Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

U.S. DIPLOMAT HOPES FIRST MEETING OF AZERI, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS WILL BE A SUCCESS

Interfax News Agency
June 3 2008
Russia

The first meting between Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev and Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan will to a great extent predetermine whether
the further talks on Nagorno-Karabakh will be a success, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and
co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza told journalists
in Baku.

The meeting will provide the two presidents with an opportunity to
get acquainted with each other, the U.S. diplomat said.

Bryza said he thinks that everything depends on the attitudes [of
the two presidents] and whether they will be able to fine-tune good
relationship with each other.

Aliyev and Sargsyan are expected to meet within the framework of the
upcoming St. Petersburg economic forum.

OST-ALCO BRANDY COMPANY TO BOTTLE SHUSTOV COGNAC IN ARMENIA

ARKA
June 5, 2008

YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. The Russian Ost-Alco Company plans to bottle
its Shustov cognac in Armenia and France, the RBK daily reports.

The company intends to bottle the cognac in its home, Armenia. At
present, Ost-Alco is negotiating both with the Yerevan Ararat
Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory and the French Meukow to bottle the cognac
in their facilities.

The Russian company believes a relevant agreement with the French
company will contribute to fivefold increase of Shustov sales.

The maximal retail price of the cognac will rise from 600 rubles
to 1,500 rubles for 0.5l. The retail price of the Russian Shustov
is expected to reach some 700 rubles for 0.5l, whereas Armenian
and Russian bottles will cost some 1,000 rubles and 1,500 rubles
respectively. The minimal price of Shustov is 600 rubles now.

The cognac will change both its shape and taste soon, said Viktor
Turshatov, public relations head of Ost-Alco.

The Russian company is negotiating with Armenian Ararat brandy producer
(under the Noy brand) and the French Meukow (Compagnie de Guyenne
Group member).

"We plan to keep bottling Shustov in the Chernogolovka enterprise and
produce premium Shustov cognacs in Armenia and France," Turshatov said.

Nikolai Shustov first bottled this cognac in Armenia at the turn of
the 19th century.

A representative of the Armenian brandy factory confirmed they are
negotiating with the Russian Ost-Alco, though he made no comments on
their possible outturn.

Ost-Alco plans to end negotiations this summer and launch bottling
of the Armenian and French cognacs in early 2009.

The company plans to invest some $2mln for restyling and marketing
promotion.

Ost-Alco intends to increase the monthly output from 10,000 deciliters
to 50,000 deciliters.

According to the Business Analytics, the share of the Shustov brand
in Russian brandy market was 0.5%. Among top leaders are the Moscow
(Moskovsky) Brandy Factory (15.8%), Kinovsky (4.8%) and Stariy
Kenigsberg (Old Conigsberg) or Alyans-1982 (4.8%).

Despite its Armenian origin, Shustov is considered a Russian cognac.

Therefore, Ost-Alco needs to make great efforts to remind customers
it has ties with Armenia, said General Executive of the Moscow Wine
Factory Yevgeny Kalabin.

In his turn, Director of the Tsifra (Digits) Branch Information
Agency Vadim Drobiz disapproved of the idea of bottling Shustov in
three countries.

"It will water down the brand in consumers’ consciousness," he
said. "They could, for instance, produce the cognac in Armenia and
sell it at the price it is sold in Russia." Drobiz believes 1,000
rubles is too much for a bottle of Armenian cognac.

The Russian Ost Group involves 30 enterprises. Its principal
shareholders are Larisa Pekareva (70%), spouse of the Russian Duma
Member Vladimir Pekarev who is the founder of the company, Yelena
Philopova (15%), Yelena Sorokina, Tatyana Pekareva and Vladimir
Polikarpov (5% each). The company’s famous brands are Bogorodskaya,
Stolnaya, Shustov (hard drinks), Vintage and Jet (low-alcohol
cocktails), Napitki iz Chernogolovki (Drinks from Chernogolovka),
Chernogolovskaya and Sobornaya (non-alcohol drinks). Ost Group’s
output was $3.6mln deciliters.

SHARL AZNAVOUR WITH HIS FAMILY

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on June 03, 2008
Armenia

World famous singer Sharl Aznavour arrived in Yerevan with his family.

"I’m in very good spirits, I came to Armenia with my daughter,
grandchildren and my grandchild’s wife, who is from Armenia. I visit
Armenia every year and I feel very good here." Aznavour said to the
journalists. To the question whether he has seen the House-Museum
named after him, maestro said that he has seen only the model. "God
knows when Armenian listeners will hear my songs again." This was Sharl
Aznavour’s answer to the question about his next concert in Armenia.

Sunday 1 June 2008
Greece struggle to hit their stride
by Vassiliki Papantonopoulou

Defending champions Greece completed their friendly preparations for
UEFA EURO 2008??¢ with a goalless draw against Armenia in a match
high on effort but low on quality in Offenbach am Main in front of an
enthusiastic, largely Greek crowd.

Nikopolidis save
Otto Rehhagel’s side had markedly improved defensively from their 3-2
loss against Hungary last Saturday, but struggled creatively and
threatened little around their opponents’ area. Armenia started
brightly and had a good chance to go in front on 15 minutes when Levon
Pachajyan, after taking advantage of an error by Sotiris Kyrgiakos,
shot from the edge of the box only for Greece goalkeeper Antonis
Nikopolidis to save well at full stretch. Five minutes later,
Nikopolidis was called on again to block Marcos Piseli’s long-range
effort.

Charisteas miss
Greece had their best chance on 30 minutes, when Giorgos Karagounis
worked space for himself and sent over a pin-point cross to Dimitris
Salpingidis, who headed just over. Two minutes later, Armenian
goalkeeper Gevorg Kasparov turned away Angelos Basinas’s powerful
drive, then was thankful to see Angelos Charisteas shoot wide after
failing to properly deal with a Giourkas Seitaridis cross.

Substitutions
Rehhagel made five substitutions after the break and the rhythm
dropped as a consequence. Even so, Greece came close to breaking the
deadlock on 51 minutes, only for Kasparov to deny substitute Giorgos
Samaras’s curling right-foot shot with a spectacular save. Ararat
Arakelyan then headed wide for Armenia on 85 minutes before producing
a more telling contribution at the other end, clearing under the nose
of Charisteas after Kasparov had been unable to gather Kostas
Katsouranis’s stinging drive from distance. Greece leave Germany on
Tuesday morning and travel for Salzburg, where they play all their
Group D games, kicking off the defence of their title on 10 June
against Sweden.

Greece: Nikopolidis, Seitaridis, Kyrgiakos, Dellas (Antzas 46),
Spiropoulos (Torosidis 46), Basinas, Katsouranis, Karagounis
(Patsatzoglou 46), Charisteas, Salpingidis (Gekas 46), Amanatidis
(Samaras 46).

Armenia: Kasparov, Hovsepyan, Arzumanyan, Arakelyan, Voskanian, Hamlet
Mkhitaryan (A Minasyan 65), Ghazaryan (Melkonyan 60), Piseli (Hakobyan
54), Pachajyan, Lazarian, Tadevosyan.

A1+

HUNGER-STRIKE CONTINUES IN YERABLUR
[04:28 pm] 29 May, 2008

Eleven Artsakh War veterans have been on a hunger
strike in Yerablur for three days already. They demand
that the political prisoners be released and the terms
of PACE Resolution 1609 be fulfilled.

Most of the hunger strikers are members of the
-Hanrapetutyun- (Republic) Party; the others are
Yerkrapah Volunteers.

As one of the hunger strikers Karo Hakobian informed
-A1+-, several policemen visited the hunger strikers
today and tried to define their identity. In reply,
the strikers showed the newspaper publications with
their names and occupations. Afterwards some of the
policemen left while others stayed to watch the
strikers.

By the way, Karo was in a bad state. He could hardly
speak.

FUNDS RAISED FROM ENTERPRISE 2000 TO BENEFIT ARTSAKH THROUGH HALO
TRUST

LOS ANGELES, MAY 27, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN.

About 250 Armenian’s boarded the Enterprise 2000 on May 24 night for a
Dinner Cruise and an evening of entertainment featuring Adiss
Harmandayan from Los Angeles and our very own Harout Bedrossian. The
funds raised from the cruise will benefit the HALO Trust which works in
the removal of landmines in Artsakh.

HOVHANNES HAROUTIUNIAN’S CHARGE KEPT UNCHANGED

35

YEREVAN, MAY 27, NOYAN TAPAN. On May 26, the Appeal Criminal Court kept
unchanged the March 28 judgement of general jurisdiction court of
Yerevan’s Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun communities, by which Hovhannes
Haroutiunian was found guilty by part 1, Article 235, RA Criminal
Court, Purchasing, Selling, Keeping, Transporting or Bearing Ilegal
Arms, Ammunition, Explosives or Explosive Devices and was sentenced to
imprisonment of one year and six months.

The general jurisdiction court of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash
communities, presided over by judge Armen Danielian, sentenced Soghomon
Yeritsian accused of using not dangerous violence to a power
representative on March 1 to one year’s suspended imprisonment with a
probation term of a year and a half. The case examination proceeded by
the order of speeded-up judicial procedure.

HERITAGE’S REPUBLIC DAY STATEMENT

armradio.am
27.05.2008 14:05

On this glorious 90th anniversary of the founding of the Republic
of Armenia, the Heritage Party extends its sincere congratulations
to the citizens of the Republic and to the Armenians of Artsakh,
Javakhk, and the Diaspora.

