A. AZIMOV: INDIVIDUAL APPROACH TO SOUTH CAUCASIAN STATES NOT TO SERVE EU INTERESTS
Pan Armenian
12.10.2005 23:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ When commenting on the EU-South Caucasus relations
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov stated that
“theoretically the EU can demonstrate individual approach towards
the South Caucasian states, however it will not serve the interests
of the organization in the region, since the role, location, weight
and possibilities of Azerbaijan should be taken into account.” In
his words, the Azerbaijan-EU relations base first of all upon the
Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation.
Besides, Azimov noted, Azerbaijan is included in the EU New
Neighborhood Program and is an essential part of it. “Presently
EU members express various opinions on some issues, which can
result in postponement of the negotiations. In my opinion, these are
temporary political difficulties and the EU like Azerbaijan should be
interested in overcoming them within the shortest terms. This political
misunderstanding will be cleared up in the near future, for Azerbaijan
has always cooperated and will continue cooperation with the European
Union basing on the norm of jus gentium”, Araz Azimov stated. When
touching upon the relations between Baku and the Northern Cyprus,
the Azeri diplomat reminded that Azerbaijan has many times stated
that these relations are bound with “the humanitarian approach of
Azerbaijan towards the Cypriot problem. “A humanitarian element is
present here, however one should keep in mind that these ties are
exercised at an informal level and no conclusions should be made,”
Azimov resumed, Mediamax reports.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LAVROV: RUSSIA FOR TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO EU
Pan Armenian
12.10.2005 23:14 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov favors
Turkey’s accession to the EU. “Like many European states and the
U.S. we welcome possibility of Turkey’s accession to the EU,” the
Russian FM stated in Paris. To remind the EU-Turkey talks started
October 3 and can last 10-15 years.

IS TURKEY A DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBOR?
Panorama
15:39 12/10/05
“I think that Turkey’s entrance EU coincides with our strategic
interests.
We must do our best to assist this procedure, as a result we can have a
democratic neighbor”, said today the leader of the Christian-Democratic
Union Khosrov Harutiunyan during the seminar on “Global and regional
democratizing context in South Caucasus”.
“Being the member of the Minsk group Turkey blocks our country, it
is a real danger for Armenia. The country that is a member of the
Minsk group is not entitled to realize suck kind of activities’,
said Kh. Harutiunyan.
On this point he also wonders, “Why our foreign affairs department
doesn’t raise a question to remove Turkey from the Minsk group?”. Even
in this case, the leader thinks that the danger from Turkey toward
Armenian security will not calm down. And more, it will remain for
a long period. /Panorama.am/

GIFT TO THE CENTRAL BANK
Panorama
17:56 12/10/05
In the next year budget it is overseen to increase the salaries of
civil servants, judges, CB workers as well. The next year is successful
for the central Bank as in 2006 the government will start to launch
shares. This will help the CB to overcome its problems.
The CB president Tigran Sargsyan offered the government to recount
the draft-budget 2006 in 420 ARMD exchange value.
According to T. Sargsyan the new methodology of the exchange value
has been offered by the International Value fund. /Panorama.am/

NAMELESS BUDGET
Panorama
16:10 12/10/05
“I would like to congratulate all of us, it is the first time that
our state budget crossed the border of 1 billion”, said the permanent
president of financial-budgetary committee NA Gagik Minasyan.
To the question what kind of name is the prime-minister Andranik
Margaryan going to give to this budget, he answered, “It is the fourth
year beginning from 2003, we say social budget, because the aim of
this budget is to reduce the poverty”.
The Minister of Finance is not going to title the budget, and more,
he asks the others do not give any other name to the budget. “This
year the budget is called state budget 2006”, added the minister.
Anyhow we can conclude that the name is not so important, it is more
important the works to be done with help of budget.
The draft oversees 382 billion ARMD income, and 451,9 billion ARMD
expenses.
As the prime-minister assures during the draft formation as a criteria
the government took the “Poverty strategic” project. /Panorama.am/

OSCE HOLDS MONITORING OF ARMENIAN-AZERI FRONT-LINE
Nagorny Karabakh Foreign Ministry,
Oct 11 2005
On 11 October, according to an agreement reached earlier, the OSCE
mission carried out planned monitoring on the contact line between the
armed forces of Nagornyy Karabakh and Azerbaijan near the settlement
of Yusifcanli.
On the positions of the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic] defence army
the monitoring was held by the personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk (Poland).
The monitoring group includes the field assistants to the OSCE personal
representative, Olexandr Samarsky (Ukraine) and Harry Eronen (Finland),
and the head of the OSCE high-level planning group, Col Tomaso Strgar
(Slovenia).
The monitoring was held according to schedule and no truce violations
were registered.
On the Karabakh side, the monitoring group was accompanied by
representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry
of Defence.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UNITED STATES READY TO HELP ARMENIA IN ENERGY SECTOR
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12. ARMINFO. During their meeting in the United States
Armenia’s Energy Minister Armen Movissyan and US Energy Secretary
Samuel Bodman discussed the possibility of holding an Armenian-US
energy forum.
The press service of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reports that the forum
will involve private organizations and financial structures for their
supporting Armenia in the energy sector. Armenia hopes that the US
will help it ensure the safety of its atomic power plant and develop
sources alternative to it, Movsissyan said noting that the plant will
be closed only after alternative sources are created.
Bodman said that the US will consider ways to support Armenia and is
interested in the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.

THE “ARMAVIA” COMPANY SIGNED AN AGREEMENT OF PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RUSSIAN “AIR UNION” LTD
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2005
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMINFO. “The “ArmAvia” company signed an
agreement of partnership with the Russian “Air Union” LTD,” reported
the commercial manager of the air company.
According to the report, the partnership of the two companies will
permit to implement joint commercial policy and create integrate
route networks. The companies also signed an interline agreement. The
commercial manager noted that the “Air Union” LTD has got three
transit points in Moscow, Krasnoyarsk and Samara. Through those
points ArmAvia will be connected with the whole route network of the
Russian Federation. On the other hand the Russian company will have
the opportunity of communicating with the Middle East through the
route network of ArmAvia. The representatives of the two companies
also discussed the opportunities of Trans- Atlantic flights as well
as further cooperation on the Yerevan-Krasnoyarsk route and transiting
to the Middle East.

UNKNOWN PEOPLE PUT UP LEAFLETS THREATENING ARMENIANS IN GEORGIAN REGION
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 12 2005
Akhalkalaki, 12 October: On the night of 11-12 October, unknown
people pasted up about 1,000 leaflets in Russian in Akhalkalaki [in
Georgia’s Armenian-populated region]. They were signed by an unknown
organization called the Akhaltsikhe Liberation Brigade and depicted
the Turkish coat of arms.
The leaflets “ordered” the Armenian population to leave this area
immediately and go to “Armenia, Russia, America and so on”, A-Info
news agency reports. “Otherwise, you will be massacred like your
ancestors in 1915,” the leaflets said.
The council of the Armenian public organizations of Samtskhe-Javakheti
and many residents of Akhalkalaki think that the authors of the
leaflets, whoever they are, are playing with fire, terrorizing the
Armenian population of the region and trying to foment the situation,
which does not meet the interests of the Georgian and Armenian
population.
In this regard, the district council of Akhalkalaki invited the heads
of the district law-enforcement agencies – the prosecutor’s office,
police and state security agency – to its plenary session on 12
October to explain the situation.
The session asked the heads of these agencies to identify those who
spread the leaflets and issue a statement to the public in the next
few days.
Although the threat is addressed to the Armenians of Akhaltsikhe,
these leaflets did not appear in Akhaltsikhe itself and Ninotsminda
by the afternoon of 12 October.

FRENCH INSURER REACHES ARMENIAN MASSACRE SETTLEMENT
Reuters
10/13/05 00:46 ET
LOS ANGELES, Oct 12 (Reuters) – The descendants of some of the 1.5
million Armenians killed under Ottoman rule in 1915 will share a $17
million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought against French
insurance giant AXA for unpaid life insurance benefits,
lawyers said on Wednesday.
The settlement is to be approved in November in U.S. District Court
in California, which is home to the largest number of Armenians living
outside Armenia.
The class includes Armenians living in the United States and abroad
who are descendants and heirs of policyholders who perished in what
Armenians say was a genocide perpetrated by Turks.
It was the second lawsuit of its kind to be settled in U.S. courts
despite the fact the United States, along with Turkey, does not
officially recognize the deaths as genocide.
In February, New York Life agreed to pay $20 million to descendants
of its Armenian policyholders killed in 1915.
Turkey has always denied there was a systematic campaign to annihilate
Armenians, saying the deaths occurred in partisan fighting and chaos
during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
The California settlement will be administered in France, one
of the first countries to recognize the Armenian genocide. AXA
is headquartered in France and does business in the United States
through subsidiaries.
AXA agreed to donate several million dollars to various France-based
Armenian charitable organizations. It will also contribute $11 million
toward a fund designed to pay valid claims of heirs of policyholders
with AXA Group subsidiaries that did business in the Turkish Ottoman
Empire before 1915.
In the chaos that surrounded the killings, many policyholders were
unable to obtain their insurance proceeds.
“The AXA and New York Life settlements are important building blocks
not only toward seeking financial recovery for the losses resulting
from the Armenian genocide but also in our ultimate goal, which is
for Turkey and the U.S. to officially acknowledge the genocide,”
said Mark Geragos, an Armenian descendant who was one of the lawyers
for the plaintiffs.