Author: Emil Lazarian

THE OSCE MG AND THE CE WILL SUPPLEMENT EACH OTHER, TIGRAN TOROSYAN BELIEVES
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2005
Commenting on the OSCE MG Russian Co – Chair Yuri Merzlyakov’s
statement concerning the fact that “the OSCE Minsk group can grant a
part of its authorities to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe” in the interview with Aravot newspaper (îò 28.09.05.) RA
Parliament vice speaker Tigran Torosyan said there should be strict
division between the OSCE MG and the CE missions.
Tigran Torosyan noted Minsk group was dealing with the settlement,
while the Council of Europe was preparing the atmosphere necessary
for the settlement.
Answering the question whether Merzlyakov’s statement could result
in the change of the situation around the Karabakh settlement Tigran
Torosyan stated, “The situation has not changed, just vice versa: the
OSCE mission should supplement the Minsk group mission. The settlement
process should go on within the frames of the Minsk group, while the
works on the realization of the resolution for establishment of the
atmosphere of tolerance, cease of propaganda of hatred, militarist
statements, ensuring the atmosphere of the problem settlement by
peaceful means should be carried out within the CE frames “. “It
is not less important than the search for the settlement formula”,
believes Tigran Torosyan.
RA Parliament vice speaker thinks the development of the issue is in
favor of the problem’s just settlement.
–Boundary_(ID_mAtwdzuI8D/uCCJvsBMYlQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AMBASSADORS FAIL TO AGREE FRAMEWORK FOR TURKEY ENTRY TALKS
AKI, Italy
Sept 29 2005
Brussels, 29 Sept. (AKI) – Just four days before Turkey is due to
begin membership talks with the European Union, ambassadors from
the 25-member bloc have failed to agree on a definitive framework
for the negotiations. Austria refused to give its go-ahead unless
the official negotiating framework includes the possibility that
‘privileged partnership’ may be the outcome of the talks rather than
full membership.
Britain, the current EU president, has convened a meeting of the 25
EU foreign ministers on Sunday to try to find a way forward.
Thursday’s impasse follows Wednesday’s slight to Turkey when the
European Parliament’s approved a resolution in which it supports
the start of membership talks with Turkey but lays down a series of
provisos. The parliament said recognition of the killing of more
than a million Armenians in 1915 as genocide was “a prerequisite
for accession”.
Euro-MPs also postponed a vote on extending Turkey’s customs
agreement to the ten newest member states because of Ankara’s refusal
to recognise Cyprus. The parliament’s decisions do not affect the
start of entry talks on 3 October, but are seen as a further sign of
European reluctance towards Turkey’s bid. The European Commission,
the EU’s executive arm, described the postponement of an important
vote on the trade agreement as “an own goal”.
The decision was motivated by Turkey’s recent declaration that
signing the protocol of the Ankara Agreement did not mean any form
of recognition of Cyprus, which became an EU member last May. Turkey
also refuses to admit naval vessels and airplanes from Cyprus.
The “privileged partnership” for Turkey being pushed by Austria
is also viewed positively by the German centre-right leader Angela
Merkel, while Ankara insists that nothing short of full membership
is acceptable.

CRUNCH TIME FOR SAAKASHVILI’S GOVERNMENT
By Zaal Anjaparidze
Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
The Jamestown Foundation
Sept 29 2005
So far, the Georgian government has weathered the latest cycle
of disturbances in the country’s restive regions. Tskhinvali, the
South Ossetian capital, came under mortar fire on the heels of its
celebration of the 15th anniversary of its declaration of secession
from Georgia. The coincidence of these two events has caused political
complications for Tbilisi (see EDM, September 22).
On September 22 the U.S. Department of State urged Russia to refrain
from supporting the South Ossetian separatists and simultaneously
demanded that Tbilisi reaffirm its adherence to finding a peaceful
solution to the Ossetian problem. The OSCE also condemned the
shelling. Demonstrating just how concerned the U.S. administration
has become with Tbilisi’s actions, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John
Taft had a face-to-face meeting with Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili on September 21. The admonishment from Washington
prompted some pessimistic editorials. One of them, “Has Saakashvili’s
High American Hope Failed?” in the Akhali Taoba daily argues that
Washington’s rebuke of Tbilisi indicates that Tbilisi should not have
any illusions about using the United States in any military solution
to either the Ossetian or Abkhazian problems. Such a lecture from
Washington, according to the article, only encourages the separatists.
Soon after the Taft-Saakashvili conference, the Georgian Interior
Ministry dismantled most of the Georgian police checkpoints in the
conflict zone and withdrew Special Forces, having accused them of
abetting smugglers.
Now Tbilisi must either produce convincing evidence that the shelling
was the work of Russian troops deployed in the conflict zone, as
Georgian officials claim, or apologize publicly if an investigation
finds that Georgian forces initiated the shelling.
Needless to say, the latter finding would harm Saakashvili’s government
politically. Suspicions that the Georgian side might have been behind
the shelling are high, because the attack coincided with a surprise
visit by the hawkish Georgian minister of defense, Irakli Okruashvili,
to the ethnic Georgian enclave in South Ossetia. Giorgi Khaindrava,
Georgian state minister for conflict resolutions and the chief
Georgian negotiator for the South Ossetian peace talks, has hinted at
his upcoming resignation and labeled the initiators of the shelling
“degenerates.”
Saakashvili reported on September 24 that “very interesting details”
have emerged during the OSCE-monitored investigation of the incident.
The command of the Russian peacekeepers argues that Tskhinvali has been
shelled from the Georgian villages. Meanwhile, the Georgian parliament
is actively debating the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeepers from
the conflict zone, which inevitably would exacerbate the already
volatile Georgian-Russian relations.
Shortly after the violence in South Ossetia, secessionist
groups in Samtskhe-Javakheti, an ethnic-Armenian region on the
Armenia-Georgia border, stepped up their activities. A council of
local non-governmental organizations, meeting September 23-24, adopted
a resolution calling on the Georgian government to grant autonomy to
the region, including the creation of a “Samtskhe-Javakheti parliament
through free and direct elections.” According to the resolution,
by offering the highest degree of autonomy to South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, which had violated Georgia’s territorial integrity, Tbilisi
is discriminating against other ethnicities that reside in Georgia
and have demonstrated their loyalty to the central government.
The relative stability in this tumultuous region, which regards any
decision by Tbilisi with suspicion, is delicate. On September 19,
police from the town of Akhalkalaki went on strike, protesting the
recent decision by the Georgian Interior Ministry to replace the
local police chief, Mkhitar Abadjian, with Aram Pogosov, an adviser to
Saakashvili’s personal envoy to Samtskhe-Javakheti, without consulting
the local authorities. Armenian sources say that Abadjian was fired
for excessive advocacy of the interests of the local Armenians.
During the July 17 Georgian-Armenian clash in the village of Samsar
(see EDM, August 3) the Abadjian-led local police sided with the
local Armenians. David Rstakian, leader of the local non-registered
political party Virk, complains that Tbilisi purposefully removes
from key posts in Samtskhe-Javakheti any Armenians who were educated
in Yerevan. Meanwhile, on September 24, Van Baiburt, a member of the
Georgian parliament and deputy chair of the public movement “Union of
Georgia’s Armenians,” dismissed the Samtskhe-Javakheti NGOs demand for
regional autonomy. Ethnic Armenians compose 5.7% of the 4.4 million
population of Georgia, according to the latest census.
Alarming trends are also emerging in Kvemo Kartli, a southeastern
region predominantly populated by about 300,000 ethnic Azeris. On
September 23, a Tbilisi court sentenced Telman Gasanov, the
former executive of Gardabani district, to three months in jail
on charges of organizing an unsanctioned rally. On September 16,
Gasanov and his 40 supporters blocked the central highway demanding
dual citizenship and equal rights for Azeris living in Georgia. The
provocative proclamations demanding autonomy for the Azeri-populated
region appeared in early September. The local radical Azeri groups,
as well as some Azeri media, increasingly refer to Kvemo Kartli using
the Azeri toponym, “Borchalo,” which implicitly questions the Georgian
origin of this area.
