Author: Kajoyan Gevork

GROWTH IN IT AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES AMOUNTS TO 7.2% AND 1.9% RESPECTIVELY IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
June 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Information technology services
of 6bn 374m drams (about 17.67m USD) were provided in Armenia in
January-April 2009, which exceeded by 7.2% the index of the same
period of 2008. Services of 578m drams were provided in developments
and research sector, which was a decline of 8.4% on the same period
of last year.

According to the RA National Statistical Service, revenues from
communication services amounted to 50bn 43.5m drams in January-April
2009, growing by 1.9% in comparable prices on January-April 2008.

475 computers were produced in the country in the first four months
of 2009 compared to 1,063 computers in the same period of 2008 (55.3%
decline).

ARAM KARAPETIAN: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES FAILED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE INVOLVED IN GAME LAUNCHED BY TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN

Noyan Tapan
June 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN. At present except the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) there is no other structure,
which Armenia could join. Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) party Chairman
Aram Karapetian expressed such an opinion at the June 15 press
conference. According to him, making part of CSTO is completely in
Armenia’s interests.

It is a different thing that there are serious disagreements inside
that organization, between Russia and Belarus. A. Karapetian said
that according to his information, the RF President has ordered to
restore the customs and frontier points between Belarus and RF. The
NZ leader did not exclude that these two countries will break out a
"gas war" against each other in the near future.

Speaking about the West-Armenia relations, A. Karapetian mentioned
that the jealousy of the West to Russian-Armenian contacts became
especially strong after RA refused to take part in the NATO exercises
held in Georgia.

According to him, the West did not like the circumstance, either, that
the issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border remained unsolved.

As to Armenian authorities’ foreign policy, the latters, according
to A. Karapetian’s observation, failed to understand that they are
involved in a game launched by Turkey and Azerbaijan. He said that
as far back as in late 2008 and in early 2009 the head of Azeri
President’s staff in the internal order called the governors for
pretending as if their relations with Turkey are very bad. According
to A. Karapetian, it was done for a foreign eye, and Armenia swallowed
the bait thinking that separation of Armenian-Turkish relations and
Nagorno Karabakh problem is possible.

VIVACELL-MTS HAS CONCLUDED 3G ROAMING AGREEMENTS WITH 16 OPERATORS IN 14 COUNTRIES

ArmInfo
2009-06-17 12:42:00

ArmInfo. VivaCell-MTS, Armenia’s leading mobile operator, has concluded
3G roaming agreements with 16 operators in 14 countries, the Company’s
press-service reported. As of today, VivaCell-MTS subscribers can
enjoy access to 3G network services of 16 operators in 14 countries,
provided they own a compatible 3G mobile phone. 3G-roaming is opened
for VivaCell-MTS subscribers in Bulgaria, Egypt, Estonia, France, Hong
Kong, Iceland, Macedonia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain, Tanzania,
Colombia and Sweden. The Company will continue to increase the list
of countries where subscribers can use voice communication and modern
mobile services, based on GPRS/EDGE and 3G technologies. "Provision
of 3G roaming services to subscribers-travelers is an important
milestone on our path to ensure the best possible experience of mobile
communication for VivaCell-MTS subscribers. More cellular operators
will be added to the list of VivaCell-MTS’ 3G roaming partners in
the near future," – said VivaCell-MTS General Manager.

To note that from the first day of its operation, VivaCell-MTS has
significantly expanded the list of countries where its subscribers
could roam; by bringing the total to 177 countries and 375 mobile
operators (does not include the number of MTS Group roaming
operators). In addition to that the Company achieved 68 CAMEL
roaming partners in 44 countries and 87 GPRS roaming partners in 56
countries. In many countries roaming for VivaCell-MTS subscribers is
provided by more than one mobile network.

To recall, ‘MTS’ OJSC owns 80% shares of VivaCell-MTS.

U.S.-ARMENIA COOPERATION DISCUSSED IN YEREVAN

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.06.2009 14:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received
Tuesday U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch and USAID
Director, Dr. Jatinder Cheema.

The agenda featured discussion of U.S.-Armenia cooperation-related
issues, including the USAID-funded assistance programs in Armenia,
the RA government’s information center reported.

CSTO MEMBER STATES SIGN AGREEMENT ON CREATING COLLECTIVE FORCES OF OPERATIVE REACTION

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 15, 2009
MOSCOW

MOSCOW, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS: Session of the heads of the member-states
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) took place
in Moscow June 14 with the participation of the presidents of
Russia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. The
participants of the session discussed more than 20 issues. President
of Belarus did not take part in the session.

The delegation headed by the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
consisted of National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan, Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandyan, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, deputy
head of staff of the president Vigen Sargsyan, Armenian ambassador
to Russia Armen Smbatyan.

During the session the presidents signed the agreement on collective
forces of operative reaction, affiliated documents which define the
status of the forces, its activity, etc. The presidents also approved
the annual report of the CSTO Secretary General, Armenia’s (as CSTO
chairing country) report on the military construction events during
its chairmanship.

At the extended meeting, presenting the signed documents, President
of Russia Dmitry Medvedev thanked for the effective work, expressing
hope that the adopted decisions will promote the creation of complete
forces. He said the countries which did not join the decisions may
review their approaches.

At a joint press conference with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan,
Dmitry Medvedev said that the created forces will give an opportunity
to more effectively confront the current challenges and threats –
international terrorism, local and regional crime, drug business. The
Russian president underscored exerting joint efforts inside of the
establishment for ensuring the security of the CSTO member-states.

D. Medvedev also thanked President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan for
effective work during the chairmanship of Armenia in the CSTO. Serzh
Sargsyan said that the creation of joint operative reaction collective
forces is the materialization of all those ideas which comprise the
basis of the CSTO. "I am sure that during the last year we fulfilled
a number of approved decisions."

As a result of the meeting a joint statement on a number of
international issues has been adopted.

During the summit the chairmanship of the CSTO must have been passed
to Belarus, but as the president of Belarus did not take part in the
summit because of economic issues with Russia, with joint decision
of participating countries Russia temporarily assumed the technical
chairmanship of the establishment.

GAS SUPPLY TO ARMENIA TO BE DELAYED ON JUNE 16-21

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.06.2009 12:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgian Gas-transport Company officially
informed ArmRosGazProm on temporary delay of gas supply to Armenia,
ArmRosGazProm Press Service reported.

The Georgian company plans works on connection of a new section of
gas-main pipeline Kazakh-Saguramo (diameter 1000 mm, length 3,6 km).

During construction period, unrestricted gas supply will be implemented
from the reserves of Abovyan underground gas station.

Interfax, Russia
June 10 2009

Baku accepts Minsk Group plan, Armenia not ready to compromise – Baku

BAKU June 10

The problem of Nagorno-Karabakh could be settled if Armenia reassessed
its positions, Azeri Deputy Foreign Minster Araz Azimov said on
Wednesday.

"We would very much want Armenia to think and ready itself to take the
necessary steps in its own interests and in the interests of regional
development," Azimov told the media.

"These steps involve the settlement of difficult individual aspects of
the basic principles we are discussing now. Among them there are
several important issues, a solution for which has been proposed by
the co-chairmen," he added.

The Azeri side on the whole accepts the proposals, made by the co-
chairmen of the Minsk Group, but there were elements on which the
sides must negotiate, Azimov also said.

"At the same time, we do not see the expected readiness to compromise
on Armenia’s part. This could be because of the replacement of
Armenian leadership last year. But we must act, guided by the current
conditions. After the meeting in St. Petersburg the efficiency of the
next steps depends primarily on the evolution of the Armenian
position," the Azeri diplomat said.

sd rp

TURKEY ANNOUNCES END TO COLD WAR WITH ARMENIA

Russia Today
June 11 2009

The Cold War between Turkey and Armenia is over and Ankara is expecting
a visit by President Serzh Sargsyan, said Turkey’s Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu.

