Some people think that the anti-corruption fight should be an element of the country's economic policy. In the reality, however, the fight directly depends on the political will of the authorities and requires political decisions, economist Vahagn Khachatryan, ex-mayor of Yerevan, has told ArmInfo, when commenting on the current problems in
Armenia's economic policy and the ways to settle them.
The economist says that more and more officials, ranging from the US ambassador to the representatives of European countries and various international organizations, stress the need to overcome the corruption risks. "Judging by their statements, if the Republic of Armenia seeks to develop economically, it should eradicate the current monopolies and the corruption. So, they suggest the ways to settle the key problems of the Armenian economy," said Khachatryan. He is convinced that the fight against corruption and monopolies requires political decisions, because the economic levers of influence may give the opposite effect - growth of corruption and formation of monopolies.
To note, in his Sept 16 interview with the RFE/RL Armenian Service (Azatutyun), US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills said that corruption sets back economic growth, hurts human rights development, and undermines democracy. He thinks corruption "even undermines the national security" because outside forces can control the development of the country. The question is whether the government has tools and a political will, but there is a civil society that can help the government to fight it, he said. "If we cannot address this large issue of corruption, which I understand is a serious issue - I know it affects so much of Armenia's daily life - it will affect a large part of our relationship in specific areas, for instance, investment," he said