Month: December 2008

PanARMENIAN.Net

Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East and
Asia disrupted
20.12.2008 14:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Internet and phone communications between Europe,
the Middle East and Asia were severely disrupted Friday after three
undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, France Telecom
said.

"The causes of the cut, which is located in the Mediterranean between
Sicily and Tunisia, on sections linking Sicily to Egypt, remain
unclear," a statement said, while a spokesman said it was unlikely to
have been an attack.

The company said it was sending a boat to fix the lines between Italy
and Egypt but that it would not arrive until Monday and that it could
take until December 31 until normal service was restored.

Most business to business traffic between Europe and Asia was being
rerouted through the United States, the firm said, but regular
communications between Europe and several Asian countries has been
disrupted since early Friday.

Sixty-five per cent of traffic to India was down, while Singapore saw
a 59 percent cut, Malaysia 44 percent, Saudi Arabia 55 percent, Egypt
52 percent, Taiwan 39 percent and Pakistan 51 percent, the AFP
reports.

PanARMENIAN.Net

NKR President, RA FM discuss Karabakh conflict
20.12.2008 14:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ NKR President Bako Sahakyan met Friday with
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian to discuss cooperation
between the Foreign Ministries of the two Armenian states and the
current stage and prospects of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement process, Central Information Department of the Office of
the NKR President told PanARMENIAN.Net.

NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrossyan also attended the meeting.

NKR President meets the Foreign Minister of Armenia

armradio.am
20.12.2008 12:23

On 19 December NKR President Bako Sahakyan met the Foreign Minister of
the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandian.

Issues related to widening of cooperation between the Foreign
Ministries of the two Armenian states, the current stage and prospects
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement were discussed at the
meeting.

NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgy Petrossyan partook at the
meeting.

President of Armenia attended the unofficial summit of Heads of State
in Kazakhstan

armradio.am
20.12.2008 12:33

At the invitation of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev,
the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan visited Kazakhstan to
participate in the unofficial summit of the Heads of State of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization.

The summit, attended by the Presidents of Armenia, the Russian
Federation, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, was held at the
Shuchini-Borovi winter resort near Kokchetau town.

Prior to the opening of the unofficial summit, President Serzh Sargsyan
had a short meeting with the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan
Nazarbaev. At the meeting the two sides hailed the current high level
of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the level of the
political dialogue. The Presidents of the two states underscored the
role of the Armenian-Kazakh Diaspora in strengthening the bilateral
relations.

Serzh Sargsyan and Nursultan Nazarbaev stressed the importance of
further developing the economic relations, noting that the envisaged
new railroads would promote and foster the growth of the trade
turnover.

The unofficial summit of the Heads of state started shortly after the
meeting.

The agenda of the summit comprised issues related to the cooperation in
the framework of the CSTO and the prospects of the organization, global
financial crisis, as well as issues related to the integration
processes in the CIS area.

The President of Armenia, Chairman of the CSTO Council of the Heads of
State, Serzh Sargsyan welcomed the idea to convene the unofficial
summit and noted that the agenda includes issues which were significant
for Armenia. The participants to the summit concurred that interaction
in this format provides a good opportunity to look at the agenda issues
from different points of view and to discuss a wide range of topics.

Azeri captive wants to become citizen of Armenia

armradio.am
20.12.2008 14:14

The Azeri soldier who crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on
October 8 and yielded himself prisoner to the Armenian side declared
that he would like to assume Armenian citizenship. The Azeri captive
stated in an exclusive interview:

`I, Hasanov Rafik Rahman Oghli, was born in 1989 in Yusuvjanli village,
Aghdam region. I currently reside in Seferli village in Aghdam region.

Why did I cross the border? I was humiliated at the 5th battalion of
the brigade #707 located in Ghazakh. I served there for three months,
and then I was glad to be moved to the base station where there would
be nine soldiers and one Officer. I thought the service would be easier
there. However, I was beaten and tortured also at Bazahli base. Unable
to stand it any longer, I decided to shoot at my left foot from the
gun, after which I was taken to hospital. I recovered and returned to
the base station. The commanders continued teasing me comparing me with
a donkey.’

Hasanov applied to Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiyev, asking to carry
out check-up at the 707 brigade.

The captive said he does not wish to return to Azerbaijan where he is
beaten and humiliated. He added that he is treated well in Armenia.
Hasanov declared he will never return to Azerbaijan and said he is
going to become an Armenian citizen.

`I extended greetings to the President of Armenia and the President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and declare that I was a citizen of Azerbaijan
for 19 years. Now I wish to be a citizen of the Republic of Armenia and
will never return to Azerbaijan,’ Hasanov Rafik Rahman Oghli said.

Budapest Business Journal, Hungary
Dec 19 2008

Moody’s issues annual report on Armenia
Friday 8:35, December 19th, 2008

Armenia’s Ba2 government bond ratings and stable outlook are supported
by its manageable debt levels, says Moody’s Investors Service in its
annual report on the country.
The ratings are constrained by the low level of economic and
institutional development of the country, along with its concentrated
economic base and volatile neighborhood.

