SAUDI ARABIA TO RENDER MORE AID TO REFUGEES
[September 06, 2004, 22:55:58]
Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 6 2004
With the aim to promote solving the tasks set in the “State Program
on Improvement of Living Conditions and Employment Opportunities of
Refugees and Internally Displaced People”, Ambassador of Azerbaijan
to Saudi Arabia Elman Arasly met with Secretary General of the
League of Islamic World Abdulla Turki and Secretary General of the
Islamic Charity Organization “Nijat” Adnan Pasha, the Embassy press
service said.
Ambassador Elman Arasly informed the Saudi side on the hard
consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
negotiations between Azerbaijan President and heads of the world’s
leading states and prestigious international organizations concerning
peaceful resolution of the problem. He stressed that aggressor Armenia
and has been occupying 20% of the Azerbaijani lands for over ten
years, and holds non-constructive position in the peace process. As a
result of the aggression, he said, more than one million Azerbaijani
citizens have become refugees and IDPs and are still living under
very hard conditions. The diplomat handed the Azerbaijani side’s
request to increase the volume of aid rendered by the government and
humanitarian organizations of Saudi Arabia to refugees and IDP to
Mr. Abdulla Turki and Mr. Adnan Pasha.
The latter stated for their part that governed by the King Fahd
bin Abdul Aziz instructions on providing necessary assistance to
Azerbaijan in its fight for elimination of the Armenian aggression
consequences, the government and donor organizations are ready to
increase the volume of aid.

Guardian, UK
Sept 6 2004
Putin warns of security backlash
Pressure for action rises
Jonathan Steele in Moscow
Monday September 6, 2004
The Guardian
Vladimir Putin’s solemn weekend broadcast to the Russian people struck
many popular chords and will have satisfied most of his compatriots,
but it left unclear what concrete changes in policy will come in the
wake of the catastrophe of Beslan.
The president appealed to nostalgic Soviet patriots and Russia’s
ancient sense of encirclement when he said the collapse of the USSR
left the country “without defences either to the east or west”. He
criticised the mistakes of the security forces, saying: “We could
have been more effective if we had acted professionally and at the
right moment.”
He conjured up a frightening external threat, indirectly accusing
the US of supporting terrorists and trying to disarm Russia as a
nuclear power and pull territory away from it. “Some would like to
cut a juicy piece of our pie. Others help them,” he said. “Terrorism
is just one instrument they use.”
He called for unity as the best form of strength because in the past
“we showed ourselves to be weak and the weak get beaten”.
Mr Putin signalled that he intends to re-establish control over
security across Russia. But how can he do it? He faces enormous
challenges in all areas of domestic, military and foreign policies.
Domestic
In putting all the blame on international terrorism, the president
avoided using the word “Chechnya” at all. The measures he talked
about in broad terms – to strengthen Russia’s unity, create a new
system of control over the northern Caucasus and set up an effective
anti-crisis management system – need to be fleshed out.
The speech also left the suspicion that Mr Putin was exploiting the
shock of Beslan to accelerate efforts to create a more authoritarian
and centralised form of rule, and using the notion of a terrorist war
on Russia to divert attention from rising social and economic tensions.
All the indicators show an increase in the gap between rich and poor,
as well as stubbornly high rates of joblessness, particularly in
parts of the northern Caucasus. The high world price for oil has given
the government a cushion at least to pay wages and pensions on time,
unlike a few years ago, but Mr Putin’s neo-liberal economic strategy
caused the biggest street protests of his presidency this summer.
Other shocks are in store, including a rise in the domestic price of
oil and gas, which will hit people’s utility bills. Medicine is being
privatised, leaving thousands defenceless. The closure of kindergartens
and even schools is hitting families hard in smaller towns, many in
the northern Caucasus – precisely the areas where tension can turn
to violence.
In central Russia discontent often turns to apathy. In Muslim regions
it can lead people to Islamism. The oddest line in the president’s
speech was his suggestion that Russians cannot “live in as carefree a
manner as before” – as though his compatriots have not endured some
of the harshest ordeals in Eu rope in the last century, including
civil war, dictatorship, foreign invasion, and the recent collapse
in living standards and security which he himself mentioned.
Military
Mr Putin has few options militarily. The war in Chechnya is going
badly, and Russian deaths continue at a rate of 15 a week. The
resistance fighters are not as strong as they were during the first
Chechen war but the struggle is essentially at a stalemate.
The president has gradually been restoring the power of the KGB,
now renamed the FSB. It was weakened under President Yeltsin, but Mr
Putin recently put the border guards back under FSB control. Handling
terrorism is in the hands of a dozen different ministries and he may
create a Russian version of the US department of home land security,
essentially a strengthened FSB.
Other ideas which were already under discussion before the Beslan
atrocity were to raise the profile of Russia’s security council.
Under Igor Ivanov it has little clout and the key discussions on
security take place weekly in what is sometimes called “the little
Politburo”. It is chaired by Mr Putin and includes all the “power”
ministers: defence, interior, foreign affairs, as well as the
prosecutor general.
Sergei Ivanov, the defence minister and a friend of the president,
who is tipped as his successor, might be appointed to chair the
security council. Other suggestions are that the job of vice-president
be re-established.
Mr Putin’s call for strengthening the unity of the country might
mean a further boost for the restoration of “vertical” rule. He has
already changed parliament’s upper house, the federation council, so
that regional governors and legislative leaders no longer sit in it.
Now there is talk of the president appointing governors, rather than
them being elected. This would bring Russia back towards the Soviet
system of hierarchical one-party rule from Moscow.
Foreign policy
The president’s emphasis on a powerful external threat will cut into
his foreign policy options. In the Caucasus, Russia’s bargaining
position has weakened over the last year. The new nationalist
government in Georgia is unlikely to help seal its frontier with Russia
when it is trying to remove the Russian troops from the disputed
territory of South Ossetia, which was within Georgia’s borders in
Soviet times.
Azerbaijan may be unwilling to help clamp down on its Chechen diaspora
while Russia has failed to get Armenian troops out of the large areas
of Azerbaijan which they occupy.
The US and Russia are struggling for influence in the southern
Caucasus, and Mr Putin will not want any American interference in
the northern Caucasus, including Chechnya, as well. His claim that
Washington is exploiting the disruption caused by terrorism is a
warning that, even though both sides claim to be allies against an
invisible international enemy, the rules of the game have strict
limits.

Strangers on a (Private) Plane, Agassi and Sargsian Bonded
By SELENA ROBERTS
New York Times, NY
Sept 6 2004
David Duprey/Associated Press, left; Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Sargis Sargsian, 31, left, will face one of his heroes, Andre Agassi,
34, Monday at the United States Open.
IT was late Saturday night, with the grandstand girders finally still
after nearly five hours of stamping, with the roars that had
sustained Sargis Sargsian over, when a Connecticut family returned to
its home near New Haven.
The Mansourians were Sargsian’s family, too, the one once found for
him through the Yale alumni directory.
The Mansourians had just watched Sargsian, a 31-year-old Armenian,
summon the spirit of youth in his legs as he finished off his second
five-set match in two rounds at the United States Open, ending more
than 10 hours of court time in three days by lying on his back across
the baseline, staring up at the sky, overjoyed with his unlikely
entrance into the fourth round.
“I can’t put into words what it was like to see it,” Catherine
Mansourian said. “I was drenched in sweat, head to toe. We drove all
the way back home, walked in the door and threw our clothes into the
wash.”
A decade later, and here the Mansourians were, a vital part of
Sargsian’s journey to providence via random acts of kindness.
In 1997, the famous Andre Agassi didn’t know Sargsian when he offered
him an impromptu ride on his private plane, wanting the two of them
to hit together in San Francisco before an event they were both
expected to play.
Suddenly, Sargsian was in a sleek jet with four captain’s chairs,
traveling with the icon to Armenians, Andre Agassi, a national hero
of Iranian descent.
“I’d heard he was a generous person,” Sargsian said in an interview
yesterday. “I was surprised how simple and normal he was.”
He also knew how Agassi’s star had plummeted into a confused funk by
1997. That fall, Sargsian faced Agassi in a satellite event in
Burbank, Calif. At the time, Agassi was ranked No. 122 in the world,
up from his low of 141. In front of 1,000 fans on three-step risers
around an inglorious court, Agassi, as Sargsian admitted, “demolished
me.”
“I was with him a lot during his slide,” Sargsian said. “I remember
his plan to come back to No. 1. And, I admit this, it was one of the
few times in my life I’ve doubted him. He didn’t only come back; he
dominated. He is a great player, a great person. He means so much to
me.”
Sargsian will face his hero today, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the
Mansourians in the stands and Agassi across the court in a moment
borne of the generosity of strangers.
No doubt Agassi will exit tennis with a legacy of giving. The lucky
superstars get to choose the circumstance of their departure. A year
ago, Pete Sampras left with his statistics to tell the story of his
career in terms of majors won, aces served, volleys struck.
Agassi’s ghost will have more layers as a man who spent his fame on
creating a charter school in Las Vegas, on raising millions for AIDS
research, on mentoring players as young and famous as Andy Roddick or
as obscure and struggling as Sargsian.
“He has always helped me, for many years,” Sargsian said of Agassi.
“He tells me everything. I haven’t asked how to beat him, but maybe I
should before we play. He is an amazing person.”
In an isolationist American star culture, Agassi reached out. In a
self-involved American society, the Mansourians answered a call in
the summer of 1993.
With a national team of Armenians on the way to Yale and nowhere to
put them, the Yale women’s coach, Becky Chase, began searching the
names of the university directory, looking for anyone with a name
ending in ian.
Mansourian, that sounded Armenian.
“I happened to be home,” Catherine Mansourian said.
The conversation began with a friendly, “Are you interested in
tennis?” and ended with Catherine explaining how her father-in-law
had been an Iranian champion in the 40’s.
A few minutes later, Catherine was zipping through a grocery store
aisle, whisking two turkeys from a cooler and preparing to receive 20
guests for dinner.
One of them was Sargsian. He had two ragged rackets and talent that
amazed the Mansourian family as they followed him to New Jersey to
see him player later that week.
“I said, ‘This kid is so talented, he can’t go back,’ ” Catherine
recalled. ” ‘Can we keep him for the winter?’ ”
Soon, Sargsian and another Armenian player moved into the
Mansourians’ home, with two of their four children still under the
roof.
“Sargis thought he was going to have to sleep on the floor,”
Catherine said. “I showed him his bedroom, and he looked at me and
said, ‘Five stars.’ He was wonderful.”
He was 18, from a country where his father was an engineer but earned
less than the equivalent of $10 a month.
Now he had American shelter with Vazrick Mansourian, a physician, and
his wife, Catherine, a physician’s assistant.
They treated Sargsian as one of their own. They gave him a 19th
birthday party by rolling up the carpet, turning on the music and
dancing all night to take part in Armenian culture.
They were there for the nine-hour drives to tennis events in Buffalo,
and for the wonder Sargsian revealed watching MTV and seeing the size
of American grocery stores.
As a teenager, Sargsian could eat through $24 in fruit a day, and 24
hard rolls, too.
“I think he knew we loved him,” Catherine said. “We told him from Day
1, we’d always look out for him.”
But why? Why didn’t Catherine Mansourian tell Becky Chase, “Sorry,
not interested” when she called? Why did Agassi take Sargsian under
his wing?
“People ask me, but I don’t know why we did it,” Catherine said. “It
was such a spontaneous thing.”
Sometimes, destiny needs allies.

The Republican, MA
Sept 6 2004
Armenian Fest brews some fun
Monday, September 06, 2004
By PATRICIA NORRIS
[email protected]
SPRINGFIELD – Anita Assarian can tell your mood by what’s left in
your coffee cup.
For $5 Assarian brewed customers a strong demitasse cup of thick
Armenian coffee and then read the sticky grounds that clung to the
bottom and the edge of the shot-glassed sized mug.
The tiny West Springfield woman and her insight were a main
attraction at the 8th annual Armenian Fest on the grounds of St.
Mark’s Armenian Church on Wilbraham Road.
The festival featured traditional foods, music and games from a
country considered the first to officially embrace Christianity as
its religion around 300 A.D.
While fortunes were read for some, children bounced in a blow-up
bounce house and adults danced to live Armenian music under overcast
skies.
Although the fair was free and open to the public, proceeds from
food, drink and Assarian’s fortunes benefited the church.
“I only do this once a year because it is for the church,” said
Assarian, who learned to read the markings as a girl from her mother.
But that does not mean Assarian does not put stock in her
interpretations.
“I didn’t believe in it until everything my mother said came true,”
she said, adding that her mother told her she would marry an only son
in a far-off country.
“And here I am,” she said.
Brenda Edwards and Gerard Richards are not Armenian but they came to
the fest to enjoy the food and a culture that is not their own.
The two, who own Mantic Arts Wellness, a wellness center in
Springfield, got a reading by Assarian because last year she foresaw
they would be taking a two-week trip. In a few weeks they leave for
the south of France.
“She told us we had a lot of protection,” said Edwards, who believes
in her own innate psychic abilities after a near-death experience as
a teen.
But not everyone was a believer in the mystical.
“We don’t believe any of it, but we enjoy the coffee,” said Hagop
“Jack” Boyajian, a St. Mark’s parishioner, who had yet to get his
coffee read.
As an added attraction, this year organizers set up a country store
that served exclusive Armenian goods such as cracker bread, a yogurt
drink called Tahn, and traditional pickled vegetables, among other
things.
Hot foods like shish kabab and losh – spiced lamb and beef – were
also served.
“It’s great stuff,” said Steve Barrian, event organizer.
Boyajian said the annual event allows the Armenian community which is
often splintered around the greater Springfield area to come together
and share their customs and their fare with each other and the
extended neighborhood.
“The parishioners here do an excellent job,” he said.

Armenian foreign debt shrinks by 2.5% in H1
Interfax
Sept 6 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – Armenia’s foreign debt fell 2.5% from the
beginning of the year to $1.07 billion in the first half of 2004,
the country’s Finance and Economic Ministry told Interfax.
The debt fell 0.8% year-on-year in the half.
Government debt accounted for 79.3% of total foreign debt, or $849.2
million. It grew 0.1% in the twelve months from June 2003 and it fell
2.6% in the six months from January 1, 2004.
The Armenian Central Bank’s debt was $211.4 million at the end of June,
or 19.8% of total debt, and it fell 1.5% in the half. The Central
Bank’s debt grew 3.8% in the twelve months from the end of June 2003.
Armenia’s debt before the World Bank grew 15.6% for the year to $685.7
million. Its debt to the International Monetary Fund increased 3.8%
over the year to $211.4 million.

Russia targets world with new jet range
By M. COREY GOLDMAN, FORWARD
Toronto Star, Canada
Sept 6 2004
While the aviation industry has had its fair share of setbacks over
the past few years, people are still flying and airlines are still
buying aircraft..
Lots of countries are content with the status quo. While many have
their own national passenger airline, they typically don’t go to the
trouble and expense of developing their own planes that outside their
own borders would have to compete with the two giant makers, Airbus
and Boeing Co, not to mention No. 3, Bombardier with its Canadair
and de Havilland offerings.
