Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIA EXPECTS TURKEY TO DEMONSTRATE POLITICAL WILL IN NORMALIZATION OF BILATERAL TIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 21, 2010 – 21:29 AMT 16:29 GMT

Armenia demonstrated political will towards normalization of ties with
Turkey and expects Turkey to undertake a return step, RA President
Serzh Sargsyan stated.

“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 at July 21
meeting with Armenian Diaspora youth, members of Miasin movement and
Return Home program.

“Despite Turkish authorities’ statements, Armenia is ready to accept
any expression of friendship,” Armenian leader concluded.

From: A. Papazian

SERZH SARGSYAN: ARMENIA READY TO USE ST. PETERSBURG SUGGESTIONS AS BASIS FOR NEGOTIATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 21, 2010 – 21:08 AMT 16:08 GMT

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 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.”

From: A. Papazian

MYSTERIOUS APPEAL ON CASE OF NUBARASHEN PEDOPHILE

ArmInfo
2010-07-21 17:40:00

ArmInfo. The Armenian Court of Appeal has started considering
complaints about the too mild sentence against the Nubarashen pedophile
Levon Avagyan. To recall, on 24 May 2010 he was sentenced to 2-year
imprisonment under Article 142 of the Armenian Criminal Code (sexual
harassment against minors).

It was found out during today’s court sitting that the lawyer of the
aggrieved Diana Amirkhanyan has filed an appeal without her privity.
Moreover, the judge read out Diana Amirkhanyan’s written statement
saying that Amirkhanyan is pleased with the verdict delivered against
Avagyan. For his part, Amirkhanyan’s lawyer Avag Lalayan expressed
doubts over the fact that the given statement was made by Amirkhanyan
herself, as she has some problems with spelling and expresses her
thoughts with difficulty.

According to him, 2-3 days ago she and her mother were invited to the
police department, afterwards the relevant statement was submitted
to the court. As regards the appeal, which was not agreed with the
aggrieved person, the lawyer explained that in this matter he was
guided by the conversation he had with Amirkhanyan after the court
sitting, when she expressed her discontent with the too mild verdict.
Taking into consideration the absence of Prosecutor Batikyan and
Levon Avagyan’s lawyer Viktoria Kirakosyan from the court sitting,
the court took a decision to put off the sitting.

To remind, 5 pupils of the Nubarashen boarding school N11 were the
aggrieved persons under the given criminal case. At this school Levon
Avagyan taught the Armenian Language and Literature.

From: A. Papazian

SINCE MARCH 2010 ABOUT 1.3 THSD OF PIGS WERE SLAUGHTERED DUE TO NEW CASE OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER INFECTION

ArmInfo
2010-07-21 12:59:00

ArmInfo. Since March 2010 about 1.3 thsd were slaughtered due to the
new virus of African swine fever, said Grigor Baghiyan, Head of the
Food Safety and Veterinary Inspection of the Agriculture Ministry of
Armenia, Wednesday.

According to him, cases of African swine fever were fixed not far from
the towns of Noyemberyan and Dilijan of the Tavush region. “To all
appearances, infection of the pigs could happen in the forest zones
of the specified territories, where the pigs could find themselves
during the pasture period”,- said Baghiyan. He added that at a
certain stage the disease may show no visible symptoms. Due to this,
the seemingly healthy pigs could be moved to other regions of Armenia
and cause outbreak of infection. In particular, few cases having no
nature of epidemic (2-3 cases per village) have been fixed in Shirak,
Kotayk and Aragatsotn regions.

“I’d like to recall once again that the African swine fever virus is
spread only in the organisms of wild and domestic pigs and it is not
dangerous for people. And I’d also like to call on swine breeders
to be careful when using fodders of animal origin, which may become
virus spreaders”,- he added.

To recall, in late August 2007, an African swine fever virus was fixed
at the north of Armenia. One of the versions was the penetration of
the virus from the territory of neighboring Georgia. Before May 2008
about 20 thsd head of pigs were slaughtered in the republic.

“As this virus has again been detected at the north of the republic,
it has either penetrated here again or has remained in the organisms
of non-slaughtered animals and displayed itself when the organism
resistibility has declined, for instance, in case of another disease”,-
said Baghiyan. As regards the compensation to farmers for the forced
slaughter, Baghiyan said that the government will thoroughly consider
this issue.

“If you remember, in 2007-2008 the compensation made up 1005 AMD per
1 kg of meat. Now we’ll also try to come to a mutually acceptable
solution, as for many farmers swine breeding is a considerable source
of income”,- said Baghiyan.

According to him, new cases of African swine fever will hardly cause
a repeated ban on export of fish products from Armenia to Russia,
introduced by Rosselkhoznadzor as a result of swine fever outbreak in
2007-2008. “In autumn 2009 we received experts from Rosselkhoznadzor,
who visited the fish enterprises and made sure that no infection
endangers their products, and the ban was lifted”,- he said. At the
moment no possible repeated ban is being considered, he added.

From: A. Papazian

WHEN STOCKING UP WITH FOOD, REMEMBER GEORGIA

ArmInfo
2010-07-21 13:09:00

ArmInfo. Those leaving for Georgia for a rest should take into account
that the food being brought out is also checked by the Georgian party,
Head of the State Veterinary and Food Safety Inspection of Armenia’s
Agriculture Ministry Grigor Baghyan said at today’s press-conference.

“Food stocks being taken out by our citizens are inspected on the
border, and in case they meet our standards, we give permission for
carriage. The Georgian party may also prohibit entry of goods in
accordance with that country’s standards. However, it does not mean
that carriage of food to the neighouring country is banned”, Baghyan
said. He added that the same concerns the case of delay of a cargo
comprising 7 pigeons having been taken out of Armenia to Volgograd.

