Armenian defence minister sets three conditions for Karabakh settlement
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
24 Sep 04
Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan has received Marco Zacchera,
vice-president of the Assembly of the Western European Union. The
minister said that Yerevan had put forward three principles for the
Karabakh settlement. From now on, Nagornyy Karabakh cannot exist as an
integral part of Azerbaijan, it cannot be isolated from Armenia and it
should have land borders with Armenia.
As for ties with Turkey, the minister said that diplomatic relations
with Ankara should be established without preconditions. Sarkisyan
said that Turkey should recognize the Armenian genocide in order to
settle all other problems.
Zacchera promised to cover these issues in his upcoming report for the
Parliamentary Assembly of the European Union.

Armenian, British Defence Ministries sign cooperation memo
Mediamax news agency
24 Sep 04
YEREVAN
The Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom and the Ministry of
Defence of the Republic of Armenia have agreed a memorandum of
understanding in defence contacts and cooperation.
Armenian Minister of Defence Serzh Sarkisyan and British ambassador to
Armenia Thorda Abbott-Watt signed the memorandum at a brief ceremony
at the Armenian Ministry of Defence in Yerevan today.
The aim of the memorandum is to further strengthen good relations
between the two ministries and to serve as a basis for increased
cooperation between them in the field of defence.
Over the last year the United Kingdom has sponsored a variety of
training courses outside Armenia for 16 members of the Armenian Armed
Forces, including the first Armenian cadet ever to attend the Royal
Military Academy, Sandhurst.
The British Ministry of Defence also funds English language training
within the framework of the Peacekeeping English Programme run by the
British Council Armenia at the Armenian Ministry of Defence.
The memorandum of understanding notes that stable and democratic
sovereign states contribute to confidence, stability and security in
Europe as a whole. It will put the existing cooperation programme on a
formal footing, and enable Britain and Armenia to develop further
contacts in areas such as defence management in democratic societies,
language training, peace support in humanitarian operations and arms
control.

Armenian official says Karabakh report meets British oil companies’ interests
Mediamax news agency
24 Sep 04
YEREVAN
The draft report on Nagornyy Karabakh prepared by PACE ex-rapporteur
Terry Davis, who is presently holding the post of secretary-general of
the Council of Europe, “is not impartial and reflects the interests of
British oil companies”, the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament,
Vaan Ovanesyan, said at the National Press Club in Yerevan today.
According to him, “it should be taken into account that PACE’s new
rapporteur on Nagornyy Karabakh David Atkinson is also British and his
report will be most likely based on the documents prepared by his
predecessor”.

Armenia’s foreign debt totals over 1bn dollars
Yerkir web site
24 Sep 04

YEREVAN
As of 30 June 2004, Armenia’s foreign debt totalled 1.07bn dollars, of
which loans received under Armenia’s state guarantee amounted to
858.9m dollars (80.2 per cent). The Armenian Central Bank’s foreign
debt amounted to 211.4m dollars (19.8 per cent), Armenpress news
agency reports.
The Armenian Finance and Economy Ministry reports that Armenia’s state
debt has dropped by 0.8 per cent as against the same period in 2003
and by 2.5 per cent as against 31 December 2003.
As of 30 June 2004, 90.1 per cent of Armenia’s foreign debt are loans
from different creditors, and the remaining 9.9 per cent falls to the
share of loans from double sources.
[Passage omitted: minor details]

Azeri president meets Spanish foreign minister in New York
Lider TV, Baku
24 Sep 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is due to deliver a
speech at the 59th session of the UN General Assembly today. The
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict will be the key topic of the president’s
speech. The president has already held a number of meetings.
[Correspondent over video of Ilham Aliyev meeting named officials]
President Ilham Aliyev, who is on a visit in New York, has received
Solomon Pasi, chairman of the OSCE [Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe]. The president called on the OSCE chairman to
boost the organization’s efforts in the settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. The sides exchanged
opinions on the OSCE’s future activities and its expansion. Pasi
informed President Ilham Aliyev of Bulgaria’s position on this issue.
Following this meeting, President Ilham Aliyev met the president of
Exxon Mobile. The Exxon Mobile president congratulated Ilham Aliyev on
the 10th anniversary of the Contract of the Century. He spoke about
successful projects of development of the Caspian natural
resources. The meeting also discussed the Exxon Mobile company’s
future activities in Azerbaijan.
President Ilham Aliyev also met Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos. Extending greetings from Spanish King Juan Carlos I and
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to President Ilham
Aliyev, Moratinos said that the Spanish government was closely
observing processes in Azerbaijan and was of high opinion of President
Ilham Aliyev’s policy. The president noted great potential for the
development of relations between the countries. By exploiting this
potential, we should expand political, economic and other ties, the
president said, adding that our country was successfully integrating
into European structures. Since Azerbaijan joined the European Union’s
Wider Europe policy, we have been planning to bring our ties with this
body to a new stage, end quote.
One of the meetings President Ilham Aliyev held throughout the day was
with the president of the Open Society Institute, George
Soros. Stating that he is very keen on processes in Azerbaijan, Soros
said that our country is developing economically.
Mahsati Seyidzada for Lider TV.

