By June 17 OTE Company will develop the list of applicants to buy `ArmenTel’
ArmRadio.am
09.06.2006 17:32
By June 17 OTE Company will develop the list of applicants to buy
`ArmenTel.’ The results of the tender will be known in the second
half of July, MEDIAMAX Agency informs.
A number of local and foreign Companies are participating in the
tender to purchase 90 percent of `ArmenTel’ shares announced by Greek
OTE Company.
Vardan Oskanyan received Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia
ArmRadio.am
09.06.2006 17:46
RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan received today Deputy Foreign Minister
of Georgia Valeri Chechelashvili, who is in Armenia on an official visit.
Appreciating the dynamic development of Armenian-Georgian relations, the
parties discussed a broad circle of bilateral issues.
The Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister was received also by RA Deputy Foreign
Minister Gegham Gharibjanyan. The interlocutors discussed issues on the
agenda of bilateral relations. Reference was made to the implementation of
programs directed at the improvement of the socio-economic conditions in
Samtskhe-Javakhk.
ARMENIAN DM: AZERBAIJAN LOSES ITS CHANCE TO SETTLE THE CONFLICT OVER
KARABAKH PEACEFULLY
Yerevan, June 7. ArmInfo. The Azerbaijani party loses its chance to
settle the conflict over Nagorny Karabakh peacefully, Defense Minister
of Armenia,
Serge Sargsyan, told journalists, Wednesday. The minister said he is
not informed of the details of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents’ meeting in Bucharest as he was not present there.
However, the minister said the president informed him of the meeting
results. At the same time, Minister Sagrsyan disagreed with the
opinion that the situation in the conflict zone has become tense
recently and the threat of military actions has grown. The situation
on the contact line is as usual, the minister said. As regards the
model of Montenegro whose independence is likely to be recognized by
the international community sooner than expected, Minister Sargsyan
said: “Nagorny Karabak’s time will come as
AZERBAIJAN READY TO GIVE LARGE AUTONOMY TO KARABAKH AND FORGET ABOUT
NAKHIJEVAN AUTONOMY
Yerevan, June 07. ArmInfo. Azerbaijan has already stated about its
readiness to give Nagorno Karabakh the largest autonomy,” Musa Guliev,
deputy of Mili Mejlis of Azerbaijan, said this in response to the
ArmInfo question whether such an autonomy will differ from that of
Nakhijevan that didn’t allow the Armenians live in Nakhijevan Autonomy
Republic. Guliev said that there were Armenians in Nakhijevan who left
the republic, and other Armenians who lived there till 1988. He added
that in early XX century 100 thousand Azeries lived in Armenia and
were deported from Armenia in 1948 by the decision of USSR Ministerial
Council. Nevertheless, Guliev didn’t deny that before the beginning
of the military conflict in 1988 200 thousand Azeries lived in
Armenia, while only one Armenian village was left in Nakhijevan.
“Nagorno Karabakh is another issue. We didn’t give Nakhijevan to the
Armenians, the Azeries received autonomy,” he said. In response to our
question whether it isn’t absurd to give autonomy to the Azeries in
the structure of the Soviet Azerbaijan, Guliev got perplexed and said:
“Let’s not argue guys. If you have any concrete questions, I will
answer them.”-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
KARABAKH POLITICAL SCIENTIST: BUCHAREST MEETING OF PRESIDENTS OF
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN HAS BECOME TURNING TO SOME DEGREE
Stepanakert, May 7. ArmInfo. It turned out that very time before the
meeting of Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, when talking about a
possible progress, many people imply signing of a specific document by
them for the conflict settlement. If treat these meetings in such a
way, progress achievement is very difficult, even impossible, David
Babayan, a Karabakh political scientist, said, commenting the meetings
of Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Bucharest.
Explaining his position, D. Babayan noted incomplete format of
negotiations, first of all. “NKR party does not participate in
negotiations and the conflict resolution is impossible without
it. Moreover, achievement of an agreement is possible only after the
societies will be ready, to a certain extent, to sign any document,
which is to be preceded by rather a long and intensive work”, Babayan
said.
However, he said, the Bucharest meeting has become turning, to some
degree. “Indirect evidence of this are the statements of several
high-ranking officials from mediator-countries. For example, the
statement of Leo Platvoet, the PACE reporter for missings, refugees
and population of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, during the meeting
with the RA Parliament speaker Tigran Torossyan.
Platvoet noted that he supposes in his report to offer the parties to
start cooperation at the level of organizations, dealing with this
problem. This is a very important statement in fact and means that the
necessity of participation of all three parties is finally
realized. It is a cooperation component towards strengthening of
measures of trust between the societies of the parties”, Babayan
said. The second important statement, according to Babayan, was made
by Daniel Fried, the USA deputy State Secretary for Europe and
Eurasia, who emphasized that “there is a desire to see return of much
more territories to Azerbaijan and return of Azerbaijanians to their
native places”.
Changing of borders between Karabakh and Azerbaijan without
alternatives is very important for security maintenance at the
international level. After all, any aggression must be punished not to
recur with more unpredictable consequences”, D. Babayan summed up.
AZERI MEDIA DO NOT BELIEVE THEIR OWN DEFENSE MINISTRY
Yerevan, June 7. ArmInfo. Azeri media continue spreading misinformation and
accusing the Armenian side of violating the cease fire regime – even though
their own Defense Minister does not confirm their reports.
Particularly, APA alleges that Azeri solider Elmar Shahkerim oglu Miraliyev
was wounded as a result of cease fire regime violation June 5. The Azeri DM
has not confirmed the report.
VARTAN OSKANIAN:NEGOTIATIONS OF YEREVAN WITH EU DELAYED BEACUSE OF
PROBLEMS WITH NEIGHBORS
Yerevan, June 08. ArmInfo. Vartan Oskanian, RA Foreign Minister,
conditioned the slow tempo of Yerevan’s negotiation’s with EU within
the framework of “New Neighborhood” initiative by the current problems
of the neighbors with EU.
He stated this at today’s press conference.
Mr. Oskanian reminded that the negotiations between Armenia and EU are
officially completed. Though, from the aspect of the content, there
are almost no unsettled issues. “I even think that in our case there
is no need in the next tour,” he said. At the same time, he added that
the process faces certain obstacles conditioned by the fact that EU
hasn’t decided “to separate” the three South Caucasus states and work
with each of them separately. “EU wants to cooperate with “the group”
of the three republics, but our neighbors still have some unsettled
problems,” he stated.
THERE WILL BE NO WAR BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND NAGORNY KARABAKH: ARMENIAN
PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
Yerevan, June 8. ArmInfo. Azerbaijan will try to use all possible ways
to resolve the Karabakh conflict by peace, the head of the Azeri
delegation to PA BSEC Asaf Hajiyev said at a press-conference
following the PA BSEC 27th meeting in Yerevan.
But when all ways are exhausted the situation will change completely
and will require new approaches including militarist.
Speaker of the Armenian parliament Tigran Torossyan said that nobody
can seriously consider the possibility of military resolution of the
Karabakh conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan do not live in isolation but
in an international community that will not allow military actions in
the Karabakh conflict zone. There is no international organization
that will support the resumption of war in Karabakh and the present
militarist statements are just propaganda.
There will be no war between Armenia and Azerbaijan as both sides
remember the bitter lessons of the war, Torossyan said.
AZERBAIJANI SPEAKER CONGRATULATES HIS ARMENIAN COLLEAGUE
Yerevan, June 8. ArmInfo. Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Oktay
Asadov sent a congratulation message to his Armenian counterpart
Tigran Torosyan on the election and wished him success. In his
message, Oktay Asadov invited all the delegates of the 27th Plenary
Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (PA OBSEC) to Baku, which “has been known with
its internationalism and tolerance .” Asaf Hajiyev, Head of the
Azerbaijani delegation to PA OBSEC, read out the message in the
Armenian National Assembly. PA OBSEC CIO, Speaker of the Armenian
Parliament, Tigran Torosyan, expressed confidence that “everything
will last good in Baku.”
However, Asaf Hajiyev told journalists he is not sure that the
Armenian delegation will take part in the September Session of PA
OBSEC in Baku. Asked for the motives of his uncertainty, he said: “How
can I know, maybe, war starts before it.”
PA OBSEC Vice Chairman for Economic, Trade, Technological and
Ecological Affairs, David Saganelidzeh thanked Armenia for warm
reception. However, he said that two issues have remained unsettled:
who makes barbecue better and whose brandy is the best.
BY MID-SEPT ARMECONOMBANK TO GET MOODY’S RATING
Yerevan, June 9. ArmInfo. By mid-Sept 2006 Armeconombank will get Moody’s
rating, says the chairman of th bank’s board Ashot Osipyan.
He says that the bank and Moody’s signed the relevant contract in late May.
The rating will allow the bank to further develop its cooperation with various
international structures as without rating it is almost impossible to enter
the international market.
The contract has followed Fitch Ratings’ giving Armenia the Issuer Default
Ratings BB- with stable outlook. To remind, Fitch has also given Armenia the
short-term sovereign rating in foreign currency B and country ceiling BB-.
Moody’s is the second agency to which the Armenian Government has applied
for sovereign rating. Osipyan says that Armenia has got quite a high rating
which is very good for the local banks for their talks on the international
market.