Author: Tambiyan Samvel

SERGEY PETROSYAN WINS GOLD AT UNDER 23 WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIP

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.10.2009 11:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian weightlifter, Sergey Petrosyan ,
representing Russia in under 69kg weight category, won a gold medal
at Under 23 Weightlifting Championship in Wladyslawowo, Poland.

The winner lifted a weigh of 318 kg in clean and jerk combination
(143 kg +175 kg). The runner-up is Oleg Chen (Russia), who showed
the same results yet was defeated because of body weigh disadvantage.

Bronze went to Damian Kucinski (Poland)- 309 kg (138+171).

At Weightlifting Championship on October 16, Armenia will be
represented by 2 weightlifters in under 77 kg weight category: Aghasi
Aghasyan and Arayik Mirzoyan.

SARKISIAN ARRIVES IN TURKEY
Karine Simonian, Gevorg Stamboltsian

cle/1851713.html
14.10.2009

President Serzh Sarkisian arrived in the Turkish city of Bursa on
Wednesday on a brief visit that marks a new milestone in Armenia’s
"football diplomacy" with Turkey praised by world powers.

Sarkisian and Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul were due to attend a
return match of their countries’ national soccer teams there later in
the day. The two leaders watched together the first Turkey-Armenia
match in Yerevan in September last year, giving new impetus to
fence-mending negotiations between their governments.

Sarkisian, accompanied by Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and
other Armenian officials, arrived at Bursa airport late in the
afternoon. He was greeted there by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu in an official ceremony broadcast live by Armenian and
Turkish television. Sarkisian smiled as he watched a brief performance
by Turkish folk dancers.

A statement issued by Sarkisian’s office earlier in the day said the
president will first visit Armenia players and coaching staff to
"encourage" them ahead of the politically charged game. It said
Sarkisian will then go into talks with Gul that will start in a
one-on-one format and continue in the presence of senior government
from both states.

The two presidents will have dinner before heading to Bursa’s Ataturk
Stadium. Gul will give a reception in honor of his Armenian counterpart
after the match. It was not clear if they will make public statements
after the talks as they did in Yerevan last year.

Turkish authorities mounted tight security measures in and around
the stadium hours before the match. Turkish media has reported that
thousands of uniformed and plainclothes security personnel will be
deployed there to avoid possible provocations. Fans will only be
allowed to carry Turkish and Armenian flags. Turkish officials have
banned fans from chanting political slogans and displaying Azerbaijani
flags at the match.

Ticket sales have been restricted, with most distributed to students
of military academies, police and their families, according to
media reports. President Gul has met with leaders of fans groups
to personally ask them not to overshadow the game and return the
"hospitality" with which he himself was greeted in Yerevan.

AFP news agency reported that in a gesture to their Armenian guests,
the Turkish fans were expected to greet them in the stadium by singing
a folk song about a blonde lover, which is popular in both Turkey
and Armenia.

NALBANDIAN SEES POSITIVE DYNAMICS

edward-nalbandyan
05:12 pm | October 12, 2009

Politics

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian doesn’t rule out that
Armenia may witness the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border
by the turn of the year. In an interview with Kommersant daily,
Mr. Nalbandian said: "Nothing can be ruled out. It depends on how
the sides will respect the agreements and move forward.

Armenians have always respected and continue to respect agreements
concluded with other countries."

The Armenian FM underlined that the terms of ratification depend
on the two Parliaments. "It’s up to them to decide. But we hope,
they’ll do it within a reasonable timeframe," he said.

In reply to Kommersant whether the signing of the protocols means
final reconciliation between Yerevan and Ankara, Edward Nalbandian
said they speak of the two Protocols on establishing diplomatic ties
and normalizing bilateral relations.

Speaking about Presidents’ recent meeting in Chisinau and progress
in the talks, Mr. Nalbandian said: "If we take into consideration the
fact that it was the 7th meetings of the leaders there is a dynamics,
and I would say this dynamics is positive. At present the Presidents
are discussing the principles of the Madrid document. Their attention
is fixed on two principles. The parties are trying to bring their
positions closer with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group. The sides
are now negotiating the main issue – the status of Nagorno Karabakh.

Minister Nalbandian refrained from mentioning any concrete dates
of signing of the final peace treaty. "I would not like to state
that there will be a breakthrough tomorrow, in a month or three. The
negotiations on the basis of the Madrid Principles have moved forward
over the past months. The dynamic is positive," the Armenian Foreign
Minister stated.

SARKISIAN PRAISES MOSCOW’S ROLE IN TURKEY, KARABAKH TALKS

-praises-moscows-role-in-turkey-karabakh-talks/
Oc t 12th, 2009

MOSCOW (RFE/RL)-Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian praised his
Russian counterpart on Monday for his country’s involvement in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and the development of Armenia-Turkey
relations during talks held just days after Armenia signed conciliatory
agreement with Turkey over the establishment of diplomatic relations.

"I want to thank you for your personal involvement in resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Sarkisian said, for his part. "I want
to thank Russia’s leadership and you personally for supporting the
development of our relations with the Turkish Republic."

A statement issued by the Kremlin after the meeting said Serzh
Sarkisian and Dmitry Medvedev discussed ways of stepping up
Russian-Armenian economic and military cooperation as well as
"prospects for the realization of large-scale joint projects in the
energy sphere." The statement did not specify whether two men also
touched upon the Karabakh conflict or Armenia’s ongoing rapprochement
with Turkey welcomed by Moscow.

Welcoming his Armenian counterpart in his Gorki retreat outside
Moscow, Medvedev recalled his trilateral meeting with Sarkisian and
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev held Friday on the sidelines of a
CIS summit in Moldova’s capital Chisinau. "I think that the Russian
mediation in this process is also a very important measure of our
relations," he said.

