Author: Andres-Papazian

60 100 TONNES DE FRUITS ET DE LEGUMES FRAIS EXPORTES D’ARMENIE

ARMENIE

L’Armenie a exporte 60 100 tonnes de fruits et legumes frais en 2013
selon Robert Makaryan, vice-ministre de l’agriculture.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIA INCREASING NUMBER OF MIG-29 FIGHTER AIRCRAFTS IN ARMENIA

APA, Azerbaijan
March 4 2014

[ 04 March 2014 16:58 ]

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. Russia has increased the number of
MiG-29 fighter aircrafts in its military base in Armenia, spokesman for
the Southern Military District of the Russian Defense Ministry, Colonel
Igor Gorbul told journalists, APA reports quoting the Russian media.

According to him, some of MiG-29 fighter aircrafts, which underwent a
major renovation and modernization, have been sent to Erebuni airbase
in Armenia. However he didn’t give information about the exact number
of the aircrafts.

Russia’s 102nd military base in Armenia has had 18 MiG-29 aircrafts
up to now.

From: A. Papazian

BATCH OF MIG-29’S RE-COMMISSIONED AT ARMENIAN EREBUNI BASE

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 4 2014

A batch of MiG-29 multi-role fighters have arrived at Erebuni airbase
in Armenia after being overhauled, the head of the press service of
the Southern Military District, Colonel Igor Gorbul told journalists
on March 4, RIA Novosti reported

“A batch of MiG-29 multi-role fighters of the fourth generation entered
the armament of the Erebuni airbase of the Southern Military District
after overhaul. At present, aircraft receiving and its commissioning
is conducted in the airbase,” the report said.

Gorbul further added that pilots of MiG-29 fighters have conducted more
than 50 maneuverable air combat training missions, both single duels
and groups at altitudes from 500 to 8000 meters since the beginning
of the year.

The multi-role fighter MiG-29 is designed for air superiority,
ground attack with the use of precision guided weapons, as well as
suppression of enemy air defense systems at any time, in any weather
conditions. It has an integrated weapon control system, including
radar sighting system, optical-location station and helmet-mounted
target designation system.

Translated by S.I.

Edited by C.N.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA RECEIVES RUSSIAN MIG-27 FIGHTERS

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 4 2014

4 March 2014 – 2:09pm

MiG-27 multi-purpose fighters have arrived at the Russian air base
of Erebuni in Armenia, as stated by Colonel Igor Gorbul, spokesman
of the Southern Military District, RIA Novosti reports.

He added that over 50 training fights had been made at an altitude
of 500-8,500 meters since the start of the year.

From: A. Papazian

DECISION TO JOIN CUSTOMS UNION ORIGINATES FROM ARMENIA’S ECONOMIC INTERESTS – FOREIGN MINISTER

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 2, 2014 Sunday 02:12 PM GMT+4

YEREVAN March 2

– Armenia’s decision to join the Customs Union /CU/ comes from the
country’s economic and strategic interests, the republic’s Foreign
Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said in his address on the occasion of
the country’s Day of Diplomat, which Armenia celebrates on Sunday. On
that day in 1992, the country joined the United Nations Organisation.

“Year 2013 is outstanding for the Republic of Armenia’s decision
to join the CU, which originates from the economic and strategic
interests of the republic,” the foreign minister said.

“Armenia has been undertaking every effort to improve the strategic
relations with Russia, develop the friendly relations with the US,
with European, Asian countries, to expand the geography of mutual
relations,” the foreign minister said.

From: A. Papazian

SYRIAN FORCES TIGHTENING GRIP ON REBEL STRONGHOLD NEAR LEBANON

March 4, 2014 – 17:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Syrian government forces are tightening their grip
on the last rebel stronghold near the border with Lebanon a day after
taking control of a key village in the area, a field commander told
reporters on Tuesday, March 4, according to the Associated Press.

According to the commander, forces loyal to President Bashar Assad
are gaining ground in the battle for Yabroud, an opposition-held town
in the mountainous Qalamoun region along Syria’s border with Lebanon
that is also a key supply route for the rebels.

The commander said government troops ousted opposition fighters
from the village of al-Sahel on Monday, bringing down the rebels’
“first defense line” of Yabroud. He spoke to reporters during a
government-led tour of al-Sahel and did not give his name, in line
with military regulations.

Backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, Syrian troops have been on
the offensive in Qalamoun since December, trying to sever the rebel
supply route from Lebanon.

