Category: 2017

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
Mexica-Armenia lawmakers friendship group: Recognition of the
independence of Artsakh by the Parliament of Mexico in case of correct
and purposeful work is not far
Yerevan October 27
Tatevik Shahunyan. Recognition of the independence of Artsakh by the
Mexican parliament in case of correct and purposeful work is not far
off. This was stated in the conversation with the ArmInfo
correspondent by the head of the friendship group of Mexico-Armenia
Blanca Margarita Cuata Dominguez, who on these days visited the
Armenian and Artsakh delegations as part of the delegation of the
Mexican parliament.
According to her, in this direction it is necessary to conduct an
active information policy in order to correctly acquaint the Mexican
political circles with the real essence and genesis of the Karabakh
conflict. "We believe that the Karabakh issue should be settled
peacefully, taking into account the opinion of the people of Artsakh
and the principle of the right of nations to self-determination." The
eight US states are already recognizing Artsakh, and they are subjects
of international law, an indicator and example for all of us, "the
Lawmaker said.
Answering the question about the reason for the relative passivity of
the Armenian-Mexican relations and that, on this background, served as
an incentive for the visit of the delegation of the Mexican parliament
to Armenia and Artsakh, the parliamentarian noted: "The recent
intensification of the Armenian-Mexican relations is due to the
opening of the Armenian Embassy in Mexico City and the appointment of
the Ambassador (Ara Ayvazyan), who conducts very effective work.It was
his initiative and suggestion that the members of the Mexico-Armenia
de-group arrived in Armenia, and he also invited us to visit Artsakh,
divas us while on the "black list" of Azerbaijan, which includes all
foreigners visiting Artsakh. But this fact is not confused and did not
stop us, and we decided to visit Artsakh. "
The parliamentarian admitted that the visit to Artsakh made a great
impression on the members of the delegation: "I can say that this is
an independent state with its democratic institutions and attributes
of power, and in this context the fate of the people of Artsakh can
not but excite us." The will of the Karabakh people in the settlement
conflict must be taken into account without fail. "
Speaking about the possibility of recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by Mexico, the deputy noted that this is only a matter of time. "We
need to do some research work in this direction, and the Mexican
parliament will recognize the Armenian Genocide as well, as many Latin
American countries have already done."
She also noted that the opening of the Armenian embassy in Mexico, the
appointment of the ambassador, as well as their visit will necessarily
stimulate the activation of bilateral relations and mutual visits at a
high level. "I think that our visit is intended to be a preparatory
step towards the organization of the visit of the Armenian President
to Mexico," the parliamentarian said. She also reported that a report
will be prepared for the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico on the results
of the visits to Armenia and Artsakh, stressing that the first visit
at the level of parliamentarians took place, but this trend should be
continued at a higher level, since a great deal has already been done
in this direction Job. "We have to do a lot of work in the direction
of rapprochement between the two countries," the parliamentarian said.
Within the framework of the visit to Armenia and Artsakh, the Mexican
parliamentarians held meetings with the presidents of the two Armenian
republics, the leadership of the RA and NKR parliaments, as well as
with the heads of foreign affairs agencies.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
 Forecast: The interests of the EU dictate pushing Armenia to abandon
the "unconstructive and uncompromising position" on Karabakh.
Yerevan October 27
Angela Stepanyan. The "four-day war" of 2016 is a clear indication of
Turkey's readiness to toughen its position with regard to Armenia
under certain conditions. The Russian analyst Sergey Markedonov voiced
his opinion.
"In this light, we have to admit that until then the Republic of
Turkey remains a member of NATO, while having the second largest army
after the US, the North Atlantic integration vector remains optional
for Armenia, and moreover, the EU's economic ties with Azerbaijan,
coupled with an active desire to reduce Russia's energy domination is
clearly not compelling Brussels to consider the interests of Yerevan
as a priority of its Caucasian policy," he said.
In this light, the analyst predicts Yerevan's push to abandon
"non-constructivism and uncompromising attitude to Karabakh" in case
of overcoming the forthcoming signing of the Armenia-EU comprehensive
and expanded partnership agreement with additional integration
factors. In this context, Markedonov notes security as an argument
capable of outweighing for Yerevan contacts with the EU in economics,
technology and finance.
It is important for analysts that up to at least the transition from
imitation to meaningful negotiations on the Karabakh settlement, the
weight of this argument will not undergo any changes, and Russia
remains on this particular vector for Armenia without alternative.
November 24, 2017 at the Brussels summit of the "Eastern Partnership"
Armenia plans to sign a partnership document on the partnership with
the EU, which was initialed on March 21 - the Agreement on
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership. The Council of Foreign
Ministers of the EU initiated the relevant talks on October 12, 2015
in Luxembourg.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
 Serzh Sargsyan: Maintenance and development of nuclear energy
continues to be a strategic direction for Armenia
Yerevan October 27
Alexander Avanesov. The maintenance and development of nuclear energy
continues to be a strategic direction for Armenia. This was stated by
the Head of the Armenian state Serzh Sargsyan on October 27 at a
meeting of the Council for the Safety of Atomic Energy under the
President of Armenia.
He pointed to the program approved in 2015 for the modernization of
the Armenian nuclear power plant, which provides for the extension of
the lifetime of the second power unit until 2036. The President
stressed that in the presence of an atomic power station in the
structure of production of basic electricity, Armenia will provide the
necessary level of energy security. "The block is envisaged to be
prolonged until 2027, during this period of time to carry out the
phased construction of a new nuclear unit," the Armenian leader said.
In order to implement the project, the governments of Armenia and
Russia concluded agreements on the attraction of a state export credit
and a grant.
Within the framework of the program, measures are taken to improve the
security level and upgrade the unit. In the course of scheduled
maintenance work in 2017, the first stage of work to extend the life
of the ANPP was completed, as well as a comprehensive survey of the
main equipment.
As Serzh Sargsyan said, within the framework of technical assistance
of the European Union, a strategy for managing radioactive waste and
spent nuclear fuel was developed, as a result of which the Convention
on Management of Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel was revised.
The President of the Republic of Armenia approved the revised
Convention in January 2017. Already developed, and on October 5 this
year. The government approved the strategy for the safe management of
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. In this context, a second
national report is being finalized, which will be submitted to the
IAEA before the end of 2017. It is planned that the new structure -
the national operator - will deal with the management of radioactive
waste and spent nuclear fuel.
The President informed that in September 2016 the final version of the
expert assessment of the stress test of the Armenian NPP was
presented, the results of which are included in the program of
activities for the implementation of the project for the extension of
the second power unit of the ANPP. Armenia also carries out activities
on the advice and proposals submitted to the IAEA.
In order to ensure safe operation of the plant, the head of the
Armenian state indicated the importance of a full-fledged upgrade of
equipment for simulators. The first stage of work in this direction
was completed in January of this year; currently work is under way to
prepare for the second stage, in connection with which a tender is
announced. The Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural
Resources was instructed to implement these activities as soon as
possible.
"We attach special importance to the training of personnel for the
nuclear power industry of Armenia, and the involvement of young
specialists in this sphere is a vital necessity, thus ensuring the
continuity of generations." Training is the most important task, the
solution of which will assist in maintaining the existing
infrastructure in the country, the RA President said. He also stressed
the importance of the coordinated work of the Armenian NPP with the
State Committee for Regulation of Nuclear Safety of the Republic of
Armenia. The Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with
Soviet (Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in
1976, the second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak
earthquake, which killed 25 thousand people, the station's work was
stopped. In November 1995, in connection with the most acute energy
crisis, the second power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5
MW was involved. In March 2014, the Armenian government decided to
extend the life of the second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. The
project is coordinated by the subsidiary structure of the State
Corporation Rosatom - JSC Rusatom Service. Completion of work is
planned for 2019. The Government of the Russian Federation allocated a
$ 270 million state export loan to Armenia and a $ 30 million grant
for these purposes. In March 2015, the Joint Coordination Committee
(JCC) was established to implement the program. So far, there have
been five meetings of the JCC. The Council for the Safety of Atomic
Energy under the President of the Republic of Armenia was established
in 1996 by a presidential decree. This independent advisory body was
created on the basis of the need to ensure the further safe operation
of the Armenian nuclear power plant. The council is formed of
scientists and specialists of the sphere, having international
recognition and authority. The activities of the Council are carried
out through meetings of the Council, which are convened once a year.
According to the Charter, the main tasks of the Council are: formation
of safety of nuclear energy and priority directions of its
development, development of recommendations on problems and
preparation of proposals, analysis and examination of draft normative
legal acts submitted to the President of the Republic of Armenia on
peaceful and safe use of nuclear energy.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
Professor: European Union requirements on the closure of the Armenian
nuclear power plant concern the decommissioning of the first power
unit of the station
Yerevan October 27
Alexander Avanesov. The requirements of the European Union on the
closure of the Armenian nuclear power plant concern the
decommissioning of the first power unit of the plant. The Director
General of the Scientific Research Institute "Armatom", Professor
Vahram Petrosyan, stated this on October 27 at the press conference in
Yerevan.
According to him, the first unit is currently not in operation, and
the second unit is carrying out measures to extend the period of its
operation for a period of 10 years. At present, the block on the basis
of international experience with Russian specialists is carrying out a
program to extend the life of the A2A2 power unit until the year 2026,
inclusive. In this case, the first power unit will become a donor for
the second. Vahram Petrosyan reminded that, as a rule, 30 years or
more extends the service life of such units. Examples of Russia,
Ukraine, Hungary, Finland - a clear proof of this.
The professor noted the need for parallel development of alternative
and renewable energy, but nuclear energy has no alternative, since it
concerns both the security of the energy complex of Armenia and the
country as a whole. "We will not be able to provide other alternative
sources of industrial importance in the coming years," Vahram
Petrosyan said. He stressed that according to all international expert
assessments, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is a safe facility that
will function until alternative capacities are created. And these
capacities are associated with the construction of a new block of
medium capacity or several small units. In the next 2 years this
project will be reflected in the decision of the Armenian government.
The chairman of the Nuclear Energy Security Council under the
President of the Republic of Armenia Miroslav Lipar (Slovakia),
responding to the question of ArmInfo, noted that Armenia is visited
periodically by various specialized missions, including the IAEA,
which issue opinions and recommendations that allow to constantly
raise safety level of the Armenian NPP. These works are carried out in
accordance with the experience accumulated in other countries on
similar blocks with the WWER reactor - Slovakia, Czech Republic,
Russia, Hungary. In countries where nuclear power plants are in
operation, extending their life is a standard procedure.
Even in the United States, where the lifetime of nuclear reactors is
limited to 40 years, work is now being carried out to extend the life
of the reactors by another 20 years. "In Armenia and Slovakia, the
operating lifetimes of operating reactors are 30 years, but there are
all grounds for extending their operation for another 10 years, after
which, after carrying out the relevant surveys, it will be possible to
conclude that the future of the blocks will continue," Miroslav Lipar
said. Armenia, according to him, benefits from constant inspections of
the state of its nuclear power unit. Earlier, Minister of Energy
Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Ashot
Manukyan noted that the capabilities of the second power unit of the
ANPP are not infinite, but it will work as long as the resource
allows. Only after that it will be closed, and in exchange a new
atomic block will be built.
The Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with Soviet
(Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the
second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak earthquake, which
killed 25 thousand people, the station's work was stopped. In November
1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the second
power unit of the station with a capacity of 407.5 MW was involved. In
March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the
second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. The project is coordinated
by the subsidiary structure of the State Corporation Rosatom - JSC
Rusatom Service. Completion of work is planned for 2019. The
Government of the Russian Federation allocated a $ 270 million state
export loan to Armenia and a $ 30 million grant for these purposes. In
March 2015, the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) was established to
implement the program. So far, there have been five meetings of the
JCC.
The Council for the Safety of Atomic Energy under the President of the
Republic of Armenia was established in 1996 by a presidential decree.
This independent advisory body was created on the basis of the need to
ensure the further safe operation of the Armenian nuclear power plant.
The council is formed of scientists and specialists of the sphere,
having international recognition and authority. The activities of the
Council are carried out through meetings of the Council, which are
convened once a year. According to the Charter, the main tasks of the
Council are: formation of safety of nuclear energy and priority
directions of its development, development of recommendations on
problems and preparation of proposals, analysis and examination of
draft normative legal acts submitted to the President of the Republic
of Armenia regarding peaceful and safe use of atomic energy.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
 Yerevan and Athens are looking for ways to deepen economic cooperation
Yerevan October 27
Mariana Mkrtchyan. In Athens, the first meeting of the special working
group of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Greece was
held.
As the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told ArmInfo,
Shahen Avagyan, Secretary General of the RA Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, headed the group from the Armenian side, and Yannis
Amanatidis, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs headed the Greek
side. The Ambassador of Armenia to Greece Fadey Charchoghlyan also
participated in the meeting.
On the agenda of the meeting is discussion of ways to stimulate
economic relations between the two countries. The two sides,
expressing satisfaction with the existing level of political
relations, stressed the need to use all the potential for bringing to
the same level the economic interaction.
Amanatidis stressed that Greece is consistent in the issue of
promoting bilateral relations with Armenia through active cooperation
in all areas of mutual interest. He expressed hope that this special
group will help define promising areas for the development of trade
and economic relations.
