Author: Babajanian Karo

Agence France Presse
January 16, 2013 Wednesday 11:43 AM GMT

Turkey and France to resume nuclear plant talks: minister

ISTANBUL, Jan 16 2013

Turkey and France have agreed to resume talks on civilian nuclear
energy at a time Ankara plans to build three plants within the next
five years, French Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq said on
Wednesday.

“We met the (energy) minister to discuss Turkey’s important projects
in nuclear facilities,” said Bricq after a meeting with Energy
Minister Taner Yildiz. “France claims excellence in this field…so it
is only natural that we have these discussions.”

She said: “We want Turkey to be equipped with the best and most secure
technology and we can do it.”

Yildiz said that Turkey was aware of French nuclear technology and a
series of talks would be held to develop cooperation, which had
stalled amid chilly ties between the nations.

“Some important issues such as nuclear cannot be developed
independently of international issues,” Yildiz said.

For the last 10 years, diplomatic relations between Paris and Ankara
have experienced several crises, fuelled in particular by a French
bill criminalising denial of genocide in Armenian, vehemently denied
by Ankara.

The tensions hit the interests of the French businesses in Turkey,
particularly in obtaining big state contracts.

On Tuesday, Bricq said that her first visit to Turkey on behalf of the
government was a “political signal” from the new French President
Francois Hollande to develop closer ties, after strained relations
between his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy and Turkey.

Atmea, a joint venture owned by the French nuclear power group Areva
and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has recently signalled
its intention to bid to build the third plant.

Turkey is planning to build three nuclear power plants in the next
five years to reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources.

It struck the first deal with Russia in 2010 to build the first power
plant at Akkuyu in the southern Mersin province.

China, Japan, South Korea and Canada are competing to win the Turkish
tender for the second plant, to be built near the Black Sea city of
Sinop.

pa-ck/hd

Airline Industry Information
January 16, 2013 Wednesday

Azerbaijan issues warning on Khankendi Airport

The government of Azerbaijan said it has strongly condemned the
planned opening of Khankendi airport in Armenian-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ahead of the next meeting of EuroNest PA, the head of the Azerbaijani
delegation, Elkhan Suleymanov said that the International Civil
Aviation Organization and the European Civil Aviation Conference
should not certify the opening of a new airport.

He said that the airport, in the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh,
violates Azerbaijan’s airspace and the rules of international law.

Suleymanov added that operating civil flights in Nagorno-Karabakh
without the consent of the State Civil Aviation Administration of the
Republic of Azerbaijan, would contradict the 1994 Chicago Convention
on Civil Aviation.

The move would also go against the principles of state sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Baku, recognised in its Resolutions No. 822,
854, 873, and 884, by the UN Security Council and confirmed in similar
documents by the European Parliament, PACE, OSCE PA, and other
international organizations, he said.

This controversy follows a period of renewed efforts by the
international community, together with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk
Group, to achieve a peaceful settlement of the ‘frozen conflict’ of
the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The region seized by separatist Armenian paramilitary groups together
with seven surrounding districts in Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

In October last year, Armenia announced its intention to open the
airport of Khankendi in order to operate civil flights from and to
Yerevan.

Mediamax, Armenia
Jan 16 2013

Georgian PM interviewed on ties with Armenia

On January 17, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili will pay
his first visit to Armenia. On the eve of the visit, he gave an
exclusive interview to Mediamax agency.

[Mediamax] Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your readiness to answer
our questions. How do you assess the current state of Armenia-Georgian
relations? What do you think needs to be improved?

[Ivanishvili] Thank you for your interest. Armenia and Georgia has a
huge potential for development of their cooperation. First of all, we
should assess these options and work out a new multi-channel strategy
for developing the cooperation. I am not sure that the resources have
been studied enough. New approaches to the development of our
bilateral relations and our joint participation in international
formats are needed.

[Mediamax] Armenia is isolated from regional energy and transport
projects which are implemented with participation of Georgia and
Azerbaijan. Do you see any opportunity for changing the situation and
involving Armenia?

[Ivanishvili] South-Caucasian cooperation should develop in all the
spheres. Of course, we should strive to build common economic area
covering all the region. We should focus on new approaches in
Caucasian regional policy, create new joint projects of both bilateral
and multilateral character.

Naturally, we should create conditions for conflict settlement across
our whole region. It will create prerequisites for development of the
economic cooperation. Development of environmental cooperation, our
shared space, is of special importance.

[Mediamax] Shortly after Georgian Dream’s [Ivanishvili-led coalition]
victory at the Georgian parliamentary elections there were talks about
the prospects of resumption of the Abkhazian sector of the railway
which faded away, though. Are you ready to discuss this prospect
before the political settlement of the Abkhazian issue?

[Ivanishvili] We all are ready for discussion of both problematic and
promising issues. It’s more important that all the sides involved in
the process were ready. We are in nonstandard conditions and the
search for innovative approaches to settlement of the current
problematic issues is needed.

[Mediamax] For clear reasons, Armenia supports the peoples
self-determination principle and Georgia backs the principle of
territorial integrity. Does it create problems in the relations of the
two countries?

[Ivanishvili] I don’t see any contradictions between the two principles.

The Georgian side is interested in earliest settlement of the
conflicts in South Caucasus. Georgia supports shared principles of
territorial integrity and sovereignty of each state.

As for the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, Georgia supports the settlement
of the conflict only in a peaceful way, based on the norms and
principles of international law.

More active participation of the international community is mandatory
for the process of the conflict settlement.

[Mediamax] In spring 2011, in his interview to our agency, then –
oppositional politician and currently member of your team, Vice Prime
Minister and Defense Minister Irakli Alasania expressed the wish to
have more Armenian politicians in Georgia. “Georgia will only benefit
from it”, he noted. Is your government ready to encourage Georgian
Armenians to more active participation in political processes?

[Ivanishvili] Georgian citizens should be more active irrespective of
their ethnic descent. We support strengthening of integration
processes. At the same time, we should overcome the current
hindrances. Historically, Georgian Armenians took part in ruling the
country and were good Georgian politicians. And now there are
politicians who are of Armenian descent and many of them are
represented in the parliament and the Georgian government. I know that
there are Armenian politicians who come from various Georgian regions
in Armenia as well.

[Mediamax] Over past several years, Armenia and Georgia have argued
over the belonging of a number of churches in Tbilisi. And while the
sides are disputing churches are being destroyed or are close to
destruction. In early January particularly, we visited Tbilisi and saw
that cracks on the facade of Norashen church have become substantially
bigger over the past years and the church may come down at any time.
What do you think of the ways of settling this issue?

[Ivanishvili] All the monuments on Georgia’s territory are protected
by the state. It should be noted that over many years, Georgia has
paid special attention to the issues of preserving cultural and
architectural heritage. However, we are going to boost investments in
this area – both state and off-budget ones. We should not argue but
work over preserving our cultural heritage which is a shared spiritual
and economic resource.

[Mediamax] Though it’s only 5-hour drive from Yerevan to Tbilisi,
citizens of the two countries, especially young people, don’t know
about each other much. Such a situation provides a fertile ground for
strengthening mutual fears and stereotypes and creating new myths.
What do you think the Armenian and Georgian politicians may do to
boost ties between common people?

[Ivanishvili] I fully share your standpoint. I think first of all, we
should boost development of youth tourism. Our university community
has a great role in this process. This area should be paid much
attention to and relevant ministries should create a new vision of
development of cooperation between our citizens. At the same time, I
don’t think we should limit ourselves to the age categories. We should
demonstrate special care toward the elderly, pensioners and create
conditions for development of regional tourism.

European Union News
January 10, 2013 Thursday

Press statement by Commissioner Åtefan Füle following his meeting with
Hovik Abrahamyan, President of the Armenian National Assembly

Brussels

European Commission has issued the following press release:

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Åtefan
Füle met with Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan, President of the Armenian National
Assembly in Brussels today.

The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss how to accelerate the
reform and modernisation of Armenia for the benefit of the country and
its citizens and how the EU can support those changes.

Commissioner Füle commended the recent developments in EU-Armenia
relations, notably the good progress on the Visa Facilitation and
Readmission Agreement and the signature of last December’s Visa
Facilitation Agreement. The Commissioner expressed the hope that a
good track record of its implementation will allow the journey towards
visa liberalization to be taken to a next level. The Commissioner also
expressed his appreciation for the unilateral lifting of visa
requirements by Armenia for EU citizens.

He welcomed progress in the negotiations on an Association Agreement,
including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. This Agreement is
of the utmost importance in moving the EU-Armenia relationship to a
higher level. It goes far beyond a normal free trade agreement.
Through the Agreement the EU will open up portions of its acquis
related to the internal market. But beyond this it encompasses changes
that affect citizens in their daily lives in areas like consumer
protection, air quality and road safety, offering a protective
umbrella of high democratic standards and real guarantees for their
rights.

The upcoming Presidential elections were also discussed during the
meeting: “Successful ` free and fair – elections really matter and are
crucial for EU-Armenia relations; without them the continuous reform
which we want to see could be undermined. Before the elections next
month, further progress is needed in the implementation of the current
legislative framework, as recommended by the OSCE/ODIHR, while in
parallel the longer-term process of updating electoral legislation for
polls in the future should also continue.” said Commissioner Füle.

Broader regional cooperation was also raised, with an emphasis on the
fact that good neighbourly relations are of strategic importance for
Armenia, in particular as regards Russia. It is in the EU’s interest
to see good Armenian-Russian relations; they can in turn benefit also
from Armenia’s partnership with the EU.

Issues concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process were
discussed, including the issue of possible flights to the airport in
Nagorno-Karabakh. Commissioner Füle reiterated EU’s continued support
for the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and their efforts in facilitating a
peaceful settlement. He also stressed the need for the sides to seek a
diplomatic solution to issues relating to this airport and to avoid
any actions that could fuel tensions in the region.

For more information please visit

Global Insight
January 9, 2013

Armenian inflation accelerates further in November 2012 on higher food
prices, remains within planned range

by: Karolina Konarzewska

According to the Armenian National Statistical Service, consumer
prices increased in November 2012 by 3.6% year-on-year (y/y). While
further departing from the annual gain of 2.5% y/y in
August-September, the result remains within the planned range of 4%
+/- 1.5 percentage points. On a monthly basis, inflation accelerated
to 1.4%, marking the third consecutive month of price increases after
five months of deflation in April-August. Food prices continued to
contribute the most to the m/m price growth, surging 2.6% m/m.
Consumer goods prices also spiked by 1.9% m/m, while non-foods and
services declined slightly in value. On average, prices increased by
2.5% y/y in January-November.

Significance:IHS Global Insight estimates the consumer prices will
accelerate by 3.7% y/y in December, and the average change for 2012 as
a whole in consumer prices will be 3.2%. Price growth has remained
modest in spite of growing food prices because of weak industrial and
agricultural outputs as well as low remittances that suppress domestic
demand. Consequently, the Central Bank of Armenia is expected to
continue to rely on the floating exchange rate and interest rate
revisions to help continue staving off inflationary pressures.

The Toronto Star, Canada
January 6, 2013 Sunday

Church, supporters have got her back

Woman is turned away for surgery in Ontario, finds relief in U.S.
thanks to funds raised

On Sunday to celebrate Armenian Christmas Sevan Hajinian intends to
walk into Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in east Toronto and
give thanks to those who made a potentially life-changing back surgery
possible.

The province of Ontario will not be among them.

Friends and supporters, with the help of the church, raised $120,000
for a Dec. 4 surgery in New York City, which Hajinian says five
Canadian spinal surgeons would not touch and the Ontario Health
Insurance Plan would not fund.

Hajinian, 52, returned home on Saturday after a month of recuperating
in New York to repair the fallout from back surgery performed in
Ontario 14 years ago.

“I want the people at church to see me and that … the fundraising
that they are doing served its purpose,” said Hajinian.

In 2008, Hajinian received an American doctor’s opinion that she
required complex surgery to correct failed fusions and pressure from a
bone on a nerve that was affecting the use of her right leg. The cost
of surgery in the U.S. was too great for her family at the time.

She sought the surgery in Canada, but with no success.

Several Canadian doctors told her an operation would not help and that
she would have to live with it, she says. One said to come back when
she was in a wheelchair.

The last Canadian doctor who turned her down, she says, told her the
surgery was beyond his abilities. He recommended going to New York.

OHIP, which can authorize payment for out-of-country medical
treatments, turned down funding. Hajinian appealed to the Health
Services Appeal and Review Board.

The Globe and Mail cited documents from that appeal that noted OHIP
was of the opinion that the operation was available in Canada, and
that no evidence had been shown that a wait would cause Hajinian more
harm.

The appeal was unsuccessful.

Hajinian, a mother of two teenage girls, could have taken a further
step and appealed in court, but expenses were mounting (the family has
spent about $30,000 on legal fees) and her condition wasn’t getting
any better.

In constant pain, she was at one point on a morphine pump until a near
overdose that was caused by a malfunction. Prior to surgery, she was
on daily doses of Percocet.

Emotionally, she was a mess.

Dr. Frank Schwab, at the Hospital for Joint Diseases at New York
University’s Langone Medical Center, was confident the surgery was
worth it.

So Hajinian and her brother, Aris Babikian, a citizenship judge,
rented an apartment in Manhattan, where she could recover until
well-enough to fly home.

The final bill has yet to come in, but costs may be higher due to
longer than expected surgery time and an extended nine-day hospital
stay. The church is continuing to fundraise.

Hajinian and her brother were amazed by the level of care and both
feel her case highlights a major problem with health care in Ontario
and Canada.

Despite a petition and campaign to get her help, including pleas to
MPs, MPPs and a package Babikian personally delivered to Premier
Dalton McGuinty, “we never heard anything from them,” said Babikian.

With all of the money spent on health care in Canada, they don’t
understand why they had to put so much effort – for so long – into a
futile hunt for specialized help in Canada.

The quest for care has taken a toll. Her husband suffered a minor
stroke and caring for her has stressed the extended family.

“We don’t want any more Ontarians to live through the hell that we
lived through for the past 13 years,” said Babikian.

“Why do we need to put hard-working Ontarians and their families
through, to be honest, what is emotional terrorism by our own
government? This is not a third-world country where you hear of such
stories.”

If all goes as hoped, the money spent on her surgery may actually save
Canadian taxpayers the added long-term health care and other costs
that Hajinian likely would have racked up without the surgery.

“Our health care system needs a serious revision, serious reform,”
said Babikian. “I don’t understand how these bureaucrats make these
decisions.”

Within two days of the surgery, which lasted more than seven hours,
Hajinian says she knew that things had changed for the better.

She had improved feeling in her right leg and foot. She can now sit in
a chair for longer than 15 minutes, something that would not have
happened before. Before surgery, she was on Percocet for pain control.
She no longer needs the narcotic.

“Finally, I feel great,” said Hajinian. “I wasn’t expecting that I
would feel the difference right after the surgery.”

While she must use a walker for a while for stability and ensure
proper healing, she is thinking about working again, something she has
not been able to do since 1999, when she managed a dental office.

She intends to become a patients’ advocate, specifically in the area
of spinal surgery.

Caucasus Business Forecast Report
January 1, 2013 Tuesday

Nagorno-Karabakh Main Policy Priority Ahead Of 2013 Election

BMI View: The Azerbaijani government is increasingly demonstrating its
resolve to address the long-standing dispute over the breakaway
Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is controlled by Armenia. With
presidential elections approachingin late 2013, changing the status
quo over the long-standing dispute will remain a key policypriority,
meaning that regional tensions could rapidly escalate into a
full-blown war.

Azerbaijan’s intensification of hostile rhetoric towards Armenian
control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region has systematically
raised the stakes of the unresolved conflict between both South
Caucasus countries ahead of Armenia’s presidential election in
February 2013 and Azerbaijan’s presidential election in October 2013.
Months of increasing tensions have recently come to a boiling point
after the extradition and immediate pardon of an Azerbaijani military
officer on August 31. Ramil Safarov served a life sentence in Hungary
for the brutal murder of a fellow Armenian military officer during a
NATO Partnership for Peace exercise in 2004. The pardon was a highly
symbolic gesture by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and will have
severely set back previous diplomatic initiatives to bring both
countries closer, possibly by many years, if not decades.

Aliyev’s highly publicised presidential pardon and subsequent
promotion of Safarov from lieutenant to major leaves little doubt
about the growing importance attributed by the Azerbaijani political
elite to the unresolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Local media
reports suggest that the return of Safarov was widely regarded as a
victory for Azerbaijan, as memories of atrocities suffered during the
1988-1994 war over Nagorno-Karabakh still feature prominently in Azeri
society. Tensions are increasingly running high and coincide with key
presidential election cycles in both countries, suggesting that
neither side will likely back down any time soon.

We believe that Azerbaijan’s previous efforts to present the country
as an attractive destination for foreign investment, most prominently
during the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest held in Baku, have now assumed
a lower priority. Instead, frequent reports of violent clashes between
police and activists campaigning against headscarf bans and a lack of
political freedom have placed political unity and social stability
higher on the government’s agenda ahead of the 2013 presidential vote.
Although Aliyev, who will most likely be seeking re-election after
abolishing term limits in 2009, does not generally face credible
opposition in presidential elections, Azerbaijan’s political
leadership has been coming under increasing popular pressure to change
the status quo in the long-standing conflict with Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh.

A Less Assuring Economic Outlook

A booming oil and gas export-driven economy had previously provided a
welcome distraction from the politically embarrassing state of affairs
over Nagorno-Karabakh. The region is still considered to be
Azerbaijani territory, but remains under Armenian control since the
1994 ceasefire, and has a predominantly ethnic Armenian population.
Years of windfall oil revenues and higher military spending have
presented an opportune moment for the Azerbaijani leadership to
renegotiate the terms of the 18-year old ceasefire ( see our online
service, July 13,’High Risk Of War’). A peace deal has remained
elusive ever since the war ended, and concerns over a resumption of
military hostilities are running high.

The emergence of Turkey as an economic and political powerhouse in the
region will further strengthen Baku’s resolve to change the status quo
over Nagorno-Karabakh, given Ankara’s support for Azerbaijan. Going
forward, we do not expect Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector to produce
the same blockbuster economic growth as seen in recent years. Oil
production shutdowns in 2011 exposed the economy’s vulnerability to
the energy sector, when the economy grew by a meagre 0.1%, and we are
currently forecasting only a moderate recovery to 3.5% real GDP growth
in 2012.

Even with faster economic growth in subsequent years, we do not
envision a return to the 20%-plus growth seen in the years before the
global financial crisis, suggesting that the Azerbaijani authorities
could increasingly be confronted by domestic political grievances and
a lack of equitably distributed economic development. Moreover, for a
long time we have been flagging up the possibility of Baku
increasingly viewing the current economic and fiscal state of affairs
as a ‘now or never’ moment for the government to change the
Nagorno-Karabakh situation, either through renegotiations or
potentially by military means.

Aliyev’s Legacy

We currently see little to suggest that Aliyev’s political power will
be challenged in a meaningful way between now and the presidential
election in October 2013. However, we see increasing scope for the
Azeri leader to seek to bolster his standing and begin building his
legacy, which until now has been overshadowed by his father and former
leader Heydar Aliyev, who ruled Azerbaijan in the Soviet era and again
from 1993-2003. With little to suggest that Azerbaijan is moving
towards greater democratic progress or attempting to alleviate fears
of a renewed military conflict with Armenia, we believe that the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute can no longer be categorised as a ‘frozen
conflict’ as has been the case for most of the post-ceasefire period.

Although international mediation, particularly the involvement of
Turkey and Russia (the latter openly supports Armenia), both of which
would like to avoid a military conflict, may ultimately prevent
further escalation of tensions in the region, we believe that the
likelihood of a diplomatic resolution to the current conflict is
looking very small at the present juncture. Although Azerbaijan’s
superior spending power and far higher military expenditure in recent
years suggest that Baku could theoretically secure a rapid military
victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, we note that the large ethnic Armenian
population and difficult geographic terrain would make this a conflict
that could not be easily resolved by conventional military means and
superior firing power.

What is more, both sides are far better armed than in the early 1990s,
making the prospect of another war between Armenia and Azerbaijan a
lot more devastating with a potentially higher number of casualties.
Indeed, there is no guarantee that a military intervention would stop
at the border of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Finally, we note that
outright military intervention or major weapons provisions from Russia
to Armenia and from Turkey to Azerbaijan could indefinitely prolong
and exacerbate any military conflict in the region.

Interfax, Russia
Dec 30 2012

Azerbaijan won’t allow using its territory for action against Iran – minister

BAKU. Dec 30

Azerbaijan will not allow using its territory for any actions against
Iran, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in reply to a
question from Interfax on Sunday.

“A number of foreign media outlets have regularly issued groundless
and untrue reports that Azerbaijan’s territory would be used for
operations against Iran,” Mammadyarov said.

The Foreign Ministry and other Azeri agencies have already denied
these reports several times, he noted.

“We have said repeatedly that Azerbaijan will not allow using its
territory against Iran. Azerbaijan is an independent and peaceful
country defending its interests, which pursues its foreign policy
based on mutual trust and respect for all the neighboring countries
except Armenia,” Mammadyarov said.

Azerbaijan “does not want the emergence of new hotbeds of conflict in
the region and supports a peaceful resolution of the existing
misunderstandings through negotiations,” he said.

va

Causes of Armenian soldier’s death known

17:55 – 19.01.13

The Armenian conscript who died in the Central Military Hospital on
Friday evening has reportedly suffered from cerebral hemorrhage.

The Ministry of Defense says in a press release that Artyom G.
Hakobyan that a post-mortem examination revealed brain swelling
accompanied by a secondary brain base syndrome, a condition suffered
after chickenpox.

The Ministry’s Investigative service has launched a proceeding under
Article 376.2 of the Criminal Code (negligent service). An inquest is
under way.

Hrant Dink remembered 6 years after his murder

19:24 19.01.2013

Thousands of people gathered earlier today in the Å?iÅ?li district of
Istanbul to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the assassination of
Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, daily Hürriyet
has reported.

The crowd stood in homage at 3:05 p.m., the exact time of Dink’s
death, in front of the Agos newspaper building where he was killed.
Hidayet Å?evkatli Tuksal, a daily Taraf journalist, renownedAmerican
linguist Noam Chomsky and Rakel Dink, Hrant Dink’s wife, made
speeches. The crowd also listened to a recorded speech Dink had given
prior to his death, which was played for all to hear.

The Friends of Hrant Dink organization established in memory of the
late journalist has called the event `We are here, brother’ and is
preparing to call for justice during the demonstration.

Following the commemoration, the crowd walked to Taksim square,
shouting slogans such as, `We all are Hrant, we all are Armenian.’

Police reportedly intervened in the march, where some people were at
risk of being crushed due to the large crowds, and used pepper gas
against some demonstrators, thr Hurriyet Daily News reports.