Author: Maghakian Mike

BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY BELIEVES THAT BAKU AND YEREVAN SHOULD HURRY

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.08.2009 20:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ British Ambassador to Turkey Nick Baird completing
his diplomatic mission, in an interview to Turkish Hurriyet, said
that after successful resolutions of the Kurdish, Armenian and Cyprus
issues, the region could attain a long-term stability.

According to the British Ambassador, the efforts of the Turkey’s
government to normalize relations with neighboring Armenia were very
brave, but this process was blocked by Ankara, due to pressure from
the official Azerbaijan because of the unresolved Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. Normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations can be
successful only after a tangible progress in the Karabakh problem
settlement, Nick Baird said.

Commenting the attempts of Ankara to link the opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border with Nagorno Karabakh issue, Nick Baird
particularly said: "I did not really think that the Turkey’s government
has a big choice. Turkey has good relations with Azerbaijan, and it
is also trying to normalize its relations with Armenia. But you can
not sacrifice one thing for the other. I think that for the sake of
progress in regional stability joint efforts should be made".

He also said: "We will strongly encourage the United States and
the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure that agreements between Armenia and
Azerbaijan are reached now".

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTRY: ARMENIA DEPUTY FM IS UNAWARE OF NEGOTIATION DETAILS

Today.Az
s/54975.html
Aug 25 2009
Azerbaijan

"What Armenian deputy foreign minister said in an interview with ‘Echo
Moscow’ radio is not true," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
Elkhan Polukhov said commenting on Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister
Shavarsh Kocharyan’s interview with Echo Moscow radio station.

"Mr. Kocharian gave wrong information in an interview. This
particularly relates to the UN resolutions and that of other
international organizations regarding the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan," Polukhov said.

In his interview Kocharian said "there is no UN resolution that calls
on Armenia to withdraw the occupier troops. None of the 4 resolutions
stipulate it."

"It is surprising that a government official with such a high rank
speaks on such serious matters in a non-professional manner. In
this case, it shows that Shavarsh Kocharian is aware of details of
the negotiations in and his non-participation in many stages of the
negotiation process," he added.

NEW RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR PROMISED TO DO HIS BEST FOR ENHANCING BILATERAL TIES

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
24.08.2009 19:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On August 24, newly appointed RF Ambassador
Vyacheslav Kovalenko submitted the copies of his credentials to RA
FM Edward Nlabandyan. Highly assessing Armenian-Russian relations, FM
Nalbandyan noted that mutual understanding, trust and close cooperation
between two countries created good grounds for strengthening alliance
and strategic partnership. Expressing satisfaction with the current
level of Armenian-Russian relations, Russian diplomat promised to do
his best to strengthen and develop bilateral cooperation in various
spheres.

Parties also touched upon a number of issues included in the agenda
of Armenian-Turkish relations and exchanged views on regional and
international issues, AR MFA press service reports.

THE ONLY PATH LEADING TO NORMALIZATION

A1+
09/08/24/sdhk
05:05 pm | August 24, 2009

Politics

The Social Democratic Henchak Party (SDHK) announces that along
with a number of social issues the Party is concerned about national
problems. The SDHK issued a statement on August 24 which runs:

Some issues demand an immediate solution.

1. In particular, we focus on the Artsakh conflict.

The interpretation of the Madrid Principles implies that the document
conveys anti-Armenian provisions and cannot lead to a fair settlement
of the Karabakh conflict; hence it inadmissible for us.

The illegitimate regime executing the orders of outer forces should
stop its illegal steps; otherwise it will lead the country to
a deadlock.

The liberated territories are an indispensible part of our historic
country and cannot be bargained about.

2. The SDHK is also concerned over Armenian-Turkish relations. The
disputed road-map humbling our dignity and harming our national
security is a real trap for Armenia. The Party is convinced that the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is the only path leading to the
normalization of Armenian -Turkish relations.

The Party finds that Turkey is to think over the frontier reopening
the way it closed the border. The SDHK thinks that Armenia is not
ready for the frontier reopening.

