Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: ARMENIA AND NATO CAN BUILD AN EVEN STRONGER PARTNERSHIP

Mediamax
Sept 6 2012
Armenia

Yerevan/Mediamax/. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
said in Yerevan today that NATO and Armenia have good cooperation on
defense reforms.

“NATO and Armenia are valuable partners,” he said.

“We have an opportunity to build an even stronger partnership for
the future,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

NATO Secretary General highlighted Armenia’s contribution to the
Alliance’s peacekeeping missions. He said that Armenia has doubled
contribution to ISAF in Afganistan and rejoined the KFOR in Kosovo.

NATO CALLS FOR BETTER AZERI-ARMENIAN TIES

United Press International UPI
Sept 6 2012

YEREVAN, Armenia, Sept. 6 (UPI) — The NATO secretary-general called
on Azerbaijan and Armenia to take steps to avoid an escalation of
conflict by rebuilding a sense of trust.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrived Thursday in
Armenia, his first visit to the country.

In a speech to students at Yerevan State University, Rasmussen
expressed support for Armenia’s partnership with the NATO alliance.

“It’s an opportunity we must seize because we all have to gain and
so does the region as a whole,” he said.

Armenia went to war with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Tensions rekindled in June when fighting broke out
between Azeri and Armenian forces over the region.

Rasmussen is to visit Azerbaijan Friday. He called on both sides to
break down barriers that interfere with reconciliation.

“There must be no return to conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,”
he said. “Tensions must be reduced and concrete steps must be taken
to promote regional cooperation and reconciliation.”

TENSIONS GROWING BETWEEN HUNGARY AND AZERBAIJAN

Mediamax
Sept 6 2012
Armenia

Yerevan, September 6. /Mediamax/. Azerbaijan presented a diplomatic
note to Hungary which says that Ramil Safarov was pardoned according
to the international law and national legislation.

Azerbaijani MFA Spokesman Elman Abdulaev said this today, Trend
reported.

This is another proof that tensions are growing between Hungary
and Azerbaijan.

Let us recall that on September 5 Mediamax’s source at the OSCE
Secretariat in Vienna informed that Hungary discusses the issue of
suspending diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan. According to the
source, the issue was discussed at the meeting of a member of the
Hungarian mission to OSCE with an American official over a working
lunch.

Budapest hasn’t made the final decision, but Hungarian diplomat told
his U.S. colleague that suspending the relations with Azerbaijan is
seen as an option to overcome the difficult situation that has aroused
after Hungary’s decision to transfer the murderer of Armenian officer
to Baku where he was immediately pardoned and glorified. Besides,
such a decision could become a symbolic message for recovering
relations with Armenia, which suspended diplomatic relations with
Budapest after the decision to extradite Ramil Safarov.

Reacting to this report Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Budapest Vilayat
Guliyev violated the common diplomatic practice and made a statement
September 5 on behalf of the Foreign Ministry of Hungary

Vilayat Guliyev said that “the Foreign Ministry of Hungary described
as absurd the report that Budapest discusses suspension of diplomatic
relations with Baku”.

According to Guliyev, he met with Deputy Director of the Department
for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia of Hungarian
Foreign Ministry, Erne Keshneni, who has allegedly described these
reports as absurd.

In fact, Vilayat Guliyev’s urgent statement may prove the credibility
of the information provided by Mediamax’s source.

AZERI LEADER MISSED NAM SUMMIT ON ISRAEL’S “RECOMMENDATIONS”

Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Sahar 1 TV, Iran

[Translated from Azeri]

[Presenter] Despite Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s failure
to participate in the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran on
recommendations from Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran insisted
on its principled position on the Karabakh conflict settlement.

[Correspondent] Baku media reported on the support for Azerbaijan
regarding the Karabakh issue at the Tehran summit of the Non-Aligned
Movement. Qafqazinfo website carried an article by [Azerbaijani
state-run] Azartac news agency headlined “Support for Azerbaijan from
Iran”. The article says that a provision supporting Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity was included in the Tehran summit’s final
declaration.

Provision No 391 on page 104 of the Tehran summit’s final declaration
says that the leaders of the states and governments [that participated
in the summit] expressed regret that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
has not been resolved yet, which continues to pose a threat to
regional and international peace and security. The member countries
of the Non-Aligned Movement once again confirmed the importance of
the principle of non-use of force that was fixed in UN regulations,
and called on the sides [to the conflict] to continue their attempts
to resolve the conflict through negotiations within Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, sovereignty and borders that were recognized
at international level.

PM ANGRY WITH ARMENIA’S INDICATORS IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT

19:30 . 06/09

Though Armenia is satisfied with the Global Competitiveness Report
published yesterday, but it is worried by certain indicators.

Armenia has taken the 82nd place instead of the previous 92nd among
144 countries. The main drawbacks in Armenia are the severity of local
competition, the low standards of business education, the heavy burden
of customs processes, the indicator of weak universities-industry
cooperation, not sufficiently efficient steps directed to the
anti-monopoly policy, the lack of independence of the judicial system.

The PM was especially angry over the IT and internet accessibility
section, as the authors of the report used the 2009 database. Of
course, because of the negligence of Armenian officials.

“It is not understandable why the authors of the report used the 2009
database when we addressed this issue last year and punished officials
of the Ministry of Transport and Communication for not having presented
the corresponding information. But I am reported that information
was placed on the websites this year. This indicator in which we have
essentially worsened our positions is conditioned with the fact that
the indicators of 2009 were used,” PM Tigran Sargsyan said.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL BUREAU OF EXPERTISE COOPERATES WITH CAMBRIDGE

news.am
September 06, 2012 | 05:11

YEREVAN. – Armenian National Bureau of Expertise has set up cooperation
with University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology in the field
of scientific research.

As the Armenian Justice Ministry spokesperson Lana Mshetsyan informed
Armenian News-NEWS.am, director of University of Cambridge Institute
of Criminology, Professor Frederick Lozell has contributed to
scientific research center a series of materials such as articles,
researches and books as previously agreed with bureau’s director
Artashes Javadyan. The materials are mostly related to the studies
of juvenile crimes and development of the preventive measures. They
also present different methods of criminological research, out of
which meta-analysis is mostly discussed.

Currently the staff of research center of applied problems of
criminology works on the translation of the materials. The cooperation
continues.

NATO AND HUNGARY NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SAFAROV’S CRIME – ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN

news.am
September 06, 2012 | 13:17

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan’s granting pardon to Ramil Safarov will not
contribute to peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday, while
addressing the students and faculty at Yerevan State University (YSU),
and in response to the question as to whether the NATO Secretary
General plans to apply certain sanctions upon Hungary and Azerbaijan.

As per Rasmussen, the brutal crime should not have been glorified
in Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan’s decision to pardon will not contribute to peaceful
settlement of the [Nagorno-]Karabakh conflict and to the dialogue
between both countries. This is NATO’s position. NATO is not
responsible for this crime, just as Hungary is not responsible for
this crime. I understand that Safarov’s extradition to Azerbaijan
was carried out in compliance with international standards. But I’m
concerned by the decision to grant Safarov pardon in Azerbaijan,”
the NATO Secretary General noted.

To note, around 200-300 youth had held a demonstration Thursday,
in front of YSU Central Building, to protest NATO Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s visit to Armenia and YSU.

The young people held banners protesting Hungary’s extradition of
Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan and his being pardoned there, Armenian
News-NEWS.am reporter informed from YSU.

Aside from banners, the young protesters also held Gurgen Margaryan’s
picture as well as his killer, Ramil Safarov’s photograph with a red
cross on it.

And upon NATO Secretary General’s arrival at YSU, the youth chanted
“Justice!” while Anders Fogh Rasmussen saluted them and entered
the University.

While in Yerevan the NATO Secretary General will meet with President
Serzh Sargsyan, FM Edward Nalbandian, and Defense Minister Seyran
Ohanyan.

Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier that Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant
in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on August 31 from Hungary,
where he was serving a life sentence-and with no expression of
either regret or remorse-for the premeditated axe murder of Armenian
lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership
for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004.

As expected, Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was
his act of murder, by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s
government and much of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani
president immediately granted him a pardon.

And Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31 that
Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary.

SCHOOL NAMED AFTER GURGEN MARGARYAN

05:38 pm | Today | Official

In connection with naming the school in the village of Artamet
(Baghramyan region, Armavir marz) after Gurgen Margaryan, the
government made the respective amendment to one of its previous
decisions, the press service of the Government reports.

ARMENIA EXPECTS DEFINITE ACTIONS FROM HUNGARY. NO NEED FOR NEGOTIATOR

ARMENPRESS
5 September, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS: Armenia considers that there is
no need for a negotiator in relations with Hungary. Press secretary
of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan, commenting on the
suggestion of Switzerland, which Hungary has accepted, mentioned
,,there is no need for umpire, we need definite actions from Hungarian
authorities” reports Armenpress.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi declared on September 5
that it was “extremely regrettable, unacceptable and condemnable”
that the government of Azerbaijan had not kept its promise not to
release Ramil Safarov, an Azeri officer who received a life sentence
in Hungary for killing an Armenian soldier” reports Armenpress citing
politics.hu. Hungarian Foreign Affair’s Minister highlighted that
they had acted within the international norms that their action had
nothing to do with economic context.

Speaking about his visit to Switzerland Janos Martonyi noted that
his colleague Dider Burkhalter had offered his country’s help in the
settlement of relations between Hungary and Armenia.

Armenia suspended diplomatic relations with Hungary on August 31 when
life-sentenced perpetrator Ramil Safarov was extradited and pardoned
in Azerbaijani. Safarov hacked to death Armenian serviceman Gurgen
Margaryan during NATO’s training in Budapest.

IRAQ PLANS TO OPEN EMBASSY IN ARMENIA – OFFICIAL

PanARMENIAN.Net
September 5, 2012 – 17:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Vice Prime Minister, Territorial Administration
Minister Armen Gevorgyan met with Iraqi delegation led by Deputy
Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Rozh Nouri Shaways.

At the meeting, the Armenian official stressed the importance of
Iraqi delegation’s visit in development of bilateral ties.

Gevorgyan expressed readiness to cooperate with Iraq in the sectors of
construction, energy, food industry, healthcare, science and education.

Mr. Shaways, in turn, noted that the Iraqi side is open to discussion
on possible collaboration perspectives.

In conclusion, Mr. Shaways shared Iraq’s intention to open an embassy
in Armenia, Territorial Administration Ministry press service reported.