An Armenian parliament committee denounced on Tuesday a controversial pro-government deputy for threatening to “behead” and rape those who offend Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian or members of his family.
The Armenian military accused Azerbaijan of again heightening tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and pledged to strike back hard on Friday after two Armenian soldiers were killed near Karabakh.
Amid opposition allegations of serious fraud planned in Armenia’s upcoming constitutional referendum, the National Assembly passed in the final reading on Wednesday a bill that eases legal requirements for voter identification in polling stations.
Armenia and the European Union will open early next month official negotiations on a new agreement to deepen their political and economic relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazarian said on Thursday.
In a move which its opposition minority said will facilitate fraud in the upcoming constitutional referendum, the Armenian parliament eased on Thursday legal requirements for voter identification in polling stations.
Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian has expressed confidence that a Russian-Armenian billionaire set to buy Armenia’s electricity distribution network will manage to quickly end its huge losses weighing heavily on the national energy sector.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) disagrees with former President Robert Kocharian’s strong objections to Armenia’s transformation into a parliamentary republic, a leader of the opposition party previously allied to him said on Wednesday.
Former President Robert Kocharian on Tuesday reaffirmed his strong opposition to sweeping constitutional changes sought by President Serzh Sarkisian, saying that they would indefinitely keep the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) in power “regardless of its popularity.”
The National Assembly formally approved on Monday controversial amendments to Armenia’s constitution put forward by President Serzh Sarkisian, paving the way for the conduct of a referendum on them later this year.
The Armenian authorities have pledged to make “considerable changes” in their draft constitutional amendments in response to objections voiced by the Venice Commission, officials from the Council of Europe body said on Tuesday.
A popular referendum on constitutional amendments may be held as early as at the end of November, according to a member of the expert commission working on the draft.
Despite recommendations from a Council of Europe advisory body the commission drafting constitutional amendments in Armenia is likely to keep the option of the so-called “second round” in parliamentary elections, a member said on Monday.
An advisory body of the Council of Europe has issued its preliminary opinion on the proposed Armenian constitutional amendments, criticizing the provision of a so-called “second round” in parliamentary elections aimed at forming a “stable majority”.
Paruyr Hayrikian, a veteran Armenian politician and Soviet-era dissident, scuffled with angry youth activists in Yerevan late on Thursday after joining their nonstop demonstration against an electricity price rise with European Union flags.
The National Assembly formally allowed the Armenian government on Thursday to borrow $200 million from Russia for purchasing new and advanced Russian weapons for Armenia’s armed forces.
A French-run company managing Yerevan’s water distribution network has abandoned attempts to slightly raise the price of its drinking water following a much sharper rise in energy tariffs that sparked angry protests in the Armenian capital.
Youth activists leading nonstop demonstrations in Yerevan against electricity price hikes reiterated on Friday their sole condition for meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian and discussing their demands.
President Serzh Sarkisian flew to Brussels on Wednesday evening to attend a meeting of European politicians, continuing to avoid public statements on nonstop street protests in Yerevan against a rise in electricity prices in Armenia.
Leading Armenian opposition parties on Tuesday strongly condemned the violent dispersal of an overnight anti-government demonstration in Yerevan and demanded the immediate release of scores of its participants detained by police.
The Armenian government on Thursday reaffirmed its strong objections to continuing Azerbaijani efforts to have more foreign powers act as mediators in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh.
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