Author: Andres-Papazian

Interfax, Russia
Feb 12 2011

Azerbaijan says getting ready to use armed force to get back Nagorno-Karabakh

BAKU. Feb 12

Azerbaijan’s armed forces are getting ready to restore Azeri
sovereignty over the country’s disputed Armenian-speaking enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh and adjoining ethnic Azeri districts, which have been
under Armenian occupation since a 1990s war between Azerbaijan and
Armenia, the Azeri defense minister said.

“This is the way all states behave in such situations, and no one can
blame Azerbaijan,” the minister, Col. Gen. Safar Abiyev, said at a
meeting with the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group, a mediator body set
up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Abiyev said the Minsk Group’s efforts had been fruitless but that
Azerbaijan was still hoping the OSCE body would be able to broker
peace. However, he added, a negotiated solution was impossible without
Armenian forces pulling out of Azerbaijan.

Earlier, the Minsk Group co-chairmen, Igor Popov of Russia, Robert
Bradtke of the United States and Bernard Fassier of France, met with
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, and the day before had meetings in
Yerevan, capital of Armenia, with the latter’s President Serzh
Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan, and Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanyan.

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From: A. Papazian

Interfax, Russia
Feb 12 2011

Mediators urge decisive moves to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

BAKU. Feb 12

International mediators urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to make decisive
moves to settle their two-decade conflict over Azerbaijan’s disputed
Armenian-speaking enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and to show restraint in
their actions and public statements.

The appeal came in a statement that followed visits by the co-chairmen
of the Minsk Group, a mediator body appointed by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, to Azerbaijan and Armenia on
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

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From: A. Papazian

Interfax, Russia
Feb 12 2011

Armenian foreign minister criticizes International Crisis Group’s
report on Karabakh

YEREVAN. Feb 12

Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Naldandyan has criticized the report
by the International Crisis Group on the situation in the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict zone.

“It’s only an expert estimation, which is often different from
reality. To express an expert opinion one has to take into account the
current situation and not try to aggravate the situation,” Naldandyan
said at a press conference given jointly with his Ukrainian
counterpart Konstantin Hryshchenko in Yerevan on Friday.

There is the opinion of the Minsk OSCE Group on the situation with
Nagorny Karabakh, Naldandyan said. “We need to take into account this
opinion. We have to heed the opinion of the Minsk group,” the minister
said.

Experts from the International Crisis Group said in their report that
the possibility of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny
Karabakh resuming is very high and this war could be more destructive
than the 1992-1994 conflict.

” Escalating front-line clashes, a spiralling arms race, vitriolic
rhetoric and a virtual breakdown in peace talks increase the chance
Armenia and Azerbaijan will go back to war over Nagorno-Karabakh, with
devastating regional consequences,” the report says.

Even if Armenia and Azerbaijan do not plan immediate attacks, the
scale of minor clashes can easily go out of control,” the document
says.

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From: A. Papazian

Interfax, Russia
Feb 12 2011

Azerbaijan is not interested in resolving Nagorny Karabakh conflict –
Armenian foreign minister

YEREVAN. Feb 12

Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said he doubts that
Azerbaijan is really interested in resolving the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict.

“Azerbaijan is trying to take its internal propaganda to the
international scene and make noise over the conflict, not do the real
work on resolving the issue,” Naldandyan told a press conference
referring to the resumption of the activities of the PACE subcommittee
on Karabakh.

Azerbaijan is interested in discussing the Karabakh issue outside the
Minsk OSCE Group format, he said.

“The previous activities by this subcommittee proved ineffective. That
is the reason for our position. That is the difference between the
positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Naldandyan said.

The PACE subcommittee on Karabakh resumed its activities in late
January 2011 after a three years’ interval. The Armenian delegation
already said it will not take part in the work of this structure.

“We have serious reservations about the process of resumption of the
work by this subcommission. We will not take part in something that
may harm the negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict,” David Arutyunyan, the head of the Armenian
delegation in PACE, said

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From: A. Papazian

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Feb 12 2011

Saakashvili Speaks of ‘United Caucasus’ in Talks with Turkish FM

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 12 Feb.’11 / 23:50

President Saakashvili spoke about “the idea of creating united
Caucasus” at a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu,
in Tbilisi on February 12, the Georgian President’s administration
said.

It said that Saakashvili noted importance of “opened borders” in the region.

“Existence of the united Caucasus is my desire,” Saakashvili said. “We
have shared this opinion with our Azerbaijani and Armenian friends.”

“There is still a long road ahead before materialization of this idea,
but this a positive step forward,” Saakashvili added, referring to a
decision to simplify border crossing between Turkey and Georgia.

The Georgian President’s administration said that during the meeting
with the Turkish Foreign Minister it was agreed to simplify border
crossing staring from this May.

“It was decided to simplify border crossing between Georgia and Turkey
so that it will not even be required to leave a car,” the Georgian
President’s administration said.

Earlier on February 12, the Turkish Foreign Minister said at a news
conference after meeting with his Georgian counterpart, Grigol
Vashadze, that one-stop procedures would apply while crossing the
border.

Before meeting with the Georgian leadership in Tbilisi on Saturday,
the Turkish Foreign Minister spent first day of his official visit to
Georgia on Friday in Batumi, main town of Adjara Autonomous Republic,
which borders with Turkey.

President Saakashvili told Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu, that Batumi had turned
into “an economic center not only for Georgia, but for the entire
Black Sea.”

“Georgia should turn into a major economic link for the Central Asia
and Caspian region and for Turkey,” Saakashvili said. “Turkey is not
only economically fast developing country, it has also turned into a
standard of innovations… The fact that we are opening borders is a
positive example for other countries of the region.”

Restoring Sites of Historic Heritage

A potential deal between Tbilisi and Ankara on restoration of sites of
cultural heritage was among the issues raised during the meeting
between the Turkish and Georgian Foreign Ministers.

The deal, if signed, will pave the way for reconstruction of four
Georgian medieval monasteries, now located in north-east Turkey, in
exchange of rebuilding one mosque in Batumi and restoring of several
others. The issue has turned into a source of controversy in Georgia
as the influential Georgian Orthodox Church spoke out against the
potential agreement.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, the
Georgian Foreign Minister expressed regret that the agreement was not
yet signed.

“I want to say that we have been late; we should have completed talks
earlier and in this case the cultural heritage, which simultaneously
belongs to Georgia and Turkey, would have been in better condition,’
Grigol Vashadze said.

The similar agreement was close to finalizing three years ago, but at
the time Georgian government yielded to opposition from the Georgian
Orthodox Church and the deal was not signed.

`The key goal of this process is, first and foremost, to save our
common cultural heritage,’ Vashadze said.

The Turkish Foreign Minister expressed hope that the two countries
would cooperate positively in the sphere of historic heritage.

Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu also said that it was an important issue, `since we
have common history.’ He said that the Georgian historical monuments
located on the territory of Turkey also were part of Turkey’s historic
heritage and vise versa.

`Cultural monuments existing in Georgia are joint cultural heritage.
It especially applies to Adjara and Batumi, where Muslim population is
residing. It is a good example of good neighborly relations and it
should be assessed and discussed positively,’ he said.

From: A. Papazian

Fars News Agency, Iran
Feb 13 2011

Iran to Supply Armenia with Gasoline, Diesel Oil

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian oil official announced that the country
is due to export 1.5 million liters of gasoline and diesel oil to
Armenia each day.

“Based on the agreement, Iran will export 750,000 liters of gasoline
and 750,000 liters of diesel oil to Yerevan on daily basis,” Iranian
Deputy Oil Minister and Managing Director of National Iranian Oil
Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Alireza Zeiqami stated.

Late in January, Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mir-Kazzemi announced
that Iran and Armenia plan to construct a new oil pipeline to increase
energy supply to the Caucasian state.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with visiting Armenian Minister
of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian here in Tehran,
Mir-Kazzemi said that the pipeline will begin from Iran’s Northwestern
city of Tabriz and stretch toward the Armenian border.

The minister added that the pipeline can help Armenia meet parts of
its needs for oil products from the Islamic Republic.

He added that the two sides will finalize the volume and the value of
the exports of oil products during a meeting in the near future.

By 2014, the 365 kilometer, 8 inch pipeline will transfer oil products
from Tabriz to Yerevan.

Iran and Armenia have also expanded cooperation in power and gas swap
in recent years.

Iran mainly exports natural gas to Armenia and imports power supplies
from the Caucasian state through two transfer lines with a total power
transfer capacity of 220kw/ph at present.

From: A. Papazian

RTT News
Feb 13 2011

Stevie Wonder To Perform At Armenian Genocide Victim Concerts
2/13/2011 11:01 AM ET

(RTTNews) – Stevie Wonder has confirmed he will perform at a series
of concerts to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The
news comes via the Russia-based Yerkramas newspaper.

These concerts, titled “Never Again,” will conclude in 2015, which
will be the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. All the
artists and participants involved will also emphasize genocides in
Rwanda, Cambodia and Sudan.

“Something that may not be done through the power of politics can be
done through the power of music,” said Anush Hovsepyan, spokeswoman
for Glendale-based non-profit Artists for Peace.

The first concert to honor these victims will be held April 17, 2011
at Hollywood’s Universal City Gibson Amphitheatre. Wonder will be
performing alongside Canadian musician David Foster and famous
Armenian singer Flora Martirosyan.

by RTT Staff Writer

From: A. Papazian

The Boxing Historian
Feb 12 2011

Arthur Abraham wins second round stoppage due to injury

Written by Christoph Eichel Saturday, 12 February 2011 22:15

(Germany Ringside) After two back to back defeats in the shotwime
super six boxing classics former middleweight champion Arthur Abraham
was granted permission to compete in what was a planned confidence
builder, before his semi-final fight with tournament favourite and
undefeated American; Andre Ward.

Such is the popularity of the Armenian born Arthur Abraham; tonight in
his adopted Germany he was the main event, relegating more competitive
fights and even world title fights onto the undercard.

Abraham’s opponent 36-year-old Croatian Stjepan Bozic (24-4-0, 15
KO’s) had lost his only major title challenge against Dimitri Sartison
in Germany back in 2009. Since his title challenge Bozic has fought
only once, ten months ago against mediocre opposition.

Under normal circumstances Bozic would be nothing more than a
sacrificial lamb, but with his big super six fight fast approaching
the boxing media kept a close eye on the bout to see if Abraham would
capitalise on the opportunity to refine his skills for the big
challenge ahead, or would he simply go looking for the big knockout.

>From the opening bell Abraham concentrated his efforts on establishing
the jab, throughout the first round he doubled up on the jab while
switching his attack to both the body and head.

In the second round Bozic responded to an Abraham attack by opening up
an assault of his own, during the exchange he landed a blow on the
elbow of Abraham dropping to the canvas in pain, the referee on the
advice of the ringside doctor stopped the fight due to a suspected
broken hand.

In the short time `King Arthur’ showed some change in his fighting
style, certainly focusing more on his jab. It remains to be seen if
the Armenian has refined his arsenal to mount a serious challenge
against Olympic gold medallist Andre Ward, Abraham’s best chance of a
victory against Ward will most likely be seeking the early knockout.

Arthur Abraham will meet Andre Ward in the semi-final of the super six
tournament at a date yet to be announced. The other semi-final will be
contested between England’s Carl Froch against the road warrior Glen
Johnson scheduled in for 21 May

From: A. Papazian

Create Incentives for Local Production

NKR Government Information and
Public Relations Department

February 11, 2011

Press Conference of the Prime Minister

Today the NKR Prime Minister invited a press conference devoted to the
price rise on the consumer goods. By words of the Government head rise
in prices of consumer goods in the world as well as in Artsakh is
conditioned by low harvesting and raise in the standards of living.
Prices of the imported goods are based on market relations. According
to Ara Haroutyunyan for ensuring food safety, they ought to stimulate
local food production,mainly agricultural products.

Policy aimed at agriculture development is now realized in Artsakh,
but results are not promising yet. For intensive development of the
sphere they need large investments (circa 40-45 BN per year) but the
state cannot afford it. Currently different programs are in process in
the spheres of cattle breeding development, purchasing agricultural
equipments and ensuring rich crop which may promote economic
development. Prime Minister mentioned that in coming autumn the first
attempts will be done for producing vegetable oil and sugar. In our
country we have all favourable conditions for growing sunflower,
buckwheat, maize and other plants. Ara Haroutynyan also mentioned that
it is necessary to limit the export, regardless that Artsakh functions
with Armenia in the same economic field. About 5000 tons wheat has
been exported but there are still 3000 tons of reserves, which will be
enough till the new harvest. By the Prime Minister’s words about 40
thousand hectare wheat had been sown and we have all the preconditions
for expecting rich crop. Meanwhile wheat and flour producing
entrepreneurs have been warned not to raise the prices. The head of
the Government assured that rise in prices will remain till June but
in summer slump in prices will be noticeable.

During the meeting with journalists Prime Minister answered other
questions as well regarding the state compulsory insurance of cars and
launching TV channels in the republic. Answering the question of a
journalist about establishing state storage Prime Minister mentioned
that having a state storage is really a necessity but large
investments are required. Some of the entrepreneurs created
appropriate conditions which will be used by the state in case of
need.

From: A. Papazian

WHAT WILL PREVENT A WAR

Lragir.am
11/02/2011

Head of Nor Zhamanakner Party Aram Karapetyan said that when
international expert structure publish a report on Karabakh, we should
not necessarily think that they fulfill an order. Aram Karapetyan said
this dwelling on the ICG famous report, which noted that likelihood of
a sudden war in Karabakh increased.

Aram Karapetyan notes that the threat increased, since the longer the
issue is not settled, the more the threat will become. He noted that
there is a serious work of experts in the ICG report, the authors of
which announce that the Karabakh issue can be the best tool to provoke
a war in the region against Iran. He says the last target of world
forces of the events in the Arab world is Iran. Aram Karapetyan notes
that they can use the Karabakh issue to provoke instability, which
will then be used against Iran.

Aram Karapetyan believes a global war will be destructive for Armenia.
According to him, the approach of making concessions to prevent war is
wrong and dangerous. According to Karapetyan, Armenia can avoid a war
only if justice, democracy is established in the country. In this case
people will unite around their state and will be ready to fight for
it. And then, the world will see that speaking in a war language will
not work with Armenia.

According to him, otherwise, if the idea to yield Karabakh and
conclude this issue reigns, those forces will think they are on the
right path and will try to seize every concession possible from
Armenia.

From: A. Papazian