Month: June 2009

ARMENIA, SYRIA INTERESTED IN EXPANDING COOPERATION

armradio.am
02.06.2009 17:46

President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Foreign Minister of the
Arabic Republic of Syria, Walid Al-Moualem.

According to President Sargsyan, Armenia attaches great importance
to the development of relations and expansion of cooperation with
Syria and its friendly people. Noting that many remember the visit of
Syria’s President Hafes Al-Assad to Armenia 30 years ago, President
Sargsyan said the President of the Arab Republic of Syria, Bashar
Al-Assad was going to arrive in Armenia in a fortnight. The Armenian
President and the Syrian Foreign Minister agreed that the visit would
open a new page in the relations between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister of Syria attached importance to the
intensification of the political dialogue between the two countries
and the deepening of cooperation in different fields, specially
emphasizing the necessity of expansion of trade-economic ties.

The interlocutors dwelt on issues of stability and security in the
South Caucasus, stressing the importance of solving the existing
problems through negotiations. President Sargsyan welcomed the balanced
position of Syria on sensitive issues of our region.

Walid Al-Moualem presented the process of settlement of the problems
existing in the Middle East.

YEREVAN ELECTIONS IN LINE WITH EUROPEAN STANDARDS: OBSERVERS

/ARKA/
June 1, 2009
YEREVAN

The Yerevan city Council elections were in line with European
standards, said Nigel Mermagen, head of the monitoring group from
the CE Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

He said the CE observers hailed the transparent polls on Sunday.

According to the preliminary results, the Republican Party of Armenia
received 190,171 votes (47.39%) followed by coalition Prospering Party
of Armenia with 91,141 votes (22.71%) and the oppositional Armenian
National Congress that obtained 69,871 votes (17.41%).

The votes received by the remaining parties were below the 7% level
and are not to be considered for the seats in the City Council.

Orinats Yerkir party received 20,959 votes (5.22%), Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun – 18,648 votes (4.65%),
People’s Party – 8,569 votes (2.14%), People’s Socialistic Party of
Armenia – 1,951 votes (0.49%).

Out of 771,477 electors 412,464 participated in the vote. The Yerevan
City Council elections were scheduled for May 31.

ARMBUSINESSBANK (ARMENIA) REPLENISHES AUTHORIZED CAPITAL

/ARKA/
June 1, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 1. /ARKA/. Armbusinessbank has replenished its authorized
capital with 3.05bln AMD. A relevant decision was made at the annual
stockholders’ meeting.

As of June 1, 2009, Armbusinessbank’s authorized capital was 8.05bln
AMD (16,100 ordinary shares with a face value of 500,000 AMD).

Among the principal stockholders of the bank are Christie Management
(56.52% or 9,100 shares), Alfa Garant (insurance) (21.74% or 3,500
shares), Ukrprombank (banking) (21.74% or 3,500 shares).

The Armbusinessbank CJSC (Arminvestbank until August 26, 2006) was
incorporated on December 10, 1991.

ARMBUSINESSBANK (ARMENIA) OFFERS NEW DEPOSIT

/ARKA/
June 1, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 1. /ARKA/. From June 1, Armbusinessbank (Armenia) offer
a new fixed deposit, "Supper-2009". According to the information
available on the bank’s official website the annual interest rate
for AND deposits is 4% to 11%, for USD deposits, 1.5% up to 10%
and for EUR deposits, 1.5% up to 8.5%.

The period of deposit is 7-1,095 days, with no maintenance margin
requirement set.

The deposit can be replenished without any restrictions except for
the last 30 days before the deposit period expires.

The Summer-2009 deposit will be effective until 31, 2009. The
Armbusinessbank CJSC (Arminvestbank until August 26, 2006) was
incorporated on December 10, 1991. In 2006, Ukrprombank (Kiev)
purchased 35% of the bank’s shares, Alfa Garant insurance company
(Ukraine) purchased 35% and the Christie Management, 30%.

As of March 31, 2009, Armbusinessbank’s assets totaled 46.3bln AMD,
liabilities 39.5bln AMD, total capital 6.8bln AMD, with its authorized
capital being 5bln AMD, credit investments 26.4bln AMD, liabilities
to clients 23.9bln AMD.

The bank also provides fixed and call deposits for individuals and
legal entities.

DIAMOND AND JEWELRY EXCHANGE TO BE SET UP IN ARMENIA

/ARKA/
June 2, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 2. /ARKA/. A diamond and jewelry exchange is to be
set up in Armenia, head of trade and market efficiency department of
Armenian Ministry of Economy Gagik Kocharyan told a press conference at
"Novosti" International press center.

The exchange is to operate within a free trade zone to be established
at Zvartnots airport, he said.

Kocharyan said that both raw and cut diamonds, as well as jewelry
produced in Armenia, are to be sold on the exchange.

Creating of a diamond and jewelry exchange in Yerevan will give
Armenia an opportunity to play a serious role in the region, to
attract various world market participants to Armenia and to ensure
jewelry sales inside the country, Kocharyan said.

He also pointed out that implementation of this idea may require quite
much time as necessary raw materials base and respective infrastructure
need to be established.

"Armenia needs to get well prepared not to disappoint the market and
to provide a wide range of products in terms of kinds and quality to
ensure the respective permanent demand for the produce," Kocharyan
said.

The project will be implemented in close cooperation with the private
sector.

The necessity of creating a diamond exchange in the country was first
raised back in 2003 by representatives of jewelry sector as lack of
the exchange impeded t he activities of jewelry companies.

According to the market participants, the exchange could be formed
only through large financial investments that were impossible from
internal sources and were expected to be received from the Armenian
communities abroad.

THE KREMLIN ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO THE VERY FACT OF THE UPCOMING MEETING OF THE ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS

ArmInfo
2009-06-02 14:45:00

The Kremlin attaches importance to the very fact of the upcoming
meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents at the Economic
Forum in Saint Petersburg, as well as to continuation of the dialogue
on the Karabakh conflict settlement and confirmation of Russia’s
mediation in this process, Natalya Timakova, Russian President’s
Spokeswoman told media, Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reports.

PETER SEMNEBY: NORMALIZATION OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS AND NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT ARE DIFFERENT PROCESSES

ArmInfo
2009-06-02

ArmInfo. EU Special Representative to South Caucasus Peter Semneby
said in an interview with ANS-PRESS that opening of borders in the
South Caucasus will enable to achieve stability, security and new
dynamics in the region. He said their intention is open borders and
transport roads for development of the whole economic potential region.

P. Semneby emphasized that normalization of the Turkish-Armenian
relations and the process of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement are
different processes which affect each other. According to P. Semneby,
they should use the possible positive moments in both processes.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PETER SEMNEBY SHARES OPTIMISM OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

ArmInfo
2009-06-02 14:40:00

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby told
ANS- PRESS that the negotiations for settlement of the Karabakh
conflict have been intensified. He shared OSCE Minsk Group’s hopes
that the upcoming meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents is a
new opportunity to bring the stands of the conflicting parties closer.

P. Semneby said that to achieve agreement between Azerbaijan and
Armenia on the basis of the Madrid principles within the nearest
future, the EU relies on the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group. However,
alongside with this, there is still unused potential that may help
settling the conflict i.e. the Eastern Partnership program that will
give the EU more opportunities to help settling the conflict. One of
the four regional platforms created as part of this program implies
establishment of ties between people, Peter Semneby said.

ARMENIAN HISTORIAN USED WORD ‘TURKS’ MEANING AZERBAIJANIS

ArmInfo
2009-06-02 13:58:00

Ashot Melkonyan, Director of History Institute at the Armenian
National Academy of Science, has recently used the word ‘Turks’
at a press conference meaning Azerbaijanis. Melkonyan told ArmInfo
that the agency confused Azerbaijanis with Turks and created an
unpleasant situation. To recall, on May 27 Melkonyan said at a press
conference that in case Azerbaijani Armed Forces attack Armenia
from the direction of Nakhijevan, Russian frontiers will drop to
the rear up to Artashat. This information, Melkonyan said, is based
on relevant statements of Russian officers he met personally. The
historian said officers did not speak of Turks. ArmInfo refrains from
apologies for incorrect interpretation since it is not sure that the
historian used the word ‘Azerbaijanis’ and not ‘Turks’ especially
that historian-scientists not professionals in the international
policy often use these words as synonyms.

MEMBER OF ELECTION COMMITTEE AND VOTER FROM 8TH PRECINCT DETAINED ON SUSPICION OF FALSIFICATION OF RESULTS OF ELECTION FOR COUNCIL OF ELDERS

ArmInfo
2009-06-02 13:06:00

Member of the election committee of 8/05 precinct Norayr Yeghiazaryan
and voter of the same precinct Armen Ohanyan have been detained on
suspicion of falsification of the results of May 31 election for
the Council of Elders of Yerevan, Special Investigation Service of
Armenia told ArmInfo.

To recall, information on violations and falsifications in the election
precinct N8 was published in the mass media, in particular, in A1+,
‘Hetk’, ‘Lragir’, as well as at some websites. Moreover, the election
precincts 05, 08, 09, 21, 24 were also mentioned. A criminal case has
been launched on the fact of violations on Article 150 of Armenia’s
Criminal Code. The case is in charge of the Special Investigation
Service.