Author: Nanijanian Alex

Pan Armenian News

ARMENIA’S INCLUSION IN EU NEW NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS
EUROPEAN STRUCTURES

25.05.2005 05:18

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Germany undertook strong efforts to include Armenia into
the European Neighborhood Policy. German Ambassador to Armenia Dr. Heike
Renate Peitsch stated in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. `Armenia’s
inclusion in the program constitutes an important step in the process of
approaching Armenia towards European structures. After publishing of the
country report last March we expect now the negotiations between the EU
Commission and the Armenian government on an Action Plan to begin as soon as
possible’, the Ambassador said.

Today, Azerbaijan
May 24 2005

Official Baku is unhappy with relocation of Russian military bases
from Georgia to Armenia

23 May 2005 [12:52] – Today.Az

Official Baku is seriously concerned over the possibility of
stationing of part of armaments from Russian bases in Georgia on the
territory of Armenia, deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Araz
Azimov stated on 20 May, Trend reports.

He reminded that in the past, Russia, while withdrawing its troops,
placed part of the armaments on the territory of Armenia. “We are
strongly concerned over it. We would not like Russia do it again”,
Azimov said.

He hopes, that respective statement of the head of the chief
headquarters of the Russian armed forces, General Yuri Baluevsky,
will not correspondent to reality.

“We are concerned over it, because the situation is rather sensitive
in the region, and this atmosphere must be taken into account. Under
such conditions it is better not to do such steps”, diplomat said.

URL:

THIRD CONGRESS OF “ZHARANGUTIUN” PARTY TO TAKE PLACE ON MAY 3O

YEREVAN, MAY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The third regular congress of the
“Zharangutiun” (“Heritage”) national liberal party will take place on
May 30. Raffi Hovhannisian, former Foreign Minister of Armenia, the
head of the Armenian Center of the International and National Studies,
is the founder of the “Zharangutiun” party created in 2003.

ARAZ AZIMOV: RETURN OF 7 REGIONS IS NOT FULL SOLUTION OF KARABAKH PROBLEM

Pan Armenian News
21.05.2005 03:30

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The Warsaw meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia should be considered as an important one. Its importance lies
in the questions discussed at it directly referring to the Karabakh
conflict settlement,” stated Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Araz
Azimov, Trend news agency reported. In his words, it can be considered
that the Armenian party is ready to continuing the discussions. The
diplomat noted that after the Warsaw meeting the talks at the level of
Azeri and Armenian FMs will be continued in the near future. The Azeri
Deputy FM noted that there were several elements among the questions
discussed by the Presidents. “The matter concerns 7-9 elements. These
are questions of withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied
territories, return of these lands, security guarantees, forming
conditions for return of the local population, the mine-clearing
of the territories and their restoration. At the same time it was
coordinated that sensitive political issues can be discussed at later
stages. We suppose there is clarity in all those directions which can
be considered an important achievement,” Azimov said. In his words,
“the liberation of the occupied territories is the main essence of the
stand of Azerbaijan.” “However liberation – is not the full solution
of the problem,” the diplomat emphasized. Azimov noted that within the
conflict settlement framework all communications should be restored,
including those linking Nakhichevan with Azerbaijan, the railway
through the Meghri region of Armenia. “This fits the interests of not
only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran,
as it is a railway, which does not merely join two countries. It is
part of the regional network. Thus it should be restored within the
settlement framework,” Azimov said. He also reported that before the
meeting of the FMs the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are expected to
visit the region, Regnum news agency reported.

PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV MEETS WITH HIS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART
[May 16, 2005, 12:59:59]

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
May 16 2005

On May 15 visiting Warsaw Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
and Robert Kocharyan of Armenia met at the Belvedere palace in the
presence of the OSCE Minsk group Co-chairs, and Foreign Ministers
Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Michel Barnier of France.

Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenian as well as the co-chairs
reported to the Heads of State on the results of the peace talks to
find solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
within the Prague process.

Afterwards, the Presidents continued their meeting in private.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov has
briefed journalists the three-hour meeting had focused on some details
concerning the conflict settlement. ‘Despite certain progress has
been reached, there is still a need to further discuss some matters
of principle,’ he said.

The Minister added that after the meeting the Presidents have
commissioned the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to
continue negotiating some important issues other than those agreed
within the Prague process. According to him, the Co-chairs will
also continue their activities and share their views within the next
few months. ‘Generally, no format of the talks but their result is
important for Azerbaijan, in other words, territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan must be restored,’ the Minister said.

Turkish premier criticizes parliaments’ Armenian genocide resolutions

NTV television, Istanbul
17 May 05

[Announcer] Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the working
spheres of the European Union and the Council of Europe should be based
on cooperation, not duplication. Erdogan, addressing the Council of
Europe leaders summit, criticized countries whose parliaments have
adopted Armenian genocide resolutions.

During the Council of Europe leaders summit session on the architecture
of Europe, Erdogan criticized the countries that adopted Armenian
genocide resolutions.

[Erdogan] I certainly do not find it right, either in terms of human
rights and in terms of the supremacy of the law, that interested
or disinterested parliaments adopt such resolutions through some
simple lobbying activities without basing themselves on documents
or information.

[Announcer] Recounting that Turkey has opened its archives, Erdogan
called on Armenia and third countries to do the same.

[Erdogan] Turkey has opened all its state archives. We are now opening
our military archives as well. Similarly, Armenia should also open
all its archives.

[Announcer] Expressing support for the summit declaration, which
includes a pledge to preserve and develop the unity of Europe, the
prime minister stressed that the activities of the EU and the Council
of Europe should be based on cooperation, not duplication. Erdogan also
stated that the expansion of the EU should not create new divide lines.

The Games Page: Chess
By Jon Speelman

The Independent – United Kingdom
May 16, 2005

The annual Armenian Championship took place from 29 April to 12 May
in the capital, Yerevan. Chess is hugely popular in Armenia and,
despite it having only about 10 million nationals worldwide, it’s
currently ranked third in the world behind Russia and the Ukraine
according to the average rating of the top 10 rated players.

The best players often avoid competing in their own national
championships, but even in the absence of their top four the 12-player
tournament averaged a very respectable 2,521 (category 11), with
eight grandmasters, two IMs and two young untitled players.

The top seed was the World No 75, Gabriel Sargissian, and there was one
more player over 2,600 ” Karen Asrian ” while six of the 12 were in
the 2,500s. In a very fiercely fought tournament, exactly two-thirds
of the games ” 44 out of 66 ” ended decisively, and the result was
only determined by the final round, at the start of which Sargissian
and Asrian led jointly on 7/10, ahead of Ashot Anastasian on 7.

Anastasian had Black against one of the untitled players, Beniamin
Galstian, so it wasn’t a big surprise that he won. But both of the
leaders contrived to lose ” Sargissian in a violent battle with the
IM Tigran Kotanjian, below, and Asrian as Black against the bottom
seed Levon Babujian after a long, hard battle.

So Anastasian was first by himself on 7.5/11 ahead of Sargissian and
Asrian on 7 and three players, including Babujian, who was 19 last
Sunday and presumably gained a truckload of rating points from the
tournament, on 6.

In this splendidly bloody battle, Kotanjian got a positional advantage
and bravely played 26.b4 rather than 26.gxf4 Rf5. Sargissian threw
everything at him in time trouble, but he held firm and emerged a
whole rook up.

Tigran Kotanjian vs Gabriel Sargissian

Yerevan 2005 (round 11)

Nimzo-Indian 4.Qc2

EVENING CHRONICLE (Newcastle, UK)
May 13, 2005, Friday Edition 1

Talented trio to play

By Richard Yates, The Evening Chronicle

The formidable skills of one of Britain’s quickest-rising young
classical trios will be displayed at the last recital for the season
of the Newcastle international chamber music series next week.

The concert, in the King’s Hall of Newcastle University on Wednesday
at 7.30pm, opens with a solo spot by Freddy Kempf. At 15, Freddy was
the youngest BBC Young Musician of the Year and is still a couple of
years short of 30.

He will be playing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in A flat, Op 110.

After that, he is joined by the young Armenian cellist Alexander
Chaushian for a performance of the Cello Sonata No 2 in F, Op 99, by
Brahms and then by the French violinist Pierre Bensaid for Brahms’
Violin Sonata No 2 in A, Op 100.

Finally, all three musicians unite as The Freddy Kempf Trio to
perform another work by Brahms, the Piano Trio No 3 in C minor, Op
101.

Freddy Kempf and his two friends now comprise one of Europe’s most
exciting ensembles. The trio’s next CD will be of Beethoven piano
trios, including the Op 1, No2, in G and the Archduke.

A TRIBUTE to Sir Michael Tippett in this centenary year of his birth
will feature in the programme of the latest Music in St John’s organ
recital, to be given on Monday at 7.30pm in St John’s Church,
Grainger Street, Newcastle, by master of music Geoffrey Watson.

Newcastle-born Watson became organist and choirmaster at St John’s in
1969. The recital is in aid of the continuing up-grading of St John’s
church hall.

For ticket details of the above concerts see the classical listings
on this page.

A1plus

| 15:57:45 | 12-05-2005 | Social |

SELF-IMMOLATION PLANNED

`My son went to war and never came back. Now it is time to reap the harvest
but we are not allowed to do that’, a woman, resident of Kurghinyan street
in the Sebastia community of Yerevan said with tears in her eyes.

To remind, community head Vahan Zatikyan marked out a territory for 27
families of the killed soldiers, invalids and forced emigrants. However
recently these lands have been sold at an auction and those, who bought them
brought a suit against the real owners. Last time the court sitting was
postponed till May 10, this time is was put off to May 23.

The family of the soldier appealed to the Mayor and the President, but in
vain. Today they tried to burn themselves on these lands. The present land
owner told he will cede this territory if he is offered another one.
Presently it is hard to say how the problem will be solved.

Armenian premier happy about government’s five-year work

Mediamax news agency
12 May 05

YEREVAN

Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan is delighted with the
government’s five-year work, Mediamax has reported. Markaryan said
this at today’s press conference devoted to his five-year term in
office as Armenian prime minister. The prime minister said that
members of the government, irrespective of their party affiliation,
had demonstrated their abilities of team work.

“In 2000, when I was appointed prime minister, our main task was to
ensure that the budget is fulfilled, but today the government is
assuming ambitious tasks and conducting reforms in the pension and
social security systems,” Markaryan said.

At the same time, the prime minister acknowledged that the fight
against the shadow economy and corruption as well as the resolution of
a number of social problems are far from being resolved.

Speaking about the prospects for the republic’s economic development,
the head of the government expressed his concern about the emigration
of young specialists from Armenia to European countries. The prime
minister noted “the tendencies to lure” young talented specialists,
saying that this situation could turn into a “crisis of specialists”
for Armenia.