Avagyan noted the value of the existing strong regulatory framework in
the economic sphere between the two countries and presented possible
directions for the development of the Armenian-Greek economic
relations, including the involvement of Greek companies in the work of
the Free Economic Zone opening in Armenia; activation of cooperation
of Greece with the Eurasian Economic Union, through Yerevan; use of
opportunities, within the framework of Armenia-EU cooperation
("Horizon 2020", GSP +, COSME).
The meeting also touched upon a wide range of issues, including the
participation of Greek companies in the business forum held in the
fields of the Francophonie summit in Yerevan in 2018, the holding of
the Armenian-Greek business forum, the organization and holding of the
next meeting of the Armenian-Greek intergovernmental commission on
economy, industry and technology.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
General Director: By 2019 it will not be possible to complete the
program of modernization of the second power unit of the Armenian NPP
Yerevan October 27
Alexander Avanesov. Today it becomes obvious that by 2019 it will not
be possible to complete the program of modernization of the second
power unit of the Armenian nuclear power plant. Movses Vardanyan,
general director of the plant said in conversation with the ArmInfo
correspondent.
According to him, in 2019 agreements with the Russian side will be
suspended, and the program will be continued until 2021 by own forces,
or the project will be extended with the participation of the Russian
side. Nevertheless, the main part of the program to extend the life of
the plant will be completed by the deadline - by the end of 2019. The
problem remains the solution of the issue of the utilization of
nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel. The program, according to the
CEO, has already been developed, but its implementation will require
longer terms, and the ANPP intends to connect its Russian partners to
its implementation.
Movses Vardanyan stressed that from mid-April 2018 the plant will be
partially stopped. In particular, one of the turbines will be stopped.
In mid-June, the entire block will be completely stopped, during which
refueling will be performed. From August 15, the unit will go into
operation, and in December an upgraded turbine will be commissioned.
The general director noted that until 2021 the plant has a license to
produce electricity. Nevertheless, next year, due to long downtime
(six months), the plant will not have 1.860 billion kWh of
electricity, but this fact will not become the basis for applying to
the regulatory body to increase the tariff from the nuclear power
plant. "There are savings from previous years, due to which the tariff
will not increase," the ANPP Director General said.
The Armenian nuclear power plant consists of two units with Soviet
(Russian) WWER reactors. The first unit was commissioned in 1976, the
second - in 1980. In March 1989, after the Spitak earthquake, which
killed 25 thousand people, the plant's work was stopped. In November
1995, in connection with the most acute energy crisis, the second
power unit of the plant with a capacity of 407.5 MW was involved. In
March 2014, the Armenian government decided to extend the life of the
second power unit by 10 years - until 2026. The project is coordinated
by the subsidiary structure of the State Corporation Rosatom - JSC
Rusatom Service. Completion of work is planned for 2019. The
Government of the Russian Federation allocated a $ 270 million state
export loan to Armenia and a $ 30 million grant for these purposes. In
March 2015, the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) was established to
implement the program. So far, there have been five meetings of the
JCC.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
Children of Armenians from other countries will be able to obtain
Armenian citizenship in a simplified manner
Yerevan October 27
Alexander Avanesov. Children of Armenians, who are citizens of other
countries, will be able to obtain Armenian citizenship in a simplified
manner. Corresponding amendments to the Law "On Citizenship" were made
at the meeting of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on
October 27.
In addition, as the Deputy Chief of Police of Armenia Vardan
Yeghiazaryan stated, in order to reduce the number of fictitious
marriages for the purpose of acquiring citizenship, the law requires a
minimum of two years to live with a citizen of Armenia in a registered
marriage, provided that they live in Armenia for one year. Issues
related to the granting of citizenship will be handled by an
interdepartmental commission that will submit proposals to the Prime
Minister, and the latter will have the right to apply to the president
for granting citizenship.

ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Friday
 Armenian President welcomes Mexican MPs` visit to Artsakh
Yerevan October 27
Mariana Mkrtchyan. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received members
of the delegation of the Mexican Parliament headed by the head of the
friendship group Mexico- Armenia Blanka Margarita Kuata Dominguez. The
press service of the Armenian President told ArmInfo.
Sargsyan noted that representatives of friendly countries are always
welcome in Armenia, as such visits give new quality and substance to
bilateral relations, and are a good opportunity to discuss various
issues of the bilateral agenda. The Armenian President expressed his
belief that this visit will open a new page in the Armenian-Mexican
inter-parliamentary relations and will allow outlining the further
areas of cooperation between parliamentarians.
Sargsyan highly appreciated the formation of the Mexican-Armenian
friendship group in the Mexican Parliament and expressed gratitude to
Dominguez, for leading this group.
The Armenian President also welcomed the two-day visit of Mexican
deputies to Artsakh. According to him, this is a good opportunity to
get acquainted with the Artsakh conflict, the Artsakh people, the
history of Armenians living in this region for centuries, culture, and
see the life of people fighting for their freedom.
The Armenian leader also touched upon the natural disaster that
occurred last year in Mexico and expressed the belief that the Mexican
people and the authorities will make every effort to eliminate the
consequences of the terrible earthquake in a short time.
Dominguez assured that the group will do everything possible to
permanently deepen and strengthen the relations, as during their stay
in Armenia and Artsakh they felt the tremulous attitude of the
Armenian people and the desire to strengthen friendship: "We
successfully opened the door for friendship between our peoples. We
are honored to be in Armenia. We were also happy to visit Artsakh - a
small and exalted country that has already taken a firm place in our
hearts."

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Friday
Three members of Initiative group responsible for Istanbul Armenian
patriarchal election resign
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Three members of the Initiative group
engaged in organization of the election of Armenian patriarch of
Istanbul have resigned, Agos reports.
Among these resignations is the head of the Initiative group. It’s
worth mentioning that these resignations were followed by a meeting
with Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin.
Bishop Sahak Mashalyan, president of the spiritual council of the
Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, Bedros
Sirinoglu, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Armenian hospital of
St. Savior in Istanbul, as well as head of the Initiative group for
the patriarchal election Sargis Kulegech paid an official visit to the
Istanbul Governor’s Office on October 24 to meet with Governor
VasipSahin.
Bagrat Estukyan, editor-in-chief of the Armenian language department
of Agos newspaper, told ARMENPRESSthat according to their information,
the Governor said that he doesn’t recognize the fact of Archbishop
Garegin Bekchian being elected as patriarchal locum tenens. Archbishop
Aram Ateshyan and Bishop Sahak Mashalyan were suggested to start this
process from the beginning.
Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan was not present at the meeting, he is in
currently in Germany. But he issued a statement over the meeting in
the Governor’s Office. Archbishop Bekchyan said he will return to
Istanbul soon. He expressed hope that after the return he will
personally meet with the Governor to express his opinions over the
issue of the patriarchal election.

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Friday
UAE assists social programs in Armenia
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The Embassy of the United Arab
Emirates in Armenia considers social programs a priority. A polyclinic
is planned to be built with assistance of the Embassy in Karbi
village, Aragatsotn province.
Karo Baghdasaryan, head of the Karbi community told ARMENPRESS that
the village needs a new polyclinic.
“An outpatient center is currently operating in Karbi. It is small in
size and it also serves the nearby villages of Saghmosavan, Artashavan
and Ohanavan. I can say that the conditions of the outpatient clinic
are not good. This new polyclinic will have better conditions, new
property and equipment. A separate laboratory is also planned. Under
the program it was suggested for the polyclinic to also have two
patient rooms. This will enable to keep the patient under observation
if necessary”, he said.
If the program proceeds as expected, the polyclinic will begin
functioning in year-end 2018.
The B. Sahakyan School of the village also has cooperation experience
with the Embassy. The school’s principal, Amalya Gharagyozyan,
mentioned that they’ve already received 1,887,000 drams in assistance,
which was used to install new windows and doors.
“We applied for assistance, they told us to present priority programs.
We have an un-fit roof, however the Governor’s Office is assisting and
works are being done in this direction. And we thought to suggest a
program for changing the doors and windows. Our school is being heated
with firewood, and the new doors and windows will help maintaining the
heat”, she said.
Under a new phase of cooperation, new doors will be provided for the
school as well, with 1,400,000 drams planned for the program. The
money has already been transferred, and the work will be done during
the autumn holidays. 245 children study at this school. The principal
mentioned that the school was built in 1972, and needs reconstruction
and re-equipment.
The UAE Embassy in Armenia is also assisting the Vedi Medican Center.
Director of the medical facility Melkon Taloyan says the pediatrics
department will be re-equipped thanks to the assistance.
“We are now renovating the pediatrics department with assistance from
the Governor’s Office. We need to re-equip the department. We were
advised to address the UAE Ambassador. The reply came without delay,
and we will soon have new beds”, he said.