“168 Zham” finds that Armenia’s foreign policy is becoming more and more ridiculous as by waiting for Russia to allow it to enter the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the country becomes more isolated not only from Europe, but also from the entire world. “Meanwhile, on the declarative level, Armenia continues to speak about its desire for European association. During Tuesday’s EU and Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that official Yerevan wants to develop its partnership with the EU basing on the results and progress achieved in recent years. But in reality, he should be saying this not in Brussels, but in Moscow, since the EU had repeatedly reaffirmed its readiness for Armenia’s association, and Armenia did not do that because Moscow did not allow it.”
In an interview with “Zhamanak” opposition New Times party leader Aram Karapetian comments on the arrest in Moscow of wealthy Russian-Armenian businessman and philanthropist Levon Hayrapetian: “To be honest, I can hardly imagine how one can link politically what happened to Hayrapetian with Russian domestic affairs. I have never heard that Hayrapetian is a critic of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s policies. That’s why I see no political implications here. But I can see a lot of economic context connected with the Bashneft oil company.”
“Zhoghovurd” comments on the statement of Artak Zakarian, the head of the Armenian parliament’s committee on foreign affairs, that Azerbaijan’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union would be against Armenia’s interests and his describing such a move as ‘inexpedient’ for Azerbaijan. “In the case with Azerbaijan such membership would create bigger problems in the foreign policy sphere,” said the ruling Republican Party’s lawmaker. The paper writes: “This statement is remarkable in the sense that only a few weeks ago another lawmaker representing the same faction, Artashes Geghamian, stated in Baku that it would be right for Azerbaijan to join the EEU and that a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would also be easy to find then. It is clear that Geghamian made that statement with the approval of [President] Serzh Sarkisian… But now it turns out that there is a U-turn on this fundamental issue inside the governing force.”
“Hayots Ashkhar” says that 100 days are too short a period of time to evaluate the work of the government. “Nevertheless, the government’s steps during this period allow one to make some judgments about its work. The activities of any government are first of all evaluated by such indices as economic growth and increase in public wealth. In this sense, the government of Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian has little to be proud of. Economic processes in Armenia still remain at a low level. It is also difficult to speak about any improvement of the social situation. But it would be naïve to say that it is possible to make drastic changes in the country’s economic and social situation within just three months.”
(Tigran Avetisian)