Author: Nalchajian Markos

NA AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON EVENTS OCCURRED ON 1-2 MARCH PROPOSES PROLONGING ITS ACTIVITY PERIOD BY 4 MONTHS

Noyan Tapan
Oct 21, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly on October
21 finished the discussion of the draft decision On Making an Amendment
to the Decision On Creation of a NA Ad-hoc Committee on the Events
Occurred on 1-2 March 2008 in Yerevan and Their Reasons.

Samvel Nikoyan, draft’s co-author, the Chairman of the Ad-hoc
Committee, the Secretary of the RPA faction, proposed prolonging the
activity period of the Committee for 4 months, up to February 25,
2009. He said that if the Committee fulfills earlier the tasks set
before it, it will present its conclusion to NA before the proposed
period.

The factions of 4 parties making part of the political coalition
spoke for the proposed amendment.

The only opposition faction, Zharangutiun (Heritage), spoke against
the prolongation of the period. According to faction Secretary Styopa
Safarian, within the framework of the limited powers set by the NA
decision the Committee will not be able to achieve any result even
in case of prolonging its activity period. It was mentioned that
the Committee will not be able to disclose the real picture until
the RA former and current Presidents give evidence in the Committee
as characters.

In this connection S. Nikoyan stated that it seems to former and
current high-ranking officials in Armenia that they are "gods" and
may not answer the questions addressed to them. It, in particular,
regards the first RA President, as the questions addressed to him
by the Committee have received no answer. According to S. Nikoyan,
it would be also interesting to listen to the second RA President
who declared that from behind the cars participants of the action of
protest fired at servicemen of internal troops, while it is obvious
that there are no persons receiving fire-arms injuries among servicemen
of internal troops: their injuries are only splinter.

ACADEMICIAN ABOUT ARMENIAN-AZERI RELATIONSHIP

Panorama.am
14:56 25/10/2008

Today we face the problem of remaining Armenians in this region rather
than to solve Artsakh conflict. "Looking back to the history of every
country forced wars have been leading some periods of time. After our
nation rose the question of Nagorno Karabakh the war has been forced
to us," said Academician Lenser Aghalovyan in a press conference and
added that though Azerbaijan started a war but due to Armenians will
and power they remained with nothing.

According to the academician Azerbaijan is the only guilty side in
the current situation. Hence during the negotiations a point should
be set before them that they should pay a military penalty.

L. Aghalovyan said that the negotiating processes are not yet improved
as there is no certain agreement over some points. According to the
academician the current conflict should be solved through peaceful
negotiations and our authorities to strengthen their diplomacy.

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: "MINSK GROUP HAS GAINED BROAD EXPERIENCE AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO USE IT"

Today.Az
23 October 2008 [14:37]
Azerbaijan

There are numerous formats discussing the resolution of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, they are partially supplementing and working
on par and fortunately, none of them work on the opposite course
towards others, said Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasili Istratov,
commenting on the planned meeting between the Presidents of Russia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

As for the comments of experts about the weakening of the Minsk Group
activity in the lights of the recent initiatives of Russia and Turkey
for the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the ambassador
that a very good material and broad experience have been gained in the
framework of the Minsk group and it is impossible not to use it. At
the same time he noted that definite proposals on the resolution of
the conflict have been worked out in the framework of the Minsk Group.

"They were not completed because the parties have not yet agreed on
all the points of the draft regulation. Anyway, the resolution can
not start from zero level. The idea that if there is a competition
between different formats and all of them must work in a single
direction should not be excluded", said Istratov.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
October 23, 2008
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA ANNOUNCES 2008 CONGRESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTS

— Throws Community’s Electoral Support Behind 15 U.S. Senate and
211 House Pro-Armenian American Candidates

— Expanded 2008 ANCA Congressional Report Cards Track Pro-Armenian
Initiatives, Darfur Advocacy, and Turkish/Azerbaijani Lobby Efforts

WASHINGTON, DC – With just two weeks to go before potentially
pivotal Congressional races, the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA) today released its 2008 endorsements, throwing the
political and electoral strength of the Armenian American community
behind supportive House and Senate candidates in forty U.S. States.

"We are pleased to offer our Congressional endorsements as a
resource to help Armenian American voters make informed decisions
at the ballot box on November 4th," said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. "With a crucial presidential election and so many
Congressional races being closely contested, we encourage all
Armenian Americans to go to the polls and support each of our
friends."

The ANCA endorsements are based primarily on the ANCA Congressional
Report Card, a detailed review of each incumbent’s record across a
broad range of Armenian American issues. These Report Cards,
prepared in consultation with local ANCA chapters across the
country, cover issues ranging from securing a just resolution of
the Armenian Genocide and the strengthening U.S.-Armenia relations
to defending Nagorno Karabagh’s independence and increasing U.S.
aid and trade levels.

Among the grading criteria were membership in the Armenian Caucus
and willingness to advance pro-Armenian American legislative
initiatives, including the Armenian Genocide resolutions, measures
against the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades, and legislative
efforts to help the genocide that is taking place today in Darfur.
Also considered were support for Congressional letters and
participation in events advocating the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, calling for increased aid to Armenia and Nagorno
Karabagh, and supporting the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh’s right
to self-determination. On the Senate side, special attention was
devoted to efforts to exercise oversight of U.S. Ambassadorial
nominees to Armenia and Turkey.

The 2008 ANCA Report Cards have been expanded to include:

* Congressional notes highlighting key initiatives taken by
individual House and Senate Members – from Congressional speeches
to special scrutiny of issues of concern to the Armenian American
community.

* A detailed accounting of Turkish and Azerbaijani Government lobby
efforts targeting Senate and House members during the 110th
Congress, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice Foreign
Agent Registration division ().

* Direct access to DarfurScores.org, designed by the Genocide
Intervention Network, which grades Senate and House Members on
their support for Darfur-related initiatives geared to help end the
cycle of genocide.

The ANCA Congressional Report Cards are posted on the ANCA website
at: portcards.php

A complete list of ANCA Congressional endorsements is provided
below.

#####

2008 ANCA CONGRESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTS

Alabama

District #7: Artur Davis (D)

American Samoa

District #AL: Eni Faleomavaega (D)

Arizona

District #4: Ed Pastor (D)
District #7: Raul Grijalva (D)
District #8: Gabrielle Giffords (D)

California

District #1: Mike Thompson (D)
District #3: Dan Lungren (R)
District #5: Doris Matsui (D)
District #6: Lynn Woolsey (D)
District #7: George Miller (D)
District #8: Nancy Pelosi (D)
District #9: Barbara Lee (D)
District #10: Ellen Tauscher (D)
District #11: Jerry McNerney (D)
District #12: Jackie Speier (D)
District #13: Pete Stark (D)
District #14: Anna Eshoo (D)
District #15: Michael Honda (D)
District #16: Zoe Lofgren (D)
District #17: Sam Farr (D)
District #18: Dennis Cardoza (D)
District #19: George Radanovich (R)
District #20: Jim Costa (D)
District #21: Devin Nunes (R)
District #22: Kevin McCarthy (R)
District #23: Lois Capps (D)
District #24: Elton Gallegly (R)
District #25: Buck McKeon (R)
District #26: David Dreier (R)
District #27: Brad Sherman (D)
District #28: Howard Berman (D)
District #29: Adam Schiff (D)
District #30: Henry Waxman (D)
District #31: Xavier Becerra (D)
District #32: Hilda Solis (D)
District #33: Diane Watson (D)
District #34: Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
District #35: Maxine Waters (D)
District #37: Laura Richardson (D)
District #38: Grace Napolitano (D)
District #39: Linda Sanchez (D)
District #40: Edward Royce (R)
District #41: Jerry Lewis (R)
District #42: Gary Miller (R)
District #43: Joe Baca (D)
District #44: Ken Calvert (R)
District #45: Mary Bono Mack (R)
District #46: Dana Rohrabacher (R)
District #47: Loretta Sanchez (D)
District #48: John Campbell (R)
District #49: Darrell Issa (R)
District #50: Brian Bilbray (R)
District #51: Bob Filner (D)
District #53: Susan Davis (D)

Colorado

Senate: Mark Udall (D) – OPEN SEAT

District #1: Diana DeGette (D)
District #3: John Salazar (D)
District #4: Marilyn Musgrave (R)
District #7: Edwin Perlmutter (D)

Connecticut

District #1: John Larson (D)
District #2: Joe Courtney (D)
District #3: Rosa DeLauro (D)
District #5: Chris Murphy (D)

Delaware

Senate: Joe Biden (D)

District of Columbia

District #AL: Eleanor Holmes Norton (D)

Florida

District #4: Ander Crenshaw (R)
District #9: Gus Bilirakis (R)
District #17: Kendrick Meek (D)
District #19: Benjamin Graber (I) — CHALLENGER
District #21: Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R)
District #22: Ron Klein (D)
District #25: Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

Georgia

District #1: Jack Kingston (R)
District #5: John Lewis (D)
District #8: James Marshall (D)
District #12: John Barrow (D)

Guam

District #AL: Madeleine Bordallo (D)

Hawaii

District #1: Neil Abercrombie (D)
District #2: Mazie Hirono (D)

Illinois

Senate: Richard Durbin (D)

District #1: Bobby Rush (D)
District #2: Jesse Jackson (D)
District #3: Daniel Lipinski (D)
District #6: Peter Roskam (R)
District #7: Danny Davis (D)
District #8: Steve Greenberg (R) – CHALLENGER
District #9: Janice Schakowsky (D)
District #10: Mark Kirk (R)
District #11: Debbie Halverson (D) – OPEN SEAT
District #12: Jerry Costello (D)
District #13: Scott Harper (D) – CHALLENGER
District #14: Bill Foster (D)
District #16: Donald Manzullo (R)
District #17: Phillip Hare (D)

Indiana

District #1: Peter Visclosky (D)
District #3: Mark Souder (R)

Iowa

District #1: Bruce Braley (D)

Kentucky

Senate: Mitch McConnell (R)

District #3: John Yarmuth (D)

Louisiana

District #3: Charlie Melancon (D)

Maine

Senate: Susan Collins (R)

District #1: Chellie Pingree (D) – OPEN SEAT
District #2: Michael Michaud (D)

Maryland

District #3: John Sarbanes (D)
District #5: Steny Hoyer (D)
District #8: Christopher Van Hollen (D)

Massachusetts

Senate: John Kerry (D)

District #1: John Olver (D)
District #2: Richard Neal (D)
District #3: James McGovern (D)
District #4: Barney Frank (D)
District #5: Niki Tsongas (D)
District #6: John Tierney (D)
District #7: Edward Markey (D)
District #8: Michael Capuano (D)
District #9: Stephen Lynch (D)
District #10: William Delahunt (D)

Michigan

Senate: Carl Levin (D)

District #4: Dave Camp (R)
District #5: Dale Kildee (D)
District #7: Tim Walberg (R)
District #8: Mike Rogers (R)
District #9: Joe Knollenberg (R)
District #10: Candice Miller (R)
District #11: Thaddeus McCotter (R)
District #12: Sander Levin (D)
District #14: John Conyers (D)

Minnesota

Senate: Norm Coleman (R)

District #1: Timothy Walz (D)
District #4: Betty McCollum (D)
District #5: Keith Maurice Ellison (D)
District #6: Michele Marie Bachmann (R)
District #7: Collin Peterson (D)

Mississippi

District #2: Bennie Thompson (D)

Missouri

District #1: William Clay (D)
District #5: Emanuel Cleaver (D)

Nevada

District #1: Shelley Berkley (D)
District #3: Jon Porter (R)

New Hampshire

Senate: John Sununu (R)

District #1: Jeb Bradley (R) – CHALLENGER
District #2: Paul Hodes (D)

New Jersey

Senate: Frank Lautenberg (D)

District #1: Robert Andrews (D)
District #2: Frank LoBiondo (R)
District #4: Christopher Smith (R)
District #5: Scott Garrett (R)
District #6: Frank Pallone (D)
District #9: Steven Rothman (D)
District #10: Donald Payne (D)
District #11: Rodney Frelinghuysen (R)
District #12: Rush Holt (D)
District #13: Albio Sires (D)

New Mexico

Senate: Tom Udall (D) – OPEN SEAT

New York

District #1: Tim Bishop (D)
District #2: Steve Israel (D)
District #3: Peter King (R)
District #4: Carolyn McCarthy (D)
District #5: Gary Ackerman (D)
District #7: Joseph Crowley (D)
District #8: Jerrold Nadler (D)
District #9: Anthony Weiner (D)
District #11: Yvette Clarke (D)
District #12: Nydia Velazquez (D)
District #14: Carolyn Maloney (D)
District #15: Charles Rangel (D)
District #16: Jose Serrano (D)
District #17: Eliot Engel (D)
District #18: Nita Lowey (D)
District #19: John Hall (D)
District #20: Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
District #22: Maurice Hinchey (D)
District #23: John McHugh (R)
District #24: Michael Arcuri (D)

North Carolina

Senate: Elizabeth Dole (R)

District #1: G.K. Butterfield (D)
District #12: Melvin Watt (D)

Ohio

District #1: Steve Chabot (R)
District #2: David Krikorian (I) — CHALLENGER
District #10: Dennis Kucinich (D)
District #13: Betty Sue Sutton (D)
District #14: Steven LaTourette (R)
District #17: Tim Ryan (D)
District #18: Zachary Space (D)

Oregon

Senate: Jeff Merkley (D) – CHALLENGER

District #1: David Wu (D)
District #3: Earl Blumenauer (D)
District #4: Peter DeFazio (D)

Pennsylvania

District #1: Robert Brady (D)
District #2: Chaka Fattah (D)
District #6: Jim Gerlach (R)
District #13: Allyson Schwartz (D)
District #14: Mike Doyle (D)
District #15: Charles Dent (R)
District #16: Joseph Pitts (R)

Rhode Island

Senate: Jack Reed (D)

District #1: Patrick Kennedy (D)
District #2: James Langevin (D)

South Carolina

District #2: Joe Wilson (R)

South Dakota

Senate: Tim Johnson (D)

District #AL: Stephanie Herseth (D)

Tennessee

District #3: Zach Wamp (R)

Texas

District #9: Al Green (D)
District #10: Michael McCaul (R)
District #17: Chet Edwards (D)
District #18: Sheila Jackson Lee (D)
District #20: Charlie Gonzalez (D)
District #23: Ciro Rodriguez (D)
District #24: Kenny Marchant (R)
District #25: Lloyd Doggett (D)
District #29: Gene Green (D)

Utah

District #2: Jim Matheson (D)

Virgin Islands

District #AL: Donna Christian-Christensen (D)

Virginia

District #3: Robert Scott (D)
District #7: Eric Cantor (R)
District #8: James Moran (D)
District #10: Frank Wolf (R)
District #11: Gerald Connolly (D) – OPEN SEAT

Washington

District #3: Brian Baird (D)
District #5: Cathy McMorris (R)
District #7: Jim McDermott (D)
District #8: Dave Reichert (R)

Wisconsin

District #1: Paul Ryan (R)
District #2: Tammy Baldwin (D)
District #3: Ron Kind (D)
District #5: F. James Sensenbrenner (R)
District #8: Steven Leslie Kagen (D)

UN SLAVERY EXPERT HERE TO MEET MIGRANTS
By Jerome Aning

Inquirer.net
19:37:00 10/22/2008
Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Militant migrants’ groups welcomed Wednesday
the arrival in Manila of Gulnara Shahinian, United Nations special
rapporteur for contemporary forms of slavery, its causes and
consequences.

Shahinian, an Armenian, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport around 4:30 p.m. on an Emirates Airlines flight. She declined
to speak to reporters as she was tired from her flight, having been
stranded for eight hours in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Shahinian and Jorge Bustamante, UN special rapporteur for human
rights of migrants, who will arrive in Manila on Thursday, will hold
a joint regional consultation with migrant organizations, including
the International Migrants Alliance.

The UN envoy was welcomed by International Migrants Alliance chair
Eni Lestari and secretary general Connie Bragas-Regalado, Anakpawis
(Toiling Masses) Representative Rafael Mariano and officials of
Gabriela and Migrante International.

"We are very eager to share our experiences and views with Ms Shahinian
on how migrant workers, particularly domestic workers, are now the
slaves of modern times," Lestari said.

Regalado, also the Migrante chair, said the IMA would submit to
Shahinian various cases representing "the general trend of oppression,
abuse and desperation" that migrants experience in host countries.

Shahinian served as an expert in trafficking for the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe and consultant to the UN Office on
Drugs and Crime. She was elected to several anti-human trafficking
bodies in the UN before being appointed special rapporteur in March
2008.

The IMA is sponsoring the International Assembly for Migrants and
Refugees that would be parallel with the 2nd Global Forum on Migration
and Development hosted by the Philippine government on October 28
and 29.

BARACK OBAMA THANKS ARMENIANS FOR OBAMA

armradio.am
23.10.2008 10:21

Senator Barack Obama personally thanked Armenians for Obama for its
far-reaching grassroots efforts and encouraged the growing nationwide
Armenian American movement in support of the Obama-Biden ticket to
escalate its voter outreach in the final days before the November
4th election.

In a letter sent today to Armenians for Obama, Senator Obama personally
expressed his thanks to the voter outreach organization, noting
that, from the beginning Armenians for Obama has "been one of those
grassroots groups – whether its canvassing in Nevada and Virginia or
calling from home in California and New York. I know your hard work
has made a difference in the past two years, and I know it’s going
to make the difference in these last few days."

Welcoming Senator Obama’s warm words of appreciation, Ibranossian said,
"On behalf of all our Armenians for Obama activists around the country,
I want to thank Senator Obama for his sincere expression of gratitude
to our grassroots organization and community. We are inspired by
his kind words to our team and take from them an added measure of
energy and devotion, in these last days, to engage in fieldwork, media
outreach, and get-out-the-vote efforts, to do our part to ensure that
Senator Obama wins a decisive victory on November 4th."

Separately, the campaign has issued a campaign certificate,
bearing the Armenians for Obama logo, in which the Armenian
American National Leadership Committee officially endorses the
Obama-Biden ticket. Serving on this select Leadership Committee are
U.S. Representatives Anna Eshoo, Jackie Speier, and Adam Schiff,
California Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, and former South Carolina
State Democratic Chairman Richard Harpootlian.

The full text of Senator Obama’s letter is provided below:

Dear Friends, I want to thank you for all you’re doing to build our
movement for change.

Grassroots groups have seized on the desire of ordinary Americans to
take back our country, and organized this energy and enthusiasm into a
strong, disciplined campaign. You’ve taken responsibility for reaching
out to your neighbors and fellow citizens to make the case for change.

>From the beginning, Armenian Americans for Obama has been one of those
grassroots groups – whether it’s canvassing in Nevada and Virginia or
calling from home in California and New York. I know that your hard
work has made a difference in the past two years, and I know it’s
going to make the difference in these last few days. Let me be clear:
we’re not there yet.

This race will tighten as we get closer to the end. And the difference
between the change we seek and more of the same is you.

We have asked a lot from our supporters, and you have taken ownership
of our movement, because you know that "change happens from the
bottom-up" is not just a slogan – it is the story of this campaign. At
every test, you have succeeded. With the final test just a few days
away, I have no doubt that you will rise to the occasion again. And
together we will succeed, and together, we will change America."

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Armenian version: nian.htm

LIVING IN COMMUNITY: THE GOAL OF CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DIALOGUE

"Living together in community must take the centre stage of Christian-Muslim
dialogue," said His Holiness Aram I at the opening of an 18-20 October
ecumenical consultation aimed at developing a common Christian theological
understanding of dialogue with Islam.

"The prevailing misperceptions, ambiguities, polarizations, tensions and
collision (of values between Muslims and Christians), hijacked and sharpened
by politico-ideological agendas and geo-political strategies, can be
transformed only through a shared life in community," stated His Holiness
Aram I, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (See of Cilicia), in
delivering the key-note speech of the consultation.

For His Holiness Aram I, such a "community building must take place on the
basis of equal rights and obligations, as well as full and active
participation in all aspects of society life, including decision-making". It
"presupposes a quality of integration that provides equal opportunities,
ensures diversity and enhances mutual acceptance".

Among the "divisive issues" to be addressed, His Holiness Aram I listed how
both religions deal with the relationship between faith and reason, the
response to secularism, the concept of mission and the tension between human
rights and Islamic law.

Having a "rich history" of Christian-Muslim dialogue, the ecumenical
movement needs to keep pursuing it with a "more focused" agenda, "touching
on issues that pertain to the life of the people," said His Holiness Aram I.

Organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), together with a number of
Christian world communions, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the
Roman Catholic Church, the consultation has gathered some 50 church leaders
and experts on Christian-Muslim dialogue in Chavannes-de-Bogis, outside
Geneva, Switzerland.

Full text of the keynote lecture delivered by His Holiness Catholicos Aram
I:
English/messages60.htm

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

"EDUCATION AND CAREER EXPO 2008" 9TH INTERNATIONAL SPECIALIZED FAIR TO BE HELD OCTOBER 22-25

ARMENPRESS
Oct 20, 2008

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS: "Education and Career EXPO 2008"
ninth international specialized fair will be held October 22-24 in
Yerevan "Moscow House".

Press service of "LOGOS EXPO Center" told Armenpress that the fair will
involve all the main spheres of education. It is aimed at providing
schoolchildren and students information about the whole contemporary
educational system, promote the establishment of relations between
enterprises and educational establishments, inform about the demands
existing in the labor market, organize meetings between unemployed
and real employers.

Educational establishments functioning in Armenia and abroad will
participate in the fair.

RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN LEADERS TO TALK TRADE, ENERGY, CAUCASUS

RIA Novosti
09:58 | 21/ 10/ 2008

MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
will discuss trade, energy and conflict in the South Caucasus with
his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargisyan, at talks in Armenia on
October 21, a Kremlin official said.

Bilateral trade grew 13%, year-on-year, in the first eight months of
2008 to reach $536.5 million, the Kremlin said earlier. Russia is a
leading trade partner of Armenia and is one of the biggest investors
in the country’s economy, with accrued investment from Russia topping
$1.6 billion from 1991 to July 1, 2008.

The parties will also focus on joint energy projects and the industrial
development of uranium deposits in Armenia, the official said earlier.

At their talks in the capital Yerevan, the presidents will also discuss
the situation in the South Caucasus following Russia’s brief war with
Georgia, and other pressing international issues.

Russia recognized South Ossetia along with Georgia’s other breakaway
region Abkhazia as independent states on August 26, after it forced
out Georgian troops that had tried to retake control of South
Ossetia. Tensions remain high in the region, and Georgia continues
to demand that Russia withdraw its troops from the two republics.

In September Armenia and other countries in the post-Soviet alliance
Commonwealth of Independent States announced their support for Russia
over its conflict with Georgia, but stopped short of recognizing the
two provinces.

Ex-Soviet Armenia is itself locked in a bitter territorial conflict
with Azerbaijan.

Armenia receives most of its gas from Russia.

The tiny Caucasus nation has high unemployment and widespread
poverty. Its economic problems are aggravated by a trade embargo,
imposed by neighboring Turkey and ex-Soviet Azerbaijan since the
dispute over Nagorny Karabakh.

Russia has a military base in Gyumri in Armenia.

RA NSC SECRETARY TO VISIT IRAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.10.2008 17:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Secretary of the Armenian National Security Council
Atrur Baghdassaryan will pay a formal visit to Iran, the RA leader’s
press office reported.

The agreement was achieved during a meeting between Artur Baghdassaryan
and Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Ali Saqaiyan.

The agenda of the visit includes a wide scope of issues referring to
bilateral relations, regional cooperation and security.