Markarian Back In Office After Heart Treatment



By Hrach Melkumian

Prime Minister Andranik Markarian returned to Armenia at the weekend after a nearly week-long medical treatment in France, officials said on Monday. A government spokeswoman said his condition is “good.”

Markarian flew to Paris for medical tests on October 22, citing renewed heart problems. The government’s press office said last week that doctors at a local clinic told the 50-year-old premier to “stay motionless for several days” after conducting a “non-surgical intervention” into his heart arteries.

Markarian, who underwent a heart surgery in Yerevan two years ago, on Monday held a regular weekly meeting with President Robert Kocharian and received visiting officials from the World Bank. He will chair on Tuesday a special cabinet session which is expected to approve the final version of the government’s draft budget for next year.