Georgian analysts and politicians unanimously agree that external
forces are responsible for the recent disturbances in these regions,
and the assistance from the international community, which Georgia
acutely needs to resolve the frozen and potential regional conflicts,
appears to have differed from what Tbilisi expected. This may explain
why Saakashvili’s recent public remarks contained some criticism of
the West and international bodies.
(Regnum, September 23; Resonance, September 26-27; Akhali Taoba,
September 24; Civil Georgia, September 25-26; PanArmenian.net,
Itar-Tass, TV-Rustavi-2, September 24)

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLED FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY ANKARA
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2005
In the course of the plenary session that took place in Strasbourg
on Wednesday European parliamentarians ratified a resolution on the
beginning of talks on Turkey’ entry into the EU. 356 deputies voted
for the resolution, 181 against, while 125 refrained.
European parliamentarians stressed Turkey should recognize the
Armenian Genocide and Republic of Cyprus. The items have been fixed
in the resolution.
To note, Turkish Prime Minister Rejep Tayip Erdogan has repeatedly
stated Turkey does not intend to recognize Cyprus and is categorically
against any terms of its membership in the CE.

ARMENIA 79TH IN COMPETITIVE STRENGTH WORLD RATING
Pan Armenian News
28.09.2005 08:50
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is 79th in the annual world competitive
strength rating of the World Economic Forum (WEF), says the Report
on Global Competitive Strength in 2005-2006 published in Geneva. The
economy of Finland is at the top of the rating for the third year
successively, the US is the second, while Sweden is the third. They are
followed by Denmark and Taiwan. The top ten also includes Singapore,
Island, Switzerland, Norway and Australia. Russia is 75th in the
rating, while Ukraine is 84th and Georgia is the 86th. The rating
included Azerbaijan (69th position), Kazakhstan (61), Kyrgyzstan (116),
Moldova (82) and Tajikistan (104) for the first time this year. The
WEF rating is being composed on the basis of inquiry of business
community leaders in 117 countries, as well as official statistics.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MET WITH EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS
Pan Armenian News
29.09.2005 04:30
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met with
EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Heikki Talvitie,
reported the Press Service of the Armenian leader. In the course
of the meeting the parties discussed issues referring to the
practical program of cooperation within the European Neighborhood
Policy. Besides, the interlocutors discussed the process of settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as regional issues and
development. R. Kocharian and H. Talvitie touched upon constitutional
reforms in Armenia, emphasizing their importance and considering them
a new opportunity to promote and strengthen democracy in Armenia.

PARLIAMENT POSTPONES RATIFYING TURKEY’S CUSTOMS UNION
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Sept 29 2005
FRUSTRATED over Turkey’s refusal to recognise Cyprus, the European
Parliament yesterday postponed a vote to ratify Turkey’s customs
union with the EU, a requirement of Ankara’s bid for membership in
the 25-member bloc.
Days before the scheduled start of EU membership talks, MEPs also
called on Ankara to recognise the 1915-1923 killings of Armenians as
a genocide, which Turkey vehemently denies.
The Turkish lira and stock market lost ground on the events, although
traders said they did not believe the October 3 opening of accession
talks was at risk.
The EU legislature has no say over the start or conduct of the talks
but its assent is needed before Turkey can join, which is at least
a decade away.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately dismissed the
non-binding European resolution on the killings of Armenians, saying:
“It does not matter whether they took such a decision or not. We will
continue on our way,” according to private CNN-Turk television.
MEPs said in their resolution that recognition of the 1915-1923
killings as genocide should be a prerequisite for Turkey to join the
European Union.
Armenians say that 1.5 million of their countrymen were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of the First World War, which Armenians
and several nations around the world recognise as the first genocide
of the 20th century.
Turkey denies that the massacres were genocide, saying the death toll
is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest as the Ottoman
Empire collapsed.
The EU Parliament voted 311-285 to postpone the customs union
ratification vote at the request of conservative MEPs. There were
63 abstentions.
EU governments meanwhile remained deadlocked on the mandate for the
talks, with Austria seeking a more explicit mention of an alternative
to full membership.
EU foreign ministers will have to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday
in Luxembourg, hours before negotiations are to start, unless their
ambassadors clinch a deal earlier in Brussels.
The opening ceremony could slip to Monday evening because Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will not board a plane until the
EU ministers have formally endorsed a framework for negotiations,
diplomats said.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, whose country holds the
revolving EU presidency, said it would be “a huge betrayal of the
hopes and expectations of the Turkish people and of Prime Minister
Erdogan’s programme of reform if, at the crucial time, we turned our
back on Turkey”.
The EU legislature demanded that Turkey recognise EU member Cyprus
soon and said negotiations could be suspended unless it granted access
to Cypriot aircraft and shipping by next year.
The vote by the parliament followed an emotional debate in which many
deputies attacked Turkey’s record on human rights, religious freedom
and minorities, reflecting widespread public hostility to the poor,
populous nation ever joining the bloc.
Greens party leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit caused an uproar by accusing
some right-wing critics of Turkey of “surfing on a wave of racism”.
The ballot’s delay will have no effect on the starting date for
Turkey’s accession negotiations, scheduled for October 3. The
assembly had already postponed its vote earlier this month, when
the parliament’s foreign affairs committee argued the customs union
would not work unless Turkey agreed to allow Cyprus to use its ports
or airports.
In July, Turkey signed an agreement to widen the customs union with
the EU to include Cyprus and nine other new EU members. But Ankara
said this did not amount to recognition of Cyprus.
EU governments issued a counter-declaration last week, warning that
failure to recognise Cyprus could paralyse Turkey’s EU entry talks.
European People’s Party chairman Hans-Gert Poettering said Turkey’s
position was “logically and politically unacceptable.” “We want … a
statement from Turkey saying non-recognition of Cyprus will not be
part of the ratification process (in the Turkish parliament),” he said.
“We haven’t received such a statement.” EU expansion chief Olli Rehn
said he regrets the parliament’s decision to postpone.
During the assembly’s debate, Martin Schulz, chairman the Socialists
in the Parliament, accused the conservatives of not wanting Turkey
in the EU.
“It would be better for you to say clearly: We don’t want Turkey in
the EU. You’re skirting the message,” Schulz said.
In their resolution, MEPs also voiced concern about criminal
proceedings against Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, who was charged with
insulting the country’s national character after making comments on
Turkey’s killing of Armenians and Kurds. He could face up to three
years in prison.
Some EU countries, including Germany, homeland of many of the MEPs
who sought postponement, advocate the idea of a privileged partnership
for Turkey rather than full membership.
A new draft text outlining negotiating guidelines for Turkey’s entry
talks had still not been finalised due to strong objections by Austria.
Vienna is also demanding the EU offer Turkey a privileged
partnership. An Austrian diplomat said Vienna’s demand has yet to be
met. All 25 nations must agree on the EU’s position before talks begin.
But Ankara reacted sharply, saying any deviation from full membership
would be unacceptable.

CALL FOR AUTONOMY SPARKS CONCERN
The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 29 2005
Calls this month by the Akhalkalaki-based Armenian organizations
Javakhk and Virk demanding that Javakheti region be granted autonomy
and its own parliament have revived Georgia’s deep-seated paranoia
over separatism.
The organizations are trying to give their entreaty a peaceful and
constructive character and have argued simply that if Tbilisi is
offering similar perks to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, why not to
other regions. But as Georgia’s history shows, the idea of autonomy
has involved at best simmering rivalry toward the central government
(as in the case of Aslan Abashidze’s Adjara) and at worse bloody
conflict. The forum that was held in Akhalkalaki irritated the Georgian
media and was regarded by many as an event staged by Moscow.
Reactionary print media, in turn, has called on the government to
pay serious attention to statements.
Russians did not believe for a long time that they would ever have to
withdraw their military bases from Georgian territory, assuming that
the local Armenian population would never stand for the withdrawal of
the Russian military bases from Akhalkalaki as the base represented
a security guarantee and an important source of income.
But now it is clear that the Russian military base is to finally leave
Akhalkalaki by 2008. In the meantime, the Georgian government tries
to diffuse any unrest among the local population. Some time ago the
Russian newspaper Nezavisimaia Gazeta wrote that: “There are fears
in Tbilisi that separatist sentiment among the Armenians living in
Javakheti can be strengthened and in response, the government tries
to increase financial support for the region’s development.”
The argument that the withdrawal of the Russian bases from Akhalkalaki
will deprive the local population of their main source of income has
already been rebutted. President Mikheil Saakashvili has announced
a program whereby the Ministry of Defense will purchase foodstuffs
from Javakheti farmers in order to provide larder for the Georgian
army. What is more, USD 102 million of the sum to be received from the
U.S. Millennium Challenge program will be spent for the development
of the Javakheti transport infrastructure. It is also planned to put
investments in the region for the purpose of creating new jobs. It
can be safely said that at this point, no other region of Georgia is
receiving so much long-term economic attention.
But all of this is of little meaning for those forces in the region
for whom socioeconomic problems only provided rhetorical fodder for
their demands for separatism. On September 24 Javakhk and Virk held
their third forum in Akhalkalaki. The forum representatives were
dissatisfied with the increased number of Georgian-language schools
in the region and the possibility of Javakheti’s Georgian population
increasing. They stated that in order to overcome these tendencies,
Javakheti should be separated from the other parts of Georgia.
The authors of the resolution adopted in Akhalkalaki state that the
Georgian government makes representatives of ethnic minorities live
in unequal conditions. Moreover the authorities have proposed models
for autonomy to minorities in conflict zones that they do not offer
to other ethnicities who constitute a majority in other regions.
Representatives of Javakhk and Virk have not decided yet what to
demand – autonomy for the region, or to pin their hopes on the
establishment of a Georgian federation and becoming a constituent
entity of said federation.
“This can be autonomy, but if there is no autonomy then there can be
a region with the rights of autonomy with its own constitution. It
should be distinguished just what rights the region will have. I
propose that this region should have its own parliament, government
and laws,” stated representative of Javakhk Manvel Saltenian, as
quoted by Kronika, whereas Virk member Khachatur Stepanian demanded
that Javakheti be given the status of “federation subject.”
In Georgia many suspect that Russia stood behind the Akhalkalaki
forum. This “Third Power,” Kronika writes, “is not going to accept the
loss of Georgia and after Samachablo and Abkhazia now seeks to create
the next hot spot, now in the South.” The heads of the Akhalkalaki
forum themselves deny the existence of any “Russian trail.” They also
claim not to be separatists and state that they are acting entirely
within the frames of Georgian legislation. Khachatur Stepanian, who
also chairs the Council of Armenian Organizations, stated that the
decisions of the form are in complete compliance with the European
Convention of Defending the Rights of Ethnic Minorities, reports the
newspaper Kviris Palitra.
Such demonstrations however have been labeled in the Georgian media as
“acts against Georgia.” “Regardless of whether Russia is controlling
these actions in Georgia or not, it has recently become clear that
some representatives of the ethnic minorities that are sheltered in
our territory are not hiding their cynical attitude towards Georgian
state interests,” writes the newspaper Kviris Palitra. “Stepanian
and Saltenian should not hold their breath for Georgian society to
agree to the establishment of Armenian autonomy,” writes the newspaper
Akhali Taoba.
Representatives of the Georgian government have stated that there
is no cause for alarm yet. They are supported by the fact that
only a small group of people signed the resolution adopted at the
Akhalkalaki forum. But far more people in Javakheti, and throughout
Georgian regions, would agree that more must be done to develop the
country outside of the capital.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI ELECTION: RIVALS SLAM OPPOSITION BLOC FOR UNSANCTIONED DEMOS
Azerbaijani TV Channel One, Baku, in Azeri
26 Sep 05
The parliamentary election campaign in Azerbaijan continued on Monday
26 September with free and paid election broadcasts on state
television.
A paid electoral advertisement for parliamentary candidate, Farhad
Qaribov, head of the Azari Holding financial and industrial group,
described him as a hardworking person who loves his country and
parents and praised him for donating money to charity.
After that, Malahat Hasanova, a parliamentary candidate from the
ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), said in her free election
broadcast that the party follows the path of Heydar Aliyev which is
the path of truth. She praised the late ex-President Heydar Aliyev
for saving the country from a civil war, establishing a cease-fire
with Armenia and starting economic development in the country. Major
oil and gas projects such as Baku-Ceyhan and Baku-Erzurum which were
signed under Aliyev, as well as the Silk Road and TRACECA (Transport
Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) projects guarantee the country’s
economic development and security, she stressed.
In turn, Agacan Xosrovov, a candidate from the opposition Liberal
Party, promised to solve problems if elected to parliament. He also
said that no conditions have been created in Lankaran for him to meet
his voters.
After that, a candidate from the Azadliq election bloc, Malahat
Mursudlu, criticized the ruling party candidates for advertising
things that do not exist. People should have the right to influence
decision-making and everyone should be equal before the law, she
said. Mursudlu also invited people to attend the bloc’s rally on
Cafar Cabbarli Square in central Baku on 1 October.
Araz Alizada from the Yeni Siyasat opposition bloc criticized his
rivals for illegal actions and violence. He called for reconciliation
which he believes can help liberate Karabakh. Speaking about the
leader of the bloc, ex-President Ayaz Mutallibov who lives in exile
in Russia, Alizada said that President Aliyev wants reconciliation
and will resolve the issue of Mutallibov’s return to Azerbaijan.
Bahar Muradova, another candidate from the New Azerbaijan Party,
accused the opposition of provocations. In her paid election
broadcast, she said that “the radical opposition” does not like it
when campaigning is progressing successfully and for this reason, is
trying to destabilize the situation in Baku. Citing the 25 September
rally as an example, she said that the opposition agreed to talks
with the authorities only after the US embassy advised them to do so,
but the talks failed through the opposition’s fault. And they want to
hold a rally in a densely-populated area in central Baku again, she
said. The aim is to organize a provocation so that pressure is
exerted on the authorities later on, Muradova added. She called on
young people not to support these forces and vote for the NAP and
President Ilham Aliyev.
Meanwhile, Sevinc Huseynova, another candidate from the NAP, used her
paid election broadcast to appeal to President Aliyev and his wife.
She complained about the executive authorities in her constituency in
Samux District, which she said are ignoring the presidential decree
on improving electoral practices and illegally campaigning for one of
the candidates. I believe that you will create conditions for a free
and fair election, she said in conclusion.
At the same time, Ayyub Ayyubov from the Unity bloc praised President
Aliyev for his policy and said that all problems facing the country
could be resolved through national unity.
The United People’s Front of Azerbaijan Party used their paid
election broadcast to advertise party candidate Niyamaddin Orduxanov.
After that, Mammad Alizada, a candidate from the Islahat (Reform)
bloc, praised Heydar Aliyev for developing the market economy in the
country. In his paid election broadcast, he also criticized the
opposition for being puppets in the hands of foreign countries and
for serving those who do no want Azerbaijan to conduct an independent
policy. He called on voters to fight “these scoundrels”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1+
| 18:08:42 | 28-09-2005 | Social |
WHO NEEDS FINANCING?
The President of Equatorial Guinea has already made friends with the head of
the Union of Armenians of Russia Ara Abrahamyan and will soon arrive in
Moscow as his personal guest.
This is the last thing Ara Abrahamyan is doing in return to the setting free
of the Armenian pilots imprisoned in Guinea. Before that an investment of 2
million USD was made for the construction of the Guinea irrigation system.
In the margins of the program `Days of the Union of Armenians of Russia in
Armenia and Artsakh’ a delegation of 500 people has arrived in Yerevan –
writers, scientists, pupils, etc. The Union of Armenians of Russia is
celebrating its 5th anniversary this year. In the press conference rendered
today Ara Abrahamyan said that as a non-governmental organization «they did
what they could for the past 5 years».
According to him, they gave the Armenians of Russia the most important thing
– hope, alongside with financial aid and advice. And in Armenia they
realized several programs.
Asked the question of Ara Abrahamyan is going to actively participate in the
political life in Armenia he said, «I do not have the right, besides, there
are too many people involved in politics in Armenia». Nevertheless, he did
not exclude the possibility of indirect participation, that is – financing
of a political power in case of need.