Armenia lifting ban on import of Turkish goods due to "political reasons"January 12, 2022 - 15:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan has said that Armenia's decision to lift the ban on the import of Turkish goods is due to political reasons, although he himself was in favor of extending the embargo. "As the body responsible for the economy, we must closely monitor and protect the companies that have been created in the past year and make sure that their existence is not endangered, that they are not left out of the market," Kerobyan said Wednesday, January 12, according to Armenpress. "We are monitoring the situation, and if problems arise and we see that the businesses of investors are endangered because they haven't grown enough to withstand competition with Turkish goods, we will introduce certain programs to protect investors." The ban was first imposed on December 31, 2020, for six months and was extended for another six months in June. It expired on December 31, and the new decision took effect the next day. In the war against Artsakh (Karabakh) in fall 2020, Turkey supported Azerbaijan militarily, also by transferring terrorist mercenaries from the Middle East to fight against Karabakh. Armenia was the first to report on Turkey's deployment of thousands of Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan. International media publications followed suit, as did reactions from France, Russia, Iran. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |