Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIAN FM ATTENDS BASTILLE DAY PARADE IN PARIS

18:45 14.07.2014

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian attended the military
parade in Paris dedicated to the 100thanniversary of the First World
War and the National Day of France. High-level delegations from about
80 countries were present at the event.

Flag bearers of the Honor Guard Battalion of RA Armed Forces marched
in the parade, as representatives of a country that participated in
World War I.

The events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First World
War will continue through November 11 – the day of signing of the
Armistice at Compiègne.

ARMENIA’S MEMBERSHIP TO EURASIAN UNION IS DELAYED MAINLY DUE TO KAZAKHSTAN’S POSITION

Tuesday 15 July 2014 14:15
Photo: PAN Photo

Director of Caucasus Institute, political scientist Alexander
Iskandaryan

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Director of Caucasus Institute, political
scientist Alexander Iskandaryan said today that the process of
Armenia’s membership to the Eurasian Union is delayed due to the
problems of technical and political character.

The political scientist noted that “the problems are solvable but
they are not likely to be settled within coming days or weeks”,
Mediamax reports.

“Technical issues are the first problem. September 3 decision was made
“in running order”, and Armenia should pass certain path to join the
Union as in case of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Need for agreement
upon all the provisions of the agreement which are a lot is the second
problem. The third and the most important one is discords on a number
of issues among the members of the Eurasian Union. Armenia is one of
the objects of these discords”, said the political scientist.

According to Alexander Iskandaryan, Kazakhstan but not Russia is the
main obstacle in this context.

RUSSIA RISKS LOSING ARMENIA AS ALLY, SAYS DASHNAK LEADER

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

____________________________________________________________________________
Armenia – Hrant Markarian, a leader of the opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, speaks to journalists, 27Feb2012.

Armenia – Hrant Markarian, a leader of the opposition Armenian
Revolutionary Federation, speaks to journalists, 27Feb2012.

Sargis Harutyunyan

15.07.2014

Russia will lose Armenia as an ally if it continues to supply arms to
Azerbaijan in large amounts, a leader of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) said on Tuesday.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am)
representative of the opposition party’s Bureau Hrant Markarian
reacted to recent reports suggesting that Moscow has sold modern
types of weapons, including heavy materiel, worth around $4 billion
to Baku in recent years.

“Russia should realize that this way it cannot keep its allies
around for a long time. It should realize that this way it will lose
them,” Markarian said. “One can always find options, one
should always look for options, there are always ways, hard or easy,
ways in which we may pay a heavy price, but still have an option. I
don’t think that we are so helpless that our only way can be
with Russia. And Russia should also realize this. It should realize
that this is a wrong approach and it may have great losses.”

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian recently voiced dismay at continuing
deliveries of Russian offensive weapons to Azerbaijan. In an interview
with Argentinean media during a visit to Buenos Aires last week
Sarkisian, however, insisted that Russia remains committed to its
military alliance with Armenia.

“It is a very painful subject and our people are worried that
our strategic ally sells weapons to Azerbaijan,” the Armenian
president said. “But we are very confident that Armenia has the
capability to defend its borders… Despite the fact that Russia
sells weapons [to Azerbaijan] I have no doubts Russia will honor its
commitments to us in times of adversity.”

Azerbaijan – Russian-made tanks and artillery systems are put
on display during exercises conducted by the Azerbaijani army,
26Jun2014. Azerbaijan – Russian-made tanks and artillery systems are
put on display during exercises conducted by the Azerbaijani army,
26Jun2014.

x Azerbaijan – Russian-made tanks and artillery systems are put on
display during exercises conducted by the Azerbaijani army, 26Jun2014.

Azerbaijan – Russian-made tanks and artillery systems are put on
display during exercises conducted by the Azerbaijani army, 26Jun2014.

Sarkisian did not specify what kind of Russian military
assistance Armenia expects to receive in case of a renewed war for
Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have supplied more
heavy weapons to Azerbaijan than Armenia, its main regional ally,
in the past several years. Citing Russian government data, the UN
Register of Conventional Arms revealed last month that Azerbaijan
purchased 72 tanks, 34 armored vehicles, 456 artillery systems, 37
attack helicopters and 1,200 rockets and missile systems from Moscow
in 2007-2013.

Russian and Azerbaijani officials have estimated the total volume of
bilateral defense contracts signed between the two countries since
2010 at nearly $4 billion. A Russian newspaper reported recently that
the figure could rise to $5 billion by the end of this year.

Officials in Armenia have so far been careful not to publicly criticize
the Russian arms supplies to Azerbaijan. Some of them have implied
that they are offset by Russian military aid to Armenia.

