Month: September 2013

MEETING WITH THE MEMBERS OF ARMENIA-USA FRIENDSHIP GROUP

17.09.2013

On September 17 the delegation led by John Perez, Speaker of the U.S.

California District Assembly met with members of Armenia-USA Friendship
Group Galust Sahakyan, Vardan Oskanyan, Ruzanna Muradyan, Artur
Gevorgyan and Khachatur Kokobelyan.

Welcoming the guests’ visit to Armenia Galust Sahakyan highlighted the
friendly relations of the U.S. State of California and Armenia, their
further deepening. In his word, the warm attitude of Armenia towards
the U.S. State of California is also conditioned by the presence of
the Armenians who settled in that state after the Armenian Genocide
and enjoyed warm human attitude. He expressed conviction that being
in Armenia the American colleagues would be able to get acquainted
with Armenian culture, expand their picture about Armenia and Armenian
people. Mr Sahakyan highlighted the deepening of political, economic,
cultural ties between Armenia and the USA. He thanked them for the
decisions on recognizing the NKR independence by some states of
the USA.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the issues of
the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the settlement of the NK
conflict, the protection of human rights, further rapprochement and
development of bilateral relations.

RA NA SPEAKER HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN RECEIVES THE SPEAKER OF THE U.S. CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY DISTRICT JOHN PEREZ

17.09.2013

On September 17 the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan received the
delegation led by John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District
Assembly who arrived in Armenia on an official visit.

Welcoming the guests and highlighting their visit to Armenia
the RA NA Speaker expressed conviction that it would greatly
boost the enlivening and deepening of existing relations between
Armenia and California. “I am glad that I host the delegation of
the legislative body of California being the Motherland of one of
the biggest economically most powerful and biggest community of the
Armenian Diaspora of the United States of America, where are also
legislators of Armenian origin Khacho Achajian and Adrin Nazarian,”
Hovik Abrahamyan noted. He mentioned with satisfaction that since
independence the Armenian-American relations have distinguished with
high level of political contacts and today also those relations are of
upward development. Highly assessing the Armenian-American cooperation
in different levels the NA Speaker emphasized the expansion of
inter-parliamentary relations in the context of bilateral cooperation.

“Today the parliamentary diplomacy has a big role not only in the
development of multilateral, but also inner-state relations,” the NA
Speaker said. By Hovik Abrahamyan’s conviction, the cooperation of
the RA National Assembly and California Assembly District will turn
into cooperation with multilateral format.

Thanking for warm reception the Speaker of the U.S. California
District Assembly expressed conviction that their visit would promote
the deepening of bilateral cooperation in different directions, the
activation and development of inter-parliamentary relations. He deemed
important the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the
spheres of economy, culture, science, education and other spheres
between California and Armenia. Mr Perez highly assessed the role
of the Armenian community in the political, economic, cultural and
scientific-educational life of California.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the settlement
of the NK problem, the Armenian-Turkish relations, regional external
political developments. Presenting the process of peaceful settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Hovik Abrahamyan noted: “The Republic
of Armenia has constantly expressed its constructive position in favor
of solving the conflict only through peaceful means, on the basis of
three internationally recognized principles within the framework of
the OSCE Minsk Group. The People of Artsakh has won the its right of
living free and should not be ignored by the international community,”
Noting that the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is in
2015, the NA Speaker stressed that recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian Genocide by the international community, we observe it as the
best guarantee of preventing such crimes. He noted with satisfaction
that during many years the authorities of California has permanently
adopted resolutions at state and local levels, paying tribute to
the memory of innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide and strictly
condemned it. “Nevertheless, I think California should continue to be
more consistent in recognizing the Armenian Genocide at the U.S. state
level. John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly
noted that the state plans to hold wide scale events in connection with
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, including a memorial
complex of Armenian Genocide is envisaged to create in Los Angeles.

In the course of the meeting other issues of bilateral interest
were discussed.

At the end of the meeting the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan awarded
by John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly the NA
Medal of Honor for the development of the inter-parliamentary relations
between the U.S. District Assembly and the RA NA, as well as for big
contribution in strengthening of Armenian-American relations.

John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly invited
the NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan to California on an official visit.

ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS SHOULD BE FURTHERED ON THE BASIS OF THE PAST ACHIEVEMENTS

12:18 18.09.2013

Within the framework of the working visit to Warsaw, Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with his Polish counterpart
Radoslaw Sikorski.

The Ministers discussed the paths of further development of the
Armenia-EU relations. In this regard, Minister Nalbandian underlined
that Armenia is determined to continue the comprehensive cooperation
with the EU in all possible directions.

“Since the very beginning of the Eastern Partnership initiative
and even before Armenia has been expressing its willingness to have
maximally close and extended relations with the European Union, to
be as close to the European Union as it is appropriate to the EU,
but not at the expense of our allied relations with Russia. Armenia’s
decision to join the Customs Union should be viewed in this context,”
Minister Nalbandian said.

The Minister said it’s necessary to boost the Armenia-EU relations
based on the progress and achievements of the past years.

Edward Nalbandian informed his counterpart about the efforts towards
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

POLISH MINISTRY PRESS STATEMENT: WHAT DID FOREIGN MINISTER SAY IN WARSAW?

September 18, 2013 – 14:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The visit of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
to Poland and seemingly protocolary reports of the two country’s
ministerial press services gave rise to harsh criticism of the Armenian
official. The stir was caused by a small yet significant difference
between the Armenian and Polish versions of press releases covering the
meeting of Nalbandian with his Polish counterpart RadosÅ~Baw Sikorski.

Thus, according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry statement, prospects
of further cooperation with the EU were discussed. As Nalbandian noted
in this context, Armenia is ready to develop close ties with the EU
“but not to the detriment and at the expense of our allied relations
with Russia.”

“This is the context Armenia’s decision to join the Customs Union
should be viewed in,” Nalbandian said.

However, Polish Foreign Ministry’s press service interpreted
Nalbandian’s statement in the following manner: “during his visit to
Warsaw, Mr Edward Nalbandian noted that his country wants to deepen
its cooperation with the EU as much as possible, but “it cannot be
directed against Russian interests.” He added that Armenia and Russia
are bound by a military alliance and a privileged economic cooperation,
especially concerning energy, which justifies the declaration made
in Moscow by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Armenia’s accession
to the Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus Customs Union.”

However, the Polish Foreign Ministry website soon posted a corrected
version of the statement: ” Nalbandian noted that his country wants
to deepen its cooperation with the EU as much as possible, but “it
cannot be at the expense of our allied relations with Russia”.”

What is it exactly that Nalbandian said in Warsaw? Was it that the
EU-Armenian ties should not be developed at the expense of relations
with Russia? Or was it that Russia will be the one to dictate the level
of Armenia’s cooperation with the EU? What is that the two ministries’
press services failed to agree about in when readying statements?

Those questions will probably never be answered.

From: Baghdasarian

PUTIN’S GRAND DESIGN TO DESTROY THE EU’S EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AND REPLACE IT WITH A DISASTROUS NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY OF HIS OWN

12:05, September 18, 2013

Michael Emerson and Hrant Kostanyan

17 September 2013

In a surprising volte face at his meeting in Moscow with President
Putin on September 3rd, President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia agreed to
join the Russian-dominated customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Thus, in one short meeting, he scrapped the draft Association Agreement
with the EU, which included a ‘Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade
Agreement’ (DCFTA), whose negotiation over the past three years had
advanced to the point that its initialling was firmly scheduled for
the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in November. And, at the
same time, the Armenian President chose to deprive his country of the
possibility to enter into free trade area agreements with other states,
which any economy is free to do unless it is part of a customs union,
in which case it becomes bound to a common external tariff.

