Author: Hovhannisian John

SAFRASTYAN: RUSSIAN-TURKISH TIES BASED ON ENERGY ISSUE

Panorama.am
14/05/2010

Turkish authorities have deeply disappointed in recent 1-2 years
from the activities of Euro integration. It’s obvious that Turkish
authorities have little hope which makes them to find new directions
for their ambitions, expert of Turkish studies and director of Oriental
studies institute Ruben Safrastyan said.

"This is the aftermath of Turkey’s new policy which is being
consistently implemented by Turkey," expert said adding that the
neighbor country is long to become ruling state in the region. Of
course, Turkey is well developing but in energy field they aren’t as
much powerful and they buy Russian gas.

Friendly ties with Russia, according to Safrastyan are conditioned by
that very point. "~TRussia, trying to use its huge amount of energy,
wants to recover Soviet Union dispositions in the Middle East,"
he said underscoring that it’s of great significance for Russia.

Russian-Turkish friendly ties are based on energy field, as well as
U.S being more passive in the region. "Turkey seems to be driven out
of regional affairs," Safrastyan said adding possibly this is the
reason why they want communication with Armenia.

SPEECH-SUGGESTION OF ARTSAKH REPUBLIC PRESIDENT BAKO SAHAKYAN DELIVERED AT THE MEETING OF THE "HAYASTAN" ALL-ARMENIAN FUND’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES

ARMENPRESS
MAY 14, 2010
STEPANAKERT

STEPANAKERT, MAY 14, ARMENPRESS: President of the NKR Bako Sahakyan
participated today in the session of the Board of Trustees of the
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund and delivered speech-suggestion. NKR
presidential press office told Armenpress that the speech-suggestion
runs as follows:

"Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia, Your Holiness,
Respected colleagues,

First of all I would like to welcome the working style of the
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund Board of Trustees envisaging on site
introduction with carried out programs, exchanging ideas about the
work done and discussing important issues in an immediate atmosphere.

Your traditional visits to Artsakh on the eve of the annual meeting
of the Fund’s Board of Trustees are a good evidence of that.

The activity of the Fund is of utmost importance for strengthening
and flourishing of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, improving living
conditions and raising lining standards of our people.

As during the years of the post-war period today there are issues
in Artsakh that have national significance too. These issues can be
solved only by joint efforts of the whole Armenians. In this row the
restoration of the republic’s water supply system, which was almost
completely destroyed in the result of the military operations is of
primary importance.

The authorities of Artsakh together with Armenia and the Diaspora set
about the development of this economically and politically significant
sphere. Together we managed to realize a number of complex programs
directed to improving the water supply of the country. Owing to the
active participation of the "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund drinking
and irrigation water needs of dozens of settlements have fully been
satisfied, some objects in the capital Stepanakert and regional
centers have been restored.

However, there are still numerous tasks to be fulfilled. Two hundred
villages out of 323 existing in Artsakh face sharp shortage of drinking
water and need urgent solutions. Serious problems exist in Stepanakert
and in the regional centers where more than half of the republic’s
population lives. This program is quite expensive. Only in the capital
the construction of new water supply objects and restoration of the
operating ones require 6,5 billion dram.

It is obvious that the problem of water supply in Artsakh can be
solved exclusively by means of our joint efforts.

Taking into consideration the significance of this strategic program,
I propose to discuss inclusion of water supply issue that has vital
importance for Artsakh into the framework of "Telethon-2010". This
will provide opportunities to realize corresponding programs improving
water supply system of the republic.

Thank you."

ARAM SARGSYAN: ARMENIA SHOULD RENOUNCE MADRID PRINCIPLES

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 14, 2010 – 15:17 AMT 10:17 GMT

The region is witnessing processes which will inevitably affect both
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, according to the leader of the Democratic
Party of Armenia.

"Russian President’s statement on the willingness to contribute to the
Karabakh conflict resolution jointly with Turkey should arouse serious
concerns in Armenia, as Turkey will pursue Azerbaijan’s interests,"
Aram Sargsyan told reporters in Yerevan on May 14.

He also emphasized that Armenia should renounce Madrid Principles,
which envisage surrender of territories and conduction of a
referendum. "The Madrid Document is the worst of all those offered
before," he said.

