Author: Dabaghian Diana

25 MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN MINING INDUSTRY OF ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Nov 13, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The start of the work of the
newly-created "Gegamet" Armenian-Russian-British mining enterprise
will be marked by a 25 million dollar investment project to be jointly
implemented by Uniastrum Bank (Russia), Unibank (Armenia) founded
by the indicated Russian bank, as well as Metta Group (Armenia)
and Torront Holdings Limited (UK), was announced by the sides’
representatives at a joint press conference, in which the RA Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan took part.

According to Khachatur Manukian, the founder of Max Group company
– the project participant, a deputy of the RA National Assembly,
the investment project includes the operation of Shorzha and Jil
mines, the construction of an ore mining and processing enterprise,
a fire-brick plant with the annual capacity of 20 million bricks, a
plant of additives for cement making with the annual capacity of 150
thousand tons, a chrome concentrate plant with the annual capacity of
50 thousand tons, and a ferrochromium plant with the annual capacity
of 20 thousand tons.

The co-owner of the indicated banks G. Zakarian considered it possible
that gold and platinum will be obtained from ores of the mines. In
his opinion, the return on the project’s investments will be received
in 3 years which is a high index. It is envisaged creating 500 jobs
as a result of the project’s implementation.

In the words of Pavel Kovgan, the head of the powder metallurgy
laboratory of Gintsvetmet research institute (Russia), Gegamet will
use technologies representing its intellectual property. Nonwaste
technologies will be applied at the ore mining and processing
enterprise to be built on the shore of Lake Sevan, while water for
chrome casting will be used in a closed cycle.

Tigran Sargsyan said that the project is being launched under
conditions of the international financial crisis when prices of mining
production are declining in international markets. According to him,
the project bears evidence of the investors’ trust in Armenia. He
expressed a hope that the investments of Gegamet as well as Unireso
insurance company founded by G.

Zakarian in Armenia will have a demonstrative effect in the sense that
Diasporan Armenians of CIS countries will find reliable and guaranteed
projects for their savings and investments in Armenia. "I think Armenia
now has a chance to demonstrate its advantage and attract investments,"
the prime minister stated.

He said that Gegamet’s project is in line with the requirements
of the Armenian law on Lake Sevan and the ecological norms will be
observed during the project’s implementation. T. Sargsyan expressed a
willingness to hold, together with the investors, all the interested
sides and independent experts, public discussions on Gegamet’s project.

SERZH SARGSYAN: "THE CORE OF THE CONFLICT IS A STATUS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH AND AZERBAIJAN MUST RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF ITS PEOPLE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION"

Today.Az
y.az/news/politics/48883.html
Nov 11 2008
Azerbaijan

"Armenia attaches importance to the adoption of a joint declaration
with Azerbaijan in the context of exclusion of the forced settlement
of the Karabakh conflict", said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in
his interview to German newspaper "Frankfurter algemeine tseitung".

"It is important for us that Azerbaijan has signed a document,
ruling out the forced resolution and recognized all principles of
international law on the resolution of this conflict and not only
those, related to the territorial integrity", said Sargsyan.

The President noted that "the core of the conflict is a status of
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan must recognize the right of its
people for self-determination". After it, he said other problems can
be settled as well.

He said in this connection that the control over the regions, adjacent
to Nagorno Karabakh is not a purpose for the Armenian side, but this
is required for its protection.

"We need talks on the basic document and then a peace treaty. We have
a long way to pass", noted Sargsyan.

Asked if Karabakh can be an autonomy, Sargsyan said: "The matter is
to create an environment of security for the population".

"History showed that this is important in Azerbaijan. We never believed
that Karabakh can remain within Azerbaijan and it is not important
with which status", said Sargsyan.

HOLY PUNCHING BETWEEN CLERGY IN JERUSALEM

MINA
view/4371/48/
Nov 10 2008
Canada

A Greek Orthodox monk is seen with blood on his forehead after a
beating he received from an Armenian clergy at the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City. Dozens of people were involved in
the brawl, which left some monks with bruises, cuts and black eyes.

Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks were involved in a bloody fist
fight in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of
Jesus’s burial and resurrection, in Jerusalem yesterday.

Israeli police were forced to intervene after monks started trading
blows during an annual procession held by Armenian clergymen to
commemorate the 4th-century discovery of the cross on which Jesus is
believed to have been crucified.

It appears that the Greek Orthodox monks took exception to the
Armenians closing the door of the tomb, preventing one of them from
being inside during the procession. Taking this as a sign that the
Armenians were trying to establish rights that they did not have,
the Greek Orthodox holy men jumped to stop the procession.

The ensuing punch-up led to two monks, one from each side, being
arrested. This is the latest in a series of violent incidents involving
members of the six Christian denominations that share control of the
ancient church.

PARUYR HAYRIKYAN: MOSCOW MEETING DID NOT ADD UP ANY NEW EMPHASIZES TO THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS
Alisa Gevorgyan

"Radiolur"
10.11.2008 16:56

"There can be nothing harmful in an action targeted at uniting the
two conflicting sides around the idea that the application of force
is wrong and that it is possible to cooperate under the conditions
of conflict.

Nevertheless, it’s clear to everyone that the main objective of
Russia’s initiative was to demonstrate to the international community
that Russia plays a mores serious role in the region than others,"
leader of the National Self-Determination Union Paruyr Hayrikyan told
a press conference, commenting on the declaration signed in Moocow
by the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

"Actually, Armenia and Azerbaijan stated, at last, that they are
ready to cooperate under certain conditions. With this step Russia
rather pursued a moral-psychological and moral-political objective
in the region, which it probably achieved, but I see no practical
progress with regard to reducing the tension in the region," Paruyr
Hayrikyan said.

Does the document include dangerous points? Mr. Hayrikyan negatively
assesses the fact that the declaration has not been signed by the
Artsakhi side. "The Moscow meeting did not add up any new emphasizes
to the negotiation process. The negative sides existed before the
signing of the declaration," leader of the National Self-Determination
Union noted.

"Was the involvement of Armenia as a party to the negotiations
beneficial for Artsakh? It was certainly not. Armenia’s mediation
only as a guarantor of security would be more favorable." According
to Hayrikyan, in the new stage of diplomatic relations the Armenian
side should have a distinct strategy and work out purposeful programs
to implement that strategy.

"If today’s authorities of Armenia are moving towards the path of
self-determination of Artsakh, they should declare that they no longer
appear on the international arena with the Artsakh issue. If we speak
about the principle of self-determination, we should provide arena
to Artsakh," Paruyr Hayrikyan declared.

Armenia, Azerbaijan to intensify talks

06/11/2008 | Moscow News ?-44 2008

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Sunday to intensify talks
to end a 20-year conflict over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

The pledge was made during discussions outside Moscow hosted by
Russia’s president that lasted less than three hours, according to a
joint statement.

Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, declared its inde – pendence from Azerbaijan to join Ar – menia
in 1988 and has been a source of conflict ever since. The two countries
fought a six-year war that killed about 30,000 and displaced 1 million
people before a truce was reached in 1994.

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met one-on-one before they
were joined by Medvedev for the talks, which took place at Medvedev’s
residence, Meiendorf Castle.

Medvedev launched the latest push to end the conflict during a visit to
Armenia in October, just two months after sending tanks into nearby
Georgia after Tbilisi moved to retake the breakaway republic of South
Ossetia.

Presidents Serge Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
agreed to instruct their foreign ministers "to speed up further moves
in the negotiating process," the declaration said.

The foreign ministers will work with Russia, the U.S. and France,
co-chairmen of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Euro – pe, which has tried unsuccessfully to
negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

In October, Sarkisian said he was ready for talks on the basis of
principles worked out at negotiations in Madrid last year that would
give Nagorny Karabakh the right to self-determination.

The Kremlin would act as guarantor of a new accord, an administration
official was quoted as saying ahead of Sunday’s talks.

The U.S. also has promised re – cently to intensify its efforts to help
solve the conflict. Washington and Moscow have both pointed to
Geor – gia’s war with Russia in August, saying it has underlined the need
to settle other regional conflicts through talks. Russia and U.S. are
struggling over influence in Azerbaijan, a key energy exporter that
ships oil and gas through Western-backed pipelines through Georgia and
Turkey, bypassing Russia.

On Tuesday, the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) called upon the two nations to continue discussions on
resolving the dispute over Nagorny Karabakh.

Lluis Maria de Puig urged the presidents to keeping talking and working
toward a settlement, and said PACE would do whatever it could to move
the process forward.

"I wish to congratulate Presidents Aliyev and Sarksyan, and President
Medvedev, who facilitated the meeting, on their commitment to finding a
peaceful solution to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict," he said in a
statement released by PACE.

"The start of this dialogue, which will be followed by intensified
diplomatic efforts and the promotion of a series of confidence-building
measures, is a window of hope for the entire region," the chairman
said.

"The Parliamentary Assembly stands ready to help the parliaments of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in all their efforts, so that the process just
started proves successful," he added.

Combined reports AP, AFP, RIA Novosti

German Abraham defends IBF title

Story from BBC SPORT:
boxing/7718197.stm

Published: 2008/11/09 01:03:19 GMT

World middleweight champion Arthur Abraham successfully defended his
IBF title with a sixth-round technical knockout over Raul Marquez.

The Armenian-born 28-year-old had been due to face Marquez in October
before flu saw the bout postponed by a month.

Abraham’s victory was the eigth defence of his title and took his
record to 28-0, with 23 knockouts.

"I had my tactics of a slow build-up and then raise the tempo, it was
too much for him," said Abraham.

He was too quick and too strong in the end
Raul Marquez

The German based fighter was the busier boxer from the first bell and
tested Marquez with a flurry of punches in the second and third rounds.

Marquez, 37, was regularly put on the back foot and after receiving
more punishment in the sixth round his corner signalled an end to
proceedings.

"For a while there I thought I was in with a good shot, but he is very
strong and kept coming at me," said Marquez.

"I tried, I tried my best and I knew it would be a hard fight, but he
was too quick and too strong in the end."

Abraham will now look to take his unbeaten record into a unification
fight with world WBA champion Felix Sturm.

AZERI OPPOSITION LEADER OFFERED SERIOUS POST OVER KARABAKH DEVELOPMENTS

Yeni Musavat
Nov 6 2008
Azerbaijan

An Azerbaijani opposition paper has said that an opposition leader
has been allegedly offered a post in the government.

On 6 November, the opposition daily Yeni Musavat quoted a "reliable"
source in the government as saying that "the authorities want one of
its political opponents to be represented in the Security Council". The
paper added that the main reason for this was the situation around
Nagornyy Karabakh and serious developments taking place in this sphere.

"The Azerbaijani authorities are on the threshold of a serious decision
to be made on behalf of the nation and state. They intend to share
the responsibility for this serious and historic decision with the
people in the person of the opposition. The Azerbaijani president has
got an important opportunity and does not want to miss his chance,"
Yeni Musavat quoted the source as saying.

Those in the government think that the situation and processes are
very advantageous for Azerbaijan and important decisions may be made
at an international level in connection with the vacation of occupied
districts around Nagornyy Karabakh, the report said.

The paper believes that the point which the government is
concerned about is "a compulsion to agree to the deployment of
Russian peacekeepers in the region and hold a referendum on Nagornyy
Karabakh’s status".

"It was decided to involve the opposition in the process and give
it a role in the national issue because of these dangerous and
responsible steps and on the recommendations of Russia and Turkey,"
Yeni Musavat said, adding that parliamentary hearings on Karabakh with
the participation of the opposition are expected in the near future.

The Security Council includes the Azerbaijani president,
prime minister, parliament speaker, the head of the presidential
administration, heads of power-wielding ministries, heads of ministries
of strategic importance and the ministries of economy, and directors
of the Azerbaijani National Bank.

OBAMA WIN HURTS TURKEY’S LEVERAGE

Hurriyet
Nov 7 2008
Turkey

WASHINGTON – The landslide election victory of Barack Obama, a backer
of Armenian causes, will diminish Turkey’s ability to prevent a
formal U.S. recognition of "Armenian genocide" claims, the largest
U.S. Armenian group said Wednesday.

"Starting tomorrow, the full force of the Turkish government will come
down like a ton of bricks on Washington," Ken Hachikian, chairman
of the Armenian National Committee, said in a written statement to
the U.S. Armenian Community shortly after the election of Obama, the
Democratic contender, as the next president. Obama will take office
Jan. 20.

Hachikian congratulated Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden,
saying, "We endorsed Obama in January when he was fighting an uphill
battle for his party’s nomination and worked for him right through
to tonight. We simplycould not afford another four years of the same,
hostile anti-Armenian policies."

When a resolution calling for official U.S. recognition of 1915
incidents as genocide came close to a floor vote at the U.S. House
of Representatives in October 2007, Turkey warned the legislation’s
passage would seriously harm the close U.S.-Turkish relationship in
a lasting way.

Efforts by the administration of President George W. Bush, a
Republican, eventually prompted the House leadership to shelve the
resolution.

Obama woes But Obama, during his election campaign, has pledged to
recognize the killings as genocide.

Barack Obama told U.S Armenians last Friday he strongly supported
the passage of the Armenian genocide resolution (pending in the House
of Representatives and the Senate) and would recognize the Armenian
genocide. A pledge he first voiced in January.

Most analysts here say if Obama keeps his promise, he will cause the
first U.S.-Turkish crisis during the next Washington administration’s
term.

"We are almost there. The new president-elect supported Armenian issues
in the Senate, has pledged, if elected, to recognize the Armenian
genocide and picked a running mate with a 35-year pro-Armenian track
record," Hachikian said.

"We are close to the day when an American president finally ends
nearly a century of U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denials."

The Armenian Assembly of America, the second largest U.S. Armenian
group, also congratulated Obama on his election.

ARMENIAN ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK SIGNS FIRST $18MLN WORTH SYNDICATED LOAN AGREEMENT WITH EBRD

ARKA
Nov 7, 2008

YEREVAN, November 7. /ARKA/. Armenian ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank and
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed
an $18mln worth syndicated loan agreement in Yerevan Thursday.

It is the first agreement on the syndicated loan for a total of
$50mln, General Director of ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank Stepan Gishyan
told journalists.

The loan is to be extended by the EBRD and a number of commercial
banks and will allow ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank establishing bilateral
ties with other participants of the loan agreement, Gishyan said.

The loan is extended for 4 years, with the remaining amount to
be allocated presumably by the end of the first half of 2009. The
interest rates are a commercial secret, Gishyan said.

The loan funds are to be spent on small and medium business crediting
and micro-crediting.

Credits will be provided also to trade and service companies, food
processing industry and agriculture, said the General Director.

Gishyan stressed the fruitful cooperation established between his
bank and the EBRD in general.

The Head of EBRD Yerevan Office Michael Weinstein, in his turn,
reported that the funds will be transferred to the bank within the
next weeks.

It is a very private deal, Weinstein said adding that the names of
other loan agreement participants may be made public in a couple of
weeks, when all the documents are arranged.

In 2007, two Armenian banks received syndicated loans – Armeconombank
for $15mln and ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank for $12mln.

The ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank CJSC (formerly the Agricultural
Cooperative Bank of Armenia) was established in 1995 and obtained
a full banking license on March 29, 1996. The bank was founded in
the scope of European Union TACIS project. Among the bank’s main
stockholders are the French Credit Agricole S.A. (16%), French SACAM
International (12.44%) as well as Armenian farmer associations.

Last September, the Credit Agricole banking group (France) purchased
28% of the bank’s shares.

Assets of ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank had totalled 101.3bln Drams by the
end of September 2008 with liabilities amounted to 76.5bln Drams. The
bank’s net profit reached 3.3bln Drams in January-September,
with total capital amounting to 24.8bln Drams at the end of
September. ($1=303.99Drams).

YEREVAN PYUNIK AS BEFORE AT TOP OF STAR ARMENIAN FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT TABLE

Noyan Tapan

Nov 4, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. 26th round’s matches of Star Armenian
Football National Championship took place on November 4. The following
results were recorded: Gandzasar – Pyunik 3 to 0, Mika – Ararat 3 to 1,
Kilikia – Banants 0 to 1, Shirak – Ulis 0 to 0.

Pyunik is at the top of the tournament table with 56 points. It
is followed by Ararat with 53 points, Gandzasar with 46, Mika 45,
Banants 37, Ulis 25, Shirak 16, Kilikia 11 points.

Two rounds remain until the end of the championship.