The senior Dashnaktsutyun member believes that maintaining military
balance in the region is in the interest of Russia. “This [arms
supplies to Azerbaijan] is not something that we can ignore…
There is only one way to make it acceptable – if Russia gives
us whatever it sells to Azerbaijan free of charge while charging
Azerbaijan for it,” Markarian said.

The Dashnaktsutyun representative also spoke about Armenia’s
planned membership in the emerging Eurasian Economic Union of Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan, acknowledging that the decision to engage
in the process stems from Armenia’s security concerns. Yerevan
effectively gave up its process of association with the European Union
after announcing its intention to become part of a Russian-led trade
bloc last September.

Markarian said that remaining outside any blocs would be the best
option for Armenia if it had no security issues. “If we could
find a way to solve our security problems or to feel secure and not
be a member of any bloc, but have relations with all, that would be
an ideal way,” the Dashnaktsutyun leader said.

WHY DID CHIEF COMPULSORY ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FORGIVE STAR SUPERMARKET OWNER’S HUGE DEBT?: HRAPARAK

07.15.2014 15:58 epress.am

Head of Armenia’s Compulsory Enforcement Service of Judicial Acts
(CESJA) Mihran Poghosyan (pictured) in March had a monetary dispute
with owner of the Star supermarket chain Gevorg Afandyan, to whom
he had loaned $5,146,842, which he couldn’t get back, writes Syuzan
Simonyan in local daily Hraparak.

It’s not apparent from the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kentron
and Nork Marash Administrative Districts of Yerevan ruling, Simonyan
writes, how and when Afandyan accrued his debt to state official and
shady millionaire Poghosyan.

The Compulsory Enforcement Service press officer declined to provide
any comments to the newspaper, explaining that the case refers to
personal issues and not to CESJA activity.

The reporter recalls that in August 2011, Viest Assets, an offshore
company registered on the British Virgin Islands, became a major
shareholder in Star, and a month later, Star Divide acquired the Fresh
supermarket chain and 30 stores of the Catherine chain belonging to
the Chief Compulsory Enforcement Officer (Poghosyan).

It can be assumed that the debt accrued during this time, writes the
reporter, adding that the judicial process ended unexpectedly well for
the bankrupt businessman, whose hard times, it seems, are behind him.

During the court hearings, the parties reached an agreement, and as
a result of the reconciliation, Poghosyan conceded most of the $5
million debt. The $5,146,842, according to the court’s estimates,
is a little more than 2 billion Armenian dram. Poghosyan conceded
a large part of this money — 1.5 billion AMD — together with the
accrued interest to Afandayn, asking from him only 499 million AMD. As
a result of what mutual agreement this deal occurred and who persuaded
Poghosyan to turn down this enormous amount of money, one can only
guess. His representative in court, attorney Lyudvig Davtyan told
the paper he doesn’t want to add anything to what is already stated
in the court ruling. Asked under what conditions Poghosyan “donated”
1.5 billion AMD to Afandyan, the lawyer didn’t wish to answer, as it
was “Poghosyan’s good will.”

The reporter doesn’t rule out the possibility that playing a huge
role in all this was Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s brother,
Sashik Sargsyan, with whom Afandyan became close recently, and who,
according to the newspaper, has taken under his wing the owner of
the famous retail chain of which only the name remains: Star.

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF HIV-INFECTED IN ARMENIA IS 1,785 BUT THE REAL NUMBER IS HIGHER

YEREVAN, July 15. / ARKA /. According to Armenian health ministry
statistics, the number of HIV-infected people in the country stood
at 1,785 people as of July 1, but according to a variety of other
estimates their real number is higher standing at about 3,700, said
Tuesday Samvel Grigoryan. the director of the National Center for
AIDS Prevention.

He said since 1988 when records began, some 382 people have died of
AIDS or 21% of all infected.

He said the highest rate of HIV infection is registered in northwestern
Shirak and northern Lori regions, and also in the capital city Yerevan
and Armavir province.

“The most vulnerable segment of Armenians are labor migrants who
travel abroad, mainly to Russia,” said Grigoryan.

He noted that according to recent studies, labor migration accounts
for about 75% of HIV cases (58% of patients were infected abroad,
and another 17 percent were their sexual partners).

Grigoryan also reported that the number of patients with AIDS is 911
now. He said if necessary, all patients receive free antiretroviral
treatment. -0-

– See more at:

U.S. STARTS IMPLEMENTATION OF BIG PLAN

Igor Muradyan, Political Analyst
Comments – 12 July 2014, 23:39

Paradoxical decisions in international politics indicate a u-turn and
ambiguous prospects. Such situations are not visualized in political
resolutions and occur unnoticed and sometimes pass unheeded.

