RockRage
March 25 2004
System Of A Down announces support acts for benefit concert
As we had reported before, System Of A Down will be headlining the
`Souls 2004′ benefit concert on April 24th at the Greek Theatre in
Los Angeles, CA. with proceeds benefiting `organizations that work to
eradicate the atrocities of genocides across the globe, including the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), an organization that
supports legislation in the U.S. Congress to recognize the Armenian
Genocide that was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire during World War 1.’
System has just confirmed all the supporting acts for the event and
they include Saul Williams, Bad Acid Trip, and Zach Hill.
Saul Williams is an influential and award-winning
rapper/poet/actor/screenwriter who co-wrote and starred in the film
`Slam.’ He has also received awards including the Grand Jury Prize at
1998’s Sundance Film Festival.
Bad Acid Trip is an innovative and eccentric band that recently
signed on toe System frontman Serj Tankian’s label Serjical Strike
Records and will release their debut on April 20th.
And opener Zach Hill is a much buzzed-about drummer scheduled to
`perform one of the most astounding drum solos you’ll ever witness.’
He is also the drummer for Sacramento-based duo Hella, and also
played drums for Team Sleep, the side project fronted by Deftones
vocalist Chino Moreno.

ArmenPress
March 25 2004
ARMENIAN, AZERI FMs MEETING IN PRAGUE CANCELLED
BAKU, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS: Russian co-chairman in the OSCE Minsk
group, Yuri Merzlyakov, told in an interview with an Azerbaijani ATV
channel that the planned meeting of Armenian and Azeri foreign
ministers with the group’s chairmen, scheduled for March 29 in
Prague, will not take place.
Merzlyakov explained that the meeting was cancelled at the request
of one of the sides, but did not elaborate. “Those who accuse the
Minsk group of inactivity should look at the efforts of the
conflicting sides aimed at its regulation,” he said, adding that the
confrontation can be resolved by the sides themselves, but not by
mediators.
A spokesman for Armenian foreign ministry, Hamlet Gasparian, told
Armenpress that the meeting was most likely cancelled at the request
of Azerbaijan, “as Armenia responded positively after receiving the
relevant invitation from the Minsk group.” He said no other messages
were received since from the co-chairmen.

ArmenPress
March 25 2004
DISSIDENT COMMUNIST WARNS AGAINST DESTABILIZATION
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS: Yura Manukian, a dissident expelled
from the Communist Party of Armenia, who was elected today the chief
of the new, United Communist Party, argued that maintaining political
stability is “more vital than air and water,” and that the sovereign
country with a short record of independence has no right to treat its
fate lightly.
Manukian went on to argue that “every Armenian citizen has to
contribute to help resolve the country’s pressing problems.” The main
reason, according to him, behind the opposition’s failure to come up
by a united front is not ideological differences but its leaders’
ambitions. He also called on the latter and the party’s regional
chapters to refrain from moves that would destabilize domestic
stability.

ArmenPress
March 25 2004
ONASSIS FOUNDATION HELPS ESTABLISH NEW CARDIOVASCULAR CENTER IN
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS: A new cardiovascular surgical
center was inaugurated in Yerevan today with the financial support of
the Greek Onassis Foundation in the premises, owned by Yerevan
Medical University. The building was completely repaired, while
medical equipment came as a donation from the Greek Foundation.
One of the major peculiarities of the new Center is that patients
are discharged the next day after being operated on, and unlike a
similar center at Erebuni hospital, not only operations on heart are
performed, but also other congenital disorders are mended. Though six
specialists of the center were trained in Greece, the first
operations are going to be performed by guest surgeons from Greece
with listed patients from Middle East waiting for their turn already.
The rector of Yerevan Medical University, Vilen Hakobian,
expressed hope that adolescent patients should be operated free, as
part of state order. Greek ambassador to Armenia, Antonios Vlavianos,
education and science, social affairs ministers and other dignitaries
were present at the opening ceremony.

The Toronto Star
March 25, 2004 Thursday Ontario Edition
A stab at greatness
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian is tops among the best crop of singers
Canada has ever produced Makes Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut amid
ever-widening acclaim, writes William Littler
Noticing that her interviewer was eying her coffee cup, the scientist
in Isabel Bayrakdarian spoke up quickly:
“This has soy milk in it. You get to like soy. I don’t know if you
ever get to love it.”