Lebanese Hezbollah leaders are keen on having the region across the
border in Syria cleared of the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim rebels
trying to topple Assad’s government. The Shiite militant group claims
that several cars that were used in recent bombings in Beirut have
been rigged in Yabroud and smuggled into Lebanon for attacks on
Hezbollah strongholds.

Al Qaeda-linked groups have claimed responsibility for several of
the attacks in Lebanon, saying they were retaliation for the groups’
military backing for Assad on the battlefield.

Opposition groups said fighting was underway on Tuesday on the edge
of Yabroud, with military helicopters dropping barrel bombs on the
town’s outskirts. Such bombs, a weapon of choice in government attacks
on far-flung rebel strongholds, are packed with explosives and fuel
and are intended to cause massive damage to urban areas.

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
an activist group, said rebels fighting in Yabroud predominantly belong
to hard-line Islamic group, including the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front
and the breakaway group of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The Syrian field commander said the army is battling “terrorists” in
Qalamoun and troops are determined to clear the area by launching a
final assault from al-Sahel. He said “moral was high among the troops
as they fulfill their mission” to capture Yabroud.

The village was deserted on Tuesday as the government troops escorted
reporters along. There was damage on several houses and a mosque,
apparently from fighting, and telephone and electricity cables were
torn from poles and strewn on sidewalks.

At least one body, of a man, was seen on the ground, according to
the AP.

“It was a real battle and we didn’t give the gunmen any chance to
negotiate,” the commander said. He did not say if the army or the
rebels sustained any casualties, but said the troops detained more
than 30 opposition fighters after capturing the village.

Many of those captured were Syrians, the commander said, although
there were also foreign fighters who had traveled to Syria from Saudi
Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon to battle Assad’s troops.

From: A. Papazian

EXPERT: TURKEY STRENGTHENED BY POWER-PLAY IN CRIMEA

Society | 04.03.14 | 20:24

Photo:

The loss of Russia’s most important military base in the Black
Sea basin – the Sevastopol base in Crimea – will shift the balance
in Turkey’s favor, which may become the only strong power in the
area, says Zorakn Foundation board trustee Karen Vrtanesyan. This
circumstance might cause more challenges for Armenia, which has an
unresolved military conflict with Azerbaijan, should tensions escalate
between the two countries.

The representative of Zorakn foundation, involved in raising public
awareness on army, military and strategic-political issues, views
Russia’s behavior in relation to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
in Ukraine as natural. “The fact that Russia is trying to preserve
its active presence in the Black Sea and that its primary target is
Crimea stems from the overall geopolitical situation.”

Vrtanesyan points out also that in the Black Sea basin Russia’s
position against Turkey is not that strong.

“Today the military balance between Russia and Turkey in the Black
Sea is frail as it is, and I wouldn’t say Russia has any advantages,
quite the opposite, the Turkish fleet is much better equipped excelling
that of Russia by some criteria, for example, Turkey has 14 submarines,
while Russia has two, one of them non-functional,” says Vrtanesyan.

Since late last week Moscow established de-facto military control
over Crimea, an autonomous republic in the south of Ukraine with
a predominantly ethnic Russian population. The Russian parliament
has also empowered President Vladimir Putin to use troops to defend
the ethnic Russian and Russian-speaking population elsewhere in the
territory of Ukraine. Moscow says it is reacting to the formation of
an ultranationalist government in Kiev that threatens the country’s
Russian-speaking minority. Meanwhile, the United States and the
European Union have condemned Russia’s aggressive designs, threatening
economic sanctions against Moscow.

The biggest ethnic community of the peninsula with more that 2 million
population is Russian, followed by the Ukrainian – 24 percent, and
Muslim Tatars – 12 percent; about 0.5 percent of the population
is Armenian who have declared a neutral position in the conflict
supporting neither Russians, nor Ukrainians nor Tatars.

“I wouldn’t say Russia’s position in the Black Sea is too strong,
and Crimea’s loss would aggravate the situation, which can become a
problem for us. Of course, not in non-combat conditions, but if the
Armenian-Azeri conflict gets more tense, there might be issues in terms
of supplies to the Georgian ports – Turkey can effortlessly place ships
there, inspect ours and turn them back/deny passage,” says Vrtanesyan.

Expert in Turkish studies Gevorg Petrosyan, editor of razm.info
website, reminds that Turkey and Russia have been fighting for Crimea
for ages, because of the peninsula’s strategic geopolitical position.

Petrosyan says Turkey’s claims for Crimea should be viewed as quite
feasible.

