backed
agreements to normalize its relations with Armenia without a
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry at the same time denounced Yerevan's
plans to formally annul the two protocols that were signed in Zurich
in 2009.

"These Protocols are still on the agenda of the Turkish Grand National
Assembly's Foreign Affairs Commission and for their ratification it is
essential that a favorable political atmosphere and peace in the South
Caucasus is secured," the ministry said in a statement issued late on
Thursday.

"In this vein, it is necessary that in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict progress is achieved, based on Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity and in light of the relevant resolutions of the
UN Security Council," it said. "In any case, Armenia must put an end
to its invasion of Azerbaijan's territories."

The statement came in response to Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian's statement on Wednesday reaffirming Yerevan's intention to
withdraw its signature from the protocols because of Ankara's
"groundless preconditions" for their parliamentary ratification. "We
will enter the spring of 2018 without those futile protocols,"
President Serzh Sarkisian declared earlier.

The protocols committed Turkey and Armenia to establishing diplomatic
relations and opening their border which Ankara has long kept closed
in a show of support for Azerbaijan. Shortly after the high-profile
signing ceremony in Zurich, Ankara said that Turkey's parliament will
ratify the deal only if there is decisive progress towards a Karabakh
peace.

The Armenian government rejected that precondition, arguing that the
protocols make no reference to the conflict. The United States, the
European Union and Russia have also repeatedly called for their
unconditional implementation by both sides.

While reaffirming the Karabakh linkage, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
insisted that Ankara is not responsible for the effective collapse of
the 2009 accords. It claimed that Armenia itself introduced
"preconditions and restrictive clauses" through a January 2010 ruling
handed down by the country's Constitutional Court.

The court upheld the legality of the protocols. But it also indicated
that they cannot have any bearing on the Karabakh conflict or inhibit
Armenia's pursuit of greater international recognition of the 1915
Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey.

Unlike Turkey, the U.S. welcomed that ruling. Philip Gordon, a
U.S. assistant secretary of state at the time, called it a "positive
step forward in the ratification process of the normalization
protocols."

Then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Ankara to drop the
Karabakh linkage when she visited Yerevan later in 2010. "Now the ball
is in the other court," Clinton said.



Armenia Opens Tax-Free Zone On Iranian Border


 . Hovannes Movsisian


Armenia - A newly established free economic zone near Meghri,
15Dec2017.

The Armenian government inaugurated on Friday a free economic zone on
Armenia's border with Iran, saying that it will attract more foreign
investment in the domestic economy and expand commercial ties with the
Islamic Republic.

Businesses operating in the zone close to the southeastern Armenian
town of Meghri will be exempt from virtually all types of taxes. They
will be allowed to engage in not only manufacturing but also trade,
cargo transport and even tourism.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Karen Karapetian
indicated that his government expects the tax haven to attract Iranian
companies seeking to capitalize on Armenia's tariff-access to Russia's
market and privileged trade regime with the European Union. It will
also allow other foreign investors to do business with Iran, he said.

"I am sure that the free economic zone has very good prospects,"
Karapetian told reporters. "But this is just the beginning. We must
now work hard every day," he added.


Armenia - Prime Minister Karen Karapetian speaks to journalists at the
official opening of a free economic zone near Meghri, 15Dec2017.

Minister for Economic Development Suren Karayan, who also attended the
ceremony, said the government anticipates that between 50 and 70 firms
will set up shop in the tax haven in the coming years. He said their
combined output should increase Armenia's exports by around $250
million annually.

Vahe Hakobian, the governor of the Syunik province encompassing the
border area, estimated that this should translate into 2,000 new
jobs. "That will definitely be an addition boost for the socioeconomic
development of our region," he said.

Hakobian also told journalists that businesspeople from Georgia,
Ukraine and Belarus have already expressed readiness to invest in the
Meghri zone. And a large delegation of Iranian government officials
and entrepreneurs will arrive in the provincial capital Kapan on
Wednesday, he added.

A separate statement released by Karapetian's press office said that
the business zone will be expanded by 70 hectares in the next few
years.


Armenia - The Armenian and Iranian foreign ministers open an
Armenian-Iranian business forum in Yerevan, 28Nov2017.

The Armenian premier discussed the upcoming launch of the zone with
Iranian officials during an official visit to Tehran in October. He
called on Iranian firms to set up branches there.

Economic issues were also high on the agenda of Iranian Foreign
Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's November 28 trip to Yerevan. Zarif
arrived with a large group of Iranian businessmen who held a one-day
conference with fellow entrepreneurs from Armenia.

"There are quite good opportunities for expanding economic relations
between the two countries," Zarif said after talks with his Armenian
counterpart Edward Nalbandian.

According to official Armenian statistics, Armenian-Iranian trade
stood at a relatively modest $211 million in the first ten months of
this year. Iran accounted for less than 5 percent of Armenia's overall
foreign trade.



U.S. Mission Cooperating With Armenian Terror Probe


 . Naira Bulghadarian


Armenia - The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan.

The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said on Friday that it is cooperating with
Armenian law-enforcement authorities in their criminal proceedings
against a U.S. national accused of calling for and plotting terrorist
attacks in Armenia.

"We are working with Armenian law-enforcers on that case. In the
interests of the investigation we cannot give further details at this
point," the embassy told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) said on Thursday that the
U.S. citizen of Armenian descent opened recently a Facebook account to
promote a radical group campaigning for a violent overthrow of the
Armenian government. It said the account user posing as "Martin
Avagyan" posted messages calling for violent attacks on government and
law-enforcement officials. The group called Fighters for Justice (MHA)
has also sought to recruit disgruntled Armenians willing to carry out
such attacks, according to the NSS.

The security agency claimed that the Armenian American, whom it
identified as R.K., also "prepared for terrorist acts" through
"accomplices" in Armenia. It said it has asked U.S. law-enforcement
bodies for assistance in the probe "in order to prevent the planned
crimes."

The Yerevan newspaper "Haykakan Zhamanak" revealed afterwards that the
suspect facing arrest in Armenia is Robert Koorkian, a resident of
California. Koorkian told the paper that he has already been
questioned by U.S. law-enforcement officers.

Koorkian did not deny opening the "Martin Avagyan" account but
insisted that he never plotted any violence.

The Facebook page contains statements attributed to the Fighters for
Justice (MHA) group. One of them says that the nationalist group will
use "guerilla methods" to "punish the pillars of the ruling regime."
Another Facebook status calls for the murder of a police officer who
allegedly ill-treated one of the opposition activists currently
standing trial in connection with their July 2016 attack on a police
base in Yerevan.

"Martin Avagyan" claimed on December 6 that MHA has embarked on "the
second phase of the armed struggle" launched by the jailed gunmen.

Vartan Harutiunian, a human rights activist, questioned the
credibility of the NSS allegations, saying that the case may well turn
out to be a "bubble." He argued that individuals plotting terrorist
acts would hardly use social media to announce their plans.

Harutiunian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that a
growing number of Armenians express "extreme" views on the Internet
because they think it is impossible to change the government by
peaceful means. He also said that the authorities have failed to learn
lessons from the July 2016 standoff in Yerevan and its underlying
causes.

Incidentally, "the fight against terrorism" was on the agenda of a
meeting of President Serzh Sarkisian's National Security Council held
on Friday. The presidential press service reported that the council
approved a new plan of actions designed to prevent such violence in
view of the "high degree of terror threats in the region" and the
changing nature of contemporary terrorism. It gave no details of that
plan.



Press Review



"Zhamanak" comments on President Serzh Sarkisian's latest televised
interview in which he again refused to shed light on his political
future. "Serzh Sarkisian was even more reticent about the subject this
time around, effectively adding to the uncertainty," writes the
paper. "At the same time, he clearly hinted that Karen Karapetian's
ability and readiness to continue serving as prime minister are not a
sufficient condition for keeping that post."

"Haykakan Zhamanak" quotes an opposition activist, Davit Sanasarian,
as criticizing a government decision to revoke a contract with an
Armenian firm that was due to carry out construction work on the
Armenian-Iranian border. That work was allegedly blocked by Russian
border guards deployed along the frontier. "This is an absurd
decision," says Sanasarian. "It is a condemnable indicator of [the
government's] being spineless."

"Chorrord Ishkhanutyun" quotes Gagik Melikian, a senior
parliamentarian from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), as
defending President Sarkisian's controversial remark that the
authorities will no longer show "clemency" for corrupt town and
village mayors. Melikian claims that Sarkisian referred to those local
government chiefs who "accidentally found themselves in such
situations." The paper laughs off this explanation. It says tartly
that Melikian must not be blamed because he made such a claim
"accidentally." "He is obliged to do so by his party affiliation," it
says.

"Aravot" says the latest upsurge of tensions between Turkey and Israel
means that there will be renewed calls in the Israeli parliament, the
Knesset, for an official recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in
the Ottoman Empire. "Some Armenians may be buoyed by that
development," editorializes the paper. "They would be wrong. First of
all, [Israeli recognition of the genocide] will hardly happen. This
issue has long been used for political blackmail. But most
importantly, genocide recognition or non-recognition by anyone does
make a difference for us." The only potential benefit for Armenia, it
says, is that Israel could stop selling weapons to Azerbaijan for a
while because of Baku's support for the Turkish stance on the status
of Jerusalem.

(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

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Saturday


Ali Larijani: Armenia plays an important role in ensuring regional security

Yerevan October 14

David Stepanyan. Armenia plays an important role in ensuring regional
security, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali
Larijani said at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ara Babloyan
on October 14 in St. Petersburg.

According to the press service of the National Assembly of Armenia,
the interlocutors noted the high level of the Armenian-Iranian
relations, their development in the atmosphere of mutual trust. The
stability of Armenia as a partner of Iran was also noted

Speakers of the parliaments attached importance to the fruitful work
of the deputy friendship groups, noting the upcoming mutual visits.

The interlocutors also discussed issues of regional security,
development of bilateral political and economic relations.

Babloyan and Larijani invited each other to visit Armenia and Iran.