As to Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, Mr. Sargsyan said that relations
should be normalized not by signing Protocols but through exchange
of diplomatic notes.

TURKEY CONTINUES EXTENDING FRIENDLY HAND TO ARMENIA, TURKISH VICE PREMIER

news.az
May 13 2010
Azerbaijan

Ali Babajan ‘We are now working at the schedule of implementation
of protocols.’

One of the authors of the Zurich protocols with Armenia, Turkish vice
premier Ali Babajan said at the meeting with entrepreneurs that Ankara
remains loyal to the signed protocols.

"Turkey wants to build normal and trusty relations with all neighboring
countries, including Armenia. We have signed the first protocols with
Armenia and we continue extending it a friendly hand. We are now
working at the schedule of implementation of these protocols", Ali
Babajan said, 1news.az reports with reference to Milliyet newspaper.

The Turkish vice premier also stressed the high relations of his
country with Russia.

"This factor will further raise our role in regional processes",
Babajan said.

VLADIMIR KAZIMIROV ADDRESSES PARTICIPANTS IN ROUNDTABLE IN STEPANAKERT

ArmInfo
2010-05-13 11:09:00

ArmInfo. Retired Ambassador of Russia, first Deputy Chairman of
the Association of Russian Diploamts Vladimir Kazimirov addressed
participants in the Roundtable in Stepanakert on a topic "Karabakh
Settlement. Legal and Political Aspects", organized by the and timed
to the 16th anniversary of signing of a long-term armistice, reached
between Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia under mediation of
Russia on May 12, 1994.

As ArmInfo’s special correspondent in Stepanakert reports, the
address said in particular: "I address, irrespective of nationality,
to everyone who realizes the importance of termless armistice in the
Karabakh conflict reached under mediation of Russia on May 12, 1994.

This act succeeded to terminate mass bloodshed in Karabakh and
compromise the idea of solution of this complicated conflict by force.

At present, when impetuous heads keep on maniacally bearing such ideas,
all the men of sense should say them resolute "No!". A war, as an
extreme form to torture peoples, is incommensurable with any version of
development of events by charges and losses, however, it is not give
a way-out for the conflict settlement. Under oppression of victims
and destructions, under external pressure, the parties will have to
start negotiating again, but in a worse situation, aggravated with
new rigours and very rapidly intensified mutual distrust. A new war
would enroot enmity and hatred between Azerbaijanis and Armenians… I
shall be happy to be among those who argue against follies of war
and support peaceful political settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

To recall, a lawyer from Yerevan Andrias Ghukasyan and senior
expert of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
Manvel Sarkisyan made speeches during the Roundtable. They presented
different legal and political aspects of the Karabakh problem and
the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement process.

OSCE CONDUCTS MONITORING IN CONTACT LINE OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH, AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES

Panorama.am
13/05/2010

In accordance with the earlier achieved agreement with the NKR
authorities the OSCE mission conducted Á regular monitoring of the
line of contact of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani Armed Forces near
Jraberd settlement of Martakert region, NKR Thursday.

>From the positions of the NKR Defense Army the monitoring was
conducted by Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Antal Herdich(Hungary) and William Pryor
(Great Britain).

According to the NKR MFA, during the monitoring no violation of
cease-fire regime was registered. However, the Azerbaijani side,
unlike the Karabakhi one, did not lead the OSCE mission to the earlier
agreed point of its front-lines, as a result of which the monitoring
was to be conducted from a farther distance.

The monitoring mission from the Karabakhi side was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs.

GRAND MASTER KAREN MOVSISIAN MISSES HIS CHANCE TO WIN

Aysor
May 12 2010
Armenia

Armenia’s Grand Master Karen Movsisian has resulted the Chess Open,
taking place in Spain’s Salou, in 5 points out of 8, Armenian Chess
Federation spokesperson said. The tournament’s leaders are Ukraine’s
Grand Master Sergei Feodorchuk and Cuba’s Omar Almeida, who both top
the champs at 6,5 points.

ARMENIA’S DOUBLE DIGIT ECONOMIC GROWTH WAS MAINLY A RESULT OF INCREASE IN TRANSFERS: GAGIK EGANYAN

Tert.am
12.05.10

The Armenian Government is concerned about the big number of migrants
who left Armenia in the 1990s.