Except in Russia, where things are a little different thanks to 70-plus
years of communist rule that made innovation in the aerospace industry
a priority — though mainly for the military, not for the kinds of
planes regular people ride on.
But over the past 10 years, Russia’s aerospace companies have been
working hard developing new kinds of jets that they hope will not
only be embraced by the country’s own airlines but find markets around
the globe.
They’ve also been trying to show the world that they make good planes
— jetliners that will be reliable and safe, despite having emerged
from the depths of Design Bureaus and state-owned manufacturing plants.
One initiative, called the Russian Regional Jet program, or RRJ,
has some big backers. The program, which will soon produce three
different-sized small jets, a 60-seater, a 75-seater and a 98-seater,
is being developed by Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft with support
from Boeing, which is working as a consultant on the deal.
Sukhoi hopes to deliver from 800 to 1,000 RRJs through 2022, and has
just announced an order for 50 RRJ-95 aircraft from Sibir, Russia’s
second-biggest carrier. Russia’s NPO Saturn and France’s Snecma Moteurs
are involved in designing the propulsion system of the new aircraft.
What it points to is a shift away from Russian aircraft designs with
roots in the Cold War era, hundreds of examples of which remain in
service but that in most ways lag behind world standards.
The history of Soviet aeronautics spins into quite a tale. In the
mid-1930s the Soviet government set up what was called a Central Design
Bureau — a state-run agency whose sole purpose was to design bombers,
fighters, and transport and cargo airplanes.
One part of that bureau had a section for designing long-range
bombers, headed by Sergej Vladimirovich Ilyushin, who later became a
successful designer of long-range jets, including the Ilyushin series
of commercial and military jets that exists today.
A different area called the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute was
run by Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev, who designed and built a large
number of various Soviet aircraft called Tupolevs, including the two
planes that simultaneously crashed last month, apparently brought
down by terrorism.
Those two families of commercial airplanes, named for their respective
creators, served the Soviet Union just fine for many years. They were
used to transport people, cargo, and military equipment all around
the vast country. In the 1990s the Soviet monopoly carrier Aeroflot
was dismantled into dozens of smaller carriers, many of whom had
doubtful finances, poor management and even poorer reputations.
But as the industry continued to grow, companies like Aeroflot and
Sibir wanted re-equip.
Western-built planes from the likes of Boeing and Airbus were there
for the taking, but at a hefty price, thanks to government-imposed
tariffs of 20 per cent meant to encourage airlines to keep buying
Russian-made planes rather than imported ones.
But the Russian designs were old, not up to speed with what Boeing,
Airbus and others were producing.
And with no system in place for leasing aircraft from the domestic
manufacturers that are still producing planes, new aircraft were,
and are, difficult to come by no matter where carriers look.
A senior official at Russia’s industry and energy ministry warned
earlier this summer of a possible crisis in 2006 or 2007 as aircraft
become antiquated and international noise and emission requirements
come into play.
Aeroflot has some Boeing 777s, 767s and Airbus A310s in its fleet,
though the majority of its planes are Tupolevs and Ilyushins — the
TU-134, TU-154, IL-96, IL-86 and IL-62. Almost all of Sibir’s aircraft
are Tupolevs and Ilyushins — the TU-154, TU-204 and IL-86.
One way Russian carriers have gotten around the tariffs and
restrictions is by buying or leasing planes for airlines they have
a stake in that are in other countries.
Sibir, which took over 70 per cent of Armenian carrier Armavia last
year, inherited one leased Airbus A320. Because Armenia charges only
a registration fee for imported aircraft, Sibir can buy or lease more
if it likes.
Other manufacturers that found themselves outside Russia after the
Soviet Union crumbled have enjoyed some success.
Antonov, based in Ukraine, has been building new cargo planes such
as the An-225 Mriya, which has three jet engines on each side and
can transport cargo literally on its back — on top of the fuselage
outside the plane.
The entire Russian aerospace industry appears to be at a crossroads.
