“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” calls President Serzh Sarkisian’s latest visit to Brussels a failure, alleging that the European Union refused to provide more economic assistance to Armenia before it holds more democratic elections and makes more active efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “This is bad news for Serzh Sarkisian because more and more money is needed for servicing Armenia’s external debt,” writes the pro-opposition daily.
Interviewed by “Yerkir,” political analyst Armen Badalian says continued cooperation between the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) and the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) is a real possibility. He disagrees with suggestions that HAK leader Levon Ter-Petrosian sought to win over the BHK at a rally in Yerevan last week. Badalian says Ter-Petrosian only said that he wants the BHK to remain in opposition to Serzh Sarkisian. “They both are opposition forces, and as we saw during the parliament vote on the government’s program, there was cooperation not only between the HAK and the BHK but also Dashnaktsutyun and Zharangutyun,” he says.
Another pundit, Hmayak Hakobian, tells “Aravot” that Sarkisian, Ter-Petrosian and the other former president, Robert Kocharian, would like to participate in next year’s presidential election in one way or another. For Kocharian, Hakobian says, the 2013 election will be “the last chance to return to active politics.” “Or else, he will face a totally different situation and circumstances in 2018,” he says, adding that BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian is manipulating all three men. “Gagik Tsarukian will fool two of them,” alleges Hakobian, who ran for the parliament on the BHK ticket but apparently fell out with Tsarukian after the May 6 elections. “I can tell you for sure that Levon Ter-Petrosian will be one of them. But I don’t know whether the other one will be Kocharian or Sarkisian.”
“Hayots Ashkhar” says foreign direct investment in the Armenian economy has steadily fallen in the last few years. “True, the global economic crisis has played a certain role,” writes the paper. “But that is not the only reason for investors’ decreased interest in Armenia. In many other countries, including neighboring Georgia, foreign investments have not only not decreased but actually risen drastically. So we should look for the problem in the economic environment. And in that regard, the situation in Armenia is not that good.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
Interviewed by “Yerkir,” political analyst Armen Badalian says continued cooperation between the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) and the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) is a real possibility. He disagrees with suggestions that HAK leader Levon Ter-Petrosian sought to win over the BHK at a rally in Yerevan last week. Badalian says Ter-Petrosian only said that he wants the BHK to remain in opposition to Serzh Sarkisian. “They both are opposition forces, and as we saw during the parliament vote on the government’s program, there was cooperation not only between the HAK and the BHK but also Dashnaktsutyun and Zharangutyun,” he says.
Another pundit, Hmayak Hakobian, tells “Aravot” that Sarkisian, Ter-Petrosian and the other former president, Robert Kocharian, would like to participate in next year’s presidential election in one way or another. For Kocharian, Hakobian says, the 2013 election will be “the last chance to return to active politics.” “Or else, he will face a totally different situation and circumstances in 2018,” he says, adding that BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian is manipulating all three men. “Gagik Tsarukian will fool two of them,” alleges Hakobian, who ran for the parliament on the BHK ticket but apparently fell out with Tsarukian after the May 6 elections. “I can tell you for sure that Levon Ter-Petrosian will be one of them. But I don’t know whether the other one will be Kocharian or Sarkisian.”
“Hayots Ashkhar” says foreign direct investment in the Armenian economy has steadily fallen in the last few years. “True, the global economic crisis has played a certain role,” writes the paper. “But that is not the only reason for investors’ decreased interest in Armenia. In many other countries, including neighboring Georgia, foreign investments have not only not decreased but actually risen drastically. So we should look for the problem in the economic environment. And in that regard, the situation in Armenia is not that good.”
(Tigran Avetisian)