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April 27, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
hand. In addition to Dashnaktsutyun’s decision to quit the ruling coalition and the possible defection of an unknown number of HHK deputies, some of Armenia’s biggest businesses have thrown in their lot with the protestors.
The Tsarukyan party is lead by local oligarch Gagik Tsarukian, who has already come out in clear support for Pashinian and told the party’s membership to “be with the people.” Other smaller parties with no parliamentary seats have also thrown their support behind Yelk.
HHK is circling its wagons and there was a late night meeting on April 25 between Karepetyan and other top HHK deputies with former prime
Uzbekistan plans to join $10bn Turkmenistan-led TAPI gas pipeline project
the state is believed to be close to a full-
blown economic crisis, or even collapse,
thanks to low world oil prices and longstanding difficulties in diversifying gas exports beyond supplies to China. Some have called the TAPI pipeline a “do-or-die” project for the pariah nation - the worst performer in Freedom House's recently issued Nations in Transit report - that could bring in significant new revenues if it is ever completed. Uzbekistan’s support would deliver some welcome relief, given Ashgabat’s current woes.
“We have agreed that Uzbekistan will also take part in this project,” Mirziyoyev told reporters after meeting his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who visited Uzbekistan last week. Since taking office in late 2016, reform-minded Mirziyoyev has been touring the region and reaching out to his neighbours with offers of mutual cooperation.
minister Sargsyan. The deputies said in a statement HHK is prepared to discuss any issue with the opposition if there are “no preconditions” to the meeting. HHK also announced that Sargsyan will be replaced as party chairman.
At this stage it looks like the crisis will spill
over into next week. President of the Armenian National Assembly Ara Babloyan announced
on April 26 that he was calling a meeting of the National Assembly for a special session to discuss the issue of prime minister's election on May 1 at 12pm – the day after the April 30 deadline set by the constitution for parliament to choose a new candidate.
He is attempting to open up the Uzbek economy after decades of isolation under the previous president, the late Islam Karimov, known for his paranoia when it came to Uzbekistan's neighbours.
Mirziyoyev has also positioned himself as mediator in the various conflicts in the region and offered to broker a peace deal between
the Taliban and Kabul at an Afghanistan peace conference in Tashkent on March 27, which is
a prerequisite for the pipeline’s construction. Though the Taliban did not attend the peace talks, to some analysts' surprise they did pledge to provide security for the construction and eventual operation of TAPI.
TAPI is expected to export 33bn cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year from Turkmeni- stan’s Galkynysh gas field, one of the world's largest hydrocarbon fields with estimated re- serves of 13,100bcm of natural gas, to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan. The route has been under discussion in various forms since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but endemic corruption and fraternal rivalries between
the various 'Stans' have stymied any progress in building the pipeline.