Author: Ekmekjian Janet

MINISTERS RATTLED BY GAZPROM’S ADVANCES
Lragir.am
17 April 06
The Financial Times published information April 16 that the UK
considered changing its merger control regime this year to block a
potential takeover of Centrica, the UK’s biggest gas supplier, by
Gazprom of Russia, a move that remains an option to thwart any bid
that threatens energy security. Alan Johnson, the trade and industry
secretary who has been a vocal critic of protectionism in the US and
Europe, was briefed with other ministers in February on the legal
changes required to allow them to block a rumoured bid by Gazprom
for Centrica, the Financial Times has learnt.
The problem was no policy had been formulated to deal with a move by
Gazprom into the UK market.
The standard policy on potential takeovers was clear – the government
removed itself from mergers in 2003, when the Enterprise Act came
into force, delegating decisions on almost all deals to independent
competition authorities.
The UK has made a virtue of this lack of political interference,
which has allowed several utilities to be taken over by European
Union companies with no political discussion and barely a murmur of
public dissent.
Alan Johnson, trade and industry secretary, used a speech to the
British Chambers of Commerce this month to boast of Britain’s open
energy market. “Downing Street’s electricity is supplied by a French
company, the water is supplied by a German company and there is
a choice of four gas suppliers, three of whom are foreign owned,”
he said.
But should this laissez faire approach to foreign takeovers extend to
Gazprom? A takeover of Centrica, which owns British Gas, or Scottish
Power, another rumoured potential target, could have competition
implications.
Malcolm Wicks, the energy minister, warned this year that the UK’s
liberalised market was “not about creating a big oligopoly”. It would
look “a bit odd if, in a few years’ time, this market resembles a
monolithic oligopoly with a few companies state-owned but not by
Britain,” he told The Observer.
Ministers’ concern focused instead on the implications of a Gazprom
takeover for security of supply. The gas company’s decision earlier
this year temporarily to cut off supplies to Ukraine was seen by some
as politically motivated. The prospect – however seemingly remote
– of Russia using ownership of a UK gas supplier to try to exert
political influence rang alarm bells in Whitehall.
The UK’s increasing dependence on gas imports has moved such
geopolitical threats to energy supplies sharply up the political agenda
since 2003, when the government’s energy review largely ignored the
issue. The review of energy policy now under way has put security of
supply centre stage. Asked by MPs this year about central issues for
the review, Mr Johnson cited “this geopolitical question”. “Where are
the oil reserves? Where are the gas reserves? Can we be sanguine about
the future if…? A large amount of our gas will come from countries
which are perfectly stable … but these are issues which have grown
in importance,” he said.
P.S. It is the right moment to recall our reality. Our energy suppliers
are part by part taken over by Gazprom, and each time defining the
takeover as the century’s deal, the RA government did not even utter
a word about the energy security of Armenia. If a developed country
such as U.K. is cautious in relations with Gazprom, it is already a
forceful argument.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 15 2006
R&D expenditures in CIS countries 2-4 times lower than in 1991

MOSCOW, April 15 (Itar-Tass) — Current research and development
expenditures in CIS countries (except Russia and Ukraine) are 2-4
times lower than in 1991, panellists said at the 1st Forum of CIS
Scientific and Creative Intellectuals in Moscow on Saturday.
`R and D expenditures in CIS countries, except Russia and Ukraine,
have remained practically on the same level over the past several
years and have not exceeded 0.1-0.7 percent of GDP,’ the Forum’s
Science and Technology Section said.
The panelists noted that this is 2-4 times less than in 1991. The
situation is much better only Russia and Ukraine.
`In Russia, the proportion of R and D expenditures in the gross
domestic product has been growing steadily since 2000 and had reached
the 1991 level by 2004,’ they said.
According to an academician of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, the
director of the Research Institute of Biochemistry, Konstantin
Karagezyan, `The decisions made today should be brought to the
attention of the governments and presidents of the CIS countries so
that they could address the problems of science immediately and
without delay.’
He said `science is falling apart in CIS countries’ and stressed,
`Its humiliating treatment must be revised immediately.’
The panelists proposed to create a common electronic library of
Russian-language scientific and reference literature on the Internet
and introduce a system of training for so-called `science managers’

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 15 2006
PACE Encourages Conflict Settlement in South Caucasus
15/04/2006 09:49
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) encourages
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to continue their efforts to achieve
peaceful and permanent settlements of the various conflicts in the
region in order to enable the voluntary return of refugees and
internally displaced persons (IDPs), the CoE reported on April 13.
During its spring session on April 13 PACE discussed a draft
resolution on refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia.
The European parliamentarians also welcomed the steps taken by
Armenia and Azerbaijan and, to a lesser extent, Georgia, to begin
local integration of refugees and IDPs, while stressing that there
were still urgent humanitarian needs which would require
international aid.

Prime News Agency, Georgia
April 14 2006
Chairmen Of Georgian And Armenian Courts Sign Memorandum
Tbilisi, April 14 (Prime-News) – Kote Kublashvili, Chairman of the
Supreme Court of Georgia and his Armenian counterpart signed a
memorandum on cooperation in legal issues in Yerevan on Friday.
Kote Kublashvili has been visiting Armenia for two days, Prime-News
was told by the representatives of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
According to them, the visit aims at discussion and share of
experience in the ongoing court reforms in Georgia and Armenia.
Ovanes Manukian, Chairman of the Court of Appeal, Gagik Artunian,
Chairman of the Constitutional Court and Davit Artunian, Minister of
Justice of Armenia are also taking part in the working meetings.
The visit by Kote Kublashvili to Yerevan lasts through Saturday.

PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS ON MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE PROGRAM TO BE HELD
Noyan Tapan
Apr 12 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Speaker of the RA National Assembly
Artur Baghdasarian on April 12 received a delegation headed by Chairman
of External Program Subcommission of the US House of Representaives
Allocattion Commission Jim Colby and Chief Executive Director of
the Millennium Challenge Fund (MCF) Amb. John Danilovich. According
to the RA National Assembly PR Department, the US Ambassador to
Armenia John Evans was present at the meeting. Issues related to
the implementation of Millennium Challenge Fund’s Armenian program
were discussed during the meeting. The 235 mln-dollar program aims
to promote economic development and poverty reduction in Armenia and
envisages such measures as major repairs of irrigation infrastructures
and 943 km of rural roads, as well as provision of technical credits
and microcredits to Armenian farms. A. Baghdasarian underlined the
program’s importance from three points of view: development of Armenian
marzes (regions) and reduction of the disproportion in development
of Yerevan and the marzes, deepening of democracy and introduction
of public control mechanisms by civil society. In the opinion of
A. Baghdasarian, the program will greatly contribute to the development
of Armenian marzes and the reduction of rural poverty. Speaking about
democratic reforms and economic development of Armenia, J. Danilovich
and J. Cilby underlined the necessity of political will, political
freedoms, rule of the law, publicity of the program’s implementation
and holding of the next national elections in line with international
standards for further implementation of these reforms. These are
conditions, whose fulfilment will ensure the efficient operation of
the program. John Danilovish stated once again the willingness of
the US top political leadership and the Millennium Challenge Fund
to follow these main principles, which determine the assistance to
Armenia under the program. At the meeting, an agreement was reached
to hold parliamentary hearings with the participation of the sides
concerned, during which the program will be presented in detail,
as well as issues related to public control and efficiency of the
program’s implementation will be discussed.

TURKEY SETS THREE CONDITIONS TO ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.04.2006 23:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Without the fulfillment of Turkey’s three fundamental
demands by Armenia any development of ties between the two states is
out of the question, head of the Turkish delegation to the PACE Murat
Mercan stated in Strasbourg. According to the Turkish parliamentarian
the conditions are as follows: settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict admissible for both parties; Armenia’s positive reply to
Turkey’s proposal on the Armenian Genocide issue; recognition of
the present borders with Turkey on the basis of the Kars agreement
of 1921 by Yerevan. “Without fulfillment of these conditions it’s no
sense speaking of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations,”
Merjan said emphasizing the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border also
depends on the proper fulfillment of the above mentioned conditions,
reported Trend news agency.

AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY IN HUNGARY REFUSED TO CONVEY SIGNATURES COLLECTED IN SAFAROV’S DEFENSE TO COURT
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.04.2006 01:03 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Azerbaijani Embassy in Hungary refused to
admit and convey the 100 thousand signatures collected in Safarov’s
defense to the court, Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) head
Akif Naghi stated in Baku. In his words, “the leadership, committee on
Diaspora and the Embassy have initially taken a wrong position.” “The
authorities were wrong to demand not to interfere or collect signatures
while the committee on Azeris living abroad openly supported a position
close to the position of the Armenian party,” the KLO head said.
To note, the committee on protection of Ramil Safarov’s rights
proposed to send Azeri parliamentarians to Hungary to holds talks
with the Hungarian counterparts and a group of journalists to cover
the Safarov’s trial, reported Day.az.

MCC GRANT TO OPEN NEW HORIZONS FOR ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.04.2006 22:07 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The U.S. Congressional delegation lead by Jim
Kolbe and Scott Garrret together with Chief Executive Officer of
the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Ambassador John Danilovich is
going to visit all the South Caucasian states. The visit bears a
familiarization nature. The delegation has already paid a call to
Georgia in Armenia. Then it will head for Azerbaijan, Congressman
Kolbe told reporters in Yerevan. In his words, the MCC grant rendered
to Armenia will open new horizons and prospects for the republic. “The
economic development of a state should march in step with the reforms
within the civic society and democracy consolidation,” he remarked.
Congressmen Kolbe also noted that during the meeting with the Armenian
leadership they discussed security issues and the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict peaceful settlement. “I thanked President Kocharian for the
contribution to the war on terror and participation of the Armenian
peacekeeping mission in Iraq,” Jim Kolbe emphazised.

TURKISH TV TO AIR EGOYAN’S “ARARAT” ON ARMENIAN KILLINGS
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 12 2006
A private television station will broadcast a controversial movie
on the massacres of Armenians during World War I for the first time
in Turkey where the subject still arouses nationalist feelings,
a spokesman for the channel said Wednesday.
Kanalturk decided to show “Ararat” by Canadian director Atom Egoyan,
an ethnic Armenian, after a survey of viewers revealed that 72 percent
of the participants wanted to see the film, the spokesman said. “We
will show the movie with no cuts or censoring,” he added.
The film’s showing, at prime time on Thursday, will be followed by
a roundtable discussion by Turkish and Armenian intellectuals and
historians on the killings during the last years of the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of Turkey.
Even though the Turkish government gave the go-ahead for the showing of
the film, which was released in 2002, an Istanbul company was forced in
2004 to drop plans to screen the movie because of potential protests
that would have required police presence in theatres. Turks have only
recently begun to discuss the Armenian massacres between 1915 and 1917,
one of the most controversial episodes in Turkish history.
Egoyan’s film deals with the estranged members of a contemporary
Armenian family, who are faced with both Turkey’s denial of genocide
and their own individual plight.

GAZPROM TO CONTROL ARMROSGAZPROM, PIPELINE
New Europe, Greece
April 11 2006
Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom and the Armenian government have
signed a strategic agreement for 25 years, establishing the strategic
principles for cooperation in gas-energy projects in the republic,
the Russian company said in a statement. The agreement fixes the price
for Russian natural gas for Armenia at USD 110 per 1,000 cubic metres
until January 1, 2009. The document also deals with the acquisition by
ArmRosGazprom from the Armenian government of a 40-km section of the
Iran-Armenia pipeline, currently under construction, and the fifth
power-producing unit at Razdan thermal power plant.
Also, according to the agreement the Armenian government is obliged
to give ArmRosGazprom the function of client for the 197-km second
section of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. Preliminary purchase and
sales agreements should be signed by April 14, 2006 and the final
transfer of right of ownership for these assets should be carried out
by January 1, 2007. “To ensure the effective conversion of natural
gas into electricity, the sides will join efforts to restore and
set up a technologically integrated property complex at Razdan-5,
with a single control centre, and also to build a gas turbine unit
with a capacity of 140 megawatts. These units will make it possible
to reduce fuel expenditure on electricity production. The agreement
also contains the possibility of exporting electricity produced at
Razdan-5,” the statement said.