Author: Toneyan Mark

MEDVEDEV SUPPORTS PEACE TALKS ON KARABAKH WITHIN OSCE MG

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.09.2008 18:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and Serzh
Sargsyan of Armenia discussed the settlement process of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and bilateral economic cooperation today.

Confirming support to the talks held in the framework of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Mr Medvedev said that the conflict must be settled peacefully.

Touching upon economic cooperation, the two Presidents pointed out
to the growth of commodity turnover and Russian investments in the
Armenian economy. They also referred to implementation of joint
regional programs in energy and transport fields.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS IN ARMENIA HAS GROWN FOR 75 PEOPLE

Panorama.am
18:18 02/09/2008

>From 1988 to 31 July 2008 613 HIV cases had been registered in the
Republic of Armenia among citizens of the Republic of Armenia with
109 new cases of HIV infection registered in 2007 and 75 – in 2008.

>From 1988 till July 31 2008 only 613 cases of HIV/AIDS infection were
registered among Armenian citizens. In 2007-2008 143 people died from
HIV/AIDS: 121 of them were men and 22 women.

According to the Republican Centre for AIDS Prevention the general
number of HIV infected is 613, 456 are men and 157 women. The number
of AIDS infection cases is 258: 208 men, 50 women.

The survey of HIV/AIDS current situation shows that there are 2800
HIV infected people living in Armenia now.

General statistics of the topic is like this: 1988 – registration of
the first HIV case; the transmission mode is heterosexual intercourse;
1988 – registration of the first AIDS case; 1989 – registration of
the first death from AIDS; 1990 – registration of the first case of
HIV infection through injecting drug use; 1996 – registration of the
first HIV case among women; 2000 – registration of the first case
of HIV transmission through homosexual practice; 2001 – registration
of the first cases of HIV infection and AIDS among children; 2001 –
registration of the first case of child death from AIDS; 2002 – HIV
prevalence among IDUs is in the range of 15%; 2007 – HIV prevalence
among IDUs is in the range of 6.8%

Males constitute a major part in the total number of HIV cases –
456 cases (74.4%), females make up 157 cases (25.6%). 613 reported
cases include 13 cases of HIV infection among children (2.1%).

The overwhelming majority of the HIV-infected individuals (70.5%)
belong to the age group of 20-39.

In the Republic of Armenia the main modes of HIV transmission
are through heterosexual practices (49.1%) and injecting drug
use (44.2%). Additionally, there are also registered cases of
mother-to-child HIV transmission, as well as through blood transfusions
and homosexual practices.

ARMENIAN PREMIER: KARABAKH PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED ONLY THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS

ARKA
Sep 3, 2008

STEPANAKERT, September 3. /ARKA/. Fair settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict can be achieved through negotiations, Armenian Premier
Tigran Sargsyan said during the celebration of the 17th anniversary
of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

It is not that important when NKR’s independence will be recognized,
he said adding that if people live on their own land independently
and proudly, everybody will accept it sooner or later.

According to the Premier, not only Karabakhi population, but every
Armenian in the world can be proud of the achievements made by the NKR.

Armenian foreign policy should remain flexible, Sargsyan said. We live
in rapidly changing world and follow the course of events happening
not only in the region, but also in the world on the whole, and,
certainly, we are obliged to show flexibility," Sargsyan said.

GANIRA PASHAYEVA: "NO AZERBAIJANI CAN AGREE TO TURKISH PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO ARMENIA"

Azeri Press Agency
Sept 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev-APA. "No Azerbaijani can agree to Turkish
President’s visit to Armenia. This visit hurts us morally. That’s why
I will await till the last minute that Abdullah Gul will refuse the
visit. Abdullah Gul himself said he was assessing the invitation. I
think while assessing the invitation Gul should take into consideration
opinion inside Turkey and position of Azerbaijani public," MP Ganira
Pashayev told APA.

The parliamentarian said those who compare Gul’s visit to Yerevan
with Azerbaijani officials’ meetings with Armenian representatives
are wrong.

"Firstly, Azerbaijani representatives do not visit Armenia to meet
with Armenians. Secondly, these meetings are held concretely in
connection with Nagorno Karabakh conflict and with mediation of OSCE
Minsk Group. If Abdullah Gul had met with Serzh Sarkisian in another
country or within the framework of an event, this would not have
caused such many discussions," she said.

To her, if Abdulla Gul visits Armenia, the statements he will make
there are very important: "If Abdualla Gul meets with Armenian
Mass Media and makes strict statements that Armenia has occupied
Azerbaijan’s territories and no relations will be established until
the liberation of occupied lands and Turkey does not establish
any relations with Armenia after the visit, it will ease us a
little. That’s why, the statements he will make there and steps to
be taken by Turkey after the visit are very important".

