Yerevan invites Kyiv to Iran-Armenia pipeline tender
Interfax
May 12 2004
Moscow. (Interfax) – Armenia is inviting Ukraine to bid in a tender
for the building of an Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, Armenian Prime
Minister Andranik Margaryan announced at a joint press conference
with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich on Tuesday in the
Ukrainian capital.
Margaryan said this was one of the main topics discussed by the
Armenian-Ukrainian commission for trade and economic relations
on Tuesday.
He noted that his country and Iran are engaged in technical
consultations, after which will be discussions of financial details
and then the announcement of the construction tender.
“We are confident Ukraine will take part in it,” Margaryan said.
As reported earlier, a final agreement on building the gas pipeline
is expected to be signed in late May during a visit to Yerevan by
Irani Oil and Gas Minister Bijan Zanganeh.
The actual construction is slated to begin late this year and be
completed sometime in 2006.
According to documents signed earlier, the Iran-Armenia pipeline will
run 141 kilometers, 100 km in Iran and 41 km in Armenia. The project
price tag is estimated at $120 million. Plans are for Armenia to
receive 700 million cubic meters of gas per year via the pipeline
initially, up to 1.5 billion cubic meters later on. Armenia will
pay for the Irani gas with electricity at 3 kilowatt/hours per cubic
meter of gas.
Building this pipeline has been a discussion subject since 1992.
Aside from the main project players, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
China and some European Union countries have shown interest. The
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced
its readiness to be part of the project financing.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Take action against gangs
Pasadena Star-News, CA
May 12 2004
EXCEPT for state Sen. Nell Soto, the silence out of Sacramento is
deafening. Why have area legislators remained mum on the problem of
gang violence in their districts?
Perhaps they believe they can do nothing. But shouldn’t they at least
try something, anything, to prevent the kind of senseless violence that
took the life of California Highway Patrol officer Thomas Steiner and
effectively ended hopes for a life outside of prison for his alleged
killer, 16-year-old Valentino Mitchell Arenas?
The teen allegedly shot Steiner as he exited the Pomona Superior Court,
perhaps as a ticket into Pomona’s oldest and most violent crime family,
the 12th Street Gang.
Only Soto has reached out to Pomona Mayor Eddie Cortez who hopes to
form a gang task force. A community forum Tuesday in Pomona explored
the problem.
Intervention is badly needed. As chronicled Monday by Staff Writer
Sara Carter, Arenas was born in the heart of 12th Street territory;
family members were part of the gang and did time behind bars.
It’s time state lawmakers, especially Latino legislators who could
stand as role models, take a long hard look at such gang activity
and say “enough’ because gangs aren’t just a Pomona problem.
If communities don’t work toward solutions, gangs will continue to
prey upon one another and the wider population. A generation of young
people are being rubbed out by each other.
Here’s the sad, tough truth. Only Latinos can end the internecine
Latino gang killings by standing against gangs.
Only Asians can stop the assaults and home-invasion robberies that see
Asian gangs preying on their own people, setting up extortion rackets,
prostitution rings and trafficking in human slaves. Who will say
“stop’?
We must get at the root of gang culture that sees generation after
generation follow the gang lifestyle. For Arenas, belonging to the 12th
Street Gang was part of his environment. That sad cycle must be broken.
It will take involvement from those leaders in the community who have
either been there and managed to claw their way out of gangs or those
who found a way to resist joining.
Schools too must look for underlying gang involvement in interracial
violence on campus. Azusa found most of the so- called hate crimes in
their city sprang from a local Latino gang striking out at African
Americans. March 5, fighting erupted between Armenian and African-
American students at Pasadena’s Marshall Fundamental High School.
Armenian gangs are the newest ethnic crime component.
Racism, ethnic hatred. Communities must actively work to end these
old hatreds. Peer mediation at Marshall and other schools have helped.
But a multipronged, concerted effort is needed, beginning with
all-important adult role models who have been silent far too long.
Now is the time for Soto and fellow Sens. Martha Escutia and Gloria
Romero along with Assembly members Rudy Bermudez, Ron Calderon,
Ed Chavez, Judy Chu and Carol Liu as well as community leaders to
speak out against gangs and map strategies to end their influence
on young people. We agree with Soto: “We need more than thought. We
need action.’

