On 15 April, the RSC staff provided a detailed briefing on military security and Armenian defense reform to a visiting delegation from the French Ministry of Defense.  RSC Director Richard Giragosian and Resident Fellow Linn Nettelvik from the Swedish Defense College provided an assessment of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, and reviewed Armenia’s commitment to modern defense reform and noted Armenia’s contribution to regional and international security.  The French Defense Ministry officials were in Yerevan to hold a series of meetings with their counterparts from the Armenian Ministry of Defense and to participate in the working session of the Franco-Armenian Defense Committee. 

The delegation included Lieutenant Colonel Andree Evrard, the Defence Attache of France to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Captain Alexis Willer, the Head of the French Joint Staff International Military Cooperation with Europe and the CIS Region, and Major Sebastian Jacot, a representative of the French Joint Staff.  Visiting analyst Hrant Kostanyan from the Centre for European Studies (CEPS) also attended the briefing at the RSC office.

In an exclusive analysis for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Azerbaijani Service (Radio Azadlyg), RSC Director Richard Giragosian assessed the implications for Armenian foreign policy from the next Armenian government. 

Entitled, “The Next Armenian Government: The Outlook for Nagorno Karabakh,” Giragosian noted that “as the new (Armenian) government is widely expected to focus more on domestic economic issues than on foreign policy options, and as the ministers of defense and foreign affairs are most likely to return to their previous posts, there is little indication of any real or sudden shift in policy,” adding that “for the more fundamental elements of Armenian foreign policy, the twin pillars of Nagorno Karabakh and Turkey remain largely unchanged.”

He further noted, however, that while “there are few signs of any real change,” as “Armenia’s strategic partnership with Russia remains unchallenged, the real danger for Armenia now is from a deepening of dependence on Russia.  And this danger is only exacerbated by Armenia’s vulnerability from being hostage to Russian policies elsewhere, such as its aggression against Ukraine, for the most prominent example.  In this way, Armenia is in danger of becoming a “captive nation” isolated on the “wrong side of history” and imprisoned behind what seem to be Russian President Putin’s desire to reconstruct a new “iron curtain.” 

www.azadliq.org/content/article/25333943.html

In the fourth in a series of RSC commentaries regularly published on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Armenian Service website blog, RSC Director Richard Giragosian presented a unique analysis of Armenian politics entitled, “Armenia’s Game of Thrones.”

English-language: www.armenialiberty.org/content/blog/25333731.html

Armenian-language version: www.azatutyun.am/content/blog/25335116.html

In an extended, two-part interview with the “168 Zham” newspaper, Richard Giragosian, the director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), expressed disappointment with the recently released set of proposed changes to the Armenian constitution.  Giragosian described the move as “a lost opportunity in democracy-building efforts” and added that he did not think that “the proposed reforms would ensure the separation of powers and accountability mechanisms.”

Giragosian further pointed out several serious deficiencies and discrepancies, including the failure to address the presidential authority to appoint regional governors and most judges, which he defined as “a lost opportunity in terms of ensuring proper checks and balances between government bodies.”  Commenting on the proposal for adopting a parliamentary form of government, he added that he “did not think such a move would have a positive impact on the country’s democracy in light of the inadequacy of the parliament as an institution and its failure to curb the excesses of the incestuous relationship between business and politics.”

http://168.am/2014/04/12/352586.html

In an interview for the Tbilisi-based “Investor.ge” publication, RSC Director Richard Giragosian assessed the “potential impact of the Ukrainian crisis onArmenia’s decision to follow Russia into its Customs Union instead of signing an Association Agreement with the European Union.”