“The geopolitical situation is changing so rapidly that it cannot be
ruled out, considering the fact that Turkey is one of the two major
players in the Black Sea, the withdrawal of Russian forces from Crimea
is absolutely in Turkey’s interest,” says the expert.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S POPULATION EMIGRATING RATHER THAN AGEING – HERITAGE PARTY VICE-CHAIRMAN

14:59 * 04.03.14

Following Armenian Premier Tigran Sargsyan’s speech at the
presentation of the National Competitiveness Report of Armenia
2013-2014, Vice-Chairman of the Heritage party Armen Martirosyan,
addressing the premier, stated that Armenia’s population is ageing
because of emigration.

The report indicates the need for radical reforms, while Armenia’s
premier has been promising such reforms since 2008.

“Mr Premier, our country’s population is emigrating rather than
ageing,” Martirosyan said.|

According to him, it is a governance problem.

The government-proposed solutions cause disagreements. “It would be
better if I were wrong than the premier, but, regrettably, I have
been right three times,” Martirosyan said.

The report indicates an education problem, but political parties are
so deeply involved in Armenia’s education system that high-quality
education can hardly be ensured.

“How can we have high-quality education if teachers perform functions
they are not supposed to perform,” Martirosyan said.

On the other hand, Armen Martirosyan and Tigran Sargsyan are unanimous
on one issue.

“This is the issue of competitive conditions. I would call this report
revolutionary because it indicates the need for radical reforms.”

From: A. Papazian

TER-PETROSYAN’S MESSAGE: ANC NOT TO CHALLENGE EURASIAN INTEGRATION

ANALYSIS | 03.03.14 | 11:29

NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

Armenia’s former president and current leader of the opposition
Armenian National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan said at a rally
in Yerevan on March 1 that Armenia’s membership in the Customs Union
is irreversible, while European integration is not possible in the
foreseeable future.

In fact, the opposition force led by Ter-Petrosyan will not
oppose the transfer of part of the sovereign rights of Armenia to
supranational bodies of the future Eurasian Union. Nor are another two
non-coalitional forces in the parliament, Prosperous Armenia Party
(PAP) and ARF Dashnaktsutyun, likely to oppose it. Ter-Petrosyan
is going to cooperate with them, especially with PAP leader Gagik
Tsarukyan, whom the ANC previously accused of being involved in
the violent dispersal of peaceful protests after the presidential
elections in 2008.

These forces, along with Heritage, which opposes Armenia’s accession
to the Customs Union, as their political task see a change of power
in Armenia. However, the ANC, PAP and ARF want to do it in order to
“maximally use the opportunities of the Customs Union for the benefit
of [Armenia’s] national interests, maximally excluding the negative
aspects”, as Ter-Petrosyan said at the rally.

“The regime of [President] Serzh Sargsyan, first of all, lacks the
understanding of national interests to be able to fulfill such a
mission [to join the CU]. National interests and the Sargsyan regime
are incompatible concepts. The impression is that we deal with a
group of foreign invaders or robbers who have seized power by force,”
Ter-Petrosyan claimed.

Without challenging the ‘general’ policy of Sargsyan, the opposition
leader described the gas contracts signed by Armenia with the Russia
side as ‘vassal’, saying it was a mistake. He also called the debt of
$300 million to Russia accumulated on account of natural gas supplies
that resulted in the transfer of the remaining 20-percent stake in the
domestic gas distribution network to Gazprom, a ‘secret state crime’.

Another criminal step by the authorities, according to Ter-Petrosyan,
is the sale of the Vorotan HPP cascade “at a reduced price, bypassing
the law and the budget.” This was the last step to deprive Armenia
of its energy independence, “a crime of the century”, as he put it.

At the same time, Ter-Petrosyan did not call for a revolution, on the
contrary, he said that Armenia “cannot afford a civil war’. “We are
not so many as the Egyptians and the Ukrainians, we are not a nation
that has no problem like Karabakh to afford a civil war,” he said,
stressing that the ANC is for a peaceful change of power.

The leader of the ANC’s faction in parliament Levon Zurabyan pointed at
the way to change the government – the main non-governing political
forces in the country – the ANC, the PAP, ARF Dashnaktsutyun and
Heritage – have created a united front against the current government.

It is not ruled out that in the same format they will raise the issue
of President Sargsyan’s resignation, Zurabyan said.

From: A. Papazian

PATRICK BUCHANAN: INTERVENE? OR END SYRIAN WAR?

March 1, 2014

By Patrick J. Buchanan

“If we have an enemy in this fight, it is al-Qaida, the al-Nusra Front,
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, all of which are terrorist and
implacably anti-American”.