In the millennia-old history of the Armenian nation, May 28, 1918
stands as a beam of light which has come to balm the enormous pain
of 1915 caused by the Great Crime and its resulting dispossession
of most of the Armenian homeland. Despite its short lifespan, the
First Republic succeeded in succoring the Armenian people with the
strength to reestablish a statehood long lost. And thanks to the
just quest for Artsakh and its ultimate liberation decades later,
this process found its contemporary continuation.

Today the Armenian nation and the Heritage Party, which is unwavering
in its service, affirm yet again their commitment to the values of
liberty, sovereignty, and the rule of law, the substantive absence of
which could diminish the concept of Fatherland so earnestly cherished
by successive generations.

The recent turmoil in Armenia dealt a heavy blow to our country, its
regional endurance, and its international standing. It is our deep
conviction that the only way out of the current crisis is through the
consolidation of the precepts of democracy and the full reinstatement
of freedom and justice across the Republic.

Pursuant to the letter and spirit of this Republic Day, the Heritage
Party underscores its long-standing call for the immediate release
of all political prisoners, the complete and credible investigation
of this year’s tragic events, the rendering to account of those
responsible and, in keeping with the ancient wisdom and true ethical
mores of the Armenian nation, realization of the high imperative to
anchor political and civil liberties in every dimension of society.

We hold in our hands the spirit, the lesson, and the legacy of May
28. In our deeds and by our union, let us be worthy of them.

THEY DEMAND POLITICAL ASYLUM FOR ZHIRAIR SEFILIAN

A1+
[08:11 pm] 26 May, 2008

"We demand to cease ongoing "chases" against Zhirair Sefilian and to
grant him a residence permit in the Republic of Armenia," said the
adherents of Sefilian.

On May 26 the Committee supporting Sefilian handed an open letter
to the Armenian leadership and representatives of international
structures. The protest action started from the OSCE Yerevan office.

"Zhirair Sefilian is chased for his political standing. We urge you to
stop the ongoing persecution and prevent Sefilian’s banishment from
the Republic of Armenia as it is a rough breach of human rights,"
runs the letter.

Sefilian is prosecuted for his announcement "to smash the heads of
those who would dare to surrender the liberated territories and the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic," reminded the presentees.

"The problem refers to all Karabakh war veterans including Zhirair
Sefilian. We call your attention to Sefilian’s deeds while considering
the issue of granting Sefilian a political asylum," said veteran
Robert Hairumian in the name of Sefilian’s proponents.

Former Mayor of Goris Town, Samvel Harutiunian said, "Eveybody
knows that the authorities started in pursuit of Zhirair Sefilian
long ago. Sefilian played a significant role in the proclamation
of the NKR independence in 1992. The NKR President made a wise and
fair decision that Sefilian should settle in the lands liberated by
him. The President thought his decision would contribute to NKR’s
resettlement with Diaspora Armenians."

Reminder, the term of Sefilian’s detention expires on June 9. In case
the Administrative Court upholds the authorities’ motion to expel
Sefilian, the family will have to leave Armenia where they have spent
17 years of their lives.

Sefilian’s wife Nanor informed A1+ that she has no intention to move
elsewhere with her two underage children.

"The country doesn’t belong to Serzh Sarkissian, Robert Kocharian
and Alvina Zakarian. The country belongs to ordinary people. The
illegitimate authorities tarnish the countries reputation," said
Sefilian’s wife.

RA EX-FM: ‘ACTUAL INDEPENDENCE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH IS INDISPUTABLE’

arminfo
2008-05-26 08:18:00

ArmInfo. , ex-Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan said
during the International conference in Stepanakert entitled "20th
Anniversary of Karabakh Movement: Realities and Prospects", ArmInfo
special correspondent in Stepanakert reports.

He said that the document currently available on the negotiating table
is an achievement of the Armenian diplomacy, as the right of Nagorno
Karabakh for self-determination has been fixed in it, that allows
to solve the problem in a best way. "This document will enable our
diplomacy to keep on active working preserving the registered fact of
self- determination of the Karabakh people", ex-FM said. V. Oskanyan
also said that he sees no alternative to this document and expressed
hope that Baku will not refuse of its provisions as the document
was drawn-up under active participation of the Azerbaijani party. RA
ex-FM specified a number of factors influencing the Karabakh settlement
process, in particular, the interests of powers, the internal political
and economic state of the conflicting parties, the degree of efficiency
of negotiations between the conflicting parties, etc.

To recall, political experts, scientists and representatives of
power of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Russia, the United States, Iran,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transdniestria, and a number of European
countries take part in the conference. At this stage, the participants
in the conference work in three directions: "Historical-legal
substantiations of Nagorno Karabakh self-determination and
International Law", "Peculiarities of the international perception of
Nagorno Karabakh problem and the modern geopolitical developments" and
"Information challenges in Karabakh conflict settlement process". The
conference will end today, on May 24.