“Zhoghovurd” reports that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian made two important statements at Monday’s yearend reception which he hosted for leading Armenian businesspeople. Pashinian made clear that no member of his entourage or any other senior government official will have business interests. He also reiterated that all companies operating in Armenia are now free from “any kind of corruptions obligations” to any official. The paper says that neither Robert Kocharian nor Serzh Sarkisian made such assurances while in power because they and their cronies had “clear economic interests.” “The country’s economy was for years divided among a handful of individuals,” it says.
“Zhamanak” quotes Russia’s Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov as telling a Russian news agency that Moscow has stopped using the U.S. dollar in major foreign trade deals. The paper notes that Armenia has for years been proposing to Russia to set the price of Russian natural gas in rubles, as opposed to dollars. “This proposal was first made during Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian’s tenure,” it says. “[His successor] Hovik Abrahamian also made this proposal.”
“Aravot” disapproves of angry street protests against the retired General Manvel Grigorian’s release from custody and former President Kocharian’s attempts to regain his freedom in a similar fashion. The paper says that participants of these protests do not seem to be advocates of the rule of law guaranteed by the Armenian constitution. “Any person, even the most terrible criminal, deserves humane treatment,” it says in an editorial. “In the 21st century this means that a person convicted of a crime is punished by being isolated from the society, rather than being forced to endure harsh prison conditions or deprived of medical treatment and legal counseling.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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