Author: Ani Tigranian

BAKO SAHAKYAN SENT CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO PRESIDENTS OF ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA

NKR Government Information and Public Relations Department
August 28, 2008

Today, the President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Bako Sahakyan
has sent a congratulatory message to Presidents of Abkhazia and
Ossetia in view of recognition of these republics by Russia.

In the message addressed personally, to Sergei Bagapsh is, in
particular said: "On behalf of the people and authorities of
the Nagorno Karabagh Republic I cordially congratulate You and
the people of Abkhazia on this significant event, recognition
of state independence of the Republic of Abkhazia. The people of
Artsakh heard this news so long-awaited by your people with sincere
gladness. Overcoming various difficulties Abkhazia has achieved its
goal for which it was striving for many years with dignity.

I am confident that international recognition will give a new impetus
to the development and prosperity of the Republic of Abkhazia. I
congratulate You and the people of fraternal Abkhazia once again. I
wish you peace and prosperity."

On the same day President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Bako
Sahakyan sent a congratulatory message to the President of the Republic
of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity too. The letter reads as follows:
"On behalf of the people and authorities of the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic I cordially congratulate You and the people of South Ossetia
on this momentous event, the recognition of state independence of
the Republic of South Ossetia.

For the people of South Ossetia the path to independence was thorny,
full of difficulties and hardships. However, the Republic has found
strength and come off with flying colors. Artsakh is genuinely
delighted with recognition of South Ossetia ‘s independence.

I congratulate You and the people of fraternal South Ossetia once
again.

Let peace be established in Your country forever. I wish you prosperity
and wellbeing".

RUSSIA CLAIMS CHINA BACKING IN GEORGIA CONFLICT

Agence France Presse
Aug 28 2008

DUSHANBE (AFP) — China and four Central Asian nations signed a
statement Thursday supporting Russia’s role in the Caucasus but also
expressing "deep concern" over the Georgia conflict and calling for
a negotiated settlement.

In a joint statement, the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan said they "support the active
role of Russia in assisting peace and cooperation in the region."

The six in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) also "express
their deep concern over the recent tensions surrounding the South
Ossetia question and call for the sides to peacefully resolve existing
problems through dialogue."

Echoing language used in the West over the conflict, a portion of
the statement also said the summit members supported the principle of
"territorial integrity" of states.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the statement showed a "united
position" on the Georgia conflict, and Kremlin officials indicated
they were happy with its phrasing.

China’s foreign ministry reiterated, however, its concern over
Russia’s decision to recognise two breakaway Georgian provinces as
independent states, and experts were split on how to interpret the
Dushanbe statement.

Unequivocal Chinese support would be a diplomatic coup for Russia,
which has found itself largely isolated since its military move into
Georgia on August 8.

"It’s not resounding support for Russia," commented Macha Lipman of
the Carnegie Moscow Center, the Russian office of a US-based think
tank. "Every country took into account their interests."

Fyodor Lukyanov, a respected independent analyst who edits the magazine
Russia in Global Policy, differed.

"The SCO statement is a great victory by Russia, which has so far been
in a vacuum" over Georgia. "They openly demonstrated their support
for Russia in its standoff with Georgia."

Russia sent forces into Georgia in response to Tbilisi’s offensive to
retake South Ossetia, and hundreds of troops remain in what Moscow
is calling a "peacekeeping" mission but Georgia has denounced as an
occupation force.

Medvedev asserted that the summit had sent a clear message to the West,
which has sharply criticised Moscow.

"I hope it will serve as a serious signal to those who try to turn
black into white and justify this aggression," he said.

The SCO statement made no explicit mention of Russia’s decision
to recognise the rebel provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as
independent states.

Speaking before the statement was signed, Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing: "China expresses concern
over the latest developments in the situation in South Ossetia and
Abkhazia.

"We are fully aware of the complicated history and reality of the
issues of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and given our consistent position
on such issues, we hope the relevant countries properly resolve the
issues through dialogue and consultation."

China, which is battling separatist claims on its own territory,
called for "dialogue and consultation".

The president of energy-rich Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev,
sounded a note more in favor of Moscow.

After the summit, Nazarbayev said he related "with understanding to
all the measures taken by Russia" when he held a one-on-one meeting
with Medvedev.

"I would very much like international opinion to move toward peace
and understanding, without constant announcements about the Cold War,"
he said.

Belarus, which is closely tied to Moscow, said Russia "had no moral"
choice but to recognise the independence of the two Georgian regions.

