Month: September 2013

SCIENTIST CONCERNED OVER DECLINE IN CAUCASIAN LEOPARD POPULATION IN ARMENIA

13:38 12.09.13

The population of Caucasian leopards (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica)
has declined in Armenia in recent years because of poaching and
troops stationed on the Line of Contact, Mamilkon Ghasabyan of the
Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology, Armenian National
Academy of Sciences, told Tert.am.

“There was a large population of Caucasian leopards in Armenia years
ago, but it has seriously declined since the collapse of the Soviet
Union,” he said.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets
(FPWC) installed videos cameras at the Khosrov forest reserve. On
August 7, a camera recorded a Caucasian leopard.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIA OWES PEACE TO RUSSIA -EX-AMBASSADOR

14:47 12.09.13

Membership in the Eurasian Customs Union will offer Armenia a very
flexible way which is in the country’s interests, a former Russian
ambassador has said, commenting on President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement
expressing the country’s willingness to join the organization.

“It is thanks to Russia that Armenia has been in peace for 20 years
now,” Vyacheslav Kovalenko said Thursday during a televised debate
between Yerevan and Moscow.

According to him, an integration into the organization goes far beyond
an economic partnership, offering member states also an opportunity
to develop cultural ties.

Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan, who was a
guest from Yerevan at the debate, said for his part that it wouldn’t
be right to abandon the multisectoral ties which Russia has developed
with Armenia over the course of time.

“In the meantime, things aren’t so easy with the Customs Union as they
seem. The decisions adopted in Russia are political, but to develop
them into cooperation it is necessary to have agreements on the tariff
amount, product transportation etc. The problem here is that we do
not have a common border with the CU member states, whereas Armenia
cannot just decide on an agreement for no special reason,” he noted.

As for the Association Agreement, which Armenia has been negotiating
with Europe for about four years, the expert said the country’s
efforts cannot be lost under any circumstances.

Alexander Markarov, the director for the CIS Institute’s Yerevan
branch, said in turn that it is important for Armenia to realize what
benefits it would gain from the Customs Union.

“The decision evokes both positive and negative emotions, as well as
many questions. We have to know the road map and all the restrictions
Armenia will face. From the economic viewpoint, we see mostly Russian
investors in Armenia, of course, but it is necessary to realize what
will change in terms of the imports and exports,” he said.

Ambassador Kovelenko, who is a regional programs’ director at the
Caspian Cooperation Organization, said in response that Armenia is more
pessimistic rather than optimistic about joining the Customs Union.

“I see only positive elements there. As for the road map, no one is
going to give it to us as a present. The EU does not have a road map
either, but there is a political will and a decision. So who prevents
us from creating that?” he asked.

Armenian News – Tert.am

SARGSYAN SHOULD WRITE A LETTER TO PUTIN

Europe and Armenia are looking for ways of integration after the
first shock of Serzh Sargsyan’s statement in Moscow. Already new
trends are outlining which may toss us back to where we were.

The first trend is the policy of Europe which has apparently made a
political decision to tackle Russian pressure on its eastern partners.

The European officials denounce huge pressure by Russia. In addition,
Moscow does not comment on these statements, without admitting or
dismissing facts of pressure.

Not only Armenia is concerned whose leadership, by the way, has not
stated about pressure officially. Facts of pressure on Ukraine and
Moldova have been acknowledged.

It is not clear whether Europe will apply any sanction on Moscow but
it is obvious that if Armenia announces that its decision to join
the Customs Union was forced by Moscow, Serzh Sargsyan’s statement
in Moscow will become illegitimate.

By the way, today the Russian president Putin published an article in
the New York Times where he states: “And I would rather disagree with
a case he [Barack Obama] made on American exceptionalism, stating that
the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what
makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people
to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are
big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long
democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy.

Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for
the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.”

The second trend which is outlining more visibly is Armenia’s hope that
Kazakhstan and Belarus will disagree to Armenia’s membership to the
Customs Union. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nlabandyan told
about this yesterday in the parliament. In October the Customs Union
summit will take place during which its three members are supposed
to approve Armenia’s membership, maybe also Kyrgyzstan’s membership
to the Customs Union.

The intrigue is that Armenia has initially been announced to join the
Customs Union together with Karabakh. If Kazakhstan, an old friend
of Azerbaijan, approves Armenia’s membership, it will automatically
recognize that Karabakh is part of Armenia. Nazarbayev, the father
of the Eurasian Union, will hardly take such a step against its
friend Aliyev.

Kazakhstan has already handed over to the prime minister of Armenia
some model documents relating to membership to the CU. What is the
role of Karabakh in these documents? Nalbandyan says “Karabakh will
not suffer”. Does this mean that Nazarbayev has agreed to recognize
Karabakh within its current borders? Or has Armenia agreed to “share”
Karabakh?

For many years now Russia has been unable to force Lukashenko and
Nazarbayev to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is harder
with Karabakh because the factor of Turkic and Islamic solidarity
interferes. And if the Russian guarantee for Armenia’s membership
to the CU was the recognition of Karabakh, does Armenia reserve the
right to renounce its decision in case recognition does not come?

No doubt all these trends are weaker than the Russian boot (let Levon
Ter-Petrosyan forgive me). Apparently, however, it is time Serzh
Sargsyan wrote to the New York Times a letter to Putin and told him
that God created us equal, even if our country is marked with a number
on the map.

Naira Hayrumyan 14:35 12/09/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

From: Baghdasarian

IT SPHERE IN ARMENIA DEVELOPS NOT THANKS TO THE STATE FINANCING
by Arthur Yernjakyan

ARMINFO
Thursday, September 12, 14:52

The development of the information technologies in Armenia is not
connected with the state financing programmes and with declaring
the IT sector a priority branch in Armenia, deputy chairman of the
public organization “Internet-society”, Grigor Saghyan, made such a
statement on 12 September.

He recalled that in December 2000, according to the decree of Armenia’s
prime minister, IT industry was recognized the priority branch. “The IT
in Armenia has been developing with progress since 2000 but not thanks
to declaring this sector a priority one. “, – he said and added that
the republic has got the development potential thanks to formation
of a good school for IT specialists and mathematicians. He said that
the state financing programmes did not affect the IT development
process. Moreover, some programmes are doubtful. For instance, the
state allocated 20 million drams to the innovation centre “Microsoft”
as a state financing. “It is strange that the state shows financial
aid to “Microsoft”, but not visa versa”, – he said.

He also added that the high quality IT specialists in Armenia earn
$4-5 thsd monthly. They can live very well in Armenia having such a
salary and there is no need to leave the country for abroad looking
for higher salary. “But if the state starts controlling this sphere
and these profits are taxed, it will result in outflow of specialists”,
– Saghyan said.

TARGETED PROMOTION OF ARMENIA AS A TOURIST DESTINATION IN THE RUSSIAN MARKET

16:05, September 12, 2013

On September 12-15, 2013 the National Competitiveness Foundation of
Armenia in partnership with the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and
Market Competitiveness Project and Armenia Marriott, will host Russian
media representatives of 9 major magazines and online newspapers
in Armenia.

Among the invitees are ELLE, Top Beauty, The Good Housekeeping,
Aeroflot Premium, Aeroflot, In Style, World of Impressions magazines,
the RATA-News online newspaper and the online version of the
Komsomolskaya Pravda.

The mission of the trip is to increase Armenia’s visibility in
the Russian tourism market as an attractive travel destination and
stimulate inbound touristic flows.

During the trip the journalists will explore various tourist
attractions of Armenia and will have the opportunity to enjoy the
rich historical, cultural and spiritual heritage of the country,
as well as the national traditions and modern life.

The trip will result in a series of publications and photos about
Armenia.

This initiative is one of the NCFA’s programs on Armenia tourism
promotion in the Russian target market.

Public Affairs Office

National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia

ON 10 SEPTEMBER PRESIDENT BAKO SAHAKYAN CONVOKED AN ENLARGED CONSULTATION WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC’S EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL BRANCHES.

Wednesday, 11 September 2013 09:35

A number of issues related to internal life of the Republic, and
socio-economic development were discussed during the consultation.

President Sahakyan noted that holding discussions on State’s important
issues in such a format allows to consider the existing problems and
the variants to solve them in a more effective and comprehensive way.

Primate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, speaker of the National Assembly Ashot
Ghoulyan, premier Ara Haroutyunyan and other officials partook in
the consultation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST: NO NEED FOR PUTIN TO VISIT ARMENIA IN SEPTEMBER

September 12, 2013 | 11:27

The Presidents of Armenia and Russia held a meeting in Moscow on
September 3 and it was very productive, and therefore visiting
Armenia~Rs capital city Yerevan in September will not be topical.

CIS Institute Director Konstantin Zatulin told the aforesaid
toArmenian News-NEWS.am. He reflected on the information that the
Russian president~Rs visit to Armenia, which is slated for this month,
will not take place.

Zatulin added, however, that the information on the cancelation of
the visit is just a prediction, and the Russian president~Rs protocol
should be looked at for accurate information.

The Russian political scientist remarked that an Armenian church will
be consecrated in Moscow on September 17.

~SArmenia~Rs President Serzh Sargsyan likewise is expected to be on
hand at the ceremony. But it is not known whether the [two] presidents
will hold a bilateral meeting,~T Konstantin Zatulin concluded.

To note, Russian President Vladimir Putin was slated to visit Armenia
in the latter half of September, but a source close to the Kremlin
had informed that this visit would be rescheduled.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

YURI BASHMET AWARDED ARMENIA’S ORDER OF HONOR

16:28 12.09.2013

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan received the renowned viola player,
conductor, pedagogue, and public figure, the artistic director and
chief conductor of the Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra and New
Russia Symphonic Orchestra Yuri Bashmet, who has arrived to Armenia
in the framework of the 14th International Musical Festival Yerevan
Perspectives and who will participate at the concert in the Aram
Khatchaturian Concert Hall dedicated to the maestro’s 60th birth
anniversary, President’s Press Office reported.

The President highly praised activities of Yuri Bashmet and
his contribution to the development and strengthening of the
Armenian-Russian cultural ties, his profound work in the global musical
area and awarded him with the Order of Honor. “I believe your entire
life is a worthy and dedicated service to culture. Your art unites
people. It is really very important, especially in the contemporary
world where problems are abundant,” President Sargsyan said and
expressed gratitude to Yuri Beshmet for constantly standing by and
supporting the Armenian people in times of hardships and times of joy.

The celebrated performer said that it was a great honor for him to
be decorated with such a high award of the Republic of Armenia and
expressed his thanks for the appreciation and warm words.

ZHOGHOVURD: PROBLEMS OF KARABAKH WAR VETERANS NOT SOLVED YET

Thursday,
September
12

About two months ago Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan promised that he
would meet with Karabakh war veterans protesting in Yerevan’s Liberty
Square for better social conditions and propose concrete ways of
solving their problems. Yet Tigran Sargsyan didn’t keep his promises
once again and simply ‘transferred’ the Karabakh war veterans to
Labor and Social Affairs Minister Artyom Asatrian, ‘Zhoghovurd’ notes.

According to the paper, Artyom Asatrian has promised that the
government will develop a package of proposals based on the war
veterans’ demands and submit it to the Armenian parliament. “Yesterday
a group of veterans met with members of a commission set up by Armenian
Defense ministry for examination of the problems raised. This time,
new promises were made, but Karabakh war veterans are convinced that
it will become possible ‘to get things moving”, the paper writes.

TODAY, 13:16

Aysor.am

ARMENIAN PAVILION OPENED IN TAIZHOU’S TRADE CENTRE IN CHINA

16:16, 12 September, 2013

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian pavilion was opened in
“Global Purchasing Center” in Taizhou City of the Jiangsu Province
of the People’s Republic of China on September 11. The Information
and Public Relations Department of the Government of the Republic of
Armenia informed “Armenpress” that the Head of Staff of the Government
of the Republic of Armenia-Minister Vache Gabrielyan participated
in the solemn opening ceremony of the pavilion along with a number
of Armenian businessmen. The production of the Armenian companies
including brandy, wine, and juices are introduced in the pavilion.

The Russian Federation, France, Great Britain, United States,
Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and a row of other European and Asian
countries introduce their production to the Chinese consumers in
this centre.

The delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Tigran Sargsyan paid a working visit to the People’s Republic of
China on September 9. The Armenian delegation participates in the
World Economic Forum. Among other things it is considered to sign
bilateral documents; in particular an agreement on economic cooperation
and a memorandum of mutual understanding in the sphere of emergency
situations administration. Also, there will be a number of meetings
with the representatives of various IT companies.

The Head of Staff of the Government of the Republic of Armenia-Minister
Vache Gabrielyan, the Minister of the Emergency Situations of the
Republic of Armenia Armen Yeritsyan, the Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Sergey Manaseryan have been included
in the delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Tigran Sargsyan.

From: Baghdasarian