The introduction of the compulsory accumulative pension system in Armenia has led to growth in shadow employment, Gagik Makaryan, Chairman of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia, said at today's press conference.  

Armenia's former head of National Security Service, David Shakhnazaryan, said at today's protest action in front of Ukraine's Embassy in Yerevan that he blames President of Russia Vladimir Putin for the 1 March 2008 events in Yerevan and the current events in the center of Kyiv. 

"Turkey's position is clear and this position remains unchanged. The border with Armenia will not be opened, unless Nagorno Karabakh conflict is solved," Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said when asked to comment on the reports that Turkey is going to normalize its relations and open its border with Armenia.

A memorial service for Armenian Officer Gurgen Margaryan, murdered by Azerbaijani Ramil Safarov, was held at St. Hovahannes Mkrtich Church in Paris.  The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Armenian Embassy in France, the Representation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and a number of members of the Armenian Community of France, the Armenian Foreign Ministry told ArmInfo.

 The mandatory accumulative pension system is inherently a good idea, but it is not for Armenia, a prominent actor, singer Arman Nshanyan told ArmInfo.  According to him, the given system would fit the countries where average salary is $2,000-$3,000 and not $100-$200 like it is in Armenia. 

Russia's toughened migration policy will boost unemployment and poverty in Armenia, Gagik Makaryan, Head of the Republican Union of Employers, told reporters, Wednesday.

 The Turkish authorities were given explanation that President of Czech Republic Milos Zeman's statement during the January visit by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to Prague, calling the  massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915-23 the genocide, reflected his personal opinion, the head of international department of the Czech President's Administration, Ginek Kmonichek, officially declared, as Czech Television reported.

 On 19 February President of Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan visited the NKR foreign ministry and attended a consultation summing up the activities of the structure in 2013 and the action plan for 2014, the press-service of the NKR president reported.

 Conceptually the Customs Union is similar to the former USSR and joining it will mean for Armenia going back to the Soviet times, Chairman of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia Gagik Makaryan told journalists on Wednesday.

"Sometimes there is smoke without fire and my concerns over the quality of gas in the country has gone away. Nevertheless, we will not stop our examinations as long as we receive complaints from citizens," Armen Poghosyan, Head of the Union of Consumers of Armenia NGO, told reporters, Wednesday.

 ARFD Party Faction in the Armenian Parliament supports the ruling coalition's initiative to set up an ad hoc committee to study gas problems, ARFD representative Artsvik Minasyan told ArmInfo. 

 Road Police of Armenia has disseminated a statement wherein it urges the citizens to properly register their car purchase-and-sale deals to about fines for not having motor third-party liability insurance policies. This is how the Police responded to numerous complaints of citizens who are reluctant to pay fines for sold and even disposed cars. 

 Rostelecom is planning to enhance the speed of its Internet but will not raise the prices.

With a help of "Eastern partnership" Europe is going to start comparing Customs Union/Eurasian Economic Union with the Association relations with the European Union at the information field, where Europe and the USA are more experienced than Russia, and where Europe is going to outwit Russia, Deputy Director of the Centre for Political Studies "Noravank", Sergey Sargsyan, said over the discussion organized by the "Region" Research Centre, "The post-Vilnius process of Eastern Partnership". 

 Over 20 leading scholars and human rights defenders have issued an open letter highlighting  "historical and conceptual inaccuracies" in the European Court's decision on Dogu Perincek v. Switzerland, and called on the government of Switzerland to request a reexamination of the Court's judgment, the Armenian Weekly "Golos Armenii" reports referring to Agos newspaper.

 Despite all the problems with implementation of the Eastern Partnership project (EaP) and Russia's extremely critical assessment of the project, it is so far early to give up on a project. The remarks came from Sergey Markedonov, Associate Professor at the Russian State Humanitarian University, well-known political analyst, at the discussions organized by the Research Center "Region."

Armenian Police Head Vladimir Gasparyan has charged the Road Police to help citizens in registration of sold or abandoned vehicles, the Police press-service told ArmInfo.

Brussels' refusal to conduct Ukraine - Russia - EU negotiations was one of its few adequate decisions of the last 3 months, said Anna Shelest, senior research fellow at Odessa-based branch of the National Institute of Strategic Studies, at the discussions "Post- Vilnius Process of the Eastern Partnership" organized by the Research Center "Region." 

 Armenia will experience labor and student protests, as well as other mass events and processions against the compulsory component of the accumulative pension system, Arman Avetisyan, a member of "I'm Against" initiative, told journalists.