Latest Articles about Armenia
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO REPLACE DEFIANT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Armenia's Office of the Human Rights Defender is facing an uncertain future after a government-engineered leadership change. The country's first human rights ombudsperson, Larisa Alaverdian, is set to be replaced by a staunch loyalist of President Robert Kocharian after two years of high-profile activities that... MORE
PUTIN-KOCHARIAN LOVE FEST CONCEALS REAL PROBLEMS
Russia's gas price hike to Armenia, demands for property in return for temporary price relief, supply cuts following the pipeline blasts in the North Caucasus, unilateral Russian announcements about adding weaponry to the Russian base in Armenia, and finally three murders of ethnic Armenians within... MORE
GAS FROM IRAN TO BREAK GAZPROM’S MONOPOLY IN ARMENIA
Moscow's intention to double the price of gas supplies to Armenia (see EDM, January 17) vindicates Yerevan's decision to de-monopolize the market by importing gas from Iran. Armenia thus becomes the first among formerly Soviet-ruled countries (outside Central Asia) to diversify its supply sources away... MORE
ARMENIA GAINS SHORT REPRIEVE FROM 100% PRICE HIKE ON RUSSIAN GAS
At a December 16, 2005 meeting in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom's top management informed Armenian President Robert Kocharian that the price of gas supplies to Armenia would rise from the existing level of $54 to $56 per 1,000 cubic meters to $110,... MORE
ARMENIAN OLIGARCH MAKES BID FOR POWER WITH NEW POLITICAL PARTY
Armenia's arguably wealthiest government-connected businessman has caused a stir in the domestic political arena by setting up a new party with far-reaching political ambitions. Gagik Tsarukian appears to have enlisted the support of prominent public figures and even an opposition leader for his bid to... MORE
LOOMING KARABAKH DEAL NOT DEBATED IN ARMENIA, FOR NOW
The international community has always believed that public opinion in Armenia and Azerbaijan must be prepped for painful concessions before the conflict over Karabakh can be resolved. Yet no such efforts seem to be taken in either country despite the apparently significant progress made over... MORE
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN HOPE TO MAKE 2006 A “YEAR OF PEACE”
For Armenia and Azerbaijan, the year 2005 was marked by intensified negotiations over a possible agreement in the Karabakh peace process. The presidents and foreign ministers of the two countries met several times during the year, and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from France, Russia,... MORE
IMF STUDY HIGHLIGHTS WESTERN DONOR PRAISE FOR ARMENIAN REFORMS
The Armenian authorities' economic policies have received another Western endorsement with the publication of extensive research conducted by a group of economists from the International Monetary Fund. In a research paper unveiled on December 6, they describe as "impressive" Armenia's decade-long economic growth and offered... MORE
SURGE IN RUSSIAN GAS PRICES RAISES EYEBROWS IN ARMENIA
Russia's decision to drastically raise the cost of the natural gas it supplies to several former Soviet republics has been widely attributed to its desire to stave off a further spread of Western influence across its "near abroad." What makes it even more noteworthy is... MORE
SOVIET-STYLE REFERENDUM FAILS TO BRING ARMENIA CLOSER TO EUROPE
The administration of President Robert Kocharian has enacted its controversial constitutional amendments following a November 27 referendum that raised Armenia's post-Soviet culture of electoral fraud to new heights. Its deeply flawed handling of the vote is also a serious setback for the West's cautious efforts... MORE