Author: Vasilian Manouk

EU CALLS ON TO ABSTAIN FROM MAKING ACCUSATIONS

Panorama.am
12:00 04/08/2009

European Union calls on Georgia and Southern Ossetia not to create
tension in the region and to guarantee the EU monitoring mission
members to conduct monitoring from both sides. A few days after that
statement, the Defense Ministry of Southern Ossetia announced that
gun firing was registered from Georgian side directed to a Ossetian
village.

"Euroepan Union is concerned about the mutual firing accusations
made recently and call on the sides to abstain from announcements
and accusations which will contribute to the tension," EU statement
stresses.

Note that a year has passed since the Georgian-Ossetian war.

STARTING FROM AUGUST 1, TAXIS WITH A YELLOW NUMBER PLATE CAN FREELY CROSS ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER

NOYAN TAPAN
JULY 31, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, JULY 31, NOYAN TAPAN. Starting from August 1, 2009, taxis
with a yellow number plate can freely cross the Armenian-Georgian
border. NT was informed by Susanna Tonoyan, Spokeswoman for the RA
Minister of Transport and Communication that this agreement was
reached between the respective departments of the two countries,
taking into account the proposals of taxi service providers.

There are currently licensed 563 organizations providing taxi services
and 605 private businessmen providing such services in Armenia.

VAHE DANIELYAN: ARMENIA’S AMBITIONS HELPED JOINING GSP+

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
31.07.2009 11:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s ambitions helped it joining GSP+ system,
according to Vahe Danielyan, RA Deputy Minister of Economy.

"Armenia has to monitor its legislative framework to confirm commitment
to the EU criteria," he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

He said the RA Ministry of Economy is presently negotiating joining
the Free Trade Agreement.

"GSP+ is available for all Armenian companies. It’s just essential to
understand that this system is an opportunity but not an obligation. I
believe that our entrepreneurs will intensify activities and boost
export volumes," Danielyan said.

The European Union has granted preferential tariff rates to 16
developing countries that meet its criteria for sustainable development
and good governance.

The preferences, dubbed GSP+, are in addition to the standard
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) the EU extends to developing
countries. Under the standard GSP, preferential access to the EU market
is provided to 176 developing countries and territories in the form
of reduced tariffs on around 6400 goods when entering the EU market,
with no expectation of reciprocal treatment.

8TH PAN HOMENETMEN GAMES OPENING CEREMONIES DUE IN YEREVAN AUGUST 1

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
31.07.2009 15:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The opening ceremonies of the 8th Pan Homenetmen
Games will take place on August 1 in Yerevan’s Republic Square.

The ceremonies will begin at 8:30 PM local time with the march of all
participating athletes, followed by the formal program in the presence
of representatives from the Armenian government, religious clergy,
and official guests.

The program will continue with a concert featuring a large list of
Armenian artists, Asbarez.com reported.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER: INCREASE OF INTERNATIONAL PRICE FOR OIL ALLOWS US TO EXPECT FURTHER IMPROVEMENT IN RUSSIAN ECONOMY, WHICH WILL HAVE ITS POSITIVE EFFECT ON INFLOW OF TRANSFERS TO ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-07-29 11:52:00

ArmInfo. The increase of the international price for oil allows us
to expect further improvement in the Russian economy, which will have
its positive effect on the inflow of transfers to Armenia, said Prime
Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan in an interview with bne magazine
(Business New Europe).

"Remittances from Armenians that live overseas is a major source
of revenue.

Nevertheless, the amount being sent home has fallen in the crisis to
AMD44bn [$122m] in the first quarter from over AMD180bn last year. Is
this a serious problem? The problem is serious to the extent that
remittances in the form of private transfers and factor income play
an important role for the Armenian economy. During the recent years,
private transfers and factor incomes averaged 13-14% of GDP and if
we take into account their equal redistribution in a society, we can
say that their multiplier effect on the economy is not small.

The net inflow from private transfers and factor income amounted
to $1.9bn in 2008, 16% of which, $311m, was received in the first
quarter of the year.

Concerning this year, non-commercial transfers by physical
entities through the banking sector decreased by 33.6% in net
terms in January-April compared to the same period of the last
year. Nevertheless, the increase of the international price for oil
allows us to expect further improvement in the Russian economy, which
will have its positive effect on the inflow of transfers to Armenia,"
the premier said.

Brent oil price, which is also a reference price for Russian
Urals origin oil, totaled nearly 45 dollars per barrel at London
InterContinental Exchange. Now it has reached nearly 68 dollars.

ARMENIA-EU COOPERATION IN FULL MOMENTUM

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
28.07.2009 20:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) published its
latest policy paper "An EU in change: What effects on relations with
Armenia?" on its website.

The paper aims at describing and clarifying the role the EU
institutions have in shaping EU-Armenia relations. It analyses the
current political and institutional changes in Brussels and provides
guidance to decision makers and stakeholders on both sides.

"We argue that the train towards an intensified cooperation between
the EU and Armenia is in full momentum and will not be significantly
hampered by the internal political procedures of the EU. On the
contrary, it is likely that after the inward-looking phase, the EU
will have more of the tools at its disposal, which are necessary to
live up to the promises and goals of the Eastern Partnership (EaP)",
says Secretary General Michael Kambeck.

EuFoA presented a preliminary version of this paper to the Armenian
public at an international conference on European integration on
July 14 in Yerevan. Feedback from NGOs, policy-making and academic
communities is included in the paper. Finally, the content was also
discussed with EuFoA’s Europe-Armenia Advisory Council, comprised
of leading representatives from the political, business and cultural
spheres from across Europe.

PRESIDENT ON TWO-DAY VISIT TO ARMENIA

B92
July 28 2009
Serbia

BELGRADE — President Boris Tadic will pay an official visit to
Armenia on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tadic will meet with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan and
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

During the visit, the Serbian president will meet with Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Garegin II,
in Etchmiadzin, the spiritual center of Armenia and the seat of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, his press service stated.

According to the website of the Armenian president, Tadic and
Sargsyan will first hold private talks, after which they will join
the delegations of the two countries.

The Serbian president will lay a wreath at the memorial dedicated to
Armenian victims of genocide, visit the Genocide Museum, and plant
a tree in the Memory Square.

TadiÄ~G will also pay tribute and lay a wreath near the monument
dedicated to the Yugoslav pilots who died in the plane crash as
they were rushing to help the devastated population after the Spitak
earthquake in 1988.

TadiÄ~G will also visit the Matenadaran, which has a large collection
of ancient Armenian manuscripts.

The Serbian delegation includes Foreign Minister Vuk JeremiÄ~G and
Minister of Trade and Services Slobodan MilosavljeviÄ~G.

PARTICIPANTS OF AAA PROGRAM MEET ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S., REPRESENTATIVE ED ROYCE (R-CA) AND ASSEMBLY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Noyan Tapan
July 28, 2009

WASHINGTON, JULY 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Last week the
interns of Armenian Assembly of America’s Terjenian-Thomas program
visited the Armenian Embassy and met with Armenian Ambassador to
the U.S. Tatoul Markarian. The meeting focused on the Ambassador’s
priorities in representing the interests of the Republic of Armenia
to the American government.

Then the students met Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), a member of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues at Capitol Hill. The interns
thanked the Rep. Royce for his continuous support of issues important
to the Armenian American community.

The interns of the program also had an opportunity to meet with
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny who gave the interns a sense
of the Assembly’s mission both in Washington and in Armenia. They
also discussed the Assembly’s past accomplishments and its goals for
the future, Armenian Assembly of America reports.

Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway construction slows down
25.07.2009 12:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan has provided only 27,1 million manats
(AZN) out of $200 million meant for construction of the Georgian
sector of Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, said Shahmar Movsumov, executive
director of State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan.
`The small amount of the transfer is conditioned by slackened
construction speed,’ he said, adding that that the works should be
intensified in the near future.
The Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, or Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku
railway, is a regional rail link project to directly connect Turkey,
Georgia and Azerbaijan. The project was due to be completed by 2010.
In total 98 kilometers (61 mi) of new line will be built between Kars
and Akhalkalaki, with 68 kilometers (42 mi) within Turkey and 30
kilometers (19 mi) in Georgia. The existing line from Akhalkalaki on
to Tbilisi and Baku will be modernized.
The new railway link is intended to provide an alternative route to
the existing Kars-Gyumri-Akhalkalaki railway line which has been out
of use since 1993, when Turkey closed its border with Armenia to
support Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia following the Nagorno
Karabakh War. A multi-lateral accord to build the link was signed by
the three countries in January 2005, but the European Union and the
United States have said they will not assist in promoting or
developing the line because it is designed to bypass Armenia.
For the construction of the railroad on Georgian territory, Azerbaijan
is providing a US$220 million loan, repayable in 25 years, with an
annual interest rate of only 1%. A concessional loan agreement for
this financing has already been signed between a Georgian state-owned
company Marabda-Karsi Railroad LLC and Azerbaijan. As of September
2007, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan has allocated the first US$50
million installment of this loan.
On November 21, 2007, the presidents of Azerbaijan – Ilham Aliyev,
Georgia – Mikheil Saakashvili, and Turkey – Abdullah Gul inaugurated
the construction of the railroad at a groundbreaking ceremony in the
village of Marabda in southern Georgia.

GALUST SAHAKYAN: NO ONE IS GOING TO YIELD TERRITORIES AT THIS POINT
Lena Badeyan

"Radiolur"
24.07.2009 17:47

Vice-President of the Republican Party of Armenia Galust Sahakyan
does not predict a rapid solution to the Karabakh issue. According
to the politician, the publication of some points of the Madrid
Principles has not been a sensation for them, since the issue has
been periodically discussed.

"The Madrid Document was made public, because the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs wished to "discuss the issue more openly," Galust Sahakyan
told a press conference today. He is assured that that there are
positive trends in the negotiations and insists that the issue
should be solved on the basis of the principle of self-determination
of peoples.

As for the first point of the Madrid Principles, which envisages return
of territories, Galust Sahakyan sees problems here. First of all,
the whole society in Armenia should be united on the issue. Secondly,
Armenians still have territorial claims.

"I stand for resolution of not only this issue, but also the question
of whole Western Armenia. But in this case we are speaking about
reality, not dreams. No one is preparing to yield territories at this
point. It’s not subject to discussion," Galust Sahakyan said.