Author: Tamamian Anna

Armenian parliamentary candidate comments on ties with Russia, USA

Mediamax news agency
4 May 07

Yerevan, 4 May: The extraordinary ambassador and plenipotentiary
minister, Avet Adonts, who is listed 15th in the proportional list of
the Prosperous Armenia party, believes that the future relations
between Armenia and NATO should become a topic for wide public
discussions.

Avet Adonts said in an interview with Interfax that "Armenia’s
membership of NATO is currently not on the foreign policy agenda of
the Prosperous Armenia party".

"The format of Armenia-NATO relations is partnership; we are carrying
out an Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO, which comprise
not only military-technical reforms, but also reforms in the sphere of
democracy and the judiciary. The realization of the plan will
unambiguously be in the centre of our attention," Avet Adonts said.

At that, according to him, in conditions, when Georgia states its wish
and intention to become a member of NATO, there appears the necessity
to put forward the prospect of Armenia’s membership of NATO for a wide
public discussion.

"We have to find out what the attitude of Armenian society is
concerning the prospect of relations with NATO, whether it is
possible, according to the public, for Armenia to join the alliance,"
Avet Adonts said.

In addition, according to the Prosperous Armenia party, "Armenia’s
membership of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]
should by no means limit the development of cooperation and further
interaction with the most prestigious military-political bloc in the
world today – NATO".

Adonts believes that "a bigger part of the efforts made within the
framework of Armenian-Russian relations should be directed not to
spoil those relations".

Avet Adonts said that "today the level of Armenian-Russian relations
is very high both in the sphere of political cooperation and in trade,
economic, military and technical spheres, as well as in the sphere of
humanitarian cooperation".

"However, taking into account the obvious polarization in relations
between Russia and the West, the regional situation, in particular,
the tension in Russian-Georgian relations, we believe that the lion’s
share of our efforts in Armenian-Russian relations should be directed
not to spoil those relations, but to preserve all the positive
tendencies," Avet Adonts stressed.

"Having said that, we are not going to make a choice between Russia
and the USA. If our foreign policy vector of relations with the USA is
weaker than the Armenia-Russia vector, it is necessary to fill in the
gap. But we believe that it is not right to unambiguously state that
the development of relations with Russia is more important in our
foreign policy than the development of relations with the USA or the
EU," Avet Adonts said.

ACCORDING TO FOREIGN DIPLOMATS, WIDE OPPORTUNITIES CREATED FOR ALL
PARTICIPANTS OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. During the meeting of the Armenian
president Robert Kocharian and heads of the diplomatic missions of
OSCE member states accredited to Armenia, issues related to the
upcoming parliamentary elections were discussed.

According to a press release of the RA President’s press service, R.
Kocharian underlined once again the determination of the Armenian
government to hold these elections in line with international
standards. Noting the the pre-election period is proceeding in a quiet
and civilized way, he attached importance to the role of the
authorities and the main political forces running in the elections.

The foreign diplomats assessed the upcoming elections as a decisive
step on Armenia’s democratic development path. In their opinion,
Armenia has already made serious progress in terms of holding free and
fair elections, which has found its reflection in reports of the
observer missions. According to foreign diplomats, wide opportunities
have been created for all election participants to meet with voters,
present their programs and views, and use TV time.

CHIEF DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AVIATION TAKES MEASURES TO RAISE FLIGHT SAFETY

Arminfo
2007-05-03 13:43:00

The Chief Department of Civil Aviation (CDCA) of Armenia takes a
number of necessary measures to raise flight safety, prevent air
crashes like that of the Armenian A-320 near Sochi on May 3 2006,
CDCA press-service told ArmInfo.

CDCA condoles with the relatives of 105 killed passengers and 8
members of the crew of A-320.

To recap, in its report on the investigation in the crash reasons, the
Interstate Aviation Committee made a number of recommendations to CDCA
and "Armavia". In particular, it recommends to register approaches
of A-320 in extreme meteorological conditions in accordance with
the documents regulating the sphere in Armenia; to organize decoding
of flight information to analyze flights of A-320 to reveal errors
and deviations from the pilot technique; to draw the attention of
crews at the inadmissibility of unauthorized talks in the cabin; to
consider the expediency of increasing crew training; to elaborate a
provision regulating the conditions of keeping the original documents
and copies on A-320 at "Sabena Technics" and "Armavia" companies.

LATVIA BACKS AZERI INTEGRITY

AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 2, 2007 Wednesday

Latvia backs Azerbaijans territorial integrity, its foreign minister
Artis Pabriks told the press after meeting his Azerbaijani counterpart
Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on Monday.Pabriks told a news briefing at
the Foreign Ministry that the issues discussed included regional and
bilateral cooperation, energy supplies and Azerbaijans integration
into European organizations. He said Latvia was ready to assist the
country in its integration into NATO. Azerbaijan will be able to
capitalize on Latvias experience.

