Month: May 2008

Armenian and Azerbaijani FM meet in Strasbourg

2008-05-07 10:07:00

ArmInfo. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan, being in
Strasbourg for participation in the118th session of CE Ministerial
Committee, met Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov,
according to the preliminary agreement.

As RA FM Information and Press Department told ArmInfo today, the
meeting was held in the permanent representation of France in the
Council of Europe. According to the message, a meeting with OSCE MG
co-chairs Bernard Fassier (France), Matthew Bryza (USA), Yuri
Merzliakov (Russia) and Personal Representative of OSCE Chair-in-Office
Andrzej Kasprzyk was held after the meeting the two countries
ministers. Upon completion of the meeting, E. Nalbandyan told
journalists that the ministerial meeting was of fact-finding nature,
the parties exchanged opinions regarding Karabakh conflict settlement,
presented their countries’ approaches and agreed to go on with
negotiations. The ministers will introduce the results of discussions
to the presidents and the latters will make a decision on further
actions.

Ministers Nalbandian and Mammadyarov agree to continue the talks

armradio.am
07.05.2008 10:32

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov at Permanent Representation of France at
the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The meeting later continued in an
enlarged format, featuring the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Bernard
Fassier (France), Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Matthew Bryza (USA) and
the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej
Kasprzyk.

Following the meeting Edward Nalbandian told reporters that the meeting
of the Ministers of familiarization nature. The interlocutors exchanged
views on the Karabakh process, presented the approached of their
countries and agreed to continue the negotiations. The Ministers will
present the results of the discussions to the Presidents and the
Presidents will decide on the future action.

Before that Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office. Issues connected with continuing the talks on the
basis of the proposals presented by the Co-Chairs. Highly appreciating
the activity and efforts of the Co-Chairs, Edward Nalbandian expressed
the willingness of the Armenian side to continue the negotiations to
find solutions.

Georgia pulls out of air defense treaty with Russia

20:33 | 05/ 05/ 2008

TBILISI, May 5 (RIA Novosti) – Georgia has formally notified Russia
that it is withdrawing from a bilateral air defense cooperation treaty,
a Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

The treaty was signed between the two countries’ defense ministries on
April 19, 1995.

Tbilisi’s move comes after two Georgian reconnaissance planes were
allegedly shot down over the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia’s
airspace on Sunday.

Irakli Torondzhadze, director of the Foreign Ministry Russia
Department, handed Andrei Smag, Russia’s envoy to Georgia, official
notice.

A Georgian deputy defense minister said his country had seen no
practical benefit from the treaty with Russia.

"Georgia has long stopped participating in any defense or
military-technical cooperation programs within the CIS," Batu Kutelia
said, adding he hoped the Russian side would treat the announcement
"with understanding."

Russia’s Embassy in Tbilisi confirmed that it had received formal
notice from Georgia.

Embassy press attache Alexander Savinov said the note "has been
transferred to Moscow via official channels," but that "no instructions
have been received from Moscow yet."

Asked whether the note had set out the reasons for Georgia’s decision
to withdraw from the agreement, he said: "At this stage we are not in a
position to comment."

The CIS unified air defense system includes Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
and Ukraine.

Georgia previously withdrew from the CIS Defense Ministers Council
although it formally remained in the CIS unified air defense system.

Abkhazia said earlier on Monday its air defense forces had detected
another Georgian reconnaissance plane, but decided not to engage it.

"Although we downed two drones yesterday, today our [Abkhaz] radars
picked up another surveillance drone… which flew from the direction
of Georgia," Defense Minister Merab Kishmariya told RIA Novosti adding
that the unmanned aerial vehicle remained over Abkhazian territory for
10 minutes, but the decision was made not to shoot it down.

Russia’s foreign minister said Moscow is extremely concerned over
Georgia’s course to resolve its conflicts with breakaway republics by
military force.

"This course unfortunately undermines all agreements, primarily those
regarding the settlement of the Georgian-South Ossetian and
Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts," he said.

Issues of Armenia ` Council of Europe cooperation discussed in Strasbourg

armradio.am
07.05.2008 12:56

On May 6 in Strasbourg RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had
meetings with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry
Davis, and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe Lluà – s Maria de Puig.

During the meetings the parties appreciated the close cooperation
between the Council of Europe and Armenia, stressing the importance of
the dialogue with Armenia in the direction of deepening democracy and
reinforcing the rule of law. In this regard Minister Nalbandian
specially praised the cooperation between PACE and the Armenian
delegation to PACE, which was recently reflected during the discussions
on the activity of the democratic institutions in Armenia at the spring
session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The
Foreign Minister noted the provisions of the resolution are in the
focus of attention of RA authorities.