“It does not mean that it is banned to export live poultry from Armenia
to Russia. It is just necessary to be careful and observe the rules.

From: A. Papazian

SUKHOI SUPERJET 100 UNDERGOES TESTS IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-07-21 13:10:00

ArmInfo. The programme of flight tests of Sukhoi Superjet 100
aircraft has been carried out by 70%. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company
(SCAC) is sure that the Superjet will be certified till late 2010,
SCAC President Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk said at the Farnborough 2010
International Airshow.

He recalled that a European-type certificate for SaM146 engine
was received on June 23, and it is expected to receive a Russian
certificate in the near future. According to Prisyazhnyuk, four flight
pilot models have flown total of over 1800 hours in 710 flights. The
tests of the static model and the first stage of tests for the
aircraft operating life have finished. Superjet underwent tests in
extreme operating conditions, in particular, for low temperatures and
icing in Yakutsk. one flight model is currently undergoing a test in
Armenia in conditions of highland and high temperatures. At the same
time, batch production of Superjet 100 at Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft
Production Association is mastered. Eighteen aircrafts are at different
levels of readiness in production, 5 – in the final assembly workshop,
3 of which will be delivered to the start client at late 2010.

“The results received allow to say with confidence that a
highly efficient and comfortable aircraft with high technical and
environmental performance has been created, that makes it competitive
in the world market”, ARMS-TASS correspondent quotes Prisyazhnyuk.

From: A. Papazian

ARAM MANUKYAN: HIGH MIGRATION RATE WILL SOON CAUSE SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-07-21 17:52:00

ArmInfo. The high migration rate observed for the moment will soon
cause serious problems in Armenia. This is a serious signal for all
political forces, Chairman of the Board of the Armenian National
Movement Aram Manukyan said during a press-conference today.

This problem was mentioned by the first president of Armenia,
the leader of the Armenian National Congress Levon Ter-Petrossyan
during the ANM’s last congress. “We highly appreciate his courage
as he is not trying to hush up our problems. I agee with him that
we are facing a serious demographic problem and that we cannot solve
itwithout settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The emigration rate
has substantially grown after the events of Mar 1 2008 with almost
90,000-100,000 people leaving the country each year,” Manukyan said.

From: A. Papazian

GENEVA MAY INFLUENCE TEKHUT CASE

ArmInfo
2010-07-21 17:39:00

ArmInfo. Geneva may influence the Tekhut case, say lawyer Hayk Alumyan.

Mar 18 2010 the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee discussed
Armenia’s compliance with the convention. A number of NGOs have
appealed to the Aarhus Convention Secretariat against the Tekhut
project saying that it is contrary to article 6 of the convention. The
decision is expected to be passed this year.

Alumyan says that Mar 24 the Administrative Court dismissed the
suit against the Tekhut project. The suers said that the project
was contrary to Armenia’s constitution and a number of international
conventions.

The Cassation Court has accepted the appeal against the Administrative
Court’s verdict. “I think that the decision of the Cassation Court
will depend on Geneva: if the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
says that the project is contrary to the convention, the court will
rule in our favor,” says Alumyan.

Tekhut is the second biggest deposit in Armenia. It is believed to
have 450mln tons of ore, 1.6mln tons of copper and 99,000 tons of
molybdenum. The ACP’s project to develop the deposit was approved by
the Government in Nov 2007.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT DETERMINED TO CURB AND BRING DOWN INFLATION

ARKA
JULY 21, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, July 21, /ARKA/. The government is determined to carry on a
policy designed to curb and bring down the inflation, a senior member
of the ruling Republican Party said today.

Speaking at a news conference, Gagik Minasian, head of a parliament
committee on finance, budget and credit issues, said the inflation
rate dropped by 1.1% from three previous months to 7.3 % from 8.4% .

He said despite this positive trend the government will work to bring
it down to 5.5% to make it in tune with its projected target for 2010.

Gagik Miansian spoke also about the latest macroeconomic indicators
reported by the National Statistical Service saying that the industrial
output in the first half of the year grew by 12.3%, services sector
reported a 6.1% growth and construction rose by 4.1%.

According to government data, Armenian exports grew by 55.9%
year-on-year to $442.8 million or 1.704 billion Drams and imports grew
by 24.4% to $1.724 billion or 662.2 billion Drams. The negative trade
balance amounted to $1.281.2. billion or 491.8 billion Drams. The
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first six months grew by 6.7%
year-on-year.

From: A. Papazian

SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAYS TO INSTALL ELECTRONIC TICKET SELLING SYSTEM

ARKA
JULY 21, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, July 21, /ARKA/ The South Caucasus Railways (SCR) is
considering installation of an electronic ticket selling system,
worth $400,000, the company’s chief engineer Sergey Harutyunian said
to a news conference today.

He said since tickets are sold by the company and travel agencies they
need to have an electronic system. He said the SCR is considering now
its installation. In his words the system will be installed gradually
and the details will be known only next year.

Armenian transport and communications minister Manuk Vardanian said
the installation of this system is part of the company’s investment
program.

‘Investment plans will be implemented but this does mean that services
to passengers should not improve. We need to create good conditions for
our population. It is a problem that needs to be resolved,’ he said.

The South Caucasus Railways is run by Russian Railways. The
concessional agreement was concluded in 2008 for 30 years, with a
right of extension for another 20 years after the first 20 years
of operation.

From: A. Papazian