Month: May 2008

PM Tigran Sargsyan received the EU Special Representative

armradio.am
08.05.2008 12:07

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received the delegation headed by EU
Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby. The
delegation comprised Ms. Silvie Bavelar who is in charge of political
affairs within the EC Delegation in Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to the Republic of Armenia
Serge Smessov, as well as policy advisers to the EU Special
Representative for the South Caucasus.

The Prime Minister briefed the guests on the current tasks and the
challenges posed for Armenia and its newly formed government and
described the steps to be taken for their solution. Among priority
actions, he noted the efforts towards mitigating the impact of
increased commodity prices, improving and reforming tax and customs
administrations, achieving higher efficiency in the fight against
corruption, getting the opposition involved in the execution of the
government program, as well as providing for possibly greater
transparency and publicity in all these processes.

The parties also referred to Armenia-Turkey relations and the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The development of
EU-Armenia cooperation under the European Neighborhood Policy and the
continuation of efforts towards the implementation of the ENP Action
Plan were emphasized on either side.

With reference to the dialog between the authorities and the
opposition, Tigran Sargsyan reiterated his previously stated viewpoint
consisting in that first of all we should have a government of
responsibility, if we wish to have a constructive and responsible
opposition. "We must start from ourselves by taking steps forward in
order to win the trust of our people. I am convinced that our proposals
are better than any other solutions possibly available in Armenia. We
have reached out a hand of cooperation to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
supporters. We cannot wait long as there are many problems and the time
is short, especially as we have already proceeded to action," the Prime
Minister said.

Concerning the March 1 events and the subsequent developments, Tigran
Sargsyan evoked the clearly stated position of the RA President and
stressed that the authorities are interested in an unbiased and
comprehensive investigation thereof.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian sportsmen achieve 7 medals at the uropean Sambo Wrestling
Championship

armradio.am
08.05.2008 12:39

Armenian sportsmen achieved seven medals at the European Sambo
Wrestling Championship held in Tbilisi. Ashot Danielyan (74 kg) became
Vice-Champion of Europe, yielding to the rival in the final and gaining
a silver medal. Armen Mehrabyan (68 kg) of Vanadzor, Hakob Arakelyan
(90 kg) of Yerevan and Ruzanna Sargsyan (48 kg) achieved bronze medals
in the Sport Sambo Tournament. The Armenian Sport Sambo team occupied
the 5th place in the overall standing.

Vahan Bojukyan (100 kg) achieved a silver medal in the Combat Sambo
Tournament. Vahe Otaryan (52 kg) and Arsen Khachatryan (100 kg)
achieved bronze medals. The Armenian Combat Sambo team occupied the 4th
position.

The head coach of the Armenian Sambo tem is Gurgen Sevoyan, the coach
is Hovhannes Khojoyan.

Armenia and Lichtenstein establish diplomatic relations

armradio.am
08.05.2008 14:52

On May 7 RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and the Foreign Minister
of Lichtenstein Rita Kieber-Beck signed a Protocol on establishment of
diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and Lichtenstein.
The signing ceremony was followed by a meeting, during which the
Ministers expressed willingness to develop the interstate ties and
launch cooperation on the international level, in the fields of
economy, culture and science.

The same day Minister Nalbandian met with the Minister for European
Affairs of the Netherlands Frans Timmermans. The interlocutors
discussed a number of issues of bilateral, regional and international
importance. The parties noted that despite the existing ties, the
relations between the two countries need additional impetus and it will
be useful to intensify the communication and reciprocal visits in the
future.

RA Foreign Minister presented to his Dutch counterpart the priorities
of the Armenian Government formed as a result of the presidential
elections, among which he specially noted the deepening of cooperation
with European structures, and intensification of foreign economic
relations. In this context the two Ministers discussed the
opportunities of attracting Dutch investments into a number of spheres
of the Armenian economy, especially agriculture, communication and
transport.

Minister Nalbandian met with OSCE Secretary General

armradio.am
08.05.2008 15:22

On May 7 RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with the OSCE
Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaud. Discussed were issues
connected with the Karabakh conflict settlement, the cooperation with
the OSCE, as well as questions related to the report on the Armenian
presidential elections issued by the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR).

The Armenian Foreign Minister informed the OSCE Secretary General about
his meeting with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov
and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. He noted that Armenia appreciates
the efforts of the Co-Chairs in the direction of settling the issue and
is ready to continue the process on the basis of the proposals the
mediators presented to the parties in Madrid.

Minister Nalbandian noted also that Armenia opposes any steps that may
contradict the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and distort the essence
of the talks.

The Minister expressed appreciation for the level of cooperation with
the OSCE Office in Yerevan, noting that a tradition of close
cooperation has been established between the Armenian side and the
office.

RA Foreign Minister presented the steps of the Armenian political
leadership targeted at establishing public trust and launching dialogue
between different political forces on issues of common concern. He
informed that a working group has been established upon RA President’s
instruction to coordinate the implementation of the suggestions
included in PACE Resolution #1609.

Presidents of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh meet in Stepanakert

armradio.am
08.05.2008 16:13

The Armenian delegation headed by RA President Serzh Sargsyan arrived
in Stepanakert today to participate in the celebrations dedicated to
the Victory Day, the day of formation of the NKR Defense Army and the
anniversary of liberation of Shoushi, President’s Press Office informed
Mediamax.

Today Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with NKR President Bako Sahakyan. A
broad framework of issues of mutual interest was discussed.

RA Foreign Minister appreciates the cooperation with CoE on issues of
human rights

armradio.am
08.05.2008 15:51

On May 7 RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had meetings with the EU
Commissioner for Human Rights Tomas Hammarberg and the President of the
European Court of Human Rights Jean-Paul Costa.

During the meeting with Tomas Hammarberg Edward Nalbandian expressed
appreciation for the level of cooperation with the Council of Europe on
issues of human rights. He noted that the Armenian Government takes
note of the suggestions the EU Commissioner made during his recent
visit to Armenia.

The Minister informed that a working group has been formed upon the
instruction of RA President to coordinate the implementation of the
suggestions included in PACE Resolution #1609. The group has been
instructed to present suggestions on the future steps within a short
period of time.

During the meeting with the President of the European Court of Human
Rights Rights Jean-Paul Costa Minister Nalbandian reconfirmed that
Armenia is ready to continue deepening the cooperation with the
European Court of Human Rights.

The whole Armenian nation was participating in the liberation of
Shoushi

armradio.am
08.05.2008 16:38

Today is the 8th of May. As the fates decree, May became the symbol of
unity and victories of the Armenian nation.

The 8th of May became breaking in the Karabakh war. The liberation of
Shoushi on May 8, 1992 inspired confidence to the Armenian soldiers,
reinforced their belief in their own military victories and made the
liberation of NKR irreversible. Today and tomorrow we celebrate the
days of Victory and peace. During the past 16 years May 8th has been of
dual importance for the Armenian people ` as the day of victory in the
Great Patriotic War and the liberation of Shoushi.

`The whole Armenian nation was participating in the military actions of
liberation of Shoushi. Armenians from Armenia, Artaskh and Diaspora
were participating in the struggle not only with weapons, but also with
moral and material support. There were also Russian volunteers,’
co-author of the `Hrazdan’ military operation, Colonel-General Gurgen
Dalibaltayan said. According to him, in those heroic battles no one was
thinking that he could be killed, although 35 people were killed during
the liberation of Shoushi.

Colonel-General Gurgen Dalibaltayan then occupied the position of the
Chief of General Staff of RA Armed Forces. He considers that if the
possible enemies of the Armenian nation once again try to contact with
the defense forces of our country, they will meet a strong resistance.

`Aggression will be silenced wherever it comes from. The Armenian Armed
Forces are ready to resist any blow, since they have a high level of
operational readiness,’ the Colonel General said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA Deputy FM, EU Special Representative discuss the political situation
in Armenia

armradio.am
08.05.2008 17:22

On May 8 RA Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan received the
Special Representative of the European Union for the South Caucasus
Peter Semneby.

The interlocutors discussed the internal political situation in
Armenia.

The parties noted that it is necessary to undertake all necessary steps
to ensure public concord, underlining that the establishment of
stability in Armenia is the guarantee of the country’s development.

The parties turned to the perspectives of the Karabakh conflict
resolution and the Armenian-Turkish relations.

NA Speaker congratulates the nation on the Day of Victory and Peace

armradio.am
08.05.2008 18:02

Speaker of RA National Asembly Tigran Torosyan issued a congratulatory
message on the occasion of the Day of Victory and Peace.

`Dear compatriots,

I warmly congratulate you on the most beloved and the dearest holiday –
the Day of Victory and Peace.

May 9 is the incarnation of the heroic struggle of three Armenian
generations for freedom and peace, the height of which became the
liberation of Shoushi and whole Artsakh, regaining for the Armenian the
full opportunity to live and create.

Bowing before the memory of the soldiers and commanders that heroically
fell for the sake of this holiday, we have no right to forget that teh
victory was shaped due to unity, sacrifices, devotion and endless love
for Motherland.

Dear compatriots, once again congratulating you, I wish you every
success and victories for the sake of peace, strengthening of our
country and the prosperity and happiness of our people.’

Galust Sahakyan: Levon Ter-Petrosyan had a certain task but he did not
manage to fulfill it fully and now he will leave the political field

2008-05-08 16:03:00

ArmInfo. Deputy Chairman of the RPA Galust Sahakyan assessed Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s speech at the second Congress of Armenian pan-national
movement as a "step-back", he said at the press-conference in Pastarq
club.

He also added that "step-back" is when a person takes a part of blame.
Sahakyan thinks that in future the opposition will start new actions as
an artificial protest cannot last long. He also said that Ter-Petrosyan
is going to leave. ‘Levon Ter-Petrosyan had a certain task but he did
not manage to fulfill it fully and now he will leave the political
field’, – he said and added that at the moment strategy of the first
president has changed.