“The country is idle”
With 80 for, 1 against and 1 neutral, the RA National Assembly ratified the Armenian-Russian Protocol on the extension of the timeframe for placement of a Russian military base in Armenia.
The protocol was signed on August 20 during President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Armenia.
According to the protocol, the timeframe for the functioning of existing Russian military bases in Armenia has been extended from 25 to 49 years.
After the change, in addition to protecting its interests in Armenia, the military base must also ensure Armenia's security along with the RA Armed Forces.
ARF MP Ara Nranyan assessed this change as troubling and mentioned that the envisaged formulation is more neutral and doesn't differentiate between Armenia and neighboring countries. "This eliminates the conclusion emanating from the existing formulation that Armenia's security is of primary importance."
After ratifying several legislative initiatives yesterday, the National Assembly continued its session and began to discuss the RA draft law "On Free Economic Zones".
"The country is idle, get to work," PAP MP Vardan Bostanjyan announced in parliament. According to him, the law "On Free Economic Zones" is flawed and is only for the benefit of one or two people. Bostanjyan says he gets the impression that a group of terrorists are planning to come and attack Armenia. NA Chairman Hovik Abrahamyan interrupted him and recalled that his time was up and that he would still have a chance to speak.
During today's session, the National Assembly adopted the draft law "On Freedom of Rallies" after a second reading.
