Author: Vardanian Garo

Press and Information Department
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Armenia
Tel. + 37410 544041. ext. 202
Fax. + 37410 565601
e-mail: [email protected]
web:

Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian meets with the Foreign
Minister of Azerbaijan and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

On June 26, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian who paid a
working visit to Paris met with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Elmar Mammadyarov and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov,
Bernard Fassier, Matthew Bryza and the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan had face-to-face
negotiations which lasted more than six hours; afterwards the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO
jointed them.

According to the instructions that the Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan made as a result of their meeting in Saint-Petersburg on
June 4, the Foreign Ministers continued the negotiations discussing
issues concerning the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict settlement
to draw the positions of the parties closer on the principles proposed
in the Madrid Document.

Ministers Nalbandian and Mammadyarov referred to the possibility of
holding another meeting between the Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh
Sargsyan.

As a result of the negotiations it was decided that the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs will visit the region in early July.

The meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
Paris was efficient and constructive.

On June 27, Edward Nalbandian left for Greece to participate in the
session of the Council of the OSCE Foreign Ministers.

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
June 26 2009

Turkish foreign minister comments on Middle East, Caucasus

Trieste, 26 June: The Turkish foreign minister said on Friday [26
June] that there was a positive atmosphere in the Middle East.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that there was a
positive psychological atmosphere in the Middle East.

"However, this atmosphere should be turned into actual steps,"
Davutoglu told AA correspondent in Trieste, Italy.

Davutoglu is actually in Trieste for the G-8 foreign ministers’
meeting, and participated in a meeting on Afghanistan.

The Group of Eight (G8, and formerly the G6 or Group of Six) is a
forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of eight nations of
the northern hemisphere: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; in addition, the
European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair.

The Turkish foreign minister referred to his visits to Afghanistan and
Pakistan two weeks ago, and said he had the opportunity to share his
observations and views about those countries with his counterparts
participating in the Trieste meeting.

Davutoglu said he also met Senator George Mitchell, the US special
envoy for the Middle East, on the sidelines of the Trieste meeting.

"The fate of this region is important for us and the region cannot
tolerate new wars or losses," he said.

Davutoglu underlined importance of reducing the tension and making all
parties a part of the process.

The Turkish minister said Senator Mitchell shared with him the issues
he discussed during his visit to Syria and the progress made so far.

Davutoglu said Turkey was attaching great importance to Syria’s having
a close relationship with the international community, and welcomed
the decision of the United States to appoint an ambassador to Syria.

"Turkey is supporting every step reducing tension," he said.

Davutoglu said what Turkey wished was to launch a de facto
well-operating process, not only seeing a psychological process in the
region.

"If we achieve this, our region will have peace and order," he said.

Also on Turkish-Armenian relations, Davutoglu said G-8 foreign
ministers issued a declaration in which they also defined efforts to
normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia as positive.

"Support to the normalization process is positive, and at the same
time the declaration refers to contacts of the Minsk Group regarding
the Upper Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he said.

Davutoglu also said that carrying out the two processes in parallel
with each other (Turkish-Armenian talks and Azerbaijani-Armenian
talks) would ensure lasting peace in the region.

"Doing everything s/he can and staying away from possible tension is
for everybody’s best interests," Davutoglu said.

The Turkish foreign minister also appreciated the sincere efforts of
Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities, and said Turkey was expecting a
concrete progress.

Davutoglu also said that he would pay a formal visit to Moscow, Russia
in the following week and exchange views with his Russian counterpart
Sergey Lavrov about bilateral relations and regional issues.

TURKEY NOT GOING TO RENOUNCE EU ACCESSION BID

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
27.06.2009 12:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey has urged France and Germany to back its bid
to join the EU, rejecting calls for a special partnership rather than
full membership.

"We will never give up," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
told reporters in Brussels.

Turkey’s EU accession talks are going at a glacial pace and risk
suspension if Ankara fails to open its ports and airports to Cyprus
this year.

France and Germany want to give Turkey a "privileged partnership"
with the EU. But Mr Erdogan insisted "our goal is full membership".

He also said it was "populist and wrong" to use Turkey’s bid as an
election issue.

Some right-wing parties opposed to Turkey’s bid made gains in the
recent European Parliament elections.

Both opposition inside the EU and insufficient democratic reforms in
Turkey are hampering its bid, BBC reports.

Next week will see a small step forward, when Turkey is due to start
talks on taxation, one of the 35 areas where it is negotiating
EU entry terms. Turkish diplomats argue that their country is of
strategic importance to Europe and that its eventual accession
would send a positive signal to the whole Muslim world. So far,
Turkey has opened talks on 10 out of the 35 "negotiation chapters"
in the accession process, which started in October 2005. But eight
chapters have been frozen because of Ankara’s refusal to open up
its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus, an EU member. Turkey
says it will not do this until the EU takes steps to end the Turkish
Cypriot community’s economic isolation.

JUNE 26: INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
26.06.2009 15:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking is a United Nations International Day against drug abuse
and the illegal drug trade.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) leads the
international campaign aimed at raising awareness of the major
problem that illicit drugs represent to society and especially to
young people. The goal of the campaign, which runs from 2007 to 2009,
is to inspire people and mobilize support for drug control.

Over the last 12 months 208 million people or 4,9% of world’s
population aged 15-64 used drugs at least once in their lifetimes.

As compared to 2006 data, in 2007 the market for opium and heroine
increased by 17% at the expense of poppy seed plantations expansion
in Afghanistan (193 megahectares). In 2007, 8870 tons of opium were
manufactured, 8200 tons – by Afghanistan.

In 2008, 763 drug-related crimes were registered in Armenia, which
is 221 cases less than in 2007.

Last year, 495 people were brought to responsibility for drug- and
psychotropic substances -related crimes in Armenia.

7 years ago 7 people applied for drug addiction treatment in Armenia,
last year their number rose to 466.

ERICSSON POWERS INTERACTIVE TV FOR UCOM IN ARMENIA

PR-Inside.com
June 24 2009

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is bringing high-quality,
interactive TV to viewers in Armenia through a deal with operator
Ucom. Ericsson will deliver its IPTV solution including GPON technology
in the first contract of its kind.

IPTV allows viewers to experience the same type of interactivity on
their televisions as they are used to on their PCs, with personalized
features such as chat, e-voting, web TV and access to social media
networks. The IPTV solution for Ucom will also give viewers access to
a flexible, customized portal that offers a wide range of broadcast
channels, video on demand, an electronic program guide and personal
video-recording capabilities.

The IPTV services will be delivered via the latest fiber-access
technology, known as Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON), supplied
by Ericsson. GPON allows the consumer to watch several HDTV channels,
download large files from the internet and place voice calls
simultaneously without service disruptions.

Rollout will start in July 2009.

Hayk Yesayan, President of Ucom, says: "We are proud to be the
first operator in Armenia to offer IPTV, and are convinced it will
be popular with our customers. We chose Ericsson’s market-leading
technology and services, and capability to help us bring this new
offering to market quickly and efficiently."

Jan Campbell, Head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at Ericsson,
says: "This deal reflects Ericsson’s ability to deliver innovative
multimedia solutions. We are delighted to partner with Ucom and help
them provide customers with a truly personalized, interactive and
high-quality TV experience."

Ericsson’s IPTV solution for Ucom includes IPTV middleware; a
content-distribution platform; the customized consumer portal and
GPON technology. The agreement also includes systems integration of
operational management tools and consultancy services.

Ericsson’s GPON fiber-access solution, EDA 1500, provides the
highest bandwidth capacity on the market and supports a wide range of
applications and services, in particular bandwidth-demanding services
such as unicast and broadcast video and TV.

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and
services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G
and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with
over 1 billion subscribers and has a leading position in managed
services. The company’s portfolio comprises of mobile and fixed network
infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia
solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The
Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with
feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of "to be the prime driver in
an all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and
sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more
than 75,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 209 billion (USD
32.2 billion) in 2008. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in
Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and
NASDAQ New York.

: : :

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Ericsson Media Relations Phone: +46 8 719 69 92 E-mail:
[email protected] : mailto:[email protected]

Pressbackgrou nder IPTV :
c/iptv.pdf :

U.S. AMBASSADOR VISITS SYUNIK MARZ

US State News
June 22, 2009 Monday 5:16 PM EST

YEREVAN, Armenia, May 20– The U.S. Embassy issued the following
press release:

U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch visited Syunik Marz from
May 18 to May 20. She met with the mayors of Goris, Sissian, and
Kapan to learn about the current social and economic situation and
to discuss U.S. Government assistance programs in the region. In
Kapan, the Ambassador toured the Kapan American Corner, located in
the City Library, where she participated in a roundtable with local
women entrepreneurs. She also met with Peace Corps volunteers and
representatives of the Syunik Civil Society Development Center funded
by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In Goris,
the Ambassador held meetings with civil society representatives and
Peace Corps volunteers and gave an interview to Last TV station’s
program "Good Evening Goris." In Sissian, she met with Sissian school
teachers and visited the Migration Center funded by a USAID/Eurasia
Partnership grant. She toured Armen Andreasian Ltd, where she met
with employees and learned about the mining operation. The Ambassador
also had a lunch and roundtable discussion with NGO leaders. On her
trip, the Ambassador visited Noravank Monastery, Tatev Monastery and
the Tatev Scholarly Center, the last of which has been partially
restored with support from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural
Preservation.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar,
Email:- [email protected]

ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO PARTICIPATE PACE SUMMER SESSION IN STRASBURG

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.06.2009 11:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The National Assembly delegation chaired by the NA
Chairman Hovik Abrahamyan leaves for Strasbourg to attend Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe PACE summer session held in
Strasbourg on 22-26 June 2009, NA Public Relations department reports.

The parliamentary delegation includes Chief of Staff of the National
Assembly Gegham Gharibjanyan, Head of the Armenian delegation to PACE
Davit Harutyunyan, members of the PACE delegation Naira Zohrabyan,
Armen Rustamyan, Hermine Naghdalyan, Zaruhi Postanjyan, Grigor
Margaryan, Armen Melikyan, Artsruni Aghajanyan, other officials.

A biennial debate on "the state of human rights in Europe", focusing
on the need to eradicate impunity and the progress of the Assembly’s
monitoring procedure, is a highlight of the summer session of PACE. The
first ever PACE Human Rights Prize is due to be awarded at a ceremony
on this occasion.

Irish President Mary McAleese and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut
Pahor will address the parliamentarians. Other speakers include the
Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Slovenian Foreign Minister
Samuel ~Nbogar, and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis.

The election of the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe
is on the draft agenda. The Assembly will adopt its agenda at the
opening of the session. There has also been a request for an urgent
debate on the process for electing the Secretary General.

The Assembly will debate a proposal that its Bureau restore Special
Guest status to the Belarus Parliament, and will discuss the latest
in a series of reports on the functioning of democratic institutions
in Armenia.

Parliamentarians will also discuss the challenges of the financial
crisis to the world economic institutions, as well as the activities
of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2008,
with a statement by its President Thomas Mirow.

They are also due to decide on the establishment of a "partner for
democracy" status with the Assembly, aimed at the parliaments of
neighboring countries who wish to espouse Council of Europe values.

Finally, the Assembly will consider a challenge to the credentials of
the Ukrainian delegation on substantial grounds, made by 20 members
of the Assembly.

ARMENIAN, SYRIAN PRESIDENTS AGREE TO CONTINUE POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS

Public Television of Armenia
June 17 2009

[Presenter] An official reception ceremony for the Syrian president
[Bashar al-Asad] took place outside the presidential palace today. The
presidents [of Armenia and Syria] Serzh Sargsyan and Bashar al-Asad
have held a one-to-one meeting, following which a meeting in an
expanded format was held.

A number of agreements was signed between the two countries on
cooperation in economic and humanitarian spheres, aimed at expanding
and developing relations. The two presidents came to agreement on
continuing political discussions between the two countries based on
the centuries-long friendship between the Armenian and Syrian peoples.

[Sargsyan] The ancestors of the present-day Armenian diaspora survived
the genocide [mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in
1915] exactly at the gate to Syria. In this regard, I would like to
recall a statement made by the late Syrian president, Hafez al-Asad,
in Yerevan 30 years ago – Syria is the second motherland of Armenians.

TURKEY TO BUY RUSSIAN NIGHT HUNTERS

AZG Armenian Daily
19/06/2009

International

A Turkish military delegation has come to Russia to discuss the
possible acquisition of Mi-28 attack helicopters. This is not the
first time the two countries have discussed cooperation, RIA Novosti
military commentator Ilya Kramnik reported.

In the 1970s and the early 1980s, Turkey bought 32 used AH-1P/S Cobra
attack helicopters in the United States and later upgraded them to
the AH-1F specifications. The Turkish army still has 23 AH-1P/S Cobras.

However, Turkish military authorities started thinking about replacing
them in the mid-1990s.

During the subsequent tender they considered several models of combat
helicopter, including the Ka-50-2 Erdogan, a version of the Russian
Ka-50 Black Shark developed by Russia and Israel for Turkey. Unlike
the Ka-50 where the pilots sit side-by-side, the seats in the Erdogan
are placed in tandem as in the U.S. Cobra chopper.

However, Turkey did not choose the Kamov helicopter for political
reasons, such as growing U.S. influence in Turkey and, conversely,
the lack of Russian influence. Also, Russia could not then guarantee
the timely production of the required number of new helicopters or
post-sale service. Lastly, the Ka-50 was not mass-produced even for
the Russian army at that time.

An updated Cobra with new weapons and equipment was the most probable
winner in the Turkish tender, but the contract was eventually
awarded to a European producer, the Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland,
which proudly proclaims to be "a total rotorcraft capability provider."

AgustaWestland, announced as the winning bidder in March 2007, pledged
to assemble 50 T129 prototypes in Turkey. However, the first T129
will be rolled out only in 2015, whereas Turkey needs choppers now
to fight Kurdish militants.

The purchase of seven used AH-1W SuperCobras in 2008 has not solved
the problem either. Turkey needs modern attack helicopters to fill
the gap until 2015 and for several more years while its pilots learn
to fly the T129 choppers.

As a result, Turkey has decided to purchase Russian machines. It
has opted for the Mi-28N Night Hunter, which, unlike the Ka-50, has
been mass-produced since the 1990s and is supplied to the Russian
Armed Forces.

Turkey may buy between 12 and 32 helicopters within two or three years.

It is unclear if it wants the choppers with or without top-mounted
radar, which is an extremely expensive option.

The Turkish military had once considered buying the Mi-24 Crocodile,
which has several common structural elements with the Mi-28. The
Mi-17 multirole helicopter is currently used in Turkey for military,
police and civilian purposes.

Significantly, the Mil helicopters have for years been used in similar
terrain in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East. Moreover,
Russia’s influence and relations with Turkey have grown dramatically
and many contradictions in bilateral ties have been smoothed over
since the 1990s.

Therefore, Turkey could buy the Mi-28, whose track record over the
past 20 years and the initial results of its combat use show that
this highly versatile helicopter could remain on combat duty even
after T129 assembly start-up in Turkey.

And the final touch: the protection and combat payload specifications
of the T129 are below those of the Mi-28.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

"WITHOUT THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIONS, POLITICAL,
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL APPROACHES WILL NOT RESOLVE THE CURRENT CRISIS"

States Aram I to President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy

His Holiness Aram I arrived in Rome on Tuesday 16 June and was met at the
airport by his hosts, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and the Ambassador of Lebanon to Italy. Around one hundred religious leaders
or their representatives were invited to attend the G8 Preparatory Meeting.
Before the official opening, the participants paid a courtesy visit to the
President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano. His Holiness Aram I greeted
the President on behalf of the participants and said that without involving
religions, political, economic and social approaches will not solve the
current economic crisis. In his response, the President described the
forthcoming G8 meeting as crucial for the future of the world.

The G8 Preparatory Meeting of Religious Leaders was held at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Rome. Speaking as a Christian religious leader to the
Opening Plenary, His Holiness welcomed this initiative and urged all
religions to work together in overcoming the current economic crisis and its
repercussions on people and the environment. After his address,
representatives of Islam, Judaism and Buddhism took the floor.

At the end of the meeting, the participants will issue a statement
addressing the government ministers of the G8 Summit.

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View the photos here:
tos/Photos387.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.