Author: Garnik Tadevosian

                                        Monday, 

Senior U.S. Official Visits Armenia


Armenia - George Kent (R), the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for 
European and Eurasian affairs, meets with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in 
Yerevan, .

A senior U.S. State Department official met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
in Yerevan on Monday for talks that reportedly focused on regional security and 
the Armenian government’s ambitious reform agenda.

A government statement said Pashinian briefed George Kent, the U.S. deputy 
assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, on wide-ranging 
reforms planned by his cabinet and its efforts to combat corruption. Armenia is 
“firmly going down the path of democratic development,” he said.

The statement cited Kent as saying that the United States is interested in 
Armenia’s democratization and economic development. The U.S. is therefore ready 
to assist Pashinian’s government in implementing the promised reforms, the 
diplomat was reported to add.

The outgoing U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, Richard Mills, revealed last week that 
Washington provided Armenia with $14 million in additional aid following last 
spring’s dramatic change of the country’s government.

In a September 21 message to Pashinian, U.S. President Donald Trump praised the 
mass protests that brought the 43-year-old former journalist to power in May. 
“A peaceful, popular movement ushered in a new era in Armenia, and we look 
forward to working with you to help you execute the will of your people to 
combat corruption and to establish representative, accountable governance, rule 
of law buttressed by an independent judiciary, and political and economic 
competition,” wrote Trump.

Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, is due to visit Yerevan later 
this month as part of a tour of Russia and the three South Caucasus states. 
Bolton said last week that the main purpose of the trip is to “advance American 
interests on a range of security issues.”

Pashinian’s press office said international efforts to resolve the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other “regional challenges” were also on the 
agenda of the Armenian leader’s talks with Kent. But it did not elaborate.

Pashinian has expressed readiness to “strengthen and expand” Armenia’s 
relationship with the U.S. But he has ruled major changes in Armenian foreign 
policy traditionally oriented towards Russia


Pashinian Reaffirms Resignation Date

        • Sisak Gabrielian

Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian talks to reporters in Yerevan, 1 
October 2018.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will tender his resignation on Tuesday to ensure 
that snap parliamentary elections are held in Armenia in early December, his 
spokesman said on Monday.

Under the Armenian constitution, the current parliament will be dissolved if it 
fails to elect another prime minister within two weeks after Pashinian’s 
resignation. None of the parliamentary factions is expected to try to replace 
him by another premier.

The largest of those factions, which represents Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican 
Party of Armenia (HHK), said on October 9 that it “did not and does not have an 
intention to nominate a candidate” for the post of prime minister if Pashinian 
steps down. The premier met with the top HHK lawmakers the following day.

Pashinian told the France24 TV channel afterwards that he will resign “by 
October 16.” That means, he said, that the snap elections will take place in 
the first half of December.

Pashinian’s press secretary, Arman Yeghoyan, did not specify whether he will 
announce the resignation at an extraordinary cabinet meeting scheduled for 
Tuesday. He said only that ministers will discuss amendments to the Electoral 
Code drafted by an ad hoc government commission.

The HHK faction leader, Vahram Baghdasarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service 
that its members will also meet on Tuesday to discuss the draft amendments. The 
meeting will be held at the government’s request, he said.

Pashinian, who controls only a handful of seats in the current National 
Assembly, stepped up his push for the early elections after his alliance won 
more than 80 percent of the vote in the September 23 municipal elections in 
Yerevan.

On October 2, the HHK and two other parliamentary parties passed a bill that 
could have made it harder for the government to force the elections in 
December. The move sparked angry protests by tens of thousands of Pashinian 
supporters who rallied outside the parliament building in Yerevan.

The constitution allows Pashinian to continue to perform his prime-ministerial 
duties at least until the inaugural session of the new parliament. Observers 
believe that his political team will have a comfortable majority in it.




U.S. Envoy Upbeat On Democracy In Armenia

        • Harry Tamrazian
        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills delivers a farewell speech at 
the American Chamber of Commerce in Yerevan, 9 October 2018.

Richard Mills, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, sounded optimistic on 
Monday about Armenia’s chances of becoming an established democracy after the 
recent dramatic change of its government.

“I am [optimistic] because I know it’s what the Armenian people want,” Mills 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian service in an interview.

“Armenians know what they want and they will achieve that goal,” he said. “So 
I’m confident. I think the democratic future here is bright.”

In that context, Mill pointed to last spring’s mass protests that brought down 
the previous Armenian government, saying that they resulted from public demand 
for sweeping changes in the country.

“What we saw in April and May were Armenian-led developments… Armenians wanted 
a new society, a political will to solve problems,” he said.

The envoy, who is completing his more than three-year tour of duty in Armenia, 
admitted, though, that he was not sure about the outcome of the protest 
movement when it was launched by Nikol Pashinian, then an opposition leader, in 
Gyumri.

The nationwide protests forced Armenia’s longtime leader Serzh Sarkisian to 
resign on April 23. The Armenian parliament elected Pashinian prime minister on 
May 8 under relentless pressure from scores of his supporters demonstrating in 
Yerevan and other parts of the country.

Mills said that Pashinian has since been rapidly evolving from a protest leader 
into a head of government.

“I’m impressed with the gravitas that he has,” he said, drawing parallels 
between the 43-year-old former journalist and John Adams, one of the American 
founding fathers who served as second president of the United States from 
1797-1801.




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

                                        Thursday, 

Francophonie Summit Starts In Armenia


Armenia - French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a summit of the 
Francophonie organization in Yerevan, .

Armenia hosted on Thursday a summit of the Paris-based Francophonie 
organization attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime 
Minister Justin Trudeau and the leaders of three dozen other French-speaking 
nations.

The two-day summit, also attended by government delegations from over 40 other 
states, is the largest international forum ever held in Yerevan. It highlights 
what the current and former Armenian governments have described as Armenia’s 
“privileged relationship” with France.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian opened the gathering with a speech delivered in 
French.

“I and all Armenian people are happy to host in Yerevan the 17th summit of the 
heads of Francophone states and governments,” he said. “Welcome to Armenia!”

“Armenia is a young member of the Francophonie … and yet there is no need to 
prove its commitment to promoting cultural and linguistic diversity and 
fundamental values of the French language and the Francophonie,” he said. Those 
values include respect for democracy and human rights, added the Armenian 
leader.


Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and French President Emmanuel Macron 
greet each other at a Francophonie summit in Yerevan, .

Armenia and Moldova are the only former Soviet republics among the 
Francophonie’s 54 full members. The three Baltic states, Georgia and Ukraine 
have an observer status in the organization

Macron also addressed the summit, describing the Francophonie nations as a 
global and diverse “family” that can contribute to international peace which he 
said is under growing threat.

“We do not have the same skin color, our gods do not bear the same names and 
some of us do not believe in God,” he said. “We also live in very different 
climate zones and our songs are not similar. Our histories do not originate 
from the same sources and there have been many wounds between us which are only 
now starting to heal.”

“Yet strangely enough, this diverse family is united around a single language … 
That language does not belong to anyone, it belongs to all of us,” declared 
Macron.


Armenia - Leaders of French-speaking nations pose for a photograph at a 
Francophonie summit in Yerevan, .

While in Yerevan, the French president is expected to hold talks with 
Pashinian. The two men most recently met in Paris on October 5 when the French 
government organized a national homage to Charles Aznavour, the legendary 
French singer of Armenian descent who died earlier this month.

Pashinian paid tribute to Aznavour in his speech. At his request, the summit 
participants remembered the late crooner with rapturous applause.

One of the highlights of the summit will be the election of the new head of the 
Francophonie. Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo is widely expected 
to replace Canadian Michaelle Jean as the organization’s secretary general.

France and the African Union publicly backed Mushikiwabo earlier this year. 
Canada’s government withdrew its support for Jean ahead of the Yerevan summit.




Former Armenian Customs Chief Under Investigation

        • Tatev Danielian

Armenia - Armen Avetisian, head of the national customs service, at a news 
conference in Yerevan, 20 April 2004.

The National Security Service (NSS) has launched a corruption investigation 
into a man who ran Armenia’s national customs service during former President 
Robert Kocharian’s rule.

The NSS said on Thursday that it suspects the controversial former official, 
Armen Avetisian, of illegal involvement in entrepreneurial activity and money 
laundering. But it did not clarify whether he or anyone else has already been 
formally charged.

The NSS claimed that Avetisian financed the construction of a luxury hotel in 
Yerevan when he headed the State Customs Committee (SCC) from 2001-2008. The 
financing was carried out through an obscure company registered in Cyprus and 
falsely presented as foreign investment, it said.

A video report released by the NSS also featured footage of Kocharian praising 
the expensive hotel project during his presidency.

The development might be related to NSS Director Artur Vanetsian’s recent 
allegations that Kocharian and his family accumulated hundreds of millions of 
dollars worth of assets when he governed Armenia from 1998-2008. Vanetsian 
promised last month to publicize “soon” evidence of the alleged enrichment.

Kocharian has dismissed the corruption allegations, challenging law-enforcement 
authorities to prove them.

In an August interview with the Yerkir-Media TV channel, he denied that 
corruption was widespread during his presidency. In particular, the embattled 
ex-president insisted that Armen Avetisian did not make a huge personal fortune 
while in office.

“I’m not saying that people were saints,” he told Yerkir-Media. “But all this 
talk is very, very far from reality.”

The Armenian customs service solidified its reputation as one of the country’s 
most corrupt government agencies during Avetisian’s tenure. The latter 
developed extensive business interests, according to media reports.

Serzh Sarkisian sacked Avetisian shortly after he succeeded Kocharian as 
president of the republic in April 2008. Just one week after taking office, 
Sarkisian accused customs officials of abetting smuggling to illegally enrich 
themselves and penalizing importers refusing to pay kickbacks.




Armenian Copper Plant Warns Of Shutdown

        • Karine Simonian

Armenia - Toxic smoke billows from a copper smelter in Alaverdi, 6Sep2018

Top executives of a copper smelter in northern Armenia warned on Thursday that 
it will be shut down if the government starts enforcing strict environmental 
regulations there.

The Soviet-built plant located in the town of Alaverdi was recently fined 
$800,000 for exceeding air pollution quotas set by the government in 2005. The 
former Armenian authorities avoided punishing the plant for that.

Visiting Alaverdi on October 1, the recently appointed head of the state 
Environmental Inspectorate, Artur Grigorian, accused the plant’s management of 
failing to implement its five-year plan to reduce toxic emissions that have 
long contaminated air in and around the industrial town. “The emissions have 
not decreased,” Grigorian said at a public discussion.

Citing financial problems, the smelter management said that it is unable to pay 
the fine and comply with the pollution caps. It warned that it will have to 
halt production operations and lay off the plant’s 500 or workers.

Hundreds of those workers led by the plant’s chief executive, Lusine Mejlumian, 
blocked on Wednesday a highway and a railway passing through Alaverdi to demand 
that the government refrain from taking the punitive measures.

Mejlumian, other senior executives of the company and some of the workers met 
with the deputy governor of the Lori province, Aram Khachatrian, on Thursday. 
They told him that the plant will stop producing copper if the government does 
not meet their demands within the next few days.

Khachatrian promised that senior government officials in Yerevan will discuss 
the matter on Tuesday.

“Dear workers, let’s wait and see what kind of an answer we get,” said 
Mejlumian. “You will then gather and decide your further actions.”

“If the government decides that the plant must work it will work,” said another 
senior executive, Nikolay Feofanov. “If not, it will not work.”

The Alaverdi plant’s parent company, the Vallex Group, is currently in serious 
financial trouble, having lost control over Armenia’s second largest copper and 
molybdenum mine after failing repay its massive debts to a Russian commercial 
bank.

The bank, VTB, had lent Vallex the bulk of $380 million which was invested in 
mining and ore-processing facilities at the Teghut deposit also located in 
Lori. Open-pit mining operations there began in 2014.

Vallex shut down the mine in January this year because of being unable to 
refurbish its waste disposal facility. Most of the 1,200 or so people working 
at Teghut lost their jobs as a result. VTB took over the mine in payment for 
the debt.

Vallex used the Alaverdi plant as collateral when it secured the loan from VTB. 
It could therefore lose control of the smelter as well.




Press Review



“Aravot” has no doubts that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team 
will have a comfortable majority in Armenia’s next parliament which is expected 
to be elected in December. The paper predicts that Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous 
Armenia Party (BHK) will finish third, not second, in the snap elections after 
making “pledges of allegiance” to Pashinian. It says the likely election 
runner-up is the Luys alliance made up of two parties that have until now been 
allied to Pashinian. It suggests that no other political group will be 
represented in the National Assembly.

This reality, according to “Aravot,” makes the question of who will hold 
Pashinian’s government in check even more pressing. “True, the prime minister 
and his ministers will not be taking bribes, getting involved in corruption 
schemes or proving ‘tutelage’ to businesses. That will mark huge progress in 
the development of our country, a prerequisite for positive public sentiment. 
But this does not mean that there will be no reason to criticize the 
government.”

“Haykakan Zhamanak” also expects Pashinian to enjoy an “absolute majority” in 
the new parliament. “At this point, it is simply impossible to prevent the 
government from being monopolar,” writes the paper edited by Pashinian’s wife. 
“That can be prevented only if there emerges another force that will seem more 
credible to the public … and be even more honest and transparent. But, let’s 
face it, there is no such influential force at the moment.”

“Zhoghovurd” reports that President Armen Sarkissian on Wednesday met with 
parliamentary representatives of the Republican Party (HHK), Tsarukian’s BHK 
and Dashnaktsutyun following his consultations with Pashinian and parliament 
speaker Ara Babloyan. The paper says the meeting came after it became clear 
that most members of the current parliament are not opposed to its dissolution 
and the holding of fresh elections in December. “In this situation, Armen 
Sarkissian’s moves were unexpected, to say the least,” it says. The paper 
speculates that the president may not be sure that the three parliamentary 
forces will honor their pledges not to thwart the polls.

(Lilit Harutiunian)


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

 Iran News
September 1, 2018 Saturday


Tehran, Yerevan eye increased parliamentary coop.


Armenian MP Vahram Baghdasaryan, head of Armenia-Iran parliamentary
friendship group, touched upon the appropriate level of ties between
the two countries saying that Yerevan is eager to further strengthen
relations with Tehran.

Ramezanali Sobhanifar, Iranian parliamentarian who is the head of
Iran-Armenia parliamentary friendship group, said for his part that
Iran is ready to boost cooperation with Armenia in all domains,
especially in energy.

He went on to say that the issue of exporting Iran's gas to other
countries via Armenia should be put on the agenda of future talks.

Elsewhere he expressed Iranian companies' readiness to establish
hydroelectric, wind and solar power plants in Armenia.

Touching upon the potentials of Meghri free zone in the border of the
two countries, he highlighted the role of parliaments in adoption of
laws and regulations to encourage and facilitate investment in the
region.