Author: Jalatian Sonya

TURKEY DOES NOT WANT TO ESTABLISH RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

armradio.am
16.11.2007 17:23

During today’s parliamentary briefing Chairman of the National
Assemby’s Standing Committee on European Integration Avet Adonts
turned to the statement of the Turkish Prime Minister, who said that
Armenian-Turkish relations cannot improve under the circumstances
when Armenia is exerting pressure on third countries, thus including
the genocide issue in agendas of their parliaments.

"We do not imagine how Armenia can exert pressure on third countries,
e.g. Russia, the United States or France. Giving evaluation to the
genocide is an internal issue of those countries, it is the official
assessment of those countries. This statement proved once again that
the problem is not that Turkey is not ready to establish relations
with Armenia. It simply doesn’t want to. Today’s authorities of Turkey
do not have the wish," the Chairman said.

ROBERT KOCHARIAN: I AM SURPRISED AT THE ISSUE OF JOINT CANDIDATE
Translated by L.H

AZG Armenian Daily #211
16/11/2007

Local

"I am surprised at the issue of joint candidate", announced
President Robert Kocharian at the opening ceremony of the exhibition
"Armprodexpo".

"On what basis to unite? Is it only the goal of having a united
candidate, or are there ideological similarities and synthesis of
the projects that are real bases for unification?" asked the President.

According to the new constitution the president will not be even
able to distribute portfolios, as the executive body is formed by
new parliament, and the division of the powers in the parliament is
already clear. In this case, a question arises – can the parties
work together, when the one’s goal is to be integrated into NATO,
the other’s – to deepen relations with Russia, said the President

EXPERT: POLITICAL COST OF COMPROMISE TOO HIGH FOR ARMENIAN AND AZERI ELITE

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.11.2007 18:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Karabakh issue is very delicate because all
sides to the conflict – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh –
have ‘closed doors’ and do not get into contact, senior analyst of
the International Crisis Group Claire Delessard said at a debate on
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict held in the framework of the first Kyev
conference on ‘lingering conflicts’.

"We should understand that political cost of compromise is too high
for Armenian and Azeri elite.

The publics in both states are not ready for concessions. There is
too much radicalism and a wide flow of propaganda used by the ruling
elite for their own purposes," she said, IA Regnum reports.

RESIDENTS CONTINUE THEIR PROTEST ACTIONS

Panorama.am
16:15 15/11/2007

Today residents whose houses were alienated and who did not
get adequate compensation again gathered in front of government
building. The demonstrators said according to decisions of 1991 the
Parks of Dalma were not permitted to privatize saying they are of
historical value.

"By today’s government’s decision 150 hectare out of 536 has been
alienated for city building purposes.

This land is of historical and cultural value," Yntsa Minasyan,
a demonstrator, told Panorama.am.

Susanna Minasyan, another protestor, said they have been cultivating
the land for 10 year and according to legislation in case of
cultivating land for 10 years, it may be privatized.

Residents of Biuzand street were also participating in the
demonstrating demanding "real value compensation for the robbed
property."

OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Nov 14 2007
Armenia

"In the regional economic developments at present the position of the
countries in the manifestations of long-term relative advantages is
strictly actual.

Azerbaijan introduces itself as a country of raw material and it
is evident that the development of oil industry has an essential
influence on the vial activity of all the spheres. Georgia with its
favorable geographical position advances pretentious economic and
political development programs.

In my view it is evident to all of us that geopolitical and economic
realities make Armenia rely only on its human potential.

Saying human potential I mean Armenians in the whole world.

Today it is evident that their Motherland becomes a focus of interest
for the Armenian Diaspora all over the world. They are really
interested in Armenia’s development and if we speak by the language
of economy we can say that we must observe them as residents of
our financial and economic systems. This means from now on we can’t
elaborate or implement any project by overlooking this factor.

Thus our competitive advantage is the united potential of
all-Armenians." Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan announced yesterday
when he was introducing the draft budget of 2008.

VITALY NAUMKIN: STEPANAKERT PARTICIPATION IN TALKS NECESSARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.11.2007 14:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Stepanakert participation in the negotiation process
is necessary, said Valery Naumkin, Dartmouth Conference Co-chair on
Nagorno Karabakh, Director of the Russian Center of Strategic and
Political Studies.

"I would not like to criticize the Minsk Group. Our format doesn’t
replace the processes going on within the MG. These two formats are
mutually complementary: if the Minsk group functions at the level of
state diplomacy, the Dartmouth Conference organizes a dialogue at the
level of civil publics. One more thing, Nagorno Karabakh is a party to
Dartmouth conference and we suppose that there will be no progress in
the talks without Stepanakert’s participation. Actually, the opposition
is going on between Azerbaijan and Karabakh," the Russian expert
said. "Any agreement signed by the state leaders is put into practice
by people living in those states and if the diplomats’ groundwork
doesn’t justify people’s expectations, it will never be successful."

