Author: Kamalian Hagop

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TOROSYAN MEETS THE AGO GROUP
[07:59 pm] 09 June, 2006

On June 9 RA NA President Tigran Torosyan received the Ago group of
the CE Ministers’ Committee, with the resident representative of
Germany in the CE, Roland Vegener. Boyana Urumova, the special envoy
of the CE Secretary General, and Christian Ter-Stepanyan, the RA
resident representative in the CE also participated in the meeting.

During the meeting issues about the commitments of Armenia in the CE
were discussed. Mentioning that the cooperation enters the most
important phase, NA President Tigran Torosyan voiced confidence that
in October of the coming year we will be able to speak about the end
of the monitoring phase.

Mr. Vegener voiced hope that the work of the group will remain as
efficient as it has always been. He referred to the reforms of the
Electoral Code finding the remarks of the Venice Commission and the
organization of democratic elections in Armenia extremely important.

During the meeting issues about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were
also discussed. Mr. Torosyan found the atmosphere in both countries
important and mentioned that it is the only thing which will make the
settlement of the conflict possible. He mentioned that the Azeri Mass
Media do not contribute to the creation of favorable conditions with
their militant announcements which causes concern. He added that the
PACE too has much to do in this respect.

World Cup 2006 to start today in Germany

ArmRadio.am
09.06.2006 10:24

World Cup 2006 will start today in Germany. The opening ceremony will
be held at a newly constricted stadium in Munich, meant for 66
thousand people. The first match of the Championship, Germany-Costa
Rica, will also take place at the same stadium.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 8, 2006 Thursday 08:54 PM EST

Quarter of issues remain unresolved in Nagorno Karabakh talks

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said on Thursday the talks
on the basic principles of Nagorno Karabakh settlement have 25-30
percent of contradicting issues, which the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan are trying to resolve.

“At present there are proposals of co-chairs on the principles of
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and, given the political
will, they may be accepted”, he told the Shant TV channel.

Oskanyan said Armenia agreed to discuss earlier unacceptable topics
only after the issue of self-determination of the people of Nagorno
Karabakh was included into the agenda.

“We can discuss other issues only after the right of the people of
Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination is fixed,” the minister
said.

He said he may meet his Azerbaijani counterpart already next week and
the mediators from the OSCE Minsk Group for Nagorno Karabakh are
already arranging the meeting.

Oskanyan said he and his Azerbaijani counterpart will work to bring
positions closer, and if they succeed, a new Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit will become possible.

“For the sake of the settlement Armenia has done the maximum and
agreed to very serious compromises. But there is a limit, which the
Armenian side cannot overstep,” the minister said.

He added “the problem of Nagorno Karabakh has no military solution
and there is no other way out than to continue negotiations. We shall
work for the settlement through compromises,” Oskanyan said.

PRESS: RUSSIA’S VIMPELCOM BIDS FOR 90% IN ARMENIA’S ARMENTEL

Cellular-News, UK
June 8 2006

MOSCOW, June 8 (Prime-Tass) — Russia?s second largest mobile
operator VimpelCom has filed a bid to participate in the tender of
a 90% stake in Armenian fixed-line and mobile operator ArmenTel,
Vedomosti business daily reported Thursday.

The stake is currently owned by Greece’s OTE, which said in late April
that it planned to sell the stake. The remaining 10% in ArmenTel is
held by the Armenian government

Besides VimpelCom, seven more companies have filed bids for ArmenTel,
including Russia’s MTS and MegaFon, the daily said, citing MDM Bank.

ArmenTel has a monopoly on fixed-line and long-distance services in
Armenia. The company also had a monopoly on mobile services until
mid-2005. ArmenTel’s fixed-line subscriber base stands at about
600,000 users and its mobile subscriber base at about 330,000 users.

Armenia’s population amounts to about 3.2 million people, of which
about 20% use mobile services.

IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR RODRIGO DE RATO TO PARTICIPATE IN DUTCH GROUP’S MEETING IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. A representative meeting of the Dutch
Group with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
(WB) will be held in Yerevan on June 17-18. The Dutch Group has 12
member states: the Netherlands, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Israel, Croatia, Moldova, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, Cyprus
and Macedonia. According to the press service of the RA Ministry of
Finance and Economy, it is envisaged that high-ranking officials –
finance ministers, chairmen of the central banks of the 12 member
states will take part in the annual meeting of the Dutch Group
in Yerevan.

IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, WB Vice President Danny
Leipziger and other high-ranking officials will attend the Yerevan
meeting.

ARMENIAN FESTIVAL ORGANIZED IN U.S. CITY OF ALEXANDRIA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 07 2006

WASHINGTON, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The 14th Armenian
festival took place on June 3 in the city of Alexandria, state of
Virginia, U.S.

The festival was organized by the commission for Alexandria-Gyumri
sister cities and the Alexandria Mayor’s Office, with the assistance
of the RA Embassy to U.S.

As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department, Armenian music was performed during the
festival with participants of many thousands and the Armenian dancing
art was presented as well as Armenian national dishes were served.

According to the decision made by the Alexandria Mayor’s Office,
June 3 of the current year is announced the Day of Armenia.

GEGHAM GHARIBJANYAN: VLADIMIR USTINOV WAS DISMISSED ALSO BECAUSE OF THE RECENT MURDERS ON ETHNIC BASIS IN RUSSIA

ArmRadio.am
06.06.2006 17:48

Deputy Foreign Minister, Coordinator of CIS countries Gegham
Gharibjanyan declared today that former Prosecutor General of Russia
Vladimir Ustinov was dismissed also because of the recent murders on
the ethnic basis in Russia.

“I think this is a fact evidencing that one of the first steps to
be undertaken by the newly appointed Prosecutor will be fighting
interethnic conflicts,” said Gegham Gharibjanyan. According to him,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has reacted correspondingly
to the recent events in Russia. He said, “We are concerned with the
issue and we have submitted it to the Spokesman of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Russia, who is in Armenia these days.

As CIS coordinator I will speak to the Deputy Foreign Minister of
Russia about the issue.”

UKRAINE SELLS MILITARY EQUIPMENT TO AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.06.2006 16:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ukraine sold twenty-five T-72 tanks, two BMP-1
(armored carriers), eleven 9A52 and twenty-three PM-38 artillery
mounts to Azerbaijan in 2005, says Ukraine’s report on selling of
weapons and military equipment to world countries submitted to the
UN. On the whole Ukraine gained $680 million from selling arms and
military equipment. Aviation, armored equipment, anti-aircraft systems
occupied the main place in the export, reports APA.

May 24, 2006 Chief of the Ukraine’s General Staff, colonel general
Sergey Kirichenko stated at a news conference in Yerevan that reports
on arms supplies to Azerbaijan are false. “Ukraine does not interfere
with conflicts between states and does not supply arms to any of the
parties. This refers to light armament, as well as tanks, planes,”
the Chief of the Ukraine’s General Staff underscored.

UAF’S 138TH AIRLIFT DELIVERS $ 12 MILLION OF AID TO ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 06 2006

GLENDALE, CA, JUNE 6, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The United
Armenian Fund’s 138th airlift arrived in Yerevan on June 3, delivering
$ 12 million of humanitarian assistance. The UAF itself collected $
10.8 million of medicines and medical supplies for this flight, most
of which were donated by AmeriCares ($ 9.9 million); MAP International
($ 481,000); Health Partners International of Canada ($ 298,000) and
Catholic Medical Mission Board ($ 150,000). Other organizations which
contributed goods for this airlift were: Pfizer Inc. ($ 445,000);
UMAF from France ($ 309,000); Armenian Eyecare Project ($ 74,000);
Armenian International Ophthalmic Association ($ 50,000); Nork Marash
Medical Center ($ 44,000); International Academy of Telepathology
($ 38,000) and Howard Karagheusian Commemorative Corporation ($
36,000). Also contributing to this airlift were: Foundation Semra
($ 28,000); Armenian American Health Association of WA ($ 20,000);
Armenian American Cultural Association ($ 20,000).

Since its inception in 1989, the UAF has sent $ 441 million of
humanitarian assistance to Armenia on board 138 airlifts and 1,312
sea containers. The UAF is the collective effort of the Armenian
Assembly of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the
Armenian Missionary Association of America, the Armenian Relief
Society, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, the Prelacy
of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and the Lincy Foundation.

ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN: PRESIDENTS MEET IN BUCHAREST TO DISCUSS KARABAKH

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 5 2006

Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev have met for talks on the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Speaking to RFE/RL in an exclusive interview, Steven Mann, the U.S.
co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group, said that the presidents spoke
for 2 and 1/2 hours on June 4. “There was a good atmosphere in the
talks and again, a good atmosphere and a detailed discussion,” he said.

The Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by the United States, Russia,
and France, has been negotiating the conflict since 1992.

Russian Minsk Group co-chair Yury Merzlyakov said the fact that the
presidents decided to meet was significant: “Russia’s position is
that a settlement cannot be imposed on the two parties. They should
reach it themselves, with the help of mediators. I think it is clear.

The parties themselves bear the main responsibility for reaching
a settlement.”

The talks are the second time the presidents have met this year,
after meeting in Rambouillet, near Paris, on February 10-11. Those
talks failed to yield any agreement.

Peace Prospects

Predominantly ethnic-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh seceded from Soviet
Azerbaijan in 1988, triggering a six-year war that ended with a
truce. Officially, the two countries are still at war.

Both presidents are under renewed pressure to reach a framework
agreement on solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the end of
this year.

Diplomats and observers have said that, with the absence of national
elections in both countries, this year presents a good opportunity
to reach a framework agreement.

Today, the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents will both speak at the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in the Romanian Parliament
in Bucharest.