Oskanian: OSCE MG Hasn’t Exhausted Capabilities
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.07.2006 15:36 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia is satisfied with the activities of the
OSCE Minsk Group, RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told reporters
today. “The OSCE Minsk Group is the only mission that succeeds in the
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” he remarked. According to
the Minister, Armenia welcomes initiatives from any state concerned
in a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, including the
U.S., Iran and Russia. However the OSCE mission has not exhausted its
capabilities yet and it’s premature to speak of prevailing of any state
in the settlement process. He also denied the increase of Iran’s role
in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, reported Novosti-Armenia.

EU Envoy for South Caucasus to Arrive in Armenia July 24
PanARMENIAN.Net
14.07.2006 15:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus
Peter Semneby told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter he will be visiting
Armenia July 24-25. The main purpose of the visit is to discuss the
EU-Armenia cooperation within the European Neighborhood Policy.
To note, July 21 Mr Semneby will pay a call to Azerbaijan on the
same purpose.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

European bank allocates 20m dollars to update Armenian airport
Mediamax news agency
13 Jul 06
Yerevan, 13 July: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
[EBRD] will allocate a 20m-dollar loan to the International Airports
of Armenia Company to complete the construction of a new passenger
terminal at Zvartnots international airport.
A relevant agreement was signed in Yerevan today, Mediamax reports.
The funds will be spent to complete the construction of the terminal,
update equipment and purchase new equipment.
[Passage omitted: the executive director of the company and the head
of the EBRD’s Yerevan Office, Michael Weinstein, spoke about the
importance of the loan]

NKR defence ministry denies Azeri reports of arson
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
13 Jul 06
The defence ministry of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic has flatly
denied Azerbaijani media reports that all facilities located on the
contact line between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Karabakh were
set on fire on the night of 12 July.
The Azerbaijani side insists that all villages in the foothill area
of Agdam and Agdam airport were set on fire as well.
The Karabakh defence ministry recalled that the monitoring held by the
OSCE factfinding mission on the contact line between the armed forces
of Azerbaijan and Karabakh, as well as the latest three monitoring
missions held at the request of Karabakh proved that all allegations
of Baku propaganda are groundless.

Football UEFA CUP First qualifying round, first leg
The Guardian – United Kingdom; Jul 14, 2006
Ameri Tbilisi 0 Banants Yerevan 1; Apoel Nicosia 3 Murata 1; Artmedia
Bratislava 2 Georgia Tbilisi 0; BATE 2 Nistru Otaci 0; Basle 3 Tobol
Kostanay 1; Brondby 3 Valur Reykjavik 1; CSF Zimbru 1 Karabakh
Azersun 1; Dinamo Tirana 0 CSKA Sofia 1; Sarajevo 3 Ranger’s Venecia
0; Ventspils 2 GI Gota 1; Gefle IF 1 Llanelli 2; Glentoran 0 Brann 1;
HJK Helsinki 1 Drogheda Utd 1; Hibernians 0 Dinamo Bucuresti 4; IFK
Goteborg 0 Derry City 1; Jeunesse Esch 0 Skonto Riga 2; Karvan Evlakh
1 Spartak Trnava 0; Koper 0 Liteks Lovetch 1; Levadia Tallinn 2 Haka
0; Lokomotiv Sofia 2 Makedonija Gj P 0; Lyn Oslo 1 Flora Tallinn 1;
Mika Ashtarak 1 Young Boys 3; Portadown 1 FBK Kaunas 3; Randers 1 IA
Akranes 0; Rapid Bucuresti 5 Sliema Wanderers 0; Rhyl 0 Suduva 0;
Rijeka 1 Omonia Nicosia 1; Skala 0 IK Start 1; Ujpesti 0 Vaduz 4;
Vardar 1 Roeselare 2; Videoton Fehervar 1 Kairat Almaty 0; Zaglebie
Lubin 1 Dinamo Minsk 1; Varteks 1 Tirana 1; Orasje 0 Domzale 2;
Atvidabergs FF 4 Etzella Ettelbruck 0.

U.S., OSCE express concern at conviction of opposition activists in Azerbaijan
AP Worldstream;
Jul 13, 2006
The United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe expressed concern on Thursday that three Azerbaijani opposition
youth activists convicted of attempting to forcefully seize power in
this ex-Soviet republic had not received a fair trial.
On Wednesday a court in the capital, Baku, sentenced Ruslan Bashirli
to seven years in prison, Ramin Tagiyev to four years and Said Nuriyev
to a suspended sentence of five years.
The U.S. Embassy said in a statement it was “deeply concerned” by
indications that their legal rights had not been respected.
The OSCE, a trans-Atlantic democracy and security watchdog, echoed
the criticism, saying that the trial “fell short of international
standards in upholding rule of law.”
The three members of the Yeni Fikir, or New Thought, youth group were
arrested in August and September in the run-up to last year’s disputed
parliamentary elections and charged with attempting to stage a coup.
Yeni Fikir’s leader Bashirli and his two deputies, Tagiyev and Nuriyev,
were accused of cooperating with intelligence services from Armenia,
Azerbaijan’s longtime foe.
Their lawyer Osman Kyazomov said Thursday that they planned to appeal
to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
Human rights groups and the opposition have accused the authoritarian
government in Azerbaijan of using the case to crack down on its
political opponents. All three denied the charges.
President Ilham Aliev’s government maintained its grip on parliament
in November’s elections, which handed the ruling party a majority in
the 125-seat legislature with the support of government-affiliated
independent lawmakers.
Western observers criticized the polls as flawed, but the United
States and European countries have not endorsed opposition demands
for new elections, fearful of upsetting stability in the oil-rich
Caspian Sea nation, which borders Iran.

Beirut airport bombing puts Lebanese economy, Mideast aviation in disarray
By JIM KRANE
AP Worldstream; Jul 13, 2006
Hundreds of travellers were left stranded and Lebanon faced losses of
millions of dollars a day after Israeli airstrikes smashed runways at
Beirut airport, forcing the closure of the country’s only air outlet
to the world.
Airlines around the region quickly increased their flights to
neighboring Syria, now the only way in and out of Lebanon. Thousands
of people took to the Beirut-Damascus highway, most heading out to
catch flights in the Syrian capital.
Some stranded travellers, however were looking for a way in.
Imad Hajjar was on his way from Paris to Lebanon for his wedding,
scheduled for July 29, when his flight was diverted to Cyprus, where
three Beirut-bound flights landed after Israel’s early morning strike.
At Larnaca’s Flamingo hotel, the 32-year-old Hajjar was following
the news on his laptop, trying to decide what to do.
“Everything is booked and ready for the wedding. We’ve been planning
it for a year now,” said Hajjar, whose fiancee was supposed to fly
out from France to join him on Friday.
“Do I stay here, or go to Syria?” Hajjar said.
Even Lebanon’s foreign minister, Fawzi Salloukh, was affected. He
had to work his way home by land through Syria from a trip to Armenia.
Saad Hariri, the head of the anti-Syrian bloc in Lebanon’s parliament,
ended up in Cyprus, returning from China, so he took the opportunity
to perform some diplomacy, heading to Egypt and Jordan to meet with
those countries’ leaders.
The closure of Rafik Hariri International Airport _ named after Saad’s
slain father, the former prime minister _ will cost Lebanon millions
of dollars a day in lost tourism revenue, said Amr Abdel-Ghaffar of
the U.N. World Tourism Organization in Madrid.
“The longer the airport stays closed, the bigger the impact is,”
he said.
Lebanon is a top summer vacation spot for Saudis, Emiratis, Kuwaitis
and others, as well as for the huge Lebanese community in the Gulf.
Five empty planes of Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East
Airlines, flew to Cyprus to spare them from possible damage in any
new airstrikes, said the director of civil aviation on the east
Mediterranean island, Leonidas Leonidou. Three more were expected
Friday, he said.
Tourism accounts for 12 to 15 percent of Lebanon’s US$23.7 billion
(euro18.7 billion) GDP, said Abdel-Ghaffar. Arrivals in 2006 were 49
percent above those of 2005, when the assassination of former Prime
Minister Hariri in February kept many visitors away, Abdel-Ghaffar
said.
“It’s been a spectacular recovery,” he said. “The Lebanese are
preparing for the high summer season and were expecting a significantly
increased number of tourists, especially from the Gulf region.”
“Unfortunately this will have a direct affect on the tourism economy,”
he said.
Many Gulf Arabs stopped vacationing in the West, especially in the
United States, after the Sept. 11 attacks, and Lebanon has been
a beneficiary.
The World Tourism Organization plans to hold an International
Conference on Safety and Security in Tourism in Beirut in late
October. Abdel-Ghaffar said the conference may have to be shifted
elsewhere, depending on how events unfold.
In Dubai, the Mideast’s largest air hub, six flights to Beirut on
four carriers were canceled Thursday.
Emirates airline said it was accommodating stranded travelers in
hotels. “We’re monitoring the situation. It’s not under our control,”
an Emirates executive said, speaking on condition of anonymity because
she was not permitted to speak to the press.
In Dubai’s neighboring emirate of Sharjah, budget carrier Air Arabia
allowed vacationers to exchange Beirut-bound tickets for last-minute
flights to Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere at no extra cost.
Carriers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries quickly doubled
their flights to Damacus, now unable to fly to Beirut.
The Israeli strike blasted holes in all three of Beirut airport’s
runways. Lebanese Public Works Minister Mohammed Safadi inspected the
airport and said the damage would take up to 48 hours to repair. But
the reopening of the airport would be a Cabinet decision, he added.
____
Associated Press writer George Psyllides in Nicosia and correspondents
in the Mideast contributed to this report.

VARDAN OSKANYAN HAS NOT CONSIDERED BECOMING PRESIDENT BUT…
Lragir.am
14 July 06
“I think I can contribute to the processes underway in Armenia,
state building, development, but at the moment I cannot say how my
contribution is going to be, I can say that I have not thought about
it,” Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan stated July 14 in the Hayeli
Club commenting on the rumors that he may be named president in 2008.
“Now I am focusing on my work, I am facing serious problems –
the Armenia-Diaspora forum, the issue of Nagorno Karabakh, foreign
policies. So, my attention is presently focused on my work,” Vardan
Oskanyan stated. He did not say anything with regard to the timing
of decision on the form of his political activities. Vardan Oskanyan
said one thing is clear, he wants “to become engaged in processes
underway in Armenia, make his contribution.”
Besides Vardan Oskanyan announced that he has not considered joining
a political party and has not received proposals from any political
party. As for the other ministers, who are eager to become engaged in
political processes, particularly Serge Sargsyan, who is politically
the most active, Vardan Oskanyan declined to comment on Serge
Sargsyan’s membership to a political party, even on its compliance
with the path of qualitative change of Armenia he mentioned. The
point is that Vardan Oskanyan considers it important to decide the
important goals of the country rather than the ruling political force
in order to go on to figure out which political force or figure is
able to solve these problems. Proceeding from the formula proposed
by Vardan Oskanyan, it is important to know whether Serge Sargsyan’s
party affiliation and superpartisanization of the Republican Party
fit into the qualitative change of the country.
“I would not like to comment on the actions of my colleagues or their
decisions. You know, everyone makes their decision, what participation
they want to have in the political life of Armenia. If Serge Sargsyan
has decided to follow this path, it is his personal decision. I would
not like to comment on it,” says Vardan Oskanyan.

YEREVAN IS FOR FAST ARMISTICE AND RESUMPTION OF TALKS
Lragir.am
14 July 06
Official Yerevan is worried about Israel’s offensive on Lebanon.
Vardan Oskanyan told news reporters July 14 that this question was
discussed with the foreign minister of Lebanon visiting Armenia on
July 13. The foreign minister of Lebanon was in Armenia when the
Israeli tanks crossed the border of his country. The minister was
to fly home late at night by a direct Yerevan-Beirut flight but the
Israeli forces bombed the airport of Beirut, and the minister had to
stay in Yerevan. He left Armenia only early in the morning of July
14 but not for home.
“Early in the morning he left for Vienna, then he must leave for Cairo,
where the meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries of the Arab
League will take place. Yesterday we discussed this question with the
minister rather long. It is highly concerning, and we condemn every
act of violence, be it taking hostages, use of force, especially that
this use of force is not adequate for the existing situation. Moreover,
when this force is used to destroy infrastructure, which takes a lot
of victims,” says the foreign minister of Armenia.
Vardan Oskanyan assures that Armenia wants restraints in this region,
“because this is a fragile region.” According to the foreign minister
of Armenia, official Yerevan is for a fast armistice and resumption
of talks as soon as possible.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Vardan Oskanyan: We have one way to fight against oil, i.e. to rely upon ourselves
14.07.2006 16:46
Tatul Hakobyan
“Radiolur”
RA Foreign Minister declared that only 1-2 percent of the Diaspora’s
potential is utilized today, since the question of trust still
persists.
Particularly now, when Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline has been
launched, Armenia faces the challenge of not falling behind Azerbajan
in regard to economic development. What will Armenia suggest in
contrast to Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan?
“We have great internal and international resources, as well as those
of the Diaspora. We are entering a new phase, President’s two tenures
in office are coming to an end, he has no opportunity to ballot for
third term; therefore, the President should change. There was the issue
of continuity of the President’s first and second terms in office,
since there were problems that had to be resolved. Part of these has
been completed, accomplishment of others is still under way, and the
issue of continuity still persists, but we face a greater problem,
i.e. to bring the country to a qualitatively new level. Serious
economic and political reforms have been implemented, and today we
are enjoying the results of this. But altogether these were reforms
of the firs generation. We should undertake reforms of the second
generation. If we manage to do it, believe that the internal economic
recourses will double. Our democratic processes are a resource as
well. Diaspora is the second resource. Today we are utilizing only
1-2 percent of it. Why? Because there exist questions of trust in
the country and abuses,” Vardan Oskanyan said.
After the third Armenia-Diaspora conference to be held in September,
the program of development of 50 villages will be launched. Separate
Diaspora structures, communities otr individuals have undertaken
the development of every of the 50 villages. Qualitatively new
Armenia-Diaspora relations will bring about greater investment of the
Diaspora’s potential, the Foreign Minister considers. If the leadership
of Armenia manages to best apply its internal resources and those of
the Diaspora, the third international resource will be added.
“In this case Armenia will become a more reliable partner and
there will be a greater flow of investments. Of course, much has
been done during the past years, but if we connect the issue with
Baku-Ceyhan and the great opportunities of Azerbaijan, we have no
other resources except for the three I mentioned above,” the Foreign
Minister underlined. Oskanyan believes that with the next elections
we must be able to bring the country to a qualitatively new level.
“We are not in a disadvantageous position in the relations with our
neighbors. I can say that our position is even advantageous. Today
we are the leaders in this region, and we have achieved this at the
cost of great sacrifices.
All this has been done by applying the smallest percent of our
resources. We have one way to fight against oil: we should rely
upon ourselves and make best use of our resources,” Vardan Oskanyan
remarked.