Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

CONGRESS URGED NOT TO ACT ON ARMENIAN RESOLUTION

AP
March 4, 2010 03:36 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is urging Congress to
hold off on a resolution declaring that the Ottoman-era killing of
Armenians was genocide.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee scheduled a vote on the resolution
for Thursday, and appeared likely to endorse it.

ButWhite House spokesman Mike Hammer says on Wednesday Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke with Committee Chairman Howard
Berman and indicated the vote would jeopardize reconciliation talks
between Turkey and Armenia.

The move breaks a campaign promise by President Barack Obama to brand
the killings genocide.

Turkey is a NATO ally important to U.S. interests in the Middle East
and Afghanistan. Turkish officials have warned that the resolution
could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation and set back negotiations
aimed at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further
information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) – A resolution declaring that the Ottoman-era
killing of Armenians was genocide appears likely to be approved by
a congressional committee, a move that could alienate Turkey, a NATO
ally important to U.S. interests in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee was expected to endorse the
resolution Thursday, sending it to the full House, where prospects
for passage are uncertain. Even if the measure does not go beyond the
committee, Turkey warns it could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation
and set back negotiations aimed at opening the border between Turkey
and Armenia.

The United States relies on Turkey as a key supply route for U.S.

troops in Iraq and its troops serve in the U.S.-led coalition forces
in Afghanistan. The United States also is pressing Turkey, which holds
a rotating seat in the U.N. Security Council, to support sanctions
against Iran, Turkey’s neighbor.

The Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar measure in 2007,
but it was not brought to the House floor for a vote after intensive
pressure from the Bush administration. This time, the Obama
administration has taken no public position.

Following the 2007 committee vote, Turkey promptly recalled its
ambassador, and U.S. officials feared passage by the full House might
prompt the Turks to cut off American access to a Turkish air base
essential to operations in Iraq.

The committee vote could prompt Turkey to recall its ambassador again.

Asked Thursday if his country would call home its envoy if the
measure is approved, a Turkish official said all options were being
considered. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of the issue.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says the resolution could damage
Turkish-U.S. ties and undermine reconciliation efforts with Armenia.

"If it passes, then the Obama administration should try to prevent
it from being voted by Congress," Turkey’s state-run Anatolia news
agency quoted the Turkish foreign minister as saying.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will wait to see the result
of the committee vote before deciding whether to bring the resolution
before the full House.

Armenian-American groups for decades have sought congressional
affirmation of the killings as genocide. Historians estimate that
up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around
the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the
first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths
constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those
killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

In April, Obama broke a campaign promise to brand the killings genocide
in an annual White House statement on the day marking Armenian
remembrance. Obama said that while he had not changed his views,
he did not want to upset promising talks between Turkey and Armenia
on improving relations and opening their border. Turkey sealed the
border in 1993 to protest Armenia’s war with neighboring Azerbaijan.

In October, Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement to normalize
relations, but Turkey has yet to ratify it. As progress toward a
breakthrough between the two countries appears stalled, it may be
harder for the Obama administration to oppose the resolution or
refrain from calling the killings genocide in this year’s statement.

EBRD FORECASTS REDUCTION IN INTEREST RATES IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
23.02.2010

ArmInfo.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
forecasts reduction in interest rates in Armenia in 2010, Head of
EBRD Office in Armenia told Valeriu Razlog told ArmInfo.

It is difficult to foretell how the interest rates will be formed in
the commercial banks of Armenia, he said. EBRD expects some restraint
or reduction in market rates due to fiercer competition between the
banks with due regard for high-level liquidity, he added. At the
same time, Razlog thinks that having resources to invest in the real
sector of economy, the Armenian commercial banks are currently trying
attract the best clients, and this rules out raising of interest rates.

At the same time, EBRD forecasts further raise in the rate of
refinancing. This tendency is already being observed in Central
Europe, where countries are gradually transiting from economy support
to enhanced stability efforts. Today, many CBs are showing a more
balanced approach to economy support as this policy creates an
environment fostering inflation.

To remind, Feb 16 the Central Bank of Armenia raised the rate of
refinancing by 0.50 points to 6%.

DIPLOMATS CANNOT TALK WITH VILLAGERS OF BENANIYAR

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.01.2010 18:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Diplomats from the United States and Norway visited
the Foreign Ministry of Nakhichevan and plan to visit Baku.

Representatives of the U.S. Embassy Joanna Ganson, and the Embassy
of Norway Lars Hansen on Wednesday had an unpleasant incident, radio
"Freedom" reported.

The night before they went to the region to familiarize with the
situation in the village Benaniyar . On the morning of January 13,
entering the village they encountered a group of excited people who
verbally abused them and screamed. The group stopped their vehicle
as it entered the village, verbally threatened them and forced them
to leave before any contacts with village residents were made.

Nevertheless, diplomats drove into the village, but with anyone
of their residents, they could not talk because no one went out of
their homes.

In the Azerbaijani village Benaniyar, located on the territory of the
Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR), in early January mass arrests
were made, some of the residents were beaten by security forces.

KARSI-AKHALKALAKI RAILWAY WILL BE CONSTRUCTED ON SCHEDULE

The Messenger
Dec 23 2009
Georgia

The JSC Azerbaijani Railways Chief Engineer Kurban Nazirov thinks
that work on the construction of the Karsi-Akhalkalaki segment of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will be undertaken according to the
schedule. The Akhalkalaki railway station will be built between 2010
and 2011 by Azeri company Kontur.

The construction of Karsi-Akhalkalaki railway line was already
underway at the time of the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, which
was followed by the attempts to reconcile Turkey and Armenia and open
their mutual borders. These events triggered speculation that the
existing Karsi-Gumri (Armenia) railway might be reopened, undermining
the building of the Karsi-Akhalkalaki track. However developments
have made clear that this construction is still on the agenda.

US TO SPARE NO EFFORT TO SETTLE KARABAKH CONFLICT IN FAVOR OF CHRISTIAN ARMENIA

news.az
Dec 21 2009
Azerbaijan

The decision by the US Congress to allocate $8 mln to self-proclaimed
"NKR" in 2010 has become the most discussed event of the recent week.

Several US experts, in particular, professor of John Hopkins’
University Frederick Starr said this decision is a mistake and urged
to differentiate between the "allocation by voting in Congress" and
factual transfer of this money, stating the money will not be spent.

What can you say about it?

First of all, for some strange reasons, all actions by the United
States, Russia and France that are later recognized as mistaken are
targeting Azerbaijan. There is not a single case when any superpower
gets mistaken about Armenia. As for the second part of Starr’s
statement, he is right to say that there are great doubts that this
money will reach the Karabakh separatists. I faced such a situation
for the first time when I worked in Algeria. The French government
allocated several millions of financial assistance. But during
my personal meetings, it turned out that these funds were mostly
allocated for purchase of French cars and spare parts for Algeria.

Now, it also not excluded that money allocated by the US Congress
to both Armenia and the separatists of the unrecognized "NKR" will
return to Americans, because they will specify the ways to spend these
amounts. Meanwhile, it should be noted that Azerbaijan is concerned
not with whether the millions will reach the Karabakh separatists
but the very fact of their allocation, which is a political element
of the issue.

In this respect, what do you think is the real position of the United
States on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict considering the
assistance of the US Congress to Karabakh separatist while the White
House declares support to the territorial integrity of our country?

I admit that I had been mistaken considering that the United States
is interested in the resolution of the Karabakh conflict within the
framework of international norms and principles. Now, I am confident
that the United States is the same aggressive empire as Russia.

Merely, it is more democratic. The United States put only their
national interests above everything. In case of the Karabakh conflict,
they support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan but do not condemn
the Armenian aggression. They allocate financial assistance to Karabakh
separatists which can be viewed as assistance to the aggressor.

Isn’t it more profitable for the United States to build good
relations with wealthy and rapidly developing Azerbaijan than poor
and unpromising Armenia?

I think we should forget what you have said. The United States is a
homeland of Christian fundamentalism. Therefore, they will spare no
effort to settle the Karabakh conflict in favor of Christian Armenia
rather than Muslim Azerbaijan. Russia and France, the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs, support the same position.

Would the situation change in case Turkey becomes the fourth Minsk
Group co-chair?

No, it would not. Turkey mostly supports the position of the United
States. In particular, I have repeatedly heard Turkish diplomats urging
to recognize the "NKR’s" independence. Turkey mostly depends on the
United States which means that the fate of the Karabakh conflict will
not change depending on the participation of Turkey among the Minsk
Group co-chairing states.

UNIBANK PRESENTS NEW MORTGAGE PROGRAM

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.12.2009 16:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Unibank presents a new mortgage program, providing
loans to purchase real estate in new built quarters.

Minimal prepayment is defined as 30 %, with maximal mortgage loan
amount of $200 000. Loans are provided for a 15-year term, at 14%
annual interest rate, the bank’s press service reported.

By the end of 2009 third quarter, Unibank mortgage portfolio exceeded
AMD 12.7 billion to rank second in Armenia’s banking system.

METALLURG CLUB RANKS FOURTH IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF UKRAINE

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.11.2009 21:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the 12th round of the Ukrainian football
championship the match between "Metallurg" and "Metalist" attracted
much attention. "Metallurg" club of Henrik Mkhitaryan, halfback of
the Armenian national team, at the last minute lost its chance of
ending the game in a draw, the official website of the "Metallurg"
football club reports.

Metallurg ranks 4th and 11 points behind Dynamo Kiev, the latter is
the leader of the championship in Ukraine.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARY VICE-SPEAKER URGES TURKEY TO USE PRESSURE LEVERAGES IN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Trend News Agency
Oct 20 2009
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Parliamentary Vice-Speaker urged Turkey to use pressure
leverages in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

"One of key tasks of the OSCE Minsk Group is the solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The participation of the foreign ministers
of the co-chair countries in the signing ceremony of the Protocols in
Zurich said that they were not interested in a quick solution. The
signing of the protocols has proved that the co-chairs can exert
pressure on Armenia, if necessary. And there is an opportunity to
impact on Turkey. However, we do not see the mechanism of pressure in
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament,
Ziyafat Asgarov said at the meeting on Oct. 20.

Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocol in Zurich on Oct. 10.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 due to Armenia’s
claims of an alleged genocide, and the country’s occupation of 20
percent of Azerbaijani lands.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Azerbaijani Parliamentarian, Iqbal Aghazade suggested to discuss
in closed session of Parliament the current situation related to
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and processes in
the region.

"During a private meeting, the relevant agencies should submit a
report on the current situation", said Aghazade.

Azerbaijan is not conducted the anti-Turkish campaign, said Ali
Ahmadov, deputy chairman of ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP).

"This campaign is launched against the signing of the protocols. The
Azerbaijani-Turkish relations – this is not the relations between
governments. These relationships can never be destroyed," said the
deputy chairman of the NAP.

BEGLARYAN: YEREVAN WILL BENEFIT THROUGH THIS CO-OPERATION

Aysor.am
Tuesday, October 06

Yesterday Yerevan’s Mayor Gagik Beglaryan received French delegation
headed by President of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur regions Michel
Vauzelle. The delegates have already experienced of inter-regional
cooperation with Armenia, and currently the mutual openness to
inter-urban is expressed.

"Yerevan will benefit through this co-operation," said Mr. Beglaryan
mentioning that Yerevan-city is at a new stage of management, and
there’s a need to share experiences. The sides agreed that focus of
mutual interests include health, transport and waste collection.

Gagik Beglaryan praised France’s cooperation with Armenia expressing
confidence that bilateral ties would be strengthened by further
new visits, arrangements, and agreements, reports Municipality’s
press office.

PARIS: POLICEMEN VS ARMENIANS

hos15402.html
12:00:37 – 03/10/2009

The first day of Serge Sargsyan’s pan-Armenian trip in Paris was
marked by an incident. As Serge Sargsyan was laying flowers to the
statue of Komitas, the policemen attacked about 1000 Armenians
gathered there.

There was a scuffle, the policemen hit those gathered. Some people
were lightly injured. The Armenians were protesting against the
Turkish-Armenian protocols and Serge Sargsyan’s policy.

Watch video by the reporter Tatul Hakobyan at
; feature=channel

Photos by Jean Eckian, Paris