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Israeli minister threatens Iran

Story from BBC NEWS:
_east/7440472.stm

Published: 2008/06/06 14:54:27 GMT

A top Israeli official has said that if Iran continues with its alleged
nuclear arms programme, Israel will attack it.

Speaking to Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz
said sanctions on Iran were ineffective.

Mr Mofaz is one of three deputy prime ministers and the transport
minister.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Iran’s
nuclear programme must be stopped by what he termed all possible means.

Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable
Shaul Mofaz

"The international community has a duty and responsibility to clarify
to Iran, through drastic measures, that the repercussions of their
continued pursuit of nuclear weapons will be devastating," Mr Olmert
said.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes but it
is defying a demand from the UN Security Council to stop the enrichment
of uranium.

‘Attack unavoidable’

"If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons,
we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective," Mr Mofaz told Yediot
Ahronot.

"Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be
unavoidable," he said.

The former chief of the army and defence minister is one of several
senior figures in the governing Kadima party who may challenge the
leadership of Mr Olmert, who faces allegations of corruption.

The UN Security Council has approved three rounds of sanctions against
Iran.

These include asset restrictions and travel bans on Iranian individuals
and companies said to be involved in nuclear work.

The sanctions also ban the sale to Iran of so-called dual-use items –
items which can have either a military or civilian purpose.

ArmRosgasprom States Progress in Internal Installation Maintenance

YEREVAN, June 4. /ARKA/. Senior Engineer of the ArmRosgasprom Company
Ashot Hovsepyan pointed out progress in internal installation
maintenance in Armenia.

According to him, the AEG Service Company, which was founded a year
ago, had a task to organize internal installation maintenance.

Tremendous work has been done since then. A number of problems,
including the personnel problem, have been identified. Monitoring
conducted by the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission recorded
progress in the sector, Hovsepyan stated at a round-table discussion.

He pointed out the necessity for better supervision over the company’s
activities by ArmRosgasprom.

A total of 530,000 gas users are currently registered in Armenia. -0–

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2008

Karabakh warns Azerbaijan against resuming hostilities in Karabakh

Yerevan, 5 June: The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic
[NKR], Bako Sahakyan, said in an interview published in the RBK daily
today that "Azerbaijan’s militarization and military rhetoric are
having no psychological effect on us".

"The use of force will lead to a great number of casualties on both
sides, but will not settle the Karabakh problem. If necessary,
hostilities can be shifted deep inside Azerbaijan. We will surely act
in this way in case of aggression, as expanding the buffer zone will
be the only way to guarantee peace for our people," Sahakyan said.

The NKR president noted the necessity for [NKR capital] Stepanakert’s
[Xankandi] full-fledged participation in the negotiations process.

"We are not emphasizing the number of participants in the
negotiations. However, as long as Azerbaijan does not hold direct
negotiations with us, any other formats would be inefficient,"
Sahakyan said.

"At issue is whether Azerbaijan respects the right of Nagornyy
Karabakh to self-determination? So far, Azerbaijan has been making
regular threats against our state. It is irrelevant to use the very
concept of a compromise under the circumstances," the NKR president
said.

Asked about prospects for the return of Azerbaijani refugees, Sahakyan
said: "We do not rule out the return of Azerbaijani refugees to
Karabakh. However, we are sure that this just should not be done
before the issue is settled politically. We can lead these refuges to
new tragic consequences as a result of our ill-considered actions. The
issue of the Azerbaijani refugees should be also synchronized with the
issue of the Armenian refugees. However, this is being considered
unilaterally at present. Naturally, we are not content with this."

"GOLDEN APRICOT" INTERNATIONAL FILM-FESTIVAL STARTS JULY 13
By Hasmik Harutyunyan

AZG Armenian Daily
05/06/2008

Culture

The 5th "Golden Apricot" international film-festival will start July
13 this year with Roman Balayan film "Birds of paradise".

Besides favoring film-lovers with 7-days culture festival the
multi-genre program of "Golden Apricot" will be also directed to the
development of the Armenian film, said Haroutiun Khachatrian on June
3 in "Urbat" (Friday) club.

According to him, the program of "Golden Apricot" is very satiated
this year. The office received applications of 400 films from 65
countries to participate in the festival.

The competitive program of the festival is divided into 4 parts –
art of acting, documentary, Armenian panorama and "Film-makers without
borders" regional contests.

In the series of Yerevan premieres the Armenian audience will watch the
film of Frenzies Ford Copola "Youth without youth", Goran Paskalievich
film "Optimists" and Vim Venders film "Shooting in Palermo".

Parajanov Award will be given to Vim Venders and Persian film-maker
Dariush Mehrdzu.

"Golden Apricot" will also touch upon the 100th anniversary of
William Saroyan showing films based on the film scenarios and works
of the writer.

The Armenian audience will be first time shown Saroyan’s film "Good
work" shot in 1942.

Harutyun Khachatrian mentioned that Chairman of the festival Atom
Egoyan will hold mastery classes, and a film will be shot with
participation of Armenian young film-makers.

The closing ceremony of the festival will be held on June
19. A. Egoyan’s film "Worship" will be shown. The film was involved
in the main competitive program of Cannes Festival and got the Prize
of the Ecumenical Jury.

"ALL TALKS WILL BE WASTE OF TIME WITHOUT KARABAKH’S DIRECT PARTICIPATION"
by Victor Yadukha

What the Papers Say
June 5, 2008 Thursday
Russia

AN INTERVIEW WITH NAGORNO-KARABAKH PRESIDENT BAKO SAAKJAN; An interview
with Bako Saakjan, president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will discuss Nagorno-Karabakh
at the informal CIS summit in St.Petersburg on June 6. The best
stable of all self-proclaimed sovereign states in the Commonwealth,
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic views itself as a warring side and
insists on direct talks with Azerbaijan.

Here is an interview with President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Bako Saakjan.

Question: Are Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh prepared to discuss status
of some liberated territories located beyond the administrative
borders of the erstwhile Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Republic?

Bako Saakjan: Armenia is a sovereign state. It is involved in the
talks with Azerbaijan because its national interests dictate this
necessity. On the other hand, there is sovereign Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic which is the principal side in this particular conflict. Its
priorities do not differ from the priorities of Azerbaijan, Armenia,
or any other country. Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia enjoy an impressive
degree of integration. We have a common economic space and a common
monetary system. It does not interfere with our sovereignty in
the least. We respect opinion of the people that proclaimed its
sovereignty and adopted the Constitution. Before advancing an opinion
on anything, we want to be sure that we are recognized as a fully
fledged participant in the talks. How can we discuss so serious a
matter as status of Nagorno-Karabakh is when we are not a participant
in the talks?

Question: Does Stepanakert insist on negotiations between three
countries or on separate talks between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan
and between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Bako Saakjan: It does not matter. It’s just that all talks will be
a waste of time unless they are talks with Nagorno-Karabakh directly.

Question: What is your opinion of the war preparations in Azerbaijan
and of how its officials keep calling another war inevitable?

Bako Saakjan: If Baku thought to put us under psychological pressure,
it had better think again. Deployment of armies will result in
countless casualties on both sides but it will never solve the
problem. Firstly, there is a parity at the regional level. Secondly,
our own army is more than a match for the Azerbaijanis. Actually, it is
capable of doing better than just stopping the offensive cold. If need
be, the hostilities will be brought into Azerbaijani itself. And that’s
what we will surely do if attacked. Expansion of the security zone will
be the only way to ensure peaceful existence of Nagorno-Karabakh then.

Question: Yerevan hopes for some sort of bargain or compromise in
the talks over Nagorno-Karabakh…

Bako Saakjan: Baku’s behavior makes a compromise impossible. What
we are stone-cold confident of is that the conflict does not have
any unilateral solution. Everything comes down to whether or not
Azerbaijan respects our right to self-determination. So far, it has
only been threatening to eradicate our state and our people. Not
exactly good for compromises, is it?

Question: Azerbaijan suggests joint use of the Lachin corridor that
connects Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia provided the corridor itself is
recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan. What do you think of the idea?

Bako Saakjan: The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has never been approached
with any such offers or requests.

Question: Do you allow for the return of Azerbaijani refugees to
Nagorno-Karabakh?

Bako Saakjan: We do not rule out this possibility. Still, the firm
conviction in Stepanakert is that it should wait until after political
settlement of the conflict. After all, any haste in so sensitive a
matter may only subject refugees to new sufferings and result in new
tragedies. Azerbaijani refugees’ return should be synchronized with
the return of Armenian refugees. Unfortunately, nobody seems to care
about this latter aspect of the problem.

Question: The Azerbaijani authorities claim that Nagorno-Karabakh
leadership moved 25,000 people to Lachin and Kelbajar and that 30%
of them have already fled the districts again. What is happening
there? Would you mind saying a few words on Stepanakert’s demographic
policy?

Bako Saakjan: Population of these regions mostly consists of refugees
from the Shamumjan district, North Artsakh, and various settlements
of the erstwhile Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic.

Question: Do you view the Kosovo scenario of gaining recognition as
acceptable for Nagorno-Karabakh?

Bako Saakjan: Recognition of Kosovo by the international community
did set a precedent, you know. We abstain from drawing parallels
of course, but if recognition of Kosovo facilitates recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh, it will certainly make us happy.

Question: Is there anything the Nagorno-Karabakh republic expects
from Russia? What does Stepanakert think of the part Moscow has been
playing in the OSCE Minsk Group?

Bako Saakjan: We owe peace in the region, fragile as it is, to
Russia. Sure, we would like to see Russia taking a more energetic
part in conflict settlement over Nagorno-Karabakh and in other regions
because Russia is responsible for what is happening in the region. On
the other hand, that’s surely a global problem and therefore global
responsibility. What I mean is that countries like the United States,
France, and Great Britain are responsible what is happening here
too. We understand that all of them promote their own interests,
but that is only to be expected.

ERDOGAN VOICES SUPPORT TO AZERBAIJAN IN KARABAKH ISSUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.06.2008 17:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Turkey’s
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a joint statement after
a meeting in Nakhijevan.

"Our countries enjoy perfect relations which should develop," Aliyev
said. No regional project can be implemented without participation
of Azerbaijan and Turkey, according to him.

For his part, Mr Erdogan said he attaches importance to his first
visit to Nakhijevan. "This meeting is a message to the world and
region," he said. "Positions of Azerbaijan and Turkey coincide in all
spheres. As to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Turkey always supported
Azerbaijan. The resolution adopted in the UN was an extra proof that
Azerbaijan is on the right track," he said.

The Turkish Prime Minister informed that groundbreaking ceremony of
Turkish part of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project would be held in
July, the Azeri Press Agency reports.

ARMENIA’S RAILWAYS NETWORK TO BE MANAGED BY RUSSIAN RAILWAYS

Interfax News Agency
June 3 2008
Russia

Armenia’s railways network fell under the management of Russian
Railways beginning on June 1, 2008, Armenian Transport and
Communications Minister Gurgen Sarkisian told a press conference
on Tuesday.

All railway transportation in Armenia is now managed by the company
South-Caucasian Railways, which is a 100% subsidiary of OAO Russian
Railways, he said.

The concessionaire is required to invest some $600 million in the
modernization of the railways network and the infrastructure of
Armenia over the course of thirty years, said Sarkisian. Approximately
two-thirds of these funds will likely be invested over the course of
the next five years, he said.

Russian Railways will supply eight electric locomotives to Armenia
over the course of the next 1-2 months. In addition, Russia has
promised to invest first in the modernization of the cars that have
been standing idle for many years, said the minister.

BAKO SAHAKYAN: ENLARGEMENT OF THE SECURITY ZONE WILL BE THE ONLY MEANS FOR PEACE IN CASE OF AGGRESSION

armradio.am
05.06.2008 12:01

President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan declared in
an interview with RBC Daily that "Azerbaijan’s belligerent statements
exert no psychological influence on us."

Application of force will result in many human losses on both sides,
but will not solve the Karabakh issue. In case of necessity the
military actions will be taken deep into Azerbaijani territory. In
case of aggression we shall behave that way, because the enlargement
of the security zone will be the only means for ensuring peace for
our people," Bako Sahakyan said.

NKR Presidnet underlined the necessity of Stepanakert’s full
participation in the negotiation process.

"We do not lay the emphasis on the number of participants of the talks.

However, unless Azerbaijan starts negotiations with us, all other
formats will be ineffective," the President said.

Asked about the perspectives of return of Azeri refugees, Bako
Sahakyan said: "We do not rule out the return of Azerbaijani refugees
to Karabakh. But we are sure that it’s not permissible until the
political solution of the issue. With unreasonable actions we can
make the refugees face new tragic consequences. It’s also necessary to
combine the issue of Azerbaijani refugees with the issue of Armenian
refugees. Today it is viewed unilaterally. Naturally, it does not
satisfy us."

CHARLES AZNAVOUR TO VISIT STEPANAKERT

DeFacto Agency
June 4 2008
Armenia

YEREVAN, 04.06.08. DE FACTO. Today world renowned singer Charles
Aznavour will meet with Artsakh people in Stepanakert Revival Square.

According to KarabakhOpen, the famous singer will also visit the
Culture and Sports Center situated in the center of Karabakh.

To note, Aznavour arrived in Armenia with his wife, daughter and son
on June 2. In Yerevan he met with the RA President Serzh Sargsian.

ARMAVIA COMPANY SEES OFF ITS 200 000TH PASSENGER

arminfo
2008-06-03 19:49:00

ArmInfo. On June 3, Armavia company saw off its 200000th passenger
in 2008.

It was N.Aghakhanyan, a passenger of the Yerevan-Moscow flight. A
Nokia mobile phone and a "gold" number from VivaCell company were
presented to N.Aghakhanyan. "We esteem this traditional ceremony
of giving prizes to each 100 000th passenger. At the same time,
we try to please each passenger with our services no matter whether
he/she is a milestone passenger or not", Acting Director of "Armavia"
Rafael Avetikyan said. He added that such high results reflect the
company’s efficient activity. "It is possible to gain such results
due to correct planning, efforts to expand the air fleet, as well as
skilled work of our employees", Avetikyan said.

Speaking of Armavia’s plans, Avetikyan noted that many of the
projects have been implemented. In particular, flights from Yerevan
to Dusseldorf and Riga were opened on June 2. The flight to Marseilles
will be opened on July 5.

According to him, these cities were chosen chiefly due to the transit
opportunities: through Dusseldorf it will be possible to establish
connections with many directions of Europe, and the flight to Riga
will help Armenia establish ties with not only Baltic but also
Scandinavian countries.

Furthermore, Armavia is considering possible opening of flights to
Beijing and Urumqi.

To recall, in 2007 a total of 572300 passengers were carried by
Armavia’s regular and charter flights, this index being by 21% higher
than in 2006.