YOUNG FIGURE SKATERS OF ARMENIA PREPARE IN MOSCOW FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Noyan Tapan
Feb 14, 2008
MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. World Youth Figure Skating
Championship will start in Sofia on February 24. Armenian figure
skaters Armine Stamboltsian and Sargis Hayrapetian will take part in
the championship.
Together with their coach Samvel Hayrapetian they are now training
with the Russian team in Moscow.
Lragir, Armenia
Feb 14 2008
WHAT DISAPPEARING FROM POLITICAL SPHERE MEANS
As the presidential election is drawing nearer, the rating of our
candidate grows, stated Heghine Bisharyan, head of the election
office of the presidential candidate Arthur Baghdasaryan on February
14 at the Pastark Club. She said this worries the pro-government
media, and some pro-opposition media, which are up for denigrating
Arthur Baghdasaryan.
Heghine Bisharyan stated that they do not believe in this political
war and such efforts to get political dividends. Heghine Bisharyan
voiced concern about an article issued in the Haykakan Zhamanak on
February 14. The article states that the presidential candidate
Arthur Baghdasaryan, allied with the government, will get the highest
number of votes in the first round of the election, and thereby the
government will prevent criticism of a rigged election and guarantee
the victory of Serge Sargsyan in the second round. The newspaper also
wrote that Serge Sargsyan possesses compromising materials on Arthur
Baghdasaryan and his team and uses them to control the moves of the
presidential election.
Heghine Bisharyan wonders why the presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s team negotiates alliance with them in the evening,
and in the morning the newspaper the editor-in-chief of which
endorses Levon Ter-Petrosyan, publishes an article about a plot
between Arthur Baghdasaryan and the government. Heghine Bisharyan
says this policy of blackmail is inadmissible, and the reason of this
ostrich policy is not clear. She says she perceives this policy as an
arrangement between Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Serge Sargsyan to
splinter the opposition and favor the government. Heghine Bisharyan
says if the editor of the Haykakan Zhamanak is on Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s side, he should write against the government rather
than `chase Arthur Baghdasaryan’. The reporters asked why they
continue to negotiate with Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s team if they think
so. Heghine Bisharyan reversed the question why Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
team continues to negotiate with them if it doubts them.
The head of Arthur Baghdasaryan’s election office stated that the
biography of the members of their team and their families is open to
the society, and people no longer believe in what the newspapers
write to denigrate them. We are against winning support through
denigrating one other, Heghine Bisharyan says. She stated that
judging by their meetings in the regions, Arthur Baghdasaryan’s
rating is growing, and he will be the first rather than the second.
Heghine Bisharyan stated that their candidate will run in the second
round of the election. Heghine Bisharyan says Levon Ter-Petrosyan or
Serge Sargsyan may be his opponent, otherwise no other candidate has
the chance to win in the first round. She said negotiations with
Levon Ter-Petrosyan for an alliance continue and bilateral alliance
rather than endorsement is under consideration. In answer to the
question if obsessed by their ambitions, Arthur Baghdasaryan and
Levon Ter-Petrosyan will not guarantee Serge Sargsyan’s victory in
the first round, Heghine Bisharyan says Arthur Baghdasaryan ranks at
least two, and judging by revealed results of public polls, others
should consider joining him.
The head of Arthur Baghdasaryan’s election office also said that they
are closely cooperating with Levon Ter-Petrosyan to battle election
fraud, introduce their members of election commissions and proxies
with Ter-Petrosyan’s proxies to be able to prevent fraud on the
voting day.
In answer to the question what her thoughts are regarding Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s pronouncement in Syunik that if Arthur Baghdasaryan
does not join them, will disappear from the political sphere, Heghine
Bisharyan said she was surprised. According to her, Arthur
Baghdasaryan is a political force which has a parliamentary
delegation of eight, he has what he needs, and he cannot disappear.
Heghine Bisharyan says there are nine presidential candidates, and
naturally one of them will win, and the others will not get the post
of president, as to what disappearing from the political sphere means
she cannot understand. `Disappear from where?’ Heghine Bisharyan
asks.
MOSCOW REFUTES INFORMATION ON MEETING OF LEVON TER-PETROSYAN AND TOP LEADERSHIP OF RUSSIA
arminfo
2008-02-13 12:14:00
ArmInfo. Representatives of top leadership of Russia have not met the
opposition candidate for president of Armenia, ex-president Levon
Ter-Petrosyan who visited Moscow last week, a source close to the
Russian Government told RIA Noivosti.
Referring to Ter-Petrosyan’s campaign headquarters, Russian newspaper
Kommersant reported Wednesday that Russian Vice Premier, presidential
candidate Dmitry Medvedev received the ex-president of Armenia. ‘The
highest level of his meetings in Moscow was Leonid Gozman (deputy
head of the Political Council of Union of Right Force party’, the
source reports.
FRENCH EXCLUSION RAISES CONCERNS IN EU
Today’s Zaman
Feb 12 2008
Turkey
Energy Minister Hilmi Guler (L) met Jozias van Aartsen, the EU’s
coordinator for natural gas projects in southern Europe, in early
February.
The recent exclusion of Gaz de France (GDF) from the $7.3-billion
Nabucco pipeline project has raised eyebrows in the EU, adding to
the already mounting European concerns over Turkey’s support for
the project.
Last week GDF became the latest victim to suffer from ongoing bitter
political disputes between France and Turkey when it was shut out of
a consortium to build the Nabucco gas pipeline from Turkey to central
Europe last week at Ankara’s behest.
GDF, excluded from Nabucco in favor of Germany’s RWE, and other
French companies are mostly paying the price for President Nicolas
Sarkozy’s outright opposition to Turkey’s membership in the EU and a
French National Assembly vote to criminalize denial of Armenian claims
of genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire. Earlier Turkey
awarded a big military helicopter contract to an Italian firm rather
than to French-based European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company
(EADS) after the French National Assembly vote. Jozias van Aartsen,
the EU’s coordinator for natural gas projects in southern Europe,
will visit Ankara on Thursday to press PM Tayyip Erdoðan to tackle
some issues, including the exclusion of Gaz de France, the Financial
Times reported yesterday. Other sources of EU complaints are the fact
that Turkey has failed to agree to a pricing framework for the use
of the pipeline and that supplies from Turkey to Greece have been
interrupted recently following the loss of supplies from Iran.
The project, a 3,300- kilometer route to bring central Europe gas from
Azerbaijan and other countries in the Caspian region, is supposed
to bolster the EU’s energy security by providing an alternative to
Russian supplies.
Gazprom’s dispute with Ukraine over claims of unpaid bills has
highlighted concerns about the EU’s increasing reliance on Russian
gas. Yet some in the EU argue there is little point to backing
Nabucco if it makes the EU more dependent on gas sources that were
less reliable than Russia, the Financial Times said.
GDF said last week that it had not given up on being allowed to join
Nabucco, but that it was now looking at other projects in the area.
These include South Stream, a plan between Gazprom and Eni of Italy
to build a pipeline to bring natural gas from Russia to Italy.
French business suffers, German trade booming
European companies have already invested 16 billion euros ($23 billion)
in Turkey and tens of billions more are expected as Turkey, growing
at 5-7 percent a year, modernizes its infrastructure and privatizes
key sectors.
Yet while German trade and investment are booming, French business
is suffering a backlash due to the political disputes.
"France has lost contracts to Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and Greece
because of its constant Turkey-bashing discourse," Bahadýr Kaleaðasý,
Brussels representative of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Business
Association (TUSÝAD), told Reuters.
Across Europe, the business community supports Turkey’s EU accession
process, even in countries such as Germany and Austria, where opinion
polls show majority public opposition to the idea. Yet business
leaders acknowledge that their voice is muted due to political
sensitivities. "We are in favor of a strong economic relationship,"
says Philippe de Buck, secretary-general of BusinessEurope, the main
umbrella organization for EU business. "But the political issues are
not for us to judge. It’s not up to us to judge membership."
