Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARMENIAN-SYRIAN RELATIONS TO APPROXIMATE ARMENIA TO ARAB WORLD

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.06.2009 21:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia has good relations with countries of Arab
world and Syria is not an exception, Ruben Safrastyan, professor and
director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy
of Sciences told a PanARMENIAN.net reporter. "Influential Armenian
community plays a sound role in Armenian-Syrian relations. The visit
of the president of Syria to Armenia will promote the development
and deepening of bilateral relations, " stressed Ruben Safrastyan.

According to him, taking into account the role Syria plays in the Arab
world, the development of the Armenian-Syrian relations will help to
approximate Armenia to Arab world. "Yerevan and Damascus have all
opportunities to develop cooperation in trade and economy spheres,
and after the visit of Bashar Asad we will see trends of deepening
relation particularly in those spheres. There is a sound potential
in that sphere, which can be fully used", professor said.

In his turn, iranologist Tadevos Charchyan mentioned, that there are no
serious disagreement in Armenian-Iranian relations and the forthcoming
visit of the Syrian president to Armenia will assist strengthening of
friendly relations. "A number of agreements will be signed in economy,
trade, education spheres," Tadevos Charchyan said.

TIGRAN KARAPETYAN: SPEAKING ABOUT DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IS OUT OF QUESTION
Lilit Muradyan

"Radiolur"
02.06.2009 14:55

Giving his assessment of the past elections for the Yerevan City
Council, leader of the People’s Party Tigran Karapetyan told a press
conference today that speaking about democratic elections was out
of question. "How can one speak about democracy, when people are
taken to polling stations instead of coming on their own?" Tigran
Karapetyan said

"I condemn such elections and I’m dissatisfied with the process. I
don’t speak about my votes, because they are as clear as the tears
of a saint," Karapetyan said.

As for the international observers’ assessment of the elections, Mr.

Karapetyan said 15 observers could not have drawn objective
conclusions, especially as because they drank Armenian cognac,"
he said.

Applying to President Serzh Sargsyan, the leader of the People’s
Party expressed his stance on the declaring amnesty.

"I officially apply to the President of the Republic, Serzh Sargsyan,
and express the position of our party that it is necessary to announce
general pardon. I say this, because the President has declared
that he will use his constitutional right to announce amnesty
if necessary. Therefore, I voice my opinion and state that it is
necessary. I think, however, that this is envisaged, and a correspond
ing decree may have already been signed," Tigran Karapetyan said.

TURKISH HACKERS BROKE INTO AMERICAN MILITARY WEB SERVERS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
29.05.2009 20:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish hackers, who collectively go by name m0sted,
have broken into two American military Web servers at the Army’s
McAlester Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Okla., and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers’ Transatlantic Center in Winchester. The breach
at the McAlester ammunitions plant occurred on Jan. 26, according
to records of the investigation obtained by InformationWeek. On that
date, Web users attempting to access the plant’s site were redirected
to a Web page that featured a protest against climate change. On
Sept. 19, 2007, the same hackers electronically broke into Army Corps
of Engineers’ servers. The page, at the time, contained anti-American
and anti-Israeli rhetoric and images, records show.

Hackers are believed to have benefited by vulnerability of Microsoft
SQL Server. Earlier, that method was used for penetrating into other
resources, including Kaspersky Lab’s Web site, Lenta.ru reports.

‘VIVACELL – MTS’ MANAGER GENERAL RALPH YIRIKIAN HOSTED BY GYUMRI INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES CENTRE

ArmInfo
2009-05-27 11:54:00

ArmInfo. VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian hosted by Gyumri
Information Technology Center as a guest speaker. Ralph Yirikian
met with students and faculty of several universities of Gyumri with
engineering and scientific backgrounds, and delivered a public lecture
on mobile communication technology and Corporate Responsibility May
25, 2009, Gyumri, Armenia – VivaCell-MTS, a ubsidiary of Mobile
TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT), announces that today, at Gyumri
Information Technology Center (GITC), the Company General Manager
Ralph Yirikian delivered a public lecture "VivaCell-MTS – A Business
with a Mission". Ralph Yirikian met with the students and the faculty
of Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC), State Pedagogical
University of Gyumri and State Engineering University. The purpose of
the lecture was to provide the engineering and science students with
an opportunity to experience at first-hand the operational processes
and managerial culture in Armenia’s leading mobile operator company,
and also to learn more about mobile communications technology. In the
course of the meeting VivaCell-MTS General Manager taught the students
about how mobile communication is set up, how the signal is transmitted
and how connection is made between subscriber’s phone and base station.

