Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARMENIE-IRAN
L’Iran ne financera pas la partie arménienne de la voie ferrée Iran-Arménie

L’Iran ne financera pas dans la partie arménienne du futur rail
reliant l’Iran à l’Arménie. Annonce réalisée le 6 décembre à Erévan
par l’Ambassadeur d’Iran en Arménie, Mouhamed Reyisi.

« A l’origine, l’Iran avait affirmé que la construction de cette ligne
n’était pas sa priorité. Mais s’il y avait des investisseurs, notre
pays était prêt avec le budget de l’Etat à construire sur notre
territoire, les 60 kilomètres de voie ferrée pour atteindre la
frontière avec l’Arménie. Pour ce qui est de la portion arménienne,
l’Iran est prêt a réaliser les travaux techniques et d’ingénierie et
mettre à la disposition de l’Arménie ses conseillers » dit
l’Ambassadeur iranien. A la question de savoir sur Téhéran
s’intéresserait au projet de la voie ferrée Kazvin-Reshd-Astara
reliant l’Iran à l’Azerbaïdjan et la Russie, le diplomate iranien a
répondu que l’Iran resterait fidèle à ses promesses. « L’Iran dispose
de nombreuses possibilités en matière de communications pour se relier
à l’Europe ainsi que d’autres régions. Mais nous resterons fidèles aux
contrats signés » répondit l’Ambassadeur d’Iran à Erévan. Le coût
estimée de la voie ferrée Iran-Arménie est estimée à 3,5 milliards de
dollars.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 7 décembre 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

FM: RUSSIA AND OSCE MG CO-CHAIRMEN CONTINUE TO SEEK UNION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT POSITIONS

[ Part 2.2: “Attached Text” ]

Trend, Azerbaijan
Dec 5 2013

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 5
By Viktoriya Zhavoronkova – Trend:

Along with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, Russia continues
promoting rapprochement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict sides’
positions on the basis of principles proposed by the presidents of
the three co-chairing countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov said at the Ministerial Council meeting in Kyiv on Thursday.

“Russia is considering an earlier proposed initiative on establishing
a conflict prevention mechanism within the OSCE as being important.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are
currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

HEAD OF AZERCOSMOS CONSIDERS UNACCEPTABLE INTERFERENCE OF THE ARMENIAN LOBBY IN THE US- AZERBAIJANI RELATIONS IN ICT

Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijan
December 4, 2013 Wednesday

BAKU/03.12.13/Turan:

As part of the 19th international exhibition and conference Baku Tel –
2013 started US-Azerbaijan ICT forum.

According to the head of Azercosmos Rashad Nabiyev , the U.S. space
industry helped Azerbaijan to use its services when you start the first
national satellite . Now turn on the launch of the second satellite,
despite the difficulties associated with the production process and
funding committed by the Armenian lobby in the United States. Thus,
due to delay in funding from the EXIM Bank was a time when on the
agenda of the local government was the question of changing the source
of funding and even producer. In this regard, Nabiyev appealed to
Americans with the proposal to eliminate artificially created problems.

According to the head Azercosmos, the local government intends to
complete the 2017 launch of a second satellite and the satellite image
(for Aerospace Survey), which is not even mentioned. In January or
until the middle of February 2014 there will be training to launch
image- satellites, and American companies have already expressed
their desire to participate in the tender. – 17D-

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER DAVUTOGLU SET TO VISIT ARMENIA NEXT WEEK

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 5 2013

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Dec. 5 that he would be
visiting Armenia next week, marking a first diplomatic push since the
protocols between the two countries signed in 2009 which foresaw the
development of relations, including a decision on opening the borders,
was shelved.

Davutoglu said he accepted Armenia’s invitation to attend a meeting
of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation in Yerevan on Dec. 12.

“Turkey is one of the founding members of the organization. Its
headquarters are located in Istanbul, where Armenia, which is a
member of the organization, also has a representative. I received the
invitation and decided to accept it after consulting the president,”
Davutoglu told reporters during a press conference in Ankara.

Davutoglu met with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandyan earlier
on Dec. 5 during a council of ministers gathering of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in the Ukrainian
capital Kiev. He also held meetings with his Azeri counterpart Elmar
Memmadyarov and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss
talks on the thorny Nagorno-Karabakh issue which Ankara considers as
key for a thaw in its relations with Yerevan.

Davtuoglu also said that he would visit Athens on Dec. 13 and Turkish
Cyprus the following day.

ARMENIA AFTER THE VILNIUS SUMMIT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 5 2013

5 December 2013 – 9:58am

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza

Armenia’s participation in the Eastern Partnership summit, which
recently took place in Vilnius, was limited by signing a joint
statement with the EU, which states its readiness to improve many-sided
cooperation in the spheres of mutual interest. The document is a result
of President Serge Sargsyan’s statement on Armenia’s intention to join
the Russian-led Customs Union on September 3rd. The results of the
summit caused an ambiguous reaction in political and expert circles
of Armenia. Some supporters of European integration, who are governed
by emotions and panic, speak about a huge loss for Armenia, a failure
of the Western policy, and changes in the EU attitude toward Armenia.

According to expert Grant Kostanyan, as Armenia didn’t sign the
association agreement (DCFTA), it lost the opportunity to reform the
economy and the political field. According to the leader of the union
‘National Self-Identity’, Paruijar Ayrikyan, the President actually
rejected progress of the Armenian nation and made a great mistake.

Supporters of European integration, who heavily criticize the
authorities for choosing the Eurasian direction, are concerned that
Armenia’s accession to the CU will lead to a loss of independence
and the country becoming a part of the ‘Russian Empire’.

“After September 3rd, Armenia shifted to a new stage which became
the most fatal for the whole history of independence. Sargsyan
who declared that our country was to join the CU gave a mandate to
Russia for governance of Armenia,” the head of the ‘Consent’ Center
of Political Studies, David Shakhnazaryan, is sure.

In return, representatives of the ruling Republican Party emphasize
that Armenia’s choice is determined by questions of security, and
there are no intentions to change the choice, while cooperation
between Armenia and the EU will continue.

“Nobody has ever denied that relations between Armenia and Russia are
strategic either during talks with the EU or after them. The EU’s
mistake is that they thought that the CU and European integration
are incompatible,” the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Artak Zakaryan, says.

In general, in discussions over Armenia’s choice of a development path
a moderate and reasonable point of view prevails. Its supporters are
sure that cooperation between Armenia and the EU will continue after
the summit in Vilnius. An opportunity of signing the association
agreement without DCFTA is not excluded.

According to some experts, the Eastern Partnership program launched
dividing lines for Armenia at the stage; it was unacceptable for
such a small country which has problems with neighbors and security
of which is provided by Russia. The other sensitive point of view
is that Russia considered the Eastern Partnership as establishing
dividing lines against it.

In the context of another wave of the geopolitical struggle between
Russia and the West, it is important for Armenia to take a position
which excludes using it as a territory of clashes between world
political centers. “We cannot belong to one system and have bad
relations with another. Armenia is a country of compromises rather
than contradictions. As there are Diasporas in many countries of the
world, we should use our potential for peacemaking between Russia
and the West, ” said the former aide of the Armenian president on
national security, Ashot Manucharyan. It seems Armenia succeeds in
this at the current stage.

OSCE HAILS MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 5 2013

5 December 2013 – 1:26pm

At the 20th ministerial session of the OSCE in Kiev today, Leonid
Kozhara, Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and Ukrainian Foreign Minister,
said that the OSCE acclaimed the November meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan at the Palais
Coburg Hotel in Vienna on November 19, their first meeting since
January 2012, Trend reports.

The OSCE encourages the efforts of the Minsk Group to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the 20th ministerial session of the OSCE in Kiev today, Leonid
Kozhara, Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE and Ukrainian Foreign Minister,
said that the OSCE acclaimed the November meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan at the Palais
Coburg Hotel in Vienna on November 19, their first meeting since
January 2012, Trend reports.

The OSCE encourages the efforts of the Minsk Group to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

ARMENIA’S POTATO PRODUCTION LIKELY TO REACH 658,000 METRIC TONS

Fresh Plaza, The Netherlands
Dec 5 2013

Armenia’s potato output this year is about 658,000 tons, slightly more
than last year, when farmers gathered 647,000 tons, deputy agriculture
minister Garnik Petrosyan told a news conference today.

According to him, some 20,000 metric tons of potato have been exported
so far, up from 1000 tons sold by December 1 last year.

He said in view of the fact that some countries have a deficit of
potatoes this year Armenia may sell its surplus to these countries. He
added that Armenia exports potato to Russia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq
and Turkmenistan.

He also downplayed reports that the high price of the omnipresent
vegetable at home is due to increasing exports. Currently one kg
of potato in Yerevan is sold at 140-200 drams. The minister claimed
the price was not high. He said in the past low price often forced
farmers to abandon cultivation of potato. ($ 1 – 403.91 drams).

,000-metric-tons#SlideFrame_1

RUSSIA WILL STAY IN THE CAUCASUS

WPS Agency, Russia
December 3, 2013 Tuesday

by Yelena Yegorova
Source: Moskovsky Komsomolets, No 268, December 3, 2013, p. 2

RUSSIA WILL REWARD ARMENIA’S LOYALTY WITH INVESTMENTS; Armenia was
lured into the Customs Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to Armenia yesterday. Armenia
could well follow in Ukraine’s steps… but local leaders knew better
than pushing things to and beyond the boiling point. As a result,
they are entitled to a carrot from Moscow instead of a stick from the
domestic opposition. Putin promised official Yerevan investments and
a discount on gas. “Russia will never leave the Caucasus,” he said.

Armenian leaders aspired for rapprochement with Europe as greatly as
their Ukrainian counterparts only recently. Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsjan openly called membership in the Customs Union
“pointless and impossible” this summer. The premier promised that
come November, Armenia would sign the agreement of association with
the European Union at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.

