Author: Andres-Papazian

>From The Hague To Kosovo, From Kosovo To Karabakh: Leaders In Stepanakert Talk About Need For International Recognition
Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow correspondent

NKR President Bako Sahakyan at a press conference in Stepanakert,
July 23, 2010

An all-national rally was to have been held in Karabakh on July 23,
the day after the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ)
in the Hague upheld the legitimacy of the Serbian breakaway region of
Kosovo’s proclamation of independence. People were about to pour into
the streets, a large group of journalists from Yerevan had arrived
in Stepanakert. But the rally was canceled with explanation.

Instead, the heads of the three factions in the Karabakh parliament and
the NKR president held press conferences in Stepanakert. The country’s
leadership said the ICJ judgment on the legality of the secession
of Kosovo will be a milestone in the struggle for the recognition
of Karabakh’s independence. But the political forces said Karabakh
is not going to apply to the court for the recognition of its right
to self-determination – in Karabakh they think that they have already
exercised this right, which they had earned through suffering, and what
remains to do is to get the recognition of the country’s independence.

The UN court decision was hailed by the United States and the European
Union. Russia pronounced against it. Still, almost none seemed to be
contesting the validity of the decision, but were simply saying that
it could open a Pandora box for unrecognized countries. On July 22,
U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, answering the question
whether the decision of the Hague court could be applied to other
similar cases and lead to nationalist movements in the rest of Europe,
said: “I’ll be brief, no.”

“One can single out the fair arguments made by the Russian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, which stated that the International Court of Justice
had failed to consider the question of the legality of a unilateral
declaration of independence by Kosovo, had failed to address the
possible consequences of such a self-proclamation and the international
court has not said whether Kosovo is a state or not,” said head of
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press service Elhan Polukhov.

Nevertheless, during the Friday press conference, NKR President
Bako Sahakyan said that regardless of the recognition of Kosovo,
Karabakh will continue its efforts for international recognition of
its independence.

He stressed that over the past years the position of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has not changed: the independence and
security of Karabakh aren’t negotiable. “We consider the independence
of Karabakh not within the borders of the former Nagorno-Karabakh
autonomous region,” he said.

The President also said that the recognition of Karabakh by Armenia
is not an end in itself.

The head of the Homeland parliamentary faction Arthur Tovmasyan
believes that Armenia’s parliament may take the decision of the court
as a basis for starting the process of recognizing NKR.

Stepanakert holds that the format of the current internationally
mediated negotiations with Azerbaijan should be changed and Karabakh
should join them as a full party. Vahram Atanesyan, a member of
the Democracy faction in the Karabakh parliament, said that from
now Karabakh has got more grounds to insist on its participation in
the talks.

Head of the Dashnaktsutyun faction Armen Sargsyan said: “It is Karabakh
that should be a full party of the talks and Armenia should take
part in the negotiations within a strictly defined legal framework –
as the guarantor of Karabakh’s independence and security.”

Chairman of the NKR Public Council on Foreign Policy and Security
Masis Mayilyan noted that Armenia has good reason to start talks
with Pristina on the recognition by Yerevan of the independence of
Kosovo and the recognition of NKR’s independence by Pristina. “The
restraint shown by Armenia in the matter of recognizing Kosovo during
the past two years has not produced tangible results, while Serbia
has successfully developed its relations with the countries that
were among the first to recognize Kosovo’s independence (Turkey,
the United States, the European Union),” said Mayilyan.

Meanwhile, the NKR Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it
said that “the right of the people of Karabakh to have and build
their state, as well as determine their own destiny will undoubtedly
be recognized by the international community, since it was realized
in full accordance with the basic principles of international law
and is hard-won and fair.”

From: A. Papazian

CRIMINAL CONDITIONS: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ALARMED AT PRISON CROWDING
Gayane Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow reporter
27.07.10

Officials are concerned that prisons in Armenia are overcrowded,
with double the number of prisoners they were made to hold, and are
appealing to authorities to reform the parole system to grant amnesty.