The statement said Sarkisian pointed to Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov’s presence at the signing of Turkish-Armenian
agreements to normalize bilateral relations in Zurich on Saturday
alongside U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top European
diplomats. The Gorki talks continued behind closed doors, and it
was not clear whether the two presidents discussed the issue in
detail. None of them made statements afterwards.

Speaking to journalists in Zurich, Lavrov called for a speedy
ratification of the agreements by the Turkish and Armenian
parliaments. "The signatories have to ratify the protocols the
sooner the better and get down to their realization in practice," he
said. Lavrov also said that Moscow is ready to assist in restoring
rail communication between the two nations, alluding to the fact
that Armenia’s rail network is managed by Russia’s state-run national
railway company.

In his opening remarks, Medvedev also regretted a nearly 20 percent
drop in the volume of Russian-Armenian trade this year resulting
from the global economic downturn. "That is certainly unpleasant
and we should think about how to make up for that," he said. "But
considering other areas, things are on the whole not bad," added the
Russian president.

"In my view, our arrangements of the past two-three years have allowed
us to get close to qualitatively new steps in the spheres of economics,
military-political and military-technical cooperation as well as the
humanitarian sphere," agreed Sarkisian.

NEW AMBASSADOR TO INDIA

15501.html
11:45:02 – 12/10/2009

On October 10, Serge Sargsyan signed a decree on appointing Ara
Hakobyan ambassador of Armenia to India (seat in New Delhi).

SARGSYAN TO ATTEND MATCH IF NOTHING EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS

News.am
13:36 / 10/12/2009

"If nothing extraordinary happens in the near future, I will attend the
Armenia-Turkey football match in Bursa," RA President Serzh Sargsyan
told journalists before leaving for Moscow.

Early October 12, the Armenian national team headed by Ruben
Hayrapetyan, President of the Armenian Football Federation (AFF),
left for Bursa, where the Turkey-Armenia match is due on October
14. The qualifying match to be held at the Ataturk stadium is the
final match of the World Cup 2010. Armenian journalists accompanied
the Armenian national team.

The first Armenia-Turkey match was held September 6, 2008 in Yerevan,
where the Armenian team was defeated 0:2. Although, the Turkish team
failed to participate in the World Cup in UAE, it will be a serious
test for the Armenian national team. The Turkish team playing at home
will try to do its best to make up for the lost rounds on a positive
note. The historic implication is always present at sporting face-offs
between the two countries.

The Bursa match is part of a significant political processes termed as
"football diplomacy". President of Turkey Abdullah Gul attended the
match in Yerevan at the invitation of RA President Serzh Sargsyan. The
Turkish leader made a return curtsy by officially inviting Sargsyan
to attend the match in Bursa. However, it is not clear yet, whether
RA President will attend the match or not, as his decision has
been dependent on the recent developments in the Armenia-Turkey
normalization process and the signing of Protocols.

NEWS.am special corresponded left for Bursa with the Armenian
delegation.

News.am

World TV-channels to broadcast signing ceremony
16:54 / 10/10/2009

The signing ceremony of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols will be
broadcasted by 70 TV-channels throughout the world. The event will be
held in Zurich, October 9, at 8:00 p.m. Yerevan time. High-ranking
officials already arrived in Zurich. Unprecedented security measures
were taken in the city, NEWS.am reports.

Presently, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan is holding a
meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Later Clinton
will meet with Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu. The signing ceremony will
take place in the University of Zurich, at Aula hall.

`It will be a step forward in the Armenia-Turkey reconciliation, a
very crucial one but not the end of the way,’ the Swiss analyst
Vincent Landen stated commenting on the event.

RA DEFENSE MINISTRY LAUNCHES ONE-WEEK SEMINARS FOR RA OFFICIALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.10.2009 15:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ One-week seminars for state agency and regional
centre officials started on October 10 in the administrative building
of Defense Ministry.

Trainings aim to enhance theoretical and practical knowledge and
skills in issues related to army conscription.

Meeting started with Defense Minister Seyran Oanyan’s welcoming
speech. In a subsequent lecture, Minister introduced the fundamentals
of defense theory, principles and objectives of conscription and
factors affecting preparatory process, RA Defense Ministry’s press
service reports.

RUBEN SAHAKIAN RE-ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE RA CHAMBER OF ADVOCATES

Noyan Tapan
Oct 9, 2009

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Ruben Sahakian was re-elected Chairman of
the RA Chamber of Advocates at the special general assembly of the Chamber.

326 out of the 351 advocates voted for R. Sahakian, 14 voted against, and 11
voting-papers were recogized invalid. By the way, Ruben Sahakian was the
only candidate for that post.

Ruben Sahakian attaches importance to cooperation of the RA Chamber of
Advocates with international organizations, as well as with the Paris Bar
Association and the Union of French Lawyers with Armenian Origin (AFAJA).

NKR PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE USA VISITED THE MONUMENT OF THE KARABAKH WAR HEROES

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2009-10-09 09:15
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

On October 7, NKR Permanent Representative to the USA Robert
Avetisyan was invited by the Embassy of Armenia in Argentina to visit
a recently-opened Monument dedicated to fallen freedom-fighters of
the Karabakh war.

In the evening, an event dedicated to the Independence Day of the
Republic of Armenia took place in a festive atmosphere. Foreign
Ambassadors, Argentinean diplomats, representatives of intelligentsia
and the Armenian Diaspora, as well as artists were present.

The guests took a keen interest in Nagorno Karabakh and the
socio-political situation in the state. Robert Avetisyan told those
present about the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the Azerbaijan-Karabakh
conflict settlement peace process, as well as the achievements in
the social and economic development of the NKR.