Whether saber rattling or not, word is out that the White House is
“rethinking its options” on intervening in the Syrian war.

The collapse of John Kerry’s Geneva 2 talks between the rebels and
regime, the lengthening casualty lists from barrel-bomb attacks, and a
death toll approaching 150,000, are apparently causing second thoughts.

All the usual suspects are prodding Obama to plunge in, if not with
troops, at least with a no-fly zone to prevent Bashar Assad from
using his air power.

Our frustration is understandable. Yet it does not change the reality.

This is not America’s war. Never was. As Obama said, it is “somebody
else’s civil war.”

Still, the case against intervention needs to be restated.

First and foremost, Obama has no authority to go to war in Syria,
for Congress has never voted to authorize such a war.

An unprovoked attack on Syria would be an impeachable act.

Last August, the American people were almost unanimously opposed to
intervention. The firestorm they created was why Congress ran away
from the Obama-Kerry plan for missile strikes.

So if Obama has no authority to attack Syria, and America does not
want a war, why, after Iraq and Afghanistan, would Obama divide his
nation and plunge his country into that civil war?

What are the arguments for intervention? Same old, same old.

America has a moral obligation to end the barbarism. At the time of
Rwanda we said, “Never again!” Yet it is happening again. And we have a
“Responsibility to Protect” Syrians from a dictator slaughtering his
own people.

But while what is happening in Syria is horrible, all Middle East
ethnic-civil-sectarian wars tend to unfold this way.

And if there is a “moral” obligation to intervene, why does it not
apply to Israel and Turkey, Syria’s nearest neighbors? Why does that
moral duty not apply to the European Union, upon whose doorstep Syria
sits? Why is it America’s moral obligation, 5,000 miles away?

It is not. The Turks, Israelis, EU and Gulf Arabs who hate Assad
would simply like for us to come and fight their war for them.

The Washington Post says we must address not only the moral
“nightmare,” but also the “growing threat … to vital U.S. interests.”

Exactly what “vital interests” is the Post talking about? Syria has
been ruled by the Assads for 40 years.

And how have our vital interests been imperiled?

And if our vital interests are imperiled, how much more so are those
of Israel and Turkey? Yet neither has chosen to invest the blood of
their sons in bringing Assad down.

If we have an enemy in this fight, it is al-Qaida, the al-Nusra Front,
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, all of which are terrorist and
implacably anti-American.

And who is keeping these enemies of ours out of Damascus?

Assad, Hezbollah, Iran and our old friend Vladimir Putin.

And who has been supplying the terrorists? Our friends in the Gulf,
with weapons funneled through Turkey, our NATO ally.

Have the interventionists who are beside themselves watching all
these insurrections and wars breaking out thought through what is
likely to happen if we intervene?

The Syrian war would become a more savage affair, as Assad would know
he was now in a fight to the finish. As U.S. air power was committed
to the defeat of Assad, his allies would likely provide more weapons
for his defense. Casualties could soar and the probability of a wider
war would increase geometrically.

Should Assad fall, his routed soldiers and Alawaites and Christians
would face reprisals for which we would be morally responsible, as
it was our intervention that brought this about. We might have to
intervene with troops to stop a massacre by jihadists.

And if Assad fell, pro-Western rebels would likely have to fight the
al-Qaida rebels for power. Syria could come apart, and we would own it.

Obama’s frustration is understandable. He said two years ago Assad
must go. Assad flipped him off. Obama said use of chemical weapons
would be a “red line” which, if crossed, would bring serious
consequences. Assad’s troops apparently crossed that line.

What did we do? Worked with Russia to remove the weapons.

Washington is enraged that Putin continues to support Assad.

But Assad’s regime is the recognized and legal government of Syria.

Russia has a naval base in Latakia, is owed billions by Damascus,
and has been Syria’s ally for decades.

Why should Putin abandon Assad at our request?

What have we done for him lately? Besides send Billy Jean King to his
Olympics? Why, Putin might ask, should he abandon his Syrian allies
rather than us, the Turks, and Gulf Arabs abandoning ours?

There is a grave moral issue here — for us.

How, under just war theory, can we continue to sustain a conflict
that is killing thousands every month with no end in sight? Are we
not morally obliged to try to stop such a war?

BUCHANAN.ORG

Patrick Joseph “Pat” Buchanan is an American conservative political
commentator, author,syndicated columnist, politician, and broadcaster.

Buchanan was a senior advisor to American Presidents Richard Nixon,
Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN’s
Crossfire. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1992
and 1996. He ran on the Reform Party ticket in the 2000 presidential
election.

From: A. Papazian