Author: Khondkarian Raffi

ARMENIA TO OFFER TURKEY PARTICIPATION IN NUCLEAR PLANT PROJECT

AzerNews Weekly
March 4 2009
Azerbaijan

The Armenian government intends to offer Turkey the opportunity
to participate in the construction of its nuclear power plant,
a multi-billion-dollar project that Yerevan plans to launch soon,
Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian has said.

Sarkisian claimed that construction of a new nuclear plant was not
only of economic but also of political significance.

"This project could play an important stabilizing role in the
region. We want neighboring Turkey to take part in building the power
station, along with our strategic partner Russia."

Sarkisian said tests required to start the project, which is valued
at $4-6 billion, had already begun. The power plant is set to be
built by 2016.

Turkey has yet to respond to the Armenian premier`s statement, but
the Russian media have maintained that Ankara thinks positively of
the proposal.

"The government of Turkey is anticipating an official appeal on
participation in the atomic power plant from Armenian official
circles," Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Independent Newspaper) quoted an
undisclosed Turkish government source as saying. "Only after that
the Turkish side may consider the prospect of participating in the
project and announce its decision. If all the issues involved are
complied with, Yerevan`s proposal may be accepted."

The issue of constructing a nuclear power plant in Armenia has
been under discussion for several years. As is known, the existing
Metsamor facility, located outside the capital, is dilapidated
and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Union and
other international groups are insisting it be shutdown. The power
station, which consists of two blocks and has a capacity of 815 MWt,
was commissioned in 1976 and was a key source of electricity for
Armenia in the Soviet times. Along with meeting domestic demand,
power generated at the facility was exported to Turkey as well as to
Georgia and Azerbaijan.

After sustaining considerable damage in the aftermath of a
devastating earthquake in 1988, the operation of the power station
was suspended. However, after lengthy talks with international
representatives, Armenia managed to put one of the blocks, with 407MWt
capacity, back into operation in 1995. Today, the facility meets
half of the country`s demand for electricity. Since 2003, it has been
managed and virtually owned by Russian giants Inter RAO ES and Rosatom.

The EU has called for the close-down of the Metsamor power station by
2010-2011, while Yerevan hopes for assistance from the organization
of $1 billion in exchange for its closure.

Meanwhile, the U.S. decided to help Armenia with the construction
of a new power plant. According to a document signed, Washington
will allocate $2m for the preparation of a feasibility study under
the project.

Joseph Pennington, the U.S. charge d`affaires in Yerevan, said
Washington, which has long been pressing for the closure of Metsamor`s
sole reactor, supports the ambitious idea and will help Yerevan put
it into practice.

"The U.S. government supports the building of a new plant not only
to improve Armenia`s energy security but also because of continuing
concerns regarding the safety of the existing nuclear plant,"
Pennington said. "We look forward to the rapid replacement of the
Metsamor facility with a more modern and safer plant."

The diplomat said it would be premature to speak of the financing
issue but added that Washington could help Yerevan find a source.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER, CBA CHAIRMAN AND MINISTER OF ECONOMY SHOULD RESIGN, ECONOMIST ANDRANIK TEVANIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan

M arch 4, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The current economic situation in
Armenia is mainly conditioned by the economic policy of Armenian
government and the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Armenia
(CBA) rather than by international financial and economic crisis,
economist Andranik Tevanian stated at the March 4 press conference. In
his words, the international processes have conditioned the economic
processes in Armenia by 10-20%, while the rest is the consequence of
the internal policy.

A. Tevanian said that March 3rd can be called a "black Tuesday". In
his words, there was total anarchy in the country yesterday as the two
persons responsible for Armenian economy – the president and prime
minister did not speak at all about the floating exchange rate. The
economist reminded that as early as mid 2008 there were opinions
about the need to pass to a controlled floating exchange rate, that
is, to raise the exchange rate by 5-10 drams every week, which would
not cause shocks, and reserves of 370 million dollars would not be
wasted. However, the representatives of authorities considered this
step as wrong. Now, according to A. Tevanian, the situation is fatal,
and the reserves were spent, reaching a billion USD mark.