Executives see the sprawling NATO member on the hinge of Europe and
the Middle East as a giant market of 71 million consumers, with a
booming economy, plentiful cheap labor and major modernization needs.
"Turkey … has a gigantic economic potential," Laurence Parisot, head
of French employers’ movement MEDEF, told Reuters. French companies
with major investments there include carmaker Renault and supermarket
chain Carrefour.
"What we tell our Turkish opposite numbers is ‘keep moving forward
in the negotiation process with Europe and don’t ask all the time
whether Europe wants your accession or not’," she said. "We’ll see how
the accession dynamics turn out in 10 years’ time. In the meantime,
above all let us not make it harder on either side to work together."
The European Commission is trying to use the talks to coax Turkey
into opening its markets wider to European firms.
Banks are already pouring in. Insurers and energy firms are keen to
follow. But the slow pace of negotiations dictated by France and Greek
Cyprus gives Ankara little incentive to push reforms. Some EU officials
are frustrated that the business community is not more vocal in support
of Turkey’s accession process. They are encouraging BusinessEurope and
TUSÝAD to stage a public event this year to highlight the potential
economic benefits of Turkey’s membership.
Sarkozy’s declarations that Turkey has no place in the EU have soured
the mood. Turkish officials say French companies stand to lose out
in forthcoming privatizations and nuclear energy, environmental,
waste management and water projects due to his stance. Murat Mercan,
chairman of the Turkish Parliament’s foreign affairs committee,
says government attitudes to the accession process are bound to sway
Turkish public procurement decisions.
"Lack of willingness by major EU countries — I don’t want to name
any — and biased political debate on the issue of Turkey’s membership
may create a reluctance on the Turkish side to enable those countries
to win those major projects," he said.
Germany seems to have escaped such retaliation despite the fact that
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats oppose full membership
and say the EU should offer Ankara only a "privileged partnership."
Fabian Wehnert of the Confederation of German Industry (BDI)
said business has not suffered because Merkel has respected her
predecessor’s word and allowed the talks to go ahead.
–Boundary_(ID_2vqYqipJGEn7zSLvuBzCDQ)–
NUMBER OF TOURISTS TO ARMENIA GROWS BY 33.5% IN 2007 ON PREVIOUS YEAR
Noyan Tapan
Feb 11, 2008
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. 510,287 tourists visited Armenia
in 2007 – against 382,240 in 2006, with the growth in their number
making 33.5%.
According to the RA National Statsitical service, 467,574 people
left Armenia for tourism purpose in 2007. The growth on the year 2006
made 38.7%.
International exhibition ‘Interprint: Polygraphy, Advertising, Design,
Packing EXPO 2008’ to be held in Yerevan on February 15-17
2008-02-08 13:42:00
ArmInfo. The third International specialized exhibition "Interprint:
Polygraphy, Advertising, Design, Packing EXPO 2008" will be held on
February 15-17 in the Yerevan House of Moscow. As the LOGOS Expo Center
told ArmInfo, the exhibition will include five topics, in particular,
typographic activity, publishing activity, packing industry,
advertising technologies and PR, as well as design. The primary goals
of the exhibition are search of new sales markets, attraction of
foreign investments in Armenia’s economy, demonstration of RA economic
potential. ‘This is the next active step in creation of a professional
exhibition for stimulation of this area development in Armenia. Special
concept of
the exhibition is in attraction of high-grade producers and
specialists, promotion of innovative ideas, efficient use of
information technologies in polygraphy, advertising, design,
improvement of design qualities of editions, strengthening of relations
among producers design-studios’, the message reports. The leading
producers, typographies, advertising-news agencies, editions, design-
studios and others will take part in the exhibition. The exhibition is
officially sponsored by RA Ministry of Trade and Economic Development,
RA FM, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) of
Armenia Ñ’Ð?, the National Association of Book Publishers and the Union
of Writers of Armenia.
PanARMENIAN.Net
Respect for Karabakhi people’s will to result in fair
resolution of conflict
08.02.2008 17:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `We think that fair resolution of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is respect for the will
of the people living on that territory. That is why it
would be reasonable for Azerbaijan to recognize
Karabakh as independent state or as a part of Armenia,
like it was after the revolution when Narimanov
acknowledged the right of Karabakhi people to
self-determination,’ said Ara Abrahamyan, President of
the Union of Armenians of Russia.
`Alas, quite a different opinion on the issue prevails
in Baku at present. As to comparison of economic
potential of the two republics, Azerbaijan threatens
to use its resources to resolve the problem by use of
force. We understand that Azerbaijan has oil and gas
but Armenia has always been remarkable for
technological potential and diligence,’ he said.
`I think that present-day economy is the economy of
knowledge and high technologies. The blockade has
urged Armenia on rapid development. This republic will
create a structure meeting the requirements of highly
developed states like Japan, which had to compensate
lack of oil, gas, metal and gold by achievements in
science,’ Mr Abrahamyan resumed, Day.az reports.
State Center for International Cooperation was set up in Karabakh
08-02-2008 12:01:09 – KarabakhOpen
By a decision of the NKR government the Center for International
Cooperation was set up within the ministry of foreign affairs. On
January 25 the ex-secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Janna Krikorova was appointed director of the Center. On February 7 the
center was dedicated officially, and the heads of NGOs and journalists
were invited to the ceremony.
`The structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supposes
establishment of various agencies whose activities are not related to
foreign policies but international relations. I know from my experience
at the ministry that we have some shortcomings here. We all know that
the NKR foreign ministry has two specific goals ` international
recognition of NKR and international relations ` independent from the
foreign policy. Proceeding from this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
came up with an initiative to set up a Center for International
Cooperation, which was supported at the top level,’ Janna Krikorova
said.
Janna Krikorova, who has considerable experience of work with
international and non-governmental organizations says the NGOs of
Karabakh often encounter difficulties. `Many of them need
consultations, simplicity in interrelation between the government and
NGOs. Therefore, in the first year we intend to assess the experience
and needs of the NGOs which deal with international organizations. We
want to assess the dynamics of development of non-governmental
relations,’ Janna Krikorova says.
CURRENT PERIOD IS CRUCIAL FOR COUNTRY, ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Feb 07 2008
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, NOYAN TAPAN. During the February 6 meeting of
the Armenian president Robert Kocharian and the European Union troika
headed by Dimitri Rupel – the foreign minister of Slovenia currently
presiding over the EU, the sides exchanged ideas about cooperation
with the EU and addressed the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan,
NT was informed by the RA president’s press service.
Speaking with satisfaction about dynamically developing cooperation
of Armenia and the EU, R. Kocharian said that thanks to the joint
action plan, the relations have become more coordinated. He welcomed
the opening of a new diplomatic mission of the European Commission
in Armenia, which will allow to establish closer cooperation.
As for the upcoming presidential elections, R. Kocharian said that the
current period is a crucial one for the country. "We are interested
in holding good elections in line with international standards and
we have done everything in order to organize these elections in the
best way," he stated.
The Armenian president told the guests about latest developments in
negotiations on peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and
presented Armenia’s approaches to problems of energy security and
regional cooperation.
LOCAL OBSERVERS ABLE TO FOLLOW COURSE OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Feb 6 2008
YEREVAN, February 6. /ARKA/. Local observers are able to follow the
course of the forthcoming presidential election in Armenia, according
to the CIS observers’ interim report.
All the presidential candidates can have authorized representatives,
but their number should not exceed the three-fold number of divisional
election committees, the CIS observers say in their report.
They call on executives and territorial election committees to secure
a proper election process at the first stage of the presidential
election campaign.
The CIS observers consider the RA General Prosecutor’s order to form
a monitoring group as an attempt to conduct legitimate and democratic
election.