Author: Hovhannisian John

AMERICANS, UKRAINIANS POOL RESOURCES TO FIND SUNKEN WWII-ERA HOSPITAL SHIP
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes
=104&article=57310
Sept 9 2008
DC

The waters are deep and murky, but with high-tech equipment — and a
little good luck — U.S. and Ukrainian oceanographers and scientists
hope to find a World War II Soviet-flagged hospital ship that was
sunk with 7,000 people on board.

The oceanographic survey ship USNS Pathfinder, under Military Sealift
Command, started searching Sunday in Ukrainian territorial waters
for the SS Armenia, sunk in 1941 by the German Luftwaffe, one of the
world’s most powerful air forces at the time, officials said.

"This would be a significant find," said Marian Clough, senior Naval
Oceanographic Office representative on board. "Over 7,000 people died
when that hospital ship was bombed from the air. It went down in four
minutes and was a serious of loss of life. It is very significant to
the Ukrainians. … There were wounded soldiers on board, and also
families, women and children who were allowed to visit the ship,
and the crew of the vessel. It was quite a wide group of people."

The Ukrainian Department of Underwater Heritage plans to designate
the underwater graveyard a memorial site if the Armenia is located,
Clough said.

The task is daunting. The high-tech, 328.5-foot-long Pathfinder must
scour murky waters for one shipwreck among many at depths ranging
from 100 meters to 1,000 meters (about 328 feet to 3,280 feet),
according to the ship’s commander, Capt. Troy Erwin.

"There are lots of shipwrecks in the Black Sea, so it’s a matter
of us surveying and seeing something on the … displays that looks
interesting enough to take a closer look," he said.

Scientists will use a side-scan sonar and multibeam sonar, which
use sound pulses to locate possible shipwrecks. If sonars indicate a
possible wreck, a remotely operated vehicle with video capabilities
can be used to verify findings.

"It is the type of work we do all the time," Erwin said during a
phone interview from the ship.

Civilian surveyors from the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office,
Ukrainian sailors, surveyors and historians, and a team of civilian
oceanographers from the U.S.-based Institute for Exploration are
working together on the project.

"After the number of years it has been submerged, there’s no chance
of finding bodies," Erwin said. "There may be bones, but I don’t
think bones would appear on sonar. The sonar will show up the shape
of what remains of the hull."

The Pathfinder will be in the Black Sea for just a couple of weeks,
Erwin said.

"The Montreux Convention restricts the amount of time spent in the
Black Sea," he said. Vessels foreign to the nations that rim the sea
can remain there up to 21 days.

If the wreckage is found, the decision of whether to raise it would
be up to the Ukrainian government, he said.

HEAD OF VTB BANK (ARMENIA): WE’LL CONTINUE WORKING AT TEGHUT PROJECT UNTIL A RELEVANT PLANT IS BUILT

ArmInfo
2008-09-08 17:37:00

ArmInfo. "The VTB Bank (Armenia) will continue working at the Teghut
project up to the end, until a relevant plant (copper-molybdenum
complex) is built", Director General, Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the VTB Bank (Armenia) Valery Ovsyannikov said at a
press-conference, Monday. He recalled that the loan agreement on
investment project of CJSC Armenian Copper Programme (ACP) worth over
$275 mln, which stipulates organization of mining industry at the
Teghut copper- molybdenum deposit, was signed on May 27, 2008. "The
decision on financing this project was considered for 1.5 years at
different committees of the VTB Group, including the credit committee,
the committee of management of assets and liabilities. Despite the
complexity and volume of this project, VTB Group will continue working
at it. This is a serious project and it was considered at high levels
in both Armenia and Russia", Ovsyannikov noted. He added that this
is the largest loan ever given to Armenia by VTB.

To note, according to Vallex Group’s forecast, at the initial
stage the annual output of the plant will total 32 thsd tons of
copper concentrate and 900 tons of molybdenum concentrate. Under the
project, a factory will be built to concentrate ore and obtain copper
concentrate. The reserves of the Teghut poly-metallic deposit make
up 450 mln tons of copper-molybdenum ore, 1.6 mln tons of copper,
and 99 thsd tons of molybdenum.

, Turkey
Sept 7 2008

Gul invites Sargsian to Istanbul match

Turkish President Gul said that he was pleased to visit Yerevan,
adding that they evaluated the national match opportunity in a good
way.

Sunday, 07 September 2008 10:17

Turkish President Abdullah Gul met with his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sargsian in Yerevan on Saturday.

Gul visited Yerevan to watch the World Cup qualifying match between
the national soccer teams of Turkey and Armenia.

Following the meeting, Gul told reporters that he was pleased to visit
Yerevan, adding that they evaluated the national match opportunity in
a good way.

Gul said that they discussed the general situation in Caucasus, and
exchanged views to restore tranquility, peace and stability in the
region.

Gul said that they also showed a will to set up an atmosphere to
eliminate the problems between Turkey and Armenia. Gul expressed hope
that his visit would be a beginning to solve problems between the two
countries.

Gul said that Sargsian extended support to Turkey’s Caucasus Stability
& Cooperation Platform proposal. He thanked Sargsian for his support.

Armenian President Sargsian also thanked Gul as he responded his
invitation to Yerevan.

Sargsian said that Gul invited him to Turkey-Armenia match which would
be played in Istanbul. He assessed this invitation as a good
beginning.

Sargsian said that they showed joint will to solve the problems
between Turkey and Armenia, adding that they would solve those
problems and not leave them to next generations.

Sargsian said that he was pleased to see stability and cooperation
will of Gul.

AA

Siyasat-e Ruz, Iran
Sept 4 2008

Cheney’s role in the Caucasus crisis

Tehran, 4 September: Dick Cheney, George Bush’s deputy, in a round
trip has travelled to Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. This trip has
taken place at a time when Georgia’s attack to South Ossetia and
Russia’s response have led to a crisis in the Caucasus and Russia’s
direct confrontation with the West.

The Americans who were, on the one hand surprised by Moscow’s harsh
reaction to Georgia, and on the other could not persuade Europe to
side with them, are trying to be directly present in this
region. Therefore we can say that Cheney’s visit to these three
countries was made for specific objectives:

1- Emphasizing on the fact that America would not leave its allies
alone and it would take action to help them under any
circumstances. Cheney’s trip to the region is on the one hand aimed at
empathizing with Georgia and on the other giving support to Ukraine,
as the second regional opponent of Russia.

2- Executing the Caucasian Union Plan, which is being implemented by
Russia and Turkey, is one of the main issues discussed in the
region. Based on this plan Turkey, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia will work in unison to solve the Caucasian crisis. This plan
which strengthens Russia’s position and threatens Europe’s interests
is not pleasant to the Americans. Therefore we can say that Cheney has
travelled to the region to stop this plan being implemented.

3- Succeeding in the missile shield plan and challenging Russia are
America’s main policies. Cheney’s trip to Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Ukraine, which has been planned for this purpose, can be considered as
strengthening the anti-Russian movement and a new step towards
executing the missile shield plan.

4- Clearly America could not persuade Europe to join forces with it
against Russia. Therefore it had no other choice but to be physically
present in the region. With this action, the Americans hope that they
can make Europe count on their support so that they can be united
against Russia.

Generally, we can say that Cheney’s trip to Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Ukraine is due to Washington’s failures against Russia and that due to
the lack of support from Europe they had to arrange this trip to the
region. America hopes that it can strengthen these countries against
Russia with economic, political and military pledges in order to prove
that America supports its allies in the international arena. But
Georgia’s war practically nullified this claim.

