The appointment of Gagik Tsarukian’s son-in-law Karapet Guloyan as governor of Armenia’s Kotayk region came as a surprise for “Haykakan Zhamanak.” The paper says it is too early to conclude that President Serzh Sarkisian has decided to turn Kotayk into Tsarukian’s exclusive “zone of influence” as a compensation for the tycoon’s recent political capitulation. It believes that a lot depends on who will replace Guloyan as mayor of Abovian, a regional town regarded as Tsarukian’s fiefdom. Tsarukian’s influence in the area will erode if the next Abovian mayor is not a member of his extended family or inner circle, according to “Haykakan Zhamanak.”
“Zhoghovurd” says that Sarkisian is trying to woo Tsarukian just weeks after forcing him out of politics with a tough crackdown. “In this case, wooing is extremely relative, however,” writes the paper. It says that Guloyan’s appointment could actually weaken Tsarukian’s positions in Abovian. Unlike Abovian’s elected mayors, regional governors are appointed and can be easily sacked by the central government, argues the paper.
“Zhamanak” describes as “historic” a tentative agreement on Iran’s nuclear program that was reached in Lausanne, Switzerland late on Thursday. The paper believes that the development heralds “drastic changes” in international affairs. “The normalization of Iran’s relations with the international community is an opportunity for Armenia in all senses,” it says. “Iran is Armenia’s friend. Iran’s and Armenia’s long-term interests converge in the political, economic and security areas. This means that the normalization of Iran-West relations would enable Armenia to deal with Iran more freely and comprehensively and use that relationship for building a bridge between the West and Iran. At the same time Armenia will be able to address its dependence on Russia, for security, economy and energy.” The paper claims that a greater Iranian role in the South Caucasus is good for Armenia also because it would counter “the Russian-Turkish role which is currently prevalent and fraught with security threats to Armenia.”
“The deepening of the West-Russia standoff is spilling over to our region, threatening to become a serious catalyst for steps aimed at changing the Karabakh status quo,” writes “Hayots Ashkhar.” “Russia has certainly not come to terms with the final loss of Georgia. But it has much less leverage there than in the Karabakh conflict zone.” Therefore, the paper says, Moscow may soon step up its mediation of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks and sidestep Western powers. It notes that the Karabakh issue will be on the agenda of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming talks in Yerevan with Serzh Sarkisian.
(Tigran Avetisian)