Author: Kajoyan Gevork

RA NA SPEAKER HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN RECEIVES THE SPEAKER OF THE U.S. CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY DISTRICT JOHN PEREZ

17.09.2013

On September 17 the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan received the
delegation led by John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District
Assembly who arrived in Armenia on an official visit.

Welcoming the guests and highlighting their visit to Armenia
the RA NA Speaker expressed conviction that it would greatly
boost the enlivening and deepening of existing relations between
Armenia and California. “I am glad that I host the delegation of
the legislative body of California being the Motherland of one of
the biggest economically most powerful and biggest community of the
Armenian Diaspora of the United States of America, where are also
legislators of Armenian origin Khacho Achajian and Adrin Nazarian,”
Hovik Abrahamyan noted. He mentioned with satisfaction that since
independence the Armenian-American relations have distinguished with
high level of political contacts and today also those relations are of
upward development. Highly assessing the Armenian-American cooperation
in different levels the NA Speaker emphasized the expansion of
inter-parliamentary relations in the context of bilateral cooperation.

“Today the parliamentary diplomacy has a big role not only in the
development of multilateral, but also inner-state relations,” the NA
Speaker said. By Hovik Abrahamyan’s conviction, the cooperation of
the RA National Assembly and California Assembly District will turn
into cooperation with multilateral format.

Thanking for warm reception the Speaker of the U.S. California
District Assembly expressed conviction that their visit would promote
the deepening of bilateral cooperation in different directions, the
activation and development of inter-parliamentary relations. He deemed
important the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the
spheres of economy, culture, science, education and other spheres
between California and Armenia. Mr Perez highly assessed the role
of the Armenian community in the political, economic, cultural and
scientific-educational life of California.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the settlement
of the NK problem, the Armenian-Turkish relations, regional external
political developments. Presenting the process of peaceful settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Hovik Abrahamyan noted: “The Republic
of Armenia has constantly expressed its constructive position in favor
of solving the conflict only through peaceful means, on the basis of
three internationally recognized principles within the framework of
the OSCE Minsk Group. The People of Artsakh has won the its right of
living free and should not be ignored by the international community,”
Noting that the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is in
2015, the NA Speaker stressed that recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian Genocide by the international community, we observe it as the
best guarantee of preventing such crimes. He noted with satisfaction
that during many years the authorities of California has permanently
adopted resolutions at state and local levels, paying tribute to
the memory of innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide and strictly
condemned it. “Nevertheless, I think California should continue to be
more consistent in recognizing the Armenian Genocide at the U.S. state
level. John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly
noted that the state plans to hold wide scale events in connection with
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, including a memorial
complex of Armenian Genocide is envisaged to create in Los Angeles.

In the course of the meeting other issues of bilateral interest
were discussed.

At the end of the meeting the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan awarded
by John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly the NA
Medal of Honor for the development of the inter-parliamentary relations
between the U.S. District Assembly and the RA NA, as well as for big
contribution in strengthening of Armenian-American relations.

John Perez, Speaker of the U.S. California District Assembly invited
the NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan to California on an official visit.

‘WE COULD WIN THE WAR FORCED ON US’ – ARMENIA’S DEFENSE MINISTER

13:54 18.09.13

Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan held a meeting with
teachers and students of Yerevan State University (YSU) on the eve
of Armenia’s Independence Day.

Years ago Armenia was able to stand the tests it had to face.

Specifically, Armenia gained victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war –
a war forced on Armenia by Azerbaijan.

“It has always been the greatest honor for me to visit this
university. Let me congratulate you and wish each of you to do his
or her best for this independence and freedom to last forever,”
Minister Ohanyan said.

According to him, patriotic education is a component of Armenia’s
security, and YSU has for years united loyal people, freedom-fighters
who ensured the security of Armenia’s borderland.

“With respect to knowledge, I can confidently say that Yerevan
State University is the leader in our education n system,” Minister
Ohanyan said.

