March 21, 2006 - 17:38 AMT
Hovhannisyan: Property for Debt Principle Cannot Be Welcomed
If Russia cannot or does not want owing to some reasons to run enterprises Armenia gave it for paying off the state debt, it can privatize these, Armenian NA Vice-Speaker, Co-Chair of the Armenian-Russian Interparliamentary Commission Vahan Hovhannisyan said. "The fact itself that Russia followed the principle of Property for Debt cannot be welcomed. Many countries owe Russia more but Russia could not forgive Armenia $100 million,» he said.

In Hovhannisyan's words, the Armenian party has proposed an interesting plan for running the enterprises. «Russia can present it to Russian businessmen and then real money will arrive at the Russian treasury. A subcommittee is already formed to provide for effective work of those enterprises. Its first session adopted the plan of priority measures. We hope for serious investment and reconstruction of those enterprises, as well as running them finally,» Vahan Hovhannisyan underscored.

Shares of Armenian enterprises totaling $93 million were conveyed to Russia in 2002. These are Mars CJSC ($56.29 million), Yerevan Research Institute of Automated Management Systems CJSC ($3.37 million), Yerevan Research Institute of Mathematical Machines CJSC ($2.75 million), Yerevan Research Institute of Science of Materials CJSC ($0.35 million), and property of the Hrazdan heat power plant ($31 million).