Author: Kajoyan Gevork

OSCE SG BACKS MINSK GROUP EFFORTS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

ITAR-TASS
July 12, 2012 Thursday 04:26 PM GMT+4
Russia

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said he supported the Minsk
Group’s efforts aimed at settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The OSCE fully supports the activity of co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group for Nagorno-Karabakh and the chairman-in-office’s special envoy
who facilitates the peaceful settlement of the conflict by talks,”
the OSCE secretary-general said after the talks on Thursday.

According to Zannier, “The OSCE voices concern about the events on
the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the contact line [the
armed incidents that led to the death of servicemen from both parties]
when peaceful civilians turn out to be near the frontline.”

“It is necessary to immediately take measures to stabilize the
anxious situation and prevent further losses of lives,” the OSCE
secretary-general stressed.

In his view, “both parties should refrain from retaliation actions,
which can provoke further aggravation of the situation and put sniper
specialists aside the contact line.” “I spoke about this in Baku,”
he added.

“The OSCE priority is to encourage measures to create trust between
the warring parties, including for human contacts. The Armenian
and Azerbaijani presidents came to such agreement [under Russia’s
mediation] in Sochi,” Zannier pointed out.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO VISITS ARMENIAN STANDARD COMPANY

Economic News (Information Agency Oreanda)
July 12, 2012 Thursday
Russia

Minsk. OREANDA-NEWS . July 12, 2012. Belarus ‘ President Alexander
Lukashenko attended an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the
Armenian brandy bottling facility at the Armenian Standard company
in Minsk.

In due time, when meeting with a group of Armenian businessmen,
the President spoke about the need to implement a number of joint
projects. A Belarusian trading house was set up in Yerevan two years
ago, and now the line to bottle Armenian brandy was opened in the
capital of Belarus. Both projects are successful, and this, according
to the Belarusian head of state, attests to the need to expand the
investment presence.

The founders of the Minsk company are Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka
Factory and the Belarustorg company of the President Property
Management Directorate. The share of Armenia in the authorized capital
is 69%, Belarus holds 31%. The new production is located in a renovated
building at 6 Velosipedny Pereulok in Minsk. The facility features a
new Italian production line, 16 metal storage tanks for brandy. The
facility is designed to produce 200,000 decaliters per year. The
company operates modern equipment, storage system that meets all
standards, and strict laboratory control. Raw materials come from
Armenia. It is planned that the new line will produce three-and
five-star brandy.

According to experts, this is the best brandy in Belarus.

Alexander Lukashenko told co-founder of the company Gagik Tsarukyan:
You are a man of your word: you promised, you delivered. We need our
officials to always give the green light to people like you”.

Alexander Lukashenko got acquainted with the process, and tasted
the brandy.

This is the first facility to produce Armenian brandy in our country,
the head of state said and emphasized the need to increase brandy
production in the country.

THUNDERBOLT KILLS TRAVEL AGENT ON MOUNT IN ARMENIA

news.am
July 13, 2012 | 18:59

The employee of Armenia Travel Armenak Mikayelyan died as a result
of the striking of lightening on Friday on the top of Armenia’s
Mount Aragats.

The rescuers arrived on the scene and descended the body of 55 years
old Armenak Mikaelian from the mountain and handed it to police
officers, the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

To note, Armenak Mikayelyan was responsible for adventure tourism
and was on Aragats with a tour group. Other people were not injured.

PROGRAM OF SUPPORT TO YOUNG SCIENTISTS LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA
Sona Hakobyan

“Radiolur”
13.07.2012 17:15

The program of support to young scientists was launched in Armenia
on July 1st. Under the program young scientists can bid for research
fellowships abroad. The program aims to contribute to the professional
growth of young Armenian scientists, promote the progress of the
scientific system in Armenia and encourage international cooperation.

The government of Armenia will assign 100 million drams each year. The
decision was made late last year, when President Serzh Sargsyan met
young scholars and discussed the problems they were concerned about.

Beneficiaries of the program will include scientists under 35. The
average monthly salary for young scientists in Armenia is 60,000 drams,
and without additional funding the young scholars may prefer to launch
their activity abroad, where better conditions are provided.

OLDEST ARMENIAN ARTIST, GENOCIDE SURVIVOR PASSES AWAY

July 13, 2012 | 18:05

YEREVAN. – The oldest member of Artists’ Union of Armenia Yelena
Arahamyan has passed away.

She was one of those who survived the Armenian Genocide. Last year
Armenian News-NEWS.am wrote about the life of Yelena Arahamyan.

Yelena Arahamyan was born in Kars. Escaping from Turkey she lost her
birth certificate. Her relatives say she was born in 1909or 1910.

Yelena was an artist, member of Armenia’s Society of Artists since 194

She lived in Yerevan, alone with her memories and numerous self-made
canvases. She was seven or eight during those bloody events but she
survived all the horrors.

EDGAR HOVHANNISYAN: WEST WILL NEVER TOLERATE MILITARY SETTLEMENT

Panorama.am
13/07/2012

“The West has intensified its efforts towards Karabakh settlement. The
Russian side formerly was more active, while we see the West becoming
more active now,” deputy chairman of Armenian National Archive Edgar
Hovhannisyan told Panorama.am, when asked why the Co-Chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group as well as delegations representing other international
organizations and missions frequently visit the region.

According to him, regional processes having global importance as
well as increasing interest in the region to some extent make the
West more active in Karabakh settlement.

“Regional instability and all its consequences would not be good for
the West, but Azerbaijan tries to create a fake situation against
this background with periodic ceasefire violations,” Hovhannisyan said.

Also, the international community shows that it will never tolerate
a military settlement, the expert stressed.

EMPLOYERS’ UNION CHIEF: EXPORT STRUCTURE WEAKLY DIVERSIFIED IN ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 13, 2012 – 15:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The structure of Armenian export has remained
unchanged for many years, the major share of exports including metal
mining industry products, alcohol, gold and diamonds, according to
the head of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia.

As Gagik Makaryan told a news conference in Yerevan, the
representatives of small and medium businesses stay outside the
structure, unwilling to face export-related difficulties.

According to Makaryan, similar situation can be observed in Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan and Kirghyzia, the courtiers which also have weakly
diversified export structure.

Armenia’s foreign trade turnover totaled $488.2 mln (AMD 193.8 bln.)
in May 2012 increasing by 3,1% compared to the same period in 2011,
according to updated statistical data.

Export amounted to $122.2 mln (AMD 48,6 bln.) in May 2012, increasing
by 33% on a monthly basis, while 15,2% growth was recorded in import
as compared to May 2011, bringing it to $366 bln.(AMD 145,2 bln.),
the RA National Statistical Service reported.

IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH THEY BELIEVE IN THE PROMISE OF OSCE MINSK GROUP

ARMENPRESS
13 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS: There was not any new thing for Karabakh
side in the statements and comments made during the regional visit
of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. During the talk with Armenpress about
this mentioned President of standing committee of external affairs
of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic National Assembly Vahram Atanesyan. The
visit can be considered as a working one taking into consideration
the fact that Russian Co-Chair had announced that summer vacation
begins for them.

“Azerbaijan insists that Co-Chairs have visited the region to prepare
the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents which Azerbaijani
Medias say will take place in September and the moderator of that
meeting can be Hillary Clinton. If there is an element of truth in
that information we can think that the visit was a new thing” noticed
Atanesyan. But the CO-Chairs did not speak about the meeting during
their regional visit.

“In any case I am inclined to think that they keep the regional
processes under their attention. What about the statement that NKR
will become a participant of negotiating process than when they were
in Stepanakert Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan once again mentioned
that the participation of NKR in negotiating process must be secured”
said Atanesyan. He assured that it was not an accidental statement
by the President and being interested in keeping the dynamics of the
negotiations and progress the Co-Chairs will find opportunities to
include NKR fully in the negotiating process.

THE U.S. AND EU PARTICIPATE IN TRANS-BORDER FIELD TRAINING EXERCISE WITH ARMENIA

armradio.am
13.07.2012 14:19

The United States Departments of State, Defense, and Energy and
the European Commission participated in a series of field training
exercises with Armenia and Georgia from July 9-12. The exercises used
realistic scenarios to demonstrate and strengthen notification and
response procedures in the event of illicit movement of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD)-related materials.

The Armenian and U.S. Governments collaborate to prevent the illicit
trafficking of WMD, WMD-related items, and advanced conventional
weapons. This week~Rs exercises strengthen this collaboration and build
on existing protocols of the Armenian Government for cross border
communications and coordination procedures for responding to the
detection of the movement of nuclear and other radioactive materials.

These exercises follow on the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul,
Korea, where world leaders, including representatives from Armenia,
reaffirmed commitments to international nuclear security. U.S. and EU
cooperation with Armenia reflects a shared commitment to preventing
nuclear and other WMD-related materials from falling into the hands
of terrorists, smugglers, and proliferators.

KOREAN IT SPECIALISTS TRANSMITTED THEIR EXPERIENCE TO ARMENIAN COLLEAGUES

ARMENPRESS
13 July, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS: The specialists of Korean Government
which have been announced as the best specialists in the sphere of
development of Information Technologies and creating of electronic
society, shared with their experience with Armenian specialists.

Armenpress reports that during the seminar held on July 13 the
specialists introduced to the present persons the model of mechanisms
of electronic management and efficient use of it. “Our Government
was very consistent in this process. We tried to reach the peak of
electronic management and reached” mentioned professor “Chungbuk”
University Sang-ook Kim. In the words of the specialist they began
that program in 1987 and the Government did his best to computerize
each process.

The next step was the integration of the society in the process of
electronic management. “We changed our state approaches and involved
the nation in this process” mentioned the professor.

Speaking about development opportunities Sang-ook Kim noticed that
strategic programs must by refreshed periodically.