Thursday, Armenian Official Warns Against `Excessive Expectations' From Deal With EU . Hovannes Movsisian Armenia - Armen Ashotian, a deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, holds a news conference in Yerevan, 13Jul2016. A planned agreement on Armenia's "enhanced partnership" with the European Union is not as significant as it is portrayed by some pro-Western elements in the county, a deputy chairman of President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party said on Thursday. "The document that will be signed is beautiful and important, but I think that it's wrong to give it extra lighting, gloss and other stuff or turn into a Christmas tree," said Armen Ashotian. "Because we are thereby heightening our expectations which will not be met later on and we will say that the European vector [of Armenian foreign policy] has failed." The draft Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is designed to deepen Armenia's political and economic ties with the EU. Citing "common values" shared by the two sides, the 350-page document commits the Armenian government to implementing political reforms and "approximating" national economic laws and regulations to those of the EU. The CEPA does not contain far-reaching free trade-related provisions, unlike an Association Agreement that was negotiated by Armenian and EU officials in the summer of 2013. The Armenian leadership scuttled that agreement by opting to join a Russian-led trade bloc. Ashotian, who also chairs the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, seemed to imply that the CEPA will be signed as planned at an EU summit in Brussels scheduled for November 24. He said the two sides will make clear that the deal is not directed against third parties. Speaking at a Yerevan-based think-tank, Ashotian also made the point that the CEPA is important to only Armenia but also the EU because the latter needs to showcase a "success story" at the Brussels summit. "The EU need to have another partner in the region alongside Georgia," said Ashotian. "There are many other reasons as well. For instance, this agreement will contribute to regional stability and therefore the risk of a new war or other instability could significantly decrease. This is a mutually beneficial document." Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighborhood policy, hailed "the groundbreaking new agreement" with Armenia when he visited Yerevan earlier this month. He said it will not only deepen the EU's ties with Armenia but also serve as a "blueprint" for other countries. Karabakh Truce Violations `Unrelated' To Sarkisian-Aliyev Meeting . Artak Hambardzumian SWITZERLAND -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (L) poses next to Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian at the opening of talks in Geneva, October 16, 2017 Armenia's First Deputy Defense Minister Artak Zakarian denied on Thursday any connection between last week's Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Geneva and subsequent deadly ceasefire violations around Nagorno-Karabakh. President Serzh Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev met in Geneva on October 16. In a joint statement issued there, their foreign ministers and international mediators said the two leaders "agreed to take measures to intensify the negotiation process and to take additional steps to reduce tensions on the Line of Contact." They said the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group are satisfied with the summit and are planning to hold follow-up talks with the two ministers. Just three days later, an Armenian soldier was shot dead in Karabakh by Azerbaijani sniper fire. The Azerbaijani military reported that Armenian forces killed one of its soldiers on Sunday. Karabakh's Armenian-backed army said the Azerbaijani side shelled its frontline positions with mortars and anti-tank weapons later on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. No major truce violations have been reported since then. "Linking the tension to the Geneva meeting is totally inappropriate," Zakarian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "There has periodically been tension on the border. It results from one fact: inside Azerbaijan they don't come to terms with the reality that there is no alternative to the realization of Nagorno-Karabakh's right to self-determination. At the same time I presume that that is also an opportunity to solve some issues in Azerbaijan." Speaking right after the Geneva summit, Sarkisian again ruled out any peaceful settlement that would lead to the restoration of Azerbaijani control over Karabakh. That statement angered Azerbaijani officials. They accused the Armenian president of breaching understandings reached with Aliyev. Sarkisian shrugged off those accusations on Wednesday. "We spoke one on one, and if we agreed not to tell anyone [details of the conversation,] then how did [Aliyev's] aides familiarize themselves with the subject?" he told senior military officials in Yerevan. "I can assure you that I have not uttered even half a word about our conversation in any other place." Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday Moscow regrets the fact that "the state of affairs in the conflict zone remains uneasy." "We are calling on Yerevan and Baku to demonstrate a constructive approach to looking for solutions to unresolved issues," the ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told reporters. At the same time, Zakharova welcomed the warring sides' stated readiness to intensify the negotiation process and bolster the ceasefire regime. For his part, the Minsk Group's U.S. co-chair, Andrew Schofer, told the Armenpress news agency that the Geneva meeting was a "positive sign of commitment by both presidents" to seek a Karabakh settlement. Schofer also said that he and fellow mediators from Russia and France expect to meet the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in the next few weeks. Denmark Withdraws Funding For Armenian Mining Project . Tatevik Lazarian . Artak Hambardzumian Armenia - Open-pit mining at Teghut copper deposit, 20Dec2014. A Danish state agency has decided to withdraw an export credit guarantee for a $62 million investment in Armenia's second largest copper mine, accusing its private owner of failing to comply with environmental standards. Vallex Group, an Armenian mining company, launched productions operations at the Teghut deposit in the northern Lori province three years ago as part of a $380 million project to mine copper and molybdenum there. Open-pit mining at Teghut will lead to the destruction of hundreds of hectares of rich forest. Hence, strong opposition to the project voiced by Armenian environment protection groups. Vallex pledged to offset this damage by planting a new and bigger forest in adjacent areas. It denied environmentalists' claims that ore crushing and enrichment will pollute a local river and underground waters. The company also promised to create 1,300 new jobs, build new schools and upgrade other infrastructure in nearby villages. The project is mostly financed by VTB, a leading Russian commercial bank that has extended loans to Vallex. VTB in turn obtained one of those loans, reportedly worth $62 million, from a Danish pension fund, PensionDanmark. According to Denmark's Export Credit Agency (EKF), the money lent by PensionDanmark was due to be spent on the purchase of mining equipment from a Danish engineering company. In an October 15 statement, EKF said it granted in 2013 PensionDanmark's request to guarantee the export credit to VTB. It said the decision was conditional on the Teghut operator complying with "the World Bank's guidelines on environmental and social sustainability." The statement announced that EKF decided to withdraw that credit guarantee because "the mine has unfortunately not complied with the terms of the agreement." "This decision is the culmination of a lengthy process in which we have been forced on multiple occasions to reprimand the mine," EKF's chief executive, Anette Eberhard, was quoted as saying. The Danish agency did not specify the environmental standards that have allegedly not been met by the Armenian company. Armenia - A newly constructed ore-processing plant at the Teghut copper mine, 20Dec2014. Vallex said on Thursday that it had never signed any loan agreements with EKF and will therefore not comment on the announced halt in Danish funding. It stressed that it has been financing mining and ore-processing operations at Teghut with its own resources and VTB loans. In a statement, the company also insisted that it is operating in strict compliance with environmental standards. Levon Galstian of the Armenian Ecological Front, a non-governmental organization strongly opposed to the Teghut project, dismissed the Vallex reaction as "primitive manipulations." Galstian welcomed EKF's decision, saying that it set a "precedent" that could help to prevent the emergence of more metal mines in Armenia. He also said that his group will use EKF's decision to ask the Armenian government to inspect and eventually stop the Teghut operation. Environment Protection Minister Artsvik Minasian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that his ministry is already looking into the matter and will assess Vallex's compliance with its environment protection obligations. "We will present our actions soon," he said. Copper, molybdenum and other non-ferrous metals as well as their ore concentrates have long been the number one source of Armenia's export revenue. They accounted for at least 44 percent of Armenian exports in January-August this year. The Armenian mining industry reportedly employs about 8,000 people at present. U.S. Official Lauds Armenia's Post-Soviet Progress U.S. - U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bridget Brink and Armenian Ambassador Grigor Hovannisian mark the 26th anniversary of Armenia's independence at an official reception in Washington, 24Oct2017. A senior U.S. State Department official reportedly praised Armenia's "strong partnership" with the United States, "vibrant" political scene, and burgeoning information technology industry as she celebrated the 26th anniversary of the country's independence in Washington on Tuesday. Bridget Brink, a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, was among dignitaries that attended and spoke at a reception hosted by the Armenian Embassy in Washington and the U.S. Congressional Armenian Caucus on Capitol Hill on the occasion. "This year, Armenia celebrates twenty six years of independence. In this time, it is quite remarkable how much progress has been made," she said in remarks cited by the Armenian Assembly of America, a lobbying group that sponsored the event. "We all remember all too well the difficult years immediately after independence," Brink went on. "But in a relatively short period of time, Armenia has modernized its economy and has become a tech hub in the region, created a vibrant political system that allows space for civil society, and has built a strong, enduring partnership with the United States, of which I am deeply proud." The U.S. official also praised Armenia's participation in NATO-led missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, saying that it underscores "the shared strategic interests between our two countries." The Armenian ambassador in Washington, Grigor Hovannisian, described U.S.-Armenian relations as "thriving" when he addressed the reception. The U.S., he said, is a "reliable friend and partner that helped Armenia face formidable odds" following the Soviet break-up. Also attending the event were about two dozen pro-Armenian members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Some of them visited Yerevan last month to take part in official ceremonies that marked the country's independence anniversary. "As we celebrate the freedom that the Armenian people gained over two decades ago, let us also keep in mind those in Artsakh who continue in their struggle for independence," Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, using the Armenian name of Nagorno-Karabakh. Press Review "Zhoghovurd" claims that the Armenian Defense Ministry's proposal to practically abolish all remaining draft deferments enjoyed by university students has caused a "big wave of discontent." The paper too is critical of a relevant bill drafted by the ministry, saying that it was strongly defended in the Armenian parliament on Wednesday by individuals who themselves did not serve in the armed forces. "A considerable number of government members and other officials did not serve in the army either and received deferments for continuing their studies," it says, adding that their arguments in support of the bill are therefore disingenuous. "Hayots Ashkhar" takes a different view, criticizing "groundless" claims about military service hampering the development of science in Armenia. The paper says such claims are mainly made by those who have only "superficial knowledge about the real state of affairs in those areas." "The issue is really serious and important but it does not represent a clash of the interests of the army and the educational-scientific complex," it says. "Zhamanak" claims that "everything except investments" was discussed during Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's October 24-25 visit to Yerevan. The paper recalls that when Prime Minister Karen Karapetian visited Moscow in January he discussed with Medvedev the possible creation of a Russian-Armenian investment fund. It says there was "no word" on that idea in public statements made during Medvedev's trip to Yerevan. Diogo Pinto, the director of the European Friends of Armenia, a Brussels-based group, tells "168 Zham" that he is optimistic about the upcoming signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia and the EU. "If the EU and EU member states are doing their best, then I think that the agreement will be signed either during the [EU's November 24] summit or in the run-up to it," he says. "If not, then I am sure that the agreement will be signed right after it. If the agreement is successfully ratified [by the EU member states] we could switch to negotiations on the liberalization of the visa regime. A visa-free regime [for Armenian nationals] would facilitate Armenia-EU relations." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org