Edward Nalbandian informed the interlocutors that a working group has
been created to coordinate the accomplishment of the proposals included
in PACE Resolution #1609. The Minister noted that the political
coalition of Armenia has already come forth with a statement, where it
expresses willingness to implement the reforms envisaged by the
pre-election platforms, the coalition agreement, the government
program, PACE Resolution #1609, which particularly refer to the
expansion of opportunities of the opposition’s activity in the
political system, raise of the public trust in electoral processes,
reinforcement of the freedom of speech and mass media activity,
coordination of the judicial system with European standards. The
reforms to be implemented should contribute to the stable development
of democratic institutions in Armenia and ensuring the rule of law. The
Foreign Minister underlined that this will be done not only for the
purpose of meeting the commitments before the Council of Europe, but
also because it is the reasonable choice of the Armenian people.

Edward Nalbandian presented to the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe the state of the negotiations on the Karabakh conflict
settlement. He reconfirmed the willingness of Armenia to continue the
current process based on the suggestions of the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs introduced to the parties during the Ministerial Conference
in Madrid. The Armenian Foreign Minister noted that it provides an
opportunity to register progress in the direction of conflict
resolution, if the parties refrain from steps that can hinder the
talks. To reach tangible progress in the negotiations it is necessary
to establish an atmosphere of trust.

Issues of Armenia-Council of Europe cooperation were discussed also
during the meeting with the Ambassadors ` members of the Ago Group.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Total Capital of Armenian Banks Grows 6% in One Quarter

YEREVAN, May 6. /ARKA/. Total capital of Armenian banks increased by
10,366.8mln AMD or 6% in the 1st quarter of 2008 reaching 181,943.6mln
AMD as of March 31. The data is provided in the Central Bank’s short
review of the activities of Armenian banks during the first three
months of 2008.

Authorized capital of Armenian banking system increased 4.2%
(4,850.2mln AMD) and totaled 121,336.7mln AMD. Share of non-residents
in the total capital of Armenian banks grew 27.6mln in the given period
and totaled 63,329.6mln AMD. Share of non-residents in the authorized
capital of the country’s banking system was 52.19% against 54.34%
recorded at the start of the year.

As of March 31, 2008, the share of core reserve funds in the capital of
the banks was 5,880.3mln AMD ` a 1.4% growth. Profits accumulated on
the capital accounts of commercial banks totalled 44,195.4mln AMD
against 38,692.7mln AMD recorded at the beginning of the year.

The running period profit is 5,914.7mln AMD.

The analysis of ARKA News Agency shows the following five banks have
the greatest total capital in Armenia – ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank,
(22.2bln AMD), VTB Bank Armenia (21.4bln AMD), Ardshininvestbank
(19.8bln AMD) HSBC Bank Armenia (12.6bln AMD), and Conversebank
(11.6bln AMD).

As far as the authorized capital showing is concerned (capital surplus
excluded) Ardshininvestbank is the leader (13.8bln AMD), followed by
VTB Bank Armenia (13.78bln AMD), ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank (10.27bln
AMD) Promotey Bank (7.2bln AMD) and Armimpexbank, which grew its
capital 3.2-fold in one quarter ` from 4.4bln AMD to 6.4bln AMD.

As of March 31, 2008, 22 banks with 358 branches were operating in
Armenia. ($1 ` 306.95 AMD). `0′

Leading article: A human tragedy, but good may come of it
Tuesday, 6 May 2008

The official death toll from the cyclone that smashed through western
Burma at the weekend was last night put at more than 10,000. Road and
rail links, not good at the best of times, have been disrupted or
destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people are in desperate need of
shelter and clean water. Last night – two full days after the disaster
– the Burmese foreign minister went on television to say that the
government was prepared to accept international help.
That it was the foreign minister, with the prime minister beside him,
who eventually announced that foreign aid would be accepted may
suggest a tussle between the forces in Burma that look outwards, to
however limited a degree, and those who look stubbornly inward. In the
administrative paralysis that followed the protests by Buddhist monks
late last year, it was the inward-looking generals who won. The
demonstrations were broken up by force; monks were deported en masse
from their monasteries to the countryside. The junta brutally
reasserted its control.
If Burma’s rulers have accepted that this disaster is too big for the
country to handle on its own, and that relieving the suffering of
their stricken people should take precedence over their hermit
instincts, this is progress of a kind. The decision to open the
country a crack is still progress, even if the response is born of
fear for the regime’s survival. An inadequate response to a natural
disaster can spell danger to those in charge.
There have been times, though, when some real good has come of such
aid efforts, when dire need has forced open not just the doors of
government ministries, but minds of closed societies as well. Chilly
relations between Greece and Turkey warmed almost overnight when
Greece became the first country to offer assistance to Turkey after
the catastrophic earthquakes of August 1999.
They warmed further when Turkey reciprocated after the Athens
earthquake the following month.
And in December of 1988, the Armenian earthquake prompted the then
Soviet foreign minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, to break with 70 years
of Soviet practice and throw the stricken region open to foreign aid
agencies. The outpouring of international goodwill that followed
benefited not only the victims, but the image of the Soviet
government.
The Burmese junta might reflect that opening up also holds
dangers. The response to the Armenian earthquake helped usher in the
greater openness that contributed three years later to the Soviet
Union’s collapse. A more productive conclusion would be that a closed
dictatorship is an anomaly in the modern world and that today’s
reluctant opening should be a prelude to change.

