OPERATION OF LIFTING THE BLACK BOXES OF THE CRASHED A-320 CONTINUED THE WHOLE NIGHT
ArmRadio.am
17.05.2006 14:10
The operation of lifting the black boxes of the crashed A-320 continued
the whole night, RF Minister of Transport Igor Levitin said, ITAR-TASS
informs.
According to him, on May 16 the works were temporarily suspended
because of bad weather. Therefore, a decision was taken to continue
the work at night, when the wind was milder.
The Interstate Aviation Committee clarifies that decoding and
analysis of the black boxes is an important component of an air
crash investigation, since it reveals the reasons and circumstances
of the disaster. At the same time the UN Commission investigating
the case considers that it is immoral and impermissible to make any
statements about the possible reasons of the crash before the end of
the inquiry, since it contradicts the international practice of air
crash investigations.

ARMENIAN DEFENCE MINISTER, BRITISH ENVOY DISCUSS COOPERATION
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
16 May 06
Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan received British ambassador to Armenia
Anthony John James Cantor. They discussed Armenia’s involvement in
peacekeeping missions.
Serzh Sarkisyan said that the teaching of English to officers is an
important element of Armenian-British military cooperation. The sides
also discussed the forthcoming visit by Deputy Defence Minister Artur
Agabekyan to the UK.
Serzh Sarkisyan received Michael Lemon, a professor at National
Security University and the former US ambassador to Armenia. The
minister stressed the importance of cooperation with National Security
University in drafting Armenia’s national security strategy.
Michael Lemon noted the positive development trends in Armenia and also
transparency in the process of drafting the strategy. US ambassador
to Armenia also took part in the meeting.
[Video showed the meetings]

U.S. OFFICIALS SAY ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN AGREEMENT MAY BE NEAR ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH
AP Worldstream
May 16, 2006
Two State Department officials said Tuesday they were optimistic
about the possibility of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and
Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The two sides are closer to an agreement than they have been in the
past,” said Matthew Bryza, a State Department European affairs expert.
He spoke to a meeting of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus,
which was convened to examine humanitarian suffering in the region
a dozen years after the war over Nagorno-Karabakh ended.
Bryza said the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments will have to show
political courage to bridge the final gaps.
“We look at these next couple of months as a real window of
opportunity,” he said.
A second State Department official, David Appleton, said one sign
of progress is that the Azeri government is asking the U.N. refugee
agency to draw up plans for the return of the displaced to their
homes once a peace agreement is signed.
Baroness Caroline Cox, the British humanitarian and member of
the House of Lords, who has visited Nagorno-Karabakh 60 times,
criticized the United Nations for refusing to provide relief to
the people of the enclave under its policy of not doing work in
“unrecognized territories.”
She said the policy deprives the suffering people of the region of
much-needed aid.
“U.N. organizations working in Azerbaijan have been very vocal on
behalf of displaced Azeris but have been silent about Armenians
suffering at least as severely,” the baroness said.
“This asymmetry is unjustifiable,” she added. “The Karabakh authorities
have made repeated requests for help to the U.N. for assistance,
but these have been unsuccessful.”

NDU AND HERITAGE JOINT MEETINGS
Lragir.am
17 May 06
Well-informed sources reported to Lragir.am that the bureaus of
Vazgen Manukyan’s National Democratic Union and Raffi Hovannisian’s
Heritage Party have held several joint meetings over the past few
weeks. The goal is probably the pursuit of a new format of engagement
in the future political developments, which means that the National
Democratic Union does not rely on the Ardarutiun Alliance, and Raffi
Hovannisian does not have expectations from the 17’s format, though
he had taken a civic action for its leadership.

ANTI-AMERICAN CONFERENCE IN ARMENIA?
Hakob Badalyan
Lragir.am
17 May 06
On May 17 a two-day international conference kicked off in Yerevan,
entitled “The Caucasus without Terror. The Dialogue of Civilizations
at the Caucasian Crossroad”. It was organized by Aram Gaspari Sargsyan
and Ara Abrahamyan. Perhaps Ara Abrahamyan played the leading role in
the organizer tandem, who gave the money for the conference, covered
travel, accommodation and food expenses of the participants. Aram
Gaspari Sargsyan is the host, the chair and maybe also the author of
the idea. Certainly, however, after scrutinizing the idea and making it
correspond to his own interests Ara Abrahamyan decided to support the
conference, almost turning a Russian monologue. First, the conference,
which is an outlook for a peaceful development of the South Caucasus,
is entitled “the Caucasus without Terror,” whereas the South Caucasus
can hardly be considered a hotbed of terror. Even if it is so, the
American experts invited from the United States could not be found
among the participants. Only representatives of the Armenian American
organizations participate in the conference, who are mostly Armenian
residents. In the meantime, it is worthwhile to recall that the
United States is the flagship in the war against terrorism, and it is
difficult to argue, at least in a conference. Against this background,
the other forces engaged in the region and pursuing interests in the
South Caucasus – Russia, Iran, Turkey, Europe, NKR – were represented
duly. Even Azerbaijan had been invited, but they refused to come,
fearing a misunderstanding by the Azerbaijani society.
Interestingly the Georgian experts did not turn up either; most
probably on learning who had organized the conference. The only
representative of Georgia was Member of Parliament Van Bayburd,
Armenian by origin. Announcing about the conference several days
ago, Aram Gaspari Sargsyan told the reporter of Lragir.am that the
American experts had not been invited for financial reasons; travel
from America to Armenia is expensive, and the organizers cannot afford
to cover all the expenses. However, it was reported in press that Ara
Abrahamyan is staying at the only presidential room of the Armenia
Marriott Hotel in Yerevan, which costs 1300 dollars a day.
The expectations that the conference would be overtly pro-Russian
were confirmed by the first address to the event. The first speaker
was Russian Member of Parliament Constantine Zatulin. He began with
the words that the presence of Russia in the South Caucasus can be
assessed differently, but it is unarguable that it guarantees peace
and security in the region.
According to Zatulin, the problems of the South Caucasus have always
been settled with outside interference. Consequently, the Russian
member of parliament thinks that Russia has a better understanding
of the reality in the South Caucasus and has a better perception of
the problems in the region than the United States. It should be noted
that only after the lasting speech of Zatulin did Aram G. Sargsyan
decide to interrupt and regulate the duration of speeches. However,
the thematic environment of the conference had been established. It
was not modified by the Iranian, European and Turkish experts who
mainly spoke about historical, or cultural or generally unity and
partnership. And Russian Armenian Andranik Mihranyan, who is also a
member of the Public Chamber, established by Vladimir Putin, took up
and developed Zatulin’s line.
According to him, Russia is presently departing from the South
Caucasus which is, however, a major mistake. Andranik Mihranyan says
the region is increasingly featuring a new global player, the United
States, which has two regional proxies, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The
Russian Armenian political scientist called the Russian diplomacy for
intensifying pressure on the South Caucasian states and asked to keep
in mind that historically they have pursued their interests through
Armenia. Constantine Zatulin’s and Andranik Mihranyan’s speeches
heavily dwelled upon the United States, as well as Georgia, the United
States’ regional ally in the South Caucasus. It is notable that the
Russian political figures did not voice strictures against Azerbaijan,
even though just a few weeks ago Aliev returned from Washington,
having been “declared” a strategic partner of the United States.
Another notable thing about the conference was the participation
of Armenian experts and political figures. The majority are
Russian-speaking and pro-Russian. For instance, Aram Karapetyan seeking
for Russia, Albert Bazeyan – Vagharshak Harutiunyan tandem. Aram
Gaspari Sargsyan, an organizer of the conference, said they had not
invited the political parties, they had invited the experts. For
the political parties, Aram G. Sargsyan said these were chosen on
their preference.

CONSULTATIONS HELD AT NA CHAIRMAN ARTHUR BAGHDASARYAN’S OFFICE
ArmRadio.am
17.05.2006 15:35
Consultations of the task group to address issues of assistance to
the families of victims of the crashed A-320 plane were held today
at NA Chairman Arthur Baghdasaryan’s Office. During the discussions
representatives of NA groups and factions reported that funds have
been raised and transferred to the accounts opened for this purpose.

FOR A FRENCH PHOTOGRAPHER ARMENIA IS DISCOVERY
ArmRadio.am
17.05.2006 15:25
For young French photographer Stefan Hoareau Armenia is a
discovery. Stefan Hoareau visited Armenia due to Marine Petrosyan’s
film titled “Armenia in four seasons of the year. The photographer,
who cooperates with the famous ” Elite,” “Ford” and other Fashion
Agencies, decided to come and take pictures of Armenia in four seasons
of the years.
“I’ve decided to come again and live in Armenia for one year. Then
I’ll be able to know this country better and make new discoveries
for myself,” the French photographer said in his talk with “Radiolur”
correspondent.
“I am delighted with the warm attitude and reception of Armenians. You
can become friendly and kind immediately after getting acquainted,
a thing that is not common for the French,” the photographer said.

K. ZATULIN: ONLY ARMENIA INTERESTED IN STATUS QUO MAINTENANCE IN REGION
Yerkir
17.05.2006 15:32
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Out of the Caucasian states it’s only Armenia that
is interested in the maintenance of the status quo in the region,
Russian Duma member, Director of the Institute of CIS Studies
Konstantin Zatulin told journalists today.
“Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are interested in maintenance of status
quo and peace in the region, what cannot be said about Azerbaijan and
Georgia,” the deputy said when addressing the international scientific
conference titled ” Caucasus without conflicts and terror: dialogue
of civilizations on the Caucasian crossroad” held in Yerevan today.
According to Zatulin, Azerbaijan and Georgia feel “aggrieved” and
in this contest one should not expect constructive approach from
these states.
Besides, he expressed amazement by the fact that Azerbaijan and Georgia
claim return of territories basing on the principle of territorial
integrity within the framework of the former USSR. “These states keep
on criticizing the soviet state system and it’s at least odd that
they do not adhere to the same approach in this case,” Zatulin said,
reported Novosti-Armenia.

FIRST ECHELON WITH RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT TO HEAD FOR ARMENIA MAY 25
Yerkir
17.05.2006 15:35
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The first echelon with the Russian military
equipment withdrawn from the 12th base in Batumi will head for Armenia
May 25, assistant to commander of the land forces of the RF Defense
Ministry Igor Konoshenkov said.
“The first echelon will include communication equipment, engineering
and rear equipment. It will be sent to Armenia May 25 to the 102nd
Russian military base in Gyumri,” he said.
According to Konoshenkov 6 echelons will arrive in Armenia in all. One
echelon will be sent to Russia. The next lot of the Russian military
equipment will be sent to Russia via Azerbaijan May 23. A part of
the equipment and armament will be transported to Armenia May 18. To
note, the Russian-Georgian agreement on the withdrawal of the Russian
military bases from Georgia was signed on March 31, 2006, reported
RIA Novosti.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ARMENIA IN FAVOUR OF CONFIDENCE IN CAUCASUS
Mediamax news agency
17 May 06
Yerevan, 17 May: An international conference called “Caucasus Without
Conflicts and Terrorism – Dialogue of Civilizations at the Caucasus
Crossroads” opened in Yerevan today.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Ara Abramyan, president
of the Union of Armenians of Russia, noted that “the problems facing
the great Caucasus region can be resolved only through a dialogue”.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Gegam Garibdzhanyan said that the
formation of an atmosphere of confidence in the region may facilitate
the implementation of the regional programmes of the international
community.
“Armenia’s position on issues of regional policy is based on
the exclusion of new dividing lines and on the establishment of
cooperation,” Gegam Garibdzhanyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress