The parliament of Armenia has adopted a bill increasing the number of the Controller Commission members from 7 to 11. Five seats are given to RPA, and one seat to LS and each of the four non-government political parties represented in the parliament. The non-government parties claim that it is unacceptable to give majority in the commission to RPA, and for this reason they do not accept their seats.
There was a moment when Sargsyan was trying to get rid of this bluff but he was soon reminded if he wanted to quit there would be new rules of a game created, and his old friends oligarchs, former presidents wouldn’t leave him in peace, if the Kremlin was annoyed with Sargsyan.
Unfortunately, many of them are not invited to the fancy meetings of Griboyedov club. As of the government then its members are not only members of Griboyedov club but also Putin Club. After the September 3 speech of Sargsyan they just don’t work with a good enthusiasm. Perhaps, this is the reason why they are calling Armenia Putin’s club now.
We wish that Armenia became the country where Shant strived to live in. In the current conditions perhaps this sounds a little crazy for Armenia as Shant would be considered for many others. But if the idea of having a free and sovereign state is crazy then Shant was the craziest citizen. It was his cautious choice. He preferred craziness to servitude…
After joining the Customs Union prices for many products in Armenia will increase. This will affect mainly products that are imported from non-CU countries. For most products imported from third countries the customs fee is maximum 10%, which is considered low. According to the policy of the CU, customs fees are much higher than what Armenia has now.
There is a debate going on about the potential skyrocketing of prices for certain types of products in Armenia after joining the Customs Union.
Today is the 22nd anniversary of Armenia’s army, which is celebrated in conditions of unprecedented skirmish activation at the border. This fact makes people to relate to the celebration of the army day more seriously.
If you look at it from an Azerbaijani perspective, these incidents are one of the main ways that Azerbaijan has to challenge the status quo, and to keep the conflict on the international agenda. So there is a kind of rationality to it, for the party that is unhappy with the status quo and doesn’t see alternatives for changing the situation in other ways.
I think Russia has won this round, but it’s not the end of the game, because the end of the game is years, years on! Russia often wins victories, and, quite honestly, it is one victory on Armenia and a one very big victory in Ukraine right not. But it’s not the end of the game, it’s just the second or the third round and there’s seven more rounds to go. That is credit to president Putin for his tactics and credit to Russia for its determination and conviction.
“Tomorrow I am leaving for Paris, where I will meet with co-chairmen, and the next day I will meet with the Azeri foreign minister Mamediarov,” said Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandyan in yesterday’s press conference. In fact this announcement is no news because we knew that the foreign ministers were going to meet on January 24. Other statements the Armenian foreign minister made were no news either.