The regional TU-334 has flown; first RRJ is expected to make its
maiden test flight in 2006, with commercial use to begin a year later.
With a land mass bigger than Canada’s, with 11 different time zones
and with only one road connection from one end of the country to the
other, analysts expect the domestic market for smaller regional planes
to be huge.
Aeroflot carried 5.8 million passengers in 2003, up 6.5 per cent from
2002. Sibir carried 3.5 million passengers last year, while passenger
volumes grew more than 25 per cent for the first half of this year.
The industry as a whole has notched up 15 per cent growth almost
consistently since 2000.
If the RRJ program is successful, it will be proof to the world that
Russia can build modern, sophisticated planes that serve a purpose,
not only for Russia but for other markets too. Some wonder whether
Russia should sink billions of dollars into an industry that is
struggling to break free from its military, government-dominated past,
in the face of massive competition from entrenched players.
Russia’s own carriers aren’t holding their breath for competent new
jets to roll out in their own backyard.
While Sibir has signed a letter of intent with Sukhoi to buy the
50 RRJ-95 aircraft starting in 2007, one of its senior officials
recently told Russian news agency Prime-Tass that it plans to take
out a lease on 100 Boeing 717 regional jets by the end of this year,
with plans to continue taking out leases on foreign-made aircraft
over the next 10 years.
Still, it’s worth remembering there once seemed little hope for the
European consortium known as Airbus when it set out to take on Boeing
back in 1970. Airbus struggled to produce new designs to compete with
Boeing and runner-up McDonnell Douglas Corp.; Airbus practically had
to give away its first jets to get airlines to fly them.
Perhaps one day we will, indeed, step into a brand-new Russian-built
jetliner, for our shuttle flight to Ottawa, Montreal or New York.

Foreign investment in Armenia climbs 41% in H1
Interfax
Sept 6 2004
Yerevan. (Interfax) – The volume of foreign investment in the economy
of Armenia increased 41.3% year-on-year to $106.3 million over the
first half of 2004, Armenian Trade and Economic Development Minister
Tigran Davtian announced at a Friday press conference.
Direct foreign investment increased 79.1% year-on-year to $64.7 million
over the first half. Davtian said the largest investments continue
to come companies in Russia, the United States and the European Union.
National communications operator Armentel attracted the largest
foreign investments for telecommunications network development.
Armentel attracted $41.5 million in the first half, a 40% year-on-year
increase, including $21 million in direct foreign investments
The Armenian National Statistics Service’s numbers indicate that
first-half investments from France increased 4871% year-on-year to
$13.7 million, from Georgia 255.3% to $41.5 million, from the United
States 101.3% to $15.2 million, from Argentina 80.3% to $16.1 million,
from Lebanon 60.4% to $1.6 million, from Luxembourg 69.1% to $763,000
and from Canada 34.6% to 1.3% million.

Newsday, NY
Sept 6 2004
MARATHON MAN
Sarge deserves a salute
Sargsian, after two improbable wins, faces his good buddy Agassi
BY JEFF WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
For Sargis Sargsian, this is just too good. After a 2004 season
filled with poor play and plenty of frustration, he finds himself in
the fourth round of the U.S. Open. He finds himself playing in front
of his adopted American family. He finds himself about to play Andre
Agassi today.
“It’s crazy good, unbelievable good,” said the man called Sarge.
Just how crazy, just how unbelievable has Sarge’s Open been? His
five-set victory over Paul-Henri Mathieu on Saturday night in 4:44
followed a five-set victory over 10th-seeded Nicolas Massu in 5:09 on
Thursday night, the longest back-to-back matches any man has ever
played in the Open.
His appearance in the fourth round equals his best performance at a
major, at the 2003 Australian Open. But what is just too good is that
he now gets to play Agassi, his best friend in tennis, at Arthur Ashe
Stadium.
“This is very much a dream come true for me,” Sargsian said yesterday
as he sat in a quiet corner of the players lounge. “Would be dream
come true to beat him, too.”
