Month: February 2015

ANKARA CALLS ARMENIANS ‘INCOHERENT’ FOR REJECTING PROTOCOLS

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic

ANKARA–Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic told reporters
Tuesday that Ankara remains committed to the protocols signed between
Turkey and Armenia purportedly aiming to normalize bilateral relations,
after Yerevan recently withdrew the 2008 protocols from parliament,
Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Bilgic told reporters yesterday that Yerevan has decided to withdraw
the Protocol on Establishing of Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol
on Developing Relations in order “to create a reason to accuse Turkey”
ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian government, and a majority of Armenians around the world,
regarded the protocols as unfair and a diplomatic ploy by Turkey,
due to the myriad conditions and concessions it demands of Armenia.

Meanwhile, the Turkish parliament itself has not ratified either of
the agreements.

Bilgic, however, called Armenians “incoherent and insincere” because
of the move, adding that “Turkey will remain loyal to regional
normalization process which is the fundamental goal of the protocols.”

On Feb. 16, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian announced that he has
asked the country’s parliamentary speaker to withdraw his signature
from the protocols.

Sarkisian said in a statement that Armenia would not ratify the
agreement because of the “preconditions” that Turkey is putting in
place before it ratifies its side of the deal.

The agreement aimed to restore diplomatic ties between the countries
as well as reopen the common border, which Turkey closed in 1993.

Turkey holds off weapons deal for April 24 Authorities said Turkey will
postpone the selection a winner for a controversial, multibillion
dollar contract for the construction of an anti-missile defense
system until after April 24, the Hurriyet Daily News reported,
quoting senior officials.

A senior diplomat confirmed that Ankara first wants to see the U.S.

and French positions on the Armenian Genocide before awarding
a sizeable contract “to a bidder potentially from one of these
countries.”

“We have agreed with the government leaders not to rush to a decision
any time soon,” one defense procurement official said. “A decision
before April 24 is out of the question.”

“How these countries observe the centennial of the events will be an
important input for our final decision,” he said.

After Ankara selected a Chinese company in September 2013 to build
the air defense architecture and came under heavy pressure from its
Western allies for the decision, it also opened parallel negotiations
this summer with a European contender in the multibillion dollar
competition.

A defense industry source said he expected tough rivalry between
French and U.S. contenders in the second half of 2015. “Both of them
are surely aware that how their governments tackle the centennial
will be critical for success or failure,” he said.

DRAFTING OF PEACE TREATY FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT POSSIBLE ONLY AFTER RECONCILIATION OF BASICS PRINCIPLE- ARMENIAN FM SAYS

EREVAN, February 17. / ARKA /. Drafting of a peace treaty for the
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only after
reconciliation of the basic principles, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian told Tuesday the visiting OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (USA) and Pierre
Andre (France), as well as the personal representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

“When all the basic conflict settlement principles are reconciled
and Nagorno-Karabakh also agrees to them then it will be possible to
begin negotiations between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia
for drafting a comprehensive peace agreement,’ Nalbandian was quoted
as saying by the foreign ministry’s press office.

Nalbandian drew the attention of the co-chairs to the fact that even
after their statement made on January 27, as well as the statements
made by the OSCE president and the mediators on February 7 Azerbaijan
continues to violate the ceasefire together with provocations and
unacceptable rhetoric, criticized earlier by the co-chairs.

Armenian foreign minister said Azerbaijani leadership actually seeks
to reverse the progress made in the negotiation process over the
years. According to him, Baku is trying to take advantage of the
unresolved conflict which is to blame only on itself to justify
trampling of human rights in the country and pressurize its opponents.

On Azerbaijan’s attempts to portray two Azerbaijani commandoes
sentenced by a court in Nagorno-Karabakh to lengthy prison terms as
“innocent lambs gone astray,” Nalbandian said these steps are not
effective.

In late December 2014 a court in Stepanakert, sentenced two citizens of
Azerbaijan – Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilhamu Askerov – who were accused
of sabotage and murder – to 22 years in prison and life in prison
respectively.

“Their crimes are documented and proven. They were accused of
committing a kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of a 17-year-old
boy,” said Nalbandian.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from
Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding
referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no
permanent peace agreement has been signed.

Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been
under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh
is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued
to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with
snipers causing tens of deaths a year. – 0-

AMBASSADOR: UNITED STATES RATES HIGHLY LEVEL OF COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

YEREVAN, February 17. /ARKA/. Washington rates highly the level of
cooperation with Yerevan, Richard Mills, the newly appointed ambassador
to Armenia, said Tuesday as met with Hovik Abrahamyan, Armenian prime
minister, the press office of Armenia’s government reports.

In his words, the United States attaches importance to expansion of
the cooperation.

The ambassador vowed to make every effort to maintain and strengthen
ties between the two countries.

Abrahamyan congratulated Mills on his appointments and expressed
confidence that the diplomat will contribute to development of
Armenian-U.S. relations.

He expressed appreciation of the United States’ assistance in
strengthening democracy in Armenia, implementing reforms and speeding
up economic development.

The premier and the ambassador discussed a wide range of issues at
their meeting.

They stressed the importance of attraction of investments, improvement
of business environment and implementation of programs in energy,
IT and other areas.

Mills said that Armenia has accomplished a great deal in strengthening
democracy and civil society, and the United States hails the steps
the Armenian authorities are taking in this direction.

Abrahamyan, on his side, said that the government intensively
cooperates with various groups of the civil society and is interested
in involving them in discussion of problems. –0—–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA’S CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX FELL BY 3 PERCENTAGE POINT IN QUARTER 4 OF 2014

YEREVAN, February 17. / ARKA /. In the 4th quarter of 2014 Armenia’s
consumer confidence index was down 3 percentage point from the previous
one standing at 41.2 after a period of protracted growth since the
beginning of the year, the Central Bank said. Compared to the 4th
quarter of 2013 it was down by 0.8 percentage points, it said.

The indicator used to assess current conditions in the 4th quarter
fell by 4.3 percentage points from the previous quarter to 30.5,
largely due to a 7.5 percentage points decrease in the index used
to assess households’ current financial status and by a 5 percentage
point drop in the indicator that assesses households in the context
of common economic conditions of the country. The index used to assess
large purchases did not change noticeably standing at 50.

According to the Central Bank, the index used to assess future
conditions fell by 1.9 percentage points from the previous quarter,
but when compared to the same quarter of 2013 it was higher by 1.8
percentage points, standing at 51.8.

The only indicator that rose was the one used to assess employment
expectations. It grew by 0.8 percentage points to 55.5. After showing
a growth in the previous quarter, the indicator that evaluates the
financial condition fell by 3.6 percentage points to 44.3. The index
assessing expectations in large household purchases decreased by 2.9
percentage points to 55.6.

The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is an indicator designed to measure
consumer confidence, which is defined as the degree of optimism on
the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their
activities of savings and spending.

Since early 2005 the Central Bank of Armenia has been conducting
quarterly surveys of non-financial, financial institutions and
households to assess changes in current economic conditions compared
to the previous period, to assess the economic expectations of the
subjects under study and based on survey data to calculate and publish
composite economic indexes.

The surveys are conducted over the Internet, telephone, letter and
fax. Based on the survey results indices of business environment,
economic activity and consumer confidence are calculated on a 100-point
scale. The score above 50 shows high activity and below 50 a low
activity, and 50 a steady-state condition. -0- –

TURKEY WON’T DECIDE ON AIR DEFENSE DEAL BEFORE APR. 24

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 17 2015

Burak Bekdil

Turkey won’t make a decision over its multibillion dollar deal for
the construction of its first long-range air and anti-missile defense
system before April 24, the centennial of the 1915 events

The defense committe selected CPMIEC as the best bidder, Eurosam as
the second and a partnership of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin as the
third. DHA Photo

Turkey will refrain from selecting a winner for its disputed,
multibillion dollar contract for the construction of its first
long-range air and anti-missile defense system before April 24, the
centennial commemoration of the 1915 killings of Ottoman Armenians,
according to senior officials.

“We have agreed with the government leaders not to rush to a decision
any time soon,” one defense procurement official said. “A decision
before April 24 is out of the question.”

A senior diplomat confirmed that Ankara first wants to see the U.S.

and French positions on the “genocide claims” before awarding
a sizeable contract “to a bidder potentially from one of these
countries.”

“How these countries observe the centennial of the events [of
1915-1920] will be an important input for our final decision,” he said.

After Ankara selected a Chinese company in September 2013 to build
the air defense architecture and came under heavy pressure from its
Western allies for the decision, it also opened parallel negotiations
this summer with a European contender in the multibillion dollar
competition.

Contract negotiations with the Chinese manufacturer, China Precision
Machinery Import Export Corp (CPMIEC), are also in progress, but
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that talks have also opened
with Eurosam, the European contender in the program.

Following an assessment by Turkey’s top defense procurement agency,
the Defense Industry Executive Committee selected CPMIEC as the best
bidder and Eurosam as the second. A U.S. partnership of Raytheon and
Lockheed Martin came third in the bidding. CPMIEC offered a solution
with a price tag of $3.44 billion.

A defense industry source said he expected tough rivalry between
French and U.S. contenders in the second half of 2015. “Both of them
are surely aware that how their governments tackle the centennial
will be critical for success or failure,” he said.

February/17/2015

GAGIK MAKARYAN: SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSMEN SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE

The requirement of the Law on Turnover Tax concerning document
circulation allegedly has to do with control over big business,
but there are also other ways to do it, Chairman of the Union of
Employers of Armenia Gagik Makaryan told journalists today.

In his words, first of all small and medium businessmen should be
left to their own devices. “In fact, the amendments to the turnover
tax law are good as they are aimed at developing SMEs, which is a
positive approach,” Makaryan said.

By the amendments to the Law on Turnover tax, business entities will
have to pay 3.5% tax if turnover exceeds 58.3 million drams.

“We should not look for those who are wrong and who are right here. I
think small and medium businessmen should be left alone: 1% tax should
remain unchanged, with no requirements related to document circulation
being set,” he noted.

17.02.15, 20:11

SERZH SARGSYAN HAMPERS NIKOL PASHINYAN: GALA (VIDEO)

17:57 | February 17,2015 | Politics

During the program “About the important”, the NA deputy Nikol Pashinyan
expressed his views on the recent developments in the Armenian
inner political field, in particular HHK-BHK tense relations, Serzh
Sargsyan’s famous speech at the HHK Board session and the activities
against BHK. He noted that what is said in Serzh Sargsyan’s speech is
out of political logic and is another manifestation of the dictatorial
government, “As it doesn’t matter who the speech is directed to, but
it is evident that once again Serzh Sargsyan is abusing his powers
and is trying to restore his power in Armenia through use of force,”
said Nikol Pashinyan.

The latter, speaking about the statement by HHK member Armen Ashotyan
that Gagik Tsarukyan hampers Nikol Pashinyan, Zaruhi Postanjyan and
others, he said that Serzh Sargsyan hampers him.

More on the source website

ARMENIA RECALLS PROTOCOLS ON DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH TURKEY FROM PARLIAMENT

Interfax, Russia
Feb 16 2015

YEREVAN. Feb 16

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced on Monday that he was
recalling Armenian-Turkish protocols on the normalization of relations
and establishment of diplomatic relations from parliament.

“It has been six years since the protocols were signed. All this
time Armenia has held a consistent position on the implementation
of the protocols. However, it has to be recorded that the Turkish
government has no political will, distorts the spirit and letter of
the protocols, and continues its policy of setting preconditions,”
Sargsyan said in a letter to parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan.

Moreover, “in the run-up to the centenary of the Armenian Genocide …

the policy of denial and editing of history” has received a new
impulse, Sargsyan said.

The global ethnic Armenian community is going to mark this April as
the centenary of massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Armenia set no preconditions in embarking on the path of normalizing
its relations with Turkey, Sargsyan said in his letter. However, it
“foresaw all possible scenarios for future developments.”

“We were ready both for a comprehensive settlement of our relations
via the protocols and for their potential failure as we had nothing to
hide and it would have been clear to the international community whose
fault it was that the only border in Europe to remain closed had not
been opened, and a chance to open it had been missed,” Sargsyan said.

“I have repeatedly said that we do not have unlimited time, and I said
so again from the platform of the UN General Assembly in September
2014. I regret that the Turkish leadership has never heeded this appeal
from Armenia. For this reason, I have decided to recall the protocols
‘On the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Armenia and
Turkey’ and ‘On the Normalization of Relations between Turkey and
Armenia,’ which were signed in Zurich on October 10, 2009, from the
National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia,” the president said.

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and
the border between them was closed by Ankara in 1993 because of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and has remained shut to this day.

The two protocols, signed by the Armenian and Turkish foreign
ministers, have never been ratified by the parliament of either
country. In April 2010, Sargsyan halted the ratification process in
Armenia. Simultaneously, Armenia protested linking the normalization
of bilateral relations to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In January 2013, Sargsyan warned that an “ongoing blockade of Armenia”
would not enable either Turkey or Azerbaijan to wrench any unilateral
concessions from Yerevan on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

In September 2014, Sargsyan announced that his government was
considering recalling the protocols from the legislature.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA HALTS RATIFICATION OF PROTOCOLS ON DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH TURKEY

ITAR-TASS, Russia
February 16, 2015 Monday 08:17 PM GMT+4

YEREVAN February 16.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Monday asked the country’s
parliament speaker to withdraw from the parliament’s agenda accords
meant to restore diplomatic ties with Turkey

In a letter to Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakyan, Sargsyan said
that Armenia would not ratify the protocols on the establishment of
diplomatic relations and development of bilateral relations, earlier
submitted to Armenia’s National Assembly for ratification, because of
the “preconditions” that Turkey was putting in place before ratifying
its part of the deal.

“About six years have passed since the protocols between Armenia and
Turkey were signed,” the president said, noting Armenia’s “consistent”
efforts to bring the accords into being.

“But we must point to a lack of political will among Turkish
authorities, distortion of the letter and spirit of the protocols and
continuous attempts to lay down preconditions,” he said, adding that
ahead of the 2015 centennial commemoration of the Armenian genocide,
a policy of genocide denial and editing history “was gaining a new
momentum”.

“Therefore, I have made a decision to recall from the National
Assembly the protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations
and development of relations between Armenia and Turkey, signed in
Zurich on October 10, 2009,” Sargsyan said.

The protocols aim to establish diplomatic ties between the countries
and re-open their common border, which has been closed since 1993.

Even though Armenia and Turkey share a 330-kilometre-long border,
the neighbours have no diplomatic ties.

Relations between the countries have been overshadowed by the mass
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One. Armenians
have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as
an act of genocide – and more than 20 countries have done so. Turkey
admits that many Armenians were killed but says the deaths were part
of the widespread fighting that took place in World War One.

In another sign of tensions, relations have been complicated by
Turkish support for Azerbaijan in its armed conflict with Armenia
over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

As preconditions for normalising bilateral relations, Ankara
urged Yerevan to stop pressing for the international recognition
of the Armenian genocide as well as to pull out its forces from
Nagorno-Karabakh.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT HALTS RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT MEANT TO RESTORE TIES WITH TURKEY

Fox News Network
Feb 16 2015

YEREVAN, Armenia – The Armenian president says he has asked the
country’s parliament speaker to withdraw his signature from a
groundbreaking 2009 agreement with Turkey meant to restore ties
between the two nations.

President Serge Sarkisian said in a statement on Monday that Armenia
would not ratify the agreement because of the “preconditions” that
Turkey is putting in place before it ratifies its part of the deal.

The agreement aims to restore diplomatic ties between the countries
as well as re-open the common border, which has been closed since 1993.

It was brokered by the United States and other nations.

In another sign of tensions between the countries, the Turkish
foreign minister recently urged Armenia to pull out its forces from
Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region between Armenia and Turkey’s
ally Azerbaijan.