"Only in democratic countries can social and national issues find
solutions. Firstly, we should establish democracy in Armenia which is a
cornerstone for a party. Guided with this belief, the Social Democratic
Henchak Party has affiliated itself with the Armenian National Congress
which takes every effort to disband this authoritarian regime. Only
a just and fair footing with other parties will enable the Party to
convey its ideas and principles to people."

KARABAKH’S STRATEGIC TOWN SEES ‘LARGE-SCALE CONSTRUCTION’
Lusine Musayelian

Armenialiberty.org
tml
Aug 24 2009

Construction is on in a town near Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital
Stepanakert, which had a strategic military importance during the war
with Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, for a number of state agencies
of the unrecognized Armenian republic to move there. The area’s
administration says construction could be completed by 2011.

Shushi, about 15 kilometers to the south of Stepanakert, had a
predominantly Azerbaijani population before Nagorno-Karabakh’s
de-facto secession from Azerbaijan following the 1991-1994 war. It
was Azerbaijan’s major military stronghold before being captured by
Karabakh Armenian forces in 1992. The battle of Shushi admittedly
marked a turning-point in the war in which Karabakh Armenians managed
to establish control over the region.

Rehabilitation of the town has since been a declared priority by
authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh. Reconstruction activities in Shushi
have been largely supported by Armenian charities.

According to head of the Shushi administrative area Gevorg Hayrian,
another major project aims at providing the town with 24-hour water
supply.

Hayrian told RFE/RL that the project has already been submitted to
the all-Armenian fund ‘Hayastan’ for funding. ‘Hayastan’ had declared
it would channel all funds raised in last year’s nationwide telethon
at projects in Shushi.

Hayrian also said an allocation equivalent to nearly $185,000 had
been made by the Karabakh authorities from their state budget for
projects to be implemented in the Shushi area.

The area’s head said that several streets as well as a sports school
are being currently repaired in the town and a picture gallery is
under construction.

"Shushi is in a very bad condition. It needs revitalizing," said
Hayrian.

LEVON ARONIAN LEADER IN GRAND PRIX INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT

Noyan Tapan
Aug 24, 2009

JERMUK, AUGUST 24, NOYAN TAPAN. Jermuk’s Grand Prix International
Chess Tournament finished on August 23.

In the last, 13th round Levon Aronian (Armenia) beat Ernesto Inarkiyev
(Russia) and shared the 2nd and 3rd places with Boris Gelfand (Israel)
with 8 points each. The second representative of Armenia, Vladimir
Hakobian was defeated by Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), gained 5 points
and shared the 11th-12th places with Dmitry Yakovenko (Russia) having
the same result.

Vasily Ivanchuk won the tournament with 8.5 points.

Grand Prix Jermuk competition was the 5th. In the general calculation
Levon Aronian keeps the role of a leader with 500 points.

Business Wire (press release)

August 19, 2009 09:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SuperJet International: Aftersales Support L.o.I. for Armavia Airlines
SSJ100 fleet

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SuperJet International announced
the execution of a Letter of Intent (L.o.I.) with Armenian carrier
Armavia Airlines for the After Sales Support of its fleet of new
Sukhoi SuperJet 100 aircraft.
With this L.o.I, SuperJet International and Armavia confirm their
intentions to execute a `SuperCare’ Agreement by the end of November
2009, for a duration of 5 years and possibility to extend.
The `SuperCare’ Agreement is a comprehensive `pay-by-the-hour’ program
developed by SJI specifically for the SSJ100 aircraft. This innovative
lifecycle solution has been designed to maximize aircraft availability
to operators and minimize their maintenance and administrative
associated costs.
In particular, Armavia will take advantage of customized spares
availability and `single interface’ maintenance/repair solutions of
on-board equipments.
`We are proud to work with Armavia on this agreement which represents
the launch of the SuperJet International’s proprietary `SuperCare
Plan” – said Giovanni Simonetti, Senior Vice President of Customers
Services for SuperJet International – `Since its Entry into Service,
Armavia SSJ100 fleet will be supported by SJI with this tailored and
newly conceived Aftersales package.’
`We are delighted to pave the way for a long lasting and mutual
beneficial relationship with SuperJet International by joining its
SuperCare Plan since day one of entry into service of our brand new
fleet of SSJ100′ – said Mr. Norayr Shakratovich Belluyan, General
Director of Armavia – `We consider such a `per flight hour’ program
the right solution to boost our aircraft availability while optimizing
costs.’
About Armavia :
"Armavia" Air Company LLC is the national air carrier of the Republic
of Armenia. The company was founded in 1996. The founders are Armenian
organizations "Aviafin" LTD and "Mika Armenia Trading" LTD. The
carrier is currently based in Zvartnots Airport, Yerevan.
Today "Armavia" is a dynamically developing international Air Company,
which is strictly consistent with international aviation rules and
standards of safety, environment and conditions of the services
provided.
About SuperJet International:
SuperJet International, based in Venice, Italy, is a joint venture
between Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica Company (51%) and Sukhoi
Holding (49%). It is in charge of marketing, sales, customization and
delivery of the Sukhoi SuperJet 100 regional jet in Europe, the
Americas, Oceania, Africa and Japan, as well as of worldwide aftersale
support.
SuperJet International is also responsible for the design and
development of VIP and cargo variants.
A SuperJet International branch is already active in Moscow, together
with sales offices in Toulouse, France and Washington, DC, USA.
About Sukhoi SuperJet 100
Designed, developed and built by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC),
the Sukhoi SuperJet 100 family is comprised of 78- and 98-seaters in
basic (SSJ100/95B and SSJ100/75B) and long-range (SSJ100/95LR and
SSJ100/75LR) configuration. The SSJ100 is the most advanced and
environmentally friendly new generation regional jet. Superior
technical and operational characteristics make SSJ100 a fully
marketable and competitive product – cost-effective, easy to operate
and maintain. SSJ100 is a conceptually new platform designed
specifically for a 100-seat segment offering the most efficient
combination of regional efficiency with mainline capabilities.
The first SSJ100 was rolled out from SCAC’s final assembly shop at
Komsomolsk-on Amur on September 26, 2007. First flight was
successfully accomplished last May 19, 2008. With three aircraft in
the air since July 25, 2009, the programme has scored about 300
flights spending 800 hours in the sky. The certification plan calls
for Russia civil certification by November 2009, followed by EASA
certification in 2010 and FAA certification thereafter.

U.S. should understand, Karabakh is successor state to Soviet Union,
and no different from Armenia or Russia
22.08.2009 17:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The outgoing U.S. envoy for Karabakh, OSCE MG
co-chair Matt Bryza, who was quite a bit criticized in Armenia, as
biased in favor of Azerbaijan and Turkey, is only reflecting the
policy of the State Department, Frank Pallone Jr., the New Jersey
Democrat, a founding co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, said. `The State Department takes a position that
Nagorno-Karabakh doesn’t have the status of a state and they have
traditionally highlighted territorial integrity over
self-determination,’ Congressman said.
`But they are wrong in this case because they do not realize that
Nagorno-Karabakh has every right to be an independent nation. So, what
you really need to do is to have the State Department change its
position.
They have to realize that according to the Soviet legal framework,
Nagorno-Karabakh had self-government and certain rights, including
holding a referendum and becoming an independent country, which is
what had happened.
So it’s not simply an issue of territorial integrity versus
self-determination. Nagorno-Karabakh is a successor state to the
Soviet Union, and no different from Armenia or Russia in that
respect,` Frank Pallone said in an interview to Armenian reporter.
According to him, since Nagorno-Karabakh is a small area with a
relatively small population, it is difficult for the State Department,
and any administration to focus on it.
Answering the question about concessions in the settlement of
Nagoro-Karabakh problem, the Congressman said: `The argument that
should be made is that this a powder keg. In other words if you do not
work to solve this situation and come up with a compromise, there is a
potential for another major war in the Caucasus that would have major
implications for several neighboring countries, Turkey and Russia
especially. And that this strategic concern must be appreciated.
The war between Russia and Georgia [in August 2008] is a recent
example of the volatility in the Caucasus region.

COME HOME PROGRAM DAIRY: AUGUST 13

Noyan Tapan
Aug 17, 2009
Yerevan

YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A visit to the
Yerevan Mayor’s Office Museum and Oshakan was scheduled for August 13
for the Diasporan Armenian young people arrived within the framework
of the second stage of the Come Home program. The young people got
acquainted at the museum with the history of Yerevan, recollecting
the historic extracts they have learned from their text-books.

Then the young people went to Oshakan, sharing with their impressions
on the way.

The Regional Governor greeted the program participants at the Regional
Governor’s Office of Oshakan. The young people visited Mesrop Mashtots’
graveyard where they bent before the grave of the inventor of the
Armenian letters and again recollected the first teacher’s lesson: "to
know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding."

The travelling of that day finished by visiting the Mughnu
Church. There were a lot of impressions on that day: the young people
were discussing for a long time on their return way what they have
seen, listened and felt.

NOAH’S ROUTE MY ROUTE

Michaelsmoksha.blogspot.com
http://michaels moksha.blogspot.com/2009/08/we-did-it.html
Monday, August 17, 2009

This blog is not the content, beleifs, opinons, or ideas of the United
States Peace Corps. It is simply the experiance of one Peace Corps
Volunteer serving in Armenia and reflects no official ideas of the
Peace Corps.

We Did It

Well, we’ve done it. Forty-seven of us left JFK airport for Armenia
back in May and now forty-four of us have been sworn in as Peace Corps
Volunteers. I can definitely say it’s a good feeling to finally be done
with an eight month application process and a three month training
process that at times felt like college exam week times 100. I was
excited for the day when I would get to go to site and start putting
together ideas for a successful two years of service, but now I’m
out of my training site of Solak living with a new family. And I’m
in a town by myself and for the next four weeks I’ll have limited
opportunities to see other Americans, and I new that my village mates
and myself were particularly close, but I had now idea I would miss
them this much or my Solak host family to such a degree. I guess
because it had become the familiar and now I have to do it all over
again it just seems daunting. But this is all a new experience and
like the first three months I’ll learn to adopt and I hope that in no
time this new community will feel like home. So now to describe my past
three months experience. I guess if you’ve been reading my blogs this
might seem repetitive but I think its worth recounting. So back in May
I left for an orientation in Philadelphia. I met forty seven unique
and interesting people. Some of them I can vividly remember meeting
and talking to for the first time and it is them who have become
my best friends. I guess because we’re all in a unique experience
together we bound quicker then you might in other circumstances
because some of these people I feel really close to. Anyways, the
next day we flew out of New York City for Vienna before catching our
last leg into Yerevan. We arrived in Armenia early the next morning
a few days later we moved to our host villages were for three months
we learned the Armenian language, culture, traditions, and way of
life as well as the purpose, fundamentals, and expectations of our
particular assignments (remember I’m a CHE so I learned about differe!

nt health and education methods). We also learned how to live as a
group of Americans abroad and how to rely on each other when times
got hard and get hard, which they do but with a good group of friends
to fall back on (which I have made) then you can make it through just
fine. After all of this we were deemed ready and able for a two year
post as Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV’s) by our country director. So
last Thursday we got sworn in as the 17th group of PCV’s in Armenia. I
guess there isn’t a lot of news worthy things in Armenia because
the entire Armenian press corps showed up in mass as well as a lot
of high hated officials and other dignitaries and most interesting
the American Ambassador who swore us in as volunteers and when I
took the oath I could definitely feel the goose bumps. Then we had a
nice celebration with A-16’s. That evening the Solak seven took our
sleeping bags and on top of the hill behind my house we enjoyed about
three hours of uninterrupted meteor shower a pretty cool way to sum up
a hell of a three month bonding experience. The next day we loaded a
van with our luggage (which has grown exponentially) and then crammed
in next to it and drove down the road watching through the window as
our host families waved us off (most of them tearfully). When we got
to Cherantsavan, we unloaded our luggage and reloaded into different
vans before heading to our new sites all around the country, now that
was a sad day! But I think in just a few weeks we will find our way
again and be excited about the opportunities and chance we have to
make some impact.