Armenia: Ex-President Kocharian to Go Corporate in Russia?

Former Armenian President Robert Kocharian may join the board of directors of the Russian holding company Sistema, Russia's Kommersant newspaper is reporting.

Sistema, involved in sectors ranging from cellular communications to children's toys, stated that it sought Kocharian's political experience and connections throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to promote Sistema's business interests.

"Mr. Kocharian is very well familiar with the market of the CIS states, where our daughter companies -- MTS, Comstar [mobile operators] and Sitronics [telecommunications and electronics company] -- operate, [and] has a unique record of international cooperation," read a press release cited by Kommersant in its May 29 report.

Kocharian, who served as president of Armenia from 1998 to 2008, has not yet responded publicly to the offer. This is not the first time that a Russian corporation has recruited a former head of state. In 2006, former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder joined the board of Nord Stream, a gas pipeline joint venture that is 51-percent-owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom.