Month: November 2009

ARMENIA WOULD WELCOME REOPENING OF UPPER LARS CHECKPOINT

armradio.am
05.11.2009 11:12

The Georgian and Russian parties have been repeatedly making statements
about the negotiations on the possible reopening of the Upper Lars
– Kazbegi checkpoint. Asked to clarify whether the Armenian side
participates in the talks, Head of the Media Relations Department of
the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tigran Balayan said:

"Armenia’s position on the issue is clear, and we have repeatedly
declared about it. Of course, we would welcome the agreement between
the Russian and Georgian parties to reopen the Upper Lars – Kazbegi
checkpoint."

MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS VISIT BAKU

armradio.am
05.11.2009 13:01

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Bernard
Fassier (France), as well as Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk arrived in Baku. US co-chair
Robert Bradtke arrived in Azerbaijan three days ago, APA reports

The Co-Chairs will meet with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov and discuss the process
of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The mediators are expected to propose to the Azerbaijani President to
meet with his Armenian counterpart again. Following the presidents’
meeting on October 8 in Chisinau, the mediators said they would
organize next meeting of the presidents in the near future.

BUDGET OF SURVIVAL: THE ASSESSMENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Lena Badeyan

"Radiolur"
05.11.2009 14:28

Discussions of the State Budget for Fiscal Year 2010 continued today at
the Standing Committees of the National Assembly. This morning the MPs
listened to Human Rights Defender Armen Harutyunyan. The draft budget
for FY2010 envisages 125 million AMD for the Human Rights Defender’s
Office, which is 10 millions less as compared to allocations of the
current year.

Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan characterized the draft budget as a
"budget of survival" although he said he understands that it’s a
result of the global financial-economic crisis.

Armen Harutyunyan complained today that the flow of cadres from the
Ombudsman’s Office continues because of cuts in salaries. Harutyunyan
pointed out that the office has a 47-member staff, with only 28 of
them being experts. Over the past two years, 50% of the experts have
quitted because of low salaries.

SITTING OF THE ARMENIA-S INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE HELD IN WASHINGTON

armradio.am
05.11.2009 14:50

The recurrent sitting of the Armenia-US Intergovernmental Committee
was held at the US Department of State on November 3. The Armenian
delegation was headed by Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan.

The delegation comprised Chairman of the State Revenue Committee
Gagik Khachatryan, Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan, Armenian
Ambassador to the US Tatul Margaryan, Deputy Minister of Finance Vardan
Aramyan, Deputy Minister of Justice Emil Babayan, other officials.

The American side was co-chaired by Daniel Rosenblum, Coordinator
of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. Opening speeches were
delivered by õ.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Tina Kaidanov
and US Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch.

During the sitting discussed were issues related to the improvement
of the business atmosphere in Armenia, fighting corruption, questions
related to the reforms in the systems of democracy and governance. The
Armenian delegation presented the achievements of the fields and
introduced the future deeds.

The parties signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of science
and technologies, which will promote the cooperation between the two
countries in the fields of information technologies, intellectual
property and fundamental sciences.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE DELEGATION HEADED BY PM TIGRAN SARGSYAN VISITS THE US

Arminfo
05.11.2009 15:11

The delegation headed by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan left for the
United Sates on a working visit to participate in the ArmTech-2009
business congress.

The Armenian delegation comprises the Head of Staff of the Government
of the Republic of Armenia, David Sargsyan, Minister of Economy Nerses
Yeritsyan, members of staff of the government and the ministries,
other officials.

On the first day of the visit Tigran Sargsyan had a meeting with
the President of the Lincy Foundation Jay Rakow and Vice-President
Harut Sassounian. The interlocutors discussed issues related to the
cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and the Lincy Foundation.

The ArtmTech 2009 high technologies congress will take place in San
Jose, the center of the Silicon Valley.

ORANGE COMES TO ARMENIA
Hasmik Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
05.11.2009 15:32

Orange Armenia, a third cell operator, entered the Armenian market
today. The company promises an investment of about 100 million Euros,
300 jobs, networks of shops in Yerevan and marzes.

"Opening of an office in every country is a new birth for us," said
Didier Lombard, President of the Orange Company. According to him,
Orange chose Armenia as a target, because France enjoys "special ties"
with Armenia.

"There is a large Armenian community in France, and this played an
essential role for our establishment in Armenia," he said.

Orange is a brand of France Telecom Company. It’s one of the top ten
cell operators of the world, which has 189 million subscribers in
31 countries.

NATO SUPPORTS THE PROCESS OF ARMENIA-TURKEY NORMALIZATION

armradio.am
05.11.2009 16:36

Secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia Arthur
Baghdasaryan received the Special Representative of NATO Secretary
General in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert Simmons.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the accomplishment of the
Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan. Arthur Baghdasaryan
presented the work done towards implementation of the program.

Attaching importance to the deepening of cooperation with European
and Euro-Atlantic structures and establishments, Arthur Baghdasaryan
informed that in line with the Armenia-NATO IPAP, reforms are
implemented in the fields of defense, justice, emergency situations,
healthcare, and the activity of the law-enforcement bodies.

The parties emphasized the importance of further deepening of
Armenia-NATO cooperation in the establishment of a crisis-management
center, guaranteeing the security of borders, creation of necessary
infrastructures, fighting terrorism and organized crime.

Robert Simmons approved of the process of accomplishment of the IPAP
and positively assessed the achievements.

Reference was made to regional issues. Robert Simmons said NATO
supports the process of normalization of the Armenian Turkish relations
and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group towards settlement of the
Karabakh issue.

RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN: KARABAKH ISSUE RELATED TO ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS, BUT IT’S NO MORE A PRECONDITION
Anna Nazaryan

"Radiolur"
05.11.2009 17:17

"In the Armenian-Turkish relations we see a new stage of moving from
protocols to parliaments. This is more than football diplomacy. This
is now American football diplomacy, which is a contact sport. It’s
more violent and the rules are slightly different," Director of
the Armenian Center for National and International Studies Richard
Giragosian said at today’s briefing on the "Armenian-Turkish Diplomacy
& Nagorno Karabagh: Deal or No Deal?"

According to him, there are new demands coming from Turkish side
over Nagorno Karabakh. There are new series of tests and challenges
from Turkey on Armenia. These are Turkish tests not only of Armenian
reaction, but also of the international community, he said.

"The Karabakh issue is of greater significance in the context of
Armenian-Turkish relations. There are constant demands from Turkey and
the US over Nagorno Karabakh. The replacement of Matthew Bryza with
a new OSE Minsk Group Co-Chair was a significant return to earlier
US policy, where the Co-Chairman from the United States had no other
portfolio or responsibility. This was US policy until 2004. This
is a demonstration of US policy of greater significance of Nagorno
Karabakh. It also reflects the greater significance of the Minsk
Group itself," Richard Giragosian said.

Giragosian does not expect the Turkish parliament to do anything
regarding the protocols until early next year more specifically
February or March. "This is, of course, connected with the 95th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24th. This is risky,
because Armenian patience is not infinite. Expectations on Turkey
are very high. The constant message from Brussels and Washington is
that Turkey must fulfill its obligations in a reasonable timeframe,"
he said.

ACNIS Director considers that we are going to see a new calendar
regarding the Minsk Group and Nagorno Karabakh, starting in Moldova
and moving to Athens, where the OSCE Ministerial Council is going to
meet on December 1 and 2. The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
are also set to meet there with a long-term goal of forging progress
on Karabakh by January.

The Nagorno Karabakh issue is related to Armenian-Turkish diplomacy.

But the most significant is that is no more directly related. It’s no
longer a precondition or a prerequisite for Armenian-Turkish diplomacy,
and it should not be allowed to return as a precondition.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE STATUS OF KARABAKH AT THE CORE OF NEGOTIATIONS
Siranush Muradyan

"Radiolur"
05.11.2009 17:40

Today the negotiations focus on the status of Nagorno Karabakh,
the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, declared at
the National Assembly today. According to him, no other issues are
discussed, because the status and security of Nagorno Karabakh are
of primary importance for the Armenian side.

"I’m using the word ‘security’ in a broader sense," the Minister said.

According to him, it means a land link between Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh and not only.

According to Minister Nalbandian, the conflict should be solved in
a peaceful way on the basis of the Madrid Principles. "However, it’s
a long process, and no solution should be expected within the coming
3-4 month," Edward Nalbandian said.

ARMENIA, NATO WILLING TO UPHOLD COOPERATION

armradio.am
05.11.2009 18:08

On November 5 the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian,
received the Special Representative of NATO Secretary General in the
South Caucasus and Central Asia, Robert Simmons.

Greeting the guest, Minister Nalbandian noted that Armenia attaches
importance to the mutually beneficial cooperation with NATO and intends
to reinforce it by paying special attention to the implementation of
the Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan.

Edward Nalbandian stressed that Armenia would uphold the cooperation
within the framework of NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Council,
as well as in the directions of peacekeeping, fighting international
terrorism, elimination of natural disaster results, etc.

Robert Simmons, in turn, attached importance to the development of
cooperation with Armenia and said NATO rates highly the cooperation
with our country. He expressed hope that the IPAP for 2009-2010 would
also be successfully implemented. The NATO representatives approved
Armenia’s contribution to international peacekeeping efforts.

Robert Simmons welcomed the progress in the process of normalization
of the Armenian-Turkish relations, underlining that NATO greets the
efforts targeted at the establishment of normal relations between
Armenia and Turkey.