ARMENIA NOT AFRAID OF WAR, AND DOESN’T WANT IT EITHER: RA DM
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. Armenia is not afraid of a war, and does
not want it as well, Armenian Defense Minister Serj Sargsyan told
the newspaper “Red Star”.
He also said that the ceasefire agreement was reached through the
mediation of Russia. “Today our troops are at an advantageous defensive
position, and we have properly equipped our positions during 12 years,”
Sargsyan said.
He said that the Karabakh issue has been raised for a long time in
Azerbaijan, with an attempt to solve other domestic political problems.
According to Sargsyan, Azerbaijan’s president and defense minister used
to say and say now that if Armenia does not agree to their conditions,
then Baku will have to resolve the problem by a military way. Moreover,
Azerbaijan has doubled its military budget, and the Azerbaijani
president recently stated that he will increase it to $1bln.
“However, I must admit that it means blackmail,” Sargsyan said.
According to him, “billions of dollars will not help in this case”.
“But if large military budgets could determine military efficiency
and preparedness of troops, then, I think, all the oil countries
have had the most efficient armies. However, it is not like that,”
Sargsyan said.

STATE ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA WINS TENDER FOR RECEIVING $300,000 GRANT
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. State Engineering University of Armenia won
Wednesday a tender for receiving a $300-thousand grant. The Univessity
press service says the grant is provided by American Civil Resources
and Development Fund, CRDF, jointly with Armenian National Fund for
Science and Advanced Technologies. According to the press release,
the money is intended for the university’s three-year program focused
on polymers synthesis. Armenian Government is to allocate half this
amount, of which $90 thousand will be given by Science and Education
Ministry and the remaining $60 thousand by the university.
The aim of the tender is to create university education center. The
University allocated about 200-square meter area of laboratories for
that purpose and intends to place there equipment worth $180 thousand.
CRDF is an American non-commercial benevolent organization cooperating
with Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Moldova. The
Fund was founded by the U.S. Government in 1995.

ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN COOPERATION AT HIGHEST LEVEL, RA DM STATES
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006
Yerevan, April 19. /ARKA/. The level of Armenian-Russia cooperation is
most high and covers a wide range of issues, RA Minister of Defense
Serge Sargsyan stated in his interview to the “Krasnaya Zvezda”
(Red Star) newspaper.
“Of course, we must by no means stop at what we have achieved. On
the contrary, we should constantly develop these relations. All the
more so that we have not only necessary legal and historical basis,
but also wish for this,” the Minister said.
He pointed out that RF Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov paid a
visit to Armenia in January, and the sides discussed prospects of
Armenian-Russian relations, which are rather high.
Sargsyan stressed that the Armenia-NATO relations are by no means
developing at the expense of Armenian-Russian cooperation, which can
only be expanded in all directions.
“We realize the need to be acquainted with the experience of
development of other countries’ armed forces,” Sargsyan said.
He pointed out that a special role in the Armenian-Russian relations
is assigned to Russian military base #102. Sargsyan did not rule out
the possibility of training courses for students of Russian military
schools in Armenia’s mountain grounds.
“Why not. We will receive them with pleasure if the Russian side
asks for this. Cooperation cannot be unilateral, can it? Hundreds
of Armenian servicemen, including officers and generals, receive
education in the higher schools of the RF Ministry of Defense every
year,” Sargsyan said.

RUSSIA’S ROSTOV REGION PLANS TO DOUBLE TURNOVER WITH ARMENIA ANNUALLY: MINISTER OF ECONOMY OF ROSTOV REGION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. Russia’s Rostov region plans to double
the turnover with Armenia annually, Minister of Economy, Trade,
International and External Economic Links of the Rostov region Victor
Deryabkin stated after the signing of the protocol on the results of
the Armenian delegation’s visit in Rostov.
“We increased the turnover between the Rostov region and the Republic
of Armenia threefold, which reached $6.2mln in 2005 from $2mln in
2003,” Deryabkin said.
According to him, “the lion’s share of our production is the export
of our production to Armenia: wheat, vegetable oil, the import is
an inconsiderable amount of construction materials and milk for
making cheese”.
Deryabkin reported that governor of the Rostov region Vladimir Chub
plans to visit Armenia, where an agreement on economic, scientific
and technical cooperation between the Rostov region and Armenia.
Besides, delegations of Armenia’s ministries of economy and agriculture
will visit the Rostov region in the near months.
A plan of joint actions that includes about 35 activities in all the
directions of the cooperation, and also in the field of economy was
developed in the frameworks of the 3-day visit.
Besides, an agreement on cooperation between trade and industrial
chambers of the Rostov region and Armenia was signed.

CBA PLACES MID-TERM GOVERNMENT (TREASURY) COUPON BONDS WORTH AMD 1.5BLN
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. Central Bank of Armenia placed mid-term
government (treasury) coupon bonds worth AMD 1.5bln on Tuesday. The
CBA press service told ARKA News Agency that AMGN48184109 are
placed. According to the press release, total amount of applications
made AMD 2225550 thousand, of which AMD 128200 thousand on agents’
non-competitive applications. As many as 6 dealers and 6 agents
took part in the bids. The bonds’ average yield made 6,5267% with
maximum 6,8990%.
It should be reminded that the emission announced earlier was equal to
AMD 1.5bln. Coupon yield was initially set at 7% annual interest rate
and calculated taking into account the bonds in circulation. ($1 =
AMD 450.15).

ARMENIAN FM AND EU REP DISCUSS DEVELOPMENT OF COOPERATION BETWEEN EU AND SOUTH CAUCASUS
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
and Co-Chair of the commission for the EU-Armenia parliamentary
cooperation Marie-Anne-Isler-Beguin discussed issues of the cooperation
between the EU and South Caucasus.
The RA Foreign Ministry Press Service reported that the parties
positively appreciated the EU’s growing interest toward the region
over the last years.
They also pointed out the positive role of the Europarliament in
involving the three countries of the region in the frameworks of the
Policy of the European Neighborhood.
Oskanyan presented then the latest developments of the peaceful
negotiations over the Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s approaches to
energy security and regional cooperation.

ARF “NIKOL AGHBALIAN” STUDENT’S UNION ORGANIZES EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO ARMENIAN MONUMENTS IN NEIGHBORING STATES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 19 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The ARF
Dashnaktsutiun “Nikol Aghbalian” students’ union organizes three-days
exhibition dedicated to the historical-cultural monuments which are in
the structure of neighboring states at present. The former and present
state of the Armenian monuments in Azerbaijan, Nakhijevan, Georgia
and Western Armenia as well as steadfast monuments in neighboring Iran
which are under special control and protection were presented at the
exhibition which took place on April 18 in the yard of the central
subsidiary building of the Yerevan State University. The ARF “Nikol
Aghbalian” students’ union emphasizes in its message that it is more
than important today to draw the mankind’s attention to importance of
protection and valuation of cultural values. “Let’s support with our
vigilance and succession the duration of our material cultural values
and the affair of their passing to the world heritage” the “Nikol
Aghbalian” union calls on. The event is of countinuous character:
a similar exhibition was organized in 2005 as well.

IF BUILDING OF WRITERS’ UNION OF ARMENIA IS SOLD, I’LL RESIGN, UNION CHAIRMAN STATES
Noyan Tapan
Apr 19 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 19, NOYAN TAPAN. “The 3rd All-Armenian Conference of
writers was held in Beirut at the high level. We can surely say that
these conferences give possibility to world-spread Armenian writers not
only to join but also to know and value values created in two creative
literary fields.” Levon Ananian, the Chairman of the Writers’ Union
of Armenia stated about this at the April 17 press-conference. 150
writers from Armenia, Artsakh, Javakhk and different colonies of
Diaspora participated in the conference taken place in Beirut on April
6-9. They had meetings with representatives of the Armenian community
of Lebanon as well as with the Minister of Culture of that country. The
Armenian writers proposed to the Minister to place prominent writer
Avetik Isahakian’s monument in the center of Beirut as well as to
held a festival of Armenian poetry there and a festival of Lebanese
poetry in Yerevan. At the conference held under the patronage of Aram
I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia it was decided to held
the next All-Armenian Writers’ Conference in Yerevan, and the 5th
one in Aleppo. It was mentioned that a council of translation of the
Armenian literature was created, it was also envisaged to found a fund
for publication of children’s and fiction literature. L.Ananian also
touched upon the news published recently in Armenian press about the
issue that the WUA building will be sold. “The building of the Writers’
Union of Armenia will not be sold, and if such a thing takes place,
I will resing,” L.Ananian stated.

LAWYER QUITS AZERI OFFICER’S DEFENSE
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 19 2006
Baku, April 18, AssA-Irada
Since the status of defense lawyer for Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani
officer sentenced for life by a Hungarian court for killing an
Armenian counterpart in 2004, has not helped him achieve anything,
Adil Ismayilov has decided not to go to Hungary in this capacity any
more, he told a news conference on Tuesday.
“Even though I had very little decision-making powers, the blame for
all the failures is now being put at my feet. Not many people know
that I didn’t even have the right to speak in court,” he said and
added that there was no opportunity to influence Safarov’s Hungarian
lawyer either.
“I have many cases to deal with in Baku. Nevertheless, only out of
respect for Ramil Safarov, I had to travel all the way to Budapest
every time. If I go there again, I will go only as his friend,”
the lawyer stressed.
He also said he was pleased with the measures taken by the Azerbaijani
state to defend the officer, but acknowledged that the efforts would
have been far more effective if properly coordinated.
“All powers must be vested in one person who can then be held
accountable for the results,” he said and concluded that he could
take up that mission if asked to do so.

HOPES REMAIN DESPITE LATEST FRUITLESS TALKS, ARMENIAN MINISTER SAYS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 19 2006
Baku, April 18, AssA-Irada
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian has said that the latest
fruitless round of talks between Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert
Kocharian in Rambouillet, France in February should not be considered
as the overall failure of talks to settle the long-standing Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
“Although the two leaders were unable to reach agreement at
Rambouillet, we do not consider the negotiating process unsuccessful
as a whole,” Oskanian said in a recent meeting of the EU-Armenian
inter-parliamentary commission. He said that based on the progress
achieved prior to the meeting, hopes remain for the future.
Oskanian said that earlier Yerevan had refused to table any other
issues prior to the determination of Upper Garabagh’s status.
“However, in the course of the talks, it backed away from the previous
stance by making a serious compromise,” he maintained.
“If Azerbaijan admits to the right of Upper Garabagh Armenians to
self-determination, if not immediately, then a little later, the
Armenian side will be ready to solve other matters, including the
withdrawal from [Azeri] territories, return of refugees and security
issues,” the Armenian minister said.
Oskanian said the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering
settlement to the conflict are currently working to arrange for the
next meeting of the Azeri and Armenian presidents, but “real grounds”
should be created for this. He added that the date of such meeting
is unknown at this point.