MARCH 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan appointed Levon Yolyan as his new energy minister. Mr Yolyan, who had been deputy head of the Control Chamber which holds various government agencies to account, replaces Yervand Zakharyan.
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(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)
FEB. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has agreed to give Armenia a $200m loan to buy weapons from Russian arms manufacturers, media reported. Under the terms of the deal, Armenia will use the loan to pay for Smerch rocket launchers, Igla-S air-defense systems, radar-jamming systems, sniper rifles, and armoured vehicles. Armenia will pay for 10% of the weapons, while Russia’s credit would cover the rest. Armenia is still at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The day after the deal was signed, Azerbaijan said that it had made a formal complaint to Russia that its arms deal with Armenia would upset the delicate military equilibrium in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
FEB. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia plans to change its military doctrine around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh from a static defence philosophy to a more active philosophy, Radio Free Europe reported quoting a deputy Armenian defence minister at an OSCE meeting in Vienna. It didn’t give any more details on what this change of philosophy may mean although it could aggravate an already tense stand-off with Azerbaijan around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
FEB. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has reinforced its base in Armenia with four of its latest MiG fighter-jets and a new helicopter, media reported quoting the Russian military. The reinforcements come at a time of increased tension and militarisation between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia’s military base in Armenia is one of its largest over- seas bases. It considers it essential for maintaining the balance of power in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
FEB. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s ruling Republican Party signed a coalition deal with the staunchly anti-Turkey Armenian Revolutionary Federation, also known as Dashnaktsutyun, underlining the Armenian government’s strengthened resistance to improved ties with its neighbour. Under the deal, Dashnaktsutyun, which holds five seats in Armenia’s 131-seat parliament, will have three ministers in government — economy, education and local administration. The Republican Party, the party of President Serzh Sarksyan, holds 70 seats in parliament. There had been some movement in 2012 and 2013 towards reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey.
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
FEB. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s three-largest telecoms operators paid 24.2% less taxes in 2015 compared to 2014, as an economic downturn worsened and increased competition hit their revenue stream. K-Telecom, owned by Russia’s MTS, is Armenia’s third-largest taxpayer. Its contribution to the budget declined by 36% to 18.6b drams ($38m). Russia’s VimpelCom-owned ArmenTel, one of the top ten taxpayers in Armenia, said its tax contributions fell by 6.2% to 15.5b drams ($31.5m).
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
FEB. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) approved a 1.5b dram ($3m) investment in its Soviet-era nuclear power plant Metsamor. Also at the press conference, the PSRC chairman, Shiraz Kirakosyan, said the controversial issue of raising electricity prices would be revisited in April. Last year proposed electricity price rises triggered street protests.
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(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)
FEB. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – US hotel group Hilton opened its first hotel in Armenia, giving the Armenian economy a boost. The Doubletree brand is one of Hilton’s top mainstream brand. The 176-room hotel is aimed at both tourists and business people, Hilton said in a press statement.
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 8.5% on Tuesday, its lowest level in a year, to try and maintain inflation. The Central Bank has previously said that, overall, prices for the 12- months to the end of January had fallen by 0.4%, despite a month-on- month rise of 2.2% in January compared to December.
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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)
FEB. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s consumer price index rose by 2.2% in January compared to December, the national statistics committee said. The statistics committee said a 5% increase in food prices last month pushed up overall inflation. This is the highest month-to-month inflation increase in Armenia in the past year.
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(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)
