Author: Kajoyan Gevork

WFP AND THE ARMENIAN MINISTRY OF DIASPORA TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE TO SYRIAN ARMENIANS

Reuters Alert
Nov 19 2013

Source: World Food Programme – Tue, 19 Nov 2013 02:21 AM

Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not
of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

YEREVAN – The UN World Food Programme (WFP) began this week
providing assistance to 5,000 Syrian Armenians displaced from Syria
who have sought protection in Armenia. The 6-month-assistance project
is funded the government of the Russian Federation.

This WFP operation was put in place upon a request from the
Ministry of Diaspora, responsible for the overall coordination of
assistance to Syrian Armenians. Following the signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding between WFP and the ministry, WFP will provide
assistance to the Syrian Armenian population during the current
transitional period as the Government of Armenia continues its efforts
in integrating the Syrian population of Armenian descent.

“Syrian Armenians were once part of the thriving Armenian diaspora
in Syria; many of them have lost their homes and livelihoods due to
the conflict in Syria,” said WFP Head of Office in Armenia, Maria
Lukyanova. “WFP food support will help address some of the basic needs
of this group that has sustained multiple shocks over the previous
two years and help to prevent negative coping strategies.”

Preparations for project implementation were done in collaborations
with the Ministry of Diaspora, WFP and its UN partners, primarily
the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), as well as civil organisations such as
the Centrе for the Coordination of Syrian-Armenian Issues, Mission
Armenia, the Armenian Relief Society and others provided information,
human resources and technical support.

WFP’s implementing partner is the Centre for the Coordination of
Syrian Armenian Issues operating under the auspices of the Ministry
of Diaspora.

PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Chris Zakian
Tel: (212) 686-0710
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

November 18, 2013

___________________

The Art of Communication a Focus of ACYOA Leadership Conference

By Armen Terjimanian

Young adults from 18 parishes across the Eastern Diocese gathered in Stony
Point, N.Y., for the annual ACYOA Leadership Conference weekend at the Don
Bosco Retreat Center, from November 8 to 10.

Sponsored by the ACYOA Central Council, this year’s conference examined
effective styles of communication and let participants evaluate their
abilities to communicate as leaders in their parishes.

Conference sessions also taught the 41 participants how to effectively
communicate the Gospel of Christ in their everyday lives.

Conference sessions included a Bible study led by the Rev. Fr. Kapriel
Mouradjian, pastor of Holy Resurrection Church of New Britain, Conn.; a
lecture on the art of communication by Dr. Herand Markarian, playwright and
adjunct professor at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary; a presentation on
communication through sacred music by Dn. Rubik Mailian, chair of the Sacred
Music Council; and a talk on Christian communication and social media by
Maria Derderian, youth minister at St. James Church of Watertown, Mass.

Other sessions included a presentation on “Ayo!”-a Fund for Armenian
Relief-sponsored platform that allows individuals and groups in Armenia to
make their philanthropic ideas become reality-by Andre Berg; and a breakout
group discussion on how to handle communication mishaps and dilemmas in
local ACYOA chapters facilitated by Jennifer Morris, director of the
Diocese’s Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern), visited the conference on Saturday afternoon and
presented participants with the Diocese’s Divine Liturgy pew book as a gift.
Diocesan Vicar the Very Rev. Fr. Simeon Odabashian also joined the group on
Saturday morning for matins and to interact with the participants during the
morning sessions.

“This weekend’s theme was so poignant because it allowed us to look at how
we communicate our faith through the lens of our everyday interactions,”
said participant Christine Santourian of St. John Church of Southfield,
Mich.

Fr. Mouradjian and Rev. Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary, served as the conference chaplains.

Lorie Odabashian, coordinator at the Department of Youth and Young Adult
Ministries, assisted the ACYOA Central Council with organizing and leading
the weekend’s events.

The Rev. Fr. Abraham Malkhasyan, pastor of Holy Martyrs Church of Bayside,
N.Y., and Garen Karamyan, the church’s youth director, also attended the
conference.

Six seminarians from St. Nersess Armenian Seminary joined the young adults
to learn, grow, and socialize during the weekend.

