SEPT. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s jewellery output fell by over 41% in the first six months of the year, the national statistics agency reported, underlining the problems facing the economy. Jewellery processing is one of Armenia’s most important industries. Sanctions on Russia have severally dented Armenian economic growth this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)
SEPT. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Greece’s parliament ratified a bill that banned denial of an alleged genocide by Turkish Ottoman forces on Armenians a century ago.
This elevates recognition of the alleged genocide to a crime to denying it.
The vote, which was close, is a success for Armenian lobbyists who have been campaigning across the world for countries to recognise their plight from Turkey towards the end of the First World War as genocide.
Turkey has always denied the charge and instead said Armenians were killed in the chaotic aftermath of the War.
Greece and Armenia are natural allies against Turkey. Both sides have their animosities with their bigger, more powerful neighbour and it is probably unsurprising that Greece has joined a small group in making denial of the so-called Armenian genocide a crime.
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(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)
SEPT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Union has promised the give around $200m to Armenia by 2017 to help it develop its private sector, media reported. The package is part of a wider tranche of aid earmarked for counties surrounding the EU, including Azerbaijan and Belarus. Armenia has opted for closer.
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(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)
SEPT. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Officials in Armenia have been mounting a PR campaign to persuade people that sanctions on Russia and their negative effect on its economy will not stop the country joining its Customs Union. Joining the Russia-led Customs Union has become a major policy plank for Armenia’s leaders.
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(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
SEPT. 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s economy grew by only 2.3% in the second quarter of this year compared to a year earlier, the national statistics agency reported.
The low growth underscores concerns about the Armenian economy. In August, the Central Bank cut its full year growth forecast to between 3.6% and 4.2% from 4.1% and 4.8% because of the impact of sanctions on Russia’s economy. The health of the Russian economy is vital to Armenia.
Other international economic organisations have followed and warned that economic growth in 2014 will be lower than growth in 2013.
This is, of course, worrying for Armenian officials who are looking to boost the economy. The danger for Armenia is that it’s trapped in having to follow Russia.
Armenia is surrounded by enemies, mainly Turkey and Azerbaijan, and looks to Russia for support but with the Russian economy increasingly fragile because of sanctions this is dangerous.
And Armenia appears destined to join the Russia-led Customs Union later this year. These are definitely difficult times for Armenia’s policymakers.
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(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
AUG. 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Members of Armenia’s Yezedi community have been holding protests in Yerevan calling for more support to stop the attacks by them in Iraq. Armenia is home to around 50,000 Yezedi, one of the largest groups outside Iraq. Fighters from the Islamic State have been attacking and killing Yezedi members.
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(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)
AUG.10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted talks between Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.Fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh has intensified over the past few weeks threatening a 1994 cease-fire.
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(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)
AUG. 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – At least 15 soldiers died around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh on probably the worst week of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan since a cease-fire in 1994.
Both sides accused the other of breaking various promises and aggravating the stand-off. International observers said they were worried the situation may slide into open conflict.
“We are seriously concerned about the recent upsurge in violence along the line of contact. The cease-fire needs to be respected,” James Warlick, a US mediator between Azerbaijan and Armenia, wrote on Twitter.
The Nagorno-Karabakh stand-off is considered one of the world’s most dangerous so-called frozen conflicts.
Armenian-backed rebels have controlled the region since the UN-brokered 1994 cease-fire. Azerbaijan, though, has always pledged to re-take the enclave and has spent millions of dollars, earned through its booming energy industry, re-arming its military.
In a sign of just how sharply the situation has worsened around Nagorno-Karabakh, reports said that President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia have agreed to meet up to discuss the situation. This is rare but is a positive sign.
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(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)
JULY 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A crowd of up to 50 people in Tbilisi reportedly attacked and beat an Armenian priest outside an Armenian Cathedral, media said. They reported that the trigger for the attack was an argument over parking. Armenia has called for an immediate investigation.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)
JULY 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian PM Ovik Abramian confirmed that Armenia would join the Russia- led Customs Union by the end of October. Armenia has been looking to join the Customs Union for some time. Kazakhstan, though, raised concerns about its ongoing so-called “frozen conflict” with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)