Author: Hambik Zargarian

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of Armenia writes: Yesterday, [third President and former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) chairman] Serzh Sargsyan was finally hosted by the members of the NA [National Assembly] inquiry committee investigating the circumstances of the April [2016] war.

Zhoghovurd daily has learned some details from that closed session.

 (…) at first, Serzh Sargsyan made an introductory speech (…). He noted that the time has come to speak, explain, voice, and he is ready to talk openly about everything, he has nothing to hide, to be constrained.

According to Zhoghovurd daily’s information, the meeting passed very calmly, (…) but that did not prevent the deputies from asking the most various questions (…).

Then, he told what actually interested the committee members (…).

According to our information, each of the deputies present at the sitting asked several questions (…).

Many of them were interested in how that well-known information to this society happened; that is, the Armenian side lost 800 hectares of land, now it is reported that it was 400 hectares. Serzh Sargsyan patiently explained in detail (…) noting that the Armenian side had only 400 hectares of land in the 800-hectare area, whereas the other 400 hectares were in the neutral zone, which went under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces. And that means we lost only 400 hectares of land as a result of the four-day April war.

In general, he presented the four-day war in April as a victory, and he had answers to all the questions that seemed surprising. He said, "You all know from the media that we have had about 100 casualties, whereas the Azerbaijani armed forces have had about 1,000 casualties. Isn't that a victory?” The RPA leader bewildered. He was also proud that the international community approached with complete understanding toward the actions of the Armenian side and did not criticize us in any domain.

When everything was presented so brightly, the deputies inquired about the shortcomings during that period (…). In response, Serzh Sargsyan recalled his April 26, 2016 decrees, according to which (…) [several officers] were relieved of their posts.

Serzh Sargsyan emphasized that maybe there were things on which he was not reported, or there are circumstances that he does not remember. But by and large, most of the deputies were quite surprised by the former president's willingness to answer all the questions.

(…) the committee must prepare a final report, whose deadline is June 4.

YEREVAN. – The coronavirus will hit the tourism sector in Armenia very hard. Chairman of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia, economist Gagik Makaryan, said this during a meeting with journalists.

In his opinion, there will be a rather serious decline in this sector. "The number of tourists and students from Iran has already reduced considerably in Armenia," the economist emphasized, "and this trend will continue."

Makaryan noted that flights to other countries are being canceled, and the amount which Armenia would have received on the account of the tourism sector would not actually materialize.

According to the analyst, as a result, small and medium-sized businesses involved in the tourism sector will suffer greatly. "The fall of the coronavirus is predicted fall," the head of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia explained. "That is to say, it turns out that this year is lost for us."

Makaryan, however, is confident that the Armenian authorities will be able to implement a flexible policy aimed at combating coronavirus and preventing its further spreading in the country, and this may allow for increased opportunities in the tourism sector. The analyst believes that this will not only attract tourists, especially from Russia, but will also enable Armenia’s residents to spend their tourism-related money in the homeland.