"Both the number of marriages and births has seen almost a two-fold
reduction during the past 20 years. Our economic potential is being
decreased and weakened, our stabilization and development capacity
has been blocked," Head of State Migration Service of the Republic
of Armenia Gagik Eganyan said on May 11 while presenting the Human
Development Report.

At the same time he mentioned that several families in Armenia have
had a permanent income due to the growth of migration.

"Due to this phenomenon the transfers sent to Armenia have played a
big role in the double digit economic growth of the country.

Particularly, there has been registered a 20% growth in transfers
since 2001," said Eganyan.

BOYCOTT: DASHNAKS REFUSE TO MEET PACE’S TURKISH HEAD AFTER HE REFUSES TO VISIT GENOCIDE MEMORIAL
Gayane Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow reporter
News | 12.05.10 | 12:31

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish president of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE), was starting his visit to Armenia on
Wednesday amid a boycott from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), which has refused to have a meeting with the
visiting European official, citing the latter’s refusal to honor the
1915 Armenian Genocide victims at a Yerevan memorial.

According to unofficial reports, originally Cavusoglu was expected
to arrive in Yerevan on an official visit, which supposes that senior
guests and visiting high-ranking officials shall visit Tsitsernakaberd,
a hilltop complex in Yerevan built in memory of more than 1.5
million Armenians massacred in Ottoman Turkey at the beginning of
last century. However, the official refused to pay a visit to the
memorial, which prompted the authorities to change the status into
a working visit, during which a Tsitsernakaberd visit is not required.

"This breach of the official procedure clearly shows that Cavusoglu is
visiting Armenia not so much as PACE head as a Turkish politician,"
ARF parliamentary faction head Vahan Hovhannisyan told ArmeniaNow,
adding that in such conditions the party does not find it expedient
to meet Cavusoglu.

(Such meetings between the visiting PACE head and political parties
of the host country are also part of the procedure).

Hovhannisyan stressed that any foreign official who is on an official
visit to Armenia, regardless of whether his or her country has
recognized the Armenian Genocide or not, visits Tsitsernakaberd.

"This is disrespect and we should show an adequate attitude towards
the Turkish politician," said Hovhannisyan, calling on other political
forces to follow suit.

Meanwhile, the head of the other opposition faction in parliament
thinks boycott is a belated measure.

Said Heritage’s Stepan Safaryan: "The ARF should have thought about
these risks when it refused to join our faction’s move to prevent
Cavusoglu from becoming [PACE] president still when we were warning
that a Turkish head of PACE would be a serious threat."

Cavusoglu was elected PACE president in January this year.

Still in November 2009, member of the Armenian delegation to PACE
Zaruhi Postanjyan, representing Heritage, submitted a draft resolution
to PACE according to which representatives of countries that are at
the stage of monitoring or post-monitoring cannot assume the post of
PACE presidency (Turkey is at the stage of post-monitoring). Despite
the fact that about a dozen Council of Europe member countries joined
the initiative, the other members of the Armenian delegation, including
ARF, refused to second it.

TYPHOON WAS ILLEGALLY INSTALLED WHILE OTHER MERRY-GO-ROUNDS IN HAKHTANAK PARK UNDERGO TECH EXAM

Tert.am
13:57 11.05.10

The merry-go-round Typhoon, that broke down on May 6 in the Hakhtanak
(Victory) Park in Yerevan and left 4 people injured, had been
put into execution only a month ago, Head of National Centre for
Technical Security of Armenia, Vladimir Hovsepyan said at a press
conference today.

He also said that it had been designed and installed by an individual
rather than by a licensed organization.

Ashot Petrosyan, Head of the National Centre for Technical Security at
the Ministry of Emergency situations, in turn, said that a criminal
case has already been filed and that the investigation will reveal
further questions pertaining to the accident.

According to Petrosyan it is the company using the merry-go-rounds that
is responsible for the control of their technical condition. In this
case it is the Hakhtanak Park which signed a contract with a company
called Teg to conduct the technical examination of the newly-obtained
merry-go-round, while was not examined.

A 3 million dram fine has been imposed on Hakhtanak Park’s
administration due to the present condition of the three attractions
it comprises. A special commission has been created to examine the
work of Teg.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations issued a ruling which forbids
all the roundabouts in Hakhtanak Park that have not passed a proper
technical examination to operate, while the rest are being re-examined.