“Zhamanak” reports that an Armenian court will consider on Friday releasing former President Robert Kocharian from pretrial detention on bail. Incidentally, the court granted on Thursday bail to Samvel Mayrapetian, a businessman reputedly close to Kocharian. Also freed this week was retired General Manvel Grigorian. The paper looks at a possible link between these developments and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest visit to Moscow. “A considerable part of analysts are convinced that until yesterday’s meeting … Putin did not congratulate Pashinian [on his recent election victory] because of Kocharian’s arrest,” it says, adding that the Russian president’s “friendly rapport” with Kocharian seems to be weighing heavily on Russian-Armenian ties.
Lragir.am notes that Putin praised the current state of those ties in his opening remarks at the meeting with Pashinian. The online publication speculates that Moscow realizes that Armenia is an “irreplaceable ally for Russia in the context of global realities.” It expects a “lengthy process” of changing the character of Russian-Armenian relations.
“What will the year 2019 bring to Armenia and the Armenian people?” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Optimistic expectations, uncertainty, alarm, consciousness of inevitable difficulties, and a determination to overcome them. In sum, a test of maturity for the authorities, the society and the state. The status of a child, even an unloved and adopted one, is more stable and predictable. But it’s impossible to live in that status forever as the phase of maturity and sovereignty is inevitable.” “Whether or not we will manage to overcome the difficulties depends on us,” concludes the paper edited by Pashinian’s wife, Anna Hakobian.
(Lilit Harutiunian)