After the lecture was over, Ralph Yirikian answered a variety of
questions regarding 3G, broadband Internet, MMS, WAP and GPRS/EDGE
technologies.

"Business should above all be the supporting tool of education;
any evolution is strictly connected to the level of education we
procure. Securing the synchronous development of IT education across
the whole country, and especially Gyumri, where there is a strong
potential already, is the right way to do it",- said VivaCell-MTS
General Manager opening up the lecture. "This is one of the means to
create job opportunities and utilize local human potential to keep our
young generation in our country and stop "brain drain" from Armenia",
– he said.

ARMBUSINESSBANK COOPERATES WITH GAF, BECOMES LEADING MORTGAGE LENDER

/ARKA/
May 26, 2009

YEREVAN, May 26. /ARKA/. As a result of its two-year cooperation with
the German-Armenian Fund (GAF) as part of the Housing Finance Program,
Armbusinessbank was considered a top mortgage lender with its mortgage
loans to residents in dozens of banks and partner organizations.

As part of the program, the bank extended mortgage loans total of
4.4bln drams (19.5% of loans tailored for Housing Finance program).

As of April 30, Armbusinessbank extended 931.8mln drams worth loans
to 165 individuals. About 47.2% of the loan funds were injected into
procurement of flats, with the rest serving for repair activities.

Armbusinessbank (former Arminvestbank) was recorded on December
10, 1991.

The Kiev-based Ukrprombank became the 35% shareholder of the bank
in 2006, with the Ukrainian Alfa Garant insurance group and Christy
Management holding respectively 35% and 30% of the bank’s shares.

According to ARKA News Agency’s preliminary information, as of
March 31, Armbusinessbank’s assets totaled 46.3bln drams, with its
liabilities amounting to 39.5bln drams. The bank posted 6.8bln drams
worth total capital, with its authorized capital amounting to 5bln
drams. The bank’s quarterly loan investments totaled 26.4bln drams,
with liabilities being worth 23.9bln drams. ($1- 371.70 drams)

"MINSK GROUP FAILS TO MAKE PROGRESS IN UPPER KARABAKH ISSUE", TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

Anadolu Agency
May 25 2009
Turkey

DAMASCUS (A.A) – 25.05.2009 – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said Sunday that the Minsk group failed to make any progress in
the solution of the Karabakh issue. Davutoglu who is attending the
36th meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Damascus
told AA that he would travel to Baku together with his Azarbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov and hold meetings with Mammadyarov and
Azarbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on a wide range of issues including
the Karabakh issue.

He said the Armenian occupation of Azarbaijani territory in Upper
Karabakh had been going on for 17 years adding that it was hard to
disagree with Aliyev’s remarks about performance of the Minsk group.

"The historic record shows it. There has been no progress. It is
time to revive this process. Turkey will continue its efforts,"
said Davutoglu.

Davutoglu said Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsian would
meet in numerous occasions and expressed his wish that those meetings
would bring a solution in a way that would please all parties. (OZG-MS)

BELORUSIAN MASS MEDIA: EASTERN PARTNERSHIP PROCEEDS FROM GUAM FORMAT

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.05.2009 16:09 GMT+04:00

"Eastern Partnership" program did not emerge all of a sudden; neither
was it elaborated in Stockholm or Warsaw summits. GUAM bears direct
relationship to "Eastern Partnership"; it’s the same format, with
Armenia and Belarus added as two new member states, afn.by news web
site reports. But there are a number of fundamental issues allowing us
to confirm that EU achieved geopolitical breakthrough on post-Soviet
area. Armenia and Azerbaijan appeared next to each other within Eastern
Partnership program. Before that, Baku and Yerevan were neighbors only
within CIS format. Besides, Belarus, Russia’s partner in Belarus-Russia
Union State and CSTO chairing country since June 2009, also joined the
project. Considering such transformations, Belarus media confirm that
"Eastern Partnership" produces negative impact on Russia’s interests
in western and southern parts of post-Soviet area.

Even though GUAM continues to exist, EU "Eastern Partnership" directly
proceeds from that format.

Having drawn certain conclusions, the West thoroughly elaborated
"Eastern Partnership" project, the "edited version" of GUAM, in
which political-military thematic is replaced by social-economic and
humanitarian objectives.

The project is closely tied to EU and indirectly tied to NATO. EU will
assume direct control over all processes and projects planned within
"Eastern Partnership" frameworks.

The moment requires special assessments. It should be noted
that despite being an EU project, "Eastern Partnership" is mainly
coordinated by Warsaw. Under EU aegis, Poland is actually extending
its own policy – economic influence on post-Soviet area, says an
article posted on a Belarusian Web site.

Weekly digest of currency market in Armenia
23.05.2009 11:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ USD 44.343.587 at AMD 372.24 /USD 1 rate was
purchased and USD 47.500.197 at AMD 376.79/USD 1 was sold in the
Armenian currency market from May 18 to 22.
Purchase contracts were signed to the sum of USD 500 000 at AMD 372.00
/USD 1 rate.
Bargains struck at NASDAQ OMX amounted to USD 7.800.000 at AMD 372.74
/USD 1.
>From April 11 to 17, the AMD credits granted by banks totaled 8.5
billion, USD credits amounted to 13.7 million.

Dr.Omar Khalidi to lecture-Armenian Heritage in India.June 4th 2009.

Belmont, Mass. – Dr. Omar Khalidi of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic
Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will give an
illustrated lecture titled, `Three Centuries of Armenian Heritage in
India,’ on Thursday, June 4, at 8:00 p.m., at the National Association
for Armenian Studies and Research Center, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont,
Mass.
This lecture is the second talk given in memory of Arshag Merguerian
(1926-2005), architect and active member and friend of NAASR for
nearly
50 years. The expenses for the lecture will be covered by funds
contributed to NAASR in Mr. Merguerian’s memory.
Though Armenians were in India from early times, the Armenian presence
in India is well-documented from the 16th century, after the
establishment of the important mercantile community in New Julfa in
Persia. The community grew in size and importance in the 17th and 18th
centuries, with many Armenians rising to positions of prominence, and
publishing and the arts thrived.
Dr. Khalidi’s lecture will give an overview of India’s Armenian
diaspora, its churches, cemeteries, and related art, in such locations
as Kolkata (Calcutta), Bombay, Delhi, Agra, Surat, Hyderabad, Madras,
and Dhaka (in modern Bangladesh).
Dr. Khalidi has a Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of
Wales. Born and raised in Hyderabad, he is the author of several books
and articles
on art and architecture and Indian politics and history, including
"Approaches to Mosque Design in North America" and Muslims in Indian
Economy. He was invited by the Armenian Church in Calcutta for its
300th anniversary celebration in November 2008.
Admission to the event is free. The NAASR Center is located in Belmont
opposite the First Armenian Church and next to the U.S. Post
Office. Parking is available around the building and in adjacent
areas. The lecture will begin promptly at 8:00 p.m.

connect:
1-617-489-1610
naasr.org

MEDVEDEV WARNS EU NOT TO TURN EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AGAINST RUSSIA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.05.2009 11:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the
European Union not to turn a proposed partnership with former Soviet
countries against Russia.

"We would not want the Eastern Partnership to turn into partnership
against Russia. There are various examples," Mr Medvedev told a news
conference at the end of the summit, which brought together Czech
President Vaclav Klaus, whose country holds the EU presidency, and
EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

"I would simply not want this partnership to consolidate certain
individual states, which are of an anti-Russian bent, with other
European states," he said.

Moscow has accused the 27-member bloc of creating new dividing lines
in Europe by offering closer ties to six former Soviet republics.

The EU last week launched the plan to forge close political and
economic ties with the six countries in exchange for democratic
reforms.

The Eastern Partnership Initiative is intended to bolster
stability in the region, but without the prospect of eventual EU
membership. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
have signed up to the initiative, BBC reports.