The sharp crisis in the relations between Russia and the West did not touch on the South Caucasus and did not result in inbalancing of the situation in this region, Nikolai Silaev, Senior Research Associate of the Center for Research on the Caucasus at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said at today's presentation of the report entitled,"Russia-Armenia Integration against the Background of Global Crisis."

Co-chair of the European Jewish Parliament, Vladimir Rabinovich, told Arminfo correspondent that he is optimistic about the possibility of adoption of a resolution on recognition of the Armenian genocide by the Israeli Knesset.

Eurasian Economic Union  (EEU) has fewer members than the European Union (EU) and the negotiation positions of its members are stronger and more favorable, Nikolay Silayev, serious research fellow at the Center for Caucasus and Regional Security, Moscow State University of International Relations, told reporters, Tuesday.

Georgia's currency has collapsed to its lowest level versus the dollar in more than a decade and the Armenian dram to its lowest since 2006 as the Russian rouble quake sends tremors across the former Soviet Union, Financial Times reports.

Starting 8 December, the Central Banks of Armenia is launching daily interventions to restore the balance in the exchange market and soften currency fluctuations, the Central Bank's (CB) press-service told ArmInfo. The CB will continue announcing the ceiling of daily sale amounts till the end of the year to normalize the situation in the exchange market of Armenia.

Romanian Ambassador to Armenia Sorin Vasile has been summoned to Bucharest to give explanations about his statements made at the American University of Armenia, the foreign Ministry of Romania says.  

For Lukashin village of Armavir region the problem of drinking water has existed since the times of the Soviet Union, the press service of VivaCell-MTS has told ArmInfo. Some parts of the village, which has 2600 inhabitants, have had no water at all, and the greater part of the village has had a two-hour water supply schedule. Over the years the village's cast iron pipes have eroded, broken and grown out of use. Years ago, the Lukashin community found a temporary solution to regulating the low water pressure, which proved inefficient. In spring 2014, VivaCell-MTS, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Foundation for the Preservation of the Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) signed an agreement aimed at preventing the loss of water, increasing the efficiency of water supply networks and providing basic household conveniences in 4 communities of Armenia, including Lukashin.

 All customers, who until January 15 will join Orange Butterfly, Dolphin or Panther 4000 or higher tariff plans for 24 months at the same time subscribing to Internet 5000 or higher tariff plans for the same period, will receive Alcatel Pixi 2 smartphone, as well as Alcatel Pixi 73G tablet 
at only 1 AMD each.

 "Already for 5 years on the eve of New Year, Orange presents surprises to customers. This year is no exception, and we are pleased today to congratulate everyone with the upcoming holidays and reveal a number of good news. Customers, who will choose to join Orange Postpaid and Internet services before January 15, will have an exceptional opportunity to acquire a new Alcatel smartphone and a tablet at 1 AMD for each", - said Arsen 
Hovhannisyan, sales director of Orange Armenia. By the way, when subscribing to a monthly subscription and Orange Internet simultaneously customers can either benefit from discount on their "Orange 2 in 1" common monthly fee or a possibility to use the high-speed internet bundle of your Orange Internet subscription from your smartphone as well.  

"Orange has as well prepared a surprise for new users of all Prepaid tariff plans and Eagle monthly subscription. Those who will join any of these tariff plans till January 15 will benefit during 6 months from 1GB additional mobile internet inclusion. We have good news as well for internet users. Till the 15th of January, customers can join Internet now 5000 tariff plan for 12 months and forever receive 5GB high-speed internet. Moreover, those who will join Internet together service will receive internet modem at only 1 AMD for their 2nd internet card", - said Aram Mkrtchyan, Brand and Communication Director of Orange Armenia.  Greeting the holiday season, Orange also offers more favorable roaming conditions for customers who plan to spend their New Year holidays abroad. 

Starting from December 5 till January 15 all customers travelling to Egypt, Jordan, UAE, France, Austria, Czech Republic and Switzerland will be able to benefit from roaming services with even more affordable conditions, receiving calls and sending SMS at only 55 dram rate. 

To remind that Orange customers can already enjoy the best rate of 29 AMD for calls and mobile internet when roaming in Russia.

Graduates of the French University in Armenia (l'UFAR) are in high demand on the labor market. Each year the University graduates excellent specialists in law, management and marketing. As of today it has over 1,500 graduates, of whom 70% have found jobs in Armenia and only 6-7% have gone abroad.

According to the press service of l'UFAR, on Dec 5 the University will grant diplomats to the graduates of 2013-2014 and will also present AGBU scholarships to 23 best students.

The sponsor of the ceremony is ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK, the University's many-year partner, who takes an active part in personnel training programs in Armenia and offers students regular internship opportunities, with the best ones given jobs in the bank. ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK has played a big role in the history of l'UFAR.  Particularly, it has sponsored the opening of its Banking and Insurance Department.

Invited to the ceremony are Chairman of l'UFAR's Board of Trustees Artur Baghdasaryan, Armenia's Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan, Ambassador of France to Armenia Jean-Francois Charpentier, President of Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 University Jacques Comby, CEO of ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK Hakob Andreasyan, member of the Board of the AGBU Vazgen Yakubyan, ambassadors, ministry officials, students and parents.

L'UFAR was founded in 2001 by the governments of Armenia and France. The University graduates bachelors and masters and grants them Armenian state and Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 University diplomats.

ACBA CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK was founded in 1995. Its major shareholders are Credit Agricole S.A. (15.56%) and Sacam International (member of Credit Agricole S.A.) (12.4%).

On December 4, the National Assembly of Armenia ratified the Agreement on Armenia's Accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with 103 "for", 7 "against" and 1 abstention. Now the document is to be ratified by the Parliaments of Russia, Belarus and Kazakshtan. 

Turkey also wants to open the border with Armenia open, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, told reporters on board while traveling to Brussels. He was asked to comment Pope Francis's latest statement concerning opening of the Armenian-Turkish border.

"We, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries - Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States John Kerry, State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir - remain strongly committed to a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  There is no military solution, and we call on the sides to refrain from violence and work actively towards a lasting settlement.

VTB Bank (Armenia) goes on actively developing the card business and holding the leading position at the market of the country.  As press-service of the bank reported, VTB Bank (Armenia) remains the leading bank in the country by the number of issued payment cards, which have grown this year by 20% up to 368,000.

 Corporate Customer Manager of VTB Bank (Armenia) Arsen Naghdalyan has won a chess tournament organized by Orange Armenia for Orange Premier subscribers on the occasion of the company's fifth birthday.

This year inflation in Armenia will not exceed the target level of 4% +1.5%, Armenia's International Economic Integration and Reforms Minister Vache Gabrielyan said in the Parliament on Wednesday.

The United States remain committed to helping all sides reach a lasting agreement to the Karabakh conflict, and that's what we've said for a very long time, the Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department Marie Harf stated this at the course of the daily press briefing, as the official website of the U.S.  State Department reported. 

Armenian MP from Orinats Yerkir Party Hovhannes Margaryan urged the Government on Wednesday to restore wealth tax for the owners of cars worth more than 25mln AMD and houses worth over 200mln AMD and to spend the receipts on social projects.

 Paruyr Hayrikyan, Leader of the non-parliamentary National Self-Determination Union Party, well-known Soviet dissident, urges the political parties to unite to resist Russia.    

 Just the authorities feel bad most of all for the social and economic situation in Armenia, speaker of the Armenian parliament, Galust Sahakyan, told journalists today when commenting on devaluation of the Armenian dram and the price hike for the goods of prime necessity. He thinks that the people have a right to express their point of view and even protest against the created situation. 

 Beeline announces the launch of a "Telephone at Super Price" New Year offer for individual prepaid subscribers. The press service of Beeline Armenia has told ArmInfo that the special offer provides an opportunity to purchase a Samsung GT-E1202 and enjoy unlimited communication for two months in the Beeline network for AMD 9,900 only. The offer is valid until February 28, 2015. New and current subscribers can make use of the offer.