Author: Chilingarian Babken

GUL CALLS ON ARMENIA TO RESPECT TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF NEIGHBORS

Zaman Online
July 24 2008
Turkey

President Abdullah Gul stated yesterday that Turkey wants good
relations with its neighbors and stability in its region but sent
a veiled message to Armenia that it should respect the territorial
rights of neighboring Azerbaijan if it wants to be part of regional
integration projects.

"Countries in the region should support projects that will further
develop neighborhood relations and establish peace," Gul told an
Armenian journalist during a visit to the far eastern province of
Kars, on the border with Armenia. "If countries want to take part
in these projects, they should respect the territorial integrity of
other countries," he added.

Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with Armenia in 1993
in protest of Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Gul’s emphasis on respect for territorial integrity
is a sign that Turkey is not planning to reverse its policy on ties
with Armenia any time soon unless Yerevan agrees to take a step back
in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, despite a recent thaw in relations.

Ankara also says the normalization of ties depends on Armenia’s formal
recognition of the current borders with Turkey and changing its policy
of calling for worldwide recognition for Armenian claims of genocide
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has invited Gul to a World Cup
qualifying match between the national soccer teams of the two countries
in September and has called for dialogue to help the normalization of
ties, saying this will be mutually beneficial. Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan said last week that Turkish Foreign Ministry officials had
talks with Armenian officials in Switzerland earlier this month. But
the Foreign Ministry insisted that the talks did not mean a change
in Turkey’s policy.

Gul said yesterday he has not yet decided whether to attend the soccer
match between Turkish and Armenian national teams.

Gul yesterday visited Ani, an uninhabited medieval Armenian
city in Kars on the Armenian border, in a sign of reconciliation
with Armenia. Today, he will attend a ceremony to inaugurate the
construction of the Turkish part of a regional railway passing through
Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The route excludes Armenia. The
presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia are also attending the
inauguration ceremony.

With Turkish-Armenian ties severed over disputes, Turkey has taken
steps to deepen regional cooperation on energy, transportation and
trade with Azerbaijan and Georgia. The planned Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway will link the three countries and revive the historical Silk
Road by connecting Central Asia and the Far East to Europe via Turkey.

Construction of the Georgian section of the railway, expected to
begin service in 2011, began in November of last year. Gul had joined
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev at the inauguration ceremony. Some 1.5 million people and 6.5
million tons of cargo are expected to be transported via the railway
in the first year following its launch. The project is estimated to
cost $450 million.

PACE PRESIDENT ARRIVING IN ARMENIA

armradio.am 22.07.2008 11:00

Lluís Maria de Puig, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE), is to make an official visit to Armenia
from 22 to 25 July to deepen co-operation between Armenia and the
Assembly and to promote implementation of the Assembly’s Resolutions
1609 and 1620.

Following on from the recent visit of the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr de Puig intends to assess,
in particular, the credibility of the enquiry into the events on
1-2 March, and will urgently raise the issue of people detained in
connection with these events. Following his recent visit to Azerbaijan,
he will also discuss the latest political developments concerning
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Meetings are foreseen with the President of the Republic, the Speaker
of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister,
among others, as well as Armenia’s Human Rights Defender and the
members of the ad hoc committee looking into the causes of the events
in March. Mr de Puig will also meet representatives of parties in
the parliament.

–Boundary_(ID_kNA/sm6XVZ8HNC187cAlWQ )–

RIA Oreanda, Russia
July 18 2008

Tigran Sargsyan Received Eurasia Partnership Foundation Chairman

Yeravan. "OREANDA-NEWS . July 18, 2008. Looking forward to having the
Prime Minister’s comments and proposals on the priority areas for
successful cooperation, Mr. Zarubin briefed the head of the Armenian
government on EPF’s past and ongoing activities, as well as on the
projected areas for involvement.

Appreciative of the cooperation with the Foundation, the Prime
Minister welcomed its focus on the introduction and strengthening of
democratic traditions in Armenia. Tigran Sargsyan said to be prepared
to discuss the new EPF initiatives and assured on behalf of his
government that any assistance will be extended to ensure that such
initiatives reach the proposed targets. Concerning future action, the
cooperation towards developing a new program for the fight against
corruption was emphasized on either side considering that under its
anti-corruption program the Fund sought to strengthen the capacity of
the government, the civil society and media.

OSCE MG: AZERI PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SHOULDN’T AFFECT KARABAKH TALKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.07.2008 12:56 GMT+04:00

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are hopeful that the presidential
election in Azerbaijan will not affect talks on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement.

"We are hopeful that the forthcoming election in Azerbaijan won’t
block the talks. Nevertheless, everything depends on the Azerbaijani
government," said Ambassador Matthew Bryza, the U.S. Co-chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group.

The election campaign will kick off when the Central Election Committee
announces the exact day of the election late this month, Trend Azeri
news agency reports.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: "AZERBAIJAN IS VIOLATING INTERNATIONAL TREATIES ON CONVENTIONAL ARMED FORCES IN EUROPE"

Today.Az
July 16 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is openly violating international treaties on conventional
armed forces, said Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan during
a meeting with co-chair of the Commission on Armenian issues of the
House of Representatives Joe Nolenberg and commission members, held
in the US Congress.

"In particular, Azerbaijan is violating regulations of the Treaty on
conventional armed forces in Europe, which is not paid due attention
by the world society", said Nalbandyan, reads the statement, released
by the department of press and information of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry.

As for ensuring regional security, minister Nalbandyan drew attention
of the congressmen to the revenge campaign, carried out by Azerbaijan.

TURKISH LEADER MULLING ATTENDING ARMENIA MATCH

Reuters,
Wednesday July 16 2008

ISTANBUL July 16 (Reuters) – Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s
attendance at a soccer match in Armenia will depend on developments
between the two countries, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan told NTV
broadcaster on Wednesday.

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan has invited Gul to visit Yerevan
for a soccer match in September, marking a shift in relations between
two states which have no diplomatic ties.

"Such a participation would depend on the developments ahead of the
match," Babacan told NTV, without giving further details.

Armenia and Turkey will play against each other in the Armenian capital
Yerevan on September 6 in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World
Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa.

Turkey broke diplomatic relations with Armenia in protest against
Yerevan’s control of Nagorno-Karabakh region over which Armenia fought
Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s.

"The normalisation of relations with Armenia is one of Turkey’s
serious foreign policy goals," said Babacan.

Turkey was among the first countries that recognised Armenia’s
independence after fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide during violence at the end of World
War One. Turkey denies the accusations and says that both Christian
Armenians and Muslim Turks died in fighting. Football Browse the
Guardian bookshop

FRENCH INSURANCE COMPANY ‘AXA’ TO FINISH OBSERVING ACTIONS OF OFF-SPRINGS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS BY THE END OF 2008

ArmInfo
2008-07-15 15:18:00

French insurance company ‘Axa’ will finish observing the actions of
the off-springs of the Armenian genocide victims by the end of 2008.

As press-secretary of the Armenian justice minister Lana Mshetsyan
told ArmInfo correspondent, executive director of the office which
deals with compensation problems to the off-springs of the Armenian
genocide victims in Ottoman Turkey in 1915, which were depositors of
the French ‘Axa’ insurance company, Barseg Gardalyan, said they are
revising the lawsuits. He also added that the process maybe finished
by the end of 2008.

NO SERIOUS DISAGREEMENT

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on July 12, 2008
Armenia

`We have always disapproved the complicated policy conducted by the
first government of Armenia and the then President and have been
against their theses, principles and approaches with regard to the
Armenian-Turkish relations. We are deeply convinced that since 1988
Armenia has been pursuing a new national policy course both in the
foreign relations and in domestic life. In this regard, no comparisons
are possible.

I strongly believe that the principles and approaches of Serge
Sargsyan, the new President, are simply the continuation of this
national policy course, and no serious disagreement is possible here.
Certain nuances may naturally differ but this is not only the right of
the President but also the imperative of the given period of time,’
AGHVAN VARDANYAN, member of the ARFD bureau, is convinced.

ARMENIE-TURQUIE: LE PRESIDENT SARGSIAN INVITE SON HOMOLOGUE TURC A VISITER EREVAN

RIA Novosti
7 juillet 2008
Russie

EREVAN, 7 juillet – RIA Novosti. Le president armenien Serge Sargsian
a invite son homologue turc, Abdullah Gul, a visiter Erevan, a rapporte
le service de presse du president armenien.

L’Armenie et la Turquie n’entretiennent pas de relations
diplomatiques. Selon l’agence News-Armenia, le chef de l’Etat armenien
a annonce le 23 juin lors de la rencontre avec la communaute armenienne
a Moscou son intention d’inviter son collègue turc a Erevan afin
d’assister ensemble au match entre les equipes armenienne et turque.

Le match entre l’Armenie et la Turquie aura lieu le 6 septembre a
Erevan en marge de la serie de poules du Championnat du monde-2010.

L’absence de relations diplomatiques entre l’Armenie et la Turquie est
due aux conditions avancees par la Turquie. Ankara exige que l’Armenie
renonce a demander la reconnaissance internationale du genocide
armenien dans l’Empire ottoman pendant la première guerre mondiale,
lors duquel 1.5 million d’Armeniens ont ete extermines, et insiste sur
le règlement du conflit du Haut Karabach au profit de l’Azerbaïdjan.

Depuis 1993, le blocus de la frontière armeno-turque instaure par
Ankara se poursuit, causant un prejudice annuel a l’economie armenienne
se chiffrant a 500 millions de dollars.

–Boundary_(ID_Zj1w8X6kJj09sZKToktYgw)–

VIVACELL COMPANY SUMMED UP ‘GUESS AND WIN’ CONTEST

ArmInfo
2008-07-11 14:06:00

VivaCell, a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT),
announces that today the company General Manager Ralph Yirikian gave
away the promised gifts to the lucky winners of Guess and Win SMS
contest over the Football Championship 2008.

VivaCell today added colors to the lives of the winners of Guess and
Win SMS Contest announced by the company on June 7, in conjunction
with Football Championship 2008.

Winners of the contest today received their rewards at a prize
presentation ceremony held at VivaCell Headquarters. The first two
out of 100 winners each won a prestigious Toyota Corolla car. The
third winner won a round-trip ticket for the match Spain- Armenia
in the qualifying draw for World Cup 2010, and the other seven won
Mobile phones. The other 90 winners of the contest will receive
T-shirt and balls with VivaCell brand logo starting from July 14
by coming to VivaCell Headquarters. VivaCell General Manager gave
away the keys of two Toyota Corolla cars to two lucky winners who
sent maximum number of SMS messages indicating the winning team,
the Spain – Hayk Lazarian and Arthur Hakobian. The third prize –
a round-trip ticket for the match Spain-Armenia in the qualifying
draw for World Cup 2010 is Mekhak Armen Katvalyan.

In giving away the prizes to the first 10 winners of the contest,
VivaCell General Manager Ralph Yirikian said: "The Guess and Win
SMS Contest reinforces VivaCell’s underlying commitment to provide a
rewarding experience to our subscribers. We are glad that the contest
received tremendous response from VivaCell customers, which is the
proof that our subscribers trust us. Be ready for more surprises
from VivaCell." The winning numbers were identified based on the
below criteria as communicated earlier through VivaCell website, TV
and radio ads campaign, flyers and posters: sending maximum number
of SMS messages to the short number 2008 in favor of the winner of
the Football Championship 2008 till the end of the final match held
on June 29, by indicating the name of the country-champion.

VivaCell (K-Telecom CJSC) is the leading Armenian mobile operator,
providing a wide range of Voice and Data services. Since its launch
on 1st July 2005, in a short period of time VivaCell has managed to
build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base. VivaCell
drives the development and offering of innovative mobile communications
products, services and features in the Armenian mobile communications
market.

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the largest mobile phone operator
in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company
services over 85.68 million subscribers. The regions of Russia, as
well as Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, in
which MTS and its associates and subsidiaries are licensed to provide
GSM services, have a total population of more than 230 million. Since
June 2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (ticker symbol MBT).