ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN ANNOUNCE NO PROGRESS IN KARABAKH TALKS
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 6 2006
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia said Tuesday that
talks between their countries’ leaders had made no progress toward
a settlement of the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, but that they had
instructions to continue negotiations.
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev discussed the long-standing conflict on the sidelines of a
Black Sea summit in Bucharest, Romania, on Sunday and Monday.
Representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, which is trying to broker a resolution of the 18-year-old
conflict, were also present.
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told state television that
the talks had been conducted “in a normal atmosphere, but they did
not succeed in registering progress and giving a positive impulse to
solving the problem of the Karabakh conflict.” Still, he said that
he and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov had orders
to try to find points on which they could bring the two countries’
positions closer.
Mammadyarov said that, in spite of the lack of a breakthrough,
the Aliev-Kocharian meeting had seen a “wide discussion” of the
details of a settlement. “We decided to continue the process and, if
necessary, to hold another meeting at the level of foreign ministers,”
Mammadyarov said.

AZERBAIJAN SIDE WANTS PROPOSALS BE INCLUDED IN REPORT DEVELOPED BY REPORTER OF PA OSCE
Author: J.Shahverdiyev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 6 2006
The report of the reporter of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) of OSCE
Goran Lenmarker on Nagorno-Karabakh may be included in the agenda
of the next meeting of the bureau organization, Eldar Ibrahimov,
the deputy head of the Azerbaijani delegation in PA OSCE and also the
chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on agrarian policy,
informed Trend.
The Azerbaijani delegation will met with the reporter Goran Lenmarker
at the summer session of the organization scheduled for 3-7 July in
Brussels. “Lenmarker forwarded the report on Nagorno-Karabakh to
Azerbaijani and Armenian sides. After the sides get familiar with
the report, they will put forward their proposals. After that the
reports will be presented to the agenda of the summer session of the
organization,” told Ibrahimov.
After the proposals are accepted, the report may be presented to
discussions. “According to the procedures, the sides should agree
their proposals with the reporter himself. If the reporter includes
these proposals in his report, then the document will be presented
to the discussion. We try to include the proposals reflecting our
interests,” stressed Ibrahimov.

ARMENIA, ADZHARIA SHOULD SPUR THEIR BI-LATERAL RELATIONS BY WORKING OUT NEW MODELS OF MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL COOPERATION
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. Armenia and Adzharia should spur their
bi-lateral relations by working out new models of mutually beneficial
cooperation, Armenian Ambassador to Georgia Hrach Silvanyan and
Adzharian Prime Minister Levan Varshalomidze said as met last week
in Batumi. In particular, the PM said Adzharian Batumi and Armenian
Vanadzor cities had ties of brotherhood. He thinks this tradition
can be revived. The Premier also said that Adzharia is interested in
Armenian investments.
In his words, there are successful investments of Armenian capital.
As an example of these successful investments, Varshalomidze singled
out Armenia Restaurant and a company producing ice-cream.
Silvanyan held a series of meetings with other officials. He met with
Murman Beridze, Acting Mayor of Batumi. The mayor pointed out that
many investment programs are being implemented there in recent years.
At the same time, he said Adzharian authorities expected greater
investments from Armenian businessmen.
The Armenian ambassador met Armenian entrepreneurs and urged them to
keep investing in Adzharia and intensify their activity there.

OSKANYAN: ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS FAIL TO GIVE POSITIVE IMPULSE TO NK SETTLEMENT
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
Yerevan, June 5. /ARKA/. The Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents,
Robert Kocharyan and Ilkham Aliyev, failed to give a positive impulse
to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, RA Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan told reporters.
“The problem the Presidents tried to resolve in Rambouillet was not
resolved in Bucharest either despite the fact that during this period
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs proposed a number of new approaches
and wordings,” the Minister said.
According to Oskanyan, after the Bucharest meeting, both countries’
Foreign Ministers were instructed to continue the negotiations and
try to find new grounds for cooperation in settling the conflict
before the next possible meeting of the Presidents.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents held a meeting in Bucharest
on June 4, 2006, as part of the Black Sea forum of Dialogue and
Partnership.
The previous meeting was held in Rambouillet, France, with the
participation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and French President
Jacque Chirac, on February 10-11, 2006.

ARMENIA MUST BE MORE ACTIVE IN DEFENDING ITS CITIZENS’ RIGHTS ABROAD
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. Armenia must be more active in defending
its citizens’ rights abroad, Vice-Chairman of the Constitutional
Right Union (CRU), Chairman of the Editorial Board, “Iravunk” (Right)
newspaper, Hayk Babukhanyan told reporters.
“I believe that the measures taken by our Government in this direction
are extremely unsatisfactory. The result is a negative attitude to
Armenians both in Russia and in other countries over the last few
years,” he said.
In this context Babukhanyan pointed out that Armenia’s authorities
must create such conditions in the country that would allow people
to stay instead of going abroad for money. “Armenians staying in
other countries, particularly in Russia, are is unsatisfactory social
conditions, not equal with the local population, which is frequently
the cause of their violating the law,” Babukhanyan said. He pointed out
that this phenomenon casts aspersions on the entire Armenian nation.
He also stressed that Armenia’s authorities have no political programs
of raising Armenia’s reputation abroad.
The Migration Agency, RA Ministry of Territorial Administration,
reports that a total of 833.3ths people left Armenia in 2005 against
737.8ths in 2004.

MURAKHYAN ELECTED ARMENIAN SEU RECTOR
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. Voskanik Murakhyan was elected Rector of
State Engineering University of Armenia (SEU).
Thirty out of 32 SEU Council members participated in the voting,
and Murakhyan was elected by 29 to one.
Voskanik Murakhyan is currently Head of the SEU Department of
Heat-Power Engineering and Engineering Environmental Protection on
a voluntary basis.
On May 25, 2003, Murakhyan was elected to the RA Parliament by the
ARF party-ticket. He is a member of the Standing Commission for State
and Legal Affairs and of the ARF parliamentary faction.
Married, with two children.

WB APPROVES $6.25M CREDIT FOR ARMENIA UNDER GPAI
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. The World bank Armenia Country Manager
Roger Robinson said the Board of Executive Directors of the World
Bank approved $6.25 credit for Armenia under the Global Program for
Avian Influenza.
He said the program implementation will be contributed by grant
amounting to $804 thsd, provided by the Government of Japan. The
program on the whole is meant for an emergency situation in Armenia
connected with threat of avian influenza spread.
“The program contains three main components: healthcare, veterinarian
measures, informing people, as well as compensation to those small
and medium farmers of the country who can lose birds in case of threat
of the avian influenza”, Robinson emphasized.
He informed that discussion over this program lasted since the end
of 2005; the project elaboration was quick, taking into account the
situation in the region. He expressed belief that soon the program
will be approved in the RA National Assembly as well.
The terms of the credit are standard – 40-years time to run and
10-year grace period.
Since 1992 the World Bank has given Armenia credits in the amount of
$927.25 for implementation of 43 programs.

REDUCTION OF DOLLARIZATION TO BE STRATEGY OF ARMENIAN CB IN NEAR 3 YEARS
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
YEREVAN, June 6. /ARKA/. Reduction of dollarization in the country
will become the strategy of the Central Bank of Armenia in the near
three years, Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan
told reporters.
According to him, dollarization of economy decreases Armenia’s credit
rating. “One of the signals to reduction of dollarization will be
AMD revaluation. That is why economic entities and Armenian citizens
should give preference to AMD,” he said.
According to Sargsyan, reduction of dollarization of economy will
result in the improvement of Armenia’s economic situation and growth
of the independent credit rating of the country.
At the same time, Sargsyan pointed out that the Central Bank of Armenia
urges Armenian citizens to plan incomes and expenses in AMD and watch
the prices, not the exchange rate.
“The thinking of the Armenian population is extremely dollarized. We
need radical changes. We need to understand: if we keep our savings
in USD it means that we support the US economy,” he said.
Sargsyan said that the fact that the Armenian population does not
keep their savings in AMD means delaying the country’s economic growth.
4.35% AMD revaluation against USD was recorded in Armenia in May
2006. During the first five days AMD increased by more 0.28%. As of
June 5, the CBA set USD 1 – AMD 426.37 exchange rate.
As compared to the beginning of 2006 AMD revaluated by 5.75%.

MANIFESTATIONS OF NEGATIVE ATTITUDE TO ARMENIANS RUSSIA’S PROBLEM
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
YEREVAN, June 5. /ARKA/. Manifestations of negative attitude to
Armenians in Russia are a problem of Russia and its citizens, the
member of the Armenian National Movement, (ANM) Karapet Rubinyan
told reporters.
He pointed out that fascism and nationalism “have not so far led any
country to good.”
“If such a multinational country as Russia continues following
this way, it will inevitably face the threat of collapse and ruin,”
Rubinyan said.
Speaking of raising Armenia;s reputation abroad as one of the measures
to prevent negative attitude toward Armenians, he pointed out that
these programs cannot resolve the problem.
“In this case we have to stand up for raising the reputation of
many other countries, because manifestations of racism in Russia
are recorded by representatives of many other nations as well,”
Rubinyan said.
In this context, he pointed out that Armenians staying abroad must
themselves take measures to ensure their security.
“In particular, many of our compatriots could return to Armenia and
try to find jobs here, because their living and working conditions
in other countries cannot meet normal human standards,” Rubinyan said.
The Migration Agency, RA Ministry of Territorial Administration,
reports that a total of 833.3ths people left Armenia in 2005 against
737.8ths in 2004 According to the reference book “Labor migration in
Armenia in 2002-2005”, 50.7% of guest-workers from Armenia had jobs
in the country before going abroad. The number of guest-workers from
Armenia totals 116,000-147,000, which is 3.6%-4.6% of the country’s
population.

RF DM’S STATEMENT EVIDENCE OF SERIOUSNESS OF CURRENT ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS OVER NK
Arka News Agency, Armenia
June 5 2006
STEPANAKERT, June 5. /ARKA/. The statement made by RF Minister of
Defense Sergey Ivanov on the possibility of stationing peace-making
forces in Nagorno Karabakh is evidence of seriousness of the current
round of negotiations for the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Chairman
of the Standing Commission for Foreign Relations, RA Parliament,
Vahram Atanesyan told ARKA.
According to him, Moscow may give a new impulse to the whole process,
as Russia and Turkey started new consultations embracing the problems
of Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.
“Azerbaijan’s response provides grounds to believe that Ivanov
addressed the subject at the right moment and in a clear context,”
Atanesyan said.