WEEK OF LEBANON’S CULTURE BEING HELD IN ARMENIA FROM AUGUST 27 TO SEPTEMBER 2

Noyan Tapan

Au g 29, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, NOYAN TAPAN. Naregatsi Art Union (NAU) with the
support of Ministries of Culture of the RA and the Republic of Lebanon,
as well as with the support of the two countries’ Embassies holds
a Week of Lebanon’s Culture from August 27 to September 2. During
these days the Armenian audience will get acquainted with Lebanon’s
rich culture. A celebration devoted to the Lebanese poet Gibran
Kahlil Gibran will be held at the RA Writers’ Union, Fayha Choir will
give concerts, the performance of An Unfinished Novel will be on in
Hovhannes Toumanian State Puppet Theatre based on the play of the
same name by Lebanese-Armenian writer Ara Artsrouni.

Within the framework of the week an exhibition of Lebanese-Armenian
artist Raffi Antonian’s works opened at NAU on August 27. The
traditions and everyday life of the inhabitants of Mousa Dag prevail
in the thematics of the artist’s works.

As Fayha’s artistic director Pargev Taslakian noted during the
press-conference on the same day, Arabic, French, Iraqi and Armenian
songs are included in the song-list of the choir founded in 2003. Fayha
is a laureate of a number of international contests, it released its
first album in 2007, it has also participated in the musical setting
of a number of films. In 2008 the choir will perform in Italy, Egypt,
France and Lebanon.

In the words of contemporary Arab poet Henri Zogeyb, he is very
glad that Gibran Kahlil Gibran’s works are being translated into
Armenian. He hopes that Armenian readers who strive for peace, love
and justice will also be inspired with the works of the great poet.

Riad Alamedi, director of the Culture Department of Safadi Fund
of Lebanon, said that there is a great wish to organize a Week of
Armenia’s Culture in Lebanon. It was also mentioned that 500 thousand
Armenians live in Lebanon and that they have made a great contribution
to the development of Lebanese culture.

EYEWITNESS SAYS OSMAN HAYAL WAS ACCOMPLICE TO DINK’S MURDERER

Today’s Zaman
Sept 2 2008
Turkey

An anonymous eyewitness in the murder case of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, shot dead by a teenager over a year ago,
confirmed that Osman Hayal was with Ogun Samast at the time of
the murder.

The eyewitness stated that Osman Hayal — the elder brother of Yasin
Hayal, who instigated the murder — was with Samast, who was 17 at
the time of the murder, when he murdered Dink on Jan. 19, 2007, in
broad daylight outside the office of Agos, a newspaper where Dink
was the editor-in-chief. Osman Hayal denies the eyewitness’s claims.

The anonymous eyewitness said: "Osman Hayal and another person with
curly hair were there. They were standing in front of an Akbank
on the street. After the event happened, Osman Hayal turned to the
other two people and nodded. After that he escaped in the direction
of Mecidiyeköy."

Osman Hayal rejects the claims, but police sources note that there
were serious discrepancies in Hayal’s depositions. Hayal claims that
he got on a bus at around 3 p.m. and for this reason emphasized he
was on the bus at 4 p.m. when the event took place. "I do not know
exactly where I was when the event took place, but I was probably
going to Trabzon by bus." A bus takes about 18 hours to travel from
Ä°stanbul to Trabzon but Hayal also claims that he learned about the
incident while watching TV with his mother. However, according to
Hayal’s claim about his being on the bus, he could not have been in
Trabzon before noon of the next day. He missed this important detail.

Osman Hayal had claimed previously that he was not in Ä°stanbul on
the day of murder but later it was proved that his mobile phone
signaled from Ä°stanbul’s Umraniye district on Jan. 19, 2007, at
11:27 a.m. Responding to why he lied, Hayal said: "I said I was in
Trabzon because I was very sad and bothered as my brother was involved
in this event. I said this because I was deeply hurt. I did not say
that I was in Ä°stanbul thinking that it would change anything as I
was not involved in this event."

–Boundary_(ID_h8v0PZwbTNOApkN0toi9v A)–

Georgia: Moscow accuses west of double standards·
Nato has no moral right to lecture us, says Kremlin
· EU backs off from threat of sanctions over Georgia

Luke Harding in Moscow

The Guardian,
Saturday August 30 2008

Russia bitterly accused the west of bias and double standards
yesterday, following international criticism of its actions in Georgia,
and amid signs that the European Union is backing away from sanctions
against Moscow.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it rejected criticism from the G7 group
of industrialised countries. They condemned its invasion of Georgia,
and its recognition on Tuesday of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as
independent.

"This step is biased and aimed at justifying the aggressive actions of
Georgia," the ministry said, adding that the G7 – Britain, France,
Germany, the US, Italy, Japan and Canada – had made "baseless
assertions about Russia undermining Georgia’s territorial integrity".

Russia foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko criticised Nato for
"putting pressure" on Russia and said there could be "irreversible
consequences" for "stability" in Europe. Nato had no "moral right" to
lecture Russia, he said.

The Kremlin’s defiant tone comes ahead of a special EU summit in
Brussels on Monday, called by France, to discuss the EU’s future ties
with Russia. On Thursday, France’s foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner,
intimated that sanctions would be discussed. Yesterday, the EU appeared

to be retreating from this position.