Pabriks emphasized that Azerbaijan has turned into a leading
regional state on economic potential. He said that as a European
Union member state, his country was greatly interested in the South
Caucasus region and Azerbaijans vast energy resources have further
wetted its appetite.From this standpoint, we are interested in
security in this region. We hope that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict will find its solution soon. This meets
the interests of both the conflicting sides and the EU, the Latvian
minister said.Mammadyarov, for his part, said Azerbaijan and Latvia
have expanded cooperation of late. The Latvian embassy opened in
Baku on Monday. I believe that this indicates [the high level of]
relations between the two countries.The Azerbaijani minister said
forging multi-lateral cooperation with the EU member state Latvia
meets his countrys interests and praised the ongoing talks in this
respect.Touching on the ongoing efforts to solve Azerbaijans most
pressing problem, the Garabagh conflict, he said: As we know, Latvia
has stated its position on the level of the head of state. Its position
is that the conflict should be settled in peace and while honoring
Azerbaijans territorial integrity.Mammadyarov said talks on economic
issues focused on energy security and ways of broadening ties in the
field. The two countries also agreed to establish relations between
their parliaments and to conduct the Days of Latvia in Azerbaijan
and the Days of Azerbaijan in Latvia.

EXERCISES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMAND OF THE US WILL BE CONDUCTED IN ARMENIA
Translated by Pavel Pushkin

Source: RIA Novosti, April 27, 2007
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 2, 2007 Wednesday

Exercises of the European command of the US Cooperative Endevor-2007
will be held in Armenia between Aril 27 and May 10 in the framework
of NATO Partnership for Peace program.

Colonel Seiran Shakhsuvaryan, press secretary of the Defense Minister
of Armenia, reports that the exercises will be conducted on the
territory of the aviation institute named after Marshal Khanferyants.

A conference for planning of NATO exercises Cooperative Endevor-2007
was held in Armenia in November of 2006. The goal of the exercises is
the finding of problems in compatibility of communication means, as
well as sharing the experience and testing of automatic communication
systems of developed countries.

Among participants of the conference were representatives of 38
member states and partners of NATO and the multinational peacekeeping
brigade of South East European countries SEEBRIG, 250 people in
total. Representatives of Turkey and Azerbaijan did not arrive in
Armenia, although they had announced their participation earlier. In
the course of the conference, it was proposed to conduct Cooperative
Endeavor exercises in Armenia along with Germany in 2007 and to make
Armenia the main country for the exercises in 2008.

The armed forces of Armenia have participated in NATO exercises since
2002, at first in the capacity of observers and afterwards in the
capacity of a normal participant.

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN MET WITH CHIEF OF POLICE HAYK HARUTYUNYAN

ArmRadio.am
02.05.2007 16:27

President Robert Kocharyan had a working meeting with the Chief of
Police Hayk Harutyunyan today.

Mr. Harutyunyan first reported about the works carried out by the
Police in the direction of assuring the normal process of elections.

The President instructed to clear the voting lists as soon as possible
and to submit these to electoral commissions and precincts. The Chief
of Police informed that a lot of work has been carried out in this
direction and the final lists will be ready in due time.

President Kocharyan also instructed to undertake all measures to
ensure the maintenance of public order. According to the Chief of
Police, about 8 000 policemen will maintain the public order on May 12.

Hayk harutyunyan presented the criminal situation in the republic
and the activities in the direction of disclosing the cases having
broad social resonance.

ARMENIANS PROVOKED A FIGHT WITH AZERBAIJANI YOUTH IN RUSSIAN CAPITAL

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 1 2007

(Version 1)

Russia, Moscow/ Trend , corr. R. Aghayev/ A large-scale fight
has occurred between Azerbaijani and Armenian youth at the end of
today’s festive event being held in Moscow-based Russian University
of Friendship of People. Even during the arrangement, organized in
the Russian University, Armenians provoked young Azerbaijani people
to fight several times. After seeing how Armenians danced raising
the flag of the un-recognized self-proclaimed separatist regime of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani students forewarned their Armenian
university mates not to do it.

In addition, Azerbaijani students then forewarned both officers of
the corresponding security agencies of the Russian capital and the
directorship of the University about the illegitimacy of the actions
taken by Armenians, as well as about a provocative nature of their
statements and actions. Armenians, for their part, brutally ignoring
the requests and calls made by Azerbaijani students and distributing
Anti-Azerbaijan literature among students of the University, faced
the decisive protest from Azerbaijanis.

One of the Azerbaijanis who took part in the scuffle tore up the
flag of the so-called ‘ Independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’. Even
after Russian policemen and OMON (emergency plat) arrived at the scene
of action and fired preventive shots into the air, Azerbaijanis and
Armenians carried on fighting between each other.

As Trend has been told, Aghali Alyshev, 22, who was wounded from
a fire-arm in the incident, has been operated on at Hospital 64,
within the Russian Capitol. Information regarding his condition has
yet to be confirmed.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
27-04-2007
Minister Oskanian Meets with
Top Officials of the Council of the EU and the European Commission

On April 27, Minister Vartan Oskanian, in Brussels on working visit, met
with Javier Solana, Secretary General of the Council of the EU, and High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, as well as the
European Commission’s Commissioner for External Relations and European
Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and with Commissioner for EU
Enlargement, Olli Rehn.
Meeting with EU General Secretary Solana, Minister Oskanian expressed
Armenia’s readiness to deepen political dialogue with the EU, and they both
assessed highly the cooperation that exists between the EU and Armenia.
The two reviewed the details of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement
process, and focused on the results of the recent meeting held between the
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Belgrade. Armenia’s Foreign
Minister stressed that if Azerbaijan demonstrates political will, it will
be possible to register success in the future.
In this context, Minister Oskanian reaffirmed the Armenian position on the
GUAM resolution at the UN General Assembly, noting the negative impact of
this initiative on the negotiation process. The two also exchanged views on
Armenia-Turkey relations and on recent developments in EU – Iran
negotiations over nuclear issues.
Minister Oskanian also met with European Commissioner for External Relations
and European Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. They presented
some details on ENP Action Plan for Armenia. The Commissioner expressed
satisfaction at the progress in identification of projects and said that the
European Commission expects Armenia to present Action Plan priorities.
Minister Oskanian stressed that the presence of a permanent EC delegation in
Armenia would help make these processes more efficient.
The two also discussed issues related to theSouth Caucasus, especially
stressing the need to create a favorable atmosphere for regional
cooperation. In this regard, the Armenian Minister underscored the
importance of the EC’s clear position against the construction of the
proposed Kars-Akhalkalaki railroad, even as one currently exists running
through Armenia, which Armenia has said is available for use without Armenia
benefiting from the process, even.
The Commissioner also mentioned the upcoming Parliamentary elections in
Armenia, expressing her satisfaction at the favorable conditions which have
been created for the productive work of European Parliament Election
Observation Mission to Armenia. The two stressed the significance of free
and fair elections for the future of Armenia’s EU integration processes.
At the conclusion of meeting, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner invited Minister
Oskanian to take part in a meeting of EU Neighborhood Policy partner states
foreign ministers, on September 3.
Minsiter Oskanian also held a meeting with Olli Rehn, Commissioner for EU
Enlargement. During the meeting, the two spoke of regional issues, as well
as of current state of Armenia -Turkey relations. Minister Oskanian
confirmed that there has not been any progress recently and again stressed
the importance of open borders between the two countries and the abolition
of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Commissioner Rehn described the Turkey’s EU membership process at the
current stage and the European Commission’s position regarding the process.
On April 27 – 29, together with several dozen diplomats, opinion and policy
makers from both sides of the Atlantic, Minister Oskanian participated in
the Brussels Forum 2007, and was one of four main speakers in a panel
entitled "Baltic to the Wider Black Sea: The New EuroAtlantic Challenge?"

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

April 26, 2007

Heritage Campaign Visits Aragatsotn and Shirak

Yerevan — Today, Heritage Party candidates and volunteers took the
campaign bus "Toward Victory" on a journey to Talin, Artik, Maralik,
Akhurian, Amasia, Giumri, and other towns in the marzes of Aragatsotn
and Shirak. During various town hall meetings, Raffi K. Hovannisian
exchanged ideas and opinions with his fellow citizens, and presented
his contract with Armenia.

Meanwhile in Yerevan, Heritage volunteers continued to distribute
party newspapers and brochures on the capital’s streets.

Tomorrow, April 27, Hovannisian will travel to Belgium to attend
and address "Brussels Forum 2007," an initiative of the German
Marshall Fund, which brings together world leaders, intellectuals,
and policymakers.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the
land. Its central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan
0002, Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at
(374-10) 532.697, email at [email protected] or [email protected],
and website at

MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles
200 N. Spring St. Room 303
Los Angeles, CA 90012

PRESS RELEASE
April 24, 2007

Contact: Areen Ibranossian
213-922-9781

STATEMENT OF MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
REMEMBRANCE DAY

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made the following statement
today regarding Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day:

"Today – on the 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
Genocide – the people of Los Angeles stand in solidarity with Armenians
around the world in remembering the 1.5 million Armenian men, women and
children barbarically killed by the Ottoman Empire.

"Almost a century of history has removed the horrors of the genocide
from our immediate collective consciousness. And yet as the
assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink reminded us in
January, the pernicious threat of genocide denial still openly thrives
around the world.

"As Mayor of America*s preeminent Armenian community, I urge all
Angelenos to reflect not only on the vast scale and ruthlessness of the
genocide, but on the horror of the global silence under which it took
place. Today I urge Angelenos to simply never forget."

Areen Ibranossian
Policy Analyst
Office of Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa