Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

EXPERT: TWO PLATFORMS IN NKR CONFLICT REGULATION

Panorama.am
17:28 11/06/2008

Two platforms should carry out mission between Yerevan and Baku and
Baku Stepanakert in the regulation of the NKR conflict, said Alexander
Skakov, the director of Russian Military Investigation Institute in TV
Bridge of Moscow-Yerevan-Baku, today. ~SThe obstacle to the question
is that Karabakh is not a negotiating side,~T said the politician.

According to him the positions of Azerbaijan can be considered
vulnerable. ~SIt is quite obvious why Baku is against NKR to become
a negotiating side, as our interests could be common,~T said Skakov,
hence he stated that it would be better to think of two platforms
among Armenia ~V Azerbaijan ~V Nagorno Karabakh.

EXHIBITION OF ARMENIAN MOSCOW-BASED PAINTERS ORGANIZED IN EGYPT

N OYAN TAPAN
June, 11, 2008

The Embassy of Armenia in Egypt, in cooperation with the Russian
Cultural Centers of Cairo and Alexandria, on June 8-10, organized a
painting exhibition of Moscow-based Armenian painters Vardan Voskanian
and Khachik Abrahamian. Armenian Ambassador to Egypt R. Karapetian
and Ambassador of Russia M. Bogdanov made the official opening of
the exhibition, which was held in Cairo.

According to the report of the Press and Information Department of the
RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreign diplomats, journalists, and
representatives of the Armenian community were present at the event.

MISSIONARY FINDS ARMENIAN STUDENTS RECEPTIVE TO GOSPEL
By Fred Prudek

Evangelical Covenant Church

June 10 2008
Illinois

ASHTARAK, ARMENIA (June 10, 2008) – Editor’s note: the following
comes as an update report, edited for length, from Fred Prudek,
who along with his wife, Kelly, serve as Evangelical Covenant Church
missionaries in the Czech Republic.

For the last two weeks of May, I had the opportunity to teach at
the Theological Seminary of Armenia. It is located in a small town,
Ashtarak, which is about twenty miles from the capital city of Yerevan.

The seminary has two tracks – one for pastors, the theological track,
and another, the Christian education track. I have taught here now
for four successive years, each time for two weeks.

Armenia is a very poor country stuck in between two historical enemies,
Turkey and Azerbaijan. The country gets very little attention from
Western countries and must rely on its only ally, Russia. The standard
of living is less than many Latin American countries, with similar
problems of corruption.

Armenians are very proud of the fact that they were the very first
country – even before Emperor Constantine – to declare themselves a
Christian nation in 301 A.D. So, discussing Christianity is not so
guarded as in the Czech Republic.

During my time in Armenia, I was teaching the book of Genesis
(chapters 11-50) for four hours a day, using an interactive method of
teaching. The students truly appreciated comprehending the whole story
of Abraham and his descendants down to the grandchildren of Jacob. It
is an excellent way to teach theology because it is not systematic,
but rather the story of God and his people unfolding naturally,
with lots of intrigue and irony.

I also had the opportunity to speak to IFES students in Yerevan
and preach at three churches, two of which are new church plants. I
found that the receptivity to the gospel reminded me of the Czech
Republic and Slovakia when we first moved there in 1994. At that
time, there was not the higher standard of living as there is now,
and there was not the degree of materialism to compete with peoples’
attention as there is now.

So in a sense, the Armenian people seem more open to the gospel,
perhaps for those same reasons.

Editor’s note: the accompanying photo is of Mount Ararat, where Genesis
8:4 states Noah’s ark came to rest following the great flood. Prudek
took the photo from a window in the seminary building in Ashtarak.

DEPUTY MINISTER URGES ARMENIA TO LIBERATE "OCCUPIED" AZERI LANDS

Azeri press agency
June 9 2008

Baku, 9 June: "The St Petersburg meeting [between the presidents
of Azerbaijan and Armenia] was very important for the Azerbaijani
president to find out the position of the opposite side and shed light
on remaining dark points," Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz
Azimov has told reports.

He said that the meeting was important from the political point of
view: "As we have always said, Azerbaijan will continue efforts for
the resolution of the problem until the end."

Araz Azimov advised the opposite side against thinking of wasting
time to protract the current state of the affairs in order to
satisfy own political interests: "We shall not give them a moment’s
peace. Information will be distributed at all levels about Armenia’s
activities against Azerbaijan and we shall work to this end until
our occupied lands are liberated. Azerbaijan’s opportunities in
this direction are not limited and the president’s position is
resolute. However, Armenia’s opportunities are limited and not a
single state supports its position."

The deputy minister said that Armenia would not be able to change the
map of the South Caucasus: "There are three countries in the region –
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. We would like normal neighbourhood
relations between the three states be restored. But there is a problem
that hinders this to happen – the occupation of Azerbaijani territories
by Armenia. The new Armenian leadership should study the situation
and take a correct decision for the elimination of the problem."

Asked about from which point the negotiations will continue, the
diplomat said that Azerbaijan always begins the negotiations from
the same point and is ready to continue likewise: "This point is that
Azerbaijan’s occupied territories must be returned and the conflict
must be resolved on the basis of the principal of territorial
integrity." Araz Azimov also stressed Azerbaijan’s readiness for
compromises.

SOLEMN OPENING CEREMONY OF "CHESS GIANTS" INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT HELD IN YEREVAN

Noyan Tapan

Ju ne 9, 2008

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The solemn opening ceremony titled
"Chess Giants" took place in the Tigran Petrosian Chess House of
Yerevan on June 8.

Eight grand masters: Michael Adams (England), Levon Aronian (Armenia),
Bu Ksianji (China), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Peter Leko (Hungary),
Vladimir Hakobian (Armenia), Alexander Morozevich (Russia), and
Gabriel Sargsian (Armenia), are taking part in the tournament.

The participants and chess fans were welcomes by Tigran Sargsian, the
Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the Deputy Chairman of
the Chess Republican Federation. Then the casting of lots took place.

The games of the first stage will take place in the building of the
Alexander Spendiarian Opera and Ballet State Academic Theatre on June
9. The games are scheduled for 18:00.

PRIME MINISTER IS DISSATISFIED WITH CONSTRUCTION SPHERE

KarabakhOpen
04-06-2008 11:25:07

The minister of urban planning is Anahit Vardanyan, who has replaced
Alexander Mamunts. In introducing the new minister to the staff of
the ministry Prime Minister Ara Harutiunyan said the situation in
the sphere of construction is not satisfactory. The prime minister
said construction is a priority of the economy of Karabakh, and
it is necessary to spur development. The focus will be on housing
construction and water supply, the prime minister said.

According to the National Statistics service, in 2007 construction
of 20 810.1 billion drams was carried out, which is up by 3.2 billion
compared with 2006. This year it is foreseen to spend about 30 billion
drams on construction.

Almost half of the volume of construction in 2007 was financed from
the state budget, 16.3 percent was financed by benefactors.

Last year 202 houses and 2 schools with a total area of 22 thousand
square meters was built. In 2006 105 houses and 4 schools were built.

NALBANDIAN: NO ONE BUT KARABAKHI PEOPLE TO DECIDE THEIR LAND’S FATE

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.06.2008 12:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia hopes that the June 6 presidential meeting
will produce effect, RA Foreign Minister said.

"Armenia is willing to continue talks on the basis of Madrid proposals
the OSCE MG Co-chairs handed to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs
of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The sides do not intend to develop new
proposals. However, Azerbaijan should also be ready to continue talks,"
Edward Nalbandian told a news conference in Yerevan.

"The Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process is very complicated
and I would not like international organizations or persons concerned
to interfere. No one but Karabakhi people will decide the fate of
their land.

THOMAS DE WAAL: THERE’S LITTLE EXPECTATION FOR SARGSYAN-ALIYEV MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.06.2008 12:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There is little expectation for the forthcoming
meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents, according
to a British expert on the Caucasus.

"There is little chance for successful continuation of talks. With
passage of the UN resolution "on the situation in the occupied
territories", Azerbaijan has moved away from the Basic Document
discussed last year. The Azeri leadership is not likely to take drastic
steps on the threshold the presidential election while Yerevan is
too loaded with domestic problems to highlight Karabakh settlement,"
Thomas de Waal told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev are scheduled to meet in Saint
Petersburg on June 6 in the framework of an international economic
conference.

MINISTER EDWARD NALBANDIAN’S OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA CONTINUES

armradio.am
02.06.2008 11:52

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s official visit to Russia
continues.

In the framework of the visit Minister Nalbandian had meetings with
the President of the Board of Directors of the "Troyka Dialog"
group of companies, co-chair of the "Armenia 2020" initiative
Ruben Vardanyan. Perspectives of Armenia’s economic development were
discussed during the meeting. Reference was made to the future programs
of the "Armenia 2020" initiative.

Minister Nalbandian also me with the President of the Union
of Armenians of Russia Ara Abrahamyan and the leadership of the
union. Edward Nalbandian highly appreciated the programs implemented
ever since the establishment of the fund and wished success to the
Union in its future activity.

The Armenian Foreign Minister reconfirmed the resoluteness of RA
authorities to further reinforce the Motherland-Diaspora ties.

THIS YEAR NINTH-FORMERS OF COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS TO TAKE FINALS IN
MATHEMATICS BY ETC-DEVELOPED TESTS

YEREVAN, MAY 30, NOYAN TAPAN. This year the ninth-formers of
comprehensive schools will take finals in mathematics by tests
developed by the Evaluation and Test Center (ETC), NT correspondent was
informed by ETC press service.

All test questions, except for the last two ones, are multiple-choice.
In evalutaion of the two last questions, importance will be attached to
the process of solution rather than to the final result.

Exam works will be checked by a commission set up by order of the
headmaster.

The tests have been administered experimentally in schools of Yerevan
and Nagorno Karabakh. It is envisaged giving exams in other subjects by
ETC tests at schools next year.