No matter how diverse people’s characters and styles are, in political
terms there are two types of thinking: political and non-political.

Even well-educated people with immense erudition may not be capable
of political thinking. In general terms and characteristics Maidan in
Kiev is an ordinary event in the world but even such local developments
result in global processes when one of the actors of the processes
trespasses the political, in this case geopolitical line.

In this world everyone gets what they deserve, and one has to be aware
of one’s capacity. Obama administration was embarrassed and ready for
radical decisions, and revision of geopolitical priorities in Eastern
Europe can be defined only by the word radical. The American analytical
community also faced unexpected decisions and still cannot believe
that Obama had to accept a “Republican project” on global security.

Now there are no doubts that the United States has set to implement a
large-scale geopolitical action aimed at design of a Eurasian axis of
defense and security determined by challenges to global security. This
active foreign policy is not popular with the public at large and
political circles of the United States but the Republicans continue
to push Obama to expand military-political presence in Eastern Europe.

The Turkish topic remains delicate among the American political and
analytical circles but this old ally of the United States in NATO
has long been considered a big international political problem, and
though Washington tries to pay minimum attention to Turkey, a lot of
interesting things are happening in the American-Turkish relations.

In the Near East the United States has erected a powerful barrier
on the way of Turkish expansion but it turns out that additional
reinforcement is needed. The Americans have thwarted the Turkish
foreign policy, and even the most complementary actions towards Turkey
in reality have the character of a discussion. The Americans are not
worried much about the possibility of rapprochement of Turkey and
Russia but it is implied by their policy. Apparently, the efforts
of European partners are not enough for the implementation of the
dual containment policy, i.e. containment of expansion of Turkey
and Russia because the Europeans would not be able to pursue the
interests of NATO and the Western community, and the East needs a big
and reliable partner. Furthermore, the policy of this partner must
not be determined by a set of values but by geopolitical factors
and conditions of national and regional security. Of the Black
Sea-Caucasus region only Iran can be such a country, and this will
definitely accelerate the rapprochement of the United States and Iran.

The Eastern dimension of the dual containment policy is being formed
intensively, and soon new tasks will arise relating to the arrangement
of forces and location of military resources, in several regions
simultaneously and with consideration of interests and possibilities
of Iran.

The U.S. goals of ensuring balance of forces between the Sunni and
Shiite blocs were fundamental and perhaps in the course of time the
United States will return to this idea but now the United States is
interested in strengthening the Shiite bloc which may offset Sunni
radicalism which has obtained unprecedented scales and purposes. Iran
will try to conduct a more balanced policy but Tehran understands that
partnership with the United States could be a factor of strengthening
Iran in a vast geopolitical space.

Iran will need to demonstrate readiness and interest in curbing the
expansion of Turkey and Russia whose policy is aimed at leaving Iran in
misery, which harms not only the political but also economic plans of
Tehran. Iran is becoming an important factor of the dual containment
policy and there are no alternatives to it.

Not a long time ago the Armenian-Iranian relations were scrutinized
by the United States though the Americans never insisted on limiting
development of relations between Armenia and Iran, they were interested
in matters of nuclear security only. Now the views and positions of
Americans on this matter have changed, which has a systemic character
and is related to the geopolitical interests of the United States.

American policy makers think in the following way: Iran is an important
partner to Armenia; Americans must not oppose to this whether there
will be progress in the U.S.-Iran relations or not; the United States
and Iran have shared interests (such as Taliban); railway, road and
gas may come from Iran; when gas was cut in Georgia, Iran supplied
gas to Armenia; so the regional approach must include Iran.

Under such conditions Armenia needs to refrain from actions that
will hinder Iran in expanding its positions in the South Caucasus,
including in terms of “settlement” of conflicts. It is time to set
up a hub for negotiations and coordination of efforts of Armenia
with the United States and Iran on a unified political and diplomatic
arena. An important dimension is defense and security. The seminar on
NATO-Armenia relations held in Washington by the U.S. Atlantic Council
and Policy Forum Armenia on 2 July 2014 reflected the new realities.

– See more at:

ARMENIAN-CHILEAN HIGH-LEVEL TALKS ARE HELD (PHOTOS)

July 12, 2014 | 09:39

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in Chile on an official
visit, on Friday met with his Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet.

Prior to the meeting, however, Sargsyan visited and laid a wreath to
the monument of Chile’s national hero, General Bernardo O’Higgins.

Following the Armenian President’s official welcoming ceremony at
the Chilean Presidential Palace, the two presidents held a meeting.

They discussed the prospects for the strengthening of interstate ties
and development of cooperation between Armenia and Chile.

President Sargsyan stressed that his visit is aimed at starting a
new phase in bilateral relations.

The interlocutors underscored the need to form a legal and contractual
framework between the two countries, and considered collaboration in
several domains to be full of prospect.

In the Armenian President’s conviction, also important is the fact
that Armenia’s and Chile’s positions are alike on universal matters.

The striking proof of this, as per President Sargsyan, is Chile’s
formal recognition–in 2007–of the Armenian Genocide.

The presidents also highlighted the small Chilean-Armenian community’s
role in the development of friendly relations between the two
countries.

At the end of the talk, and in the presence of the presidents of the
two countries, the Armenian and Chilean foreign ministers signed a
memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the MFAs of the
two countries.

Subsequently, Chile President Michelle Bachelet held an official
dinner in honor of Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan.

SELF-DETERMINATION IS KARABAKH PEOPLE’S UNALIENABLE RIGHT – ANALYST

14:51 * 12.07.14

An Armenian political analyst on Saturday expressed his disagreement
with the political accentuation on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“It isn’t right to say that we need to re-establish the
Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self determination. Under
international law, all peoples have unalienable rights,” Alexander
Manasyan told reporters.

The expert said he thinks that both the European Union and the Eurasian
Economic Union are equally interested in developing partnership with
Armenia. He cited the Armenian authorities’ repeatedly voiced remarks
that the country is not giving up the dialogue with Europe by deciding
to join the Russia-led economic bloc.

“We must bring the world’s attention to the fact that it isn’t allowed
to sell weapons to an aggressive state,” he said, referring to the
Russian arms sale to Azerbaijan.

Commenting on the recent border violence, Manasyan described it as an
Azerbaijani attempt to escalate tension ahead of the meeting between
the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. “The possibility of war is low
in our region,” he said, considering the Azerbaijani propaganda weak
enough to react to the current challenges.

The US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk, Ambassador James Warlick, tweeted
Tuesday that he was leaving Washington to meet with the other mediators
of the mission to discuss the next steps over Karabakh. The diplomat
described the continuing status quo as unacceptable.

The OSCE Minsk Group composed of US, French and Russian co-chairs,
has been spearheading the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace efforts over
Karabakh since 1992.

Armenian News – Tert.am

SERZH SARGSYAN AND ALDO CORNEJO GONZALEZ STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF BOOSTING INTERPARLIAMENTARY RELATIONS

13:11 12.07.2014

Within the scope of his visit to the Republic of Chile, President
Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with the President of the House of
Deputies of the National Congress of Chile Aldo Cornejo Gonzalez,
during which the MPs’ role in the strengthening of interstate
ties between the two countries was stressed, as well as the need to
develop inter-parliamentary collaboration to promote trade, economic,
and cultural ties between Armenia and Chile was highlighted. The
interlocutors believed that the parliamentary friendship groups should
have serious support in those issues. Serzh Sargsyan and Aldo Cornejo
Gonzalez shared the opinion that the interaction of legislative
bodiesof the two countries would also boost the trade-economic and
cultural ties.

Aldo Cornejo Gonzalez assured that he will spare no efforts to
strengthen the relations with the Parliament of Republic of Armenia
and in this context highlighted the visit of Chilean MPs to Armenia.

YEREVAN MAYOR VISITS MARTOUNI REGION OF NKR

13:57 12.07.2014

Within the scope of his official visit to the Republic of Nagorno
Karabakh (NKR), Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan made a trip to the
south-eastern region of Martuni together with heads of Yerevan
administrative districts.

Accompanied with the Head of Martuni Regional Administration Nelson
Soghomonyan and the Mayor of Martuni, Mher Khachatryan, Mr. Margaryan
first paid tribute to the victims of Artsakh liberation battle and
laid flowers on the monument to Monte Melkonyan, a legendary hero of
the Karabakh War.

The Mayor was further briefed on the activities of a small leisure
center which was recently equipped with the support of Yerevan
Municipality.

Highlighting the importance of the cooperation between
the administrative districts of Yerevan and the regions of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Margaryan promised that the Municipality will make
the best efforts to promote the effective cooperation also in the
economic sector.

As a part of his visit to NKR, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan also
visited on of NKR MOD Military Units where he met with conscripts
from Yerevan. Having a talk with them, Mayor Margaryan assured that
Yerevan Municipality is always ready to provide necessary support to
the soldiers from Yerevan, in honor of their service.