Author: Torgomian Varazdat

Armenian children to spend summer holidays in Artek

YEREVAN, JULY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. Between July 16 to August 5, children
from Armenia will spend their summer holidays in the Artek
International Children’s Center, where they will take part in the
International Children’s Festival under the title Let’s Change the
World for the Better.

According to the report by the Press Service of the Embassy of the
Ukraine in Armenia, it is the seventh year that children’s creative
collectives from Armenia have a rest in Artek and take part in
festivals organized by the All-Ukrainian Charity Foundation of Hope and
Kindness, Ukrainian Ministry on Family, Children’s and Youth Affairs,
Artek International Children’s Center with the support of the Ukrainian
Foreign Ministry and the Ukrainian National Commission on Issues of
UNESCO.

This year a collective consisting of 11 children, including laureats
and prize-winners of various international contests, will represent
Armenia at the invitation of the organizers of the 8th International
Festival Let’s Change the World for the Better.

ARMENIAN FM UNEXPECTEDLY VISITS OCCUPIED AZERI REGION, Karabakh

AssA-Irada
July 16, 2009 Thursday
Azerbaijan

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has unexpectedly visited
the occupied Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh region of Azerbaijan. Armenian
media reported that the visit is linked to the recent statement by
the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the peace
process on the Madrid principles of the conflict resolution. In a
joint statement passed at a recent G8 summit in Italy, released by
the US State Department, US President Barack Obama, France’s Nicolas
Sarkozy and Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev called on Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders to resolve their differences and move towards a final accord
on the long-standing Upper Garabagh conflict.

They urged Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian to resolve
the few differences remaining between them and finalize their
agreement. "We are instructing our mediators to present to the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan an updated version of a proposed
peace outline brought forward in the Madrid Document of November
2007." Analysts say it is not accidental that Nalbandians visit takes
place on the eve of the next round of talks on Garabagh settlement to
be held by Presidents Aliyev and Sarkisian in Moscow on Friday. They
believe Yerevan is seeking to coordinate its position with the
leadership of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic. Among the
principles called for in the Madrid Document were "the return of the
territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control and an
interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security
and self-government." It also embraced "a corridor linking Armenia
to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final
legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression
of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees
to return to their former places of residence." The conflict between
the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due
to Armenias territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20%
of Azerbaijans internationally-recognized territory since the early
1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was
signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and
French mediators have been, so far, fruitless.

US EXTENDS CONDOLENCES ON IRANIAN PLANE CRASH

armradio.am
16.07.2009 13:38

The United States extended condolences to families of the 168 people
killed in the crash of a Caspian Airlines plane in northwestern Iran.

"The United States extends it condolences to the families of those who
lost their lives in the crash of a Caspian Airlines plane carrying
passengers from Tehran, Iran to Yerevan, Armenia," State Department
spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.

Kelly said the State Department was working through the U.S. Embassy
in Yerevan and the Swiss Protecting Power in Iran to determine whether
any American citizens were on board.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER PAID A ONE-DAY VISIT TO NKR

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
16.07.2009 19:47 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On 16 July NKR President Bako Sahakyan met RA Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian, who arrived in Artsakh on the same day.

Issues on current stage of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement
process were discussed at the meeting.

The parties emphasized that restoration of the full-fledged negotiation
format is a must as no decision can be implemented without the consent
of Artsakh.

NKR President once again noted that Nagorno Karabakh Republic is an
established state and its independence and security are not negotiable,
Central Information Department at NKR President’s Office reported.

SO FAR, 6 CRASH VICTIMS ARE REPORTED TO BE RA CITIZENS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
15.07.2009 17:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The plane which crashed in Iran was carrying 153
passengers (including 2 children) and 15 crew members, Deputy Head
of Civil Aviation Department Arsen Poghosyan told a news conference
today. So far, 6 crash victims are reported to be Armenian citizens,
with 2 being crew members. Their names are Ashot Nersisyan, Arthur
Grigoryan, Karine Margaryan, Ara Siroyan Grigor Barseghyan and Suren
Soghomonyan (the latter 2 being flight engineers). The exact number
of Armenian citizens is being clarified. There was a total number of
35 passengers bearing Armenian surnames.

Among the passengers who died on board the plane there were also 3
Georgian citizens. All the rest were citizens of Iran.

UKRAINIAN RADA TO RETURN WORSHIP FACILITIES TO CHURCHES

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
14.07.2009 10:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Along with representatives of the Church Council,
Head of the Ukrainian diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
Archbishop Grigoris Buniatyan attended Monday a meeting with Prime
Minister Yulia Timoshenko, who informed that a legislation envisaging
return of worship facilities to churches will be introduced in Supreme
Rada next week.

She also pledged to tackle religious problems in the country.

HRANUSH HAKOBIAN RECEIVES DIASPORAN ARFD FIGURES

Noyan Tapan
July 14, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA Minister
of Diaspora Hranush Hakobian received Diasporan ARFD figures –
participants of the All Armenian Conference on Armenian-Turkish
relations and Nagorno Karabakh problem held in Artsakh, ARFD Syrian
Central Committee member, Aleppo Sahakian school headmaster Jirayr
Reisian, Israel Hay Dat Office Executive Georget Avagian, ARFD Western
Europe Central Committee members Zareh Minasian and Dro Ekmekjian
(France). The guests in their talk with the Minister presented the
goals of the Artsakh conference, the range of the issues discussed,
and the national significance of the decisions made.

According to the ARFD figures, the problems discussed at the conference
completely involve the problems faced by the Armenian people and
the Armenian state, the starting point of which is the problems the
Armenians worldwide are concerned with: the Armenian Genocide, the
Armenian Cause, and there is a need of showing a common approach in
any issue regarding them.

They expressed their concern in the respect of making competent the
Armenian communities and especially Armenian youth of Diaspora over
the above mentioned approaches and involving the Armenian youth in
national issues.

Minister Hranush Hakobian attached importance to holding of such a
representative conference on problems all Armenians are concerned with.

According to the RA Ministry of Diaspora Press and Public Relations
Department, the meeting participants discussed issues regarding
preservation of the Armenian identity, in particular, attached
importance to solving the issue of providing assistance to the only
Armenian everyday school in the city of Marseille, France.

The Diasporan figures also expressed concern over issues related to
transportation of textbooks, fiction as there are libraries that have
not received literature printed in Armenia more than 20 years. The
guests also inquired about the process of the program Come Home
and expressed readiness to assist 50 children in October to come to
Armenia from France and to take part in the program.

AUGUST WAR COMPLICATED GEORGIAN RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA: OPPOSITION LEADER

Trend
July 7 2009
Azerbaijan

Unwise steps by the Georgian authorities, involving Georgia to war
with Russia in August 2008, evolved new problems in the relations
with other neighbors, the leader of the Alliance for Georgia Irakli
Alasaniya told Trend News.

This war led to definite overestimations in region, Alasaniya stated.

Large-scale military operations broke out in the unrecognized
Republic of South Ossetia in the night of Aug.8. Georgian troops
entered Tzkhinvali. Later Russian troops entered the city and drove
Georgian military back. At the end of August, Russia recognized the
independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In response, Georgia broke
off diplomatic relations with Moscow and declared the unrecognized
republics occupied territories.

Alasania said some problems also appeared in relations with Armenia,
because Georgia is facing a danger of separatist movement by the
densely populated large national communities.

"Of course, neither official Baku, nor Yerevan will favor separatist
trends. But Russian special service organizations will work actively
here and it is necessary to observe attentively these developments
in regions, especially in Samtzkhe-Javakheti populated by Armenians."

NATO IS NOT AIMING AT DEPLOYING PEACEKEEPERS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH – ARMENIAN ENVOY

Interfax
June 30 2009
Russia

NATO is not aiming at being involved in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian ambassador to NATO Samvel Mkrtchian
has said in an interview with Azg newspaper on Tuesday.

"NATO has stated on numerous occasions that it does not have the
objective of being involved in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict
or deploying peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.

The possible deployment of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh "may
become the subject of discussion only after political agreement is
reached on settling the conflict involving all the sides including
Karabakh itself, of course," Mkrtchian said.

"The NATO approach to the issue is clear. While not being involved in
the conflict settlement the alliance hopes for its peaceful settlement
and supports OSCE and the Minsk group," the diplomat said.

ARMENIA FM VISITS HUNGARY AND ROMANIA

armradio.am
09.07.2009 11:20

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will pay a short visit to Budapest
and Bucharest, where he will have meetings with the Foreign Minister of
Hungary Peter Balazs and Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu.

Minister Nalbandian will return to Yerevan on July 10, Press and
Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.