©independent.co.uk

PanARMENIAN.Net

RA FM stressed importance of confidence building between Karabakh
conflict sides
06.05.2008 12:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is a dire necessity to build
confidence between parties to the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict, Armenia’s Foreign Minister said.

`It’s also important to emphasize that the conflict
can be resolved via peaceful talks only,’ Edward
Nalbandian said after a meeting with his French
counterpart Bernard Kouchner.

`Tomorrow I am meeting Elmar Mammadyarov, the Foreign
Minister of Azerbaijan, and I am hopeful that
constructive dialog will be continued,’ the Minister
said, RA MFA press office reported.

12,000 Reality Alienation Deals Signed in Armenia 1st Q

YEREVAN, May 6. /ARKA/. 12,495 deals on realty alienation were signed
in Armenia in Jan-March 2008 ` a 3.3% decrease as compared to the
corresponding period of last year. The data are provided by the RA
State Cadastre Committee.

84.2% of all the deals were sale-and-purchase ones with 14.8% on
granted and 0.9% on exchanged realty. 30.9% deals were signed on realty
in Yerevan with 32.2% on flats in multi-apartment houses. –0′

Scheme for implementing tourism development concept to be worked out in
Armenia soon

YEREVAN, May 7. /ARKA/. The program of measures to be taken for
implementation of tourism development concept is to be worked out in
Armenia soon, Armenian Economy Minister Nerses Yeritsyan said Tuesday
at the second forum on tourism.

Currently the ministry is expecting proposals from the private sector
to establish main directions and objectives of the program, the
Minister said. He stressed that the strategy shows the political will
of the government, but serious efforts of all involved businessmen are
required to implement the strategy.

On February 13 2008 Armenian Government adopted tourism development
concept for up to the year 2030. The concept provides for development
of target tourism markets, formation of tourist clusters for certain
cultural and historic sights of Armenia, creation of industrial
business-centers outside Yerevan.

According to the ministry, 450,000 tourists will visit Armenia by the
end of the year, which will constitute 20% of the growth in the sector.

According to the statistics, average annual growth of tourist visits
has been 25% since 2001.

318,000 and 381,000 tourists visited Armenia in 2005 and 2006
respectively. During 5-7 years Armenia intends to bring the number of
tourist visits up to 1mln per year. `0–

PanARMENIAN.Net

Kosachev: Georgia’s quitting CIS anti-missile defense system insignificant
06.05.2008 14:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Georgian Foreign Ministry addressed a note to
the Russian diplomatic mission to inform of its breaking off the
bilateral agreement on cooperation in the anti-missile defense system
concluded on April 19, 1995.

The move followed the shooting down of two Georgian unmanned aircrafts
over the territory of Abkhazia. Meanwhile, Russia accused official
Tbilisi of aggravating tensions in the conflict zone where flights of
warplanes are forbidden.

Earlier, Georgia had seceded from the Council of CIS Defense
Ministers, formally remaining within the unified CIS anti-missile
defense system.

Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said that secession is
conditioned by Georgia’s aspiration to NATO.

`The Georgia-NATO agreement on date exchange and airspace control
conflicts with the commitments Georgia undertook to the CIS. Georgia
announced its political line envisaging no participation in CS
military events and we are hopeful that Russia will treat our decision
with understanding,’ he said.

Deputy Secretary of United Russia party’s general council, chairman of
State Duma committee on external relations Konstantin Kosachev that
actually Georgia’s secession is insignificant. This country just tries
to gain political dividends,’ he said, United Russia party’s website
says.

The CIS anti-missile defense system brings together Armenia, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and
Ukraine.