Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CONFIRMS READINESS TO DEVELOP RELATIONS WITH EU

Wednesday 16 July 2014 12:34
Photo: Photolure

Serzh Sargsyan

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan confirmed
Armenia’s readiness to develop relations with the European Union in
a bilateral format as well as within Eastern Partnership today.

The President’s congratulatory message to the President-elect of
European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker reads this.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that during Jean-Claude Juncker’s
presidency, Armenia and European Commission will develop and deepen
cooperation opening new prospects.

“Cooperation with the EU considerably contributed to reforms in
effective administration, democracy, human rights, rule of law and
other fields in Armenia, and we highly evaluate it”, the Armenian
President’s congratulatory message reads.

LARISA ALAVERDYAN: AZERI ATTACK WAS THE RESULT OF JAMES WARLICK’S STATEMENTS

by Nana Martirosyan

Wednesday, July 16, 15:28

The Azeri attack on Karvachar and the growing tension on the contact
line between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan are the result of the
statements by OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair James Warlick that the
current status quo in Nagorno- Karabakh cannot be preserved, former
Human Rights Defender of Armenia Larisa Alaverdyan told journalists
on Wednesday.

“The OSCE Minsk Group has proved its inability to force the parties
into peace. But instead of trying to do something or at least
to suggest some alternatives, it keeps saying that things can no
longer stay as they are and this is encouraging the bold-faced Azeri
authorities. The co-chairs are not doing their daily work. The Azeris
keep giving them pretexts for criticizing them but all they are doing
is just conducting regular monitorings. We won in the battlefield but
now we are losing in the diplomatic field, which we must not allow,”
Alaverdyan said.

On the other hand, she believes that the meetings with Azeri President
Ilham Aliyev must be continued as any contacts are good for the
parties. “We must not reject an offer by a more or less neutral party
as once we already accepted a similar offer by Russia, a country that
keeps openly selling arms to Azerbaijan,” Alaverdyan said.

Last week Nagorno-Karabakh’s troops prevented an Azeri raid on
Karvachar. Some of the raiders were killed, two – Gulin Shahbaz
Jalaloglu and Dilhan Gardashhan – were detained and are now facing
criminal charges.

“KEEP AWAY FROM OUR POCKETS” INITIATIVE URGES ARMENIA’S DRIVERS NOT TO PAY FINES FOR VIOLATING TRAFFIC RULES

by Arthur Yernjakyan

Wednesday, July 16, 15:35

The civic initiative “Keep Away From Our Pockets” urges Armenia’s
drivers not to pay fines for violating the traffic rules but to
challenge the fines in a judicial procedure, Vardan Hakobyan, one of
the organizers of the initiative, said at today’s press conference.

He also urges the drivers not to pay the traffic tickets issued
by the Road Police. “Let the court decide how much lawful they
are. Bring your traffic tickets, and we will challenge them in a
judicial procedure. We will fill the administrative court with such
tickets”, he said. Hakobyan added that the initiative includes drivers
and lawyers, who are ready to provide us with free legal consultation.

“These are students of law faculties and they support us”, he said.

Hakobyan added that on July 17 the initiative will hold a motor rally.

According to him, 4,000 traffic fines are daily registered in Armenia.

(In monetary terms it may total; nearly 40 mln AMD daily, or 480 mln
AMD monthly, or 5.7 bln AMD annually give that an average traffic
ticket costs 10 thsd AMD – editor’s note). Hakobyan qualifies the
current traffic situation as racketeering by a private company,
which receives 70% of all revenues from fine payments. He said that
in 2012-2013 800 thsd traffic tickets were registered annually.

The situation has not changed for the better. The only difference
is that in 2012 the fines were registered by the Road Police and
in 2013 they were registered by the cameras. Hakobyan pointed out
that there are too many cameras in Armenia and that their number
is higher in Armenia than in many European countries. For instance,
there are only 3400 cameras throughout Germany, whereas in Armenia,
which is 60 times as small as Germany, the number of cameras exceeds
1,000. “I consider it to be one more intention to do business rather
than ensure traffic safety”, he said.

Earlier it was reported that Sensys Traffic AB (Sweden) has the
right to receive 70% of the revenues from the traffic fine payments
in Armenia.

NIKOL PASHINYAN: TRIAL IS ADJOURNED DELIBERATELY

14:58 | July 16,2014 | Politics

A Yerevan court today continued the hearing of the case of political
activist Shant Harutyunyan, who was arrested last November in
connection with an anti-government march in Yerevan, and the other
13 people detained after they had resorted to a political rebellion
as an act of desperation.

Today, the court heard police officer Gegham Khachatryan who said in
his testimony that defendants Shant Harutyunyan and Shahen Harutyunyan,
Avetis Avetisyan and Mkrtich Hovhannesyan had hit him on November 5
at various times.

The sitting was attended by Nikol Pashinyan, a lawmaker of the Armenian
National Congress (HAK), ho said he had visited the prison to see Shant
harutyunyan and his friends. The MP says Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan
does not take the trial seriously, and everyone knew what verdict will
be announced in the end. “The adjournment was likely connected with
Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Latin America. Perhaps Mnatsakan Martirosyan
needs another two months to learn the opinion of Serzh Sargsyan,
” said Nikol Pashinyan.

Shant Harutyunyan was arrested on November 5 as he attempted to head
to the Presidential Office together with a group of supporters to
‘blow up the building’ as he had earlier stated. He was immediately
charged under Article 316.2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (violence
against a representative of the authorities that is dangerous for life
or health). However, in April 2014, the charges against political
activist were replaced with Article 258 Section 4 (hooliganism
committed with a weapon or another item used as a weapon).

Harutyunyan faces up to 7 years in prison under new charges.

ILS SONT TOMBES

Mission 2015

En 2015 les Armeniens du monde entier vont commemorer le 100e
anniversaire du genocide qui a decime 1.500 000 etres humains innocents
sur ordre du gouvernement des Jeunes Turcs de l’empire ottoman.

Pour donner a cet evenement une visibilite et un retentissement dans
tous les foyers francais, belges, suisses, canadiens, libanais,
armeniens, grâce a l’immense notoriete de Charles Aznavour, nous
allons mettre en images son emouvante chanson >,
dediee aux victimes du genocide des Armeniens.

Merci a tous de participer a ce financement soutenu par le CCAF.

Jean Eckian

Apportez votre contribution ICI

Ils sont tombes

mercredi 16 juillet 2014, Jean Eckian (c)armenews.com

ZOGHOVURD: ARMENIA TO IMPORT CUSTOM-FREE RUSSIAN OIL IN 2015

10:19 * 16.07.14

Iosif Isayan, a deputy minister of energy and natural resources,
said Tuesday that Armenia will, until the end of this year, consider
and approve procedures of importing Russian oil products without
customs tariffs.

The new procedures are expected to take effect in 2014. According to
the paper, they will apply to the Russian company Rosneft, which will
carry out the import of both petroleum and diesel fuel, as well as oil
minerals. The paper reports Isayan as saying that the measure is not
intended to ban other companies from supplying fuel to the country,
but they will be required to pay customs duties for doing so.

Commenting on the report, the paper describes the proposed measure
as a new step in the process of Armenia’s colonization by Russia.

Armenian News – Tert.am

ARMENIA AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE ORIGIN OF AZERBAIJANI VIDEOS – MOD

July 16, 2014 | 00:01

YEREVAN. – Ever since the recent neutralization of an Azerbaijani
sabotage team in Karvachar Region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
the Azerbaijani press is disseminating releases and videos, which
supposedly were made in Armenia.

In this connection, Armenian News-NEWS.am spoke with the Armenian
defense minister’s press secretary Artsrun Hovhannisyan for a comment.

“Such ‘videos’ have appeared on the Internet in the past, too, and
unknown where they were shot. There is absolutely no evidence that the
[most recently released such a] video was made in the territory of
Armenia; that’s why there is no need to comment,” Hovhannisyan stated.

At the same time, however, he noted that the competent authorities
are dealing with this matter.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

EXPERT: ARMENIA TO JOIN EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION BEFORE SEPTEMBER 10

YEREVAN, July 16. /ARKA/. Armenia will join the Eurasian Economic
Union before September 10, Aram Safaryan, chairman of Integration and
Development research and analysis center, was quoted by Novosti-Armenia
as saying in an interview broadcasted by the Second Armenian TV
Channel.

He sees no obstacles to Armenia’s Eurasian integration. Safaryan voiced
regret at certain political parties and nongovernmental organizations
made the matter a target of political posturing in a bid to reap
benefits of it.

In his words, negotiations between Armenia and the Eurasian Economic
Union founder countries are already completed – no political conditions
have been put to Armenia, all economic and technical problems have
been settled and everything is OK now.

Russian, Kazakh and Belarusian governments are now considering
the accession agreement, and after necessary procedures and the
governments’ decisions a place will be chosen for signing it.

On May 29, at a session of Eurasian Economic Council in Astana,
Kazakhstan, the Armenian president expressed Yerevan’s intention to
join the Eurasian Economic Union agreement until June 15. However,
appropriate papers have not been signed so far.

On July 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a meeting
of Russian diplomats, said Armenian will become a full member of the
union very soon.

In resent days, media outlets quoted Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan
Idrisov as saying that the agreement between Armenia and Eurasian
Economic Union is likely to be signed in October 2014 at a regular
meeting of Eurasian Economic Union countries’ presidents in Minsk.

–0—-

– See more at:

RUSSIAN PM MEDVEDEV TALKS BILATERAL TRADE WITH ARMENIAN COUNTERPART

CISTran Finance
July 15 2014

July 15, 2014 8:00 AM
By Lisa Barron

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev met with his Armenian
counterpart, Hovik Abrahamyan, in Sochi last week to discuss bilateral
trade and other relations.

Medvedev said the meeting was an opportunity to discuss a wide range of
issues, including trade ties, investment and humanitarian cooperation,
ARKA reports.

“Our countries are very close allies, our countries and our nations
are close to each other,” Medvedev said, according to ARKA.

Abrahamyan said he hoped to discuss matters of great importance to
his country.

One of the biggest issues for Armenia is the delay in its accession
to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Before the meeting in Sochi,
Abrahamyan denied that the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh is not an
impediment, Voice of Russia reports.

INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY FEE DAMAGES ARMENIAN BUSINESS

The Messenger, Georgia
July 15 2014

By Messenger Staff Tuesday, July 15 Ex-Mayor of Yerevan, opposition MP
Vagan Khachatrian, thinks that an increase in the price of electricity
will negatively influence Armenian export prices. The Armenian
government confirmed the new fee that will come into force in August
2014. In particular, the increase will damage small and middle-sized
businesses. Some Armenian analysts consider that the country’s energy
system is moving towards energy isolation. The country is in permanent
deficit of electricity. The functioning of an old nuclear station
has limited capacities, the country needs a new nuclear power station.