“Zhamanak” says that the Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend a controversial pension reform in Armenia has caused conflicting interpretations, with tax authorities continuing to collect additional social security payments from many employees. The paper claims that the authorities are thus demonstrating that they “don’t give a damn” about people’s interests. “The pension reform is an indicator of this disdain,” it says.
“Aravot” says that the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have been forced to concentrate on Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire violations during their latest tour of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. “The U.S. co-chair [James Warlick] is once again stating that tension on the Line of Contact affects the negotiating process,” writes the paper. “As for Baku, they are firmly in a state of permanent trickery. The Nagorno-Karabakh peace process has once again been caught in a trap set by Baku.”
Interviewed by “Zhoghovurd,” Samvel Nikoyan, a parliament deputy from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), claims that President Serzh Sarkisian did not say in March he will definitely sack the government if it fails to ensure 7 percent economic growth. Nikoyan says the government’s failure to meet that growth target is now been “discussed” with Sarkisian. The government should continue to serve if the reasons for that fiasco turn out to be “objective,” he says.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reports that the Armenian dram has started weakening against the U.S. dollar after months of a relatively stable exchange rate. The paper says the Central Bank of Armenia appears to have injected this week over $10 million to prevent a sharper depreciation of the national currency. “Naturally, there has been no official explanation for these exchange fluctuations,” it says. “According to some suggestions, the fluctuations result from shocks in the Russian financial market.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
“Aravot” says that the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have been forced to concentrate on Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire violations during their latest tour of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. “The U.S. co-chair [James Warlick] is once again stating that tension on the Line of Contact affects the negotiating process,” writes the paper. “As for Baku, they are firmly in a state of permanent trickery. The Nagorno-Karabakh peace process has once again been caught in a trap set by Baku.”
Interviewed by “Zhoghovurd,” Samvel Nikoyan, a parliament deputy from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), claims that President Serzh Sarkisian did not say in March he will definitely sack the government if it fails to ensure 7 percent economic growth. Nikoyan says the government’s failure to meet that growth target is now been “discussed” with Sarkisian. The government should continue to serve if the reasons for that fiasco turn out to be “objective,” he says.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” reports that the Armenian dram has started weakening against the U.S. dollar after months of a relatively stable exchange rate. The paper says the Central Bank of Armenia appears to have injected this week over $10 million to prevent a sharper depreciation of the national currency. “Naturally, there has been no official explanation for these exchange fluctuations,” it says. “According to some suggestions, the fluctuations result from shocks in the Russian financial market.”
(Tigran Avetisian)