Author: Hovhannisian John

ARMEN RUSTAMYAN BRIEFED PHILIP GORDON ON ARFD POSITION ON RA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.12.2009 15:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During a visit to the United States, AFR
Dashnaktsutyun member Armen Rustamyan briefed on the party’s position
on the Armenian-Turkish protocols to U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon.

"I reminded that the normalization of Armenians-Turkish relations
should take place without preconditions and within reasonable terms,"
Rustamyan told reporters in Yerevan.

"The U.S. officials emphasized that that the Armenian-Turkish dialogue
must not be linked to Karabakh," he added.

TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN NOT TO LIBERALIZE VISA REGIME

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.12.2009 18:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan and Turkey are not going to relax visa
regime. Although both countries had previously agreed to liberalize
visas, the document wasn’t signed due to technical reasons, Azeri
and Turkish FMs told a briefing after negotiations.

SCR PLANS TO REBRAND IN 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.12.2009 16:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "South Caucasian Railways" JSC plans rebranding
in 2010 to raise the consumers’ awareness of its brand and make
the company more recognizable in both domestic and foreign markets,
Shevket Shajdullin , Director General of the company told a press
conference on December 24 in Yerevan.

"In 2010 we will exercise another approach to organization of company’s
activities, and we must be perceived as serious and complex company
both in domestic and international markets," he said.

According to him, the company will not change its name, but the
changed logo will be presented to the public in January of 2010.

SCR is conducting business justification to position itself as a
strong company in the Europe – Caucasus – Asia Transport Corridor,
Shevket Shajdullin said.

"This is not simply connected to establishment of an international
logistics center in Armenia, but related to our entry to international
markets, the director general said.

ARMENIAN KHATCHKAR ERECTED IN MALTA

Tert.am
17:56 ~U 23.12.09

On December 22, Malta’s Armenian community unveiled a khatchkar (a
commemorative cross-stone) in the country’s capital, Valletta. The
khatchkar was erected as a symbol of friendship and gratitude to the
people of Malta for the assistance they displayed to the Armenian
people during the difficult times of 1375 and 1915.

Participating in the opening ceremony were members of Malta’s
Armenian community, Valletta city mayor and other high-ranking
Maltese officials.

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ARMENTEL: OUR COLLEAGUES ON INTERNET MARKET HAVE CHOSEN POLICY OF UNFAIR COMPETITION

ArmInfo
2009-12-23 19:59:00

ArmInfo. Unfair competition is not the best way of existence on the
market, says Director General of ArmenTel (Beeline brand) Igor Klimko.

A number of Armenian internet providers simultaneously provide hosting
or mirroring services thereby limiting access to certain web-sites.

"Our Hi Line broadband internet service annoys our rivals and their
prefer limiting peering and traffic exchange to the detriment of our
subscribers. This is an instance of unfair competition. We have all
facts for proving our words," says Klimko.

Particularly, Dec 16 one of the providers mirroring Gmail and YouTube
sites almost fully limited its traffic exchange with the ArmenTel
network. "They said that they were doing some repair work but they
had failed to informed us of it beforehand. Besides, any repair has
a deadline," says Klimko.

ArmenTel is going to inform the Commission on Regulation of Public
Services and the Committee on Protection of Economic Competition
about this case.

ArmenTel is subsidiary of VimpelCom in Armenia and is the biggest
fixed telephony operator and one of the biggest mobile and internet
service providers in the country.

ARMENIA SHOULD MAKE INVESTMENTS IN ARMENIAN-POPULATED REGIONS OF GEORGIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.12.2009 17:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Eduard Abrahamyan, expert at Mitq analytical center,
called on the RA government to support the Armenian population
in Georgia.

"It is necessary to implement active investment programs in
Armenian-populated regions of Georgia," he told today a news conference
in Yerevan.

CCAF: GEORGIAN FM A LIAR

news.am
Dec 23 2009
Armenia

The Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF)
has condemned Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, accusing him
of disseminating false information on Vahagn Chakhalyan, the political
activist in Javakh, a Georgian region densely populated by Armenians.

Responding to a question concerning the Vahan Chakhalyan case and his
trial put by the deputy Francoise Rochblant, the Georgian FM lied
about the reasons for the political activist’s conviction and the
fairness of his trial," says the Council’s statement. "By claiming
that this Georgian citizen of Armenian descent (Chakhalyan, NEWS.am)
was charged with collaborating with a third country, Grigol Vashadze,
unaware of it, proved the fact that Vahagn Chakhalyan is a victim of
a police plot and unfair trial," says the statement.

NEWS.am reminds readers that on April 7, 2009, Chakhalyan was
sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for "illegal possession of
weapons", "violating public order, participating in mass events" and
"hooliganism."

According to the authors, Minister Vashadze deliberately misinterpreted
a number of articles of Georgian laws.

The CCAF demanded that the Georgian authorities immediately release
Vahagn Chakhalyan and fully rehabilitate him. The CCAF also demanded
that the President of the French National Assembly send a note of
protest to the Georgian Foreign Minister for showing his disrespect
for the French National Assembly.

NKR CONFLICT TO BE SETTLED SHORTLY: SVETLANA ORLOVA

news.am
Dec 22 2009
Armenia

Russia is making every effort to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Russian Federation Council Vice Speaker Svetlana Orlova stated in
Dec. 22 interview with Azerbaijani Trend News agency.

According to her, good results are expected in the near future.

"Personally, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as the head of the
country furthers efforts for the conflict resolution," Orlova outlined.

Russian delegation headed by Russian Federation Council Vice Speaker
Svetlana Orlova arrived in Azerbaijan to participate in the 8th
meeting of the Russia-Azerbaijan inter-Parliamentary Commission.

Issues on trade and economic, scientific and technological and
cultural-humanitarian cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia will
be discussed in the course of the meeting, ITAR-TASS informs.

GROSS AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT OF ARMENIA AMOUNTS TO 515 BILLION DRAMS IN JANUARY-NOVEMBER 2009

Noyan Tapan
Dec 22, 2009

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s gross agricultural output
amounted to 515 billion drams in January-November 2009, declining by
0.2% on the same period of 2008. RA Minister of Agriculture Gerasim
Alaverdian said at the press conference held on December 22 to
summarize the 2009 results that in the indicated period the output of
plant growing made 333.5 billion drams (0.2% growth), while the gross
output of cattle breeding amounted to 181 billion 700 million drams
(0.9% fall on the same months of last year).

According to him, the increase in plant growing output was due to
better harvests of grapes and fruit, whereas the fall in the cattle
breeding output was caused by a loss of cattle in late 2008, which
resulted in a decline in the production of meat, meat products, milk,
and dairy products.

The minister said that 298,100 ha out of 456 thousand ha of arable
land in Armenia were under crops this year, including 171 thousand
ha sown with grain, 32 thousand ha sown with potato, 23.5 thousand
ha under truck crops, 6 thousand ha sown with melons and gourds,
and 63.2 thousand ha under forage crops. Wheat and potato production
has declined this year.

G. Alaverdian spoke about the efficient development of seed growing and
livestock farming and the installation of anti-hail stations as the
agricultural achievements in 2009. Under the government decision 250
anti-hail stations shall be installed in Armenia by 2013. 550 million
drams will be allocated from the state budget for this work in 2010.

RESOLUTION ON "GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO SELF-DETERMINATION" ADOPTED DECEMBER 18 AT THE UN GA SESSION

ARMENPRESS
DECEMBER 21, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: Resolution on "General Implementation
of the Right of People to Self-Determination" has been adopted December
18 at the UN GA session in New York without voting.

It has been co-authored by more than 50 member states of UN including
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenian Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department told
Armenpress that the mentioned resolution reconfirms the general
implementation of the right of people to self-determination and calls
to pay a special attention to the cases of violation.

Many member-states of the organization are convinced that the right to
self-determination is one of the basic principles of the international
right, is up-to-date in the pre-context of today’s international
events and is considered one of the most important bases of the whole
international system.