Author: Andres-Papazian

THE UKRAINE-ARMENIA CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL DISPUTE
Simon Lester

International Economic Law and Policy
October 26, 2010 Tuesday 10:50 AM EST

Oct. 26, 2010 (International Economic Law and Policy Blog delivered
by Newstex) —

I had been trying to do someposts on the Ukraine-Armenia WTO dispute
over taxes and duties on cigarettes and alcohol (DS411), because I
figured it would not get reported on much in the mainstream media.

But perhaps I better stop trying to do this kind of reporting, given
my record of accuracy. In my last post, based on a news report on
an Armenian web site indicating that the measure had been modified,
I said:

The Ukraine had requested a panel, but the dispute didn’t even reach
the panel establishment stage. Apparently, sometimes a panel request
is all you need in order to get compliance.

But now I see a report from the WTO in its summary of yesterday’s
DSB meeting, noting that the panel request is going ahead:

Ukraine introduced its first-time request for a panel. Ukraine
was of the view that Armenias measures violated Articles III:1,
III:2 and III:4 of GATT 1994 as well as Armenias commitment in
its accession working party report to apply its domestic taxes in
a non-discriminatory manner consistent with the national treatment
provisions before or from the date of accession. According to Ukraine,
the measures at issue are: the Presumptive Tax which imposes higher
tax rates on imported cigarettes than on like domestic products; the
collection of import duties on imported cigarettes in excess of duties
set forth in Armenias Schedule of Concessions; and the imposition of
higher excise tax rates on imported alcoholic beverages than on like
domestic products. Armenia said that it hoped to intensify bilateral
consultations with Ukraine and was thus not in a position to agree to
the establishment of a panel. Consequently, the DSB agreed to revert
to this matter.

I think the lesson is that I should stick to quoting cases and such,
and avoid trying to figure out what is in the minds of governments
in relation to their plans for particular cases!

From: A. Papazian

IRAN, ARMENIA START ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT OIL PIPELINE

Moj News Agency
October 26, 2010 Tuesday
Iran

Addressing at Budget-2011 discussions in the Armenian Parliament,
Simonyan said that “the project is being implemented in bilateral
format”, adding that “further progress will be registered during
Armenian Premier’s visit to Iran as the shareholders had already
signed an agreement.”

“The project estimated at several billion dollars. It was put off
due to crisis, but not cancelled,” Simonyan was quoted by Armen News.

The length of Tabriz-Aragats oil pipeline is 110 km on Iran’s territory
and 265 km on Armenia’s, the report added.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT MAY RECOGNIZE NAGORNO-KARABAKH INDEPENDENCE

Interfax
Oct 26 2010
Russia

Armenian parliament may recognize Nagorno-Karabakh independence
Armenia’s parliament may recognize the independence of the
self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside
Azerbaijan but has a mainly ethnic Armenian population.

“If the president suggests that we recognize the independence
of Nagorno-Karabakh after the [trilateral] meeting [between the
presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Astrakhan on October
27], we will gladly do so,” Ovik Abraamyan, chairman of the Armenian
National Assembly, told reporters on Tuesday.

The speaker said the Armenian administration currently believes the
adoption of a bill recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh would be inexpedient.

“No one should get the impression that the country’s administration
does not want the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, we are
trying not to prevent the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk
Group,” he said.

The parliamentary opposition faction Naslediye earlier proposed a
bill to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh.

From: A. Papazian

IRAN’S PRESIDENT HAILS GROWING RELATIONS BETWEEN IRAN, ARMENIA

Interfax
Oct 26 2010
Russia

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday hailed the “positive
and growing” relations between Iran and Armenia, the local satellite
Press TV reported.

The two countries must develop their potentials and strengthen
bilateral cooperation in different areas, Ahmadinejad said during
a meeting with the visiting Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan
in Tehran.

“Bolstering trade cooperation, implementation of different projects
on transportation, energy, and joint investment will create links
between regional nations,” Iranian president was quoted as saying.

For his part, the Armenian Prime Minister said Tehran and Yerevan
have a common stance on mutual and regional issues.

Armenia welcomes more economic, political and cultural ties with Iran,
said Sargsyan.

Heading a politico-economic delegation from Armenia’s chamber of
commerce, Sargsyan arrived in Tehran on Monday for major economic
talks.

From: A. Papazian

DOCUMENTS UNLIKELY TO BE SIGNED AT ARMENIAN-AZERI MEETING IN ASTRAKHAN – YEREVAN

Interfax
Oct 26 2010
Russia

Documents unlikely to be signed at Armenian-Azeri meeting in Astrakhan
– Yerevan Yerevan is not placing high hopes on an upcoming meeting
of the Armenian and Azeri presidents in the city of Astrakhan in
southern Russia.

“The upcoming presidential meeting is important from the point of
view of continuing our talks, in which Russia has been playing a
great role as a co-chairman of the OSCE (Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group helping resolve the Karabakh
conflict,” Eduard Sharmazanov, secretary of the parliamentary faction
of Armenia’s ruling Republican Party, told journalists on Tuesday.

For his part, Republican Party spokesman Gagik Melikyan told
journalists that no documents would be signed at the presidential
meeting in Astrakhan, which will also be attended by Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev.

“The Astrakhan meeting could be expected to make progress only in the
form of continuation of our talks. This is increasingly important
because Azerbaijan’s latest belligerent statements were aimed at
leading the negotiating process under way within the OSCE Minsk
Group to deadlock. I do not think that any documents will be signed
in Astrakhan,” Melikyan said.

However, the pro-opposition Aikakan Zhamanak (Armenian Time) newspaper
reported on Tuesday, citing its own sources, that the United States
had drafted a document meant to help settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict that would be presented to Armenia and Azerbaijan during
the OSCE summit in Astana at the start of December.

“According to this document, NATO peacekeeping forces should be
deployed on the territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, after
which the Armenian-Turkish border will be re-opened. An appropriate
agreement has already been reached between Armenia, Azerbaijan,
the U.S. and Turkey,” the newspaper said.

The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group are expected to visit Armenia
and Azerbaijan at the start of November, when, according to as yet
unconfirmed reports, they plan to invite the Azeri and Armenian foreign
ministers to meet in Strasbourg on November 10 on the sidelines of
a session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.

From: A. Papazian

JUVENILE COURT TO TRY ALLEGED KILLER OF ARMENIAN JOURNALIST

Agence France Presse
October 25, 2010 Monday 12:41 PM GMT

The alleged killer of ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is to be
tried before a juvenile court as he was a minor at the time of the
shooting in January 2007, media reports said Monday.

They said an assize court trying Ogun Samast and two alleged
accomplices accepted Monday his lawyers’ plea that his case be
transferred because he was 17 when the murder took place, the
reports said.

The ruling sparked an angry reaction from Dink’s family, with the
Anatolia news agency quoting his brother Hosrof as condemning an
“injustice.”

But a retired prosecutor in Turkey’s top court, Ahmet Gundel, told
the NTV news channel it would make no difference to the possible
penalty Samast would face.

The 52-year-old Dink was shot dead in central Istanbul on January 19,
2007, outside the offices of Agos, the weekly newspaper he ran.

Dink, a prominent member of Turkey’s tiny Armenian community,
campaigned for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation but was hated by
nationalists for describing the mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire as genocide, a label that Ankara fiercely rejects.

Samast, the self-confessed hitman, went on trial in July 2007.

Monday’s court hearing was the 15th in the case.

A total of 20 people have been charged in connection with the killing.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN PM IN IRAN TO BOOST TRADE TIES: REPORT

Agence France Presse
October 25, 2010 Monday 9:25 AM GMT

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian arrived in Tehran on Monday
for a visit aimed at boosting bilateral ties with Iran, state news
agency IRNA reported.

Sarkisian, who was accompanied by a business and trade delegation,
was to hold talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
other senior officials during his two-day stay, IRNA said.

His trip to the Islamic republic comes two weeks after Iran’s
parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, visited Armenia.

From: A. Papazian

TWO RUSSIAN CONTRACT SERVICEMEN FOUND DEAD IN ARMENIA

Interfax
Oct 25 2010
Russia

Yerevan, 25 October: The bodies of two contract servicemen of the
Russian Federal Security Service border directorate for Armenia have
been found in a military unit deployed in the town of Gyumri in the
north of the republic [of Armenia].

The bodies of the contract servicemen, who are Russian citizens
27-year-old Armen Zakharyan and 39-year-old Artur Yenokyan, were
found in the recreation room with multiple stab and slash wounds,
the press service of the Armenian police told Russian news agency
Interfax on Monday [25 October].

The investigation is being conducted by the Russian side, the statement
[distributed by the press service] said.

