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news.am, Armenia
Sept 17 2010
Iran shows balanced approach to Nagorno-Karabakh problem
September 17, 2010 | 10:20
Iran is one of the principal neighbors of Armenia, President Serzh
Sargsyan stated in an interview with the Ukraine-based `Profil'
magazine.
`It has turned out that we are communicating with the outer world
through Georgia and Iran alone. In early 1990s, when the situation was
trained in Georgia, goods would have risen in price four- or even
five-fold in Armenia but for the Iranian road. Also, Iran is a country
rich in energy carriers. Armenia has no energy carriers, and we are
closely - and with pleasure - cooperating in this field,' the Armenian
leader said.
The Armenian President said Iran demonstrates a most balanced approach
to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. `You know, within the Organization of
the Islamic Conference Azerbaijanis trying to present the conflict as
a religious one. It is very easy to disprove, because Armenia has
excellent relations with Iran. There are many other reasons for our
cooperation with Teheran. It is mainly developing in the economic and
humanitarian fields now,' the Armenian leader said.
The question is how Armenia, with its borders blocked, is coping with
the crisis and what needs to be done for the economy to work
efficiently. `Due to the consequences of the global crisis and panic,
our economy received a heavy blow. We lost 14% of our GDP. But even
under the circumstances we did not go back on any of the social
programs or delay pensions, social allowances, wages. May be this
factor, as well as the fact that market economy and a more or less
favorable investment climate was formed in Armenia long ago, a stable
banking system and Armenians' enterprise help make up for last year's
losses,' the Armenian leader said.
`Not everything runs smoothly. With 12% industrial growth, we have a
25% decline in agriculture. We lost the apricots and other fruits, but
we registered a nearly 7% growth in the first half of last year. I
think we will end this year with good results, though we can hardly
make up for last year's losses one hundred percent,' the Armenian
leader said.
No cent of the credits received from international institutions has
been spent on wages or social allowances. `All the funds were
channeled to the economy and stabilization fund. At present, our
national debt is less than 50% of GDP. If we judge by the borrowed
credits, it is about 40%. Under the signed agreements, it is 47-48 per
cent. They are normal figures. I can name about 20 countries whose
national debt exceeds 100% of GDP,' the Armenian President said.
From: A. Papazian
Sept 17 2010
Iran shows balanced approach to Nagorno-Karabakh problem
September 17, 2010 | 10:20
Iran is one of the principal neighbors of Armenia, President Serzh
Sargsyan stated in an interview with the Ukraine-based `Profil'
magazine.
`It has turned out that we are communicating with the outer world
through Georgia and Iran alone. In early 1990s, when the situation was
trained in Georgia, goods would have risen in price four- or even
five-fold in Armenia but for the Iranian road. Also, Iran is a country
rich in energy carriers. Armenia has no energy carriers, and we are
closely - and with pleasure - cooperating in this field,' the Armenian
leader said.
The Armenian President said Iran demonstrates a most balanced approach
to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. `You know, within the Organization of
the Islamic Conference Azerbaijanis trying to present the conflict as
a religious one. It is very easy to disprove, because Armenia has
excellent relations with Iran. There are many other reasons for our
cooperation with Teheran. It is mainly developing in the economic and
humanitarian fields now,' the Armenian leader said.
The question is how Armenia, with its borders blocked, is coping with
the crisis and what needs to be done for the economy to work
efficiently. `Due to the consequences of the global crisis and panic,
our economy received a heavy blow. We lost 14% of our GDP. But even
under the circumstances we did not go back on any of the social
programs or delay pensions, social allowances, wages. May be this
factor, as well as the fact that market economy and a more or less
favorable investment climate was formed in Armenia long ago, a stable
banking system and Armenians' enterprise help make up for last year's
losses,' the Armenian leader said.
`Not everything runs smoothly. With 12% industrial growth, we have a
25% decline in agriculture. We lost the apricots and other fruits, but
we registered a nearly 7% growth in the first half of last year. I
think we will end this year with good results, though we can hardly
make up for last year's losses one hundred percent,' the Armenian
leader said.
No cent of the credits received from international institutions has
been spent on wages or social allowances. `All the funds were
channeled to the economy and stabilization fund. At present, our
national debt is less than 50% of GDP. If we judge by the borrowed
credits, it is about 40%. Under the signed agreements, it is 47-48 per
cent. They are normal figures. I can name about 20 countries whose
national debt exceeds 100% of GDP,' the Armenian President said.
From: A. Papazian