He awarded certificates of honor to a number of lecturers for their
contribution to patriotic education.

Minister Ohanyan also awarded two students the Drastamat Kanayan
medal and the Garegin Nzhdeh medal, as well as presents.

Armenian News – Tert.am

SAFRASTYAN: ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF ALEPPO IS IN DANGER

14:02 18/09/2013 ” TOPIC OF THE DAY

The outcome of Syria’s crisis is not yet visible and there is a
real danger of military action against Syria, Ruben Safrastyan,
Turkish studies expert, Director of the Oriental Studies Institute
of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, said at the
Moscow-Tbilisi-Yerevan spacebridge in Yerevan.

“Turkey may strike Syria. From the very beginning of the conflict in
Syria, Turkey actively supported the Syrian opposition,” he said.

Turkey has deployed a great number of offensive weapons near its border
with Syria, so the danger of Turkey’s strike against Syria is topical,
Safrastyan added.

According to the expert, there are 7,000 Syrian Armenian refugees
in Armenia and the Armenian community of Syria, including Aleppo,
is in great danger.

“The Armenian community of Aleppo will suffer big losses and will
be forced to leave the city in case of Turkish attack,” Safrastyan
concluded.

Source: Panorama.am

CONSTRUCTION OF 305-KM SOUTH RAILWAY OF ARMENIA ESTIMATED TO COST $3.5 BILLION

YEREVAN, September 17. /ARKA/. Joseph Borkowski, the head of
Dubai-based investment company Rasia, presented the results of the
study on the implementation of the project of the 305-kilometer
Southern Railway of Armenia to Tigran Sargsyan, Armenia’s prime
minister, as met him at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China,
Rasia company’s press office reports.

The project is estimated to cost $3.5 billion.

The launch of the Southern Railway of Armenia project and the Southern
Highway of Armenia project worth $3 billion was announced in January
2013. A trilateral regional cooperation memorandum was signed in the
meantime by the South Caucasus Railways CJSC, the Armenian transport
ministry and the Rasia.

According to the results of the study, annual freight traffic on the
railway between Gagarin station in Armenia’s Gegharkunik province
and Agarak, Syunik province will total 25 million tons.

The railway will include 64 bridges of the total length of 19.6
kilometers and 60 tunnels of the total length of 102.3 kilometers
(40% of the road). This road, which is shorter than the Gavar-Agarak
way planned earlier, will be included in the network of the existing
railways.

The study has been conducted by China Communications Construction
Company (“CCCC”). The company has also made the design of the railway.

Joseph Borkowski, stressing the regional importance of the railway,
expressed gratitude to Tigran Sargsyan for his attention and long-years
support from the Armenian transport and communication ministry and
from Minister Gagik Beglaryan.

The Rasia investment company is already running a large-scale activity
based on the strategy of formation of consortium for developing a
feasibility study, design and financing. —0—-

– See more at:

ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT SHOULD PUT CUSTOMS UNION ACCESSION ISSUE TO REFERENDUM – FORMER PM

September 18, 2013 | 12:44

YEREVAN. – President Serzh Sargsyan should gather courage and say
we need to put the matter of Armenia joining the Customs Union to
a referendum.

Opposition Freedom Party Chairman, ex-presidential candidate, former
PM, MP and economist Hrant Bagratyan stated the aforesaid during a
press conference on Wednesday.

“If the referendum said ‘yes’ to the Customs Union, steps should be
taken so that the Customs Union would be better for us. No matter what
the referendum result will be, this will legitimize the decision,”
he noted.

Bagratyan said if Armenia is going toward the Customs Union, a serious
respective commission should be set up.

“Being in a union where there are energy importers, [and] exporters,
the adverse effect of the energy bearers need to be neutralized. Under
these conditions, this will mean shutting down the republic’s economy.

We will be in a situation when tariffs will have to be increased
fourfold,” the opposition MP stated.

The Freedom Party leader also argued that the Russian ruble zone will
await Armenia should it enter the Customs Union.

“The Customs Union is impossible to imagine without the ruble zone,”
he added.

And as for the positive side to joining the Customs Union, Hrant
Bagratyan pointed to the potential flourishing of wine and brandy
production, and the Russian investments.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

GEORGIANS APPROPRIATING MORE ARMENIAN MONUMENTS IN SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHK

Kristine Aghalaryan

00:22, September 18, 2013

Father Hakob Sahakyan, who serves as the Spiritual Director of the
Armenian Apostolic Church in Akhaltskha, has told Hetq that the
Georgian Orthodox Church has appropriated an Armenian church in the
village of Damala as one of its own.

Damala is an Armenian populated village in the region of Aspintza,
Georgia.

Father Hakob adds that the Georgian Church has also appropriated two
Armenian chapels, locally known as the Brother and Sister Chapels,
located in the south-western corner of Akhaltskha.

Brother and Sister Chapels

Local Armenians have contacted Hetq, claiming that Georgian priests
have started to organize pilgrimages to the two chapels where religious
rites are held.

“Up till now, only Armenians visited these chapels, never Georgians. I
don’t know how they are claiming the chapels as their own,” Father
Hakob told Hetq.

The priest says there are many artifacts remaining in the chapels
attesting to their Armenian origins.

Father Hakob says that Armenians always visit the Damala Monastery
to celebrate the holiday of their village.

Photos of the Damala Church and stone sculptures courtesy of S,
Karapetyan’s Javakhk book

In his book dedicated to Armenian architectural monuments in Javakhk,
Samvel Karapetyan writes that the Damala Monastery dates to the
10th and 11th centuries and that the area is dotted with gravestones
typical of the 15th-17th centuries.

Father Hakob has written to the Armenian Ministry of Culture on the
matter, and proposes that a research team be sent to the area.

He has also written to the Georgian government but has received
no response.

Hakob Simonyan, who heads the Armenian Ministry of Culture’s
Historical-Cultural Inheritance Research Center, confesses that they
have no archival evidence as to whether the two chapels are Armenian
or not.

“We have to go to the site and examine the structures to see what
similarities or differences exist between Armenian and Georgian
churches,” noted Simonyan.

Absence of Armenian-Azerbaijani dialogue complicates POW’s return

13:17 18.09.13

A major obstacle in Armenia’s efforts to return Hakob Injighulyan, the
army conscript who was held hostage in Azerbaijan after accidentally
crossing into the country, is the absence of a state dialogue between
the two countries, according to the defense minister.

“We are making great efforts today to return him to Armenia; as to
what situation we’ll face, we’ll see that in the course of time,”
Seyran Ohanyan told a news conference on Wednesday.

The minister reiterated the earlier assurances that the serviceman
will not face a prosecution upon being returned to Armenia. “To date,
we have no idea about pressures he is facing, but we know roughly
what kind of pressures the Azerbaijani side can exert,” he added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

US DIPLOMATS TO MAKE JOINT EFFORT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 17 2013

17 September 2013, 17:42 (GMT+05:00)
By Sara Rajabova

Two senior U.S. diplomats are expected to join effort to deal with a
settlement to the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

The newly appointed U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James
Warlick, jointly with the new U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel Baer,
will make joint efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution,
Warlick wrote on his Twitter page.

Warlick wished success to Baer, who took an oath as U.S. Ambassador
to the OSCE on September 10.

Warlick discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with OSCE Secretary
General Lamberto Zannier in Vienna on September 16.

He is also scheduled to meet with the Russian and French co-chairs
soon in New York on the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN
General Assembly.

Recently, the US mediator paid his first visit to the South Caucasus
region to meet with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and also
traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh.

He discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh problem with Azerbaijani and
Armenian officials and called for joint efforts of Azerbaijan,
Armenia and the regional states over resolution of the conflict.

The diplomat also said it was time for all sides involved to work
together on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act.

Warlick was appointed the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair in August.

In December, Robert Bradtke completed his term as the US Minsk Group
co-chair. Ian Kelly had been named the US co-chair on an interim
basis on December 21, 2012, pending the appointment of a new permanent
co-chair.

The U.S., along with Russia and France, has long been working to broker
a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the Minsk Group,
but their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.

UNIVERSITIES OF BELARUS, ARMENIA MIGHT AWARD DOUBLE DIPLOMAS

Belarusian Telegraph Agency, Belarus
Sept 17 2013

17.09.2013 18:16

NESVIZH, 17 September (BelTA) – The education ministers of Belarus
and Armenia discussed a possibility to introduce university courses
which graduates will be awarded double diplomas, Armenian Education
and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan told a press conference in Nesvizh
on 17 September, BelTA has learnt.

“While visiting the Belarusian State University of Informatics and
Radioelectronics and the Belarusian State University we had a meeting
with Education Minister Sergei Maskevich and the administration of
the Belarusian universities. We discussed a possibility of awarding
double diplomas to Belarusian and Armenian students who opt for
certain training courses,” Armen Ashotyan said. Such courses are
already available in Armenia with double diplomas awarded by Armenian
and German universities. Sergei Maskevich added that several leading
universities of Belarus have also offered this opportunity. “It is
quite possible that next year we will offer a training course which
graduates will get a double diploma,” Sergei Maskevich noted.

The Education and Science Minister of Armenia noted that Armenia is
constantly reforming its education system. “Education is among the
unique social institutions that needs a constant upgrade, otherwise
there will hardly be any economic effect,” Armen Ashotyan said. In
his words, Armenia has gained some experience in integrating into
European education space and Armenia will be glad to share these
practices with Belarusian educators. “We are ready to materialize
various joint projects in education and science,” he concluded.

The delegation of the Education and Science Ministry of Armenia is
on an official visit to Belarus. The Armenian delegation has already
visited Belarusian universities, pre-school institution No. 4 in
Nesvizh and the Nesvizh Gymnasium.

RUSSIA, FRANCE DIFFER ON SYRIA CHEMICAL ATTACK PERPETRATORS

September 17, 2013 – 15:39 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russia said on Tuesday, September 17 it still
suspected an August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria was carried
out by rebel forces, despite a report by UN investigators which France
said showed the government was behind the attack, according to Reuters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius set out their countries’ opposing views following talks
in Moscow, one day after the investigators confirmed the deadly nerve
agent sarin was used in the attack.

“We have very serious grounds to believe that this was a provocation,”
Lavrov said of the attack, which the United States has said killed
more than 1,400 people in rebel-held areas.

Lavrov, whose country has been the Syrian government’s most important
ally in the civil war, said there had been “many provocations” by
the rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s government and added:
“They were all aimed, over the last two years, at provoking foreign
intervention.”

He said the UN investigators’ report proved that chemical weapons had
been used but that “there is no answer to a number of questions we
have asked,” including whether the weapons were produced in a factory
or home-made.

Speaking alongside Lavrov at a joint news conference after their talks,
Fabius said the report was convincing.

“When you look at the amount of sarin gas used, the vectors, the
techniques behind such an attack, as well as other aspects, it seems
to leave no doubt that the (Assad) regime is behind it,” Fabius said.

According to The Associated Press, United Nations Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon said Monday that results of a report by UN inspectors
confirming the use of chemical weapons in Syria are “overwhelming
and indisputable.”

“This is a grave crime. Those responsible must be brought to justice
and soon as possible.” Ban told reporters at UN headquarters in New
York. He also emphasized that this is the largest chemical attack in
many years.

UN inspectors said Monday that there is “clear and convincing evidence”
that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in an
attack last month in Syria that killed hundreds of people, including
civilians. Ban presented their report to a closed meeting of the UN
Security Council in New York Monday morning.

The findings represent the first official confirmation by scientific
experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria’s civil war, but
the report left the key question of who launched the attack unanswered.