Author: Kanayan Tamar

Iran will be regular gasoline exporter next year, Qasemi says
Economic Desk

On Line: 03 February 2013 15:41
In Print: Monday 04 February 2013

Iran plans to become a regular gasoline exporting nation within
months, despite sanctions against the country, Iranian Oil Minister
Rostam Qasemi said.

`The progress made in the oil industry has allowed us to leave behind
the road of sanctions,’ Qasemi was quoted as saying during the
inauguration ceremony last week of a new gasoline-producing unit at
the Abadan refinery, the oil ministry’s news website, Shana, said.

`With the coming on stream of this unit, Iran no longer needs to
import gasoline and will be among the exporters of gasoline,’ by the
next Iranian year starting on March 21 or the following Iranian year
at the latest, Qasemi said.

Iran boosted the refinery’s fuel output capacity by 2 million liters a
day to 6 million liters, state television said on Jan. 31.

Iran, one of the main producers of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries, formerly relied on imported gasoline to meet as
much as 40 percent of its needs as it lacked sufficient refining
capacity. The U.S. tightened its sanctions against Iran, over the
country’s civilian nuclear program, in 2010 to target foreign
suppliers of gasoline.

Iran has exported Iranian-made gasoline in recent months to the U.A.E,
Afghanistan, Iraq and Armenia, the state-run Mehr news agency reported
in June 2012.

(Source: Bloomberg)

`I am sure we will have solved Karabakh problem by 2033′ – Serzh Sargsyan

18:21 16/02/2013 » POLITICS

Presidential candidate Serzh Sargsyan is sure Armenia will make great
progress in the coming 20 years.

`I am sure in the coming 20 years there will be changes just like
there are today compared with 20 years ago. If today, in 2013, the
situation is better than in 1993, then I am sure that we will have
solved the Karabakh problem by 2033 and Armenia will be one of the
developed countries of Europe,’ the candidate said, adding that hard
and consistent work is needed to achieve it.

Source: Panorama.am

Energy Minister: Jacobs Company will redeem Nairit Plant’s debts

ARMINFO
Saturday, February 16, 17:31

Jacobs Company has approved the project of Nairit Plant CJSC’s
reactivation and has agreed to redeem the plant’s depts., Minister of
Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia Armen Movsisyan told media, on
February 16.

He did not specify when the plant’s debts will be redeemed, but said
that the negotiations “have reached the stage of summary.” To recall,
the current arrears of wages of the country’s chemical giant has
approached 49 million over the last 9 months. The monthly salary costs
of the plant average $1 million (2,700 employees), the company’s
press-service told ArmInfo.

The plant specializing in production of synthetic rubber has been idle
since April 2010. About 800 employees regularly work in shifts to keep
the enterprise in working condition and to prevent a technological
disaster. The rest of the employees are put on enforced leave. In
January the leadership of the company promised the employees to give
them salaries for two months, but did not give a single dram.

To remind, during the latest protest action on 26 Nov 2012 the
leadership of the Plant’s trade union promised Armenian Minister of
Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan that the issue of re-
launch of Nairit Plant will become certain by the end of 2012.

The Armenian press disseminated rumors that Leader of the Prosperous
Armenia Party, oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan was allegedly going to buy the
enterprise. Itera company (Russia) was also mentioned among the
potential buyers of the plant. Moreover, Itera and Armenian
Government discussed possible committing of Nairit Plant to trust of
Itera, however, there is no progress in this issue. In response to
ArmInfo’s request in Nov 2012, the company said that the interest in
Nairit still remained. In 2006, 90% of the shares of “Nairit” were
sold to British Consortium Rainoville Property Limited for 40 million
US dollars. Rhinoville Property Limited holds 89,999% shares in the
plant, the Armenian Ministry for Energy and Natural Resources –
4.496%, and ArmRusgasprom – 3.569%, Yerevan TPP – 1.907%. The fixed
assets of the plant and the major shareholder Rhinoville Property
Limited were put in pledge at Mezhgosbank and were transferred to the
bank after the company failed to repay the loan. The loan in the
amount of $70 million and a 5-year maturity was provided in 2006 on
security of the plant’s shares at the annual interest of 12.5%.

Armenia’s offer to Euronest accepted

NEWS.AM
February 15, 2013 | 18:50

YEREVAN. – Member of the Armenian parliamentary delegation to Euronest
Mher Shahgeldyan presented the results of Euronest PA committee
meeting held in Chisinau on February 11-13.

The meeting was dedicated to economic integration, convergence of
legal norms and issues related to EU policies, Shahgeldyan told
reporters on Friday.

During the meeting a project on harmonisation of the European
Partnership member countries’ trade-related legislation with EU
standards was discussed, on which Mher Shahgeldyan had presented
several proposals. He informed that the project is in the elaboration
phase, it will be fully presented during the plenary session.

The Armenian delegation has proposed to write the next report on civil
aviation. During discussions, it was decided to write the report
generally about communication and transport. Mher Shahgeldyan said
that Armenia expressed willingness to act as a co-rapporteur. The
proposal was accepted by all the members of the summit.

The second regional cultural exhibition ART Expo kicked off in Vanadzor

2013-02-16 13:53:10

The second regional cultural exhibition ART Expo kicked off in
Vanadzor. In several dozen pavilions of culture representatives from
Armenian regions are examples of folk art, or invited to try their
gifts of their field.

Exhibition was organized by RA Ministry of Culture and Territorial
Administration. Vanadzor was chosen because, at the first meeting held
in 2011 in Gyumri, Lori region (the center of which Vanadzor) got the
most medals.

Vanadzor’s exhibition – the second stage, it was preceded by regional
competitions. The final stage – a gala concert and prize will be held
in the Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet after Spendiaryan.

Decision 2013: Vote for anyone but Sargsyan, ARF says to voters

VOTE 2013 | 15.02.13 | 14:11

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) has called on its rank and
file members and supporters to go to the polls on February 18 and cast
their votes for any of the seven candidates except current president
Serzh Sargsyan.

The party advises that people go to the polls even if they don’t have
a preferred candidate, in that case simply spoiling their
ballot-papers and making their ballots invalid.

In a statement issued on Friday the ARF voices a hope that `after all
a democratic Armenia will be established through democratic
elections.’ It also pledged to continue its struggle to overcome `the
atmosphere of uncertainty and despair’ in Armenia and to put the
country back on its `normal path of development’.

The ARF was one of three political forces, also including the main
opposition Armenian National Congress and the `alternative’ Prosperous
Armenia Party that decided not to field a candidate of their own nor
endorse any other candidates vying for presidency in the election.

HAUT KARABAGH
Bako Sahakian a participé aux cérémonies à Stepanakert dédiées au 25e
anniversaire du mouvement de libération de l’Artsakh

Mercredi 13 février, Bako Sahakian, le président de la République du
Haut Karabagh a participé sur la place de la Renaissance à Stepanakert
à la manifestation populaire dédiée au 25 anniversaire de la naissance
du mouvement de libération nationale de l’Artsakh (Karabagh). Bako
Sahakian a rappelé l’importance de célébrations dédiées aux évènements
historiques, politiques ou morales qui ont marqué et donné naissance à
la République du Haut Karabagh. Mgr Barkév Mardirossian l’archevêque
représentant de l’Eglise arménienne de l’Artsakh était présent à la
manifestation, tout comme de hautes personnalités de la République du
Haut Karabagh ainsi que des milliers de citoyens participant à ces
cérémonies.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 16 février 2013,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 15 2013

Murdered journalist Dink’s lawyers demand files from `cosmic room’
ISTANBUL

Slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink’s family lawyers have
asked the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office to demand information from an
investigation in the military’s top-secret archives in Ankara, dubbed
the `cosmic room,’ about Dink’s murder, in the wake of a `surprising’
witness.

Cem Halavurt, one of the lawyers of the Dink family, told the Hürriyet
Daily News yesterday that after learning from the media reports that
files examined by the Mobilization Investigation Board, called the
`cosmic room,’ related to an assassination attempt of Deputy Prime
Minister Bülent Arınç matched up with the report sent by the National
Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) to Parliament on the issue.

`In the latest trial, we demanded the court ask the Mobilization
Investigation Board to provide documents about the murder of Hrant
Dink,’ said Halavurt.

The lawyers’ demand came as an inmate claiming to have information on
Dink’s killers sent a letter to prosecutors.

The informant, who is said to be currently serving a prison sentence
in Turkey’s Tokat province in Central Anatolia, offered documentation
relating to Dink’s murder in his letter and agreed to cooperate in the
investigation provided the protection of his family was guaranteed by
authorities, DoÄ?an news agency reported Feb. 13. In the letter the
informant revealed the murder had been planned by a group he had been
a member of along with Erhan Tuncel, a former police informant and
suspect, later released following the trial. Daily Radikal provided
the details of the letter yesterday in which the informants also
claimed that he had information on other crimes such as the murder of
Father Andrea Santoro in Trabzon.

In 2006 Father Andrea Santoro of the Catholic Church of Santa Maria in
Trabzon was murdered. One year later, Dink, editor-in-chief of
Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos, was murdered in Istanbul on Jan. 19.

The informant claimed Tuncel told him that `we have buried Father
Santoro,’ during one of their conversations. The informant also said
he and Tuncel had been planning to assassinate the priest at Hagia
Yorgi located on Büyükada, the biggest island of the Princes’ Islands.

Halavurt said the prosecutors are evaluating the informant’s demand
and that they were hoping that the informant’s claims may shed light
on the murder of Dink.

He also criticized the leak of the letter to the media, saying that it
might affect the case and may dissuade the informant from making more
confessions.
February/15/2013

The Voice of Russia
Feb 16 2013

Quiet before elections in Armenia

In Armenia Saturday is the last day of election campaigning for the
next presidential elections to be held in the country on Monday,
February 18th.
Seven candidates arte running for the office of president and will
hold their last meetings with the electorate during the day. Saturday
will also see the last campaign commercials shown on television.

All campaigning is prohibited on the Sunday preceding election day in Armenia.

Voice of Russia, TASS

Catholic Culture
Feb 15 2013

Syrian rebel soldiers kidnap 2 priests
CWN – February 15, 2013

Two Christian priests – one Armenian Catholic and the other Greek
Orthodox – have been kidnapped by Syrian rebel soldiers.

Armenian Catholic Archbishop Boutros Marayati of Aleppo told the Fides
news service that it was unclear whether the kidnappers represented
the rebel forces or were renegades acting for themselves. Church
officials are trying to establish contact with the kidnappers; to date
no ransom demand has been confirmed.

Father Michel Kayyal (Armenian Catholic) and Father Maher Mahfouz
(Greek Orthodox) were taken by armed men from a bus on the road from
Aleppo to Damascus. The priests were the only passengers on the bus
who were abducted.