Author: Nadirian Emma

AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL EXPERT: PRESIDENTS’ MOSCOW MEETING MAY END UP WITH FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

Today.Az
10 July 2009 [10:23]

"I believe presidents’ Moscow meeting may end with framework agreement
on liberation of occupied lands surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, political
expert Fikrat Sadigov said.

"Or presidents can reach real agreement. Consistent statements by
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev point to it," he said.

"I think now the agenda includes liberation of the seven occupied
lands. I think the upcoming Moscow meeting of the presidents will mark
another important step in terms of liberation of the occupied lands,"
he said.

"As to the statements by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, they have
always been inconsistent and contradictory, especially statements
by Mathew Bryza. He makes different statements in Baku and Yerevan,"
the political expert said.

"Russia wants to take a lead in resolution of the conflict. The
St. Petersburg and Moscow meetings testify to it. It was Moscow to
initiated the Moscow Declaration," he said.

"Of course, one should not display good nature and think that all
problems will be addressed soon. We need to work further on this
track," he said.

"Azerbaijan will never allow Nagorno-Karabakh to be an independent
state. It is Azerbaijan’s integral part. This fact has been recognized
by international governments who contributed resolutions to this
issue," Sadigov said.

PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT RULED OUT WITHOUT NKR PARTICIPATION

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.07.2009 19:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Achieving peace in the region will be impossible
unless Stepanakert participates in Karabakh settlement talks, NKR
Defense Minister told journalists in Askeran region, as reported by a
PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent from Karabakh. "We do not participate in
talks, and cannot have discords with official Yerevan which has its
own approach to conflict settlement. We’ll introduce our positions
provided we become direct party to talks," Defense Minister said.

Touching upon possible concessions, Movses Hakobyan stressed that
there were no official reports in that connection, and statements of
the kind were disseminated only by media.

GEORGIA RESUMES GAS DELIVERY TO ARMENIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.07.2009 14:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The transit of Russian gas to Armenia was resumed
this morning upon completion of repair works in the Georgian territory,
said the press office of the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation.

Georgian and Armenian specialists have carried out all essential
technical work, it said.

GOMI-OLIVEIRA COMPLETES AFFLICTION M-1 GLOBAL’S "TRILOGY" PPV CARD

Doghouse Boxing
July 6, 2009

SEAL BEACH, California (July 6, 2009)-Japanese combat fighting
superstar Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi has been added to the
Affliction M-1 Global’s locked-and-loaded "Trilogy" card against
upset-minded Rafaello "Tractor" Oliveira, completing the five-fight
Pay-Per-View event, live August 1 from Honda Center in Anaheim.

The premier heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the universe,
Russian icon Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko (30-1-0), defends his
WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender, Josh "The Babyfaced
Assassin" Barnett (24-5-0), in the special main event.

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PM/ET (4:30 PM/PT), followed by the sensational Pay-Per-View event,
"Trilogy," commencing at 9PM/ET (6 PM/PT).

Gomi (30-5-0), 4-time All-Japan Combat Wrestling Champion, is a former
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in 2009, since suffering his only loss by doctor stoppage last October.

Also appearing is Strikeforce® Light Heavyweight Champion Renato
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Also on the PPV card is former UFC® Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor
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off-television matches are also on tap between heavyweights Jessie
Gibbs (7-2-0) and Rob Broughton (10-4-1), as well as Brazilian light
heavyweight Lucio Linhares (12-4-0) and Mikhail Zayats (8-3-0).

All fights and fighters are subject to change. For more information
go online to

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THE NKR LEADERSHIP ONCE AGAIN DISPLAYED ITS GOOD WILL

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2009-07-07 11:35
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

NKR MFA Information Department’s Comment

The comments and statements by the Azerbaijan party, including the
officials of the Azerbaijani Republic, on the recent initiative of
the creative intelligentsia of the Armenian and Azerbaijani people
provide misinterpretation of the events.

In this regard, on the request of the mass media, the NKR MFA
Information Department offers the following comment:

"The Nagorno Karabakh leadership once again displayed its good will
and agreed to host the intelligentsia representatives of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, headed by Ambassadors of Armenia and Azerbaijan to
the Russian Federation Armen Smbatyan and Polad Byul-Byul Oghly, as
well as RF MFA Special Missions Ambassador, RF President’s Special
Representative on Cultural Issues Mikhail Shvidkoy, thus reaffirming
its principal allegiance to the Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement
process.

As to the certain differences concerning the Azerbaijani delegation’s
visit itinerary and members, the Karabakh party did not only demand
to change of itinerary, but also to exclude the Azerbaijani Milli
Mejlis Deputy, Khavva Mamedova, and the delegation member, Chingiz
Ismailov, out of the delegation for their marked anti-Karabakhian
and anti-Armenian position.

Taking into consideration the Azerbaijani party’s interest i n the
visit, it is easy to guess that official Baku tries to drastically
change the format of the negotiation process and to negotiate
directly, without any mediators, with the NKR authorities, which has
no alternative.

Taking into account the incentives of such mutual visits aimed at
reducing the tension between the societies involved in the conflict,
the event is worth noticing.

This visit is especially notable in the sense that the Azerbaijani
intelligentsia representatives, having visited our country, evidenced
once again that they deal with an existing state, where, for the
period after the proclamation of an independent republic, overcoming
the difficulties and obstacles arisen as a result of the Azerbaijani
aggression, the imposed war, and the blockade, unprecedented progress
in all the spheres has been fixed, which created the best preconditions
for the international recognition of the NKR independence".

GERARD TUFENKJIAN APPOINTED AGBU LEBANON OFFICE HEAD

Noyan Tapan
July 6, 2009

LEBANON, JULY 6, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The AGBU Central
Board of Directors has recently appointed Gerard Tufenkjian the Chair
of the AGBU District Committee," Azg states, quotting the Armenian
Mirror Spectator weekly.

Tufenkjian will take the place of Avedis Demirdjian who has taken
that post for long years and remains one of the organization
benefactors. The newly elected chairman is a Lebanese Armenian
businessman, a pupil of the AGBU Hovagimian-Manoogian seminary and
an active member of a number of organizations.

The newspaper reported that the AGBU Lebanon Office was founded in
1910. It has offices in Amanos, Antelias, Beirut, Sin el Fil, Tripoli
and Zahle. Its activity volumes are various: educational, sport,
theatrical, health care, etc. The community center, Daruhi-Hovagimian,
Levon Nazarian and Boghos Garmirian Armenian schools, two charitable
medical centers, scout movements, as well as Vahram Papazian Theater
Group are in the center of the AGBU attention.

RA PRIME MINISTER TIGRAN SARGSYAN RECEIVED TODAY FOUNDING CHAIRMAN OF THE WORLD-FAMOUS REGENT SCHOOL (KINGDOM OF THAILAND) DR WIRACHAI TECHAWICHITI.

/
Friday, 3 July 2009

Greeting the guest, the Prime Minister thanked him for the educational
assistance provided to our country. The agreement signed in 2006
between the Regent School and the Ministry of Science and Education
of the Republic of Armenia enables students of different age groups
to get high-quality graduate education and continue studies at the
best universities worldwide.

Tigran Sargsyan noted that educational reform is of key importance
to Armenia’s government.

Dr Wirachai Techawichiti took up a number of cooperation-related
issues with the head of the Armenian government.

At the end of the meeting, Dr Wirachai Techawichiti was awarded RA
Prime Minister’s Letter of Appreciation for outstanding contribution
to the education and training of Armenian leadership.

Today’s Zaman
05 July 2009, Sunday

Ýstanbul’s first-ever `city museum’ to be built on Büyükada

Büyükada will soon host a first for Ýstanbul: a `city
museum.’ This museum will ultimately help to preserve objects, sounds
and images that are in danger of simply disappearing from modern life.

Though a city as large and disparate as Ýstanbul really deserves a
separate museum for each of its districts, one year from now, its
first real city museum will be open on Büyükada’s Taþ
Mektep. At an informational meeting on the museum held on a beautiful
Saturday afternoon, people gathered in a darkened room to learn what
they could about the new enterprise, as all the diverting activities
of the island went on around them, from horse-drawn carriage tours and
bicycle rides to drinking tea and eating ice cream.
Speeches addressing just what exactly a city museum is were
interspersed with calls for long-time residents of the island to pull
some of their beloved old memorabilia out of dusty chests to share
with the museum. There was a definite air of gratitude mixed with
pleading requests reigning in the salon that day; after all, island
residents need to believe and support this museum, both materially and
spiritually, if it is to be established by the year 2010. There was
great support expressed for the idea of the museum by ethnically
Greek, Armenian and Jewish residents of the island in attendance at
the meeting; they one by one took the opportunity to vocalize the
message: `We are behind you.’ This message in essence was great news
for the museum in that it meant `The doors of our homes are open to
you.’ Alongside this, island residents were really saying, `Take and
use our albums, our old documents, our letters, our maps, even the
dresses worn by our grandmothers.’ While the te!
rm `city museum’ sounds so simple, it really isn’t sufficient to
describe what is going on. The museum that is coming to the island of
Büyükada really promises much more than just the preservation of
objects and sounds and memories under a roof and between four walls;
what it promises, too, is a modern creation that will work not only to
give people a perspective on today, but will also help shape the
future.
Museum sparks action
It is very interesting to hear directly from someone who has seen and
closely examined many museums throughout the world just how a city
museum will actually affect and shape the city it is in. The director
of museums for the Ýstanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture
Agency, Suay Aksoy, believes the `golden era of objects’ is
over. `There is an incredible level of production and consumption
happening now. What kind of cell phone, for example, could we put on
display in a museum? We are in the era of virtual representations,
such as films and photographs,’ she explains. According to this new
way of seeing things, what is deemed important is not what a museum
preserves and displays, but what a museum says and how it expresses
itself. These days, the size and depth of collections are barely
looked at, instead all the attention goes to how the objects are used
and whether meaningful expressions are derived from these
collections. On this note, Aksoy says, `Entering a city museum!
should be like watching a film or picking up and reading a book from
start to finish.’ This new generation of museums are like live
organisms, addressing us directly and waiting for us to respond. This
being the case, these are museums that not only expect us to lend our
material and spiritual support, but also demand that we take part in
their debate forums and come to their art performances and
exhibitions. Additionally, temporary shows are beginning to gain
prominence over long-term and permanent exhibitions. This reflects how
cities are now, so much more mixed and changeable than they were in
the past and with such a vast number of both objects and concepts
waiting to be displayed.
Waiting for the islands’ museum
The cost of the Adalar Müzesi will be TL 2,600,000. It will cover,
among other topics, the phenomenon of immigration and exile,
stretching from the Byzantine era all the way through to the Ottoman
Empire and the founding of the Turkish Republic. Sixty percent of this
project is being funded by the Ýstanbul 2010 European Capital of
Culture Agency. If everything goes according to plan, in around a year
from now, when you get off a ferry at Büyükada, you’ll see signs
telling you about the activities and events at the Adalar Müzesi,
which might just lead you to postpone that tea you were planning on
drinking by the shore.

05 July 2009, Sunday
ÜLKÜ ÖZEL AKAGÜNDÜZ

IFC to provide us $5mln guarantees to Ameriabank

YEREVAN, July 4. /ARKA/. The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
will provide US $5mln guarantees to Ameriabank for trade financing.
Ameriabank Director General Artak Anesyan and IFC Director for the
Caucasus Thomas Lubeck signed a relevant agreement.

Following the signing ceremony, Mr. Anesyan pointed out that, according
to the initial data, the funds are to be provided at an annual interest
rate of 3%, with the term of guarantees to depend on agreements.

`The IFC will provide the bank with guarantees for import and export
transactions by corporate clients all the way up to 100%, which will
allow the bank to open letters of credit in over 300 banks throughout
the world and offer our clients more favorable terms of serving
guarantees and bank letters,’ Anesyan said.

He pointed out that the can even now start providing guarantees, all
the more so as, according to the latest data, 68 letters of guarantee
to the total amount of 4.206bln AMD have been opened with the bank,
with 80% of them dealing with import promotion.

Anesyan reported that the terms of credit terms for clients are being
finally specified. However, guarantees will mostly be provided to the
corporate clients working in the trade and production sectors, as they
have to import raw materials.

`This is the bank’s first program of cooperating with international
agencies,
which makes it possible to use the IFC’s potential. I hope it
will be a mutually advantageous transaction,’ Anesyan said.

Mr. Thomas Lubeck pointed out that the IFC has implemented trade
financing programs to the amount of over US $2.5bln worldwide this
year, with some of them involving Armenian commercial banks.

IFC attaches high importance to assisting the Armenian banking sector,
especially amid the crisis, as well as to using the Armenian banks’
potential to promote economic progress, he said.

Referring to a study of Ameriabank’s financial activities, Lubeck said
that the banks showed its stability as well as a good corporate client
base. So the IFC hopes for long-term and effective cooperation with the
bank.

IFC is already implementing trade financing programs with
Ardshininvestbank and Armeconombank.

The Ameriabank CJSC (former Armimpexeconombank, renamed last May) was
founded in July 1992 using the facilities of the Armenian branch of the
USSR Vnesheconombank. On September 8, 1992, the Central Bank of Armenia
(CBA) issued a banking license to Ameriabank. In August 2007, TDA
Holdings Limited, affiliate of the Troika Dialog investment and banking
group (Russia), purchased the bank’s shares.

As of March 31, 2009, Ameriabank’s assets reached 80.9bln AMD,
liabilities 60.4bln AMD, total capital 20.5bln AMD, authorized capital
18.2bln AMD (first largest authorized capital in the Armenian banking20
system), credit investments totaled 36.2bln AMD and net profit
(January-March 2009) 113.6mln AMD.

The bank has one branch in Armenia. P.T. `0–

ARARATBANK’S NET INCOME COMPRISED OVER USD 200 000

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
03.07.2009 20:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "According to preliminary data, Araratbank’s net
income comprised over USD200 000," Araratbank CEO Ashot Osipyan. "The
progress is obvious. Naturally, we’d like to see a greater growth,
yet it’s impossible, under circumstances," he said.

According to Osipyan, the bank has opened 4 subsidiaries within the
last 6 months, investments were increased. "Bank’s capitalization is
being increased, the growth is provided and shareholders are receiving
profits," he noted.

"In crisis circumstances, many banks are uniting to easier overcome
financial crisis consequences. "We’re ready for such consolidation,
as it’s a normal process. Purchase of another financial organization
is on bank’s agenda," Ashot Osipyan said.

Araratbank was established as a result of the reorganization of Haykap
Bank, operating on Armenian financial market since 1991.

Araratbank was reorganized into closed joint stock company in
September, 2005.

Araratbank is functioning as an open joint stock company since
August, 2007.

Araratbank is a member of the Union of the Banks of Armenia; it is a
partner of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of RA in the area of
management of the internal national debt.

Araratbank has been government’s agent since 2007 in the field of
management of the national debt of RA in the primary and secondary
markets; it provides services to 40 customers – both individuals and
legal entities.