Author: Kalantarian Kevo

WORLD BANK DECLARES ARMENIAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SECOND BEST AMONG
SIMILAR STRUCTURES OF EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA
YEREVAN, MARCH 17. ARMINFO. Armenian Development Agency as regards
marketing and information criteria, as well as on the quality of
services provided is declared by the World Bank the second best among
similar structures of Europe and Central Asia and the fifth all over
the world. Director of the Agency Vahagn Movsisian informed during the
working visit with President of Armenia Robert Kocharian.
ARMINFO was informed in the press office of the president, during the
meeting the participants discussed issues of attraction of foreign
investments to Armenia. President Robert Kocharian instructed to pay
special attention to the questions raised during discussions in
business circles. As Kocharian said, specifying and solving these
problems it will be possible to ensure enduring progress in the
economy of the country and improvement of the investment environment.
The parties also concerned the arrangements aimed at increase of the
compatibility of goods made in Armenia.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 17, 2005 Thursday 11:43 AM Eastern Time
JCC not focus on Joint Peacekeeping Force reduction – diplomat
By Maria Pshenichnikova
MOSCOW
Russian Ambassador at Large Valery Kenyaikin said the Joint Control
Commission had not discussed the reduction of Joint Peacekeeping
Force.
Summing up the results of the JCC session on Thursday, the Russian
diplomat said, “There was no talk about the reduction of Joint
Peacekeeping Force at the session of the Joint Control Commission.”
“The Joint Peacekeeping Force is a guarantor of peace and an
effective instrument within the JCC,” he stressed.
In his words, “the JCC session was held in a constructive atmosphere.
The sides are seeking to reach agreement on demilitarisation of the
conflict area. They agreed to take certain military-technical
measures till April 1 – reduce the military presence and eliminate
any posts.” “All this should help normalise the situation in the
conflict area,” Kenyaikin said.
Georgia confirmed that it was seeking to continue the negotiations
started on the initiative of South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity.
“Problems related to the organisation of the meeting will be solved
in a routine way,” the Russian diplomat said.
He did not rule out that the next JCC meeting might be held in
Vladikavkaz. “The exact date will be specified later,” Kenyaikin
added.
Georgian State Minister for Conflict Resolution Georgy Khaindrava
said Tbilisi is pleased with Russia’s role in settling conflicts in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In his words, “the Joint Control Commission on the Settlement of the
Georgian-South Ossetian Conflict is working successfully.” “Russian
partners led by Valery Kenyakin are working constructively and often
finding solutions to problems. We can prove of Moscow’s good
attitude.”
At the same time, Khaindrava stressed, “The second stage – the
implementation of the agreements – will be more difficult. It is
important to find a solution to different problems related to
Georgian-Russian relations. Then all conflicts will be settled in
Georgia.”
Commenting on the withdrawal of Russia’s military bases from Batumi
and Akhalkalaki, Khaindrava said, “There will be no presence of third
countries in Georgia after the pullout of Russian troops.” “There are
prerequisites for solving this problem in the near future,” the
minister said. In his view, “the existence of Russia’s bases in
Georgia is not a serious factor for Tbilisi because this is a
mechanism of the 20th century and not the 21st century.”
To this end, Khaindrava said, “The Georgian side is not going to
deploy NATO or any other troops.” He recognised, “Many people took
part in the March 13 meeting in Akhalkalaki to protest against the
withdrawal Russian bases.” According to the minister, this region,
which is mostly populated by Armenians, “was ignored by authorities.
But there is no supernatural in this.” “It is wrong that a lot of
people worked at the bases. According to my information, about 300
people worked there,” Khaindrava explained.
In his view, the absence of control over the Roksky tunnel “led to
the tragedy in Beslan.” “There is no control over the movement of
military forces and hardware through the Roksky tunnel,” the Georgian
minister pointed out.
“We consider this problem both of Georgia and Russia. The events in
the North Caucasus and Beslan prove of this. The interests of
Georgia, Russia and the region will be infringed upon until the
states’ sovereignty is preserved,” Khaindrava emphasised.

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 17 2005
GEORGIA WOULD LIKE TO GAIN POLITICAL ADVANTAGE FROM ARMS SCANDAL IN
THE UNITED STATES
TBILISI, March 17 (RIA Novosti) – The governments of Georgia, Armenia
and the other countries whose nationals have been detained by the
United States’ law-enforcement agencies closely cooperate with the
FBI in investigating the arms traffic case, American ambassador to
Georgia Richard Miles has told journalists on Thursday.
In the group of 18 foreigners detained in the United States on
accusation for arms traffic are four Georgian nationals.
“Together with citizens of Armenian and other countries of East
Europe, Nikoloz Nadirashvili, Vato Machitadze, Iosif Khabaradze and
Levon Shvelidze have been detained on accusation for taking Russian
arms to the United States”, Georgian ambassador to the United States
Levan Mikeladze reported by telephone from Washington.
“The accusation has already been brought”, he added. Lawyers have
been appointed for two detained Georgians. Representatives of the
Georgian consulate have already met with the lawyers, Mr. Mikeladze
said.
Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili reported at a cabinet
sitting on March 16 that the Georgian secret services participated in
investigating the attempt at arms contraband to the United States.
“We do not know where the arms intended for bringing to the United
States were from. It is known that they are of Russian make”, Ms.
Zurabishvili said.
“I have no information on whether the arms were brought from Georgia
or through its territory. Many arms are said to be brought from
Armenia”, she said.
“Georgia has many times said that control by the central Georgian
authorities should be established in the Roksky tunnel and on other
parts of the border. This case is another confirmation of such need.
Control is needed for the security of not only Georgia but also many
countries from which the arms may have arrived”, stressed the
Georgian foreign minister.
The Roksky tunnel, linking Georgia and Russia, has during the last 15
years been in control of the authorities of the self-proclaimed
republic South Ossetia.
American authorities have raised the accusation to 18 persons for the
attempt at the contraband of portable antiaircraft missile systems,
grenade-throwers, mortars and other arms to the United States.

PanArmenian News
March 14 2005
DURING RECENT TWO DAYS 3 EARTHQUAKES RECORDED IN SOUTH CAUCASUS
14.03.2005 05:11
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During the recent two days three earthquakes were
recorded in the South Caucasian region, Arminfo agency reports. On
March 13 morning at the Armenian-Azeri border, 25 km to the south of
the Armenian town of Vardenis earthquake with magnitude of 4 on the
Richter scale took place. The earthquake was felt in a number of
inhabited localities of Armenia – Sotk, Tretak, Azet, Norabak – where
some constructions were slightly damaged. This morning an earthquake,
recorded 65 km to the north-east of the town of Bingel, Turkey, had a
magnitude of 5.5. There is no information on victims yet. Another
earthquake shocked Turkey today 63 km to the north-east from Bingel.
The tremor force was fixed at 5 on the Richter scale.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DO NOT DRIVE THE RUSSIAN ARMY OUT OF AKHALQALAQ
A1+
14-03-2005
On March 13 there has been a three-hour meeting in Akhalqalaq in
which, according to the organizers, about 10 000 people took part. The
meeting with the theme «No to negative migration» was organized by the
non-governmental organization «United Javaxq». The participants of the
meeting complained against the decision of driving the Russian
military bases out of Akhalqalaq. The participant of the meeting
turned to the Georgian President Mikhail Sahakashvili with the
following demands:
«1. The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Georgian
Parliament;
2. Elimination of the prohibitions of teaching Armenian History in the
Armenian schools in Georgia and of Armenian pupils’ coming to Armenia
on excursions;
3. Not to drive the Russian military bases out pf Akhalqalaq;
4. Adoption of the Law about the Protection of National Minorities;
5. Restoration of the Administrative services in Akhalqalaq, e.g. that
of Passport department».
The organizers of the Meeting expect to get the answer to the
questions put forward by them before March 31.

Georgia PM believes withdrawal issue to be settled in near future
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 12, 2005
YEREVAN, March 12 — Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli believes
the Russian bases withdrawal issue will be settled in the near future.
The issue was discussed with Russian leaders, he said.
“I think, we’ll agree with Russian leaders in the near future on
withdrawal of Russian military bases deployed in Akhalkalaki and
Batumi from Georgia,” Nogaideli said.
Commenting on the results of his two-day working visit to Armenia,
the Georgian prime minister noted that he did not discuss the Russian
withdrawal issue in Yerevan.

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
Martedì Il 8 Marzo 2005
TURCHIA: ERDOGAN E BAYKAL, APRIREMO ARCHIVI MASSACRI ARMENI ;
GOVERNO E OPPOSIZIONE DISPOSTI A FARE LUCE SU ‘GENOCIDIO’
ANKARA
(ANSA) – ANKARA, 8 MAR – Governo ed opposizione turca si sono
detti concordemente disposti ad aprire gli archivi sui massacri
di armeni perpetrati negli anni 1915 e 1916, in epoca ottomana,
pur continuando a respingere la denominazione di “genocidio”
per quei massacri, che, secondo stime armene, portarono alla
morte di 1 milione di armeni, deportati da alcuni membri del
governo ottomano per “collaborazionismo” con la nemica, a quel
tempo, Russia.
E’ quanto e’ emerso al termine di un inusuale incontro oggi
tra il premier turco, Tayyip Erdogan, ed il leader del partito
di opposizione Chp, Deniz Baykal, al termine del quale i due
leader hanno affermato di essersi trovati “concordi” e di
voler “sviluppare l’atteggiamento ed i pareri comuni”
riscontrati sull’argomento.
“Non si puo’ fondare un futuro giusto su un passato
sbagliato. Siamo disposti a contribuire a fare luce”, ha detto
Erdogan che si e’ riferito ai massacri con l’usuale espressione
“cosiddetto genocidio armeno” aggiungendo che il resoconto dei
fatti contenuto nel noto “libro blu” (pubblicato 85 anni fa)
“non riflette tutta la verita'”.
“Siamo pronti ad aprire i nostri archivi, ma anche gli
armeni dovranno aprire i loro. Chiederemo anche ad altri paesi
di fornirci i documenti in loro possesso. Siamo pronti ad
accettare la verita’, ma solo la verita'”, ha dichiarato
Baykal, secondo cui “genocidio e’ una parola molto seria e
prima di usarla bisogna fare indagini molto approfondite”.
Baykal ha annunciato la formazione di una commissione
congiunta tra esperti dei due partiti per “illuminare la
realta’ dei massacri”.
La questione del “genocidio degli armeni” e’ uno dei punti
di maggiore conflitto tra la Turchia e l’Armenia, i cui confini
restano chiusi, anche se l’Ue ha chiesto ad entrambi di avviare
una normalizzazione delle loro relazioni.
Il parlamento francese ha qualche anno fa praticamente
riconosciuto, pur con alcune ‘nuances’, i massacri degli armeni
come “genocidio” (suscitando asprissime reazioni e boicottaggi
di appalti francesi in Turchia) e poche settimane fa il partito
cristiano democratico tedesco ha presentato una mozione al
Bundestag per approfondire la realta’ di quei massacri, senza
tuttavia menzionare il termine “genocidio”.(ANSA).
–Boundary_(ID_F0N0mxDg7OR2cunm5NtQkQ)–

Baltic News Service
March 11, 2005
ESTONIA TO GIVE DEVELOPMENT AID TO GEORGIA, UKRAINE, ARMENIA
TALLINN, Mar 11
Estonia is going to support five development aid projects targeting
Georgia, Ukraine and Armenia in the sum of 1.36 million kroons (EUR
0.09 mln).
The funds will come from the Foreign Ministry’s development aid and
humanitarian relief budget, spokespeople for the ministry said.
The aim of the first of the two Georgian projects is to share
Estonia’s experience of the organization and development of the
vocational education system and the work of vocational schools. The
plan includes a visit of Georgian vocational school leaders to this
Baltic state to study the local experience.
The objective of the second project is to work out a Tiger Leap
program of information technology development for the Georgian
Ministry of Education and Science, with a test phase scheduled for
this and the next year, and a follow-up stage for the 2007-2008
period.
Georgia has named the program the Deer Leap.
Two projects are aimed at supporting the development of public
service in Ukraine on both the central and the local government
level.
One of them is a sequel to an earlier training program carried out in
2000-2004. Its objective is to support Ukraine’s public service and
its development and political and economic reforms through educating
public servants. In the framework of the project two training
programs in Estonia for 12 Ukrainian environmental and social sphere
officials are planned.
In the framework of the second approved Ukrainian project Estonia’s
Polva County is going to share its social reform experience of the
past 15 years with Ukraine’s Kulikovka district.
The Armenian project is designed to help the Caucasian country
develop its population protection system and it will be carried out
through seminars, visits, training and humanitarian aid organized by
the Estonian Rescue Service and its institutions.
The Foreign Ministry noted that target countries’ interest in
Estonia’s reform experience and progress has lately been on the rise
and local organizations’ readiness to put their knowhow and
experience to use outside this Baltic state has also grown.
The ministry’s budget for development aid and humanitarian relief
this year stands at eight million kroons.

Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
March 11 2005
Georgia: Russia Calls Parliamentary Resolution On Bases
‘Counterproductive’
By Valentinas Mite
The Russian Defense Ministry has criticized as “counterproductive” a
unanimous vote by the Georgian parliament pressuring Moscow to close
two Russian military bases in Georgia. The nonbinding resolution,
passed yesterday, demands that Russia agree a timetable by 15 May for
vacating the bases and withdrawing some 4,000 troops. Should Russia
fail to do that, the Georgian lawmakers have vowed to outlaw any
Russian military presence in their country from 1 January 2006. The
dispute is at the heart of ongoing bilateral negotiations. But the
Georgian side appears convinced that the Kremlin’s heart is not
really in those talks.
Prague, 11 March 2005 (RFE/RL) — The Georgian parliament is trying
to force Russia to remove its bases from the country.
Yesterday’s move carries a threat of sharp curbs on Russian troop
movements from January. Those steps would effectively render the
Russian bases in western and southern Georgia nonfunctional.
Georgian lawmaker Giga Bokeria said after the parliamentary vote
yesterday: “In this statement, we are giving more time for diplomacy
despite the fact that Russian diplomacy has proved time and time
again that there is not yet the political will in Russia to withdraw
its bases — which remain here as an echo of Soviet rule and which
are here against the will of the Georgian people.”
Georgian parliamentarians say that if Russia fails to meet the
deadline, its bases will be declared illegal and the Georgian
government will stop issuing entry visas to Russian troops. The
measures also include strict curbs on the movement of vehicles and
equipment.
Moscow had warned that the resolution would obstruct discussions
aimed at forging a compromise on the pullout. Once it passed, the
Russian Defense Ministry described the Georgian resolution as
counterproductive. Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Sedov told ITAR-TASS
that the “Georgian parliamentary deputies lost their sense of
reality.” He added that the problem cannot be resolved through
“ultimatums.”
Konstantin Zatulin, chairman of the Russian State Duma’s CIS Affairs
Committee, took a tougher stance. He said Russia would respond by
pressing Georgia to pay higher prices for energy supplies and
“toughening its position regarding the Georgian-Ossetian and
Georgian-Abkhaz conflicts,” where the Georgian government is facing
local pressure for independence or autonomy.
So why are Russian troops still in Georgia, more than a decade after
that country gained independence from the Soviet Union?
Aleksandr Goltz, a Russian military expert, explained: “To tell the
truth, these two basis in Georgia are more designed to safeguard
[weapons]. Different kinds of military equipment are stocked there,
and [the equipment] is rather outdated, I must stress. Some 4,000
soldiers are based there. Their main task is to somehow safeguard
that equipment.”
Goltz said the Soviet withdrawal from Eastern Europe was an economic
disaster — with soldiers having no place to return to live in
Russia. That was accompanied by the widespread theft of military
equipment. He said eliminating the bases in Georgia would be easy in
technical terms, since many people who serve on the bases are locals,
and the biggest task would be transporting the military equipment to
Russia.
Goltz said the main problem is not a logistical one but a political
one. The Kremlin, he suggests, is simply not sufficiently interested
in removing its military presence in Georgia. “The main thing here is
Russia’s desire to show its military might, a wish to show that it is
ready and able to act — especially in such a complicated place as
the Caucasus,” he said.
On the other hand, Goltz said, there is no doubt that, for Russia,
the ethnically mixed and restive Caucasus region is a headache.
Moscow clearly wants to avoid armed conflict in the Caucasus. A war
in Chechnya, which borders Georgia, has contributed significantly to
Moscow’s concerns in the region.
Goltz stressed, however, that Russia should seek permission from
Georgia to further its goals when related actions concern Georgian
territory.
Russia agreed to remove its Soviet-era military bases in 1998. But
since then, Moscow has repeatedly extended the deadline, saying it
needs years and millions of dollars to remove its troops.
Moscow has come under increased pressure recently — not only from
Tbilisi but also from Washington, which supports Georgia’s demand for
a Russian withdrawal.
Russia has military bases in Armenia, but Armenia’s ongoing conflict
with neighboring Azerbaijan has meant that the country welcomes the
Russian military presence.

TERMS OF RECURRENT MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND AZERI FMs TO BE DETERMINED
WITHIN NEXT FEW DAYS
10.03.2005 02:53
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian has
called the information that Armenia and Azerbaijan intend to conclude
an agreement over settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict not
true. In his words, there is no concrete arrangement on a new meeting
of the Armenian and Azeri Presidents yet. As of the dialogue of the
Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Vardan Oskanian noted that
the terms of the recurrent meeting will be determined within the next
few days. The head of the foreign department of Armenia did not agree
with statements that «Armenia is losing the settlement process.»
In his words, the issue of self-determination of the Nagorno Karabakh
people remains priority for Yerevan. However, Vardan Oskanian added,
«there is also the territorial element present, as the territory,
where the Nagorno Karabakh has determined itself has never been part
of independent Azerbaijan.» «The hybrid of these two approaches
strengthens our position in the talks,» he noted.
–Boundary_(ID_82ayFY1f7+utqub/OZxLBw)–