Baku Today
May 12 2004
Azerbaijani, Armenian Foreign Ministers Meeting Today
Baku Today 12/05/2004 12:30
Azerbaijan and Armenian foreign ministers will come together today
in Strasbourg to discuss Karabakh conflict. According to ANS, the
two will be considering step by step solution of the conflict which
is backed by Azerbaijani side.
In particular Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is
expected to dwell on the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from seven
Azerbaijani territories so that the internally displaced Azerbaijani
people could return to their lands.
Earlier Armenian side had agreed to consider the issue.
The meeting of the foreign ministers is following the meeting of the
presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on April 28 in Warsaw.

Caucasus foes to discuss Karabakh
BBC News
May 12 2004
Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of the ceasefire Armenian and
Azeri ministers are meeting to discuss the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
They are expected to discuss Armenia returning some of the Karabakh
regions to Azeri control, in exchange for reopening transport links.
The talks coincide with the 10th anniversary of a ceasefire between the
countries, which ended five years of hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Thousands died in the conflict and a million were forced out of
their homes.
The conflict erupted in 1988, when the majority Armenians in the
mountainous enclave demanded independence from Soviet Azerbaijan.
According to Azeri President Ilham Aliev, the foreign ministers of
Azerbaijan and Armenia will discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue on
Wednesday at a session of the foreign ministers of Council of Europe
member countries.
“We will exchange opinions on the possibility of liberating seven
regions of Azerbaijan in exchange for opening transport communications
with Armenia,” he said.
“The occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions around it are
the biggest problem and danger both for Azerbaijan and for the
entire region.”
Impatience
In 1994, the two governments signed a ceasefire ceding Nagorno-Karabakh
and six of the surrounding territories to Armenian control.
Since then the international community has urged the two countries
to find a solution to the conflict, but talks have stalled.
The BBC’s Chloe Arnold in the Azeri capital Baku, says relations
between the two neighbours are as bad today as they have ever been.
She says there is growing impatience with the peace process in
Azerbaijan, where many ordinary people here now say the only way to
resolve the dispute is to go back to war.

DIPLOMATS MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO SETTLE KARABAKH CONFLICT
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 12 2004
BAKU/YEREVAN, May 12, (RIA Novosti) – Vardan Oskanyan, Armenia’s
foreign minister, and Elmar Mamedyarov, Azerbaijan’s foreign
minister, will discuss a settlement of the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict
in Strasbourg.
The meeting will take place within the framework of a Council of
Europe foreign ministers session and the cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group on Nagorny Karabakh from the United States, Russia and France
will participate in the meeting.
Speaking about the coming meeting in Strasbourg, Yuri Merzlyakov, the
Russian cochairman, said that the meeting of foreign ministers “will
have an open agenda, that is, the sides of the conflict and the
cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group can put forth any proposals at the
meeting.”
According to Mr. Merzlyakov, “the mediators want to find a compromise
between the so-called package and the stage-by-stage methods of
settling the conflict.”
The press secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet
Gasparyan, said that “so far, there is no clear or fixed agenda of
the negotiations.” He added that a meeting of the personal
representatives of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on a
Nagorny Karabakh settlement was not planned to be held in Strasbourg.
The head of the press service of the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry,
Metin Mirza, also said that he had no information about consultations
being held in Strasbourg between the personal representatives of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents on a Karabakh settlement – Deputy
Foreign Ministers Tatul Margaryan and Araz Azimov.
On April 28, Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President
Robert Kocharyan of Armenia met within the framework of the European
Economic Summit in Warsaw. After the meeting they stated that they
supported intensifying the negotiation process on a settlement to the
Karabakh conflict.
