Author: Nahapetian Samvel

Interfax, Russia
April 10 2009

Armenia has no plans to join NATO – Sargsyan

YEREVAN April 10

Armenia does not have the goal to become a NATO member, President
Serzh Sargsyan told a news conference on Friday.

"Armenia’s foreign policy agenda does not include the issue of
membership in NATO. But, at the same time, cooperation with NATO is an
element of Armenia’s security," Sargsyan said.

"We have good relations with NATO. We cooperate as part of our
individual partnership program. Our relationship will continue to
deepen," the Armenian president said.

Relations between Russia and Armenia proceed at a high level in all
areas, he said.

"I am pleased that we have such relations with Russia. I am glad that
our only future is further development. I am also glad that Russia is
our strategic partner. Any country can be proud of such a partner," he
added.

After years of isolation, the ancient capitals of Yervandashat and Bagaran are now open to visitors
by Tatul Hakobyan

-of-isolation-the-ancient-capitals-of-yervandashat -and-bagaran-are-now-open-to-visitors
Published: Friday April 10, 2009

Yervandashat, Armavir Province, Armenia – The residents of Bagaran
wake up at the crack of dawn every morning to the voices of the
muezzin from the neighboring village of Halimjan. The two villages are
separated by the Akhuryan river, which serves as the Armenian-Turkish
boundary.

"Of course it disturbs us," said Gevorg Margaryan, the head of Bagaran
village.

Bagaran is one of the oldest settlements in Armenia. It was founded by
King Yervand, the last of the Yervandunis, in the 3rd century
B.C.E. It was here that King Yervand, or Orontes, transported pagan
idols from Armavir, constructed pagan temples, and appointed his
brother as high priest.

For centuries – actually until 1920 – Bagaran was spread along the
right and left banks of the Akhuryan and also on the left bank of the
Araks River.

"Our forefathers crossed the Akhuryan twice, once in 1917 and for the
last time in 1920, never to return," said Mr. Margaryan.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bagaran had about 800
residents. To escape from the Turkish massacres, the residents of
Bagaran crossed the left bank of the Akhuryan River. When the first
Armenian republic was created in 1918 and the territories expanded,
the Bagarantsis returned to the right bank. At that time, Bagaran was
part of the district of Surmalu. After the loss of the republic, the
Western Armenian regions of Surmalu and the region of Kars, along with
the rest of the territories of Western Armenia, became part of Turkey.

The apricots are delicious
"Today the village has 610 resident. Apricots grow very well here. We
are primarily employed in agriculture and dairy farming," the village
head explained.

After the fall of the Yervanduni Kingdom, Bagaran lost its shine and
splendor and for almost a thousand years is not mentioned. In the 9th
century, Bagaran is once again mentioned and the first king of the
Bagratunis, Ashot I, proclaimed Bagaran the capital of the kingdom.

It was only a few years ago that one had to get special permission
from Armenia’s national security and border forces to travel to the
oldest capitals of Armenia, Bagaran and Yervandashat. But today, that
checkpoint has been removed and all those who wish to go and visit
these glorious sites, including diaspora Armenians and tourists, can
now do so.

Before traveling down to Bagaran and Yervandashat, it is necessary to
stop at a certain distance and look at the breathtaking scenery from
above. This is the Yeraskha – dzor Valley, where the Araks and
Akhuryan rivers mix together.

Yervandashat is only one kilometer away from Bagaran. It was the last
capital of the Yervanduni Kingdom, taking over from Armavir. The city,
which is spread over the two banks of the Araks River, used to have a
vibrant population. Yervandashat was destroyed in the 4th century
C.E. by the forces of the Persian King Shabuh.

Today, Yervandashat is a village of 825 residents. Since the collapse
of the Soviet Union, the village has only ever had one village head, –
Hovan Avetisian.

"I have been the village head since 1991 and I don’t belong to any
political party. Those who live in Yervandashat are natives to this
village, but we also have residents from Verin Sasnashen and
Sarnaghpyur of the region of Talin. The people here grow fruit trees
and keep cattle – cows and sheep. The village is about 4,000 hectares
but only 10 percent of it is used in agriculture," Mr. Avetisian said.

The village head recalled how in Soviet times, Yervandashat was a very
closed-off place. To come here one needed to go through several
government departments to get the necessary permission. After
Armenia’s independence, diaspora Armenians expressed great interest in
visiting Bagaran and Yervadashad. However, these villages continued to
remain difficult places to visit, once again tied off because of the
different papers one needed to get.

"In 2001, during the ceremonies commemorating the 1700th anniversary
of the adoption of Christianity, initially there was an intention of
including these two villages in the formal program of activities
because there are many historic sites in the two historic capitals at
the point where the Araks and Akhuryan rivers meet. There is the
fortress of Queen Parantsem, the grave of Gevorg Marzpetuni, which is
right on the banks of the Araks River, but on the Turkish side,"
Mr. Avetisian explained.

For two years, a group of archaeologists have been working in
Yervandashat and they have already discovered remains from the palace
of King Yervand, right on the banks of the Araks.

"There is a program being developed with the U.N., so that some of the
homes in the villages will have the ability to accept guests, tourists
and diaspora Armenians and to welcome them with freshly baked lavash
from the tonir," Mr. Avetisian said.

The village head is convinced that Bagaran and Yervandashat represent
a great historical value. Therefore today, when there is no longer any
restriction or difficulty in visiting this region, which is only 100
kilometers from Yerevan, it will no doubt be a place of great interest
for tourists.

TURKISH PM SETS CONDITIONS TO ARMENIA RECONCILIATION: REPORT

Agence France Presse
April 10 2009

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday
ruled out a deal with Armenia to normalize ties unless Yerevan resolved
its conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region, the
Anatolia news agency reported.

"We will not sign a final deal with Armenia unless there is agreement
between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorny Karabakh," Erdogan was
quoted as telling reporters.

He was speaking from the southern province of Hatay, where he is
holidaying, in response to remarks by Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian earlier Friday.

Sarkisian had expressed the hope that the border with Turkey, closed
for more than a decade, would reopen before an October football match
between their national teams.

"We can do the preliminary work (for a deal with Armenia), but it
definitely depends on the resolution of the conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh," Erdogan said.

Recent reports have suggested that Ankara and Yerevan will soon sign
a landmark deal paving the way for formal diplomatic ties and opening
their shared border.

The reports have irked Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey.

Azerbaijan insists that any deal should be contingent on Armenian
concessions over Nagorny Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that
broke away from Baku during a war in the early 1990s.

On a visit to Turkey this week, US President Barak Obama urged Ankara
and Yerevan to "move forward" in fence-mending talks to normalize ties
poisoned by disagreements over the World War I killings of Armenians.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically killed
between 1915 and 1917 during the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire,
Turkey’s predecessor — a charge that Ankara categorically denies.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan’s international campaign to have the killings recognized
as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of
solidarity with Azerbaijan over the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh.

Ankara and Yerevan have been pursuing a tentative reconciliation
process that has gathered steam since President Abdullah Gul paid a
landmark visit last year to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader,
to watch a football match.

ARMINFO AND STAR ARE ENTERING THE MARKET WITH DINING TABLE PRICE INDEX

ArmInfo
2009-04-10 19:38:00

ArmInfo. ArmInfo News Agency, jointly with STAR company, is presenting
the first independent consumer index "ArmInfo-STAR." In fact, this is
a Dining Table Price Index (DTPI), an attempt to reflect the spending
of the middle class on the most "popular" food products.

In Mar 2009, as compared with Feb 2009, the index made up 116.43. Thus,
in Mar 2009 the cost of the dining table basket grew by 16.4%. The
average amount of one purchase fell from 2,589 AMD to 2,452 AMD. Growth
was registered in 30 of 44 products, decline – in 14 items. The price
of tea rose by 55%, orange by 53.7%, banana by 38.9%, vegetable
oil by 37.2%; for the rest of the products the growth was from 1%
to 28%. The price of flour dropped by 82%, pork by 32.7%; for the
remaining 12 items the drop ranged within 1%-16%.

Director General of ArmInfo NA Emmanuil Lazarian says that his agency
has introduced this index for ensuring adequate assessment of cost
behavior and the buying capacities of the middle class especially as,
today, food is the key item of the expenses of an Armenian family
and will be such for a long time yet. The index helps to analyze
the solvency and the changes in the cost of the food basket of the
middle-class consumer, who is also the key user of retail banking,
insurance and other services.

The major reason for ArmInfo’s partnership with STAR is that, first,
STAR’s network covers all communities of Yerevan and is actively
expanding into the regions, second, its prices are relatively low and,
finally, this company is open to the public.

Director General of STAR Vahan Kerobyan says that his company does
its best to create favorable conditions for its consumers. "Our
reasonable price policy and wide package of marketing solutions in
the form of various discount actions make purchase in our supermarkets
affordable for quite wide population groups. So, our participation in
this project is quite appropriate."This index is not an alternative
to the consumer index (inflation rate) of the National Statistical
Service of Armenia as the latter has a broader scope. The objective
of DTPI "ArmInfo-STAR" is to show monthly cost behavior of a certain
population group preferring to buy goods in supermarkets.

The index reflects the prices of the foodstuffs that enjoy the highest
popularity among the STAR consumers. It considers changes in both
the prices and the quantity of consumed goods. In fact, this is not
an absolute price index but rather an indicator reflecting changes
in total consumer spending.

It comprises most of the basic mass consumption products, including
alcohol and cigarettes, as well as seasonal products (ice-cream,
vegetables and fruits). Each month, in addition to the consumer price
index, ArmInfo will provide information about discount actions at
STAR supermarkets, with an analysis of how much money the buyers may
save as a result of these actions, as well as about changes in the
number of STAR clients.

FEDERATION OF TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI CIRCLES ADDRESSES PRESIDENT ABDULLAH GUL

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
April 8, 2009 Wednesday

The news on opening of the borders between Turkey and Armenia
has disturbed the Azerbaijanis living in Turkey, too. The
Turkish-Azerbaijani Circles Federation addressed the President of
Turkey Abdullah Gul, State Committee on Diaspora Affairs said.

While Turkey and Azerbaijan shared the same happiness and grief since
the history, and Azerbaijanis reached to help their Turkish brothers
and were killed in Chanaggala and Gelooba fights and the brave sons
of Anadolu were buried in the same cemetery, how the borders will
be opened?, the Address says. At the same time, the bodies of the
courageous soldiers of Turkish Army headed by Nuru Pasha killed in the
fights for the freedom of Baku lie in the peak point of the capital
city of Azerbaijan.

The Address to President Gul by Federation of Turkish-Azerbaijani
Circles emphasizes that despite all international pressures, Azerbaijan
who re-established its independence in 90s of past century shared its
benefit with Turkey, obtained realization of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
(BTC) oil pipeline and Baku-TbilisiErzurum gas pipeline. And
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project is under construction.

The Address notes: The one nation, two states philosophy was first
uttered by nationwide leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev and the
Great Leader gave this phrase an eternal life by the contributions
to Turkic world.

The Azerbaijani lands have ever been the target of interest and envy
for its geographical opportunities, rich underground and on-ground
resources and strategic position. The Armenians ever having an eye
on the opportunities and richness of our country committed unseen
hitherto massacres, genocides and terrorisms against Azerbaijani
people. Tens of thousands of our compatriots lost their lives and
murdered savagely, over one million people were ousted from their
homelands, the Address said.

Address to the President of Turkey by Federation of Turkish-Azerbaijani
Circles ends: Both Turkey and Azerbaijan hold historical responsibility
as defending their peoples. Up today Turkey has performed and will
perform this significant responsibility. As being citizens of Turkish
Government we do not doubt about it. Azerbaijan is not alone. And we
have no right to lose confidence and respect of Azerbaijani people.

The Armenian Reporter
In five years, Armenia, Iran to be connected by rail
lf this ambitious initiative materializes, Armenia could have a passage through the ports of the Persian Gulf
by Tatul Hakobyan

Published: Friday April 10, 2009
ive-years-armenia-iran-to-be-connected-by-rail

Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s railways. The borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan are closed. The only operating international rail link is
with Georgia. Armenian Reporter map / © 2009 Armenian Reporter
LLC

Yerevan – High-ranking officials from Armenia and Iran are giving
assurances that in five years’ time there will be a railroad linking
the two countries. According to preliminary calculations, the railroad
will stretch for approximately 470 kilometers, with 410 of those on
Armenian territory. The total cost of this undertaking is expected to
run about $1.2 billion.

An agreement will be signed by Armenia and Iran sometime this month
when President Serge Sargsian is expected to be in Tehran for an
official visit. On April 3 Armenia’s minister of transportation,
Gurgen Sargsian, and Iran’s transport and communications minister,
Hamid Behbahani, signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard.

Armenia, which is currently under blockade from the west by Turkey and
from the east by Azerbaijan, had a rail link with Iran during the
Soviet era. The line began in Yerevan and continued along the banks of
the Araks River, through Nakhichevan in the Azerbaijani republic,
stretching all the way to Julfa. From there the railroad cut across
the Araks River by bridge to Jolfa station in Iran. From there was
connected to the Iranian railroad grid. This was the flattest and
shortest route: 200 km from Yerevan to the Iranian border.

Mountainous terrain
With passage through Nakhichevan blocked, the new rail link will have
to be built across high mountain ranges – through the provinces of
Vayots Dzor and Syunik. The exact route through Armenian territory has
not yet been mapped out. At a press conference with his Iranian
counterpart, Mr. Gurgen Sargsian said it would be preferable to have
the railroad run from the basin of Sevan toward Jermuk. Built during
the Soviet era, there is today a working railroad from Yerevan all the
way to the western basin of Sevan, the city of Vardenis. The portion
of the railroad to be built on Iranian territory must run to the city
of Marand.

Ministers Sargsian and Behbahani said that the railroad will be built
in three stages. In the first stage, technical and financial studies
will be carried out. This stage will require three months. The second
stage will be determining the route of the railroad and the drafting
of maps. The third stage will involve the actual construction. The
ministers foresee that this project will take up to five years to
complete. The sides expect to secure financing for this project
through large banks. "Negotiations for financing have already begun
with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank," Minister Sargsian
said.

If the construction of this ambitious railroad becomes a reality, then
Armenia will not only be connected to its neighbor Iran through a rail
link, but will be able to have transportation routes all the way to
the Persian Gulf and through this have routes to neighboring regions
and states in Central Asia, the Middle East, India, and China.

Armenia’s railroads belong to a Russian company. The full management
of Armenia’s railroad, lately renamed the South Caucasian Railway, was
given to Russian Railways for a period of 30 years. Since 2001 the
Armenian railroad has been a profitable operation, primarily
transporting cargo from Armenia to Georgia all the way to the Black
Sea ports of Batumi and Poti and back.

Russian Railways promised to invest $570 million in Armenia’s
railways. It has already stated, however, that it will not finance the
Armenia-Iran initiative. The Russians will use Azerbaijan’s territory
for their railway communication with Iran.

A geopolitically significant project
Abel Aghabegians, a well-known economist and academician said last
October that the fundamental issue surrounding the construction of the
Armenia-Iran railroad would be whether the sides would be able to
guarantee the required amount of cargo transport to justify the
cost. He suggested that perhaps it would have preferable to renovate
and shorten the distance of the Armenia-Iran automobile highway by
building a few tunnels at a fraction of the cost. Mr. Aghabegians said
that the cost of building this railroad could skyrocket to $2 billion
because it would have to be built across treacherous territory. He
hinted that perhaps the geopolitical significance of the Armenia-Iran
railroad outweighs its economic benefits.

During the Soviet era, Armenia had several rail links with
Azerbaijn. Cargo and passenger trains operated between Yerevan and
Baku (this route passed along the banks of the Araks River all the way
to Julfa, then back through Armenian territory at Meghri, and back
once again into Azerbaijan) and Ijevan to Baku. The Yerevan-Kapan line
also passed through the territories of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. The
Yerevan-Baku and the Ichevan-Baku lines carried 80 percent of
Armenia’s cargo.

During that period, Armenia also had rail links with Turkey at the
Gyumri-Kars line, which like the other rail links to Azerbaijan, are
no longer in operation because of the 20-year-old blockade. The
Yerevan – - – Tabriz rail line has also been under blockade
because a portion of that line passes through Nakhichevan. For the
past 17 years, Armenia also hasn’t had rail connection with Russia
because a portion of that rail line passes through separatist Abkhazia
in Georgia. That rail line, which is known as the Abkhazian railroad,
has been under blockade by the Georgians since 1992.

OBAMA IN TURKEY: U.S. NOT SELFISH AND CRASS

The Associated Press
6:18 AM EDT, April 7, 2009
Istanbul, Turkey

Obama ends Turkish visit with student town hall

In a humble finish to his first foreign trip, President Barack Obama
said that despite its flaws and past mistakes, the United States is
poised for a "new chapter in American engagement" with Muslims and
the rest of the world.

Calling for a greater understanding among nations, Obama said
the United States needs to be more patient in its dealings with
the world. And he said the rest of the world needs a better sense
"that change is possible so we don’t have to always be stuck with
the same arguments."

Complete coverage of President Barack Obama Barack Obama in Europe,
Turkey

Addressing college students in Turkey’s largest city, Obama rejected
the stereotype that Americans are selfish and crass. "I’m here to tell
you that’s not the country I know and not the country I love," the
president said. "America, like every other nation, has made mistakes
and has its flaws, but for more than two centuries it has strived"
to seek a more perfect union.

The students formed a tight circle around Obama, who slowly paced
a sky-blue rug while answering their questions. He promised to wrap
the session up before the Muslim call to prayer.

He repeated his pledge to rebuild relations between the United States
and the Muslim world.

"I am personally committed to a new chapter in American engagement,"
Obama said. "We can’t afford to talk past one another and focus only
on our differences, or to let the walls of mistrust go up around us."

The questions were polite and rarely bracing, though one student
asked whether there was any real difference between his White House
and the Bush administration. Obama cautioned that while he had great
differences with Bush over issues such as Iraq and climate change,
it takes time to change a nation as big as the United States.

"Moving the ship of state is a slow process," he said.

The Turkish stop capped an eight-day European trip that senior adviser
David Axelrod called "enormously productive" — including an economic
crisis summit in London and a NATO conclave in France and Germany.

Axelrod said specific benefits might be a while in coming. "You plant,
you cultivate, you harvest," he told reporters. "Over time, the seeds
that were planted here are going to be very, very valuable."

Axelrod cited accords on revamping global financial rules, restarting
arms talks with Russia and sending more NATO troops to Afghanistan.

Picking up on his consultant’s theme later, Obama told the college
students he sees nothing wrong with setting his sights high on goals
such as mending relations with Iran and eliminating the world of
nuclear options — two cornerstone issues of his trip.

"Some people say that maybe I’m being too idealistic," Obama said. "But
if we don’t try, if we don’t reach high, we won’t make any progress."

Obama’s final day in Turkey also featured a meeting with religious
leaders and stops at top tourist sites in this city on the Bosporus
that spans Europe and Asia. Accompanied by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, he toured the Hagia Sophia museum and the Blue Mosque.

The museum — first a basilica, then a mosque, now a Byzantine
architectural wonder — dates to 537 and is a shrine to the art,
religion and culture of this city of 20 million once known as
Constantinople.

Obama strolled slowly through the massive interior of the stone
basilica-turned-mosque-turned-museum, gazing at Christian-themed
frescos interspersed with giant suspended disks with Arabic
writing. With a guide and Erdogan, Obama smiled and nodded often,
keeping his hands clasped in front of him. The nearby Blue or Sultan
Ahmet Mosque is famed for its massive dome, minarets and thousands
of hand-painted blue tiles.

At the Blue Mosque, just across a square and manicured gardens
from Hagia Sophia, the president padded, shoeless like his entire
entourage in accordance with religious custom, across the carpeted
mosque interior. All around were intricate stained-glass windows and
a series of domes, thick columns and walls entirely covered in blue,
red and white tile mosaic.

Again, he appeared to speak little, as he was schooled in what he
was seeing by a guide. He spent about 40 minutes at both places.

At his Istanbul hotel, Obama met with Istanbul’s grand mufti and
its chief rabbi, as well as Turkey’s Armenian patriarch and Syrian
Orthodox archbishop.

In many respects, Obama’s European trip was a continental listening
tour.

He told the G-20 summit in London that global cooperation is the key
to ending a crippling recession. And at the NATO summit in France and
Germany, he said his new strategy for Afghanistan reflects extensive
consultation.

In Ankara, Turkey’s capital, Obama told lawmakers their country can
help ensure Muslims and the West listen to each other.

Obama has personal ties to Islam. His father was a Muslim Kenyan,
and Obama lived as a child in Indonesia, the world’s most populous
Muslim country. He told lawmakers that he knows Americans have been
enriched by their country’s Muslim heritage — "I know, because I am
one of them."

OBAMA PLEDGE ON MIDEAST SOLUTION
By Edward Luce and Delphine Strauss in Ankara and Roula Khalaf in London

FT
April 6 2009 22:33

Barack Obama on Monday offered his clearest pledge since taking office
to pursue a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians,
as he took his message of remaking US relations with the Muslim world
to Turkey.

President Obama urged Israel and the Palestinians to "live up to
the commitments they have made", in what is likely to be seen as a
rebuke to Israel’s new rightwing government, whose foreign minister
last week distanced himself from a 2007 US-backed process to create
a Palestinian state.

In an address to the Turkish parliament, the US president also
carefully prodded his hosts to make progress on talks with neighbouring
Armenia and restated the US’s support for Turkey to join the European
Union.

His remarks came on the closing leg of an eight-day tour of Europe,
in which he made Turkey the last stop, in part to deliver a symbolic
statement about bridging the divide between east and west after the
"mistrust" created by the presidency of George W. Bush.

"Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not at
war with Islam," he said. "I also want to be clear that America’s
relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on
opposition to al-Qaeda. We seek broad engagement based upon mutual
interests and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, bridge
misunderstanding, and seek common ground."

Mr Obama has sought to reach out to Muslims by quickly appointing
a Middle East envoy; giving an Arabic television station his first
interview with a foreign broadcaster; and making clear that he wants
engagement with Iran. He took his message on Monday to the heart of
a Muslim capital and insisted that he saw engagement with the Muslim
world as a dialogue based on mutual respect.

Reactions to the US president in the Muslim world have been both
hopeful and cautious, with many people appreciating the new tone,
but also waiting to see concrete changes in US policies.

While reaction in the Muslim world has been cautiously hopeful,
many are also waiting to see concrete changes in US policy.

Abdelaziz al-Qassim, a Saudi analyst, said Mr Obama was creating
a new mood in the region and was clearly "a man of initiative,
of values". But he said there were still questions about "what he
will do".

In the Arab world, the biggest question is how far the new president
will go in putting pressure on Israel to pursue negotiations on a
Palestinian state.

Mr Obama’s US president, who concludes his tour today in Istanbul
with a "town hall" event, where he will take questions from ordinary
Muslims, also sought Turkey’s20help in pursuing a two-state solution
and in brokering successful talks between Israel and Syria.

Although Mr Obama did not offer any radical new policies on the issue,
his language was studiously even-handed.

"Let me be clear: Regarding negotiations On a Palestinian state, he
said: "The United States strongly supports the goal of two states,
Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."

CASE ON PART OF MARCH 1 MURDERS EXAMINED BY PART 1, ARTICLE 104, RA CRIMINAL CODE, AFORETHOUGHT MURDER

Noyan Tapan
Apr 6, 2009

YEREVAN, APRIL 6, NOYAN TAPAN. The preliminary investigation on the
part of murder of 10 people in consequence of the 2008 March 1 events
in Yerevan continues at the RA Special Investigation Service within
the framework of part 1, Article 104, RA Criminal Code, aforethought
murder. Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed about it by Sona
Truzian, RA Prosecutor General’s Spokesperson.

It should be mentioned that before it the murders were examined
within the framework of part 3, Article 225, RA Criminal Code, mass
disorders accompanied by murders, which was invalidated by the latest
legislative amendments.

A memorandum on construction of Iran-Armenia railroad signed in Yerevan

2009-04-04 12:07:00

ArmInfo. Armenian Transport and Communication Minister Gourgen Sargsyan
and Iranian Road and Transport Minister Hamid Behbahani signed a
memorandum on construction of Iran- Armenia railroad in Yerevan,
Friday.

During a joint briefing G.Sargsyan pointed out that this railroad will
have a regional significance and actually "will continue the Silk Road
in the shape of railroad communication". He added that it is envisaged
to sign an agreement on construction of the railroad in April 2009,
during Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Tehran.

The transport minister added that Russia also expressed willingness to
participate in this project at various levels, including designing,
financing and construction. To receive a loan for the construction of
the railroad, Armenia negotiates with the World Bank, Asian Development
Bank and other donors, he said. The preliminary feasibility study of
the project will be ready within three months, he added.

For his part, Hamid Behbahani pointed out that Iran will provide
Armenia with an access to the Persian Gulf and Iranian ports, which is
very important for the economic development of the country which Blacks
sea links. He added that the working group set up for this purpose will
prepare the feasibility study and outline the route of the railroad
within the next 1-1.5 years. Its length may be 470 km, 60 km of which –
in Iran, the rest – in Armenia. According to him, the construction
itself will last 3-4 years. He pointed out that the project is
preliminarily estimated at $1-1,2 bln.

To note, the Armenian president qualified the construction of
Iran-Armenia railroad as a national project. The railroad will allow
Armenia to receive an access to the Persian Gulf and Central Asian
markets via Iran. At the moment, the railroad communication of Armenia
with the external world is blocked by Turkey and Azerbaijan. There is
no railway communication with Russia either because of the
Georgian-Russian conflict.