Politics of Development within the Country

Razmig Shirinian

 

In a recent summit of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian advised the member countries not to politicize the organization by discussing the Karabagh war as leverage in economic relations. In the midst of poverty, two sons of Armenia’s Finance Minister bought an $11 million mansion in Westwood, CA. (*) These and similar diplomatic and economic incidents would provide an opportunity to reflect on the current Armenian political predicament.

Armenia's anti-corruption council accused of lavish spending

Marianna Grigoryan

A much-touted anti-corruption drive in Armenia has got off to a bad start as questions are raised about the spending and income of leading government members of the committee – including its chair, the prime minister.

The Anti-Corruption Council, which receives funds from the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development, formally began operations at the end of July. It is supposed to have opposition and civil society members as well as government officials on its ranks, but so far no one from the opposition or non-governmental organisations has joined – largely because of scepticism about its credibility.