From: A. Papazian

ST. STEPHEN’S CHURCH IN WATERTOWN HOSTS 54TH ANNUAL BAZAAR

Watertown TAB & Press
Oct 27 2010
MA

WATERTOWN – Nov. 5 and 6 marks the date of the 54th Annual Bazaar of
the St Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church to be held at the ACEC,
47 Nichols Ave. in Watertown.

Committees have been busy working since the summer. All visitors will
be excited to see the varied products available.

During the two days of the Bazaar the ever-popular lamb, losh, chicken
kebab, kheyma and kufte meals will be available, either to eat in or
take home. Meals will be served continuously from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30
p.m. on both days.

Brought back by popular demand is the Attic Treasures booth. Everyone
always enjoys sifting through all the stuff hoping something will
catch his or her eye. One thing is certain, the price is right. Come
early and browse to your hearts content

The live auction will be available both Friday and Saturday evenings,
featuring many sport packages, jewelry, and rugs. Auction items will
be on display during the day for your perusal.

The Arts and Crafts committee promises unusual products, many of
them homemade. There is always an interesting and useful array of
gift items.

The pastry department again will not disappoint all who remember
the tasty baked goods. The pastry co-chairwomen have increased the
number of choregs and braided loaves to satisfy the demand. Beoregs,
both cheese and spinach, along with khadaifs, cream and nut, will
be in great demand so come early. One taste of the cream khadaif,
warm from the oven, will have you coming back for more.

The gourmet department again has prepared the usual list of delicacies
– kufte, yalanchis, basdegh (fruit roll-up) string cheese, tourshi,
manti and many more items. Don’t forget to stop by to see what else
might satisfy you palate.

Other booths will feature groceries, books and tapes, and raffles. On
Saturday, there will be children’s games under the tent in the Atrium.

The ACEC is handicap accessible and recently completed an expansion
of the parking lot.

For a wonderful experience mark your calendar Nov. 5 and 6. Hope to
see you there. It’s one Bazaar you will not want to miss.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AGREE TO PRISONER SWAP AT RUSSIA SUMMIT

France 24
Oct 27 2010

AFP – Arch-rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed at a summit in Russia
Wednesday to swap prisoners of war and exchange the bodies of soldiers
killed in their conflict over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the deal to “urgently
exchange prisoners of war and carry out the return of victims’ bodies”
after a summit in the city of Astrakhan with Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

There was, however, little sign of progress in resolving the two
countries’ longstanding conflict over Karabakh, though Medvedev
expressed hope that an agreement on the basic principles of a peace
deal could be reached by early December.

Medvedev said the prisoner-exchange deal was aimed at “strengthening
trust” between the two sides.

“It is very important,” he said in comments released by the Kremlin.

“The two sides have not been in direct, open confrontation for a long
time, but there are problems, there is shooting, people are dying.”

Medvedev said he hoped the two countries could agree on the first
step in resolving the conflict — a deal on the basic principles of
a resolution — in time for a summit of the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe in Kazakhstan on December 1-2.

“We have come a certain way, which gives grounds to hope that if the
sides work well over the next month… we could reach an agreement
on the common principles of resolution,” he said.

Azerbaijani defence ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told AFP that
two Azerbaijani soldiers and the bodies of two soldiers were currently
being held in Armenia.

Armen Kaprielian, a representative of Armenia’s state committee on
prisoners of war, told AFP that six Armenian soldiers and one civilian
captured in the last two years were being held in Azerbaijan.

He also said that Armenia was holding three Azerbaijani prisoners
and that Armenia was not holding any bodies of Azerbaijani soldiers.

It was unclear how many soldiers from Karabakh’s rebel forces
Azerbaijan might also be holding.

A Kremlin spokesman declined immediate comment.

International mediators have been struggling for years to push for
a resolution to the conflict over Karabakh, where ethnic Armenian
separatists backed by Yerevan broke from Azerbaijani control during
a war in the early 1990s that left 30,000 dead.

Armenia on Tuesday had accused Azerbaijani forces of killing an ethnic
Armenian soldier in a bid to disrupt the summit talks.

Armenia’s defence ministry said in a statement that a 20-year-old
soldier with Karabakh’s defence forces had been killed after
Azerbaijani forces opened fire along a ceasefire line. It accused
Baku of “destabilising the situation” before the summit.

Tensions over Karabakh have been increasing this year amid the stalled
peace talks, with the number of deadly skirmishes along the ceasefire
line on the rise for months.

At least 20 soldiers on both sides have been reported killed in
clashes this year, including eight soldiers killed last month alone.

From: A. Papazian