This week a group of public observers held monitoring visits to nine
detention centers where they found that in some prisons 20 inmates
are kept in cells designed for eight. The overcrowding is believed
to be a potential cause of increased violence and suicide.

Armen Danielyan, head of the 11-member public group and president
of the Civil Society Institute (CSI) NGO, says that the number of
convicts at penitentiaries rose by 20 percent last year (there are
about 5,000 convicts in Armenia).

“Nubarashen penitentiary is the largest in Armenia: 840 convicts
serve their punishment there. If the increase in prisoners remains
the same, then we would have to build new ‘Nubarashens’ each year,”
Danielyan says.

Observers say even minimal standards of conditions are not met. For
example, convicts must sleep in shifts, as there are not enough beds.

Law enforcement officials say the rise in inmate population parallels
a rise in crime and is consistent with Armenia’s use of pre-trial
detention and the rare cases of parole.

Head of Helsinki Committee of Armenia Avetik Ishkhanyan says that the
problem of prisons overcrowding has been voiced for years; however,
no serious steps are taken to solve this issue.

From: A. Papazian

RUNNING ON ALL CYLINDERS?: IMF SAYS ARMENIAN ECONOMY NEEDS NEW ENGINE
Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow correspondent

IMF Resident Representative in Armenia Guillermo Tolosa (second from
right); Armenian Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan (far right)
during the Monday event

Is it time to replace the engine of the Armenian economy? The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes it is. The Armenian
government, meanwhile, says it just needs a tune up.

On July 26, the Armenian International Policy Research Group (AIPRG)
in cooperation with the IMF organized a panel discussion on the
subject of “Armenia’s Economic Policy: The Road Ahead”. IMF Resident
Representative in Armenia Guillermo Tolosa compared the Armenian
economy to a motorcar that was rolling freely in 1998-2008 until it
encountered storm gusts and ran off the road.

The Government and the Central Bank, with the help of the IMF, got
Armenia out of the ditch, but the engine suffered damage that now
needs attention.

“The new policy should also address [the need for] a new engine,
in this case microeconomic policy,” said the IMF representative.

According to the IMF expert, the overhaul would require: an environment
where businesses thrive, attract more workers, pay higher wages, where
a good business climate is created, where there is a high-quality
internet access, streamlined bureaucracy and tax payments, there is
no abuse of power, there are clear social programs with guaranteed
expenditures.

In response (and continuing the motorcar metaphor), Armenian Economy
Minister Nerses Yeritsyan noted that when there are problems with
the engine, the question to discuss is whether it should be replaced
or repaired. He said that the Soviet Zhiguli car (known more as Lada
abroad) breaks down on U.S. roads as frequently as a Mercedes breaks
down on Armenian roads.

Thus, a metaphorical dispute about ways of the country’s economic
development was continued in Armenia. International financial
organizations, which supported the economy during the critical period,
insist that Armenia should accomplish a complete transition to market
economy in which there are no monopolies and oligopolies, there is
fair competition and black market is minimized. In comparing itself
to a Lada, the Armenian government admits that the economy moves
along the post-Soviet way, and it is beyond its ability to carry
out the proposed reforms. Thus, the government admits impotence or
unwillingness to deal with monopolies, force big business to pay taxes,
stimulate small businesses and promote exports.

According to Yeritsyan, it is states with knowledge-based economies
that will be competitive in the 21st century. The minister thinks
the priorities of the Armenian economy are the development of
exports, innovation, promotion of business, ensuring the emergence
of enterprises based on high technology, and only in the end, almost
imperceptibly a structural reform of the economy. But it is this
requirement of reform that international organizations advance as
the principal one.

The IMF had extended more than $800 million in credit to Armenia for
the implementation of anti-crisis measures. Armenia’s foreign debt as
March 31, 2010 amounted to about $2.98 billion, which was an increase
by 66.6 percent over the size of the external state debt reported for
the same period in 2009. The amount of Armenia’s foreign debt saw a
sharp increase due to international loans, including those received
from the IMF ($823 million), the World Bank ($545 million) and Russia
($500 million).

From: A. Papazian

YOUTH PARTY CONVENES CONFERENCE WITHOUT INVITING OPPOSITION REPS
Arman Gharibyan

2010/07/27

On July 28, an organization calling itself the “Youth Party” convened a
seminar entitled “Strategy 2020â~@³ aimed at studying such issues as a
“young Armenian government” and “reserves of young Armenian cadres”.

Surprisingly, no young people from the opposition appeared to be in
attendance or listed in the official list of invited guests. All we
saw were representatives of the ruling Armenian Republican Party,
president of the youth wing of the Prosperous Armenian Party (a
member of the ruling coalition, the minister and deputy minister of
the Sport and Youth Ministry, the RoA Police Chief, the Ambassador
of the Russian Federation, and an assortment of business leaders and
government functionaries.

We asked Artak Khachatryan, a member of the Youth Party’s
administration, why representatives of the opposition weren’t invited.

“We haven’t stressed the presence of reps from the ruling circles.

There are active young people and business leaders that do not
necessarily represent the ruling government,” he answered.

He added that opposition youth hadn’t been invited since the party’s
activities are essentially based around social concerns and that the
opposition doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the current government
and takes every opportunity to criticize it.

“The legitimacy issue is outside the scope of the conference. However,
we would not oppose the presence of opposition youth at this
conference,” Mr. Khachatryan added

When we asked what the Chief of Police was doing at a youth conference,
Mr. Khachatryan explained, “Today, there is a certain negative
perception of the police with the youth that we want to dispel;
to have the two segments get closer to each other.”

From: A. Papazian

ARAIK SARGSYAN: INDEPENDENCE OF NKR MAY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH HUGE MONEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 27, 2010 – 14:46 AMT 09:46 GMT

Vice-Chairman of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Problems Araik
Sargsyan said that it is impossible to use the Kosovo precedent for
the international recognition of NKR’s independence, as Kosovo is a
program of the U.S. The Hague court’s ruling on Kosovo is conditioned
by pressure of the U.S, Sargsyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, the superpowers would have recognized NKR’s
independence long ago, if it were within their interests. “The
Karabakh conflict resolution is not within interests of the U.S.,
Great Britain and France, as the tense situation serves as a guarantee
of their presence in the region,” Sargsyan said.

He added that the Albanian drug mafia spent $250mln for Kosovo’s
recognition by the international community. “The Armenian oligarchs are
not ready to spend as much for the international recognition of NKR,
as the Armenian leadership lacks relevant state policy and political
will,” noted Sargsyan.

He added that NKR’s independence will be recognized only in two cases:
presence of relevant state policy and readiness to spend huge money,
as well as in case of a new war, after which the sides will sign a
peace agreement. “NKR will have the opportunity to be involved in
talks again only in case of a new war,” said Sargsyan.

From: A. Papazian

HAGUE COURT RULING ON KOSOVO THROUGH PERSPECTIVE OF KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
Arshaluys Mghdesyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 24, 2010

The political week in Armenia started with congresses of the Armenian
National Movement and Armenakan Ramkavar-Azatakan party. On July 17,
Yerevan hosted the 16th congress of the Armenian National Movement. In
his remarks, Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan said that
Armenia’s economic development is impossible without resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of relations with Turkey.

Ter-Petrosyan also voiced confidence that the key to Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation is in Russia’s hands.

On July 20, former RA parliamentary speaker Karapet Rubinyan
left the Armenian National Movement (ANM), explaining reasons
behind his resignation in a letter to the newly-elected ANM
administration. Some of the reasons cited were “forged elections into
movement administration, lack of future vision and defeatist moods in
a struggle against current authorities, expressed by movement leader
at recent session.” Referring to reasons of Rubinyan’s withdrawal
from the party, Chairman of the newly elected board of the Armenian
National Movement (ANM) Aram Manukyan said that Rubinyan’s accusations
concerning falsification of the ANM board election during the party’s
16th congress are baseless. “The system of our party’s board election
is so transparent that falsifications are impossible,” Manukyan told
a press conference on July 21.