Dairy products? The cup bearer shook her head, her dark eyes flashing
as she added, with a wicked smile, “And coffee leaches the calcium
from your body!”
Tempted as he was to pull his chair away from Columbia Artists’
boardroom table and submit his body for detoxification, your humble
servant decided instead to change the subject.
It was too early in the morning to confront, across a table, an
honours graduate in biomedical engineering from the University of
Toronto.
It was almost too early to confront her more recent identity as
Canada’s fastest-rising young soprano, the one she will exhibit in
her debut performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra next
Wednesday at Roy Thomson Hall (repeat performances take place April 1
and 3, with an added April 4 performance at North York’s George
Weston Recital Hall).
After all, she had just spent the previous evening across 57th St. on
the stage of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, joining three other
singers (mezzo-soprano Norine Burgess, tenor Michael Schade and
baritone Russell Braun), accompanied by pianists Carolyn Maule and
Serouj Kradjian, warbling her way through an all-Canadian
presentation of Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52, and Schumann’s
Spanish Liebeslieder.
Yes, I said all-Canadian.
With all four singers under contract, her manager at Columbia
Artists, Elizabeth Crittenden, had sold Carnegie Hall on the maple
leaf package and at the concert’s end, a cheering audience applauded
the decision.
The concert was emblematic of Canada’s current crop of vocal talent,
perhaps the most remarkable the country has yet produced.
Canadians are singing now on almost all the world’s major stages,
including those on Manhattan’s 57th St.
Indeed, three of the four Liebeslieder singers had already appeared
under Carnegie auspices. Bayrakdarian had not only sung her own
recital there, she had begun a complementary career at the nearby
Metropolitan Opera House, initially in a year ago as Catherine in
Willliam Bolcom’s A View From The Bridge, more recently as Teresa in
Berlioz’ Benvenuto Cellini. Not bad for someone who only took up
singing to improve her vocal skills in church.
Born in Lebanon, one of six children of Armenian parents, Isabel
moved with her family at age 14 to Toronto, where singing in an
Armenian church choir became a big part of her life. It still is. Her
debut CD for CBC Records, titled Joyous Light, celebrates several
centuries of Armenian liturgical music.
“I love the haunting quality of this music,” she explained, between
sips of coffee. “There is a bitter-sweetness and you can put so much
of yourself into its interpretation. I can go into an Armenian church
anywhere in the world, join the choir and start singing. It always
feels like home.”
It was during her vocal studies at home in Toronto with Jean McPhail
at the Royal Conservatory, carried on in tandem with her academic
studies at the University of Toronto, that the possibility of a
career in singing gradually emerged for the young chorister.
“We all need idols and when I grew up there was no Armenian operatic
singer I could look up to, although I later learned that Lucine Amara
was Armenian. So it took time for me to realize I could have a
career. All my biographies now say Canadian-Armenian soprano. I’m
Armenian by heritage but I belong to Canada.”
Canada and the world, actually. The journey from membership in the
Canadian Opera Ensemble (she made her debut in major roles as Rosina
in a production of Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville in February, 1999)
to stardom in New York, Paris and Salzburg has taken only a brief few
years.
“My path to opera was not planned.” she smiled. “And my path through
it will be as spontaneous as I can make it. Someone asked me recently
what I will be doing in January, 2009. I just will not commit that
far. Two or three years ahead yes, but my god, five?”
Bayrakdarian’s reason for caution is obvious. With so few roles under
her belt, she is still experimenting with what works for her. “Tosca
is a great role,” she explained, “but not for my voice. And I’m not
an ‘ina’ (as in Donizetti’s Norina or Mozart’s Despina), the kind of
(soubrette) voice that sings until the age of 40, when they start
looking for younger versions of you.
“It is a blessing that my voice has developed at the extremes and
gained much more depth in the middle. I find that if you lead a
healthy lifestyle, the voice is healthy. Use food as a fuel, not as a
way of dealing with emotional problems. I love what Birgit Nilsson
said: ‘Sad birds don’t sing.'”
An obviously happy bird at this stage of her career, Bayrakdarian was
effectively launched on the international stage by winning Placido
Domingo’s Operalia Competition in 2000. Her combination of vocal
freshness, physical beauty and an outgoing personality have continued
to dazzle the experts as well as the general public.
