“Haykakan Zhamanak” scoffs at opposition criticism of the fact that Russia’s ambassador in Yerevan, Sergey Kopyrkin, was summoned to the Armenian Foreign Ministry after meeting with former President Robert Kocharian last week. “There is no doubt that a meeting between Kocharian and any other foreign ambassador based in Armenia would have prompted the same response,” writes the pro-government paper. “But Russian-Armenian relations are special. So are our society’s attitudes towards Russia. Therefore any move by that country’s ambassador draws much greater attention here, and they certainly know this very well in Russia. They also probably know our public’s attitude towards Kocharian.” The fact that Kopyrkin chose to meet Kocharian in these circumstances means that there is a “more serious subtext” behind Moscow’s actions, according to the paper.
“Zhoghovurd” reports that the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on economic issues, Babken Tunian, on Tuesday accused unnamed senior government officials and civil servants of “creating problems” for investors in Armenia. “They may not return phone calls, delay the provision of documents needed by investors and the like,” Tunian is cited as saying. The paper expresses serious concern over this statement, warning of negative consequences for the Armenian economy. It urges those officials to “sober up.”
Lragir.am reacts to reports that U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton will be personally involved in the upcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks in Washington. The publication says this is significant because “Bolton is regarded as the main architect of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy on Iran, which means that the U.S. views the issue of regional security in that context.”
“Aravot” says that Kocharian’s and Serzh Sarkisian’s associates are waging public relations campaigns against the current government. “Their criticism is sometimes valid,” editorializes. “But they also spread ludicrous gossips every now and then.” It is confident that their dreams about eventually regaining power “will never come true.” “Why is the ruling political force spending time on something which will never happen?" it asks.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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