CHILDREN LEAVING ORPHANAGE WILL GET APARTMENTS
Lragir, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
The minister of employment and social affairs Aghvan Vardanyan told
news reporters that the government has allocated 379 million drams to
provide the children leaving the orphanage with apartments. He says
this is a novelty in Armenia. “In 2007 it is foreseen to provide
50 children leaving the orphanage with apartments,” he said. The
government has allocated 1.2 billion drams for 935 children of 8
orphanages of Armenia. For 1010 residents of 4 old people’s homes
the government allocated 1.1 billion drams. The salaries of workers
of orphanages and old people’s homes will grow.

NUMBER OF ARMAVIA EMPLOYEES TO BE REDUCED FROM CURRENT 490 TO 400
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Work on technical, personnel and
other improvement is underway at the airline Armavia after the crash
of A-320 plane on May 3 near Sochi. Armavia’s owner Mikhail Baghdasarov
said on Novemeber 7 that the company has overcome the crisis.
Responding to NT correspondent’s question, he noted that it is planned
to reduce the number of the airline’s employees from current 490
to 400. “There are many people in Armavia, who, in addition to not
working, also spread rumors that the company is allegedly being sold,”
M. Baghdasarov said.
In his words, he will develop the Grand insurance company founded
by him because “we are afraid of trusting others to insure the
aviation.” According to him, in their pursuit of profits, some
insurance companies do not reinsure their risks in “strong companies”
and “if there is something, problems will arise.” He said that
insurance companies keep part the sum envisaged by the insurance
contract and give the remaining sum to the reinsurer. Reinsurance
is often done in the amount of 60-80% of the value of the contract
subject. If the price of an aerobus makes 30 million dollars, the
insurer “gets quite a large sum from reinsurance, while we are left
0.1-0.5%”.
In the words of M. Baghdasarov, after the May 3 tragedy the financial
“losses were minimal” thanks to the fact that all risks related to
Armavia were reinsured.

OSCE CHAIR-IN-CHIEF HOPES FOR POSITIVE COURSE OF COMING MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
“Unfortunately, the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan this
year had nearly no progress, therefore, they gave no results, the
OSCE Chair-in-Chief, FM of Belgium, Carel de Gucht, told the Baku
“Zerkalo” newspaper.
As the source reports, C. de Gucht has also reminded about the coming
visit of Azerbaijan President, Ilham Aliyev, to Belgium, during which
the Karabakh conflict solution ways will be discussed as well. “This
meeting will be preceded by the negotiations of Foreign Ministers,
Mamediarov and Oskanyan, scheduled for the midst, November. As for
me personally, I have some definite assumptions regarding the coming
meeting results but I will not yet make them public, since my personal
opinion may affect the development of events. However, I hope for a
positive course of negotiations and believe they will more effective
than the previous ones”, Carel de Gucht said.

ARMENIAN COMMUNISTS CELEBRATE 89TH ANNIVERSARY OF OCTOBER REVOLUTION
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
Armenian communists held a number of events devoted to the 89th
anniversary of the Great October Revolution on November 7.
By tradition, about 200 activists and supporters of the Communist
Party of Armenia (CPA) visited the monuments for one of the first
heads of the Armenian Soviet Government Alexander Myasnikyan and Head
of Baku Commune Stepan Shahumyan.
First Secretary of CPA Central Committee Ruben Tovmasyan said at a
mini-rally near the monument for A. Myasnikyan: “One can see oligarchs
and their hangers-on instead of ordinary working people in Armenia
and understand how urgent are the ideals of the Great October that
secured the right to education, rest and labor to the workers and
peasants, and to the working intellectuals”.
After the events in Yerevan, CPA leadership left for the village
of Lernamerdz, Armavir region, to visit the bust of Vladimir Ilyich
Lenin. The local pioneer organization presented a small literature
party in the village center.

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: IT SEEMS NO AGREEMENT ON RESOLUTION OF KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL BE THIS YEAR
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
“The year 2006 is a year of opportunities, since there were no
elections either in Armenia or Azerbaijan”, Robert Kocharyan, President
of Armenia, said at the meeting with the Armenian community of Astana.
Kazakh Mass Media reports that President Kocharyan pointed out that
Armenian side tried to actively conduct negotiations with Azeri
side on resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but, unfortunately,
no success was achieved.
The President said that Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan
recently held a meeting on finding the ways to resolve the conflict.
The President admits a possibility of meeting with President Alyev in
Minsk in the end of November but it much depends upon the results of
the Foreign Ministers’ meeting. “There is nothing definite about it
yet. The latest meetings with President Alyev weren’t optimistic and
it seems no agreement will be reached this year either”, concluded
President Kocharyan.
From: Baghdasarian

POLAND TO BE A MEDIATOR IN IMPROVING ARMENIA-TURKEY DIALOGUE
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
Poland came out with proposal to propose Armenian interests to
Turkey and visa versa. Armenian side has already responded on the
proposal, Bogdan Borusewicz, the Marshal of the Polish Seym, said at
the press conference in Yerevan today. He said that despite the lack
of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia the both countries
are of interest to each other. He pointed out that relations between
the two states should be improved by means of the ‘small steps’ policy.
The Marshal said that the closed border is a bigger problem for
Armenia rather than for Turkey. “If the closed border is a question
of principle for Armenia it is only a local one for Turkey”, said.
Mr. Borusewicz. He added that Poland is for Turkey’s membership in EU
even if the process will take 15 years. “I think Turkey’s membership
in EU will benefit for Armenia as well”, the Marshal said.
In his turn, Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torossyan agreed
with Borusewicz that Turkey’s entry into the EU is not contrary to
Armenia’s interests as each EU member state should comply with the
European values. Simply it would be strange if Turkey joined the EU
without opening its border with Armenia. Torossyan is not optimistic
in the matter as he has met with Turkish representatives and has
seen that Turkey has a stiff approach to the problem of its relations
with Armenia.
The speakers said that the Armenian-Polish cooperation is quite
developed. Torossyan expressed hope that the visit of Borusewicz will
increase the role of Poland in Armenia, while Borusewicz said that
his visit will help to enhance the image of Armenia in Poland. The
sides noted that the economic cooperation is not active because of
Armenia’s blockade. In 2005 the Armenian-Polish trade turnover was
just $17 mln. In order to attract Polish investments Armenia should
become a more predictable country. Borusewicz noted that Armenia has
big potential for democracy development.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVED SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF GREAT BRITAIN FOR SOUTH CAUCASUS
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and Special Representative
of Great Britain for the South Caucasus Brian Fall have met in Yerevan.
The press-service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told ArmInfo
that B.Fall leads a British delegation which includes the British
ambassadors to Armenia and Georgia who participate in the “South
Caucasus. Perceptions and Challenges of the Region” international
conference in Yerevan. Oskanyan and Fall satisfactorily appreciated
the organization and efficiency of the conference, pointing out that
such event is held in the South Caucasus for the first time. During
the meeting, they also discussed regional problems, particularly,
the Russian-Georgian relations and the Karabakh peace process.
The conference started on November 6 and will last till November 9.
The activities will cover the tasks and possibilities of the region
situated on the West-East crossroad, the independence experience
of the region’s countries, the economic tasks of the governments,
entrepreneurs and financial establishments of the region’s countries
directed at economic development and stimulation of investments.
The organizer of the event is the “Wilton Park” international center
which is attached to the Foreign Ministry of Great Britain and has
the status of an independent academic establishment. Since 1946
it has organized over 1000 conferences on politics, economic tasks
and security.

IN HOVHANNES HOVHANNISIAN’S WORDS, COUNTRY’S ECONOMY SUFFERS FROM ARMENIA’S “DECREPIT” DEMOCRACY
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 7 2006
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Democratic values, in particular,
freedom of expression, became shattered in Armenia, and country’s
economy suffers from this. Hovhannes Hovhannisian, Chairman of
the Liberal Progressive Party of Armenia (LPPA), expressed such an
opinion at the November 7 dispite with Mekhak Mkhitarian, Head of
NA Business deputy group. In his words, if lately the Freedom House
international human rights organization called on the Millennium
Challenge corporation not to provide any funds to Armenia and as
a reason mentioned not ensuring civil freedoms in Armenia, this
means that these freedoms indeed are not at the proper level. In
H.Hovhannisian’s words, the Armenian economy will sustain great
losses unless the expected sum of 235 mln dollars is provided to the
country, which is envisaged for development of Armenia’s border rural
populated areas.
M.Mkhitarian, in his turn, said that the independent Armenia is only
15 years old and this, in his words, is not a sufficient period
for creating really a democratic system. Besides, as M.Mkhitarian
emphasized, in order to have an idea about the democratic indices
in Armenia one should compare them not with the indices of developed
European countries, but with those of CIS member countries.
However, the interlocutors hold the same opinion in the issue that
there is no sound political dialogue in the country. M.Mkhitarian
regretted to say that “the people having civilization of thousand
years has not formed a culture of dispute yet.”

RUSSIA’S GAZPROM WARNS IT WILL CUT OFF GAS TO GEORGIA IF IT DOESN’T AGREE TO HIGHER PRICE
By Henry Meyer, Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
November 7, 2006 Tuesday 5:28 PM GMT
Russian state gas monopoly Gazprom warned Georgia on Tuesday that it
would cut off gas supplies by Jan. 1 unless Russia’s small southern
neighbor agreed to pay more than double the current price.
The head of OAO Gazprom’s export arm, Alexander Medvedev, told
reporters that unless Tbilisi signed a new contract for 2007 on terms
demanded by the Russian company, Gazprom would turn off the taps and
make only transit deliveries to Armenia through the pipeline that
crosses Georgia.
“If there is no contract, we will be obliged to supply only consumers
in Armenia. I wouldn’t call this a cutoff. The lack of a supply
contract means no supplies,” said Medvedev. He added that Georgia could
negotiate a lower price only if it offered some assets in exchange.
Gazprom last week said it plans to charge Tbilisi $230 per 1,000 cubic
meters of gas, compared with the $110 that it pays now, ratcheting
up economic pressure against the U.S.-allied Caucasus Mountain state.
Georgian leaders said that the sharp price rise was obviously political
because other ex-Soviet nations were paying far less, and they vowed
not to pay a “non-market” price.
The threat raises the prospect of a repeat of the bitter New Year’s
price fight with Ukraine, during which Gazprom temporarily cut off
the former Soviet republic’s supplies this year.
The gas dispute, which was seen as retaliation for Ukraine’s
pro-Western policies, briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe,
provoking alarm about reliance on Russian gas. A cutoff of gas to
Georgia would not affect Gazprom exports to Europe, which pass through
Ukraine and Belarus.
Since Kremlin-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych came to office
this year in Ukraine, Kiev has managed to limit the price for 2007
to $130.
Gazprom, which has been criticized as a tool of Kremlin policy, denied
that politics had played a role in the demands of Georgia. The Russian
gas behemoth says it has decided to end subsidized gas tariffs for
other former Soviet nations and is moving toward market prices.
Russian ally Armenia is paying a price for Russian gas of $110 that
will stay fixed until the end of 2008.
But Medvedev said this was negotiated last year and the agreement
included clauses handing control of key energy facilities to Gazprom,
including the Armenian segment of a planned pipeline bringing Iranian
gas to the country, which is due to open later this year.
Neighboring Belarus, whose authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko
has signed a loose union treaty with Russia, faces a fourfold rise
in gas prices to $200, although Gazprom is believed to be willing to
compromise if the country hands over 50 percent of the state pipeline
through which Russian gas transits to Western Europe.
Relations between Tbilisi and its former imperial master Moscow have
been frosty because of Georgia’s decision to align itself with the
West and seek membership in NATO and the European Union.
Ties suddenly worsened after Georgia detained four alleged Russian
spies in late September and Russian authorities retaliated with a
sweeping transport and postal blockade and a crackdown on Georgian
businesses and migrants in Russia. The remittances they send home
total hundreds of millions of dollars a year and are important for
the struggling Georgian economy.

LITHUANIAN REPS DELIVERING LECTURES TO ARMENIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ON FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
Baltic News Service
November 7, 2006 Tuesday 11:56 PM EET
Representatives of the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office and
Special Investigation Service are delivering lectures to Armenian
law enforcement officers on ways to combat corruption.
Algimantas Kliunka, the chief prosecutor of the Organized Crime and
Corruption Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office,
Juozas Sakela and Ceslovas Bakasenas of the Special Investigation
Service are currently in Yerevan.
The Lithuanian officers intend to share Lithuania’s experience
in investigating corruption cases as well as in preparation and
implementation of national anti-corruption public education measures.
Armenia, just like other Eastern region countries, is strengthening
anti-corruption efforts.
Lithuanian officers have earlier delivered such lectures to Azerbaijani
law enforcement officers.
According to a survey by Transparency International, the Corruption
Perception Index (CPI) of Lithuania in 2006 stands at 4.8, which
shows that Lithuania has problems with changing its image of a
corrupt country.
However, Caucasus countries have even more problems in this area.
Armenia’s CPI score is 2.9, Georgia’s – 2.8, Azerbaijan’s – 2.4.
On the ten-point scale, 0 means absolute corruption, while 10 indicates
minimal corruption.