"History knows many cases when agreements remained on
paper. Presidential talks are insufficient. Our format aims at a public
dialogue," Naumkin said in an interview with Argumenty i Fakty Armenia.

ROBERT KOCHARIAN WELCOMES PRIME MINISTER OF BULGARIA

ARMENPRESS
Nov 14, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS: President Robert Kocharian received
today Sergey Stanishev, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria,
who arrived in Armenia on November 13 on a three-day official visit.

Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian was also in attendance, Kocharian’s
press office said.

The press office said Robert Kocharian assessed highly the current
level of Armenian-Bulgarian cooperation saying also that the
spiritual-cultural similarities bring the two countries and peoples
closer.

The parties discussed a wide scope of Armenian-Bulgarian relations,
emphasizing the further intensification of economic activity. They
also referred to the opportunities of cooperation in the framework
of the European Neighborhood Policy.

Sergey Stanishev highlighted the role of the Bulgarian-Armenian
community in the development of relations between the two countries,
saying Armenians of Bulgaria are fully integrated citizens playing
an active role in different areas of the country’s life.

The two men touched upon cultural cooperation, noting that an agreement
has been reached to hold Bulgarian Culture Days in Armenia next year.

After talks with Serzh Sarkisian on Tuesday Armenia and Bulgaria signed
five agreements which were said to will strengthen Armenian-Bulgarian
relations. One of the agreements provides for the creation of an
inter-governmental commission on bilateral economic cooperation.

Sergey Stanishev and members of his entourage visited today morning
the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the victims of the
1915 Armenian Genocide. They also visited the nearby Genocide Museum
and Institute.

"We should remember the past, live for the presence and believe in
future, because remembering the past is the best impetus for building
future ‘ Stanishev wrote in a special book in the Museum.

Sergey Stanishev was to meet today with chairman of the Armenian
National Assembly Tigran Torosian. He is scheduled also to meet with
faculty and students of the Yerevan State University and visit also
a school in Yerevan named after a Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov.

Bulgarian Prime Minister will talk to representatives of the Bulgarian
community in Armenia and members of the Armenia-Bulgaria friendship
society.

At the end of his visit Stanishev will meet Catholicos Karekin II,
head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. Stanishev’s visit to
Armenia is part of his Southern Caucasus republics tour. He arrived
in Yerevan from Baku and will visit Georgia on November 15-16.

ANOTHER AZERBAIJANI CITIZEN CAPTIVATED
Translated by A.M

AZG Armenian Daily #209
14/11/2007

Armenia-Azerbaijan

According to information received from the Azerbaijani representation
of the International Red Cross, the captivated citizen of Azerbaijan
was not a military serviceman. It is also reported that the
representatives of the Armenian Red Cross have visited the captive
and studied the conditions of his keeping.

Nothing reported of the identity of the captive, either of the
circumstances of his detention.

3.7% INFLATION EXPECTED IN ARMENIA IN 2007

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 13 2007

YEREVAN, November 13. /ARKA/. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
forecasts 3.7% inflation in Armenia in 2007, with 8.6% average
inflation forecast in the countries of Middle East and Central Asia,
says the IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central
Asia issued in October. Armenia is one from the bottom among the
low-income countries – 3.7% inflation, with the average inflation in
the ten-country group being 9.2%.

The maximum price rise in expected in Yemen (12.5%), followed by
Uzbekistan (12.2%), Tajikistan (9.9%), Georgia (8.5%), Kyrgyzstan
(7%). Djibouti ranks last (3.5%).

In Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, which are oil-exporting countries,
inflation is to reach 16.6% and 8.6% respectively. The average
inflation in this group of countries is 9.8% for 2007.

The IMF outlook contains inflation forecasts for 2008. According
to the forecasts, 4.9% inflation is expected in Armenia, with 7.9%
average inflation expected in the Middle East and Central Asia, and 8%
inflation expected in low-income countries.

The lowest inflation in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
was recorded in Armenia in January-September 2007.

3% inflation was recorded in Armenia in October 2007 compared to
December 2006. 4% (±1.5%) is budgeted in Armenia for this year.

–Boundary_(ID_fFlOzR0X0XrFCi4Bw9oA3g)–

IRANIAN DEFENCE CHIEF VISITS EX-SOVIET ARMENIA

Agence France Presse — English
November 6, 2007 Tuesday 2:41 PM GMT

Iranian Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar arrived in Yerevan on
Tuesday for a three-day visit to neighbouring Armenia, the ex-Soviet
republic’s defence ministry said.

According to ministry spokesman Seiran Shakhsuvaryan, Najjar met with
his Armenian counterpart Mikael Artyunyan and on Thursday was to hold
talks with Armenian President Robert Kocharian.

The two sides’ defence chiefs are to sign agreements on military
cooperation on Thursday and hold a joint press conference, the
ministry said.