The conference concluded on Sunday with the celebration of the Divine
Liturgy by Fr. Chevian. A wrap-up session followed services.

Participants said that they found the weekend inspiring.

“The biggest statement I took away from the weekend is to keep your
spiritual truth,” said Melissa Mardoian of Sts. Joachim and Anne Church of
Palos Heights, Ill. “This can be done by communicating your Christian morals
and values not only verbally, but also with your actions.”

The skills learned during the conference also helped the ACYOA members to
prepare for future leadership roles in their parishes.

“After graduating college, I realized the time for me to become a leader in
the parish as a whole is fast approaching,” said Christine Hovsepian of Holy
Trinity Church of Cambridge, Mass. “This Leadership Conference helped me
prepare for that day more than I could imagine.”

###

Photos attached.
Photo 1: Conference participants speak with Andre Berg of the Fund for
Armenian Relief about the organization’s “Ayo!” program.
Photo 2: Conference participants pose for a group photo.
Photo 3: The conference concluded with the celebration of the Divine
Liturgy.

LAVROV: PUTIN TO VISIT ARMENIA IN EARLY DECEMBER

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Nov 18 2013

18 November 2013 – 6:08pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Armenia in early December,
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today after talks with his
counterpart from that country Edward Nalbandian.

Today’s meeting is considered by the Russian party “as one of the
key stages of preparation for the upcoming visit in early December of
the President of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Armenia”,
RIA Novosti quotes him.

Sergei Lavrov also commented on the preparation of Armenia’s accession
to the Customs Union and its participation in the formation of
the Eurasian Economic Union. “Today we can say that the process of
performing the necessary formalities, the beginning of the necessary
negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Commission is in full swing.

We dedicate ourselves to completing it in a timely manner”, the
Minister said.

AUSTRALIA AND THE HISTORY WARS, ARMENIAN EDITION

Crikey, Australia
Nov 18 2013

Charles Richardson | Nov 18, 2013 12:17PM

Turkey, as always, resents any official reference to the Armenian
genocide. This time it’s Australia in the firing line.

The Armenians should be good candidates for western sympathy. A small
Christian nation with Muslim enemies, they were also one of the first
victims of Soviet imperialism, which extinguished their short-lived
independence in 1920.

But affairs in the Middle East are rarely that simple. The Armenians
were actually less anti-Soviet than they might have been, because the
Russians, as fellow-Christians, were traditional allies. And their
main adversary, Turkey, became a key western ally and member of NATO,
which posed an obstacle to western recognition of Armenian grievances
– especially the genocide of 1915-17, in which more than a million
Armenians were systematically massacred by Ottoman Turkey.

So support for the Armenians has tended to be a marginal cause,
mostly found on the left (journalist Robert Fisk is a notable example).

Recognition of the genocide has been resisted by the political
establishment in both Britain and America. Even those who otherwise
have little time for Muslim countries often side with the Turkish
view – for example, neoconservative pundit Daniel Pipes, who favorably
reviewed a book by Justin McCarthy, one of the leading minimisers of
Turkish guilt for the massacres.

That’s the background to the revelation last week by the ABC that
Parliament House in Canberra is to be the venue this Thursday for
a talk by the very same Justin McCarthy, arranged by the Australian
Turkish Advocacy Alliance and titled “What happened during 1915-1923?”

You can be sure that McCarthy’s version of what happened will be
significantly at variance with that put by mainstream historians.

The ABC says that the venue was booked by Labor MP Laurie Ferguson. If
so, it suggests his foreign policy views are a bit all over the
place (although he’s obviously not the only one in that category);
he previously attracted notice last year for defending the right of
Labor members to support self-determination for West Papua.

It may be coincidence or it may be part of the same Turkish propaganda
offensive, but the speaker of the Turkish parliament last week also
weighed into the debate, warning the Sydney Morning Herald that any
recognition by Australia of the Armenian genocide could jeopardise
relations with Turkey, and condemning New South Wales MPs for having
done just that back in May. He apparently maintained that reports of
genocide were, of all things, “still inconclusive”.

Premier Barry O’Farrell, to his credit, fired back, saying “‘It’s
deplorable anyone associated with the Turkish government would try
and use next year’s centenary of the Gallipoli landing for political
purposes.”

April 2015 marks the centenary of the beginning of the genocide as
well as of the Gallipoli campaign; it would be the most obvious time
for Australia to offer some mark of recognition to the Armenians.

Strong statements of sympathy have been made in the past by, among
others, Joe Hockey (who has Armenian ancestry) and Malcolm Turnbull.

But Turkey’s reaction to any official move would be entirely
predictable.

It’s only fair to say that Turkey’s case in relation to the Armenian
genocide is not quite so far beyond the pale as the denial of Hitler’s
extermination of the Jews. There was at least some military logic
behind the extermination of the Armenians; as I said a few years ago,
“questions about the Armenian genocide are not confined to the sort
of lunatic fringe inhabited by the Holocaust-deniers.” But that’s
setting the bar very low.

Yet it looks as if that fig leaf of historical “controversy” will be
sufficient for the federal government to stay well away from the issue,
at least until the centenary is safely over.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 17 2013

Çiçek: Presidential system depends on 2015 election results

17 November 2013 /CUMALÄ° Ã-NAL, ANKARA

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek has stressed that a transition to the
presidential system in Turkey depends on the results of the 2015
general elections, emphasizing that under the current circumstances, a
presidential system as desired by the government is difficult to
switch to.

Meeting with Australian journalists in an event held last week by the
Zaman Australia daily and sponsored by Turkish Airlines (THY), Çiçek
said Turkey and Australia are among the rare countries that have
turned war into a friendship. Deputy Prime Minister and Economy
Minister Ali Babacan said the current strong relations between the two
countries were established a century ago in the Battle of Gallipoli.

The event brought together Australian journalists and Turkish
government officials, intellectuals, experts and journalists from
Turkey to discuss a range of issues, including Iran, the European
Union, Armenian allegations of genocide, the Kurdish question and the
Gezi Park protests.

Stressing that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) want a US model presidential
system and that this was one of the main issues blocking the
constitutional drafting process, Çiçek said under the current
circumstances, a presidential system desired by the government is
difficult to switch to.

Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Egemen BaÄ?ıÅ? noted that if ErdoÄ?an runs
for president, he would probably be elected as president in the first
or second round with 60 percent of the vote.

Çiçek also underlined in his speech that one of the main reasons for
Turkey’s problems is political greed among politicians, pointing out
that important issues in discussions about changing the current
Constitution have not even been addressed yet.

On the Gezi Park protests, Çiçek pointed out that the West only sees
the political demands side of the incidents. `According to
international treaties, everyone has a right to protest what one does
not like, but they cannot use force. No one’s freedom can curtail
another’s freedom,’ added Çiçek.

Saying that `supporting terrorism and the 1915 incidents are two
topics that poison our relations with some countries,’ Çiçek said the
decision taken by the Australian Parliament to accept Armenian
allegations of genocide is poisoning relations between the two
countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Levent Gümrükçü stressed that the
Kurdish question cannot be solved by establishing an independent
Kurdish state, maintaining that Kurds should make an effort to gain
all their social, economic and cultural rights within the territories
they are living in.

Speaking on Iran’s nuclear activities, BaÄ?ıÅ? told journalists that
Turkey does not want Iran to build nuclear weapons. `If Iran develops
nuclear weapons, Ankara, not New York, will be in the range of those
weapons,’ the minister said. BaÄ?ıÅ? also pointed out that Iran has had
ambitions to control the region for the last 2,000 years.

Similarly, Gümrükçü underlined that Turkey is one of those countries
most concerned about Iran’s nuclear program, saying Iran’s nuclear
weapons do not constitute a threat to the US, but to American regional
interests. The spokesperson pointed out that Turkey is Iran’s neighbor
and that no one can claim that Turkey tolerates Iran’s nuclear
program.

Concerning Syria, Gümrükçü said as in other regional problems, Turkey
has never favored a military intervention in Syria and has always
desired a political and diplomatic solution. Stressing that Turkey
wants to present its economic performance, built on universal values
and democracy, to countries in the region, Gümrükçü said, `Despite
recent campaigns against Turkey, 70-80 percent of Middle Easterners
from Yemen to Morocco hold Turkey up as the model country to cooperate
with in their period of transition to democracy.’

Gümrükçü added that Turkey does not need to follow a nuclear program
due to its presence under the umbrella of NATO.

Speaking on Turkey’s EU membership, BaÄ?ıÅ? said a lack of vision and
the fears and prejudices of EU leaders are the main obstacles ahead of
Turkey’s membership in the union. Stressing that they do not want to
linger on the problems with the EU and make a great effort for
membership, BaÄ?ıÅ? said Turkey faces false excuses such as being a
large, Muslim and poor country.

Gümrükçü said EU membership is Turkey’s strategic priority and that
`it is out of the question [for Turkey] to give up on EU membership.’

During the meeting, Babacan claimed that the UN Security Council does
not want the G-20, which constitutes 90 percent of global gross
domestic product (GDP) and 80 percent of global trade, to be more
politically active. `This organization has a very strong
representation of power. If political issues are discussed in this
organization, the G-20 could easily replace the UN Security Council,’
said Babacan.

Stressing that Turkey has gone through political, social and economic
transformations in the last 11 years, Babacan said they are targeting
5 percent economic growth for the 2015-16 period in Turkey.

Speaking on relations with Israel, Gümrükçü said Turkey honestly wants
good relations with Israel, adding that as the US sets new strategies
for the region, Israel will need Turkey more than ever.

Press Trust of India
Nov 17 2013

Laxman scores win over Levon in GM Int’l Open

17:39 HRS IST

Chennai, Nov 17 (PTI) Former Commonwealth Champion and Indian
Grandmaster R R Laxman stunned GM Babujian Levon of Armenia in the
third round of the Chennai Grand Master International Open Chess
tournament, here today.

Laxman, who defeated top seed GM Popov in the previous round, scored
an exciting 46 move victory over Levon, taking his tally to 3 points
from as many rounds.

Sound bombs thrown in Turkey in Armenian delegation’s direction

November 16, 2013 | 01:37

DIYARBAKIR. – Unidentified persons threw sound bombs, late in the
evening on Friday, in front of Green Park Hotel in Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Some members of the Armenian delegation, which is participating in one
of the largest exhibitions in the Middle East, were in front of the
hotel when the sound bombs were thrown.

Two strangers threw two sound bombs in the direction of the hotel and,
subsequently, they quickly disappeared into the darkness, the Armenian
News-NEWS.am reporter informs from Diyarbakir. Fortunately, the bombs
did not explode.

The Armenian delegation members that witnessed the incident noted that
the unidentified persons had thrown the bombs at the time when some
men wearing ties – and who appeared to be officials – had come out of the
hotel and, in all likelihood, the sound bombs were aimed at them.

Police quickly arrived on the scene because Turkish PM Recep Tayyip
Erdogan will stay at this hotel the next day, and they link the
throwing of these sound bombs to Erdogan’s arrival in Diyarbakir.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

ARMENIE
La baisse dans le secteur de a construction fait obstacle à la
croissance économique en Arménie

Une baisse de 8,5% dans le secteur de la construction enregistrée dans
les huit premiers mois de 2013 est le principal obstacle sur le chemin
de la croissance économique en Arménie a déclaré le Premier ministre
Tigran Sargsyan lors de la réunion du conseil d’administration de la
Fondation nationale de la compétitivité du pays.

La part de la construction dans le PIB du pays est de 12% a précisé
Tigran Sarkissian.

Le premier ministre a déclaré que le gouvernement mettra l’accent sur
le secteur de la construction en 2014.

« Nous développons des programmes visant à le promouvoir
substantiellement », a-t-il dit. En particulier, les projets sur la
construction de logements en classe économique devraient être mises en
`uvre.

dimanche 17 novembre 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

The Times (London)
November 16, 2013 Saturday

Gifts from the Greeks

by Jane MacQuitty

If you’d asked me a decade ago whether wines from lots of eastern
Mediterranean countries would be viewed seriously by the UK’s wine
buyers and drinkers, I’d have choked. True, I’d occasionally been
impressed by the quirky Bordeaux-inspired reds from estates such as
Chteau Musar and Chteau Ksara in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and those
from Carmel in upper Galilee in Israel, but largely they left me cold.
The Romans and medieval traders may have rated Cypriot wines, but for
me they never seemed to get beyond dull, oxidised stickies such as
Commandaria. Equally unlovely were the sunburnt, stringy, North
African reds from Tunisia.

The one bright spot was Greece. Unlike some other eastern
Mediterranean countries, Greece has lots of indigenous grapes and an
illustrious wine history that predates the Romans by about 1,000
years. So far Armenia has the award for the world’s oldest winery –
4100BC – with winemaking reaching the far eastern Mediterranean coast
and Egypt in about 3,000BC, reaching Greece in 2000BC.

Alas, no wines of note have come my way from the birthplace of wine,
though the odd, hefty, dark red, acidic saperavi and vibrant, appley
rkatsiteli white from Georgia show promise. Nor have any of Turkey’s
reds, made from wonderfully unpronounceable grape varieties, including
the highly regarded okuzgozu, or ox eye, grape truly thrilled my
tastebuds. However, the juicy, tangy red fruit-stashed 2011 Pamukkale
Diamond Shiraz-Merlot (Waitrose £6.99), topped up with Turkey’s own
kalecik karasi and bogazkere grapes, does work. Give Turkey and other
eastern Mediterranean countries more time and they will crack it.

In the meantime, if you want to drink the best from this forgotten
corner of the wine world, it’s back to Greece and its immediate
neighbour to the north, Macedonia. Despite its financial problems, or
maybe because of them, Greece has hurtled into the 21st wine century
and one reason there are so many good new Greek wines on British shop
shelves is the need for hard currency. Marks &Spencer is the one
British supermarket to embrace eastern Mediterranean wines with gusto,
stocking a wide range of new white and red wines. For me the stars are
Macedonia’s elegant yet bold, beefy, savoury 2012 Tikves Vranec for
£8.99 and the unoaked, light, herby, leafy, grapey 2012 Tikves
Smederervka Rkaciteli (£6.99), made from the grapes of the same name.

If it’s a great Greek duo you want, check out the Thymiopoulos winery
whose unusual herby, citrus zest-spiked 2012 Malagouzia white is £8.99
of pure pleasure. Ditto the gorgeous, rustic, gamey red 2011 Xinomavro
(£10.49). Or splash out on my favourite Greek white of all, the starry
white Hatzidakis 2012 Assyrtiko from volcanic Santorini with
smouldering, steely, floral finesse (Waitrose, £11.99; Oddbins,
£13.75).

This week’s best buys 2012 Taste the Difference Bordeaux Sauvignon
Blanc, France Sainsbury’s, £8.99 or two for £6 each until November 26
>From 2000 on, the Bordelais began to treat their white wines seriously
and this sparky, easy-drinking sauvignon with light, racy, bosky,
lemon peel-spiked fruit effortlessly proves the point.

2013 Jean Garde Chardonnay, Boschendal, South Africa Sainsbury’s,
£8.79 or two for £6 each until November 26 Not everyone’s glass of
wine, but this chunky, 14 per cent alcohol, yet unoaked winter white,
with lots of uplifting, sappy, smoky, nutty fruit, is brilliant with
fish pie and roast chicken.

2012 Darting Estate, Dürkheimer Kabinett Trocken Riesling, Pfalz,
Germany Marks & Spencer, £9.49 Savour this surprisingly good,
easy-to-sip, thirstquenching 2012 German, made from 25-year-old
riesling, and brimming with leafy, zesty, lime peel-stashed fruit,
solo.

2011 Villa Magna Primitivo di Manduria, Puglia, Italy Marks & Spencer,
£9.99 Primitivo, or zinfandel, is the romping winter red to serve with
mature game. This gorgeous ’11 bursts with ripe red fruit topped with
bold, oaky, vanilla, mocha and liquorice.

The keeper 2011 Chassagne-Montrachet, Henri Germain, Burgundy, France
Adnams (01502 727222), £22.49 Henri Germain founded this small Côte de
Beaune domaine, based in Meursault, in 1973, boosted by his wife’s
holdings in Chassagne-Montrachet. The Germains’ son, Jean-François,
now runs the estate and the exacting yet traditional approach, here
with new wood kept to a minimum, yields some tasty red burgundies,
just like this one. 2011 was a good, not great, vintage, saved by
small yields creating sufficiently flavoursome wines. Enjoy this
delicate, sappy, yet juicy red burgundy now – with all of its vibrant
raspberry-scented fruit to the fore – with the likes of guinea fowl,
or tuck it away until 2015 for the first spicy, walk-in-thewoods
flavours to emerge.

Will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs keep the promise?

November

16 2013 Political parties still do not know what document will be
signed in Vilnius At the Parliamentary sessions, during 2014 budget
discussions, answering questions raised by MPs what document Armenia
will sign with the EU, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Zohrab
Mnatsakanyan said that at least ten days before the summit in Vilnius
the content of the document to be signed in Vilnius will be definitely
clear. Yesterday, during parliamentary briefings, representatives of
political parties at answering the question whether they are aware of
this document, are familiar with its content, the responses were
negative, recalling the past examples when the official documents are
`inaccessible’ to the political forces. Outstanding representative of
the dominant political force, Galust Sahakyan’s only difference from
the opposition was that the latter did not complain and express
dissatisfaction about his being unaware. Moreover, filled the ears of
journalists with some bulk of word to hide his being unaware and and
creating an impression that everything is not so bad. In the
conversation with `Aravot’, RPA faction secretary Hovhannes Sahakyan,
answering the question whether he knows what document should be signed
in Vilnius, said, `We all know that the document, which was prepared,
on which we have worked, can not be signed as such. Competent
authorities, those who are eligible, as well as on behalf of Mr.
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, work on this document, and before the Vilnius
summit some information will be provided to the public. `Generally,
analyzing the logic of process, RPA MP once again ascertained that
Armenia from the outset was right of its decision, and everything was
done for the benefit of society and the state. He notes that in spite
of their opponents, now, it can be clearly stated that Armenia’s
integration into the European family has not failed and is not in the
deadlock. `There is continuation, there is collaboration at least
about the item, about which we have talked: political consultations,
reforms, continuation of programmatic and institutional reforms of
governance system.’ Hovhannes Sahakyan also rushed to disappoint the
RPA opponents by qualifying their alarms regarding Armenia’s isolation
empty. We asked Hovhannes Sahakyan to share his thoughts on the
dilemma that Ukraine has actually facing today: the Customs Union or
the European Union, whether Ukraine will sign the EU Association
Agreement, what possible developments will follow, and what reactions
they will make to Armenia. `I would not like to mix the context of
Armenia and Ukraine. Each state makes its own calculations for the
benefit of its people,’ said the MP, adding that, in his assessment,
Ukraine in legal and practical aspects was entirely on a different
dimension, and the one year work that this country had conducted for
signing the Agreement, is more serious and justified. As to why
Ukraine faced the dilemma, why the president and the prime minister of
this country make contradictory statements, and what will happen in
Vilnius, Hovhannes Sahakyan considers that it is the problem of given
country. He states that Armenia made more calculated and balanced
decision based on its entire interests: regional development,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, RA and NKR security and economy.
`To connect one with the other or to make some statements today, I
think we showed a little haste. And, if Ukraine joins the Customs
Union, we, as a common economic area, see a larger, more expansive
area. In my opinion, more expansive is the Customs Union, much easier
and more efficient will be the cooperation in terms of economy.’ RPA
MP does not consider regional processes and various kinds of
statements accidental, but he urges to display patience and wait for
the results of the summit in Vilnius. There is a view that what
happened to Armenia on September 3 was actually directed against
Ukraine, that by imposing such decision to Armenia, RF ruling class
was actually warning Ukraine. MP once again reiterated that nor
pressure was exerted on Armenia, and that this view has already lost
its power. `The decisions of Armenia and Ukraine are not connected.
Each state decides its own interests. Here, we are in a slightly
advantageous position, because we have always been honest with RF
strategic partner and the European partners, and in all the meetings
we have stated that we will work with the principle of and-and.’

Nelly Grigoryan
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