On July 17, Yerevan hosted the second congress of Armenakan-Ramkavar
Azatakan party with participation of 100 delegates. Leader of the
party Hakob Avetikyan submitted a report on the activity of the
party’s republican board during a year. Referring to the economic
and political situation in Armenia, Hakob Avetikyan noted that
Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan party can be a balancing force among
opposition and pro-governmental blocs of Armenia.

On July 17, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries released a statement. Below are comments of Armenian
politicians on it. Secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia
parliamentary group Eduard Sharmazanov said that the statement is an
obvious case when the Azerbaijani leadership’s bellicose statements
are not left without response. “This proves that the Azerbaijani
leadership’s bellicose statements intended for the internal use lead
the country into a deadlock. Meanwhile, a “yellow card” was given to
Azerbaijan in Almaty on July 17,” concluded Sharmazanov.

“The expectations for the meeting were quite different. Baku
expected “a schedule of withdrawal of Armenian troops from Karabakh”
to be signed, political analyst Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter on July 18. According to him, Yerevan
expected a regular fruitless meeting. Both sides were wrong, said
Melik-Shahnazaryan.

Deputy Director of Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan said that the
ministerial meeting in Almaty has registered a number of important
factors in the Karabakh process. “The OSCE Minsk Group underscored
that the talks should continue on the basis of the current status
quo, with the principles of Helsinki Final Act being equal. The
statement disillusioned the Azerbaijani leadership regarding any
kind of unilateral concessions by Armenia,” Sergey Minasyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “Moreover, Azerbaijan was reminded of
inadmissibility of blackmail and resumption of hostilities,” he said.

On July 19, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that
the five-sided meeting between the heads of delegations of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chair counties and Armenian and Azerbaijan Foreign
Ministers in Almaty was useful, although Baku’s destructive behavior
hampered signature of a five-sided statement. Nalbandian also attached
importance to the fact that selective approach to the principles
fixed in the statements is inadmissible.

On July 19, Board chairman of the Center on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan said that it’s obvious that the interest
towards the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has grown, what can be proved by
recent statements issued by Presidents and Foreign Ministers of the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries. “The latest statement in Almaty
reads that the sides should resolve the conflict through peaceful
means and none of the co-chair countries will speed up the process
artificially,” said Grigoryan.

The same day, member of Heritage parliamentary group Armen Martirosyan
said that the statement by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chair countries in Almaty was addressed not only to
Azerbaijan, but also to Armenia, as mediators always try to balance the
situation. Being a regular one, the statement cannot have any impact on
the conflict resolution, Martirosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Meanwhile, member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Naira
Zohrabyan said that the aforementioned statement contains a certain
message for Azerbaijan, suggesting that some offers should not be
withdrawn from the discussed document’s text to be presented as main
issues of the negotiation process. “It is high time that the statements
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen have certain addressees – so that
speaking about the incident near Chaylu settlement, they mention the
side responsible for it,” Zohrabyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

On July 20, Member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Vardan
Bostanjyan told a press conference that in reality Azerbaijan is a
project, and not a state created in 1918. Answering a question on
possibility of hostilities resumption by Azerbaijan, he said that
Azerbaijan will not unleash a war against NKR. “However, if it happens,
the Armenian troops will reach the Caspian Sea, what we wanted to do
in the mean time, but were not allowed,” said Bostanjyan.

Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit,
Budgetary and Economic Affairs, member of the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia Gagik Minasyan said that the meeting on the sidelines of an
informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Almaty can be considered
summarization of the results of an important period, which lasted for
1-2 years. “Time is on Armenia’s side; moreover, the international
community gradually comes to conclusions, which proceed from norms of
the international law. Thus, I attach importance to statements made
by Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries,”
noted Minasyan.

Armenia is ready to use St. Petersburg suggestions as basis for
negotiations; it’s now Azerbaijan’s turn to decide on its position,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated. As Armenian leader pointed
out at the July 21 meeting with Armenian Diaspora youth, members of
Miasin movement and Return Home program, “Suggestions were put forward
at St. Petersburg meeting, with Armenia and Azerbaijan expected to
express their positions. Negotiations will be resumed upon Azerbaijan’s
accepting OSCE MG’s suggestions.”

Referring to the Armenian-Turkish normalization, Sargsyan said that
Armenia demonstrated political will towards normalization of ties with
Turkey and expects Turkey to undertake a return step. “The whole world
urges Turkey to demonstrate political will in ratifying Protocols,
however Ankara turns a deaf ear, calling on Armenia to show political
will,” Serzh Sargsyan noted during the meeting. “Despite Turkish
authorities’ statements, Armenia is ready to accept any expression
of friendship,” the Armenian leader concluded.

On July 21, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute,
historian Hayk Demoyan said that resumption of the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols ratification is impossible in the near future. “Currently it
is preferential for Turkey not to open the border with Armenia against
the background of aggravated Kurdish problem,” Demoyan told a press
conference in Yerevan. “Currently, I do not see any prerequisites
for the border opening,” concluded Demoyan.

The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo has become
another heatedly debated topic in Armenia. On July 22, Secretary of
Republican Party of Armenia parliamentary group Eduard Sharmazanov
said that the ruling of the International Court of Justice on
lawfulness of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia will have a positive
impact on international recognition of NKR’s independence. The ruling
indicates that the people’s right to self-determination gradually
prevails over the principle of territorial integrity, Sharmazanov
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Head of Heritage parliamentary group Stepan Safaryan said that the
ruling of the International Court of Justice may have a positive
impact on recognition of NKR’s independence. Nobody will be able
to explain why such decision is applicable to Kosovo, but not to
Karabakh, Safaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. According to him,
Armenia should apply to the International Court of Justice to solve
the NKR conflict.

On July 23, Head of the Modus Vivendi Centre Ara Papian said that it
was absolutely within the law for the highest tribunal of the United
Nations – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – to conclude that
“the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo does not violate
international law. It was within the law first of all because the right
to direct one’s own political affairs, through the establishment of
self-determination, is included in the UN Charter [Article 1(2)] as one
of the main goals of the organization, Papian told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. According to him, international law does not consist of any
criterion by which the right to independence is reserved for, say,
Serbs, Georgians or Caucasian Tatars, but that very right is denied
to Albanians, Megrelians or the Talysh. “International law is not up
for auction in the 21st century. International law is not for sale
as an oil derrick,” concluded Papian.

On July 23, ARFD parliamentary group leader Vahan Hovhannesyan told
a press conference in Yerevan that he welcomes the resolution of
International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s independence, believing
it to be a new tool in Armenia’s struggle for recognition of NKR
independence. Charactering world court resolution as a just verdict,
the ARFD parliamentary group leader said: “Formation of a new state
through secession from another does not run counter to international
law.”

The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo independence
is unprecedented. For the first time, the International court
simultaneously covered two principles: territorial integrity and
people’s right to self-determination, ruling that a declaration of
independence does not violate any UN resolution or international law,
stated Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan. “People’s
right to self-determination is one of UN goals, with territorial
integrity being a principle used to attain the goal. With a right to
self-determination, territorial integrity is of secondary importance,
which was suggested by the Hague court ruling,” Shavarsh Kocharyan
specified.

From: A. Papazian

KAREN BEKARYAN: STEPANAKERT SHOULD LAUNCH PROCESS OF INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF NKR

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 27, 2010 – 15:12 AMT 10:12 GMT

Chairman of European Integration NGO Karen Bekaryan said that the Hague
court’s ruling on lawfulness of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia serves
as a good reason for the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh to initiate a
certain process on NKR’s international recognition.

“The fact that Karabakh is not directly involved in the talks provides
Stepanakert with the opportunity to be less constrained in similar
initiatives,” the expert told a press conference in Yerevan.

Bekaryan added that the civil sector of NKR also should be involved
in the process of international recognition of NKR’s independence.

As for Armenia’s steps in this process, according to Bekaryan, it
should stir up the parliamentary diplomacy. “Through international
organizations and parliamentary friendship groups Armenia may initiate
steps for recognition of NKR’s independence by parliaments of friendly
countries. In its turn, the Armenian Diaspora should assist Armenia
and NKR in this process,” noted Bekaryan.

The expert said that the Hague court’s ruling will definitely have
an impact on the negotiation process on Karabakh.

From: A. Papazian

ARAIK SARGSYAN: SOONER OR LATER RUSSIA WILL MANAGE TO REGAIN ITS INFLUENCE OVER SOUTH CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 27, 2010 – 15:21 AMT 10:21 GMT

Vice-Chairman of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Problems Araik
Sargsyan said that the U.S. will continue its military expansion from
Macedonia to South Korea to preserve its influence in the world.

Currently, over 550,000 soldiers of the U.S. armed forces are stationed
at that line, Sargsyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

According to him, the U.S. is no longer able to preserve its supremacy
in the world through economic and financial might, thus, it uses armed
forces to this end. “If the U.S. continues increasing its military
presence at this line, the world war III will become inevitable,
and it is not important from where it will start – Iran or Korea,”
said Sargsyan.

He noted that, most likely, hostilities against Iran are possible
in future. “The war against Iran has not been launched up to date,
as the U.S. knows that blitzkrieg is impossible in case of Iran,”
noted Sargsyan.

As for the U.S. interests in South Caucasus, Sargsyan said that
currently all the countries of the region – Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan – agree their foreign policy with the U.S. “However,
sooner or later Russia will manage to regain its influence over the
South Caucasus. The U.S. will offer its geopolitical assets for sale,
and Russia will purchase them,” concluded Sargsyan.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENAKAN-RAMKAVAR AZATAKAN PARTY URGES OFFICIAL YEREVAN TO RECOGNIZE NKR INDEPENDENCE

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 27, 2010 – 17:43 AMT 12:43 GMT

Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan party welcomes ICJ ruling on Kosovo
independence, emphasizing its relevance to similar conflicts and
unrecognized states, as well as its power of precedent.

“Armenian side, aided by Diaspora lobby, has to make every effort
to cause international community’s recognition of NKR independence,”
the party statement said.

Characterizing negotiations with Baku through OSCE MG intermediary
as ineffective, the party urges official Yerevan to recognize NKR
independence, setting an example to other states in order to provide
security of Karabakh population, Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan party
press service reported.

From: A. Papazian

ARAIK SARGSYAN DISCLOSES DETAILS OF US, NATO’S WAR AGAINST SERBIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 27, 2010 – 16:43 AMT 11:43 GMT

During US, NATO’s war against Serbia, Russia refused to support
Serbian side, bound by Chernomyrdin-Gore contract, deputy chairman
of Russian Academy for Geopolitical Issues Araik Sargsyan sated.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, the contract forbade Russia
from providing S-300 anti-missile systems, in exchange for a promise
of presidential post to then RF vice president Victor Chernomyrdin.

On March 24, 1999, US and NATO forces began attack on Serbia. The
bombing went for 78 days. During 78 days of air strikes approximately
2,500 people died, including 557 civilians, while some 12,500 were
wounded. The administration at that time estimated the material damage
at USD 100 billion. A massive campaign of ethnic cleansing was cited
as the reason for the intervention. The NATO bombing was conducted
bypassing the United Nations.

From: A. Papazian