Sargsian’s story is just too good. He’s a 31-year-old Armenian who
came from a poor family and harsh conditions in his homeland on a
trip to the United States with his national team in 1992. Debbie
Welch, a former top-flight player who was a peace worker in Armenia,
had seen him play and was instrumental in bringing the team over for
exhibition matches in the Northeast.
In trying to arrange for players to stay in the New Haven, Conn.,
area, Welch called names in the phone book that ended in “ian.” She
came across Vazrich and Catherine Mansourian.
“She asked us if we were tennis fans and would we be interested in
hosting some players,” Catherine Mansourian said yesterday from her
Orange, Conn., home. “I said, ‘Are you kidding? My father-in-law was
the national tennis champion of Iran.'”
So the Mansourians, who are Armenian, took in Sargsian and another
player, Tsolak Gevorkian. What started out as something less than a
week’s stay has turned into a 12-year relationship.
“It’s almost impossible to believe,” Catherine said. “But it’s been
an amazing journey.”
The long story short is this. The Mansourians put Gevorkian in high
school and tried to find a college scholarship for Sargsian.
Catherine Mansourian mailed out 24 letters to universities and
Sargsian landed a scholarship at Arizona State. After his junior year
he had back surgery, then came back to win the 1995 NCAA
championship.
That year he got a wild card into his first U.S. Open. After turning
professional, he met Brad Gilbert, then Agassi’s coach. Gilbert
arranged for Sargsian and Agassi, whose father is Armenian, to
practice together before a tournament in San Jose in 1996. They have
been fast friends since. Agassi owns a 6-0 career record against him.
“We talk every day during the [Open],” said Sargsian, who ia ranked
54th in the world and has one victory on the ATP tour. “He calls me
after the matches to congratulate me, to give me advice, to help me
out. He tells me about how to play certain players. He tells me how
to recover from long matches, tells me to take electrolytes. He is a
true friend. He gives from his heart. He means so much to me.”
Another significant presence in his life is his metzpop. That’s
Armenian for grandfather, and Sargsian considers Minas Mansourian,
Vazrich Mansourian’s 101-year-old father, to be his own grandfather.
The Mansourians, including Minas, have been to all of his Open
matches. “They have been so good to me, it is unbelievable story,”
Sargsian said.
It’s a story too good to end now.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 6 2004
TRIPARTITE MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS DUE IN NEW YORK
[September 06, 2004, 15:26:08]
Ministers of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia are
to meet in the course of forthcoming gathering of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York, due on 21 September.
As stated, the parties will focus issues of settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karbakh conflict, the role of Turkey in
the mentioned question, other problems.
Head of the foreign policy department of Azerbaijan will also have
meetings with foreign ministers of other countries.

The Scotsman, UK
Sept 6 2004
Sergey and Lusine Khachatryan
SARAH JONES
QUEEN’S HALL, EDINBURGH
SERGEY Khachatryan, the 18-year-old Armenian violinist, is one of the
most naturally gifted musicians on the international circuit.
Seemingly immune to the more negative associations of hype which
attend young musicians, the sober Khachatryan asserted his class in
this final Queen’s Hall concert of the International Festival through
his trademark refined playing; never mannered, but mature, assured
and of an intense musicianship.
His solo Bach Violin Sonata No 2 in A Minor was steeped in eloquence
and imagination, stamped with his own subtle, contemporary vision.
Likewise the Mozart Sonata for Piano and Violin in E minor, played
with sister Lucine, two years his senior. The two frequently perform
together, and have a perfect awareness of the balance between their
two instruments, subtly enhancing each other’s performance, although
Lucine sometimes overeggs the rubato, impeding the forward momentum.
But Sergey did not seem quite comfortable in the Brahms or Debussy
Sonatas. There were delightful moments in both, but the central
fantasque of the Debussy didn’t quite deliver fantasy and Khachatryan
seemed unsure of its direction.