`Armenia has not been directly affected by the global credit crunch
although second-round effects are now being felt from the compression
of world demand and the difficult conditions in Russia, its primary
trading partner and the source of large diaspora remittances,’ said
Moody’s Associate Vice President Joan Feldbaum-Vidra, Moody’s
sovereign analyst for Armenia.

She said growth is likely to decelerate sharply in the next few years
even as the government moves forward with large public sector
investment projects financed by multilateral funds. The spending on
such projects should help sustain the growth momentum even as the
fiscal deficits are set to shrink.

`The country’s low government debt and minimal refinancing risks are
allowing its rating to maintain a stable outlook in the current
environment,’ said Feldbaum-Vidra. `A weak revenue base is the main
fiscal risk, although it is ameliorated by the very comfortable debt
service profile, its good relations with its official creditors, and
the liquidity provided by the expatriate Armenian community.’

Moody’s reports that Armenia’s economic prospects continue to be
hampered by strained relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, and that
the border between Turkey and Armenia is closed, increasing the cost
of both exports and imports.

`Armenia’s low institutional strength is another constraint on its
ratings,’ said Feldbaum-Vidra. `The authorities are very keen to
address this, recognizing that high levels of corruption and a
suboptimal business climate need to be corrected in order to achieve
long-term sustainable growth and to attract investment.’

Moody’s first-ever ratings for Armenia were assigned in 2006 and
include a Baa3 ceiling to foreign currency bonds and notes and a Ba3
ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits, all with stable
outlooks. (press release)

;id=459 21

PanARMENIAN.Net

Georgia won’t allow compact settlement of Meskhetian Turks in
Samtskhe-Javakhk-Tsalka
20.12.2008 14:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia won’t allow compact settlement of Meskhetian
Turks in Samtskhe-Javakhk-Tsalka to avoid tensions in the
Armenian-Georgian relations and threats to the territorial integrity
of the country, a Georgian expert said.

"Georgia takes into consideration its neighbors’ concerns and acts in
accord with its territorial interests," Ramaz Sakvarelidze said.

For his part, Turkish expert Ufguk Tavkul remarked that the Georgian
authorities, fearing for the country’s territorial integrity, will by
all means prevent return of Meskhetian Turks. "Given the demographic
growth of the repatriates may, they could claim autonomy," he said,
Trend Azeri news agency reports.

A recent statement issued by Mitq analytical center says that the
number of Meskhetian Turks in the region has increased greatly with
the help of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

"The figure has reached 500 thousand. This makes their presence in the
Armenian-inhabited region impossible.

Mass settlements of Turks will cause clashes and escalation of
tensions in the Caucasus.

We call on the Georgian authorities to understand that Armenia’s
blockade any anti-Armenian program imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey
will kill Georgia and lead to unpredictable consequences," says the
statement.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenian, Kazakh Presidents appreciate political dialogue between the
two countries
20.12.2008 15:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Currently in Kazakhstan for an informal summit of
CSTO leaders, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the RA leader’s press office told
PanARMENIAN.Net.

The Presidents appreciated highly the level of political dialogue
between the two countries and praised the Armenian community of
Kazakhstan for strengthening of bilateral relations.

They also attached importance to further development of economic
cooperation and noted that new railway lines will help increase
commodity turnover between Armenia and Kazakhstan

PanARMENIAN.Net

Turkish hackers threaten to crack all Armenian websites
20.12.2008 15:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish hackers have cracked the website where the
apology petition was posted and threatened to crack all Armenian
websites ‘if necessary’, Trend Azeri news agency quoted Turkish
Dunyabulteni.

"Those who spread discrimination in the country will never succeed,"
they said.

Some 15 thousand people have already signed the online public apology
for the Armenian Genocide, which says, "My conscience does not accept
the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe
that befell the Ottoman Armenians in 1915. I reject this injustice and
for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian
brothers. I apologize to them."

Panorama.am

15:11 20/12/2008

FILM ABOUT ARAKS BY ARMENIAN AND TURKISH EXPERTS

A film about `Araks’ river will be produced by Armenian and Turkish
film producers, said the President of `Armenian marketing association’
NGO Aram Navasardyan. According to him the association implements
various projects with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. `Our Turkish
colleagues offered to produce a film about Araks River in the frames
of our cooperation,’ he said.

Nargiz Osturq, a member of film producing group who was also present
at the press conference said that the film will contribute to the
business and cultural cooperation of the two countries. He said that
Turkish media and society are inspired by the film idea.

The director of the film Gevorg Nazaryan told that the script was
written ensemble with the Turkish colleagues. He said that the heroes
of the film are a girl and a boy and the story of two neighbor
countries.

Source: Panorama.am