In an article entitled, “Armenian electricity tariffs hiked again, sparking social unrest,” that was published on 19 June by the “Business New Europe” (BNE) publication, RSC Director Richard Giragosian was cited as noting that “ordinary consumers have been hit hard, exacerbating the situation for the population of a country where one-third of the Armenian population lives in official poverty.”  He added that “this latest increase will only further escalate mounting socioeconomic tension,” before concluding that “Armenia will certainly face a long, hot summer, although driven less by the weather and more by mounting dissent and discontent.” 

www.bne.eu/content/story/armenian-electricity-tariffs-hiked-again-sparking-social-unrest

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RSC Director Richard Giragosian and Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan each addressed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s 89^th Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan on 19 June.  In a panel entitled “NATO’s Partnership in the South Caucasus, RSC Senior Analyst Shahnazaryan gave a presentation on the need for greater NATO engagement in the South Caucasus, with an additional focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the outlook for resuming the process of Armenia-Turkey “normalization.”

In a book entitled, “Unrewarding Crossroads? The Black Sea amidst the European Union and Russia,” published by the Sofia Platform, RSC Director Richard Giragosian contributed a chapter assessing the set of challenges and opportunities facing Armenia.  The book, a project of the Sofia Platform financed by the German Marshall Fund’s Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, was edited by Anahit Shirinyan and Louisa Slavkova.

In a follow-up to earlier RSC staff comments on the current status of the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan added his assessment, focusing on how Azerbaijani attacks on the mediators themselves has triggered a serious shift in diplomacy.

In a brief, concise interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, RSC Director Richard Giragosian explains the significance of the recent statement of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the recent escalation of clashes and upsurge in fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and Nagorno Karabakh. Giragosian praised the reaction, which he defined as “seeking to send a stronger message to deter and dissuade Azerbaijan from its reckless disregard for diplomacy and its insistence in threatening not only Karabakh, nor Armenia, but the international community as a whole.”

www.azatutyun.am/media/video/26818326.html