GOLDEN TELECOM SAYS NO PLANS TO BUY ARMENTEL’S FIXED-LINE BUSINESS

Prime-Tass Business News Agency, Russia
November 8, 2006 Wednesday 7:25 PM EET

U.S.-registered telecommunications operator Golden Telecom, which has
key operations in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS), does not plan to buy the fixed-line business of Armenia’s
ArmenTel from Russia’s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom,
Golden Telecom’s CEO Jean-Pierre Vandromme said during a conference
call Wednesday.

On November 3, VimpelCom said that it had signed an agreement
to acquire a 90% stake in fixed-line and mobile service provider
ArmenTel. ArmenTel’s subscriber base includes approximately 600,000
fixed-line subscribers and 400,000 GSM subscribers.

Following the deal’s announcement, market analysts suggested that
VimpelCom may sell ArmenTel’s fixed-line business to Golden Telecom.

Russia’s Altimo and Norway’s Telenor are key shareholders in both
VimpelCom and Golden Telecom.