He expressed an opinion that the steps taken by the authorities
are related to criminology rather than to economics. "I will ask
the prosecutor’s office to open a criminal case and find out how it
happened that only a day ago people sold more than 31 million dollars
at 307 drams a dollar on the stock exchange, while the following day
the CBA sold the dollar at 372 drams," Tevanian said. In his opinion,
the concrete officials should be held accountable for that, and the
prime minister, the chairman of the CBA and the minister of economy
should resign. Besides, according to him, the prosecutor’s office
should reveal the main purchasers of dollars in the past 5 days, as
well as the amount of capital outflow from Armenia during that period.

ARMENIA’S MONETARY BASE 400.2BLN AMD THIS JANUARY

ARKA
March 2, 2009

YEREVAN, March 2. /ARKA/. This January, Armenia’s monetary base
decreased by 49.5bln AMD or by 11% down to 400.2bln AMD.

The RA Statistical Service reports that the cash in circulation
outside the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) totaled 302.1bln AMD at
the end of this January against 344.5bln AMD early in January. The
required reserves in terms of AMD totaled 24.4bln AMD against 38.5bln
AMD last December. The required foreign currency reserves totaled
72.8 AMD against 65.9bln AMD.

The net international reserves (without privatization receipts) totaled
339.4bln AMD late this January – a monthly decrease of 37.5bln AMD
or 9.9%.

The net internal assets totaled 60.8bln AMD against 72.8bln AMD early
this January.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT – POSITION TITLE: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, FSN-7

AZG DAILY
28-02-2009

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION

The position is located in the Management Office, USAID/Armenia. The
primary purpose is to carry out the Mission’s Records and
Communications program, provide travel coordination, and perform a
full array of administrative duties to ensure the smooth, effective,
and efficient operation of USAID/Armenia. The incumbent is the focal
person on agency requirements concerning records management. The
incumbent is responsible for developing and maintaining a computerized
correspondence control system to ensure timely response to important
Mission correspondence. Keeps the Mission Director and Deputy Mission
Director informed of delinquent actions. Serves as liaison with
the ICASS travel agency on ticket issuance matters, and maintains
travel files. Provides a variety of administrative support services
in support of Mission staff.

QUALIFICATIONS

– Completion of secondary school and some post-secondary school,
business school or college education is required.

– Three to five years experience in office management, travel,
logistics, customer service, and experience in establishing/maintaining
a structured office filing system required.

– Level IV (fluent) in English and Armenian is required.

– Mastery of English grammar, spelling, punctuation, paragraphs and
sentence structure (syntax) is required. Demonstrated proficiency in
preparing various correspondence formats (i.e. memoranda, letters,
reports, faxes, etc.) as well as standardized documents and forms is
required. A thorough understanding of organizational structure specific
to administrative management in a busy office environment is required.

– The ability to work effectively in a team environment and adapt
to the existing work environment is required. The incumbent must be
able to work calmly, tactfully, and effectively under pressure and to
demonstrate flexibility in managing and prioritizing multiple tasks
simultaneously. In addition, strong communication and inter-personal
skills, tact and diplomacy are required. Incumbent must have the
ability to effectively and efficiently guide the flow of documents and
work through and/or to the appropriate USAID offices, staff and team
members. Strong organizational skills are required. The incumbent of
this position is required to have a high degree of computer literacy.

POSITION TITLE: MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT, FSN-9

CLOSURE DATE: March 10, 2009

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION

Incumbent assists the USPSC Management/Executive Officer in
planning, directing, and administering the management program of
USAID/Armenia. Under the direction of the USPSC Management/Executive
Officer, the incumbent is responsible for monitoring and oversight
of services provided by ICASS, serving as advocate for USAID in
fulfilling services, and assuring quality service commensurate with
cost and value. The incumbent is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week to provide guidance and assistance to USAID/Armenia staff in
emergency situations. The incumbent is in charge of the Management
Office during the absence of the Management/Executive Officer.

QUALIFICATIONS:

– A University degree in business administration with a concentration
in accounting, finance, human resources, marketing and/or public
administration.

– From three (3) to five (5) years of progressively responsible
experience in two or more areas of administrative management,
particularly Personnel, General Services, Property Management,
Budget planning.

– Level IV (fluent), written and oral proficiency in English and
Armenian is required.

– Incumbent must have knowledge of procedures involving administration,
management and accountability for expendable property and
non-expendable property, transportation/vehicle maintenance, physical
security for building operations, budgeting and other administrative
procedures, and regulations and requirements sufficient to perform the
functions of the position. Incumbent must also have a working knowledge
of the Microsoft Office portfolio, including Word, Outlook, etc.

– The ability to work effectively in a team environment and adapt to
the existing work environment is required. Excellent interpersonal and
communication skills, tact and diplomacy are required to effectively
provide services to a diverse and often times demanding clientele. The
ability to prioritize work schedules based on an evaluation of rapidly
changing Mission support requirements; to recognize the full range
and complexities of the overall Mission General Services (GSO) and
personnel operations and make sound and prudent decisions combined with
good financial management skills are required to forecast budgets and
report on budget expenditures. Attention to detail, strong focus and
commitment to "customer service" and good financial management skills
are essential and required attributes of this position. Demonstrated
proficiency in using the latest computer technology to include but
not limited to: word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, and other
computer programs such as EXCEL, INFO Forms, PowerPoint, etc. is
required.

WHO MAY APPLY : Unlimited

HOW TO APPLY : Interested candidates must submit a complete OF 612,
Optional Application for Federal Employment. In addition applicants
may also attach a resume or CV. Application forms are available in the
Main Entrance, Reception Area of the U.S. Embassy and on USAID/Armenia
official website at Completed application forms must
be deposited in the Application Box located at the U.S. Embassy, 1
American Avenue, Yerevan, not later than close of business March 10,
2009 .

Alternatively, you can e-mail your application to
[email protected] or apply online through

For more details, please visit .

FITNA TO BE SCREENED IN CONGRESS

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.02.2009 14:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. Republican Sen. Jon Kyl is hosting Fitna, a
film screening at the Capitol building on Thursday for Geert Wilders,
a Dutch lawmaker whose film claims that Islam inspires terrorism.

Kyl agreed to facilitate the event because "all too often, people who
have the courage to point out the dangers of militant Islamists find
themselves vilified and endangered," said spokesman Ryan Patmintra,
AP reports.

The event is closed to the public and press, but the film is being
shown to members of Congress and their staff in the ornate "LBJ room,"
a Senate office once used by Lyndon B. Johnson as majority leader
and later vice president.

It’s sponsored by the International Free Press Society, headed by Lars
Hedegaard, the Danish activist, and the Center for Security Policy,
a think tank in Washington led by Republican Frank Gaffney.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Netanyahu to head Israeli government
20.02.2009 21:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Israeli
right-of-centre Likud party, has been asked to form Israel’s next
government.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel faced "great challenges" including the global
economic crisis and what he said was Iran’s wish to obtain nuclear
weapons. He said he would try to form a unity government with his
political rivals.

But Tzipi Livni, leader of the centrist Kadima, has suggested she
would rather be in opposition than join a government led by Mr
Netanyahu.

Kadima narrowly defeated Likud in the election held on 10 February,
but Mr Netanyahu has the support of religious and right-wing parties
in the Israeli parliament. His position was bolstered on Thursday when
Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beiteinu, which favors tightening
the Israeli blockade on Gaza, said it wanted him to be prime minister.

President Shimon Peres and Mr Netanyahu held a news conference to
officially announce that the Likud leader now has six weeks to put
together a coalition.

He told the news conference he wanted to open talks with his political
rivals to form a "broad national unity government for the good of the
people and the state". He said, "I call on Kadima chairwoman Tzipi
Livni and Labour Party chairman Ehud Barak and I say to them – let’s
unite to secure the future of the State of Israel."

On Iran, Mr Netanyahu returned to a key campaign theme, suggesting
that Tehran had emerged as Israel’s greatest security threat, BBC
reports.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Kyiv, Tbilisi not given green light to NATO full-fledged membership
21.02.2009 14:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Talks by NATO defense ministers at an informal
gathering in Poland have focused on ways to keep alive the membership
hopes of two former Soviet republics – Ukraine and Georgia.

Talks included meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission and the
NATO-Georgia Commission. The commissions include defense ministers
from NATO’s 26 members, as well as their counterparts from Kyiv and
Tbilisi, RFE/RL reports.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking before talks at
the NATO-Ukraine Commission, addressed Kyiv’s bid to join NATO.

"We have today a timely opportunity to review Ukraine’s defense and
security sector reform efforts and consider ways in which the alliance
can continue to support its preparations for NATO membership," de Hoop
Scheffer said.

"NATO remains ready to assist Ukraine in undertaking comprehensive
reforms in its defense and security structures. We are determined to
continue to develop this strategic partnership," he added.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told journalists that more work
needs to be done to overcome divisions within Ukraine over its NATO
membership bid.

"There needs to be greater unanimity of view in the Ukrainian
government itself about the next steps, not to mention the resources
for modernization of Ukraine’s military," Gates said.

Gates also said both the United States and NATO would continue to
expand cooperation with Georgia, despite opposition from Moscow.

"We have a continuing security relationship with Georgia. We are
involved in training. We are involved in military reform in Georgia,"
Gates said. "So this is an ongoing relationship. And it is a
relationship that we are pursuing both bilaterally and within the
framework of our NATO allies."

Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski came up with a
harsh criticism. `NATO allies realized during the Russian-Georgian
crisis in August 2008 that the enemy may be closer to the alliance’s
borders than previously thought, which is why the organization will
take this fact into account in the future,’ he said.

"We now face a different situation. We’re after the crisis in Georgia
and I can assure you that there is much more of a discussion right now
within the alliance, to a large extent because many partners realize
that the enemy unfortunately can be much closer to our borders."

"We have to take this into account when we plan the future of the
alliance," he added.

RA PRESIDENT ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO FURTHER DEEPENING OF COOPERATION WITH EUROPEAN UNION

Noyan Tapan
Feb 19, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, NOYAN TAPAN. On February 18, RA President Serzh
Sargsyan met with EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus
Peter Semneby. Serzh Sargsyan attaching importance to further deepening
of cooperation with the European Union expressed confidence that
the 2009-2011 actions plan adopted at the National Security Council
sitting gives a possibility to move forward in that direction.

During the meeting the interlocutors touched upon cooperation within
the framework of EU Eastern Partnership initiative, Nagorno Karabakh
settlement negotiations process, Armenian-Turkish dialogue, as well
as the process of reforms in Armenia. Attaching importance to the
regional cooperation component of the Eastern Partnership being
launched, S. Sargsyan expressed the hope that the European Union
will be consistent to ensure loyalty of all countries involved in
that initiative to that priority.

P. Semneby reaffirmed the intention of Javier Solana, the EU High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, to visit
Armenia soon according to the agreement reached within the framework
of S. Sargsyan’s visit to Brussels.

According to the RA President’s Press Office, Tomasz Knothe, the
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland presiding over
in EU, Serge Smessow, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of France to RA, as well as Raul de Luzenberger, the head of the
European Commission delegation in Armenia, took part in the meeting.

EU: STRENGTHENING REGIONAL COOPERATION TO PROVE EFFECTIVE FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.02.2009 15:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Eastern Partnership will add a multilateral
dimension to EU bilateral cooperation with each partner country,
Head of the European Commission Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador
Raul de Luzenberger said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"Strengthening regional cooperation in the South Caucasus could prove
a very effective means to support both Armenia and Azerbaijan in the
achievement of a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Improvements
in Armenian-Turkish relations are also welcomed by the EU," he said,
adding that the EU supports the OSCE Minsk Group efforts to solve
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

ARMENIA NEEDS NO CHANGES OF CURRENCY POLICY

ARKA
Feb 17, 2009

YEREVAN, February 17. /ARKA/. Armenia does not need any changes of its
currency policy, Age Bakker, Executive Director of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), stated at Yerevan State University, responded to
a question about the possibility of Armenia’s joining the rouble zone.

Armenia has a profound currency policy and does not need to change it,
Bakker said.

He pointed out Armenia’s rather flexible currency policy and has been
maintaining its stable positions for a long time, whereas many other
national currencies, including the Russian rouble, have depreciated.

According to him, the dram balance is to be in equilibrium in Armenia.

The Armenian authorities and financial institutions can maintain the
macroeconomic and financial stability along with the competitive
positions depending on the exchange rates, actual demand and
international situation, Bakker said.

The floating exchange rate policy was launched in Armenia in 1993
and has been welcomed by international institutions.

>From 2003 to 2008, 47.3% USD depreciation against the AMD was
registered in Armenia. January 8 through 29, the USD showed 0.7%
depreciation against the AMD. This January, the USD average exchange
rate was 305.53 AMD/$1 – a fall of 0.4% as compared with last January
(306.83 AMD/$1).