This latter deprivation is particularly serious in Armenia’s case,
since Russia’s external tariff is on average rather highly protective.

In the process, Sargsyan has also precluded Armenia from pursuing
the only plausible strategy to become an open, highly-skilled, small
economy, following for example the model of Israel, with which it
shares several features in common. More broadly, it is worth noting
that most of the world’s top-ten economies by GDP per capita, from
Luxembourg to Singapore, are small but completely open countries. The
economic case against joining the Russian customs union is all the
greater because nothing in the DCFTA with the EU would have prevented
Armenia from entering into a ‘high-quality’, free trade agreement1
with the Russian-led customs union.

Armenia is already party to the matrix of CIS free trade agreements,
but many of these do not function well. Rather than join the Belarus,
Kazakhstan and Russia customs union, why should Armenia not simply
negotiate a high-quality free trade agreement with it? President
Sargsyan has offered two main explanations for his baffling behaviour:
Armenia depends on Russia to guarantee its security and its large
diaspora in Russia make it natural for the two countries to have a
close economic relationship. One might challenge the first explanation
by noting that no other collective security arrangement, e.g. NATO,
requires its member states to join a customs union led by the
principal nation.

Read more

Michael Emerson is Associate Senior Research Fellow at CEPS. Hrant
Kostanyan is an Associate Research Fellow at CEPS and a BOF (Special
Research Fund) Research Fellow at the Centre for EU Studies (CEUS)
in the Department of Political Science at Ghent University.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU BUS ON THE ROAD AGAIN IN ARMENIA

September 18, 2013 | 14:18

YEREVAN. – The second EU Bus tour in Armenia begins on Wednesday.

This time the EU Bus visits the towns and villages of the Gegharkunik
and Ararat Regions. The Bus tour is organized by the EU Centre
in Yerevan.

The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, HE Ambassador Traian Hristea
noted that EU Bus tours are becoming a tradition. “This is already
the second time in a few months when our mobile EU Centre is visiting
regions in Armenia,” Ambassador noted. “We would like to inform people
everywhere in the country about the EU’s cooperation in Armenia and
the results of our assistance here,” he added.

The EU Bus will visit the towns of Sevan, Chambarak, Vardenis, Martuni
and Gavar and their surrounding villages in Gegharkunik Region from
Wednesday to Friday.

The Head of the Political, Economic, Press and Information Section of
the EU Delegation Dirk Lorenz will officially launch the EU course for
Armenian high schools in the High School No 3 in Vardenik on Friday.

The course was developed by the EU Centre in cooperation with the
Ministry of Education and Science to increase the knowledge and
understanding of the EU – Armenia cooperation among the youth. Mr.

Lorenz will also deliver a lecture on EU – Armenia relations in Gavar
State University earlier the same day.

The EU Bus will continue its tour in the towns of Vedi, Ararat and
Artashat and the surrounding villages in Ararat Region on September
23 and 24. Ambassador Traian Hristea will deliver a lecture at the
Cultural Centre of Vedi on September 24.

The EU Bus offers a possibility to learn more about European Union
through information materials, project presentations, quizzes,
games and mini-plays performed by the students of the Yerevan State
Institute of Theatre and Cinematography. Everybody can take part in
a lottery and win attractive prizes. The first ever EU Bus tour in
Armenia took place at the end of May this year and the Bus visited
towns and villages of Shirak, Lori and Tavush Regions.

The EU Centre is the main feature of the EU funded project “Support
to the EU communication on reforms in Armenia”. Its goal is to
raise awareness on EU development cooperation in Armenia and support
education on the European Union. The Centre’s website is a gateway to
EU cooperation with Armenia. The duration of the project is two years.

ARMENIA’S ENTRY INTO CUSTOMS UNION IS “HEMORRHOIDS” FOR RUSSIA – OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER

September 18, 2013 | 13:28

YEREVAN. – A very cruel phase is starting, and this phase requires
a very intensive work with the Russians. But this government is not
ready for that with this team.

Opposition Freedom Party Chairman, ex-presidential candidate, former
PM, MP and economist Hrant Bagratyan noted the abovementioned during
a press conference on Wednesday.

“Armenia’s entry into the Customs Union does not excite Russia too
much; this is ‘hemorrhoids’ [for Russia] because the Russians first
would like to see Ukraine there, and then Armenia,” Bagratyan said.

He added, however, that if Russian President Vladimir Putin insists,
there is no option to not entering the Customs Union.

The former PM stressed that the working tariffs in the Customs Union
will cause a reduction in Armenia’s economy, since there are lot more
negative factors.

Hrant Bagratyan highlighted that if a union includes a country that
imports and exports energy, the problem is resolved in either one or
the other’s favor.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN CONTINGENT READY FOR CSTO COOPERATION 2013 MILITARY EXERCISES

09:40, 18 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS: Armenia will participate in the
joint military exercises Cooperation 2013 of the Rapid Reaction Forces
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization with 50 officers and
servicemen. This was reported to Armenpress by the Spokesperson of the
Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan.

“The military exercises will be held on September 18-27 in Belarus”, –
stated Artsrun Hovhannisyan emphasizing that the Armenian subdivisions
are ready for the exercises.

The participation in such exercises raises the efficiency of any army.

The Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia
noted that Armenia is always ready to take part in the exercises
and considers it to be quite important. “We are participating in
different military trainings every year and it will be continuative”,
– clarified Artsrun Hovhannisyan.

The joint military exercises Cooperation 2013 of the Rapid Reaction
Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization will be held
in the Republic of Belarus. The exercises will be attended by the
contingents from the Republic of Armenia, Belarus, the Russian
Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In 2012 the Cooperation 2012 was held in Armenia. The event was
attended by the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the Minister of
Defense of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, the head of the operative and
combat training department of the CSTO united staff Vladimir Ustinov,
other senior servicemen and the representatives of CSTO secretariat.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization was signed in 1992, May
15. Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan are among the CSTO member states.

© 2009 ARMENPRESS.am

THERE ARE 251.1 PHYSICIANS PER 100,000 RESIDENTS IN ARMENIA

September 18, 2013 | 11:17

YEREVAN. – Training of staff in the health sector is an extremely
important contribution and factor in all countries, and human resources
in this sector play a major role.

Galina Perfilieva, Project Manager on Health sector human resources in
the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, noted
the aforesaid during her talk with Armenia’s Health Minister Derenik
Dumanyan, informs the Armenian Ministry of Health press service.

The absence of proper statistics on human resources and inadequate
number of necessary personnel in the health sector is a shared problem
for the countries in the European region, including Armenia.

In line with such indicators, Armenia is somewhere in the middle,
with 251.1 physicians, 48.5 primary care physicians, and 463 nurses
per 100,000 residents.

Dumanyan and Perfilieva also discussed several strategically important
documents which WHO adopted in recent years, and which aim to solve
a wide range of human resource issues in the health sector.

SECURITY GUARD OF NUBARASHEN PRISON ARRESTED

The Special Investigation Service (SIS) of Armenia took over the
criminal case opened under the Criminal Code’s Article 266 part 2
point 3 by the Erebuni unit of Yerevan Investigative Department of
the Armenian police.

The press service of SIS said that on July 17, 2013, during an
inspection of the parcel that A.P., an inspector of Nubarashen penal
institution’s security unit, handed over to prisoner A. O., four
pills (hidden in the salad in the parcel) containing large amounts
of buprenorphine narcotic drug were found.

A.P., inspector of the security unit of Nubarashen prison, was charged
under Article 266 part 2 point 3 (illegal turnover of narcotic drugs
for sales purpose in places of detention) of Armenian Criminal Code.

Arrest was used as a measure of restraint against the inspector. An
investigation is underway.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress