JUNE 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia confirmed the appointment of Tigran Sarkisyan, PM for six years until April, as its ambassador in the US. Mr Sarkisyan resigned in April because reforms to the pension system that his government had suggested were deeply unpopular.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The impact of sanctions on Russia is hitting all the economies of the South Caucasus and Central Asia but none more so than Armenia.
Armenia is particularly reliant on Russia for both financial support and as a market for its export. Last month, the Armenian Central Bank said it would cut interest rates for the third time this year to a four year low to try and curb falling inflation.
The latest inflation numbers show just how much work the Central Bank needs to do to prop up the economy. Armenia’s statistics agency said that inflation for the first half of the year was 4%, at the bottom end of its range.
But even this figure hides the really worrying data. Average prices in June fell 1.8% against May.
For more evidence of Russia’s faltering economy hitting the more outlying regions of the former Soviet Union, cognac is as good a place to look as any other. Armenian cognac is famous around the former Soviet Union and Russia is its biggest export market.
The latest data showed that cognac production fell for the first five months of May by 11.1% to just over 5.5m litres compared to the same period in 2013.
Although no official explanation has been given, the message is still fairly clear.
“In the first quarter of 2014 Armenia exported to Russia half the amount of cognac compared with the the same reporting period in 2013,” an Armenian business website reported. “They [Russian cognac importers] are in an unstable financial situation and do not know what will the political conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia accused Azerbaijan of intensifying shelling of pro- Armenian forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Tension has been rising around Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s defence minister, Seyran Ohanyan, also rejected calls for the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to monitor the cease-fire around Nagorno-Karabakh.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia ratified a deal that gives Armenia tax-free imports of gas, oil and diamonds until it joins the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia has become a major patron of Armenia. This year it completed the purchase of Armenia’s gas supply network. Armenia hopes to join the Eurasian Economic Union this year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The head of Russian arms manufacturer Rosoboronexport, Anatoliy Isaykin, flew to Baku to meet with Azerbaijani officials, media reported. Russia has increased sales of arms to Azerbaijan over the last couple of years despite being an ardent supporter of its arch foe Armenia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, visited Yerevan in a show of support for the Armenian government. Russia is Armenia’s main ally and the Armenian government wants to join the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union later this year. Pointedly, Mr Lavrov didn’t mention the Eurasian Economic Union during his trip.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 0.25% for the third time this year because of continued falling inflation.
The new 7% interest rate is the lowest set by the Armenian Central Bank for four years, reflecting concern over an economy that is bouncing along the bottom of economists’ forecasts.
Like other parts of the former Soviet Union, the unrest in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia have impacted Armenia and slowed its economic prospects.
The Central Bank was succinct.
“There was 0.8 percent of deflation in May of 2014,” it said.
“In the coming months, the Board considers, that the inflation rate will keep on easing as the impact of energy prices, increased in July 2013, phases out, and it will further pace down (to) the lower boundary of the confidence band most probably during the third quarter.”
In other words, Armenia’s Central Bank is gently warning that its economic indicators will worsen further before there is any sign of improvement.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan concluded a two day trip to Tbilisi by saying the two countries’ different strategies towards Russia and the EU could strengthen their relations. Georgia has chosen closer ties to the EU while Armenia has looked to Russia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
YEREVAN/Armenia, JUNE 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — This was the third time that 34-year-old Anoush, who was pregnant, and her mother-in- law had taken a bus from their village to Yerevan.
They wanted to find out if Anoush would keep the baby and this depended on what medical staff would say.
“My husband and his family want a boy. They want a boy to inherit their family name,” said Anoush.
This is Anoush’s fifth pregnancy, she has two daughters already. If medical staff told her that she was expecting a boy she would keep the baby. If it was a girl she wouldn’t.
Selective abortions are still relatively commonplace in Armenia for women from the villages. There, the pressure is on to produce a son as an heir.
A project prohibiting sex selective abortion will be introduced by the Ministry of Health as it has become a major concern to the government.
A recent UN-sponsored said selective abortion was damaging the normal demographic make-up of Armenia. According to research in 1993 the ratio of male to female newborns was 106 to 100. In 2012 the ratio has widen to 114 boys for every 100 girls.
Donara, a 50-year-old doctor, said that many women were being forced into abortions by their husbands or the family of their husbands.
“Today couples are parenting to one or two children and they want one of them be a baby boy. Perhaps the problem would be solved if they had better social conditions,” she said.
Some of the debate in Armenia has focused around not telling mothers what sex their baby is expected to be until after 30 weeks of pregnancy.
For Anoush, though, there was joy and relief as the doctors confirmed that she was finally expecting a son.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A supporter of Armenia’s nationalist party Tsegakron opened fire at police with an air pistol outside a courthouse in Yerevan where the party’s leader was standing trial, media reported. The leader of Tsegakron, Shant Harutiunian, was arrested in November after clashes with police.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
