Author: Mary Lazarian

ARMENIA AND BRITAIN WILLING TO REINFORCE THE BILATERAL RELATIONS

armradio.am
14.02.2008 16:44

On February 14 the newly appointed Ambassador of Great Britain Charles
Lonsdale presented the copies of his credentials to RA Deputy Foreign
Minister Armen Baibourtian.

Greeting the Ambassador, the Deputy Foreign Minister wished him success
in carrying out his high mission. Speaking about the current level
of Armenian-British relations, Mr. Baibourtian noted that Armenia
attaches importance to the process of development of Armenian-British
relations and is determined to reinforce and deepen the bilateral
ties with Great Britain.

During the conversation the newly appointed Ambassador also appreciated
the active collaboration between Armenia and Britain and assured that
he will spare no effort to reinforce the bilateral relations.

U.S. EMBASSY OFFERS TRAINING CLASS TO ARMENIAN ELECTION COMMISSIONS’ MEMBERS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Dec 17 2007

YEREVAN, December 17. /ARKA/. U.S. Charge d’Affaires to Armenia Joseph
Penington supports the idea of upgrading qualification of election
commissions’ members ahead of presidential election.

He told journalists on Monday that the U.S. Embassy representatives
offered at the meting held recently in electoral commissions to conduct
a training course to members of the Central Election Commission.

The diplomat voiced some concern over the fact that not a single member
of the Central Election Commission had responded to this initiative
so far.

He said that the United States had launched a comprehensive
election-supporting program yet before Armenian parliamentary elections
and is implementing it also now.

The program includes a wide range of measures – from updating voter
lists to attracting women and young people to the vote.

Armenian presidential election is scheduled for February 19.

FORESTS LOGGED IN LORI REGION

Lragir.am
20-08-2007 15:59:54

Holidaymakers in the region of Lori say they witnessed major logging
of forests. They say the timber is shipped in trucks with numbers of
the ministry of defense. It is not known yet why the trees are cut
and who cuts them, but it should be noted that the media had reported
earlier about some high-ranking officials of the ministry of defense
who run timber business.

AUTHORITIES PLEDGE FULL INVESTIGATION OF RUSSIAN OFFICER’S MURDER
By Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Aug 8 2007

Armenian authorities reject any ethnic motives behind the murder
of a Russian citizen in Armenia on Monday night and pledge full
investigation to reveal the circumstances of the crime.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office of Armenia has positively responded
to the request of the Russian side and is ready to allow the presence
of a Russian official during the investigation. A representative of
the Russian Military Prosecutor’s Office is due to arrive soon.

Gennady Yermolov, 22, a citizen of the Russian Federation who served
at the Russian border troops stationed in Ashtarak in the rank of
lieutenant, was attacked and murdered outside Yerevan just after
midnight on August 6. His four friends escaped alive the attack by two
young persons near the village of Arinj, in Armenia’s Kotayk province.

The attackers identified as Artem Andreasian and Gor Balian flagged
down a passing VAZ 2101 car and ordered its five passengers, including
Yermolov, out.

After subjecting them to severe beating, the men armed with hunting
rifles allowed them to leave. But no sooner had their car began to
move than the two opened fire, fatally wounding Yermolov, who died
on the way to hospital.

The case was reported to the local police by Russian citizen and
officer of the same military unit Anatoly Krylov, who was driving
the car on that night. Police later arrested the two suspects and
confiscated their rifles.

According to reliable sources, there was no exchange of fire during
the incident.

Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gegham Gharibjanian discarded all
speculations that the murder of the Russian citizen could have been
committed on ethnic grounds.

"Only people with infantile mentality can think of such a thing. Such
decisions could hardly be made at half past twelve at night,"
he explained.

"I had a telephone conversation with Russia’s deputy foreign minister
Grigory Karasin whom I informed about the situation," Gharibjanian
added.

He also said the ministry will closely follow the process and will
be in constant touch with Russian colleagues.

The 72-hour term of the suspects’ preliminary detention will expire
on Thursday.

According to spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General’s Office Sona
Truzian, charges will be brought against Andreasian and Balian
tomorrow.

RFE/RL’s attempts to find the coordinates of the victim’s side at the
Russian embassy or elsewhere have failed. The lawyer for Andreasian
and Balian promised to get in touch later, but didn’t call back. His
mobile phone remained switched off as of this filing.

Earlier, some Armenian media alleged that the two suspects worked for
oligarch Gagik Tsarukian’s security. But sources close to Tsarukian
deny that information. They say the suspects were ordinary residents
of Arinj.

The reported crime scene near the village of Arinj is in the vicinity
of Tsarukian’s old and new houses. A dozen SUVs were seen near
Tsarukian’s mansion around noon on Wednesday.

Most of the two dozen locals approached by RFE/RL refused to talk
about the case. A teenager who agreed to talk on the record said the
Russian officer himself was mainly to blame for what happened.

"Because people in Arinj cannot harm others without a reason," he said.

Investigators have not officially brought forward any theories
regarding the case yet.

DIFFERENT NAILS BEING HAMMERED
N. Mirzoyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily – Armenia
20 June 07

Strength of Blow Becoming Lesser as a Result

Interview with politician Levon-Melik Shahnazaryan

"The media sector is extremely sensitive to the Karabakh settlement
process. To what extent do you think the issue is accurately reflected
in the press?"

"I must confess that the press cannot give the true picture of the
negotiation process since the talks are confidential and the moderated
information provided to the media by the conflicting parties or the
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are often invented rumors which cannot in
any way reflect the negotiation process as such. This is the reason
the media’s response often presents predictions and half-successful
or unsuccessful analyses which cannot reflect the true situation. This
concerns both parties simultaneously."

"Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan has recently expressed hesitation
as to how the Azeri President, who makes bellicose statements,
will explain the idea of such statements to its people in case an
agreement on mutual concessions in achieved. While Mr. Semniby, the
EU Special Representative, has accounted for it by the media’s mode
of action. How will you estimate such practice?"

"The practice pursued by the Azeri press derives in major part from the
mentality of the Azeri state bodies. The Azeri President becomes the
hostage of his own statements and promises. The thing is that, apart
from the press and analytical Web sites, there are also Azerbaijani
official sources of information, i.e. Advisor to the President, MFA
Web sites as well as ‘Azer.Tag’ agency which does not add a single
comma without the consent of the latter."

"The false information published by the Azeri advocacy concerns all
the spheres of the country’s life. First, the figures concerning the
Azerbaijani oil and gas reserves that have already become a trap for
a number of oil and gas companies become exaggerated. These companies
have to withdraw even after signing a contract and making investments
since the existing reserves do not correspond to the figures published
in advance.

That is, the importance of Azerbaijan as a power-generating country
is strictly exaggerated.

The names of the Armenians who once participated both in the
town-building of Baku and in the accomplishment of the Azerbaijani
state were not even found in the encyclopedia published in Baku at
the state’s order. Actually, there is an order on the state level
attempting to re-invent the history of the Azeri nation.

Such false advocacy practiced by the Azeri nation impacts on the
negotiation process as well. Of course impossible for such false
information not to influence the events developing around Artsakh,
especially considering that serious financial resources are being
spent."

"How do you think it is possible to prevent such advocacy?"

"Of course, we have intellectual resources. Our people always possess
that resource which is at least more significant than that of our
neighbors.

However, we are, in my opinion, in inferior position as much as the
financial aspect is concerned. Our analysts are guided by their
own enthusiasm and patriotic motives which has both its positive
and negative aspects. Effectiveness is always great in case of
working whole-heartedly; however, I feel sorry there is no structure
coordinating the activities. We often hammer the nails with good
intent, and as a result, only the strength of the blow becomes lesser.

I believe, as much as the Artsakh conflict, is concerned it is better
to work with joint efforts. Perhaps we need a Ministry of Propaganda
and Information. The problem is that one always appears in defensive
positions; it is not beneficial, and is more difficult purely from
the psychological point of view. Making a transition to the attacking
position is a must. In this respect, there is an active participation
by the Diaspora which resists the Azeri aggressive policy more and
more by every year.

The Messenger, Georgia
March 23 2007

Lavrov: Kosovo is a precedent…sort of

By Ekaterina Basilaia

Despite the fact that the de facto authorities of Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Transdnistria say that they have more "moral, legal and
historical" grounds to independence than Kosovo, Russia’s Foreign
Minster Sergey Lavrov stated that Kosovo is not the model for these
breakaway regions, and that if the Serbian province is granted
independence it does not mean these self declared republics will
follow.

"We admit that any decision made about Kosovo’s status will set a
precedent. For the first time, independence will be gained not by
being a component of a former union-member state, as with the case of
Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union [but by a former autonomous
region]," Lavrov stated at the government hour at the Russian State
Duma on March 21, Interfax news agency reported.

"But projection of this situation in respect to Abkhazia, South
Ossetia and Transdnistria will not be a correct step. I repeat there
is no connection. We are not waiting impatiently for Kosovo to be
separated from Serbia so that we will do the same in regard with
these republics. This is not true and this would be an erroneous
position," he added.

Nevertheless, Lavrov went to say that Russia will look after its
citizens in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where most residents hold
Russia passports.

"We are ready to develop all kinds of contacts with these republics.
The people who live there are our citizens. We are responsible for
their social problems because nobody, except us, has been able to do
this so far," he stressed.

Talking about Georgian-Russian relations, Lavrov noted that "Georgia
and Georgia’s leadership are two totally different things."

"The Georgian authorities fail to reflect the mood dominating
Georgian society," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

The Duma’s Deputy Speaker Sergey Baburin said he was satisfied with
Lavrov’s speech, noting that for the first time the foreign minister
of Russia has referred to the territories concerned, not as regions,
but as republics, and spoke about cooperating with these republics on
an official level, directly from the State Duma.

Chair of the Duma committee for CIS affairs Andrey Kokoshin also
expressed his satisfaction with Lavrov’s speech.

"I think that as far as Abkhazia and South Ossetia are concerned, it
is extremely important for us now that a fundamental agreement be
reached between Tskhinvali and Sukhumi on the one hand and Tbilisi on
the other," Kokoshin stated.

The Duma has been intensively pushing for the official recognition of
Georgia’s two breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for a
long time. Last December, with not a vote against, the Duma passed
two statements regarding the two breakaway regions calling for the
Russian government to officially recognise the territories as
independent. They based this call on the results of the ‘independence
referendum’ in South Ossetia and an appeal sent by the parliament of
Abkhazia.

Moscow officials also supported the recent elections in Abkhazia,
saying they "respect" the polls in the region, even though the EU,
NATO, OSCE and UN condemned them.

Meanwhile, the de facto authorities of breakaway Abkhazia and South
Ossetia are demanding Russia "take immediate and decisive steps" to
recognise them, fearing that Georgia’s accession to NATO might
forever thwart their independence aspirations.

"Russia now has a unique and perhaps final chance to preserve its
influence in the South Caucasus – by recognizing Abkhazia and South
Ossetia," de facto Abkhaz foreign minister Sergey Shamba said in an
interview with Russian daily Moskovskiy Komsomolets on March 20.

"Moscow should use the Kosovo precedent and make a decisive step now
because later on
Kosovo’s example will lose its significance. Georgia and Azerbaijan
will become NATO members, Armenia will take after them forcefully and
Russia will loose its control over the region," Shamba added.

"It is time for Russia to take a firm position," de facto South
Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity told Moskovskiy Komsomolets.

Azerbaijan reports 34.5% annual GDP growth

19/01/2007 12:44 BAKU, January 19 (RIA Novosti) – Azerbaijan’s annual
gross domestic product (GDP) soared 34.5% on the previous year to
reach $20.6 billion, the statistics committee of the energy-rich South
Caucasus nation said Friday.

GDP per capita rose 33% to make $2,373.3, and production shared 72.9%
of GDP as compared to 68.6% a year earlier.

The services sector contributed 20.6% to the GDP, which is less than
in 2005. Taxes on commodities and import accounted for 6.5% of GDP.

Azerbaijan holds vast oil and gas reserves in the Caspian, which it
exports to neighboring Georgia, Turkey and Europe. The high oil price
has contributed to the country’s impressive GDP growth.

OFFICIAL VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA TO INDIA

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
Dec 12 2006

On December 13 the delegation headed by Mr. Tigran Torosyan, President
of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, will leave for
India on an official visit. Mr. Mnatsakan Petrosyan, Mr. Grigor
Margaryan, Mr. Alexan Karapetyan, Mr. Razmik Martirosyan are in
the delegation. In Delhi meetings are envisaged with Dr. Avul
Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, President of India, Mr. Bhairon
Singh Shekhawat, President of the Rajya Sabha of Sansad, bicameral
Parliament of India, Mr. Shri Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of the Lok
Sabha of the Parliament of India, Mr. Advani, leader of the opposition,
Mr. Pranab Mukerjee, Minister of External Affairs, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi,
Head of the National Congress Party, Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, Chief
Minister NCT of Delhi.

On December 17 the delegation will return to Yerevan.

Armenia salutes Shahgeldyan again
Monday, 4 December 2006

FC MIKA striker Armen Shahgeldyan has been named as
Armenia’s Player of the Year for the second time
having first landed the award while at FC Ararat
Yerevan 13 years ago.

Second award
The experienced striker, who has scored eight times in
48 international appearances for Armenia, got 14 goals
in 26 domestic appearances this season. The
33-year-old, who was also Armenia’s Player of the Year
in 1993, received 191 points in the poll organised by
the Football Federation of Armenia in which coaches,
club presidents, referees and football writers all had
a vote. FC Pyunik defender Robert Arzumanyan came
second with 161 points while third-placed FC Banants
midfielder Samvel Melkonyan earned 101 points.

uefa.com 1998-2006.

RUSSIA REMAINS KEY TRADE PARTNER TO SOUTH CAUCASUS – DIPLOMAT
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
March 7, 2006 Tuesday
Russia will remain a key trade partner to all South Caucasian countries
for a long time, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European
and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Bryza said in Yerevan on Tuesday.
He said that Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia should choose the way
of cooperation with Russia.
Bryza’s negotiations in Yerevan centered on energy security.
Positive cooperation between Armenia and Russian gas suppliers has
been developed for years, and should naturally go on, he said. Yet
the best way to energy security is diversification of supplies, the
diplomat said. He said it is a matter of gas, hydro and thermal power,
and nuclear energy.
Rates of the development of military-political relations between the
United States and Armenia depend on Yerevan, the official said.
Armenia has taken many important steps towards closer cooperation with
the Euro-Atlantic community, he said, emphasizing the Armenia-NATO
individual partnership plan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress