Author: Nahapetian Samvel

AZERBAIJAN IS PASSING FROM GRUDGE TO THREATS

ArmInfo
2009-10-19 17:14:00

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan seems to have overcome the deep shock and mortal
affront caused by the fact that Turkey has signed normalization
protocols with Armenia neglecting the interests of its "junior brother"
and to be now planning more radical measures.

Trend News reports that the Azerbaijani Parliament will debate the
protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia.

"I and my counterparts returning from the Turkey visit will put
forward proposals to prevent discussion of the signed protocols at
the Turkish Parliament," Member of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary
Security and Defense Committee, Zahid Oruj said on Oct. 19.

Oruj said that appeal to the Turkish Parliament will depend on the
discussions.

"Azerbaijan is engaged in certain diplomatic activities. I believe
we can use different influence tools," the parliamentarian said.Oruj
added that they should not only discuss the policy pursued to repair
relations between Turkey and Armenia, but also the regional issues.

"We should determine profit and losses of Azerbaijan in these
processes, because Azerbaijan’s future is too important as a result
of a change in a power balance in the region. Exchange of opinions
should be held on this issue, as the parliament as a legislative body
is a branch of the government," the member of the committee stressed.

It should be noted that this is not the first open displeasure
expressed by Azerbaijan with respect to Turkey. The Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry has appeared with notes of protests. In fact,
Azerbaijan has started a war against Turkish flags. It seems that the
"junior brother" has seriously rebelled and this is hardly the end.

Agence France Presse
October 15, 2009 Thursday 4:43 PM GMT

Turkish police foil model plane protest at Armenia match

ANKARA, Oct 15 2009

Police held four people accused of planning to fly a model plane with
Azerbaijani flags in a stadium hosting a politically charged football match
between Turkey and Armenia, Anatolia news agency said Thursday.

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian watched Wednesday’s game together with
his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, on a historic visit to Turkey aimed at
cementing efforts to normalise ties between their two countries.

Sahabettin Harput, the governor of the northwestern city of Bursa where the
match took place, said the suspects were detained a day before the World Cup
qualifying match, along with a remote-control model plane with a wingspan of
150 centimeters (60 inches).

"The suspects planned to tie Azerbaijani flags to the plane and then fly it
inside the stadium," Harput was quoted by Anatolia as saying.

The governor had earlier said the suspects wanted to land a glider on the
pitch, but later explained that this had been a "misunderstanding" since one
of the suspects had attended a glider course.

Turkey and Armenia, long divided by a bloody history, signed two historic
deals last week to end decades of hostility, establish formal ties and open
their border.

For many Turks, the peace efforts amount to selling out Azerbaijan, one of
Ankara’s closest allies, whose conflict with Yerevan over the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region led Turkey in 1993 to seal its border with Armenia.

The two nations have been estranged since World War I when, Armenians say,
1.5 million of their kin were killed by their Turkish Ottoman rulers in a
genocide, a label Turkey fiercely rejects.

su-han/ms/mjs

COE SECRETARY GENERAL WELCOMES THE PROGRESS IN ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS

armradio.am
16.10.2009 17:26

Armenia’s Permanent Representative at the Council of Europe Zohrab
Mnatsakanyan had a meeting with the newly appointed Secretary
General of the organization, Thorbjorn Jagland. At the beginning
of the meeting Ambassador Mnatsakanyan presented to the Secretary
General the congratulatory messages of the Armenian President and
the Foreign Minister.

The interlocutors discussed the issues on the agenda of the Council
of Europe, the necessity of conducting reforms and the ways of their
implementation.

Ambassador Mnatsakanyan emphasized the rich expert potential of
the organization, which is being successfully implemented for the
development of democratic systems in Armenia. The parties stressed
the important role of the member states in the activity of the
organization.

The parties dwelt in a number of regional issues. The CoE Secretary
General once again welcomed the progress in the Armenian-Turkish
relations and appreciated the steps taken in that direction.

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT: "WE SURPASS THEM IN ALL RESPECTS"

AZG DAILY
17-10-2009

Karabakh conflict

"Our country’s opportunities are increasing both in economic and
military spheres. At present, Azerbaijani army is the strongest in
the region. If we had had such a powerful army late 1980 and early
1990, Azerbaijani lands would not have been "occupied". The people
who were in power in Azerbaijan in late 1980s and early 1990s made
big mistakes. However, as soon as Heydar Aliyev took office, the
situation in Azerbaijan changed. Several territories were returned
and ceasefire was achieved", Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said
yesterday at a ceremony.

"During ceasefire, Azerbaijan was able to achieve great success,"
Aliyev said adding at present Azerbaijan’s economy cannot be compared
with that of Armenia.

"We surpass them in all respects. We have very broad political
opportunities. Our international positions are strong. Our economic
potential is higher several times. Regarding military strength, I
would like to stress again that Azerbaijani army is the strongest in
the region. We enhance our military strength. Indeed, it needs huge
funds. But we must do it as we live in war conditions. The war has
not finished yet. It’s first stage has been completed. We must be
ready to liberate our native lands from "occupiers" at any moment",
he said, according to an Azerbaijani news agency.

"INTERACTION-2009" MILITARY EXERCISES TO BE WATCHED BY PRESIDENTS

Aysor.am
Saturday, October 17

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan who is paying two-day
working visit to Astana will watch joint CSTO military exercises
"Interaction-2009". President-headed Armenian delegation includes
Secretary of Armenia’s National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan,
Defense Minister Seyran Oganyan, and other senior officials.

At the invitation of Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will also attend the exercises to
watch final stage of exercises of Collective Rapid Reaction Force
(CRRF) at Kazakhstan’s Matybulak training grounds.

Note that the purpose of the CRRF is to deploy a nimble fighting
force, and among duties of the third training stage is antiterrorist
management of military units.

CSTO member states will also perform their responsive operations in
potential threats and challenges, as well as readiness to collective
security activities.

The first joint exercise with all training-members of joint CSTO
military exercises "Interaction-2009" with Collective Rapid Reaction
Force participation started on October, 7.

ARMENIA RANKS AS 10TH COUNTRY IN FIGHT AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORISM FUNDING

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.10.2009 14:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia ranks as the 10th country in fight against
money laundering and terrorism funding, Head of RA CBA Financial
Monitoring Centre Daniel Azatyan told a news conference in Yerevan.

He told journalists that a leading country in the list is Slovenia;
Cyprus, Hungary and Baltic states come next. All CIS countries
fall behind Armenia, with Russia ranking as the 13th and Ukraine as
the 25th state directly followed by Georgia. Azerbaijan is the 25th
country in the list. Countries like Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro
were not included in evaluation report.

According to EU report approved by MANIVAL Committee, Armenia has
fixed certain positive results towards compliance with international
standards on fight against money laundering and terrorism funding. The
country complies with 6 recommendations fully, 20 recommendations –
almost fully and 17 recommendations – partially. It does not meet 5
standards and 1 recommendation concerning financial sphere.

HERITAGE PARTY INTRODUCED BILL ON NKR RECOGNITION TO RA NA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.10.2009 12:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Heritage parliamentary group sent a bill on
recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by Armenia to the Speaker
of the RA National Assembly.

"The bill will be brought to the floor in the near future and we are
hopeful that the deputies will approve the bill this time," group
leader Stepan Safaryan said. "Even if voted down, the bill will remain
on the agenda as the last weapon."

SEFILYAN WILL NOT LEAVE THE HAK

30.html
15:41:06 – 13/10/2009

The Armenian-Turkish protocols would not exist if Armenia was not
weak. It is not accidental that the rival started its attack after
March 1. Our movement will aim to eliminate not the consequence but
the cause, said the representative of Sardarapat movement Jirayr
Sefilyan. According to him, the Sardarapat committee is being formed
now and 3 offices will work.

In Sefilyan’s opinion, the ARF activities are not honest. If they
wanted to prevent Serge Sargsyan’s betraying actions, they had to
initiate a signature gathering action and put it on the table of
the president. Sefilyan does not understand either how a force in
authoritarian country may be oppositional and have a television
station at the same time.

As to the Armenian National Congress, according to Sefilyan, the HAK
was unable to reach its final goal. Congress is an honest movement
which is why he is not going to leave it.

WASHINGTON POST – CHESS
By Lubomir Kavalek

Washington Post
Monday, October 12, 2009; 9:55 AM

The English chess composer Murray Marble (1885-1919) produced
some 300 problems. In 1909, he won the first prize in the
prestigious French magazine La Strategie for both the two-move
and the three-move sections. In one of the winning works (White:
Ka6,Qa8,Rc3,Rh3,Ba1,Bg6,Ng7; Black: Kd4,Qh1,Re2,Rf4,Nf2,Ng5,P:
a3,b6,d5,e5), white mates in two moves. Can you find it? (Solution
next week.)

Magnificent Magnus

Magnus Carlsen will likely remember the Second Pearl Spring
double-round elite tournament in Nanjing, China, for the rest of his
life. The 18-year-old Norwegian superstar notched the greatest triumph
of his young career, winning the event last week and outclassing
the opposition. He left his nearest rival, the world’s top-rated
grandmaster, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, 2 1/2 points behind. The
final standings were: Carlsen 8 points in 10 games, Topalov 5
1/2 points, Wang Yue of China 4 1/2 points; Teimour Radjabov of
Azerbaijan, Peter Leko of Hungary and Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia,
each 4 points. Last year, in a similar tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria,
winner Vassily Ivanchuk had an identical score to Carlsen’s, but the
field was weaker.

Carlsen’s success and the margin of his victory in Nanjing will be
compared to other great triumphs, and he still has time to match
the best. Alexander Alekhine’s 14-1 score in San Remo in 1930 or
his 20 1/2 -5 1/2 tally in Bled in 1931 come quickly to mind. So do
Mikhail Tal’s 20-8 win in the 1959 Candidates tournament in Yugoslavia,
Anatoly Karpov’s 11-2 triumph in Linares in 1994 and Garry Kasparov’s
12-2 victory in Tilburg in 1989. Of course, Bobby Fischer’s run of
20 consecutive wins against world-class grandmasters in 1970-71 will
never be repeated.

On the next FIDE rating list, Carlsen will break the 2800 rating
barrier, the youngest player ever to do so. It could have been the
motivation for going full-throttle in the last round against Jakovenko
even though nament victory already wrapped up. The Exchange variation
of the Queen’s gambit figured prominently in last month’s exhibition
match between Carlsen’s coach, Kasparov, and Karpov in Valencia, Spain.

Carlsen-Jakovenko

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bxd6
Qxd6 8.e3 Ne7 9.Bd3 b6 (Intending to exchange the light bishop on
the diagonal f1-a6. Karpov tried both, 9…Nd7 and 9…g6, without
success.) 10.Nf3 (There is a difference between the player and his
coach. Carlsen places the knight on the best square. Kasparov, on
the other hand, liked to build the center with f2-f3 and e3-e4 and
preferred to move the knight to the square e2.) 10…Ba6 11.0-0 Bxd3
12.Qxd3 Nd7 (Not much is going on, but black still didn’t castle
and Carlsen follows William Steinitz’s axiom: "The player with an
advantage has to attack.")

13.e4! 0-0 (Exchanging the e-pawn with 13…dxe4 is not advisable
since after 14.Nxe4 Qd5 15.Qa3! Carlsen keeps the black king in the
middle. For example, white wins outright after 15…Qxe4 16.Rfe1
or after 15…0-0? 16.Nc3! Qe6 17.Rfe1. And white gets powerful
pressure after 15…Kd8 16.Nc3 Qf5 17.Rfe1 Re8 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.Rxe5
Qd7 20.Rae1and black is tied up.) 14.e5 (Crossing the equator gives
Carlsen more space.) 14…Qe6 15.Rae1 Rfe8 16.Nh4 (Ready to unleash
the f-pawn.) 16…Ng6 17.Nxg6 Qxg6 (Black can’t stop white’s kingside
advance with 17…hxg6, since after 18.f4 Qf5 19.Qd1 Rac8 20.g4 Qe6
21.f5 gxf5 22.gxf5 Qh6 23.Kh1 white’s advantage is clear.) 18.Qd2
Nf8 19.f4 Qf5 (Blocking with 19…f5 is met by 20.Nd1 Ne6 21.Ne3
Rac8 22.Kh1 Qf7 23.g4! and white dictates the play.) 20.Nd1 f6
21.Ne3 Qd7 22.Qd3! (Against 22…f5.) 22…fxe5?! (22…Rad8 was
more cautious.) 23.dxe5 Ne6 24.f5 (The pawn avalanche begins to
roll.) 24…Nc5 25.Qd4 Ne4 (This looks like an oversight, but black
didn’t have many options. For example, after 25…Qc7 26.f6! Rxe5
27.f7+ Kf8 28.Nf5 Ne4 29.Nxg7 Qe7 [On 29…Kxg7 30.Rf5! wins.] 30.Ne8!,
threatening 31.Rf5, white wins.)

26.Nxd5!? (Carlsen keeps his advanced pawns intact, but the little
combination had to be calculated well. The tempting 26.f6!? was
also possible, for example 26…Re6 27.Nf5! c5 [27…Nxf6 is met
by 28.Nxg7!] 28.Qd1 Rxe5 29.Rxe4! Rxe4 30.f7+! Kh8 [or 30…Kf8
31.Qh5!] 31.Ng3 Rf8 32.Nxe4 Rxf7 33.Nf2, but good technique is required
to win.) 26…Qxd5?! (Jakovenko accepts being a pawn down. The retreat
26…Nc5!? leaves the white queen pinned, but Carlsen can create a lot
of action with his advanced pawns: 27.f6! Red8 28.e6! Nxe6 29.f7+ and
now after 29…Kh8 30.Rxe6! Qxe6 31.Nc7! Qe7 32.Nxa8 Rxa8 33.Qe5! Qf8
34.h3 black is pinned down; and after 29…Kf8 30.Qe4 Qxd5 31.Qxh7
Ke7 32.Qxg7! Qd4+ 33.Qxd4 Rxd4 34.f8Q+ Rxf8 35.Rxf8 Kxf8 36.Rxe6 the
connected passed pawns give white excellent winning chances.) 27.Qxe4
Rad8 28.e6! (The first pawn arrives at the sixth rank and the other
is underway.) 28…Qxe4 29.Rxe4 Rd6?! (This passive defense stops
the white pawns only temporarily. The active 29…Rd2!? is more
fun. White’s best move is 30.b4 and after 30…Rxa2 31.Rc1! the
possible continuation is 31…Rc8 32.Rec4 Rf8 33.Rxc6 Re2 34.g4 h5
35.h3 hxg4 36.hxg4 Re4 37.R6c4 Rxc4 38.Rxc4 a5 39.bxa5 bxa5 40.Rd4
Ra8 41.g5 a4 42.e7! Kf7 [42…Re8 43.g6! wins.] 43.Rd8 wins.) 30.g4
Kf8 31.g5 Ke7 32.Kg2 (White is not in a hurry. He marches his king up
before he plays f5-f6.) 32…Rd5 33.Kg3 Kd6 34.h4 c5 35.f6 gxf6 36.gxf6
Rd3+ 37.Kh2 Rd2+ 38.Kh1 (The pawns will run to the touchdown.) Black
resigned.

European Club Cup

The Russian team of Economist-SGSEU-1 Saratov, led by GM Evgeny
Alekseev, clinched victory on Saturday at the 54-team European Club
Cup in Ohrid, Macedonia, winning all seven matches. The team of Mika
Yerevan, which included all members of the winning Armenian Olympiad
team, won six matches but lost to the winners. England’s GM Michael
Adams, playing for the German club OSG Baden-Baden, scored the most
points with six wins and one draw. GM Peter Svidler, competing for
the Russian team from St. Petersburg, had the top performance rating
of 2920, scoring 5½ points in seven games. The U.S. champion Hikaru
Nakamura went 5-2 on the top board of the Austrian team Husek Wien.

The Russian team of Spartak Vidnoe took the women’s 11-team group,
winning five and drawing two matches. Their lineup included the
former women’s world champion, GM Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria,
Russia’s International Masters Tatiana and Nadezhda Kosintseva and GM
Kateryna Lahno of Ukraine, who finished undefeated with the overall
best result, five wins and one draw.

U.S. Women’s Championship

IM Anna Zatonskih is defending the title in St. Louis. She had
a fabulous start, six wins and one draw. The championship ends
Tuesday. For the conclusion, go to the excellent Web site:
-Championship-2009.

Solution to Last Week’s Puzzle Oct.5: White draws by Henrik Van
Duben (White: Ka4,Nd4,P:a2; Black: Ke4,P:b2,c6): 1.Nb5! cxb5+
(or 1…b1Q? 2.Nc3+) 2.Ka3! b1 or 2…b1B 3.Kb4 Bd3 4.a4 draw.

UNIBANK OFFERS NEW BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.10.2009 17:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In a difficult economic situation, the bank
tried to make the program of business lending maximum convenient
and beneficial for clients, Unibank deputy chairman of the Board,
director in corporate business Ara Avagyan said. Small and medium
businesses lending has always been a priority to Unibank .

Unibank offers loans to grow production, replace equipment,
replenishment of turnover means, etc. The amount of loans for small
and medium businesses can reach USD 1 million. Major customers of the
bank are granted loans amounting to USD 4,5 million. The Unibank’s
competitive advantage is its long-term loans: small and medium-sized
businesses can borrow money for up to 5 years at 15 to 22 per cent.

Ara Avagyan mentioned, that the bank does not charge penalties for
early repayment of the loan, and it has no hidden fees.

The bank has a separate credit program under the Russian loan. The
money is lended to small and medium enterprises at 15 per cent annual
interest rate for a 5-year period, and the loan can reach AMD 50
million in general and AMD 500 million for processing enterprises.

The bank started offering a new product, "Business pawnshop"
credit. Loans are provided without a preliminary financial analysis,
secured on stores. The loan is given in US dollars at 22per cent
interest rate per annum up to 24 months. The loan amount is 50
thousand USD.

The bank offers rapid loan , "easy loan" to his conscientious
borrowers without additional financial analysis. The loan is given
for 2-3 day period.