Offstage, she loves fast cars, holds a scuba-diving licence and can
mix a drink with the skill that put her through the Bartending School
of Ontario.
No, I’m not joking. “Just a little wine is enough to make me whooo,”
the soprano laughed. “But with my bartender’s licence I can be a
great host. I guess it’s the chemist in me.”
It’s the singer in her that she is concentrating on these days, with
the international scope of her career making her a connoisseur of
travel.
“Every day I count my blessings that I do what I do,” she insisted.
“And having a partner who is also in music and experiences all this
with you completely changes you (Serouj Kradjian not only makes music
with his fellow alumnus of Toronto’s Armenian community, he happens
to be her fiance).
“I love the travel. But I can’t wait for my Toronto Symphony
Orchestra debut. It’s singing at home. I love the idea of being able
to drive to work. It’s as close to a normal job as I’ll ever have.”
Does she miss the biomedical engineering? “I don’t regret spending
those years in science at all. But I am a different person now. Music
brings out the best in you. It refreshes the soul. I feel it has made
me a better person.”
Who: Isabel Bayrakdarian
Where: Roy Thomson Hall,
60 Simcoe St.
When: Mar. 31, Apr. 1, 3
Apr. 4 @ Weston Recital Hall
Tickets: $31 – $98 @ 416-872-4255 (416-870-8000 for Weston Recital Hall)
GRAPHIC: “My path to opera was not planned. And my path through it
will be as spontaneous as I can make it,” says Toronto-based soprano
Isabel Bayrakdarian, seen here as Pamina for the Cincinnati Opera.

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
March 24, 2004
VTB finalizes deal to buy 70% of Armenia’s Armsberbank
MOSCOW, Mar 24 (Prime-Tass) — Major state-owned Russian bank
Vneshtorgbank (VTB) has finalized the deal to purchase a 70% stake in
Armenia’s savings bank Armsberbank, one of the largest in the
country, VTB’s press service reported Wednesday.
The purchase came as a planned step in the implementation of VTB’s
development program, which envisages the creation of a subsidiary
chain in Europe and the CIS, the press release stated.
Armsberbank, with its broad chain of branches and developed client
base, including small and middle-sized businesses, will serve as a
starting point for VTB’s further expansion to Armenia’s banking
sector.
Up until now, the bank was fully owned by the MIKA Armenia Trading
company.
As of end-September, 2003, Armsberbank’s own capital totaled 2.652
billion drams, and pre-tax profit amounted to 181.1 million drams in
January-September.
(561.55 drams – U.S. USD 1) End

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT 2004
(covering worldwide corruption from July 2002 to June 2003)
ARMENIA
Corruption Perceptions Index 2003 score: 3.0 (78th out of 133 countries)
Bribe Payers Index 2002 score: not surveyed
CONVENTIONS:
Council of Europe Civil Law Convention on Corruption (not yet signed)
Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (signed May 2003;
not yet
ratified)
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (ratified July 2003)
LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES:
The law on parties, passed in July 2002, regulates issues related to the
formation, reformation and liquidation of parties, as well as their
activities and legal status. It prohibits party members who work in the
state and local government from using their positions for the benefit of the
party.
The laws on the tax service and customs service, both passed in July 2002,
are designed to ensure that government posts are filled through open
competition and to prevent employees from working with immediate relatives.
The new criminal code, passed in April 2003, binds government officials to
conflict of interest regulations and enlarges the definition of corruption
to include the illegal involvement of public officials in business
activities. Yet it also sets milder penalties for corruption-related crimes,
such as the abuse of power and position by public officials and the giving
and taking of bribes. Punishment for abuse of power can vary from a fine of
200 times the defined minimum monthly salary to imprisonment for two to six
years.1
The bill on freedom of information regulates the rights of those who possess
information and defines the rules, procedures and conditions for receiving
information from government institutions. The law ensures access to
information as well as its dissemination and transparency. It also provides
that requested information be delivered within a five-day period, unless it
requires additional work, in which case it must be provided within 30 days.
At this writing, the bill was expected to pass into law.
The ombudsman law aims to regulate the appointment and dismissal of the
ombudsman, as well as related rights and obligations. It provides that the
ombudsman be appointed by the president and approved by the national
assembly for a five-year
term. The ombudsman is to be independent, adhere to the constitution and
enjoy immunity during the term of office. The law has passed the second
reading, but has not yet been promulgated.
A controversial law on mass media, allowing for increased state control of
the media, is in draft form. Protests prompted the justice ministry to
submit a revised draft in 2003, but critics are still not appeased.
THE UNCLEAR STATUS OF ARMENIA’S ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRAMME
Since Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan established the state
anti-corruption commission in 2001, progress on the development of a
national anti-corruption programme has been slow and less than transparent.2
The final proposal for the programme is currently pending approval, yet its
complete contents have not been shared openly.
In early 2002, at the request of the government, the World Bank allocated US
$300,000 to draft the anti-corruption strategy programme.3 An expert group,
comprised of two international and six local experts, was formed to work on
proposals for legislative, institutional and public-involvement measures, as
well as a detailed implementation plan. Their proposals had to include
mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating anti-corruption activities.
Since one of the World Bank’s requirements was the active involvement of
civil society in a transparent drafting of the anti-corruption strategy
programme, members of the National Anti-corruption NGO Coalition were
invited to attend one of the expert group meetings.4
At the international level, the OSCE took the lead in coordinating donor
assistance in combating corruption through the international Joint Task
Force (JTF), which included all the key international organisations and
diplomatic missions. Following discussions with the president and prime
minister, an agreement was reached on maintaining regular contacts between
the JTF and the government during the strategy’s development.
Initially, the expert group prepared a broad strategy outline of more than
200 pages, which had to be discussed in detail with the JTF and civil
society. The group also prepared a detailed plan for implementation. By July
2002, two workshops were organised to present and discuss the draft
strategy. Its main elements included issues such as the economic transition
and shadow economy; energy, infrastructure and natural resources; oversight
and regulation; the legislative and regulatory environment; the political
system and elections; civil society participation in anti-corruption
initiatives; e-governance and access to information; and international
cooperation.
The expert group completed the first version of the programme later than
expected, in August 2002, and circulated it to ministries, agencies and the
JTF. The delay may be explained by the fact that the presidential and
parliamentary elections were due to take place in 2003. The public sector
reform commission, which serves as the secretariat for the anti-corruption
commission, then announced that the ministries and agencies had reviewed the
programme and that the final version had been submitted to the prime
minister for approval in March 2003. At 23 pages, however, the revised
action plan is a fraction of the length of the original plan, eliciting
heavy criticism from the JTF.
The revised plan has not been reviewed by civil society, which is still
concerned about several issues. One particular area of concern relates to
the establishment of an independent body that would be responsible for
implementing and monitoring the anticorruption strategy programme. One model
suggested by the expert group was that the current anti-corruption
commission itself take on this role. In this case, a secretariat that could
coordinate everyday work and implement decisions would have to be formed to
serve the commission.
An alternate suggestion called for the creation of an anti-corruption agency
with full investigative and law enforcement powers. Critics of this model
argue that, instead of creating a new enforcement body, the capacity of
institutions that already have such powers should be strengthened.
A third option envisions the establishment of an anti-corruption council
responsible to the prime minister or the justice minister. This council
would consist of the representatives of the president’s office, national
assembly, constitutional court, as well as the chief of staff of the
government, key ministers, the prime minister’s adviser on anti-corruption
and the general prosecutor. The council would also include five
representatives of civil society, appointed by the president.
Regardless of which model is accepted, the anti-corruption body must secure
the trust of the people, most of whom are unaware that the government has
even developed anti-corruption initiatives. Those who are aware have little
confidence that the initiatives are effective, because they view government
officials as the main initiators of corruption. They do not believe that
those who are corrupt can be truly committed to fighting corruption.5
ARMENIA’S 2003 ELECTIONS: A CASE FOR REFORM IN POLITICAL PARTY FINANCING
A civil society monitoring project, undertaken during parliamentary
elections in May 2003, revealed troubling inadequacies in the regulation and
monitoring of political party financing.6
Using the project’s findings, the opposition Ardarutyun (Justice) alliance
appealed to the constitutional court to nullify the election results. The
alliance pointed to violations of election procedures and voting
irregularities, alleging that tens of thousands of ballots cast for
Ardarutyun were allocated to other parties. The official result was that
Ardarutyun won 14 per cent, rather than the 50 per cent or more that it
claimed. The opposition also contested the election results in 19
single-mandate constituencies.
Although Ardarutyun’s appeal was dismissed due to insufficient evidence, the
court admitted that the issue required attention and proposed to promote
greater transparency and accountability in the management of political party
financing. Armenia’s election process is regulated by an electoral code that
needs considerable revision. The provisions that cause most concern relate
to the opaque system of party financing and the lack of enforcement
mechanisms.7
According to article 25 of the code, the parties’ declaration forms must be
published by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) in the format determined
by the CEC. During the recent elections, the sources of the parties’
pre-election income were never published though the issue drew strong public
interest and was regularly discussed in the media.8 Although required by law
to present this information to the CEC, the parties and blocs were willing
to publicise only the number of contributors to preelection funds. In some
cases, parties did not reveal any information at all.
Reasons for concealing the revenue sources vary. Some parties may be
involved in money laundering or using foreign funding, which is prohibited
by law. Furthermore, as Armenia’s business sector is not well regulated and
many businesses tend to hide their real turnover, they may wish to prevent
the tax authorities from learning of their donations to party pre-election
funds. Finally, rivalry between the opposition and government does not
encourage businesses to publicise their contributions to preelection funds.
After two rounds of presidential elections in February and March 2003, only
the candidates’ total campaign revenues and expenditures were published.
When queried about the rationale behind not publishing more detailed
information, the CEC head, Artak Sahradyan, replied that the commission had
not published itemised accounts because it had not identified any violations
of party finance regulations.
The monitoring team found that two of the 11 parties and blocs that agreed
to provide campaign finance information had exceeded the limit of the
pre-election fund.9 An analysis of the figures showed discrepancies for all
other parties except one, whose reported data was consistent with that of
the project’s findings. Indeed, the overall tendency observed was that
almost all the parties avoided registering their campaign expenses in the
pre-election fund and that they spent most of their money ‘outside the fund’
.
Further results showed that violations of party finance regulations fell
into two major categories. First, large sums were not properly accounted
with respect to political advertising on television. TV companies either
offered certain parties discounts, or provided more airtime to selected
parties than was officially declared.10 Second, the code requires all party
publications to mention the number of copies printed and the name of the
publisher. Several parties and some experts revealed that parties often
printed more copies than officially declared.
In some cases, campaign materials were ordered before the campaign period
and paid for from the party account. Moreover, a number of parties conducted
transactions with service providers without a contract; money for these
services was paid in cash, which is prohibited by law.11
These types of violations are motivated by several factors. By paying cash,
parties avoid the 20 per cent VAT and service providers evade taxes. For
parties, especially those exceeding fund limitations, such dealings
represent a way around the preelection fund.
Another concern is that the law is vague about what expenses should be
covered by the pre-election fund, as opposed to the party account. During
the campaign period, for example, parties continued to pay expenses related
to their permanent office(s) through the party accounts, while expenses
related to temporary sub-offices were covered by the fund. In general,
parties hid the cost of temporary offices, stating that party members or
relatives provided office space free of charge.
Salaries were another issue of concern, since parties concealed their true
expenses to avoid paying taxes. Violations related to travel expenses and
administrative costs were also apparent but difficult to monitor
systematically.
The Control and Review Service (CRS) – established ad hoc under the CEC – is
responsible for regulating such violations and taking the necessary action.
Despite substantial media coverage and the results of the monitoring
project, the CRS filed no reports of party finance violations by the review
deadline. While the law itself provides too much flexibility to parties and
does not allow for easy monitoring, the reluctance of Armenia’s state
institutions to enforce the law is at the root of ongoing abuses in
political party financing.
Arevik Saribekyan (Center for Regional Development/TI Armenia)
FURTHER READING
Armenian Democratic Forum, ‘Sociological Survey on Public Sector Reforms’,
for enterprises and households, 2001; see
lnweb18.worldbank.org/ECA/ecspeExt.nsf/0/1B062B0DC8A543B485256C63005D49FD?Op
endocument&Start=1&Count=1000&ExpandView
CRD/TI Armenia:
NOTES
1. The minimum monthly salary is 1,000 drams (around US $2), so the fine
would be equivalent to US $355.
2. Decision No. 4, adopted on 22 January 2001. The commission is headed by
the prime minister and includes the vice speaker of the national assembly
(as deputy head), heads of key ministries and the chief of staff of the
president.
3. The grant was provided through the World Bank Institutional Development
Fund.
4. The National Anti-corruption NGO Coalition was established in March 2001
under the CRD/TI Armenia. Currently the Coalition has 26 members
representing different fields, including journalism, business development,
human rights, environment, local government, the army, tourism and
education.
5. See the ‘Country Corruption Assessment: Public Opinion Survey’, carried
out by CRD/TI Armenia in March – April 2002. The sample of the survey
included 1,000 households, 200 entrepreneurs and 200 public officials. In
answering the question, ‘Who mainly initiates corruption in Armenia?’, all
three groups of respondents identified government officials as the most
corrupt.
6. Implemented in March – June 2003, the CRD/TI Armenia project, ‘Monitoring
of the Political Parties’ Finances during the 2003 Parliamentary Elections’,
was funded by the Open Society Institute, Assistance Foundation at
The amended electoral code was adopted in August 2002. See par03.elections.
Legislation requires that participating the election campaign period.
Actually, three parties exceeded the information within the framework limit
is 60,000 times the minimum 60,000,000 drams (US $110,000).parties and
blocs.
Article 18.3 of the electoral code requires the same price to all parties.
Article TV and radio agencies must announce pre-election campaign. Article
25.7 notes that if during the financial means other than the pre- or party
registration invalid.
—

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 25, 2004 Thursday 11:35 AM Eastern Time
Opening of border with Turkey helps Karabakh settlement – view
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The opening of the border with Turkey will have a favourable impact
on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign
Ministry senior spokesman Gamlet Gasparyan said.
Gasparyan said on Thursday Armenia is convinced, “The opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border will facilitate the development of regional
cooperation and have a favourable impact on the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
The Armenian diplomat commented on Azerbaijani President Ilkham
Aliyev’s statement saying, “Whether Turkey opens its border with
Armenia, it will be impossible to settle the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh.” “Thus, Armenia can lose a very important mechanism
and the talks as part of the peace process will be impossible,”
Aliyev said.
The Armenian spokesman stressed, “Turkey may be an important
mechanism in the development of the economic and political situation
in the region whether it gives up its unilateral approach towards its
attitude to Armenia and Azerbaijan in favour of Azerbaijan.”

Prime-Tass English-language Business Newswire
March 25, 2004
VTB plans to up Armsberbank’s charter capital to $15 mln
YEREVAN, Mar 25 (Prime-Tass) — Major state-owned Russian bank
Vneshtorgbank (VTB) plans to increase the charter capital of
Armenia’s savings bank Armsberbank to U.S. USD 15 million from the
current USD 5 million, VTB’s President Andrei Kostin said Thursday.
Earlier this week, VTB finalized the deal to purchase a 70% stake in
Armsberbank, one of the largest in the country.
Up until then, the bank was fully owned by the MIKA Armenia Trading
company.
The purchase came as a planned step in the implementation of VTB’s
development program, which envisages the creation of a subsidiary
chain in Europe and the CIS.
Armsberbank, with its broad chain of branches and developed client
base, including small and middle-sized businesses, will serve as a
starting point for VTB’s further expansion to Armenia’s banking
sector.
As of end-September, 2003, Armsberbank’s own capital totaled 2.652
billion drams, and pre-tax profit amounted to 181.1 million drams in
January-September. (561.62 drams – U.S. USD 1) End

RIA OREANDA, Russia
Economic Press Review
March 25, 2004 Thursday
Yerevan Realizes Anti-Russian Gas Project
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA
On March 23, 2004 Armenian Minister of Electric Energy Armen
Movsiyan announced at a session of the country s Government that
Iran-Armenia pipeline which construction is planned to be finished in
the beginning of 2005 will be prolonged through the Georgian
territory, than by the bottom of the Black Sea to Ukraine and then to
Western Europe. So, the Irani and Turkmenistan s gas will be supplied
to countries of the EU passing Russia . As a result the Russian
budget will lose several billion dollars every year. So, the most
reliable partner of Russia in the Caucasus Armenia is realizing what
the US have not been able to do: it creates an alternative route of
gas export from Central Asia to the West.