EXPERTS TO DISCUSS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Czech News Agency
April 2, 2006 Sunday
Prague, April 2 (CTK) – Facts about the extermination of Armenian
inhabitants of Turkey during World War One and its circumstances
and consequences will be discussed at an international conference
that will be held in the Czech Senate next week. The event will be
organised by the Armenia Club civic association and senator Jaromir
Stetina (for the Greens) under the aegis of former president Vaclav
Havel. The conference will be held 91 years after then Ottoman
government arrested more than 2300 prominent Armenians. Armenians
consider April 1915 the beginning of genocide that claimed the lives
of 1.5 million people. Turkey refuses to speak about genocide, and it
links the events with the struggle against Armenians collaborating
with the invading Russian forces. It claims that the accusation is
to slow down its admission to the European Union. According to the
programme the conference in the Senate is to be also attended by
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.

KARABAKH DENIES SHELLING AZERBAIJAN’S ARMY POSITIONS
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 3, 2006 Monday 08:31 AM EST
One Azerbaijanian serviceman was killed and another was injured when
national army positions were shelled in the Fizulinsky district in
the southwest of the country, spokesman for the Azerbaijan’s Defense
Ministry Ilgar Verdiyev told Itar-Tass in Baku on Monday. A Nagorno
Karabakh official denied the report.
Verdiyev claimed shooting had come from the occupied parts of the
Fizulinsky district. Seven Azerbaijanian servicemen have died and 11
have been wounded in the zone of the Karabakh conflict since early
March, according to him.
Spokesman for the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed
Nagorno-Karabakh republic Lt-Col Senor Asratyan told Tass the
information given by Azerbaijan’s military does not correspond
to reality.
A mine exploded on the southwestern stretch of the contact line between
Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh on Sunday, in which Azerbaijanian
troops might have been hurt.
“In actual fact, the military leadership of Azerbaijan is trying to put
the responsibility on Karabakh or Armenia for its inept administration
of troops,” Asratyan said.

A COMMON SOLDIER OF THE ARMY OF AZERBAIJAN WAS KILLED AS A RESULT OF ATTACK FROM THE ARMENIAN SIDE
Source: Informacionnoe agenstvo “Turan”(Baku), March 31, 2006
Translated by Anastasia Zanina
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 3, 2006 Monday
Today at about 12 o’clock p.m. as a result of the engagement of the
positions of the army of Azerbaijan near the village Alibeili in
Tovyzsky region common soldier, Aliev Farid, was killed (1986 year
of birth). As was reported to the press service of the Minister
of Defense, the fire was started by Armenians from the side of the
village Ajgepar of Berdsky region. (…)
This was the sixth case of death of Azerbaijan military men during
the current month, and several men were injured.

RUSSIA’S INVESTMENT IN ARMENIA ANNOUNCED
RosBusinessConsulting Database
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 2:12 am, EST
Russia invested $67.57m in Armenia in 2005, $51.48m of which was
direct investment. According to data Armenia’s National Statistics
Service has provided the ARKA news agency, this accounts for 16.88
percent of Armenia’s total foreign investment, and for 2.11 percent
of its direct investment.
Some 75.26 percent ($50.85m) of Russia’s investment went to the
metallurgy sector, $10.03m was invested in construction, and $13.22m
in wholesale and agency trade.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN LAWMAKER INSISTS ON COMPENSATION FOR RUSSIAN GAS PRICE HIKE
Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 5:55 PM EET
YEREVAN, April 4 (Prime-Tass) – Armenia insists on being compensated
for the gas price hikes of Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom,
speaker of Armenia’s parliament Artur Bagdasaryan told a news
conference Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reported.
Negotiations on gas tariffs should be based “on the logics of the
Armenian-Russian strategic partnership,” Bagdasaryan said. Any
decision, aimed at softening the aftermath of the natural gas price
hike, is acceptable, he added.
Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom increased its prices for gas
supplies to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan to U.S. $110 per 1,000
cubic meters in 2006 from $56 in 2005.
Gazprom increased its gas price for other countries of the Commonwealth
of the Independent States (CIS) starting from 2006 bringing them
closer in line with its prices for European Union countries. Along with
Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, these countries include Ukraine and
Moldova. Gazprom has also announced its intention to raise its gas
price for Belarus, which has paid an unprecedented $46.68 per 1,000
cubic meters. European countries currently pay an average price of
$150 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.

ARMENIA AGREES WITH ANY OUTCOME OF RUSSIAN GAS SUPPLY ISSUE
RIA OREANDA
Economic News
April 4, 2006 Tuesday
But Rise In Prices To Negatively Affect The Level Of Living In
The Country
Moscow. OREANDA. Arthur Bagdasaryan, speaker of the Parliament,
declared that official Yerevan would agree with any outcome of the
issue on gas supply from Russia. However, the speaker added that the
rise in gas price would worsen the living level of Armenian population.
“Leaders of the corresponding departments of Armenia and Russia are
holding negotiations on the price of Russian gas supplied to the
republic and we are to wait for 1-2 days before commenting on the
outcomes of the negotiations”, Arthur Bagdasaryan declared at the
press conference on April 4.
Starting April 1, 2006, Armenia will be paying $110 per 1 000 cubic
meters of gas instead of $56.

TURKEY RENEWS SUPPORT FOR BAKU OVER KARABAKH
Agence France Presse — English
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 3:15 PM GMT
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Tuesday renewed his country’s
support for Azerbaijan in its territorial dispute with its fellow
former Soviet republic of Armenia.
The dispute over the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabkh
“should be resolved within the framework of the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan,” Sezer told reporters after meeting his Azerbaijani
counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
This is “in line with international norms,” Sezer added.
The status of the mountainous region, controlled by Armenian forces
since Yerevan and Baku signed a ceasefire in 1994 after a six-year
war, remains unresolved and Turkey has backed the Azerbaijanis in
the dispute.
The ceasefire is periodically broken and tensions have escalated
as troops form both sides make the annual move into high mountain
positions during the spring thaw. At least half a dozen soldiers have
been killed this year alone.
Sezer was speaking at a news conference during a two-day official
visit to Baku, where he also lauded economic ties with the booming
Caspian Sea oil economy, saying total trade volume would hit one
billion dollars (800,000 euros) in 2006.
Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have severed ties with Armenia, closing
borders and imposing an economic blockade on Yerevan as a result of
the Karabakh dispute.
Ankara is under European Union pressure to normalize ties with Armenia
but worries that reconciliatory moves sought by the bloc may damage
its alliance with Azerbaijan.
Turkish-Armenian ties have also been strained by Yerevan’s campaign to
have the World War I massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
internationally recognized as genocide.

GREEK TELECOMS GIANT OTE BEGINS PROCESS TO SELL STAKE IN ARMENIA’S ARMENTEL
Agence France Presse — English
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 10:22 AM GMT
ATHENS
Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) on Tuesday
said it was examining options to sell its 90-percent controlling
share in Armenian operator Armentel.
“Following consultation with the Armenian government, (OTE) has
begun a procedure of examining options to sell its 90-percent stake
in Armentel’s share capital,” the semi-state Greek telecoms giant
said in a statement.
“OTE has decided to focus on the Balkans … Armentel is now a
healthy company … and there is a rather large interest from Russian
companies and funds,” said Michalis Tsamaz, managing director of
OTE International.
HSBC Bank PLC has been selected to advise OTE in the procedure,
the company said.
Armenia’s main telecoms operator, Armentel in 2005 posted a net
income of 45.8 million euros (55.4 million dollars), an increase of
56.8 percent over the equivalent period in 2004, and had operating
revenues of 119.1 million euros.
OTE purchased its Armentel stake in 1997 at a cost of 120 million
euros, Tsamaz said.
Partially controlled by the Greek state, the OTE group, which comprises
the profitable Cosmote Greek mobile telephony unit and subsidiaries
in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania in addition to Armenia, in 2005 posted
a net loss of 216.8 million euros.

ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS SITUATION IN CAUCASUS
by Tatiana Solopova
ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 01:20 PM EST
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oksanian is expected to visit Russia
between April 5 and April 7 for a discussion of efforts that his
country may take together with Russia to revitalize the situation in
Southern Caucasus, Mikhail Kamynin, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s
official spokesman said.
“Mr. Oksanian and Russian officials will also consider the conflicts
still existing in the South-Caucasian region and opportunities for
creating an atmosphere of trust, vital for launching a process of
regional cooperation,” Kamynin said.
“Russia calls for more dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan at
various levels and, in the first place, between the two countries’
presidents,” he said. “We’re ready to assist the two countries at the
bilateral level and the Minsk group set up by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, since Russia co-chairs that group.”
For Russia, relations with Armenia have moved to the dimension of
strategic and union partnership of late and they have encouraging
dynamics, Kamynin indicated.
“The sides will examine, among other things, practical steps
under agreements Russian and Armenian presidents reached earlier,
especially as regards cooperation in the fuel and energy sector and
direct relations between Russian and Armenian companies,” Kamynin said.
“Special focus will be given to fighting with terrorism and to
coordination of efforts taken to raise the level of political
understanding in that area,” he said.
“Mr. Oksanian and Russian officials will look at the problems of
cooperation in the format of the CIS, especially the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization,” Kamynin said.

ARMENIA WANTS RUSSIA TO COMPENSATE HIGHER GAS PRICES
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
April 4, 2006 Tuesday 08:19 AM EST
Armenia insists on compensation, on the part of Russia, of the higher
price of natural gas. Gazprom has been supplying natural gas at 110
dollars per 1,000 cubic meters from April, up from 56 dollars in 2005.
Parliament speaker Artur Bagdasaryan believes that the negotiations
over prices should “proceed from the logic of Armenian-Russian
strategic partnership.”
“Any decision aimed at mitigating the consequences of gas price hikes
for Armenia is acceptable if it ensues from Armenia’s strategic
interests.” This also applies to the working out of compensation
mechanisms, Bagdasaryan told a news conference.
As an example, the speaker recalled the “excellent transaction” –
property in exchange for debt, when Armenia handed over five companies
to Russia to settle its liability.
“These transactions arise from Armenia’s interests, it won’t be bad if
a similar mechanism is worked out with respect to gas prices,” he said.