Everything changed on September 3 when President Serj Sargsjan visited
Putin in Moscow. Once their meeting was over, Armenia executed an
unexpected U-turn. Nobody knows exactly what arguments made the
Armenian president a political weather vane but it is very unlikely
that they greatly differed from Moscow’s usual rhetorics in dealings
with CIS partners. Armenia is a traditional importer of Gazprom and
foods from Russia. A mere hint at the problems could might develop in
these spheres would have persuaded Sargsjan to play ball. Particularly
since the domestic opposition clamoring for rapprochement with
Europe did not make all that much noise in the first place. (What
few opposition activists were out in the streets with pro-European
posters on the day of Putin’s arrival were promptly overwhelmed and
whisked away to police stations.)

Speaking at the form “Russia. Armenia. Customs Union”, the Russian
president said that official Yerevan had considered all pros and cons
and made its choice. “That’s it sovereign right and its own choice,”
said Putin and promised Armenia help with making “the process of
integration as smooth as possible”.

“Russia will never leave the Caucasus. On the contrary, Russia means
to reinforce here,” said Putin.

Unlike obstinate Kiev that is paying for its obstinacy these days,
Armenia required practically nothing in terms of persuasion. In any
event, this loyalty has to be appreciated and rewarded now… and
rewarded it will be. Russia will invest in Armenian infrastructure and
industry, it will help Armenia modernize its railways and technically
obsolete nuclear and hydroelectric power plants… There are 1,300
companies with Russian capitals functioning in Armenia at this point
– Gazprom, VTB, Russian Railways, Inter RAO Unified Energy Systems,
and many others.

[Translated from Russian]

PALLONE RECOGNIZES 22ND ANNIVERSARY OF NAGORNO KARABAKH’S MOVEMENT TOWARDS LIBERATION

PolitickerNJ, NJ
Dec 4 2013

By Raymond | December 4th, 2013 – 10:52am Share on facebook Share on
twitter Share on favorites Share on print | More Sharing ServicesMore

WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, December 03, 2013, Congressman Frank
Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) recognized the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s
movement towards liberation. An event in the Capitol building
was organized by the Congressional Armenia Issues Caucus, of which
Congressman Pallone is the co-chair and founder, in cooperation with
the Armenian Embassy, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic office in the U.S.

and Armenian-American organizations to mark the anniversary. It has
been 22 years since the referendum in Nagorno Karbakh took place and
the nation adopted its constitution.

Congressman Pallone welcomed Nagorno Karabakh Republic Speaker Ashot
Ghoulian as the event’s keynote speaker, along with Armenian Ambassador
Tatoul Markarian. Nagorno Karabakh’s representative Robert Avetisyan,
who helped organize the event, was also in attendance. The leaders
discussed the ongoing commitment to democracy and freedom in Nagorno
Karabakh, and the importance of U.S. support in the region.

“For the past 22 years, Nagorno Karabakh has firmly demonstrated
its commitment to democratic values and has proven to be a reliable
partner to the international community,” said Congressman Pallone.

“Tonight’s event is an opportunity to commend Nagorno Karabakh’s
meaningful contribution to regional stability and continued pursuit of
restoring a war torn economy, strengthening a blossoming democracy,
and promoting continued development and prosperity of an independent
republic.”

In 1991, as Armenia and Azerbaijan followed most soviet states in
succession from the USSR, Nagorno Karabakh also voted to succeed. In an
internationally monitored referendum, the Nagorno Karabakh population
overwhelmingly voted to establish an independent Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, currently known as NKR. However, the territory is still
not recognized internationally.

Congressman Pallone has called for NKR’s international recognition and
official separation from Azerbaijan as a solution to the regional
conflict and continued violence against the people of Nagorno
Karabakh. He has also advocated for U.S. foreign aid to be provided to
NKR in support for important projects that help rebuild infrastructure
and public works programs.

ARAM KARAPETYAN: WHO IS ARMENIA’S PM – TIGRAN SARGSYAN OR VIGEN SAGSYAN?

19:00 / 04.12.2013

Leader of New Times party Aram Karapetyan asked to comment on the visit
of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Armenia, refused to do it,
saying he prefers to speak about the developments in Ukraine.

“Everything is clear there. Here everything is in mess. As to Putin’s
visit, ask about it him or the leader of our country if we have such,”
he said. Asked about his opinion as political figure and citizen,
Karapetyan said, “As a citizen, I have not felt that gas prices have
gone down.”

He also asked the reporter to clarify whether the country’s PM is
Vigen Sargsyan [head of presidential staff] or Tigran Sargsyan. “Has
the PM changed and I missed it being engaged in developments in
Ukraine? Recently Vigen Sargsyan has been answering to the questions
relating to economic issues. And please, clarify whether Eduard
Sharmazanov, Galust Sahakyan and Vigen Sargsyan are from the same
political force or not, as they three are telling quite different
things with one of them claiming that gas prices will reduce, the
other that it will not, the third one says God knows what. While in
Ukraine everything is clear,” Karapetyan said.

Nyut.am