In an interview with “Hayots Ashkhar,” Gagik Melikian, a parliament deputy from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), dismisses the opposition Zharangutyun party’s calls for a “roundtable” dialogue between Armenia’s leading political forces. “I think even the authors of the proposal knew in advance that there is no need and demand for inventing a new political format,” he says. “There is simply no political issue which the parties mentioned by Zharangutyun can not discuss in the main representative body of our country, the National Assembly.” Melikian says such issues can also be raised at multi-party consultations periodically organized by President Serzh Sarkisian.
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” comments on former President Robert Kocharian’s meeting with Robert Bradtke, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The pro-opposition paper dismisses Kocharian as “a rank-and-filed unemployed person who does not even have his own party. “Levon Ter-Petrosian, for example, has a totally different status and presents himself to the society not as a former president of Armenia but the leader of a very concrete political force, the Armenian National Congress (HAK),” it says. “So if the same Minsk Group co-chairs met Ter-Petrosian, there would be nothing strange about that.”
Former Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian tells “Zhamanak” that any territorial concession to Azerbaijan would lead to another war. “The return of territories would drastically change the military-political situation to the detriment of Armenia and Karabakh,” he says. “That would disrupt the military-political balance existing now.”
Karen Karapetian, director general of the ArmRosGazprom gas distribution company, tells “Iravunk” that 94 percent of households in Armenia have now access to centralized gas supplies. Karapetian also defends the 37 percent rise in the gas price that went into force on Monday. He again argues that this was not only the result of the increased cost of imported Russian gas but also the depreciation of the Armenian dram.
(Aghasi Yenokian)
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” comments on former President Robert Kocharian’s meeting with Robert Bradtke, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The pro-opposition paper dismisses Kocharian as “a rank-and-filed unemployed person who does not even have his own party. “Levon Ter-Petrosian, for example, has a totally different status and presents himself to the society not as a former president of Armenia but the leader of a very concrete political force, the Armenian National Congress (HAK),” it says. “So if the same Minsk Group co-chairs met Ter-Petrosian, there would be nothing strange about that.”
Former Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian tells “Zhamanak” that any territorial concession to Azerbaijan would lead to another war. “The return of territories would drastically change the military-political situation to the detriment of Armenia and Karabakh,” he says. “That would disrupt the military-political balance existing now.”
Karen Karapetian, director general of the ArmRosGazprom gas distribution company, tells “Iravunk” that 94 percent of households in Armenia have now access to centralized gas supplies. Karapetian also defends the 37 percent rise in the gas price that went into force on Monday. He again argues that this was not only the result of the increased cost of imported Russian gas but also the depreciation of the Armenian dram.
(Aghasi Yenokian)