BAKO SAHAKYAN: ARTSAKH INDEPENDENCE DOESN’T HAVE ALTERNATIVES AND CAN’T BE A MATTER OF SPECULATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.09.2008 14:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On 4 September, Nagorno Karabakh President Bako
Sahakyan held a working meeting with members of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry, heads of diplomatic and consular missions of Armenia
abroad. A wide range of issues related to foreign policy of two
Armenian states were discussed at the meeting.

According to President Sahakyan, foreign policy is a strategic field
where cooperation between Armenia and Artsakh is an imperative. He
noted that since the last meeting almost a year ago a palpable progress
has taken place in this field. However, in spite of this positive sign
the last geopolitical developments in the region demand to further
deepen the cooperation bring it into a qualitative higher level as
well as elaborate new mechanisms and approaches.

The President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic reiterated the
position of official Stepanakert to settle the conflict exclusively
by peaceful means through direct negotiations between the parties to
the conflict. "The independence of Artsakh does not have alternatives
and cannot be a matter of speculations," he said.

NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrossyan also attended the meting.

ARMENIA TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA AND U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.09.2008 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said the republic
will develop strategic relations with Russia and use the potential
of Armenian-Russian relations, the RA leader’s press office reported.

"During a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev we discussed
implementation of a number of joint programs," he said, adding that
Armenia will continue strengthening relations with the United States
as well.

"The Armenia-U.S. relations include numerous programs, specifically
the Millennium Challenge Account," President Sargsyan said.

Stressing the importance of cooperation with the European Union,
the President said, "Implementation of the Action Plan is under my
control. I have instructed our diplomats to develop a strategy of
relations with Eastern European and Baltic states to promote the
process of reforms."

ONE MILLION DOLLAR FINE IMPOSED ON DVIN HOLDING HAVING DOMINATING POSITION IN NITROGEN FERTILIZER MARKET

Noyan Tapan

Se p 3, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. At the September 3 sitting,
the RA State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition made
a decision to impose a fine on Dvin Holding company in the amount
of 2% of its 2007 incomes but not in excess of 300 million drams
(a million dollars).

The chairman of the Commission Ashot Shahnazarian said at the sitting
that as a result of the proceedings initiated against the company
it was revealed that having a dominating position in the market of
nitrogen fertilizers, Dvin Holding used an unfounded price: it fixed
the sale price of nitrogen fertilizer for persons other than land
users at 111,430 drams in March 2008, whereas the actual price makes
84,000 drams.

During the proceedings the company stated that in accordance with
a decision of the government, it signed an agreement with the RA
ministry of agriculture, by which it was obliged to supply 20 thousand
tons of ammonium nitrate to agricultural producers – based on a list
of villages, which was decided by the government. The price was 84
thousand drams for a ton (74 thousand was to be paid by agricultural
producers, while 10 thousand drams was a subsidy to be paid by the
ministry of agriculture). According to a letter of Dvin Holding, its
partner – a Georgian nitrate-producing company warned that starting
from January 1, 2008, the export price would sharply rise, due to
which the company carried out the supply envisaged by the agreement
with the ministry of agriculture until December 30, 2007.

In the period of November 2007 to June 20, 2008, the company imported
23,985 tons of ammonium nitrate into Armenia. 20 thousand tons was sold
by the agreement with the RA ministry of agriculture. 1,700 tons of
the "off-the-list" amount was sold in Artsakh, including 1,000 tons
for 84 thousand drams a ton and 700 tons for 110 thousand drams a
ton. Whereas, according to the documents submitted by Dvin Holding,
in March the purchase price remained the same – in the structure of
the sale price of 1 ton of nitrogen fertlizer to land users and other
persons. As a result, the sale price of fertilizer made 111,430 drams
in March, growing by 11,430 drams as compared with February and by
6,430 drams as compared with January which ensured an extra profit
of 32,318 drams a ton.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenia Holy Church of Nazareth
2 Armenia Street
Kolkata 700 001
Tel: +91 33 2242 6124
Fax: +91 33 2242 3408
Email: [email protected]

Armenian Churches in India
300th Anniversary Celebrations 8-16 November 2008

We are pleased to announce that preparations continue for the organising of
the forthcoming celebrations of the 300th Anniversary of the Armenian Church
in Kolkata. Please find below the finalised programme of events.

