Author: Zaminian Bedik

APPLICATION TO MILLENNIUM CHALLENGES FOR $1.6MLN WORTH ADDITIONAL TRANCHE APPROVED IN ARMENIA

ARKA
May 11, 2009

YEREVAN, May 11. /ARKA/. Management Board of Millennium Challenges
– Armenia Fund presided over by Armenian Premier Tigran Sargsyan
discussed and approved the application to be submitted to the
Millennium Challenges Corporation for an additional tranche, the
government press service reported Friday.

During the meeting, the General Director of the Fund Ara Hovsepyan
said that the $1.6mln worth additional tranche is expected to be
received from the Corporation this quarter (April-June) through the
general payment system.

If received, the additional funds will be used for uninterrupted
rehabilitation works carried out in the scope of six agreements
approved in 2008 under the rural road rehabilitation subprogram.

Road rehabilitation works under six agreements were resumed in April. A
total of 272.9 kilometers are expected to be repaired by June 30 2010.

According to contractors-prepared temporary schedule, construction
works for 1.9bln Drams are to be carried out in April and May.

The application for the additional tranche will be submitted to
the Millennium Challenges Corporation after its ratification by the
Chairman of Management Board.

The Board discussed and approved a plan to review the procurements
of Millennium Challenges – Armenia, as well as the draft agreement
about consulting services for a survey among water user companies
under From Water to Market subprogram of the Fund.

The Chairman of the country’s State Water Committee was assigned to
discuss and comment on the draft document within a week. -0–

91,4% GAS CONSUMERS SERVED IN 2009 FIRST QUARTER

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.05.2009 16:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ AEG Service LLC engaged in maintenance of domestic
gas supply systems in Armenia exercised 296741 test visits in the
initial quarter of 2009, ArmRosgazprom press office reported.

265097 (91,4%) consumers were served. 38032 consumers were not served
because they did not open the door to gas inspectors. As result of
violations fixed, 63159 reports were drawn up.

INTERNAL NETWORK LAUNCHED AT THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR-GENERAL OF ARMENIA
Hasmik Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
11.05.2009 14:35

Today the Office of the Prosecutor-General and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia, within the framework and
with financial support of UNDP Anti-Trafficking Programme, officially
launched the internal network of the Office of RoA Prosecutor-General
and its subdivisions.

The network has been created by "Arminco" CJSC during August 2008 –
March 2009 and is part of the UNDP project "Connecting the Office of
RA Prosecutor-General and its subdivisions with the RA Police database
and creating an internal network for the subdivisions of the Office
of RoA Prosecutor-General."

The establishment of the new internal network will give the Office
of RA Prosecutor-General an opportunity to ensure close cooperation
between the subdivisions of the Office of Prosecutor-General or between
the Office of the Prosecutor-General and other law-enforcement bodies,
guaranteeing comprehensive and speedy investigation of criminal cases
and creating a basis to receive, analyze and rapidly share analytical
and operative information.

"Nowadays, the introduction of electronic communications is essential
to improving the effectiveness of the fight against organized crime,
especially human trafficking, illegal drug trafficking, and other
related crimes," said Ms. Narine Sahakyan, UNDP Assistant Resi dent
Representative. She also expressed hope that the implementation
of this project will give an opportunity to create a standardized
and consistent system of communications between the Police and the
Office of Prosecutor-General, which will speed up the circulation of
documents, and reduce the length of proceedings.

The aim of UNDP Anti-Trafficking Programme is to facilitate the
continued development of a national framework to tackle the problem
of human trafficking, as well as provide direct assistance to victims
of trafficking.

The project includes capacity development of national duty-bearers
in preventing human trafficking in their role as duty-bearers to
investigate, prosecute and make final judgments on human trafficking
cases.

Interfax, Russia
May 5 2009

Open border with Armenia depends on advance of Karabakh talks –
Turkish diplomat

BAKU May 5

Turkey is not going to open the border with Armenia until the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement talks between Baku and Yerevan progress,
Turkish Ambassador in Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic said.

"There are no gaps in Azeri-Turkish relations. As [Turkish Prime
Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said, the Turkish-Armenian
borders will not be opened until the Karabakh settlement progresses,"
Kilic said.

Erdogan’s upcoming visit to Azerbaijan will focus on topics of mutual
concern, "because brothers discuss all issues, including the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," the ambassador said.

"This will be a very important visit," he noted.

Reports that talks on Azerbaijan’s increasing gas price for Turkey
will take place during the visit have nothing to do with reality,
Kilic said.

Erdogan is expected to arrive in Baku on May 13, Turkish media
reported earlier.

ar rp

TURKEY WELCOMES PEACE PROGRESS OF AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA

Xinhua

May 8 2009
China

ANKARA, May 8 (Xinhua) — Turkey on Friday welcomed the progress
made in a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders who have
agreed on basic peace principles concerning the contested region of
Upper Karabakh.

Newly-appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made the
remarks at a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart
Alexander Stubb in Ankara.

"I would like to say that Turkey had welcomed with great pleasure the
progress the two leaders made in their talks in Prague. The important
thing is that peace and stability can be restored in the region,"
said Davutoglu.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh
Sargsyan reached an agreement Thursday over "basic concepts of peace"
in the dispute, mediators of the Prague meeting said.

Davutoglu also called for concerted effort to encourage a settlement
in the shortest possible time, which he said would "set an example
in overcoming frozen disputes" in the region.

"We have always been in favor of a settlement in the Karabakh dispute
within the confines of the international law and Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity. Such a settlement will bring peace to the
Caucasus and it will present a model for resolving other frozen
disputes," Davutoglu said.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan
during its conflict with Armenia over the Upper Karabakh region.

SERZH SARGSYAN AND ILHAM ALIEV REACHED AN AGREEMENT OVER CORE PRINCIPLES

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.05.2009 19:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev reached an agreement
over core principles of NKR conflict settlement, MG OSCE Co-Chair
Matthew Bryza reporter upon meeting completion.

According to him, results of Armenian and Azeri Presidents’ meeting
can be assessed as positive and favorable.

"To reach the final agreement, the parties should continue
negotiations.

Next negotiations between Armenian and Azeri Presidents are scheduled
in St. Petersburg," Novosti Azerbaijan cited Bryza as saying.

ARMENIA POSTS LOWEST QUARTERLY INFLATION IN CIS

ARKA
May 6, 2009

YEREVAN, May 6. /ARKA/. Armenia posted 2% quarterly inflation –
the lowest in the CIS, the CIS Statistical Committee reports.

During the period under review, consumer prices in the CIS increased
by an average of 14%.

According to the CIS Statistical Committee, Armenia posted 1.4%
inflation between February and March, with consumer prices rising in
Georgia (2.7%), Moldova (3.2%) and Azerbaijan (8.3%).

During the same period, Kazakhstan posted 8.8% inflation, Tajikistan.

Quarterly inflation in Russia rose 13.7%. Tajikistan posted 10.7%
consumer price rise. Ukraine posted record high inflation of
20.4%. Kyrgyzstan saw 16.2% inflation and consumer prices rose 15.4%
in Belarus.

No statistics is available on Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES THINK IT INADMISSIBLE TO USE THE TRAGEDY OF MIGRANTS TO ACHIEVE POLITICAL GOALS

ArmInfo
2009-05-05 19:33:00

Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan received
Rapporteur of PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population
John Greenway, Tuesday.

The Armenian parliamentary press-service told ArmInfo that Greenway
presented the goals of his visit to the South Caucasus region. He said
that he is going to study the situation in the region to present it
in his report to the PACE Committee.

For his part, Abrahamyan stressed that the Armenian authorities
think it inadmissible to use the tragedy of the migrants to achieve
any political goals. He told Greenway about the steps taken by the
Armenian authorities to satisfy the needs of over 100 thsd refugees
in the country.

The interlocutors agreed that the priority task should be to provide
the refugees with permanent housing and create worthy conditions for
their life.

Moreover, the sides discussed a wide range of issues related to
Armenia’s domestic policy and regional security and stability. Chairman
of the Standing Parliamentary Commission for State and Legal Affairs,
Head of Armenian Delegation to PACE David Harutyunyan was also present
at the meeting.

MEETING AT THE NA STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

National Assembly of RA
May 5 2009
Armenia

On May 5 Mr. Mkhitar Mnatsakanyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee
on the Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs of the National
Assembly of Armenia, received Mr. John Greenway, Rapporteur of the
PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population and Committee
Secretary Mr. Ivy-Triin Odrats. Deputy Chairman of the Committee
Mr. Rafik Petrosyan and the committee member Mr. Aram Safaryan attended
the meeting.

Mr. Greenway noted that the aim of the visit is to get acquainted with
the problems of the protection of human rights in Armenia as a report
will submitted at the PACE June session during the debate dedicated
to the protection of human rights. Its aim is to find new solutions
in the settlement of the problems of the refugees in the region.

At the guests’ request Mr. Mkhitar Mnatsakanyan, Chairman of the
NA Standing Committee on the Protection of Human Rights and Public
Affairs, presented the spheres of the activities of the committee,
saying that the refugees’ problems are also at the center of
the attention of the committee: they quickly respond and try
to find solutions. He said that recently the committee organized
parliamentary hearings and discussed in detail the problems regarding
the refugees. Mr. Mnatsakanyan noted that the existing conflicts
in the region had serious consequences: thousands of people were
displaced and social problems arose. The Committee Chairman informed
the guests that there are 311.000 refugees in Armenia. The Armenian
authorities carry out works on implementing the issues of reception,
accommodation and other issues of priority.

Mr. Mnatsakanyan thanked Mr. Greenway for cooperation, support and
for showing serious approach with the delegation of the National
Assembly of Armenia in PACE.

The committee members noted that different international organizations
and NGOs also have great contribution in mitigating the refugees’
concerns.

At the meeting other issues of bilateral interest were also discussed.

RUSSIANS THINK ARMENIA HAS DAMAGED AZERBAIJAN-TURKEY RELATIONS

The Messenger
May 1 2009
Georgia

Russian newspaper Russiyski Vesti thinks that the normalization of
Turkey-Armenia relations, currently being sought by both sides, is
inevitable. During the May visit to Moscow of Turkish Prime Minister
Erdogan, the issues of Turkish-Armenian relations and the resolution
of the Azerbaijan-Armenian conflict will be discussed, and a further
strengthening of relations between the two countries would seem to
follow naturally from this. French President Sarkozy will also visit
the region in June.

Russian experts suggest that it looks as if Armenia and Turkey have
decided to solve the problems of bilateral relations on a global
scale, something which will affect the status quo created in the
region after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yerevan has been
given a chance to break the isolation it found itself in after its
occupation of Azerbaijani land and this harms relations between Baku
and Ankara. The new diplomatic chess game will definitely influence
the Karabakh problem as well.