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BAGRATIAN WELCOMES TER-PETROSSIAN’S RETURN

Politics

Armenia’s former Premier Hrant Bagratian welcomes the first president’s return to politics. “Levon Ter-Petrossian has neither robbed the country nor broken laws during his office. Nobody considers Ter-Petrossian a millionaire today,” he said.

Afterwards he recalled Serzh Sarkissian’s bargain with “ArmEconomBank” which was sold for 400 thousand dollars and resold for 24 million.

He also compares the privatization of some state-run enterprises. According to Bagratian the former government used the method of vouchers and the society at least got some money to buy bread, whereas President Kocharian decided to replace auction by direct sale and, for instance, sold the copper and molybdenum factory of Zangezur for the annual profit of the company.

Hrant Bagratian stated that President Kocharian is directly connected with the ongoing construction in the capital. “I assure you that part of buildings belong to Kocharian. I am not joking at all.”

A1+ wondered whether Serzh Sarkissian who was then the Minister of National Security had ever voiced concern over the election frauds of 1996. Bagratian denied that the 1996 election was faked and reminded that Ter-Petrossian enjoyed 80-percent rating then.

According to Hrant Bagratian, over that period Serzh Sarkissian never voiced concern over the election or the state of the country in general. He never reported corruption in one sphere or another.

The Armenian former premier made Sarkissian indignant only once when he ordered to conduct an audit in the Defense Ministry then led by Serzh Sarkissian.