Moscow has made clear it will respond to any punitive measures from
Brussels, which could include the suspension of a new EU-Russia
partnership agreement. "The time to pass sanctions has certainly not
come," said a diplomat from France, which holds the EU presidency.

Analysts in Moscow said last night that Russia’s leadership was
relatively unconcerned about the threat of EU sanctions. "I don’t think
the contemporary west has any means to punish a state that is not quite
a rogue state," Yulia Latynina, a commentator with the independent Echo
of Moscow radio station told the Guardian. She added: "The Kremlin
didn’t take Tbilisi and didn’t shoot [Mikheil] Saakashvili. Expelling
Russia from the G8 or the World Trade Organisation isn’t important."

Strategically, she said, prime minister Vladimir Putin has satisfied
his personal feeling towards Mr Saakashvili. "The war was brilliant in
its design."

Other analysts said they did not expect Russia to reverse its
recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, despite the prospect of the
states’ international isolation. So far, only Belarus had said it will
join Russia in recognising the two states.

"I think they are watching very closely to see what will happen at the
EU summit," said Grigorii V Golosov, professor at the faculty of
political sciences at the European University of St Petersburg. "But I
think the Kremlin calculation is th
at the EU won’t react seriously."

Putin’s interview with CNN on Thursday – in which he blamed the war in
Georgia on a Washington plot to propel John McCain into the White House
– was a deliberate tactic, Golosov said. Putin’s aim was to promote
divisions between the EU and Washington.

Yesterday, Igor Sechin, the deputy prime minister, dismissed a report
in the Daily Telegraph that Moscow was preparing to cut oil deliveries
to western Europe, calling the claim "a gross provocation".

THOMAS GOLTZ: "AZERBAIJANI GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE CAREFUL WITH THIS SITUATION"

Azeri Press Agency
Aug 29 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova-APA. "Developments in the region are dangerous
for Azerbaijan, but I don’t believe that analogical events will recur
there in near future", said professor at US Montana University Thomas
Goltz told APA.

He said there were both similar and different aspects between Nagorno
Karabakh and the conflicts in Georgia. The Professor thinks that
long-term tensions between Russia and Georgia led Russia to launch
strong military strikes on Georgia. "Terms between Vladimir Putin and
Mikhail Saakashvili are not good. But situation related to Azerbaijan
is different. There are good relations between Azerbaijan and Russia,
between Ilham Aliyev and Russian leadership".

Goltz noted that the situation was not similar, but warned Azerbaijani
Government to be careful. The Professor thinks that Azerbaijan
should continue its "quadrate policy". "It means that Baku should
continue friendship and partnership with Russia in the North, Iran
in the South, China in the East and the United States in the West
and protect the balance".

Responding to question about possibility of Azerbaijan’s intentions
for NATO membership to provide its security, Goltz said it would be
a suicide.

CEREMONIAL OCCASIONS IN STEPANAKERT

AZG Armenian Daily
29/08/2008

Nagorno Karabakh

On the occasion of the 17th anniversary of declaration of NKR
independence ceremonial occasions are scheduled in Stepanakert. As
member of the coordination and management commission Michael Gasparian
told Armenpress, the first lesson in the secondary schools and high
educational institutions of the republic on September 1 will be
devoted to the declaration of independence.

At the event that has become traditional members of NKR Government,
Parliament and National Security Service will present at the schools
and universities the way and the sense of NKR independence.

On September 2 at 10 a.m. NKR soldiers will march along the streets
of Stepanakert that will herald the start of the ceremonial events.

The officials and citizens of the country led by NKR President Bako
Sahakian will pay a visit to the city memorial.

At 8 p.m an open-air concert in Stepanakert Renaissance Square will
mark the occasion. Fireworks will close the concert.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND BELARUS HAS A GREAT POTENTIAL OF DEVELOPMENT

armradio.am
27.08.2008 14:40

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Armenia Marina
Dolgopolova, who is completing her mission in our country.

Thanking the Ambassador for the productive activity in Armenia for over
five years, the Prime Minister noted that serious positive progress
has been registered in the relations between the two countries in this
period both in political and other spheres. He attached particular
importance to the considerable progress in the bilateral relations
especially under the conditions of the difficulties existing in the
field of transport.

Marina Dolgopolova underlined that being the first Ambassador of
the Republic of Belarus to Armenia, she proceeded to the deepening
of relations with all responsibility. She noted with appreciation
that good bases exist today for developing the mutually beneficial
cooperation between the two countries. Presenting the obvious
achievements in the political, economic, scientific, educational,
cultural and other spheres, the Ambassador especially emphasized the
cooperation in the fields of innovation, information technologies,
development of regions and small settlements.

During the conversation the parties stated that despite the recent
considerable increase of the volume of commodity turnover, the economic
collaboration20between the two countries still has a great potential of
development. In this context importance was attached to the activity
of the Armenian-Belarusian Intergovernmental Cooperation Commission,
where the problems and issues of cooperation will be discussed and
effectively solved.

At the end of the meeting Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan wished success
to Marina Dolgopolova in her further diplomatic mission, expressing
confidence that the relations between Armenia and Belarus will continue
successfully developing during the new Ambassador’s tenure in office.