Author: Badalian Vardan

Arms and Meaning: No alarm over Russia-supplied armament to Azeris, say experts

Karabakh | 20.06.13 | 17:35

By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter

Russia has started supplying $1billion worth of heavy weaponry to
Azerbaijan, which, experts say, has different sides to it. On the one
hand Russia is keeping Azerbaijan under its influence decreasing
Baku’s procurement in the international market; one the other,
Azerbaijan is strengthening its land positions to resolve the Karabakh
issue in case of flare-ups of tension and aggravation in the conflict
zone.

Russian media report that as part of the deal signed between Russia
and Azerbaijan in 2011-2012 Russia has started large-scale supply of
military equipment to Azerbaijan. Gazeta.ru reports that it includes
battle tanks, fighting vehicles, rocket launchers, etc.

Political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan believes that the
high-level military cooperation between the two countries has resumed,
and respective conclusions should be drawn to keep the balance of
forces in the region.

`I believe that the types of military equipment Azerbaijan has
purchased cannot shift the situation [with the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict]; however our foreign diplomacy has to make respective
conclusions. With such an arms deal Russia is first of all advancing
its own interests, and when it comes to its own interests, Russia
forgets all about commitments to its strategic partners. It is obvious
that in the event if the war resumes the weapon sold to Azerbaijan
would be used against the same Russian army, should things get to a
point when CSTO’s involvement is required upon Armenia’s request,’ he
told ArmeniaNow.

Russian expert Alexander Krilov stated that supplying any kind of
Russian weapon to Azerbaijan, even for the sake of commerce, evokes
negative response among the Armenian society, but that response is
oblivious of the fact that Armenia purchases arms from Russia at
domestic Russian prices, which balances the supply of weaponry to
Azerbaijan… He believes that by doing so Russia is keeping Azerbaijan
under its influence decreasing Baku’s weaponry procurement in the
international market.

`Zavtra’ (Tomorrow) newspaper’s editor-in-chief, military expert
Vladislav Shurigin wrote that Russia is not interested in
destabilizing the situation, and the best guarantee for it is the
presence of Russian military contingent in the territory of Armenia.

`The motive is clear – the Russian side needs money. At the same time
Moscow expects that Azerbaijan would not attack Armenia, the territory
of which holds the troops of the country supplying weaponry to them,’
wrote the expert.

Armenian defense ministry spokesman Artstrun Hovhanisyan made a
Facebook post saying that Azerbaijan’s acquisition of arms and
armament is not viewed as controversial or problematic, because the
respective services of Armenia have known all about it starting from
the moment the deals were signed.

`The types and quantity of weaponry sold does not break the balance of
forces and does not create prerequisites for the Azeri leadership, of
course given a reasonable approach, to launch hostilities against
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The defense ministry of Armenia will
refrain from making any statements or taking positions, considering
certain elements of misinformation found in the press,’ he wrote.

Military expert Arkadi Grigoryan told aysor.am that Azerbaijan is very
consistent in its preparations for the war and has been planning in
two separate directions, however the Armenian side has a rather
effective counterattack capacity in any scenario.

`In one scenario it is the day-by-day growing quantity of means to
strike at the same military facilities of Azerbaijan. I want to stress
– not at the peaceful population, as Azerbaijan does, but directly its
military facilities. In the second case, we have more than enough
means to stop them at any defensive line, even if through bloodshed.
Today’s Armenian army, at its combined units, has a record-breaking
quantity of antitank and other types of arms and armament,’ said the
expert.

TURQUIE
La police turque a repris le contrôle de la place Taksim d’Istanbul

ISTANBUL, (AFP) – La police turque a repris dans la nuit de samedi à
dimanche le contrôle de la place Taksim d’Istanbul et des rues
environnantes, après plusieurs heures d’échauffourées avec des groupes
de manifestants, a constaté un journaliste de l’AFP.

Vers 2h00 (23h00 GMT samedi), plusieurs centaines d’hommes des unités
antiémeute épaulées de canons à eau étaient déployées sur la place et
surveillaient étroitement les artères qui y mènent, ne laissant passer
les badauds qu’au compte gouttes.

La plupart des groupes de protestataires qui ont fait le coup de poing
avec les forces de l’ordre ont été dispersés par plusieurs charges et
d’abondants jets de gaz lacrymogènes, et la barricade qu’ils avaient
érigée sur la grande rue piétonne qui mène à Taksim, l’avenue
Istiqlal, a été démantelée. Les affrontements avaient repris samedi
soir lorsque la police est intervenue pour disperser plusieurs
milliers de personnes qui avaient fait leur retour sur Taksim, une
semaine après l’évacuation du dernier carré des manifestants qui
occupaient depuis le 31 mai le parc Gezi, qui jouxte la place. Ces
heurts sont les premiers survenus à Istanbul depuis plusieurs jours,
après plus de deux semaines de fronde contre le Premier ministre Recep
Tayyip Erdogan et son gouvernement islamo-conservateur, au pouvoir
depuis 2002.

dimanche 23 juin 2013,
Ara ©armenews.com

Putin Praises Iranian President-elect as “Very Experienced Man”

Wed Jun 19, 2013 3:24

TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian President Vladimir Putin in a message
congratulated the election of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s new president,
describing him as a very experienced man.
“The trend of future talks with Tehran officials depends on the
current Iranian leaders, including the country’s president-elect who
is a highly experienced person and a former negotiating party to the
talks on Iran’s nuclear program,” Putin was quoted as saying by the
Russian Ria Novosti news agency on Wednesday.

In his congratulatory message, Putin said he was confident Rouhani’s
work as Iran’s president “will contribute to the prosperity of
friendly Iran and further strengthening of Russian-Iranian relations”.

“The Russian president also confirmed readiness for consistent
development of mutually advantageous cooperation with Iran in very
diverse fields in the interests of ensuring regional security and
international stability,” the Kremlin press office said.

Rouhani won Iran’s presidential election on Friday with over 50% of
the votes cast in his favor.

Iran’s Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced Saturday
evening that from a total number of 36,704,156 ballots cast in Iran’s
11th presidential election, Rouhani won 18,613,329 votes while his
main rival Mohammad Qalibaf could secure only 6,077,292 votes.

Hassan Rouhani, born on November 12, 1948, is an Iranian politician
and Shiite Jurisprudent.

He has been a member of the Assembly of Experts since 1999, member of
the Expediency Council since 1991, member of the Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) since 1989, and head of the Center for
Strategic Research since 1992.

Rouhani has been also vice-speaker of the 4th and 5th terms of the
Iranian Parliament and secretary of the SNSC from 1989 to 2005.

Rouhani was the country’s top negotiator with the world powers on
Iran’s nuclear program from 2003 to 2005.

ISOLATING TURKEY ON THE ARMENIAN ISSUE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
June 19 2013

by Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU*

19 June 2013 /

The political, economic and cultural changes experienced by Turkey
and many neighboring countries over more than a century opened the
door to nationalism, ethnicity problems and renewal processes tied
to the building of nation-states.

And while this period brought with it warfare and clashes, it also
made it easier for the various peoples of the Ottoman Empire, Russia
and Iran — caught up in this stage of struggle — to break away
from one another. And so now it is vital that these same peoples —
who at one time exhibited the most compelling aspects of a culture
of coexistence — come together once again around the table in the
search for shared solutions, as one way to make up for the destruction
of the past century.

In this light, the conference hosted from June 5-8 by Tbilisi
State University was so important. Titled “The Caucasus at Imperial
Twilight,” the conference gave speakers from Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Georgia (and some other countries as well) a chance to
discuss and debate shared problems and possible solutions. Organized
by Professor Hakan Yavuz from the University of Utah and the American
Turkish Coalition, the conference’s location–Tbilisi, Georgia–was
especially significant given that city’s important role as a center
for mediation in regional disputes. While way back in 1918, the talks
between the Musavatcıs, Mensheviks and the Tashnaks took place
in Tbilisi, this time the attempt to foster dialogue in a bid to
see Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia improve their region is surely
something that only Turkey could have taken on.

The conference had a broad historical scope, ranging from Turkey’s
Tanzimat to the republic. It also touched on the various periods
of awakening, constitutional work and political trends, and their
effects on the region between and during these milestones. There was
also a focus on changes throughout the Caucasus during these years,
and particular attention was paid to how various groups culturally
influenced one another in the region. Movements sparked by Caucasus
intellectuals in Turkey were also examined at the conference. Debates
over the tragedies that occurred as empires departed the stage of
history, and what these tragedies meant for the world, were very
fruitful for everyone at the conference. In the end, the conference
provided a platform for various actors who all share the same
region and overlapping problems to meet in the middle with their own
suggestions for solutions. The participation of intellectuals like
Garabet K. Moumdjian and Ara Papian–both open to compromise–helped
make this meeting ideal.

Discussions on the Armenian issue and the arguments surrounding it
all took place in a very democratic atmosphere. There was listening
as well as criticism. The wide range of participants — including of
course Turks, Georgians, Armenians and Azerbaijanis — included some
who used the word “genocide” and others who chose not to, but the main
point was that all sides listened to one another respectfully. In the
wake of the conference, however, some Internet sites and publications
like The Armenian Weekly and Asbarez — which have made a habit
of targeting Turkey for criticism — have published articles and
commentary accusing Armenians present at the conference of treason.

Such negative press, hindering compromise when it comes, is very
influential. The new generation of Armenians — many of whom are
multi-lingual — are often accused of having been “bought off.” Their
attendance at conferences where people look to boost dialogue is
always described in extremely negative terms in various publications.

The Armenian Weekly, which has called on Armenian authorities to move
against Turkey’s attempts to make peace, was successful in putting
a high level of pressure on Armenians who were planning to attend
the conference by publishing the names of prospective speakers on
the program — which prevented them from coming to Tbilisi. This
technique to block peace by setting Armenians against one another
was used a century ago, with disastrous effects for all Armenians. In
any case, this time around many prudent Armenians decided to ignore
the propaganda and reacted negatively to attempts to stop people from
expressing themselves at conferences. It now looks like Yerevan will
have to leave behind these despotic stances as well as its critical
approach to Turkey, and instead behave more reasonably.

And so a number of seemingly unbreakable taboos continue to hang over
the heads of Armenians like the sword of Damocles. While a conference
that allowed participants to speak freely about their own ideas —
and where people’s viewpoints were listened to with respect and
without belittlement — ought to have received support and applause,
it instead inspired baseless accusations and negative propaganda
from some circles. Publications that are extremely influential in the
Armenian diaspora present these admirable efforts by Turkey as part
of a larger “game.” These publications are doing everything they can
to block the way forward, even putting heavy pressure on Armenians who
want to participate in these programs. In this way, many intellectuals
are prevented from joining in the general process of compromise and
solution-finding. In the meantime, it is clear that more should
be done in the face of these efforts to leave Turkey without any
interlocutors on this issue. Also, there must be renewed efforts to
support and increase the number of these conferences and programs,
which are so critical for the peace-building.

In the end, this unique conference was supported and applauded by all
the participants, not to mention the country that hosted it. There
is already demand for more conferences of this kind in the future,
as it is only with these sorts of reasonable steps that hostilities
will come to an end and cooperation can be built.

*Mehmet Fatih OZTARSU is an analyst at the Strategic Outlook
Institution.

SHAKHTAR YET TO HEAR FROM LIVERPOOL OVER MKHITARYAN

ESPN
June 19 2013

ESPN staff
June 19, 2013

Shakhtar Donetsk have yet to receive a formal bid from Liverpool
for attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but admit they would be
prepared to listen to offers.

Liverpool have been strongly linked with Mkhitaryan in recent weeks,
with the Anfield club reportedly ready to pay around £22 million for
the Armenian.

But Shakhtar’s chief executive, Sergei Palkin, has denied the Premier
League club have made any contact over the 24-year-old.

“As you know, there have been too many different conversations about
Henrikh Mkhitaryan,” Palkin told Russian newspaper Izvestia. “But
the situation has been strongly and artificially inflated.

“I can say that we have had no communication from any member of
Liverpool.”

The Ukrainian side would be willing to listen to any interest in
Mkhitaryan, however, as long as the sums proposed allow them to find
a replacement before the transfer window closes.

He added: “Henrikh is an important player in our team. Shakhtar want
to keep him but we are willing to listen and consider all proposals
for his transfer.

“We have already parted with Willian and Fernandinho but the club
will not just sell players.

“Soon we will also strengthen ourselves with quality players, designed
to replace those who have left.”

BUSINESS IN THE OFFSHORE ZONE

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
June 21 2013

21 June 2013 – 7:30pm

David Stepanyan, Yerevan, exclusively to VK

In Armenia, another scandal has broken out, apparently not increasing
the rating of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia. After a series
of high-profile revelations of illegal activities of senior officials
abusing their official position and, as a rule, members of the party
of power, the turn came of the unsinkable Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisyan …

Within just one day the media were full of articles reporting on
the company WLISPERA HOLDINGS LIMITED registered in the name of the
Prime Minister in the offshore zone. In this regard, it should be
recalled that Sarkisian, at least in words, is a staunch advocate
of separation of business from government, the fight against the
shadow economy and corruption. However, according to investigative
journalism by the website hetq.am, the Prime Minister (by the way,
along with the leader of the Ararat Diocese Archbishop Navasard
Kchoyan and businessman Ashot Sukiasyan) is one of the shareholders
of an offshore company registered in Cyprus.

However, the Prime Minister, speaking to MPs in the parliament, did his
best to dispel this information, stating that the latter has nothing
to do with reality. Sargsyan said that the specifics of offshore
legislation allow almost any person to register a company under any
name without asking the permission of the latter and generally without
his knowledge. He also stated categorically that any offshore companies
are not registered, and no one has such powers. The prime minister
expressed confidence that such false accusations were used by his many
enemies “as the ideal method of discrediting”, which does not bother
him, as these are not the first and not the last charges against him.

According to some rumors in the corridors of power, as there is no
smoke without fire, even in 2010, Ashot Sukiasyan, under the project
of turning Armenia into one of the world’s centers for diamond cutting
and polishing, obtained from the “Ameria” bank a loan of $10.7 million
under the mediation of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Economy
Nerses Yeritsyan and Archbishop Kchoyan. A pledge for a loan became
the property of Pailak Hayrapetyan at a total cost of $33 million;
however, it has been found in Armenia, Sukiasyan has not fulfilled
a single obligation under the business program, which, however, for
some reason did not prevent the “Ameria” bank regularly continuing
to transfer millions to the bank accounts of the Cypriot offshore
entity, one of which, of course, was the joint brainchild of the
Prime Minister, the Archbishop and the unfortunate businessman.

Amazingly, the commercial bank for some reason not only did not control
the use of funds, but did not stop an allocation of 6 tranches,
even after Sukiasyan had not fulfilled a single undertaking on
them. However, many things are becoming clear, given that it was
Ashot Sukiasyan who was a generous donor to his godfather, Archbishop
Navasard Kchoyan, giving him, to put it mildly, a not very cheap
Bentley Continental. The latter, in turn, is known to be a great
friend of the Prime Minister. It should be noted that, due to his
“successful” business, Sukiasyan before this transaction owed millions
not only in Armenia, but also in Russia and even in Africa, and then,
taking the family, fled to an unknown destination.

Based on the statements by Pailak Hayrapetyan, you can come to the
conclusion that it happened and was made possible with the help and
the patronage of the Prime Minister, the former Minister of Economy
and the Archbishop of Ararat. However, Kchoyan, of course, described
the publication of these intriguing data as “false and untrue.”

However, this did not prevent the police from initiating on the basis
of testimony by Pailak Hayrapetyan in this regard a criminal case,
in which, however, to this day no one has somehow put forward a single
charge. The Prime Minister appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office
with a requirement to “give a legal assessment of this publication
and to punish those responsible.” And the editor of hetq.am said that
he has all the necessary documents proving the facts mentioned in the
publication, including the offshore company registration in the name
of Tigran Sarkisyan.

Thus, so far no significant reaction to the published facts has
followed from the Prosecutor General’s Office, from the investigating
authorities, from the police or from the presidential administration.

Meanwhile, in any other normal country, the fact of the publication
of such facts would attract the attention of at least all of the
above authorities, and at best would lead to the resignation of
the government.

It is clear that the government is clearly not interested “in the
slaughter” of Sarkisian and therefore makes every effort to help the
Prosecutor General’s Office in its efforts to “achieve justice.” This
is confirmed by the stubborn silence of information and propaganda
machine controlled by the Republicans.

Finally, we turn to the main question – in whose interests could
the media display information which impacts on the second person in
the state? Indirectly, this question could be answered by patronage
exercised by the U.S. Embassy in Armenia to the resources of hetq.am
engaged in investigative journalism. However, given that the presence
of Prime Minister Sargsyan of Armenia in a chair not just pleases but
is visibly supported by the U.S., this information leak is unlikely
to be carried out by the States.

In turn, Moscow, if desired, could probably find more loyal and
reliable sources of leaking than a pro-Western resource. Thus, most
of all, Sarkisian has become a “victim” of squabbles and intrigues
within the Republican Party, not pleasing someone from the members
of the “Politburo.” Given that the activities of the “top” are not
accountable to the public and are not focused on solving the problems
of the citizens but on protecting its own or group interests, this
is the most likely scenario.

Ukraine General Newswire
June 21, 2013 Friday 5:05 PM MSK

Ukraine hands over presidency of Organization of Black Sea Economic
Cooperation to Armenia

Odesa June 21

Ukraine handed over the presidency of the Organization of Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (OBSEC) to Armenia at the 28th meeting of the
council of foreign ministers of the organization’s member countries.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara said at a press conference
that was is ready to help Armenia fulfill these functions and expects
the organization to continue developing with continuity.

Kozhara said that projects in the economy and environment were
priorities in the activity of the organization in the near future. In
particular, the construction of an orbital road around the Black Sea
should be one of the major economic projects, he said.

Azerbaijan’s `caviar diplomacy’ on PACE agenda – MP

19:42 – 22.06.13

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) will address the
Azerbaijani authorities’ caviar diplomacy, as part of the reprot
entitled, Corruption as a Major Obstacle to Rule of Law, an Armenian
delegate has said.

`A big chapter is devoted to parliamentary corruption, in which
context the author, a Spanish parliamentarian, has addressed the
`caviar diplomacy’ implemented by Azerbaijan,’ Naira Zohrabyan, a
lawmaker of the Prosperous Armenia faction, told Tert.am.

Armenia assumed leadership of the PACE Committee of Ministers on May
16. FM Edward Nalbandian, who now chairs the committee, will deliver
Monday an address in this connection.

Zohrabyan said that the national delegation members are expected to
raise foreign policy issues interesting to Armenia at the meeting.

President of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan is due in
Strasburg these days to attend the session.

Armenia’s next presidency term at the Committee is in 24 years.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Iran energy seen as key to reducing Armenia’s dependence on Russia
Economic Desk

On Line: 22 June 2013 15:10
In Print: Sunday 23 June 2013

Iran has been active in Armenia in the past several weeks, which
brings forth opinions about the likelihood of closer Armenian-Iranian
relations in the time to come and the implementation of a number of
major regional projects involving the two neighbors. This closer
cooperation may also mean that Armenia will depend less on Russia when
it comes to energy matters.

The Islamic Republic’s Ambassador to Armenia Mohammad Reisi made a
number of remarkable statements to Armenian journalists at a press
conference that he called earlier this month. In particular, he hinted
at the possibility of Iran’s selling natural gas to Armenia at prices
that would be lower than those offered by Russia.

The election of Hassan Rohani as Iran’s next president and mostly
approving response from Washington in this regard make it likely that
U.S. sanctions against Iran will be eased. Recently, for example, a
British court lifted sanctions imposed on the Iranian Mellat Bank,
which operates in Armenia as well. There are also hints that the West
would not be against Armenian-Iranian energy cooperation. In any case,
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern is pursuing a whole project on
Armenia’s energy diversification, which does not exclude
Armenian-Iranian cooperation.

The Armenian parliament recently adopted a law that exempts the laying
of power lines from Armenia to Iran from a number of taxes and duties.
Armenia is known to be paying for Iranian gas with electric power, but
so far only two lines have been laid, while the two countries agreed
on the construction of the third one a long time ago. This will make
it possible to buy more gas from Iran.

Several days ago Iranian news agency Mehr published data from the
National Iranian Gas Company, according to which between 2007 and 2012
only 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas was delivered to Armenia. This is
much less than the planned volumes, and Iran, in fact, suggests that
Armenia should fulfill its obligations.

In order for Armenia to buy more gas from Iran it needs to start
buying less gas from Russia. Moscow recently raised the price of gas
for Armenia. Furthermore, negotiations are currently underway for the
transfer of full control of ArmRosgazprom, which manages the gas
distribution network in Armenia, to Russia’s Gazprom. At present, the
Armenian government has a 20-percent stake in ArmRosgazprom and if the
company becomes fully controlled by Russia, Gazprom will simply
prohibit buying less expensive gas from Iran.

It turns out that it is not U.S. sanctions, but rather Russia’s
position that obstructs the development of energy relations between
Armenia and Iran. And since energy is directly linked to politics,
Russia, in fact, now has to obstruct not only Armenia’s political
integration with Europe, but also regional political integration.

Regional integration can be stimulated if the U.S. sanctions are
really relieved and Iran offers its pipes that will open up borders in
the region. One such project has long been a talking point – Iran
proposes a gas pipeline that would run through Armenia to Georgia,
reaching the Black Sea.

Real Revolution

Under the pressure of protests in Brazil the authorities promised to
direct oil revenues at education, public health and social issues.

Protests were triggered by raise of fares and escalated to
demonstrations against the social policy of the government. Experts
say that the recent demonstrations all over the world are caused by
unequal distribution of income.

In the beginning was Occupy Wall Street whose participants formulated,
though roughly, the key issue of the world – 99% of income belongs to
1% of population. The other 99% lives on credit, monthly salary, is in
full dependence on banks and rich employers.

Armenia is a classic modern state. After independence and
privatization the national wealth appeared in the hands of several
clans on which now 99% of the population of the country depends. The
clans usurped political power and are ruling the country, feeling as
caliphs of the days.

So far most protests put forth political demands. They are mainly
against usurpation of power and impunity. Efforts were made to change
government through elections, post-electoral movements. However, the
problem did not get to the basis though obviously usurpation of power
resulted from unfair distribution of national wealth.

Now the key question is how the current government officials got state
assets and their wealth.

The Armenian oligarchs have to publish figures that used to be
considered trade secrets. Taron Margaryan published his declaration of
income which gave rise to even more questions. The prime minister had
to answer questions on offshore assets. Ruben Hairapetyan confessed
that he partly owns the rights to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s transfer.
Vardan Ayvazyan states that he earned his millions by loading train
cars. Ishkhan Zakaryan states that 70% of the state budget is exposed
to corruption risk.

Most interestingly, the authorities have to collect money from their
own pockets to help the hail-stricken farms of Armavir. It did not
resolve their problems but during their demonstrations they asked
impolite but very important questions. The protests of the farmers of
Armavir are hardly settled.

The government of Brazil has decided to carry out social reforms not
because it fears the demonstrators. It has understood that people feel
like owners of the national wealth and have stopped recognizing
someone else’s exclusive right. Continuation of demonstrations will
question ownership of property. And ownership of property is the basis
of the current world.

In Armenia redistribution of property is inevitable. Those who are
unable to prove their right to ownership will have to give what they
have aggregated. Currently it is taking place at the level of fight
among oligarchs.

However, at some moment the society will present a bill to all the
oligarchs and government officials and demand nationalization of
national assets misappropriated illegally. A bill will be presented to
those leaders who have handed over strategic communications and
facilities to Russia. Such cosmetic actions as a 10,000 dram increase
of salary will not save. People demand what legally belongs to them.
This is a real revolution for means of production and national wealth.

Naira Hayrumyan
18:20 22/06/2013
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