Yahoo StumbleUpon Google Live Technorati Scoop del.icio.us Digg Sphinn
Furl Reddit The two countries do not have diplomatic relations, and
the Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 on Ankara’s
initiative.

"A Cold War period has come to an end," Interfax quotes Davutoglu as
saying, with reference to the Turkish media.

The minister noted Turkish-Armenian relations are no longer based on
the enemy concept. He added contacts between Ankara and Yerevan also
serve the interests of Azerbaijan.

For his part, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said
his country is aware of the statements by the Turkish official and
welcomes them.

Nalbandyan confirmed Armenia’s readiness to settle relations with
neighboring Turkey without prerequisites.

"Armenia can say the only thing: it is ready to settle its relations
with Turkey without any prerequisites, and if the recent statement of
the Turkish FM is made in this context and Turkey is ready to move
in this direction, we can do nothing but welcome this process," he
stated at a media conference on Thursday, Newsarmenia website reports.

Sargsyan’s visit to Turkey is scheduled for October when a football
match will take place between the Turkish and Armenian national squads.

Turkey has insisted on a series of prerequisites for the settlement
of bilateral ties. One of the main demands is that Armenia should
drop its policy aimed at international recognition of the Armenian
genocide in the Ottoman Empire during and just after WWI – when around
1.5 million Armenians were believed to have died.

For the last two years the two countries have been holding closed
talks in Switzerland aimed at normalizing their relations.

The thaw in the Turkish-Armenian relations started in September 2008,
when Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul first arrived in the Armenian
capital Yerevan on the invitation of his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sargsyan to watch a football match between two countries’ teams. In
response, the Turkish leader then came up with an invitation to attend
a football game in Turkey in October 2009. Back then the meeting was
dubbed "football diplomacy" and a "historic event" by the world media.

On April 23, 2009, both the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministries
and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs announced launching
a road map for the settlement of bilateral relations.

COALITION IS DISSATISFIED WITH U.S. DECISION

LRAGIR.AM
15:13:33 – 12/06/2009

The Head of the Republican parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan
dwelling on the report of the U.S. State Department, stated that there
have always been such kind of assessments. He stated in particular,
that unlike the Europeans, which immediately assessed the election
as communal, the Americans are trying to analyze it and compare
the Armenian and American interstate relations. According to Galust
Sahakyan, they do not assess the election, but they give a political
assessment on interstate level.

Naira Zohrabyan from the Bargavach Hayastan party stated that she is
sorry for the decision of the Millennium Challenge Corporation to stop
financing the Armenian project. She wondered whether the implementation
of such a sanction will help to promote the democracy in our country
and answered negativity to her question. In answer to the question,
whether the BHK as a part of the coalition, is responsible for the
happening, Mrs. Zohrabyan noted that she would not like to dramatize
the situation.

OSCE MISSION CONDUCTS PLAN MONITORING AT NKR AND AZERBAIJAN’S ARMED FORCES CONTACT-LINE

Noyan Tapan
June 11, 2009

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 11, NOYAN TAPAN. In accordance with the agreement
reached with the Nagorno Karabakh Republic authorities in advance,
on June 10, the OSCE mission conducted a plan monitoring at NKR and
Azerbaijan’s armed forces contact-line in the direction of Fizuli,
near the populated area of Karakhanbeyli.

Field Assistants of Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Irzhi Aberle (Czech Republic) and Vladimir Chuntulov
(Bulgaria) conducted the monitoring from the positions of the NKR
defence army.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NKR Foreign Ministry Press Service,
though the monitoring was held according to the schedule, nevertheless
the Azeri side did not lead the monitoring mission to its front line,
the point, over which an agreement had been reached in advance, and
the OSCE monitoring groups had to carry out the monitoring from a
farther distance.

No cease-fire regime violations were recorded during the monitoring.

Representatives of the NKR Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry
accompanied the monitoring mission on the part of Karabakh.