Saturday 8th November
Guests invited to the re-consecration at Chennai, should arrive today.

Sunday 9th November
Re-consecration of the Armenian Church at Chennai will be conducted by His
Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of all Armenians.

Monday 10th November
Guests invited for the celebrations should arrive in Kolkata by today.
In the evening there will be a welcome Hrashapar service starting the
celebration the 300th anniversary at the Holy Nazareth Church.

Tuesday 11th November
Opening ceremony of the newly constructed Tangra Community
Welcome ceremony of the 300th anniversary celebration
Guests will return to Kolkata via St. Gregory’s so that they can see that
church as well.

Wednesday 12th November
Guests will attend a seminar at Tangra.
Guests will be transported back to Kolkata.
Casual evening function

Thursday 13thth November
All guests will visit the Armenian College today. The school will put on a
show/exhibition for visitors and guests will be able to tour the school
buildings and see how the renovation programme is progressing. There will
also be the ground breaking ceremony for the new sports complex.

Friday 14th November
All guests will visit Saidabad today. This is a long journey of 5 (five)
hours each way. Return late evening to Kolkata.

Saturday 15th November
All guests to visit Chinsurah and Bandel churches.
Formal banquet in the evening.

Sunday 16th November
10.00 Pontifical Mass at the Holy Nazareth Church will bring the
celebrations to a close.

Now that the programme is finalized, it would be greatly appreciated and
extremely helpful, if anyone with a serious intention of coming to Kolkata
to share this experience with us and participate, could let us know as soon
as possible so that we can have an idea of numbers, both at the Chennai
service and then the various events in Kolkata

We have made arrangements with some local hotels for discounted room rates.
To take advantage of these, as they are offered on a first come first serve
basis, please get in touch at the earliest.

Lastly, if you have any old photographs or memorabilia relating to the
Armenians in India we would very much like you to bring them along. With
your permission, we would like to photograph or scan the items and see if we
can put together a book containing all such historical memorabilia supplied
and send out as a commemoration book after the celebrations are over.

If you need any further advice regarding your travel or accommodation, do
not hesitate to contact the Church office [email protected] or
either of our two co-ordinators, Helena Cray [email protected]. for US based
people and Liz Chater [email protected] for the UK and other
locations.

We are all very excited about this wonderful historic occasion and do hope
that we will see as many of you in Kolkata as possible.

Armenian Church
Kolkata
2nd September 2008

ENCIRCLEMENT OF ARMENIA MAY BECOME TIGHTER
Vardan Grigoryan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
02 Sep 2008
Armenia

If no non-standard steps are undertaken

Although, after the recent events in South Ossetia, the
Armenian-Georgian railway communication has already been restored,
the swift developments in the region come to show that in case of
relying upon the restricted communication resources our country may
face serious problems in the near future.

On August 28, right after Russia’s recognition of the independence of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia broke off its diplomatic and all
kinds of other ties with Moscow. Tbilisi has not only terminated the
communication between the two countries, but also refused to comply
with its commitments within the frameworks of the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) which obliged the country to allow
the Russian air companies to carry out flights to Armenia via the
Georgian territory.

During the recent days, the Russian planes leaving Volgograd and other
towns have been arriving in Yerevan via the Azerbaijani airspace,
and our neighbor is trying to take advantage of the situation.

The Mass Media of Baku have already raised a wave of protest, however,
the Azerbaijani authorities say that Yerevan allows the airplanes
heading for Nakhijevan to fly over their territory, therefore they
can’t create obstacles for the aircraft entering Armenia.

Following the re cognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia
has been facing the real threat of being cut off from Armenia, its
strategic ally. Moreover, there also exists the problem of helping the
Russian military bases located in our country to overcome the blockade
– a prospect in which neither Georgia nor Azerbaijan have any interest.

The threat of encircling Armenia may increase still further if
the recent publications of the foreign press regarding Israel’s
plans of bombing the nuclear reserves of Iran with the help of the
United States become a reality this autumn. In that case, Armenia may
actually find itself in a total political-military blockade, as all
the roads ensuring the protection of our state will be closed. It
will be possible to import the required quantity of petrol, diesel
fuel and wheat via the Georgian territory at best till the beginning
of winter; as to the rest, we will have to take care of it on our own.

However, our country cannot feel totally secure in that sense
either. The thing is that, after the recent Russian-Georgian armed
conflict, Georgia has been looking upon our close military-political
cooperation with Russia in a kind of scowling manner. Now, the
Georgian propaganda never misses the occasion of reminding Russia about
Armenia’s dependence upon the Georgian transportation-communication
channels.

"The Kremlin overlooked even the fact that Georgia could have used all
its economic levers against Armenia, its closest partner, in case it
wished so," a certain Fridon Dochia writes in "The Georgiana Times",
"and it could have done that at the time when the Russians themselves
were pouring oil on the flames." Such remainders often take the form
of obvious pressures, the improper delays in the entry of the trains
to Armenia being one of their manifestations from time to time.

And that these are political pressures is substantiated by the
publication of the same "Georgian Times". In an article entitled "
‘Lookoil’ and ‘Rompetrol’ Save Armenia from Blockade", the newspaper
conducts thorough studies of the companies supplying Armenia with power
generating substances and finds out that some of those companies have
Russian origins. Furthermore, the companies realizing the export of
the supplies from Burgas to Poti and form Romania to Batumi, i.e.

"Lookoil" and "Rompetrol", as well as the addressees, i.e.

the RA Ministry of Defense and "Flash" company, are studied one by one.

The whole information published by the Georgian correspondent has
also appeared in the Azerbaijani press which actively discusses the
possibilities for hindering the transportation of the supplies to
the relevant agencies of Armenia via the Georgia territory.

Regardless whether the above-mentioned publication results from
mere curiosity or is some provocation instructed to Fridon Dochia,
the correspondent of "The Georgian Times", it objectively becomes a
forewarning addressed to Armenia which, in case of undertaking any step
undesirable for Georgia, may be deprived of petrol and diesel fuel.

Naturally, the issue cannot be overlooked by the Armenian and Russian
Presidents during their meeting held in Sochi today. Armenia has
become faced with an extremely difficult and dangerous dilemma. And
our strategic ally should take that fact into consideration. Obviously
Armenia is not Belarus, and it has to demonstrate utmost cautiousness.

Russia in its turn is also undertaking active steps towards
accelerating the process of opening the Armenian-Turkish border. The
recent press publications on Russian customs officers’ "delaying"
the entry of around 10 thousand big Turkish trailers into Russia can
probably be accounted for by this. It is also necessary to keep in
mind that Russia is the supplier of around 60 percent of the gas and
56.4 percent of the coal used in Turkey.

All that forces Ankara to adopt strictly cautious attitudes towards
the recent developments in Georgia. However, the Russian side is no
longer satisfied with that because the issue at stake is actually
concerned with the existence of its military base in Gyumri, the
only fulcrum it has in the South Caucasus, and the future of the
Armenian-Russian relations.

Thus,20the new barrier faced by Russia after the recognition of the
independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has become a new circle of
blockade for Armenia, with Turkey being the only way towards overcoming
it in a peaceful manner. Otherwise, unpredictable developments may
be expected in the region.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT RUSSIA ON SEPT 2

Interfax
Sept 1 2008
Russia

Armenian President Serzh Sargsian will make a working visit to Russia
on Tuesday, the Kremlin reported on Monday.Sargsian will be coming at
the invitation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the report says.