Author: Babajanian Karo

BY-ELECTIONS AND SERZH SARGSYAN’S PLEDGE

07:58 PM | TODAY | POLITICS

During his recent meeting with the President of the European Commission
[Jose Manuel Barroso], Serzh Sargsyan assured the European official
that the presidential elections to be held in Armenian in February
would meet the European standards.

“Caesar’s wife is above suspicion, isn’t she? How can I doubt
President’s words?” says levon Khachatryan, an MP of the Prosperous
Armenia Party (BHK)

Vartan Oskanian, another lawmaker of the same party, is ready to wait
and see how Serzh Sargsyan keeps his pledge.

“For example if we take the example of the previous elections, I must
confess that they do not instill much hope,” he said.

Vartan Oskanian has doubts about whether the by-elections held in
Yerevan’s Avan district and Shirak marz, were democratic or not.

Unlike Oskanian, Galust Sahakyan, head of the Republican Party (HHK)
faction, is certain of the election outcome.

“Our candidates garnered 75-80 percent of votes,” he said.

Galust Sahakyan is aware that their candidates [both in Avan and
Gyumri] took voters in minibuses to polling-stations to vote for them.

“This is a practice in the USA,” he said citing the recent presidential
election in the country.

The HHK official says an ultimate priority for his party is to hold
free and fair elections in February. Another priority is the outcome
of the elections, i.e. Serzh Sargsyan’s victory.

PUTIN AND ERDOGAN WILL NOT REACH AN AGREEMENT ON SYRIAN ISSUE. “VEDOMOSTI”

19:18, 3 December, 2012

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS: With regard to the December 3 visit
of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey Russian “Vedomosti”
newspaper expressed conviction that Putin and Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan “would never reach an agreement over Syrian
issue”. “Putin will not manage to convince Erdogan on Syrian issue,”
“Vedomosti” writes. The main goal of Putin’s visit to Istanbul was
the Syrian crisis.

As reports Armenpress, underlining the importance of Putin’s visit to
Turkey, the newspaper wrote that during the meeting in Istanbul Russia
and Turkey would do their best not to “mix together” the economy and
politics, therefore, Syrian issue would remain to be a a sword of
Damocles hanging over the heads of two leaders.

Syria figured high on the agenda during Putin’s talks with Turkish
leaders. “The negotiations are to touch upon a series of urgent
international and regional issues including reconciliation in the
Middle East, the situation in the Gaza Strip, the crisis in Syria,
as well as cooperation,” Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov
said in a statement.

HOVIK TOLD NONO TO WAIT A LITTLE

Country – Tuesday, 04 December 2012, 14:28

Gabriel Poghosyan, Nono, who was constrained to refuse the office of
the director of Khosrov reserve, said in personal frameworks that NA
Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan told him to resign and wait a little.

Abramyan told Nono to work well during the presidential elections
(Nono is famous in Ararat not only as a poacher but also as an election
falsifier) and he will be appointed to that post without any problem.

SAFAROV PAYOFF: ‘HOUSE OF HUNGARY’ TO OPEN IN BAKU

December 4, 2012 – 14:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Baku seems to be already paying off for the
extradition of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan~Rs axe-killer Ramil
Safarov.

According to Trend news agency, a delegation led by member of National
Assembly of Hungary and co-chair of the Azerbaijani-Hungarian
intergovernmental economic commission Péter Szijjártó will pay an
official visit to Baku.

The Hungarian delegation will comprise representatives from various
economic sectors, including banking, tourism and Wizz Air airlines,
with meeting with Azerbaijani Minister of Economic Development Shahin
Mustafayev on the agenda.

The delegation will also attend the opening ceremony of the ‘House
of Hungary’ in Baku.

Trade turnover between the two countries in 2012 amounted to $13.397
million, $13.3 million of which account for imports.

According to Azeri media outlets, relations between Baku and Budapest
intensified following the transfer of Ramil Safarov to Baku, with
Azerbaijan and Hungary expressing mutual readiness to ~Sexpand economic
ties~T and deepen cooperation in the field of education.

Ramil Safarov, Azerbaijani army officer who was serving a life
sentence in Hungary for axing to death Armenian Lt. Gurgen Margaryan,
was extradited to Azerbaijan and pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.

Official Yerevan reacted by suspending diplomatic ties with Hungary.

Hungary, however, states that it had sent Safarov back to Azerbaijan
after receiving assurances from the Azerbaijani Justice Ministry that
Safarov’s sentence, which included the possibility of parole after
25 years, would be enforced.

According to some reports, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan in
exchange for Azeri purchase of Hungarian securities worth Euro 2-3
billion, an information official Budapest denies.

~SHungarian Prime Minister is ~Smorally bankrupt~T and should resign
after admitting that he personally approved the transfer of the Azeri
axe murderer while knowing the likely consequences,~T the leader of
the opposition Socialists said earlier.

Attila Mesterhazy said it was clear from Orban~Rs comments at a
news conference on Tuesday September 11 that he had been aware that
Azerbaijan would release the life-sentenced Ramil Safarov after his
repatriation.

Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA, Iran
Dec 1 2012

Countries with poor record must not judge Iran human rights situation – MP

Tehran, 1 December: Member of Parliament from Armenian Community of
northern Iran Karen Khanlari said on Saturday [1 December] the
countries with poor human rights record must not judge Iranian human
rights situation.

He made the comment in reaction to recent United Nations draft
statement condemning their alleged human rights violations in Iran.

He said that he believes adoption of the draft statement is due to
political motivations.

He said western countries embark on taking such measure once in a
while to serve their own political interests.

Noting that there is no single standard to examine the human rights
records of world countries, he further dismissed as inappropriate to
apply diverse standards for human rights records of different
countries.

The parliamentarian added, despite the fact that countries like Saudi
Arabia easily violate human rights, the western governments turn a
blind eye towards them.

Referring to the satisfactory status of religious minorities in Iran,
Khanlari said religious minorities enjoy quite agreeable situation in
Iran and have their own representative in the parliament.

This is while, he added, in many countries including the western
countries, religious minorities are being refused the right to send
their own representatives to the parliament and the religious minority
representatives lack equal footing with other members of the
parliaments.

However, Khanlari noted, religious minority representatives in Iranian
parliament both focus on the exclusive issues pertaining to their
communities and also have the right to vote for any other legal issue.

ARMENIE
Le président de l’Union des Banques d’Arménie s’attend à une baisse
des taux d’intérêt sur les dépôts en Arménie

Le président de l’Union des Banques d’Arménie Ashot Osipyan s’attend à
ce que les taux d’intérêt sur les dépôts baissent.

« Je ne pense pas que les taux d’intérêt sur les dépôts continueront à
monter, je m’attends à ce qu’ils tombent » a-t-il dit aux
journalistes.

À partir des taux d’intérêt sur les crédits, Ashot Osipyan a dit que
les taux d’intérêt peuvent dégringoler en raison de la haute
compétitivité dans le secteur bancaire.

« Nous n’avons pas de baguette magique qui peut réduire tous les taux
d’intérêt immédiatement. Tout est connecté – chute des taux d’intérêt,
le développement général de l’économie. Le système bancaire est une
partie de l’économie et nous pouvons parler des espérances dans le
contexte de son développement » a-t-il ajouté.

Selon la Banque Centrale d’Arménie, le taux d’intérêt moyen sur les
dépôts en juillet était de 9 % au lieu de 9,2 % en juin et le taux
d’intérêt moyen des crédits en juillet était de 14,6 % contre 14,4 %
en juin.

dimanche 2 décembre 2012,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

Voice of Russia
Dec 1 2012

Armenia, EU to sign visa agreement next week – Sargsyan

Armenia and the EU will sign an agreement on the simplification of
visa regime in the coming days, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told
reporters in Yerevan on Saturday.
He said that the agreement is expected to come into force by mid-2013.

Sargsyan spoke after his talks with European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso in the Armenian capital earlier today.

Interfax, Russia
Nov 30 2012

Armenia forced to upgrade defense – president

YEREVAN. Nov 30

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stands for the return of Stepanakert
to the Karabakh settlement negotiations.

“I would like to emphasize that the region may attain lasting peace
and stability only on condition of guaranteed physical security of
Karabakh people and their right to make independent decisions on their
future,” the Armenian president said in greetings to the international
scientific forum, “Regional Security Dynamics in the South Caucasus.”

“In this context, the return of the Karabakh Republic to the
settlement process is very important,” he said.

“The regional arms race unleashed by Azerbaijan, militarist statements
and propaganda of Armyanophobia (a phobia of Armenia) on the top state
level create serious threats to the security of Armenia and the entire
South Caucasus,” he said. “In this situation Armenia is forced to
concentrate on the reform and modernization of its defense as a factor
of deterrence of militarist aspirations of Azerbaijan and provision of
stability in the South Caucasus,” Sargsyan said.

The international forum takes place in Yerevan on November 29-30. Its
organizers are the Armenian Defense Ministry’s National Strategy
Research Institute and the Political Science Association of Armenia.

te jv

Armenia to have first production of fish feed

news.am
December 01, 2012 | 23:18

Gurgen Nikoghosyan, the president of `Manana Grain’ Ltd., told the
reporter of Armenian News-NEWS.am, that the company is going to open a
new production line of fish feed in Armenia in April 2013. The plant
capacity is 5 tons per hour, the annual amount will depend on the
needs of the market, which Nikogosyan estimated at 9-10 thousand tons.

`If needed, we will also define the caliber of feed pellets. The
bigger it is, the higher the performance – up to 9 tons per hour,’
Nikoghosyan said.

According to him, the fish feed plant is the first in Armenia.

Note, that according to Customs data (the State Revenue Committee of
the Republic of Armenia) about 100 tons of fish feed and pellets are
imported to Armenia annually.

At present, the country has about 140 fish pond farms.

Armenia and Turkey not preparing to make first move – American analyst

news.am
December 01, 2012 | 21:59

Armenia and Turkey are not preparing to make the first move in terms
of constructing diplomatic infrastructures, Wayne Merry, Senior
Associate at the American Foreign Policy Council, told Armenian
News-NEWS.am.

`The governments [of both countries] know better what they are
preparing to do but, judging from the developments we are becoming
eyewitnesses to, they are not preparing to do anything [at present],
even if making the first move is very easy and this could be the
opening – in one another’s capital cities, or in third countries – of
sections that represent the interests of the other party,’ Merry
noted.

To the query as to whether the governments of Armenia and Turkey are
afraid that in the case of making the first move they could lose their
standing in their own countries, Wayne Merry responded: `They know
better. But if the US could have such section in Cuba, I see no reason
why Armenia and Turkey likewise cannot do the same. Perhaps it is
because they just don’t want that.’