Russian news agencies later quoted the Belarussian ambassador to Moscow
as saying Belarus may "soon" recognise the two Georgian provinces.

A statement from the Belarus presidency called for another
Moscow-dominated regional grouping, the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO), to make a joint statement on the conflict at
its meeting on September 5.

The CSTO comprises Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

In the face of Western criticism, the Kremlin has angrily argued
that Russia used military force only in response to a Georgian
attack against South Ossetia, where tens of thousands of Russian
citizens live.

BY HOLDING OF THE PAN-NATIONAL RALLY ON 1 AUGUST IN YEREVAN ARMENIAN OPPOSITION WILL START NEW RESOLUTE STAGE OF FIGHT, PRESS-SECRETARY OF THE FIST PRESIDENT SAYS

ArmInfo
2008-07-25 14:51:00

By holding of the pan-national rally on the 1 August in Yerevan
Armenian opposition will start new resolute stage of fight, Arman
Musinyan, press-secretary of the fist president Levon Ter-Petrosyan
said in "Tesaket" discussion club today.

He also added that the resolute stage will be wider and directed
with strong street actions, the organized measures and more severe
assessment of local and foreign policy of the authorities. The
purpose of this stage is to impose more pressure at the authorities
for holding of extraordinary presidential election in the country.

10% OF ARMENIANS USE COMPUTERS

Panorama.am
20:16 09/07/2008

Only 10% of Armenians use computers and those using internet are even
less, said Bagrat Engibaryan, the director of Enterprises Incubator
Foundation in a meeting with the journalists today.

According to him the representatives of Information Technologies
have been too busy with the problems of the field in recent years
that they have forgotten to work on forming information society. He
has stated that the development of that society is the main problem
of the field. Armenia does not use the 100 percent potential of its,
and the IT is mainly used in accounting in our country.

According to B. Engibaryan the development of IT field has been
figured out only 30.

CONSULTATIONS ON GOVERNMENT FORMATION HELD IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.04.2008 14:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan held consultations
on government formation with the heads of parties that entered the
quadripartite coalition, the President’s press office reported.

The President me with Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) leader
Artur Baghdassaryan, Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan,
representative of ARF Dashnaktsutyun Hrant Margaryan and Supreme
Bureau member Armen Rustamyan.

"ONLY WAY FOR OVERCOMING DOMESTIC POLITICAL TENSION IS DIALOGUE," REPRESENTATIVE OF PAP SAYS

Noyan Tapan
March 28, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 28, NOYAN TAPAN. Serious political priorities are
stipulated in the agreement of the coalition formed a few days ago
by four parliamentary parties. This statement was made by Naira
Zohrabian, a member of the Bargavach Hajastan (Prosperous Armenia)
faction of the RA National Assembly, at the press conference, which
was held on March 28. She also expressed hope that the coalition will
work productively and will settle the problems set in front of it.

According to her, both the opposition and the authorities including
the Prosperous Armenia Party, are responsible for the events, which
took place on March 1 in Yerevan. Naira Zohrabian mentioned that the
Prosperous Armenia Party sees a dialogue between all the interested
sides, including the radical opposition, as the only way out of the
existing domestic political tension. "Any problem, including that on
setting free those under arrest, should be settled during a dialogue
at a round table," she mentioned.

However, in the opinion of Naira Zohrabian, bringing forward
a precondition for starting a dialogue by the radical opposition
creates an impression that the opposition refuses a dialogue.

ACCORDING TO ALEXANDER MANASIAN, WAY OUT OF CURRENT CRISIS CAN BE FOUND ONLY THROUGH POLITICAL DIALOGUE

Noyan Tapan
Feb 29 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 29, NOYAN TAPAN. There is no concrete new political
policy or ideololigal basis in the slogans voiced from the Freedon
square, there are only unreal and tempting promises. This opinion was
expressed by political scientist Alexander Manasian, the Chairman
of the "Political research academy" non-governmental organization,
during the meeting with journalists.

"We have no serious politological thought, that is why slogans built
upon a mere demagogic and emotional wave have appeared on the Freedom
square," he said.

The political scientist sees a way out of the created situation through
a political dialogue. However, the process shows that the organizers of
the mass meeting aviod it, which a sign of aggressiveness," he said. In
his opinion, the figures on the Freedom square can irrespective of
their will create an ungovernable and aggressive crowd, which is
very dangerous.

A. Manasian expressed readiness to take part in the political dialogue,
if it is conducted at a level giving a scientific meaning to the
developments of the political events and not with demagogic slogans
or by the principle of offencing each other.

In the words of Manasian, political dialogues are necessary for
disputable issues not to become conflict ones, however, that form of
the political culture is lacking today. The reason for the absence,
according to him, is, first of all, the fact that political parties
are not enough well-grounded and the second reason is the national
character, in his words, "burst and emotionality peculiar to the
mentality of Armenians."

According to the political scientist, the political parties of Armenia
are not enough well-grounded and have no live connection with real
political processes. "Parties are based on those political figures,
who unite around themselves not those supporters, who are saturated
with their thoughts, but their friends, relatives and families." He
mentioned that ideology is an important condition for a political
party, and there is no well-grounded party in Armenia, which has
adopted a political ideology. "Is there as much ideology in the world
as many parties there are today in Armenia?" the political scientist
mentioned.

VAHAN HOVHANNESIAN PROMISES WIDE CHANGES IN HIS CAMPAIGN IN EJMIATSIN

Yerkir
04.02.2008 16:38

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Presidential candidate Vahan Hovhannesian was
campaigning in Ejmiatsin on February 4, starting from the village
of Parakar.

Everybody is unhappy with this situation, he said, and everybody wants
changes, he said. "Corruption, nepotism, pressures do not allow to
invest in industry and live freely," Hovhannesian said. "These things
began in 1990s but this does not justify the incumbent authorities,
who say it is normal if the situation continues like this. I say,
it not right. Our country’s development is legging behind."

He said the people are now facing a dilemma to choose between the
band and the worse. But the choice should be between the good and
the bad. "I have a clear program, a team of qualified people and I
am able to reform this country within a year if I win because I have
a clean biography and I am free of any pressure," he went on saying.

When asked to share his view on the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, Hovhannesian said: "First of all, I will offer Azerbaijan to
sign a pact for not resuming the war, so that the issue is settled
only through peaceful means. Otherwise, if Azerbaijan continues
its belligerent rhetoric, it will allow me to forget about any
concessions. Armenia always says it is ready for compromise, and
Azerbaijan, while saying the same, speaks about the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijani in the boundaries of the Soviet time. I
will then raise the issue of Nagorno Karabakh’s participation in all
negotiations. Azerbaijan’s aggressiveness towards Armenia is inspired
by Turkey. To reach our goals, I see it vital to conduct flexible
policies with NATO and European Union."

Ara Nranian, a member of the ARF faction in parliament, said when
speaking in the village of Artimet: "The school in this village was
restored with the help of the ARF, the sports hall will be restored
soon. We have a concrete program in all the sectors of our life,
including the banking sector, economy and others."

Addressing the residents of Atimet, Hovhannesian said: "Our people
keep hearing that the economy is growing. Why doesn’t that economic
growth reflected in my life? The economic growth is seen only in the
circle of a handful of people. They would buy houses in Tsakhkadzor,
now they buy houses in Miami."

LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: ARMENIA MUST CHANGE THE STRATEGY AFTER ELECTIONS

armradio.am
24.12.2007 16:22

The Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in the framework of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement yielded no results in 2007, political
scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a press conference today. He
noted that although Azerbaijan declares about its readiness to make
concessions, that country offers nothing more that broad autonomy to
Nagorno Karabakh.

According to Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan, currently the negotiations
are somewhat "frozen," which is caused by the pre-election period
in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The political scientist is assured that
after the elections Armenia must change its strategy in the talks,
making it more aggressive.

"The complementary policy is favorable for us, but world changes
rapidly, and Armenia should reconsider its foreign policy," Levon
Melik-Shahnazaryan said. In his words, by saying "complementary"
one should not imagine a "peaceful, harmless" state.

SPOKESPERSON OF ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: SELF-DETERMINATION IS ONE OF KEY PRINCIPLES ON TABLE OF NEGOTIATIONS OVER KARABAKH CONFLICT

arminfo
2007-12-14 18:01:00

ArmInfo. Self-determination is one of the key principles on the table
of negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Spokesperson
of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Karapetian told ArmInfo
correspondent, commenting upon Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Araz Azimov’s December 14 statement.

According to the "Trend" news agency, A.Azimov said at a briefing,
Friday, that "self-determination of Karabakh Armenians, separate
from Azerbaijan cannot be considered". "Even the implementation of
the principle of self-determination of the nation should not lead to
the breakdown, and always should be resolved within the territorial
integrity", he noted.