After it was defeated in a war with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh
(formally against Yerevan-supported armed units of the Armenian
enclave in Azerbaijan whose capital is in Stepanakert and who wanted
independence from Azerbaijan and their own state), Azerbaijan lost up
to 30% of its own territory and over a million of its citizens have
become refugees. Baku says that it will never reconcile the loss of
Nagorny Karabakh and expresses its readiness to grant it autonomy but
only as part of a united Azerbaijani state. However, seemingly
neither Yerevan nor Stepanakert even consider this possibility.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers to meet in Strasbourg
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
11 May 04
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan is leaving for Strasbourg on Wednesday
[12 May] to attend the 114th session of the Council of Europe [CE]
ministerial committee. Minister Oskanyan will deliver a speech in
Strasbourg on Armenia’s fulfilment of its commitments to the CE,
the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and the country’s
current situation.
According to the preliminary accord Vardan Oskanyan will meet his
Azerbaijani counterpart (Elmar Mammadyarov) in the presence of the
OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairmen.

Karabakh cease-fire “mainly due to the balance of forces” – separatist minister
Mediamax news agency
12 May 04
Yerevan, 12 May: The truce agreement in the zone of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict entered into force 10 years ago on 12 May 1994.
On 5 May 1994, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Karabakhi parliaments’
heads signed a protocol under the auspices of the CIS Parliamentary
Assembly, which served as a base for establishing a truce in the
Karabakh conflict zone. On the basis of the signed protocol, the
Russian president’s special representative for Nagornyy Karabakh,
Vladimir Kazimirov, drew up a truce agreement which entered into
force on 12 May.
In the interview with Mediamax, foreign minister of the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic (NKR) Ashot Gulyan called the meeting in Bishkek “a
remarkable stage in the history of the Karabakh conflict settlement.”
Ashot Gulyan highlighted the importance of the fact that for the
last ten years the truce has been maintained by the efforts of the
two sides, without the support of the international contingent.
“The cease-fire is maintained mainly due to the balance of forces
in the region, and day-by-day improvement of the NKR Defence Army’s
fighting efficiency, giving confidence that the peace in the region
will be maintained in the future as well,” the minister said.

“Council of Europe is not our boss”, Georgian president says
Imedi TV, Tbilisi
11 May 04
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said that peaceful
resolution of the Ajaria crisis proved that Georgia would no longer be
a “humiliated” nation. Speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi on
11 may, Saakashvili reaffirmed his commitment to restoring Georgia’s
territorial integrity. Discussing recent clashes involving ethnic
Armenians and Georgians in Georgia’s Tsalka District, the president
said that he would not “over-dramatize” the situation as the incident
was not ethnically motivated. Saakashvili once again criticized Council
of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer for failing to take a
clear stance during the Ajaria crisis and speak out in support of human
rights. The president also said that Georgia invited presidents of the
GUUAM regional alliance (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and
Moldova) to a summit to be held in the Ajarian capital this June. The
following is an excerpt from a report by Georgian Imedi TV on 11 May,
with subheadings inserted editorially:
Georgia will “no longer be humiliated”
[Presenter Giorgi Akhvlediani] Good evening. At the moment, Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili is holding a news briefing at the State
Chancellery. We go live to the briefing.
[Saakashvili, live relay starts in mid-sentence] Sometimes I feel
– especially when listening to our politicians – that many people
have not realized what a historic event took place in Georgia last
week. Last week, after many years of destruction, disintegration and
weakening, Georgia begun to reunite. Last week, we defeated the main
complex that [former President] Shevardnadze’s rule instilled in us:
that Georgia was always defeated, that our army was always defeated,
that our neighbouring states were always stronger than we were and
they were always aggressive towards us, that we should not take steps
[in Ajaria] because it would result in a new catastrophe and a new
disaster.
The Georgian people has proved that the epoch of defeats has ended. It
has ended, Georgia is no longer going to be defeated, Georgia is no
longer going to lose, Georgia is no longer going to be humiliated.
Indeed, the new government has been working for just three months,
and the main issue we needed to resolve the most has already been
resolved. I want to say that it has been resolved because we are
a state already. In these few months, after the November [2003]
revolution, we have been transformed from a disintegrated, distressed
and disorderly country into a state.
At present, during the past week, more than 2,000 soldiers of the
[Georgian] Internal Troops have been patrolling the streets of
[the Ajarian capital] Batumi. You remember what was happening
when [Georgian] troops were in Abkhazia. Numerous incidents were
happening every day, robberies and plundering [changes tack] – there
were heroes there [in Abkhazia] too, but the state was not backing
those heroes. Now, there has not been a single incident of marauding
in Batumi. I was there and I saw how the population was meeting the
soldiers. The day before yesterday, I watched how soldiers of the
Internal Troops, very happy soldiers, were dancing together with
local girls at a stadium. I watched how disciplined their attitude
was. That is because these are different troops. These troops have
their own kitchen and they are fed three times a day. These troops are
getting their salaries – some of them high salaries – in time. These
troops have uniforms, although perhaps not the best uniforms. And
these troops have the spirit of winners.
Without those [military] exercises at Qulevi [training ground] – which
finally convinced [ousted Ajarian leader Aslan] Abashidze and some of
his allies that military confrontation with us would be senseless –
and without this kind of courage shown by our troops, and without
this spirit, this historical issue could never be resolved in such a
peaceful and calm manner. This work was done over many months, by the
security ministry and some other groups. It was indeed a miracle how
it has been done. Georgia has acquired a completely different image
in the world, a completely different image. Everyone was saying: they
will disintegrate after the November revolution, they will repeat the
same disasters which previous authorities did in Georgia. They failed,
because we approached this issue in a different manner. We disregarded
personal emotions and other issues and we started building the state.
Now we have embarked on the next stage of state building. I want to
say that Ajaria’s reintegration – and Ajaria was virtually separated
from Georgia, this we know very well – that Ajaria’s reintegration has
virtually doubled the economic potential of Georgia. The processes of
restoration have been going on very smoothly there. Today Abashidze’s
main killer, Siamashvili, which he [Abashidze] used as his last
argument, and you know that more than 200 killer weapons have been
seized there [in Ajaria]. We’ve given the remaining formations until
tomorrow evening to disarm and surrender. However, at the same time,
Levan Varshalomidze, Edvard Surmanidze and other members of the
provisional council – and I want to single out the heroic role of
Tamaz Diasamidze – are already working on [changes tack] – road works
will continue in Ajaria throughout the summer. We will rebuild roads
in Ajaria, which has not been done for many years.
This summer, thousands of new restaurants and bars should open there
– at least dozens should open – and negotiations on this issue are
already under way. Tourist infrastructure should be developed,
completely new opportunities should be created for people to go
and spend holidays there. Once again, I want to ask everyone – go
to Ajaria, everyone should go to Ajaria, I am also going to visit
Ajaria. By our presence there, let us express solidarity to our
beloved residents of Batumi, Kobuleti and other districts of Ajaria.
Questions, please.
No serious rift expected within ruling party
[Unidentified reporter] Mr President, what can you say about the
rift which started within the majority faction [of the Georgian
parliament]? Is it likely that such incidents will recur and a
large-scale opposition will be created?
[Saakashvili] I want to say that, first of all, I do not see any rift.
Perhaps there are one or two people who have their dissenting opinion,
and I have never been against dissenting opinions. Generally, I
want to say that the unity of the National Movement and the [United]
Democrats is a very strong unity. The unity of myself, [Parliament
Chairwoman] Nino Burjanadze and [Prime Minister] Zurab Zhvania is
very strong. Some people, including members of my own party, did not
like it, but this is their problem.
I know what National Movement activists have done in Ajaria. These were
not only Ajarian activists, 2,000 members of the National Movement
from other parts of Georgia arrived in Ajaria on the day when
there was a threat that protesters would be attacked. We defeated
all barriers. Residents of Kakheti, Kartli, Imereti and Samegrelo
[provinces[, all united and arrived in Ajaria. These are people who
carried out the November revolution in Tbilisi. [Passage omitted]
However, once Aslan Abashidze fled, on the same night, residents
of Kakheti, Kartli and Samegrelo and other provinces congratulated
Ajarians, put their hats on, boarded cars and went back. They acted
like a well-trained army. [Passage omitted]
Clashes involving ethnic Armenians should not be “over-dramatized”
[Reporter] Mze TV company, Dato Maisuradze. A conflict between two
ethnic groups – Armenians and Georgians – has been going on in [the
southern Georgian town of] Tsalka for several days. Today the Internal
Troops have been deployed there. What kind of decisive measures should
be taken in order to avoid escalation of the situation?
[Saakashvili] I do not want to over-dramatize this. Today my
representatives met with those people. A fight occurred after a
football match between two groups of the local population. This was
not a fight between two ethnic groups, this was a fight between two
groups. Now our goal is not finding out who was to blame. Our goal
is to protect every citizen regardless of ethnic background.
Today Georgia has enough resources to respond to any act of
provocation. No provocations or rhetoric can drag us into any kind
of situation resembling a conflict. In today’s Georgia, police has
been much stronger than before. [Passage omitted]
Therefore, a group of hooligans can no longer speak to the Georgian
state so easily. A year ago, this [Tsalka incident] would be a
tragedy. We advise everyone against blackmailing us or staging some
act of provocation. We will respond to everyone. The security ministry
has started working very well. It showed its strength in Ajaria. The
situation in other regions will also be settled, step by step. I do
not really see a problem here.
Today enemies of Georgia are keeping their heads down after
what happened in Ajaria. No one could have imagined it. Now, my
representatives have visited Azerbaijan, and the whole of Azerbaijan is
celebrating what happened in Batumi more than we are. This is because
they now see new prospects for the entire region. Apart from anything
else, Batumi is a huge economic intersection for the entire region,
including Azerbaijan. There were very positive reactions in Armenia
as well. The Armenian President called me on the phone. Ukrainian
President [Leonid] Kuchma, when he called me on the phone, he was
excited, he was joyful, and he told me that he welcomed it and that
he was amazed. And look at the press coverage.
So, after all these, if some hooligans are going to blackmail us,
they will never succeed. There should be no panic. Slowly and calmly,
we will respond to everyone, and everyone will get what they deserve.
“Council of Europe is not our boss”
[Unidentified reporter] Mr President, the tone of the Council of
Europe has been quite mild after your statement [criticizing the
Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer], compared to
that of your statement. However, [Georgian Foreign Minister] Salome
Zourabichvili has disappeared somewhere.
[Saakashvili, laughing] No, Salome is [interrupted by the reporter]
[Reporter] In the end, what will be the status of Plamen Nikolov
[the Council of Europe secretary-general’s special representative
to Georgia]?
[Saakashvili] Salome is in Brussels now.
As regards the Council of Europe: I expressed my position not
towards the Council of Europe but towards the behaviour of its
Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer. What is the Council of Europe? The
Council of Europe is a parliamentary assembly, and I was the assembly’s
vice-president for two years. The Council of Europe is a secretariat,
like, for example, a parliament and a cabinet of ministers. This
secretariat has its Secretary-General, Walter Schwimmer. The assembly
fully supported us. Besides, there is this much more important
organization, the European Union, which fully supported us and
condemned the behaviour of Aslan Abashidze. Besides, there is the
United States of America who condemned Aslan Abashidze’s actions in a
very strict manner. However, the Council of Europe Secretary-General,
during that period [changes tack] – what is the function of the
Council of Europe? To react to violations of human rights. This is
the organization which should protect democracy. However, it said
nothing when we needed their voice the most.
The Council of Europe is not our boss. We should all realize [changes
tack] – here, in Georgia, there were concerns that a scandal may
develop [changes tack] – this is the organization whose boss is Georgia
itself. We are one of the members, we are paying salaries for every
employee of the secretariat, because we are paying membership fees
every year, and we are paying for it so that this organization should
protect democracy and, among others, Georgian society.
In the case of [Tengiz] Asanidze, the [European] Court [of Human
Rights] worked well and protected [human rights], but in the case of
the secretary-general, his position was absolutely inadequate. I want
to tell you that reaction to my statement in the Western press was
very positive. There will be election of the new secretary-general,
and there are several candidatures there. During the election, the
assembly will discuss the reaction of the Council of Europe to the
situation in Georgia. However, we all should realize, once and for
all, that we are a self-respecting country, we have no bosses. Our
boss is the Georgian people, and there is no boss above the Georgian
people. The Council of Europe is one of the organizations, and we
are also aspiring towards membership in the European Union.
As regards the [Council of Europe’s] representative here, Salome
Zourabichvili is now conducting a regular procedure. I think that it
was right what Salome demanded – that the representative should be
replaced here. In the end, this should be decided through diplomatic
channels. However, I think that, when I said it, I expressed my
disappointment and the disappointment of many Ajarians and, generally,
of Georgians. At a decisive moment, when America, the European Union at
Brussels and everyone was alert, these people were talking like nothing
was happening while it is their business to protect human rights.
I think that this will be a lesson for all Europeans. I think that
[changes tack] – my friends, together with whom I worked in Strasbourg,
have been calling me, and they fully share our position. [Parliament
Chairwoman] Nino Burjanadze] talked to Walter Schwimmer himself, and
Walter Schwimmer too expressed regret that the reaction to what was
happening in Ajaria was not adequate. I think that everyone should draw
their conclusions. Our position is absolutely clear: we need support,
and we need our friends’ reaction at decisive moments. Aslan Abashidze
was the only man who benefited from silence at that moment.
This is an old story already, and maybe it is not worth
recalling. However, for the future – Abkhazia is ahead of us, and we
have to accomplish other tasks – our principled position in this case
was very important. I think that our people understand this very well.
Next question, please. [Passage omitted]
GUUAM summit to be held in Ajaria in June
I want to organize a large-scale military parade on 26 May [Georgia’s
independence day], where all these people [soldiers from Ajaria-based
units] will participate. There should be a very large-scale parade in
Tbilisi in which 100 tanks and armoured vehicles will take part. In
Batumi, there will be a large parade of [navy] ships and mass rallies
of people in Batumi and Tbilisi.
By the way, we are planning to hold a summit of the GUUAM [regional
alliance of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova]
in Batumi in June. For the first time in the Georgian history,
an official summit – meeting of presidents and a political forum –
will be held. You know that the GUUAM includes Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
Moldova and Uzbekistan. At least three presidents of these countries
will arrive here. We are still conducting negotiations with Uzbekistan,
and [Ukrainian President Leonid] Kuchma and [Azerbaijani President]
Ilham Aliyev have already confirmed [that they will come]. This forum
will be held in Batumi.
By the way, we are going to hold a large economic forum in Ajaria
where businesses from the whole of Russia will arrive – all of them,
all key oligarchs and a number of [Russian] ministers – at the order
of President Putin. We want this forum to be held both in Tbilisi
and Batumi.
I am also going to lead a delegation to Romania and Turkey, I am
taking Ajarians with me, for the most part, so that links with Batumi
are restored, because this will enrich Georgia. [Passage omitted]

Armenian premier says Ukraine may join gas pipeline project
Era, Kiev
11 May 04
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan is paying a visit to
Ukraine. He met his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych,
today. In particular, the parties noted that both countries had
tremendous potential for developing bilateral trade.
The Armenian prime minister also stated that Ukraine could take
part in bidding for the construction of a gas pipeline to Iran. He
noted, however, that a technical and economic feasibility study of
the project was still being prepared, so details of the possible
participation of Ukrainian companies in building the pipeline had
not been discussed yet.

Armenian leader to visit Russia on 13-15 May
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
11 May 04
Yerevan, 11 May, ITAR-TASS correspondent Tigran Liloyan: Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan will pay a working visit to Moscow this
week, the press secretary of the republic’s president, Ashot Kocharyan,
has said. The trip will take place on 13-15 May, he clarified.
“Relations with Russia have the nature of strategic partnership and
are an important factor that ensures Armenia’s economic development
and security.” Robert Kocharyan’s official visit to Russia in January
last year, during which the two countries’ presidents continued their
dialogue, was an important stage in developing bilateral relations,
he recalled.
According to the press secretary, priority importance is attached to
economic cooperation at the moment. In this context, prospects for
economic development and for expanding economic relations will be
examined, Ashot Kocharyan said. The Armenian president will meet the
heads of Russian companies which supply natural gas to the republic,
as well as other representatives of business circles in Moscow.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress