Author: George Mamian

Baku Dissapointed with NATO Decision
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004
According to Turan news agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Azerbaijan issued a statement where it says the Ministry “expresses
its deep regret in connection with abolition of NATO maneuvers
“Cooperativ Best Effort – 2004″ in Azerbaijan.”
Document mentions, Azerbaijan considered these maneuvers as significant
and important event on the way of integration into the Euro-Atlantic
organization and created all conditions for its conducting.
The statement stressed Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation has been
successfully developing for the last years and Azerbaijan submitted
Operational plan on individual partnership to NATO leadership.
Along with this, the statement indicates occupation of almost 20% of
Azerbaijan territory, as a result of Armenian aggression. Moreover,
statement reads, Armenian leadership sticks to tougher and
non-constructive position during peaceful negotiations.
“Participation of Armenian servicemen in maneuvers at the territory of
the state was non admissible for Azerbaijan in such situation. It is
underlined Azerbaijan party confirms its adherence to Euro-Atlantic
values and partnership with North Atlantic Alliance. Official Baku
expresses its hope that formed relations of effective Azerbaijan-NATO
partnership “will be dynamically developing in future”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
=================================================
Friday 10 September 2004
TURKMENISTAN: BAPTISTS RAIDED AND JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES REJECT PRESIDENTIAL
PORTRAITS
In the third known set of raids on religious communities in August, police
interrogated and threatened members of a Baptist church in the western town
of Balkanabad, warning Nikolai Matsenko that any further unregistered
services in his home will lead to fines. Meanwhile a Jehovah’s Witness
elder told Forum 18 News Service from the capital Ashgabad that if his
faith gets registration, it will reject official demands made of other
faiths to hang the country’s flag and a portrait of the president where it
worships. “These are unacceptable demands,” he declared. Forum 18
has been unable to get confirmation of a 5 September report that President
Saparmurat Niyazov ordered the registration procedure for religious
organisations to be tightened up once more.
TURKMENISTAN: BAPTISTS RAIDED AND JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES REJECT PRESIDENTIAL
PORTRAITS
By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service
As an unconfirmed report says President Saparmurat Niyazov has ordered
rules on registering religious communities to be tightened up once again,
Forum 18 News Service has learnt that police launched another major
crackdown on a Baptist congregation in the western town of Balkanabad
(formerly Nebit-Dag) in late August, threatening church members that if
they meet for worship again they will be fined. Meanwhile, a Jehovah’s
Witness elder has told Forum 18 from the capital Ashgabad that although his
community is planning to lodge a registration application, it will not
accept official demands made of other faiths to hang the country’s flag in
places of worship and a portrait of the president. “These are
unacceptable demands,” the elder, who preferred not to be named, told
Forum 18 on 10 September. “The constitution is clear: religion and the
state are separate. Plus as Jehovah’s Witnesses we do not get involved in
politics.”
An officer of the criminal investigation department arrived at the
Balkanabad home of Nikolai Matsenko in the afternoon of 20 August, Baptists
in Turkmenistan told Forum 18 on 28 August. After questioning him about the
church’s activity, the officer warned him that if any further services take
place in his flat he will be fined. Later that evening, another police
officer arrived at Matsenko’s home, presenting himself as the new local
policeman and declaring that he had come to get to know him.
At 11 pm the following evening, a group of people knocked on Matsenko’s
door. One of them introduced himself as the local policeman (although this
was not the same man as the officer who had arrived the previous day).
“They insistently demanded that he open the door and let them into the
flat,” the Baptists told Forum 18. “But as it was night, brother
Nikolai didn’t open the door. Threatening dire consequences, they
left.”
The Baptists reported that police visited several other church members in
the town, including new converts, at the end of August. One young man was
forcibly dragged from his home to the police station. “All were asked
exactly the same questions about the internal life of the church,” the
Baptists complained.
The Balkanabad Baptist congregation belongs to a Baptist network of
churches that refuse to register on principle in any of the former Soviet
republics where they operate, regarding such registration as unacceptable
state interference. Matsenko was among a large group of church members in
Balkanabad given heavy fines at the beginning of the year for participation
in the church (see F18News 9 January 2004
).
August saw several other raids on religious communities. The secret police
raided a Baptist home on 4 August in Abadan (formerly Bezmein) near
Ashgabad, where a prayer and Bible reading service was underway (see
F18News 9 August 2004 ).
Three days later police raided the home of an Adventist family in the
eastern city of Turkmenabad [Chärjew], even though no religious
meeting was in progress (see F18News 11 August 2004
).
The Ashgabad Jehovah’s Witness elder told Forum 18 that their communities
still cannot meet in large numbers. “Everything is continuing as
before,” he declared. “We can only meet in small groups, maybe
five or at most six people.” He confirmed that the two Jehovah’s
Witness prisoners, Mansur Masharipov and Vepa Tuvakov, both arrested in May
and sentenced to a year and a half in prison, have not been freed (see
F18News 25 June 2004 ).
There appears to have been little progress on registering religious
communities. So far this year, only the Adventists, one group of Baptists,
the Baha’is and the Hare Krishna community are known to have received
registration. Many others who have applied or sought information on how to
apply languish without registration. As Turkmenistan’s religious law
specifically prohibits unregistered religious activity, failure to gain
registration can have serious consequences.
The exiled human rights group the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative reported
on 7 September that some ethnic Kurds – about 6,000 of whom live
mainly in Ashgabad and other southern regions of the country along the
border with Iran – are unable to practice their faith freely. Most
are of Sunni Muslim background, and can therefore worship in
government-approved mosques. “However, there are also Shia Kurds and
even Christians who often face problems regarding freedom of religion with
the local special services,” the group reported.
Particularly affected are Kurds who belong to the Yezidi faith, a uniquely
Kurdish ancient faith. Seiran Amanov, a resident of Bikrov near Ashgabad,
told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative that his religious affiliation
has meant that he has been repeatedly interrogated by the secret police and
has been accused of belonging to a “dangerous Islamic sect”.
“As Seiran states, this happens despite the fact that everybody knows
two religious movements of the Kurds: Yezidism and Aliallahism.”
The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Yezidis are among many faiths in Turkmenistan
that do not have registration, including Pentecostals and other Evangelical
Christians, Catholics, the Armenian Apostolic Church, Lutherans, Shia
Muslims and Jews.
However, even registration appears to be of little help in being able to
function. Adventist pastor Pavel Fedotov complained in early August that
his church is unable to rent anywhere to hold services (see F18News 11
August 2004 ). Baptist
and Hare Krishna leaders have made similar complaints to Forum 18 that
registration has not helped their communities function openly.
One Baha’i leader in Ashgabad told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative
that despite the group’s new registration the authorities have made life
for the community very difficult, banning it from renting places for
meetings. A secret government order bans registered religious and civic
groups from opening accounts at any of Ashgabad’s banks, while the new
registration rules require a bank account for all financial transactions,
the group reported on 15 August.
A local Baha’i reported that mainly old people who have a long association
with the faith keep in contact with the community. “This can partly be
explained by the fact that special services have conducted meetings with
many Baha’i followers and threatened them with dismissal from work,”
the Baha’i told the Turkmenistan Helsinki Initiative. “So registration
by itself does not guarantee that we can profess our faith openly. I think
this easing of registration restrictions has merely a declaratory
character.”
The German-based Central Asian Press Agency reported on 5 September that
President Niyazov had issued an instruction to the Adalat Ministry at a
conference of law-enforcement officers that it should tighten up “the
rules for registering religious sects and non-governmental
organisations”, as well as to work closely with the National Security
Ministry “to stamp out any illegal actions”. Forum 18 has been
unable to confirm that Niyazov issued such an instruction from any other
source.
On 10 September Forum 18 was unable to reach Maifa Sarieva, who has headed
the department at the Adalat (Fairness or Justice) Ministry which registers
religious communities for the past two months. No other ministry officials
could tell Forum 18 whether the president had given such an order for the
registration rules to be tightened up, what was holding up the registration
of religious organisations and why religious communities that have
registration cannot in practice function openly.
Meanwhile, the state-run media has insisted that the decision to remove
from office the head of the country’s largest religious group, the Sunni
Muslims, came from the muftiate. Kakageldi Vepaev, who had been appointed
chief mufti by President Niyazov in January 2003, was sacked on 24 August
for “serious shortcomings in his work”, according to the
state-run media, as well as deficiencies in his private life. Appointed as
his successor was 27-year-old Rovshen Allaberdiev, former chief imam of the
Lebap region and former chairman of the government’s Gengeshi (Council) for
Religious Affairs at the Lebap regional administration.
The previous chief mufti Nasrullah ibn Ibadullah, sacked by Niyazov in
January 2003, remains in prison.
The Sunni Muslim community is the most tightly-controlled faith in
Turkmenistan. No leaders or imams can be appointed without government
approval, granted through the Gengeshi. Allaberdiev’s close links with the
state are clear from his previous double appointment as regional chief imam
and government religious affairs official. On being sacked as chief mufti,
Vepaev presumably also lost his job as one of the Gengeshi’s deputy
chairmen. As a Gengeshi official, he had personally taken part in raids on
religious services by minority faiths.
For more background, see Forum 18’s Turkmenistan religious freedom survey
at
A printer-friendly map of Turkmenistan is available at
s/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=turkme
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News
Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at
=================================================
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Central Asian and Southern Caucasus Freedom of Expression Network
(CASCFEN), Azerbaijan
Sept 4 2004
Newspapers published with blank front pages
…To protest planned arrival of Armenian officers to Azerbaijan
CASCFEN, Baku, 4 Sept 2004 — Today about two dozens of dailies were
published with blank front pages to protest planned arrival of
Armenian officers to participate in maneuvers to take place in
Azerbaijan within NATO “Partnership for Pease” Program on September
12, 2004. The decision was taken by 9 leading mass media heads a day
before and others were called to join an action. As a result other
popular dailies joined action too. Alongside with dailies Group of
Companies ANS (includes TV, Radio channels, news agency and several
magazines) suspended broadcasts between 10am to 11am and 04pm to 05pm
and is going to suspend it from 08pm to 09pm. Among those published
with blank front pages are most popular newspapers such as “Azadliq”,
“Yeni Musavat”, “Baki Khaber”, “Xeber.net”, “Baku Today”, “Ekspress”,
“Uc noqte”, “Iki sahil”, “Sharq”, “525-ci qezet”, “Ayna”,
“Mukhalifet”, “Olaylar”, Russian-language “Zerkalo”, “Ekho”, “Novoye
Vremya” and others. The electronic versions of these newspapers
published protest slogans on their web sites too.
The statement published on the papers on Sept 3 warned that if the
arrival of Armenians will not be prevented media outlets reserve the
right to broaden protest actions: “Depending on development of events
we reserve the right to broaden our protest activities even further
and to suspend our activity for longer term”.
Those joining protest consider arrival of Armenian officers to
Azerbaijan as a disrespect for the nation: “Letting the officers of
occupational forces into the training facilities of Azerbaijan,
letting them train together with our soldiers means disrespect
towards the military interests of the host country and playing with
the nerves of the Azerbaijan nation”.
“We think that admission of the Armenian forces to Baku is insult to
Azerbaijani nation, which lost thousands of its sons, aggravates a
political situation in the country, causes mass protest, and creates
ground for infringement of existing stability and unpredictable
negative consequences”, reads the statement.
The Statement of Protest by Mass Media of Azerbaijan
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENTEL INTERVENES IN HOME POLICY OF ARMENIA, CHAIRMAN OF
NON-REGISTERED PARTY DECLARES
YEREVAN, August 26 (Noyan Tapan). ArmenTel intervenes in home policy
of Armenia. Ruben Mnatsakanian, the Chairman of the “Free Hayk
Mission” non-registered party, declaring this at the August 26 press
conference mentioned that because of 7-day breaking of telephone
communication of the party office the party wasn’t able to inform the
representatives of territorial and regional structures of the party
about the special general meeting that was to be organized for the
purpose of registration of the party. On August 24, a representative
of ArmenTel objected to the suit of the party in the court of first
instance of the Kentron and Nork-Marash Yerevan communities mentioning
that according to the acting law, the “Free Hayk Mission” should have
declared about the congress a month ago through mass media, so
breaking of the telephone communication has nothing to do with
non-registration of the party. According to R.Mnatsakanian, this
objection is means of influencing the home policy of Armenia and “a
regular attempt of avoiding responsibility by means of abusing the
monopoly position on the market.” To recap, the “Free Hayk Mission” is
among 51 parties included into the list of the parties subject to
dissolution, which were submitted to the court by the State Register.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Mmegi, Botswana
Aug 6 2004
Who’s afraid of Lev Leviev?
QUESTION TIME
PATRICK VAN RENSBURG
8/6/2004 1:58:23 AM (GMT +2)
FIRST of all, who – except for the diamond insiders – knows who Lev
Leviev is? The Daily News recently told us that he wants to open a
diamond-polishing factory in Botswana, without telling us much about
him. According to The Economist of London, `De Beer’s days of market
dominance may well be drawing to a close. Yet consumers should not
get excited just yet. Whether a duopoly or oligopoly emerges, diamond
prices are not going to plunge. Leviev will be among those putting a
stop to that’.

Could it be because of Leviev that De Beers settled its price fixing
case with the US Government by paying a US$10 million fine? Now,
because of that payment, and a guilty plea to charges of price fixing
of raw diamonds, it can – as it could not till then – sell its
diamonds directly on Fifth Avenue, New York, indeed anywhere in
America.
Lev Leviev, The Economist tells us, `threatens to break up entirely
how De Beers organises the diamond industry’, which of course
substantially affects Botswana, not only because the country has a
15% stake in the company.
Leviev, an Israeli citizen, born in Uzbekistan (a former Soviet Union
Republic), has considerable interest in diamonds, as well as in
transport and property. For a long time, at a time that De Beers
still controlled, though did not themselves mine, 80% of the world’s
diamonds, Leviev worked as a De Beers sight holder, buying unseen
parcels of stones at non-negotiable prices. That was how De Beers
operated then, given its almost total control of the industry.
Leviev, reportedly, so much resented having to take or leave the
stones available from De Beers, that he apparently decided to get
back at the cartel.
His first major break came in Russia, where he became a close
personal associate of Vladimir Putin’s, before Putin became
President. Leviev was already known as a diamond cutter and polisher
in the 1980s, and the Soviet state-owned diamond corporation asked
him to help set up local factories there fifteen years ago. He formed
a joint venture with the state firm, and insisted that only rough
diamonds from Russian mines be supplied for cutting and polishing to
the joint enterprise. None were to be diverted through De Beers. De
Beers were reportedly very angry at losing its supply. When, after
the fall of the Soviet Union, the factories were privatised, Leviev
`somehow emerged as the sole owner’, it was reported.
Leviev didn’t stop there. He was helping create jobs and adding value
to the diamonds exported, and offered to do the same in Angola. He
reportedly invested US$60 million there. Although he did not get all
he wanted out of the deal – Angola later cancelled three quarters of
the supply of diamonds that it initially made available to him – he
had ousted De Beers.
Leviev then built a diamond factory in Windhoek to add value to the
country’s diamond exports. With 550 workers, it is apparently
Africa’s largest. On June 28, Leviev took Sam Nujoma around his new
factory. Despite Namibia’s deal with De Beers in NAMDEB, the
country’s mining laws prevent a monopoly control of diamond supplies,
and Leviev has access to its diamonds, if the President agrees. And
what did Nujoma reportedly say on June 28, when he went round the
factory? `To our brothers and sisters of neighbouring states, Angola,
Botswana, South Africa, I hope this gives you inspiration to do what
we have done here’ – which is to establish a diamond cutting and
polishing factory using locally-mined stones.
Leviev has a fleet of mining ships, apparently, operating off
Namibia’s coast, `sucking up diamonds from the sea’. He boasts that
it is the world’s second largest fleet. The biggest is apparently
that of De Beers. Leviev claims he is the only diamond tycoon with
interests in all stages of production, from mining to processing as
well as to selling.
He has factories in Armenia, India, Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere.
`These give him the power to challenge De Beers’ central clearing
house and seek instead to channel raw stones directly and at a lower
price, to his own polishers’.
He is building another factory in Angola. Besides what The Daily News
told us, he has apparently said that his factory here could be far
larger than that in Angola, `employing tens of thousands’.
The historical success of De Beers, with its near-monopoly as a
trader of rough stones was based on maintaining and increasing the
prices of diamonds by controlling supply. It had persuaded
governments to make it illegal for unlicensed individuals to buy and
sell diamonds in all the producing countries. It had never done much
over the earlier years of its control of the diamond trade to create
jobs or develop skills in diamond-producing countries, but it
`delivered big and stable revenues to its governments’, The Economist
concludes.
The big question for us now, is how to deal with both Leviev and De
Beers. There is no doubt that there is a need for us to beneficiate
more of our raw materials, and although we now have cutters and
polishers, albeit not yet with shining successes, the more finished
products we can account for, the more jobs are created and the more
the country earns from its minerals.
Some years ago, Bristol University in the UK discovered how to make
diamond fibre, which could become very valuable for spacecraft
manufacture and other uses. Could Leviev be interested in that
possibility, too?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

At the Center of the Southern Caucasus: . . . and on the brink of survival
armenianow.com
23 July 2004
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
In the far northeast of Armenia, the village of Barekamavan is subject
to control by the Army of Azerbaijan.
Located in a deep hollow the conflict line practically runs through
the village and frequent shootouts are seen as an ordinary consequence
of life in Barekamavan.
Surrounded
Barekamavan is in the very center of the Southern Caucasus. Georgian
industrial center Rustavi with plants and industrial blocks is clearly
seen from its hills. The m ain Caucasian Ridge is also clearly seen in
the north and behind that ridge there is the “Big World”.
Residents of Barekamavan, however, are too far away from that world.
Every house and yard of Barekamavan is located within snipers’ field
of view. The last incident when gunfire led to death was June 5, 2002
when a sniper’s bullet killed 49-year-old resident Martin Mikaelyan.
Barekamavan is the final stop on an 18-kilometer road that links it
with Voskevan, and Koti. The road itself splits off from the main
Ijevan-Noemberian-Tbilisi road in the area of border village
Baghanis. Koti, about eight kilometers away is the closest Armenian
populated area. Azeri villages Birinji, Iginji and Uchinji are much
closer.
The strategic Azeri villages have been consolidated into one area
called Shikhlu. Among its inhabitants are Shias and third-generation
Sunnis whose ancestors clashed with Amenians in 1918-20.
“Despite our village is located far away from Yerevan, during Soviet
times it held an advantageous position,” says village head Hovhannes
Karakeshishyan. The village is just 18 kilometers from the Red Bridge
junction, which joins Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Tbilisi is only
65 kilometers away.
“Today as a result of the blockade of communications Barekamavan is in
a very vulnerable position,” Karakeshishyan says. “Besides, a restless
border doesn’t contribute to the development of the village. Today
Barekamavan is on the brink of survival.”
Farm vehicles have become sniper targets in border villages At
present, 455 people live in the village, 80 percent of which are
pensioners.
“Young people have almost nothing to do in the village,” says the
village head. “There are no factories and no farmland, as most of it
contains landmines . . . Livestock farming is not developing as well
because a bead is kept on pastures and cattle often trip
landmines. Young people have really nothing to maintain their families
with in Barekamavan. That’s why this village is getting older before
the eyes.”
Only four births were registered in 2003 in Barekamavan. Last year the
village school had 37 pupils, in a building that has been shot up many
times and shows the effect.
Gurgen and Amalia Azatyans are pupils of lower forms of Barekamavan
school.
During lessons they also study nature of their homeland, which they
know by heart. They perfectly know the places of spring fountains
where children go everyday for water, hauled out by a stubborn
donkey. They know the range of mined territories, where it is not
recommended for them to go.
“Children know geography of their homeland by heart,” says head of
Barekamavan, “the case with the history of their own life is much
harder.
How and where are they going to live? There are no possibilities to
talk about bright prospects of development of the village.”
During Soviet times, a branch of the “Shushan” factory ran in
Barekamavan and 120 locals worked there. Today the factory is gone and
so are most of the workers.
Karakeshishyan, an engineer, was one of the factory workers.
Tobacco is among crops in the region
“Those days people lived in plenty, plus, cattle growing was
developing. Our stock farmer was Azeri from the neighboring
village. Despite Azeries never lived here, however, we were in normal
relations with them. For instance in 1987 administration of the
village applied to government of Azerbaijan with the request to
install gas pipeline to Barekamavan. During Soviet times such a
request was quite normal. A year after that the Karabakh conflict
began and all ties were broken.”
These days, Barekamavan exists on money transfers, made to remaining
family members by those who have found work outside. The money is
spent in Koti, as there is no commerce in Barekamavan.
“It is obvious that government of Armenia must develop special
economic policy for border villages,” Karakeshishyan says. “There is
no other way for survival. There are few populated areas like
Barekamavan in Armenia.
However, their importance and strategic value is great.”
This day Karakeshishyan packs his donkey with a couple of old cans and
again goes to the spring for water, looking over his shoulder for
snipers, with little to look ahead to . . .
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Leaders of ten CIS countries watch horse races in Moscow
03.07.2004, 14.41
MOSCOW, July 3 (Itar-Tass) – Leaders of ten CIS countries gathered at
Moscow’s central racetrack on Saturday to watch the first horse races
for the Russian president’s prize.
Only Turkmen and Belarussian Presidents Saparmurat Niyazov and
Alexander Lukashenko could not arrive to attend the event.
The heads of Russian regions, who participated in the Russian State
Council meeting on Friday, were also invited to the races.
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and senior officials of the
presidential administration and federal ministries also attended.
The presidents, some of whom were accompanied by the wives, gathered
on the special stands for guests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin with his wife sat at the central
table. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Ukrainian President
Leonid Kuchmatook their places near Putin at the table.
The three leaders studied the race bill with great interest and asked
experts about the participants.
At the nearby table, Prime Minister Fradkov talked with Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov.
Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev and Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili with the wives were at another table near the Russian
president. Akayev had binoculars with him.
The fifth race was to be the main where English thoroughbred horses
were to participate. The prize for the winner of the 200-metre race
will be three million roubles.
Mounted guards of the presidential regiment marched before the leaders
before the races.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian president appoints new national security chief
Noyan Tapan news agency
2 Jul 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree “On the National
Security Service [NSS] of the Republic of Armenia” on 30 June.
On the basis of the law “On ensuring the security of people under
special state protection”, Kocharyan endorsed the structure and
statute of the NSS.
On the same day, Kocharyan signed another decree appointing Grigoriy
Sarkisyan head of the NSS, the president’s press service has told
Noyan Tapan news agency.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Two brandy producers reach agreement to jointly market Ararat
AP Online
Jun 25, 2004

An Armenian brandy factory, owned by the French liquor giant Pernod
Ricard, reached an agreement with another brandy manufacturer in this
ex-Soviet republic to jointly use the famous Ararat logo.
The agreement between the Yerevan Brandy Factory, bought in 1998 by
Pernod Ricard in one of Armenia’s most striking privatization deals,
and the Yerevan Brandy-Wine-Vodka Combine will allow both factories to
produce Ararat brandy.
The label dates back to 1887 and was named after the mountain _ which
is physically in Turkey but considered the symbol of Armenia _ where
legend says Noah’s Ark came to rest. Ararat brandy is one of the most
well-known brands in Europe, and was reportedly the favorite of
Winston Churchill.
Pier Laretch, the director of the French-owned Yerevan Brandy Factory,
said “tough negotiations” led to the agreement, adding “but when you
are talking about such a well known brand as Ararat, you must be
careful.”
He said the agreement requires both companies to produce the brandy
from Armenian-grown grapes and to distill a spirit that is matured and
bottled in Armenia. The factories will set up a joint association,
Brandy Bridge, to oversee the shared use.
Both factories “made a choice in support of an effective type of
cooperation that will promote the sale of Armenian brandy in Armenia
and in the world market and will further the creation of good-spirited
competition between the producers,” Laretch said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress