Author: Nalbandian Eduard

IMF PROPOSES $540 MILLION LOAN TO ARMENIA
Gita Elibekyan

"Radiolur"
03.03.2009 14:40

The Directorate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared
today that Armenia has been adversely affected by the world
economic crisis. Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing director of
the International Monetary Fund, issued the following statement on
Armenia today:

"After many years of strong economic performance, Armenia has been
adversely affected by the global economic and financial crisis. In
response, the Armenian authorities have put together a strong and
credible economic program to address the deterioration in Armenia’s
external outlook, restore confidence in the currency and financial
system, and protect the poor."

"The comprehensive policy package developed by the Armenian authorities
in consultation with IMF staff includes a floating exchange rate
regime with supporting monetary, fiscal and financial policies, as
well-targeted structural reforms. The authorities are also taking
measures to help offset the economic downturn and mitigate the impact
of the economic crisis on poor.

The strong measures that the authorities are taking justify the
exceptional level of access to Fund resources and deserve the support
of the international community," Mr. Strauss-Kahn said.

IMF Permanent Representative in Armenia Nienke Oomes met with
reporters today to present their predictions and suggest ways out of
the situation.

Nienke Oomes said that taking into consideration the extremely negative
influence of the economic crisis on Armenia, the IMF has proposed a
$540 million loan to the Armenian Government.

EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS VOICE SUPPORT FOR ARMENIA AND ARF

Yerkir
18.02.2009 19:06

Yerevan (Yerkir) – A joint meeting between the representatives of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Party of European Socialists
was held in Brussels on February 17, entitled "Together for Solidarity,
Stability and Development in South Caucasus."

The meeting was presided over by Miguel Anjel Marines (Spain),
a deputy European parliament speaker.

Eleven members of the European Parliament were present. The ARF
was represented by ARF Bureau members Mario Nalbandian and Vahan
Hovnahhisian, ARF Supreme Body of Armenia representative Armen
Rustamian and other ranking ARF members. The opening remarks were
made by Mario Nalbandian. The meeting’s agenda included issues
related to the current situation in the South Caucasus as well as
the Armenia-European Union relations.

Concluding remarks were made by Nalbandian, Martines and Viersman.

RA PRESIDENT, CSTO SEC. GEN. DISCUSS RRF FORMATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 19:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan met Monday
with visiting Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization Council (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha, to discuss the
package of normative and legal acts proceeding from the resolution
on Collective Rapid Reaction Force establishment (CRRF).

Nikolai Bordyuzha briefed the RA President on the work carried out
by the organization’s experts, the Secretariat and the CSTO United
Headquarters, the RA leader’s press office reports.

Mediamax, Armenia
Feb 27 2009

Armenian police chief warns opposition against violence

Yerevan, 27 February: The Armenian police are fully ready to suppress
any possible unrest during the forthcoming opposition rally slated for
1 March, Maj-Gen Alik Sargsyan, the chief of the Armenian police, said
in Yerevan today. He said in the course of the day the police troops
will be on duty in intensified mode.

"We are determined to prevent any violation of the law, including
blockage of traffic in streets for any action, Sargsyan said. He
admitted that a year ago, the police troops "demonstrated certain
inaction and delay, not fully using their capacities".

"People can simply gather, honour the memory of the victims of the
last year’s events in Yerevan and leave," Sargsyan stated. He added
that on this day there were victims from the law enforcement agencies
as well.

ASSESSMENT OF SUMGAYIT EVENTS FROM THE DISTANCE OF 21 YEARS
Nvard Davtyan

"Radiolur"
27.02.2009 17:35

Good bye until this day next year! According to the President of the
Chamber of Advocates of Armenia Ruben Sahakyan this is the attitude
towards the crimes committed in Sumgayit in February 1988, and this
will continue until we find out what we want. Should the massacres
become a serious topic for discussions? Who is responsible: the state
or the public?

According to Ruben Sahakyan, to achieve positive results it is
necessary to collect all the proofs, analyze them, give a legal
evaluation to the actions committed and initiate corresponding
activation in international structures.

He noted also that it would be correct to coordinate the cases
connected with Sumgayit into a common criminal case and hold a
public trial.

"I’m confident that the probe was not properly conducted, and the case
was intentionally split so as to make it impossible to present the
events as genocide," Sahakyan noted. He said the events in Sumgayit
in 1988 should be qualified as genocide

The issue of Azerbaijani Armenian refugees should be included in the
negotiations on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, otherwise
the process will not be complete, coordinator of the "Refugees and
International Law Organizations Network" Eleonora Asatryan told a
press conference today. She noted that if the issue of Azerbaijani
refugees and internally displaced persons has been included in the
Madrid Proposals, it would be fair to discuss the issue of Azerbaijani
Armenian refugees as well.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON HAS PLANS TO VISIT TURKEY IN MARCH

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.02.2009 00:03 GMT+04:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to visit Turkey
next month, diplomatic sources said. After the meeting between Turkish
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. Middle Envoy George Mitchell
in Ankara, sources told that Clinton also has plans to visit Turkey
in March.

Clinton will visit countries in the region after attending an
international conference hosted by Egypt for the Gaza reconstruction
on March 2.

Although the date of the top U.S. diplomat is yet to be determined,
Clinton is expected to visit Turkey on March 7, Hurriyet Daily News
reports.

GREEK LOBBY MOST POWERFUL IN U.S.?

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.02.2009 14:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The United States’ chilling relations with Turkey
is not conditioned by compassion for Armenians or Kurds, according
to an Israeli daily.

The matter concerns the powerful Greek lobby in Washington, Haaretz
daily reports, enumerating the names of officials of Greek descent
in the U.S. administration.

Ankara has been trying to neutralize the Greek activities with the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). However, the Israeli
lobbyists have surrendered positions recently. The myth about Israel’s
global power is cracking, the report says.

TIGRAN TOROSYAN: "MURDERS MUST BE DISCLOSED"

A1+
[02:14 pm] 25 February, 2009

Ex President of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosyan is displeased
with the work of the Investigation body probing into the deadly
clashes of March 1 and 2, 2008, in Yerevan City.

"The aftermaths of the March 1 events haven’t been healed. Nor has
the situation in the country been normalised," says Mr. Torosyan with
regard to the country’s political scene.

Today’s situation cannot be depicted in a few words. It demands a
serious analysis. Neither the consequences of the March 1 events,
nor the existing problems in the country have been addressed."

Asked what he meant by saying "the existing problems," the ex Speaker
of the Armenian Parliament said: "I mean separatism, lack of confidence
and deepening enmity among our people caused by psychological tension."

People have not found answers to many questions regarding the March 1-2
events that left ten Armenians dead in the streets of Yerevan. Namely,
no one has been made accountable for the death of the victims.

"The question had better be addressed to relevant bodies. Anyway, it
is vital that murders be disclosed in any country," said Mr. Torosyan.

"Recently they used to repeat that the identification of firearms
and bullets is impossible. Yet it doesn’t mean that everything has
been done to find an answer. It is not the only way out. In fact, the
firearms could have got lost or disappeared. They can still disclose
the murderers and come up with a final assessment".

ARMENIA’S PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO VISIT BELARUS IN FIRST HALF OF 2009

armradio.am
24.02.2009 17:45

A parliamentary delegation of Armenia led by Chairman of the
National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan will visit Belarus in first half
of 2009, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia Grair
Karapetyan said during the third session of the Belarusian-Armenian
inter-parliamentary commission for cooperation on February 24.

According to Hrair Karapetyan, the visit will promote even closer
inter-parliamentary links between the two countries. He noted that the
political contacts between Belarus and Armenia have been developing
quite successfully. The sides have been cooperating both on a bilateral
basis and in the international arena. Belarus and Armenia have signed
more than 60 bilateral treaties, agreements and protocols in all areas,
"The potential is quite sufficient to develop the relations further,"
Hrrair Karapetyan said.

At the same time, there are many issues that remain unsettled, and
though the existing legal-treaty basis is sufficient for expanding
cooperation, it requires further polishing, Hrair Karapetyan said. The
countries have huge potential for boosting cooperation in agriculture,
manufacturing industry, technology, culture and other areas. There
is a need to intensify regional cooperation. Grair Karapetyan, when
meeting with chairmen of the two houses of the Belarusian parliament
on February 23, suggested or ganizing a special conference to discuss
regional cooperation between Belarus and Armenia.

With a view to intensifying inter-parliamentary links, he suggested
exchanging the lists of the delegations of the two countries accredited
in the international parliamentary organizations. "The work will be
continued in the spirit of mutually beneficial cooperation and will
help bring our nations closer," Hrair Karapetyan believes.

For his part, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives of the
National Assembly of Belarus, Valery Ivanov, said that for further
successful development of bilateral cooperation, Belarus and Armenia
need to unify regulations, customs clearance, intensify interaction
between business and companies. "We have possibilities and desire. The
main point now is to start working," he said.

The key issue on the agenda of the session of the inter-parliamentary
commission was energy security of Belarus and Armenia. The commission
also considered the implementation of previous decisions.

The next session will focus on trade, economic and cultural relations
between Belarus and Armenia, military and technological cooperation,
interaction in science, medicine, health care and agriculture industry.

BUSHEHR POWER PLANT TO BE LAUNCHED ON FEB. 25

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.02.2009 11:34 GMT+04:00

"Pilot stage operation" of the power plant will start on Wednesday
during a visit by the head of Russia’s state Rosatom Atomic
Corporation, Sergey Kiriyenko.

"In the presence of the heads of the atomic energy organizations of
Iran and Russia, the pre-commissioning of Bushehr power plant will
be carried out on Wednesday," the IRNA news agency said, quoting Iran
Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Mohsen Delaviz.

It did not say exactly what the pre-commissioning of the much-delayed
plant would involve. Russia took over construction of the $1 billion
contract for the 1,000-MW power plant in 1994 but completion has been
delayed due to a number of factors, including the controversy over
Tehran’s nuclear program.

Some 700 Iranian engineers were trained in Russia to operate the
plant that was expected to become operational in fall of 2008.

Russia had resisted Western calls for tougher sanctions against
Tehran over its nuclear program, which Washington believes is aimed
at building atomic weapons.

Tehran however maintains its nuclear program is purely for peaceful
purposes.

Russia is also one of the six countries negotiating with Iran over
the nuclear issue along with the United States, Britain, China,
France and Germany.

Tehran also plans to build a 360-megawatt nuclear power plant in
Darkhovin, in the southwestern Khuzestan province, IRNA reports.