Georgia's "velvet revolution" became a topic of lively discussions in public transport, in yards and around family tables of Armenia this week as people are talking about the victory of the Georgian opposition and reflecting on the defeat of Armenia's opposition earlier this year.

Members of Armenia's National Assembly closely watched as their neighbor's president was run out of office. Locally, opposition forces took courage (and some envy) from what happened in Georgia. Pro-government leaders, meanwhile, said it would be a mistake for the opposition here to draw parallels or get ideas for something similar.

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Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned his post on Sunday, but the veteran politician lost control of his country long before.

By the time the president had declared a state of emergency last Saturday evening, emergencies in Abkhazia, Southern Osetia and Adjaria had long-since contributed to the general conditions that prompted an uprising in Tbilisi.

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The draft budget for 2004 shows that Armenia's government expects to spend 15 per cent more than it earns in tax revenues next year.

The National Assembly began consideration of the budget proposals this week, which Vardan Khachatryan, Minister of Finances and Economy, said would place less reliance on external financing than in previous years as a result of domestic economic growth.

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