TURKEY SHOULD RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF FRANCE STATES
Noyan Tapan
Oct 28, 2008
PARIS, OCTOBER 28, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. Europe needs Turkey
and former Soviet countries, especially in energy issues. Former
Prime Minister of France Michel Rocar said to the Canal+ TV
company. According to him, however, Turkey should first settle the
problem of Cyprus and recognize the Armenian Genocide. The former
Prime Minister added that Turkey realizes that.
TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: "TURKEY WILL OPEN BORDERS WITH ARMENIA AFTER THE LATTER WITHDRAWS ITS ARMED FORCES FROM THE OCCUPIED LANDS OF AZERBAIJAN"
Today.Az
28 October 2008 [14:30]
Turkey will open borders with Armenia after the latter withdraws
its armed forces from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, said Turkish
ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic, according to Novosti-Azerbaijan.
Commenting on the statement of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
made on Monday during the visit to Nagorno Karabakh, according to which
"the opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia may have a positive
impact on the process of the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict",
Kilic said that "Armenia has no right to put provisions to Turkey in
this issue".
"Turkey closed borders with Armenia on April 4 of 1993 as a sign
of protest against occupation of Nagorno Karabakh and the adjacent
regions of lower Karabakh of Azerbaijan by Armenia. Turkey always
supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and will further
adhere to it", said the Turkish ambassador.
Kilic added that if Armenia intends to establish normal relations with
neighbor states, it must primarily review its occupational policy and
withdraw its occupational forces from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.
ECONOMY MINISTER OF ARMENIA: ARMENIA NEEDS FUNDAMENTAL SYSTEM CHANGES
ArmInfo
2008-10-28 15:44:00
ArmInfo. Armenia needs fundamental system changes to enter the European
trade market, Economy Minister of Armenia Nerses Yeritsyan said today
at the International Conference ‘European Neighbourhood is two years:
Progress, challenges and the future’.
As the minister said, the Programme is quite informative and covers all
the spheres of Armenia’s economic vital activity. ‘Armenia assumed
a liability on fulfillment of the Actions Plan and consistently
implements institutional and structural changes. We consider
the Programme not as a liability but a possibility of Armenia’s
communication with the European countries and experience exchange’,
N. Yeritsyan emphasized.
Talking of the advantage from the programme implementation,
N. Yeritsyan said that Armenia is enabled to take part in a regional
dialogue, and it should initiate its own projects as a country with
no access to the sea.
Moreover, the minister considers the European economic integration
of Armenia in the near future real. He said it is necessary to bring
the country’s legal field in line with the European standards for
fulfillment of this goal. ‘The republic’s economic integration supposes
availability of a free trade space, that will assure communication
with the developed European countries. However, it also assumes
implementation of fundamental system changes’, N. Yeritsyan resumed.
Interfax, Russia
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
October 22, 2008 Wednesday 10:07 AM MSK
U.S., Russia to extend aid to Armenia to tackle fallout after
Georgian- Ossetian conflict
YEREVAN Oct 22
Armenia will get technical and financial assistance to remedy the
economic damage inflicted by the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, Armenian
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said.
"This issue was discussed at the meeting with U.S. Vice President Dick
Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, at the meetings with
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank representatives.
Condoleezza Rice promised to extend us the necessary assistance. The
IMF and World Bank also promised to render technical assistance, we
have specific agreements with these organizations on extending
financial aid to Armenia," Sargsyan said.
The damage inflicted on Armenia was also discussed with Russian
representatives during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
to Yerevan, he said
"We have some concrete agreements with Russia including on financial
and technical help. We hope that we shall be able to jointly implement
them. Armenia has more than a thousand Russian enterprises with
Russian capital and participation, some of these are vitally important
for the Armenian economic system," Sargsyan said.
Armenian losses because of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict have been
assessed at $670 million.
The U.S.-Armenian relations have entered a new stage of cooperation,
he said. "When meeting with Condoleezza Rice, I got a signal that our
relations entered a new stage of cooperation that exist between
friendly nations. The sides will develop new programs and Armenia will
receive considerable technical and financial aid," he said.
mg dp
Interfax News Agency, Russia
Oct 23 2008
Sargsian forms expert group to collect evidence about March events in Yerevan
YEREVAN Oct 23
Armenian President Serzh Sargsian has signed a decree on the formation of an expert group to collect evidence about the March 2008 events in Yerevan, the presidential press service said on Thursday.
"The group will collect facts to assist in fulfilling the tasks set before an interim parliamentary commission investigating the March 1 events in Yerevan," the press service said.
The group will comprise two representatives from the ruling coalition, one representative each from the opposition Heritage faction and the Armenian National Congress led by Levon Ter-Petrossian, and one representative from the Armenian Human Rights Defender’s Office.
No media coverage of group’s activity is allowed. Its members have no right to disclose issues discussed during the group’s sessions.
After the February 19 presidential elections in Armenia, the opposition led by ex-president Levon Ter-Petrossian organized mass protests that led to the March 1 clashes with police, in which 10 people were killed and more than 250 sustained injuries.
World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
October 24, 2008
Russian Mediation Promises New Phase in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Talks
by Natalia Leshchenko
A visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, by Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev has boosted prospects for reconciliation between Armenia and
Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At the end of the
visit, President Medvedev announced the possibility of an imminent
meeting between the Armenian and Azeri leaders in the Russian capital
Moscow, with Russia’s mediation. There have also been positive remarks
in Azerbaijan about the possible summit, where Ilham Aliyev received a
renewed presidential mandate last Wednesday (15 October 2008) and can
now return to developing policies. The date for the meeting has not
been publicised yet; neither are the conditions of the settlement
currently on the table. Reports only state that the document envisages
self-determination for the province in question, a condition that
satisfies Armenia.
Significance:Russia is taking the lead in renewed diplomatic efforts
over settlement in the Caucasus, the need for which was heightened by
the conflict in Georgia in August 2008. While security is in the
interest of all, foreign powers–Russia and the United States in
particular–are competing to provide guidance in this settlement and
thereby to assure their influence in the region in the
future. (seeArmenia-Azerbaijan: 6 October 2008:).
TOTAL ASSETS OF ARMENIA’S BANKING SYSTEM GROWS 9.2% TO 214.9BLN DRAMS
ARKA
Oct 24, 2008
YEREVAN, October 24. /ARKA/. Total assets of Armenian banking system
grew by 18,186.9mln Drams or by 9.2% and totaled 214,939.6mln Drams
at the end of September this year, says the Review of the Central
Bank of Armenia on activities of Armenian banks in the third quarter.
Authorized stock of Armenian banking system grew by 8.1% (10,560mln
Drams) to 142,268.9mln Drams in the third quarter. Non-residents’
share in the capital of Armenian banks grew by 10,600.4mln Drams
to 88,411.7mln Drams over the reporting period. In fact, the share
of non-residents constituted 62% of the overall authorized stock
against 59.1% in the beginning of the reporting quarter (54.34%
in the beginning of the year).
Main reserve of the banks’ capital had amounted to 6,420.3mln Drams by
the end of September – no change over the quarter. Accumulated earnings
on capital account of commercial banks totaled 56,750.6mln Drams at the
end of September as compared with 48,682.9mln Drams in the beginning
of the quarter. The current period profit was 19,564.6mln Drams.
According to information of ARKA Agency, the following are the five
leading banks of Armenia in terms of total capital – ACBA-Credit
Agricole Bank (24.8bln Drams), Bank VTB (Armenia) (23.2bln Drams),
Ardshininvestbank (23bln Drams), Ameriabank (18.8bln Drams), HSBC
Bank Armenia (14.4bln Drams).
In terms of authorized stock (without capital surplus), the leader
is Ameriabank (17bln Drams) followed by Ardshininvestbank (13.8bln
Drams), Bank VTB (Armenia) (13.78bln Drams), ACBA-Credit Agricole Bank
(10bln Drams), Areximbank (8.5bln Drams).
Twenty-two banks and 367 branches operated in Armenia at the end of
September. ($1=309.11Drams).
US DIPLOMAT RULES OUT MILITARY SOLUTION FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT
Mediamax
Oct 17 2008
Armenia
Yerevan, 17 October: US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried
stated in Yerevan today that the "Azerbaijani leadership very well
knows that a military solution to Karabakh conflict is impossible".
Mediamax reports that, speaking at a briefing in Yerevan today, the US
diplomat noted that August events in Georgia once again demonstrated
the destructive nature of efforts to solve conflict situations with
the use of force.
Commenting on the recent statement of OSCE Minsk Group US Co-Chair
Matthew Bryza, US Assistant Secretary of State stated that "yes, we
have said that the settlement of Karabakh conflict should start from
the principle of respecting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,
but we have never said that this principle is the only one".
"There are other internationally recognized principles as well,
including the right for self-determination", Daniel Fried stated.
According to him, the "reconciling" of those principles is a difficult
task, however in the course of the recent years the sides have managed
to reach real progress at the mediation of OSCE Minsk Group. The US
diplomat stated that the US side intends to continue working within the
OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship format together with its colleagues
from Russia and France.
GEORGIA TO QUIT CIS AUGUST 18, 2009
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.10.2008 12:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Georgia will formally quit the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) on August 18, 2009, said Nauryz Aydarov,
deputy chairman of the CIS executive committee.
"The committee has already launched the essential procedure," he said.
Georgia notified (on August 18, 2008) the CIS executive organs
of the unanimous decision of its parliament to leave the regional
organization, and according to the CIS Charter (sec. 1, art. 9) this
decision will come into force 12 months after the notification date.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization
whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics. The
organization was founded on December 8, 1991 by Belarus, Russia,
and Ukraine, when the leaders of the three countries signed an
agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation
of CIS as a successor entity to the USSR. On December 21, 1991,
the leaders of eight additional former Soviet Republics – Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan,
and Uzbekistan – joined the Creation Agreement, thus bringing the
number of participating countries to 11. Georgia joined two years
later, in December 1993.
MR. TER-PETROSYAN WHY ARE YOU SO ANTI-RUSSIAN?
Hayots Ashkhar Daily
21 Oct 2008
Armenia
On October 17 Ter-Petrosyan over again committed himself to powdering
the brains of Armenian public or as people say beating about the bush.
When I thoroughly familiarized myself with the speech, which he
delivered during the meeting near Matenadaran, the famous speech of
the Great Old Roman Markos Tullios Cicerone "In Defence of Veres"
came to my mind.
The famous orator of all times, during the whole period of Veres’
court procedure, seemed to eagerly defend the latter, enumerating
Veres’ advantages, spicing his speech with certain details that
seemed to be insignificant from the first glance. As a result,
to the great surprise of the plebeians gathered in the square the
court came to the decision to hang Cicerone’s "defender" because the
thorough observation of those details that seemed to be insignificant
demonstrated that they include grave charges.
The same goes with the speech delivered by Ter-Petrosyan, who allegedly
committed himself to the role of the defender of the Russian interests
in the Republic of Armenia. And because our "hero" is far from being
Cicerone and due to Putin Russia has already freed itself from the
continual process of justifying themselves towards the West and
because during his last speech Russian incumbent President Dmitry
Medvedev confirmed that Russia’s current status is unchangeable,
it is evident that LTP’s efforts were directed to the settlement of
quite different issues. And in this regard the only thing left to do
is to be astonished at LTP’s efforts to show himself as a pro-Russian
political figure whereas he always discredits this powerful country.