Azeri opposition leader, French envoy discuss Karabakh, political situation
Yeni Musavat, Baku
24 Sep 04

Text of unattributed report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on
24 September headlined “The French ambassador meets the Musavat
chairman”
The chairman of the Musavat Party, Isa Qambar, received the French
ambassador to Azerbaijan, Roland Blatmann, at the party headquarters
yesterday.
The parties discussed the public and political situation in the
country, Azerbaijan’s commitments before the Council of Europe,
democracy and human rights, political prisoners, the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, EU-Azerbaijani and French-Azerbaijani
relations and prospects for the development of political contacts.
The meeting was also attended by the deputy chairman of the Musavat
Party, Sulhaddin Akbar.

LEDA DESIGN – “COMPANY’S DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IS CONNECTED TO ARMENIA”- SAYS
VAHRAM MOURADIAN, PRESIDENT OF THE LEADING AMERICAN IT COMPANY
By Ruben Grdzelyan,
ARMINFO, 2004
LEDA Design, Inc., engaged in design and development of IP blocks for
digital, analog and mixed-signal Integrated Circuits, was established
in USA in 1995, and the Armenian Branch was founded in 2000. Late in
2003 a decision was made to transfer the main activities of the
company into Armenia. What are the reasons for that rather risky
decision and what is the result of its application, we managed to
clarify directly from the company’s President Dr. Vahram Mouradian.
– Dr. Mouradian, please describe the transition period and
difficulties connected with it.
– In November 2003 we decided to relocate our key engineering segment
into Armenia, and at the present moment it has been implemented –
engineering, marketing and production departments are located in
Armenia right now. In the beginning of 2004 we entered a risky stage
of operations, as this is the very first experience when a company
like ours expands its activity in Armenia only. In January 2004, with
the beginning of the transition period, LEDA Design’s shareholders
evaluated the task to be achieved and determined the deadline for
successful completion of the transition to Armenia based operations
using the existing manpower and engineering resources. In the first
three months of the year the company experienced losses, but in the
second quarter we succeeded in attracting engineering orders, and
their performance brought profitability. Forecasts for the third
quarter anticipate equal, if not better results compared to the second
quarter. Taking into consideration these positive development trends,
the company’s shareholders have made decisions to effect additional
investments. These investments will not only improve efficiency, but
will provide the basis for further development of our business. In the
near future we are planning to introduce new products on the world
chip design market with new types of interfaces, memory blocks for ICs
and EDA tools. Also, we are going to add IC testing in Armenia, a
function which previously was performed in the US.
On a related subject, LEDA has a taken a very strong stance in the
Armenian HR market against the practice of enticing employees from
other companies to “steal” technologies. From this point of view
Armenia has not yet spoiled its reputation, but the practice is
becoming a problem. The practice has spread into Armenia among
competing companies and it contradicts the principles of good business
practices and healthy competition, especially in the context of such a
narrow engineering market as the Armenian one. This kind of
dishonorable behavior shown by some, both foreign and local companies,
increases the cost of doing business in Armenia, making it less
attractive for potential investors. LEDA is actively working to
improve the situation, and we expect positive results.
In summary, however, I can confirm to you that Armenia is acknowledged
as a reliable partner in the international IC design market. Regarding
our plans for the future, our next task will be to firmly establish
our reputation, which requires positive dynamics of production growth,
development of new products, and expansion of supporting services.
– Actually, we can now consider the second stage in LEDA’s development
finished?
– The initial stage was raising the company itself, capable of develop
products and meeting demand. The next stage was opening of the
Armenian branch, and the transfer of the corporate operations into
Armenia.
– Well, about the third one, what will be the next stage, to your
mind?
– Our next step will be acquisition of strong brand recognition that
will allow us to start trading the company’s stock on international
stock exchanges. For an American-Armenian enterprise, it will be a
solid achievement.
– In the beginning of this year several employees of LEDA have been
dismissed. Taking into consideration the recent positive changes, do
you plan to restore the previous number of employees?
– Since the middle of July the number of LEDA employees has grown,
first of all, due to hiring the graduates of our educational
center. Moreover, we have increased salaries of many of our
engineers. In the near future we expect to announce new job openings,
as we continue to develop new products.
– Vast majority of the Armenia located IT-companies are branches of
the foreign firms. How can you explain your not traditional decision
to turn your branch into the Headquarters?
– First of all this decision is caused by my Armenian origin, next by
my sincere belief in the potential of my team and the bright future of
my home country. But the decision is still a risky one. Due to the
absence of a local market, the most challenging task in Armenia is
effective outbound sales. Another major obstacle for the conversion of
the foreign branches into Armenian companies is the lack of qualified
specialists. And it applies not only to marketing. The Armenian IT
labor market is very limited. For example, you can count on your
fingers the number of talented chip design engineers in Armenia. In
order to expand existing businesses and to create new businesses there
is no other way but to increase the number of engineers. The loss of
just a couple of experienced professionals by any Armenian IT company
or branch may lead to collapse. This problem will remain until
efficient models of labor market improvements are implemented. We are
working on it right now.
– Do you think it may be possible to smooth this problem by attracting
specialists of the Armenian origin from abroad?
– In order to do it, it is necessary to enhance the living standards
in Armenia, because salary is not the only decision factor for those
specialists – people desire high living standards. Besides that, let’s
not forget about the competition – the salary levels of the Armenian
specialists are getting close to the critical point, and compared to
some countries already exceed the limit, which means any further
increase will not allow the Armenian products to compete on the world
markets because of high net cost. The only way out is to make up for
the brain drain by training new specialists – and to educate two
specialists to replace each one lost, until Armenia becomes a location
of choice for highly qualified professionals. Otherwise stagnation is
unavoidable.
– Some time ago LEDA Design had got plans to place orders with two
Armenian plants: Scientific-Production Enterprise “Transistor” and
“MARS” plant. Do you have any news related to these plans?
– We could not engage with “Transistor”, as it was not possible to
bridge the gap between our technologies and the manufacturing
capacities of “Transistor”, but we still maintain certain hopes with
“Mars” in the field of placing manufacturing orders for some simple
printed circuits boards. But these are plans for the future.

Armenian opposition bloc against sending peacekeepers to Iraq
Arminfo
23 Sep 04
YEREVAN
The opposition Justice bloc is against sending Armenian peacekeepers
to Iraq, the secretary of the Justice parliamentary faction, Viktor
Dallakyan, said at a press conference today.
He said that the dispatch of the Armenian peacekeepers to Iraq
endangers Armenia’s national security and also the security of the
Armenian community in Iraq.

Armenian Speaker, OSCE envoy discuss Karabakh
Arminfo
23 Sep 04
YEREVAN
Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Artur Bagdasaryan and the
special envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office on the Nagornyy Karabakh
issue, Filip Dimitrov, today discussed the settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict.
As the press service of the Armenian National Assembly told Arminfo
news agency, during the meeting Filip Dimitrov noted that the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict is perceived by the OSCE as a complicated problem
that is hard to solve. But it hopes that the sides will achieve
success in the negotiations. Artur Bagdasaryan informed Filip Dimitrov
of his point of view, adding that Armenia has always backed a peaceful
settlement to the conflict via political dialogue and that it
understands the need for mutual concessions.
The speaker of the Armenian parliament noted the importance of the
public opinion in the conflicting countries and the necessity of
establishing contacts between various social layers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan on the settlement of the conflict.
Bagdasaryan and Dimitrov noted the importance of regular meetings
between the two countries’ presidents and stressed the need to develop
parliamentary relations, taking into consideration the role and
meaning of parliaments in the settlement of conflicts.
Artur Bagdasaryan also touched upon regional problems, noting the
importance of Turkey’s neutral position in the settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and also the Azerbaijan side’s
non-constructive position on regional cooperation. He cited the
refusal to allow Armenian servicemen entry to Baku to take part in
NATO’s Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises as a specific example.
Bagdasaryan and Dimitrov also noted that the OSCE Minsk Group carried
out an important and consistent work to settle the conflict and
possessed adequate information about details of the process. Great
hopes are pinned particularly on the OSCE Minsk Group in the
settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. In addition, the sides
noted the need to develop parliamentary relations in the region. Other
issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting.

Armenian election body approves by-election results
Arminfo
23 Sep 04
YEREVAN
The Central Electoral Commission of Armenia today summarized the final
results of the parliamentary by-elections in the 44th constituency and
approved the parliamentary mandate of the member of the Orinats Yerkir
Party [Law-Governed Country Party] and the head of the Sas group
company, Artak Sarkisyan.
We should note that Artak Sarkisyan gained 13,970 votes, while his
main opponent – the member of the Nik Aparan Union and the owner of a
chain of pharmacies and the Lavanda dry cleaners gained 5,578
votes. The remaining three candidates gained less than 2,000 votes.
[Passage omitted: Details]