ArmInfo. If the people go out and take part in the procession of the "Elk" bloc against the increase in prices for essential goods, the opposition will be able to force the ruling majority to appropriate amendments in the Tax Code, which will lead to lower prices. Nikol Pashinian, the head of the faction of the opposition bloc "Yelk" stated this in his conversation with journalists, referring to the upcoming march on January 19.

ArmInfo. In connection with the substantial increase in prices for certain types of goods in the National Assembly of Armenia parliamentary hearings session will be held. This was stated at the Parliament by Ara Babloyan, the speaker. According to the speaker, this is based on the initiative of the RA President. Ara Babloyan ordered the relevant parliamentary commission on economic issues to organize and hold hearings with the participation of representatives of state structures and public organizations. In this connection, the deputy from the opposition faction "Elk" Edmond Marukyan pointed out the strangeness of the behavior of the political power in the country in represented by the Republican Party, which suddenly became concerned with rising prices. What is to nflation processes, the lawmaker continued, it was spoken over throughout the year 2017. With the adoption of the new Tax Code, experts, experts and parliamentarians warned of a future increase in prices. "It was easy to predict the inflation if the excise tax on liquefied gas from 8 thousand drams from January 1, 2018 was increased to 25 thousand drams, and the excise tax on diesel fuel and gasoline from 25 thousand drams was raised to 40 thousand drams, which led to the domino effect In this context, the surprise of the ruling power is not clear, "the MP stressed. He considered it inappropriate to hold parliamentary hearings, urging an urgent amendment to the Tax Code. In any case, Edmond Marukyan urged the citizens of the country on January 19 to take to the streets and express their attitude to the actions of the authorities. "There is no other option, since discussions in the current format have exhausted themselves," the MP believes. In turn, the head of the Elk faction Nikol Pashinyan, referring to the official statistics, stressed that in 2017, serious inflationary processes were observed in Armenia. In particular, the oil increased by 41%, pork by 38%, tomatoes by 31%, lamb by 28%, potatoes by 28%, fish by 23%, beef by 18% diesel fuel - by 18%, gasoline - by 18%, etc. After the entry into force on January 1, 2018 of the new Tax Code, inflation in Armenia started to gather new momentum. As a result, according to the deputy, inflation jumped to 20%. And at the same time, the National Statistical Service, at least, halves the real rate of inflation. If we bear in mind that from the middle of 2018 payments will begin to be made within the framework of a mandatory funded pension, it becomes obvious that the situation in the country will become even more aggravated. In connection with the refusal of the authorities to discuss the amendments to the country's legislation, Nikol Pashinyan urged the citizens of the country to take an active part in the planned on January 19, Charles Aznavour protest action, organized by the faction "Elk". Note that since January 1, 2018 in Armenia there has been a significant increase in prices for a number of products, including poultry, oil, gasoline, liquefied gas, spirits, eggs, sugar, etc. In addition, in the near future, also expected to increase the price of tobacco products. Earlier it was reported that the rise in price was due to the increase in customs duties for more than 800 types of goods. The rise in prices is mainly due to the fact that from January 1, 2018 both the new RA Tax Code and the new Customs Code of the EAEC came into force. This implies an increase in customs duties on goods from countries that are not members of the EAEC. On January 10, President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting to discuss raising the prices of certain types of goods and working out solutions aimed at mitigating the consequences of this. The government is instructed to make a list of socially important goods, to continuously study the dynamics of prices for these goods, to provide objective and subjective factors that determine price changes, assess the risks of their appreciation and propose measures to mitigate the impact of rising prices. The results are regularly presented to the public. It is also instructed to propose options for mitigating the effects of price increases on those socially important goods that have risen in price as a result of tax or other legislative changes. First of all, for the socially important agricultural products, a program of integrated measures for the development of local production and replacement of imported goods will be developed and presented, which will make it possible to provide an affordable level of prices while encouraging local production. According to the National Statistical Service of Armenia, nominal wages in Armenia accelerated growth rates from 2% in January-November 2016 to 2.6% in January-November 2017, amounting to 189631 drams ($ 393). Wages in the public sector in January-November 2017. amounted to 159 270 drams ($ 330), unchanged over the year, against the deterioration of the dynamics a year earlier - from 9.7% growth to 1.2% decline. At the same time, the growth rates of wages in the private sector continue to slow down to 3.6% from last year's 4.4%, to 225 966 AMD ($ 468). For the consumer market of Armenia in 2017 was inflationary - 2.6%, after two years of deflation - 1.1% in 2016 and 0.1% in 2015. This was mostly caused by an increase in prices of food products (including alcohol and cigarettes) by 5.3% and non-food products by 1.7%, while tariffs for services decreased by 0.5%. The average monthly increase in consumer prices in January-December 2017 was 0.2%, against a decline of 0.1% a year earlier.

ArmInfo. Armenian Ambassador to Georgia Ruben Sadoyan during the meeting with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Javad Kavamshahid discussed the Armenian-Iranian  economic relations.

ArmInfo. There are enough stupid experts both in Russia and Armenia, Alexander Skakov, Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, political expert expressed such an opinion to ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. "Our opposition factions can not work together, so their votes in the Armenian parliament do not play a significant role and do not have much weight. Only if two opposition factions of Yelq and Tsarukyan get united , the government will hear them," Tevan Poghosyan, director of the International Human development Center, told during a press conference on January 10, referring to the forthcoming protest action of the Elk bloc against raising prices for main commodities.

ArmInfo. In connection with the large-scale price increase from the very beginning of 2018, on January 19 at 17:00 the opposition bloc "Elk" will organize a march. Rally- procession starts from the square. Charles Aznavour.

ArmInfo. The Georgian side should use the opportunities of Armenia, the availability of free economic zones and in order to sell its products in the markets of  EAEC.

ArmInfo. The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union should adopt the example of Armenia, study its experience of achieving success and mobilizing its  capabilities even in a difficult situation.

ArmInfo.Russian Ambassador to  Armenia Ivan Volynkin is optimistic about the setting up of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EAEU).

ArmInfo.Armenia, having such a geostrategic position, certainly can become a bridge of interaction not only between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the  European Union and Russia, but also Iran and the Middle East. The Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin announced this on December 19, summing up the results of the year, answering the question of ArmInfo correspondent.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo.The Eastern Partnership (EaP) program of the EU is not directed against a third country. This was stated by the deputy of the Bundestag of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the chairman of the Armenian-German forum Albert Weiler on December 18 in Yerevan at the event "Armenia is the bridge between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union." Armenian-German Cooperation.

ArmInfo. On December 15, the delegation headed by Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov, in the composition of the deputies Samvel Farmanyan and Suren Manukyan met with the Deputy Chairman of the Seimas of Latvia, Iness Libiena-Egneret.

ArmInfo. The delegation led by the Vice Speaker of the National Assembly, the head of the Armenia-Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia friendship group Eduard Sharmazanov, in which the deputies of the Parliament Samvel Farmanyan and Suren Manukyan met on December 13 with the vice speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, the chairman of the European Affairs Committee Gediminas Kirkilas and the chairman of the Commission on Foreign Relations, Juozas Bernatonis.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. On December 11, Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received the Romanian Ambassador to Armenia Sorin Vasile in connection with the completion  of his diplomatic mission in Armenia.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of  Republic of Artsakh Masis Mailyan in his interview with ArmInfo tells about the priorities of the  state entity he heads, the prospects for the negotiation process to determine the future of  Artsakh people. He talks about the tools that Russia operates in the Karabakh settlement process, shares the vision of international prospects for the process of strengthening the Artsakh border  and resolving the problems of refugees.   

ArmInfo. Cooperation of Armenia and Japan with the European Union can open new directions for Armenian-Japanese interaction. Such an opinion was expressed by the  Japanese Ambassador to Armenia Eiji Taguchi at a press conference in Yerevan on December 11.

ArmInfo.Russia, including as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, will continue to promote mutually acceptable solutions to the search for the parties to the Nagorno-  Karabakh conflict. On December 7, during a speech at the 24th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Vienna, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated.

ArmInfo.Vice Speaker of National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov on December 6 received  Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to  Armenia Erikas Petrikas.