ARKA News Agency
March 11, 2005

Official Tbilisi discusses the possibility of transit transportation
of gas by the route of Iran-Armenia ~VGeorgia- Ukraine

On March 14-15, RA Minister of Foreign Affairs to participate in the
61st session of the UN Committee on Human Rights

USDA-MAP Armenia office to work as CARD

Regular sitting of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission
on economic cooperation to l be held in the first half a year of 2005
in Yerevan

AAO Demands facts substantiating charges of anti-Semitism from US
Department of State

Visit of the Head of the Federal Foreign Department of Switzerland is
expected to the South Caucasus states in Autumn 2005

Monitoring group of GRECO international organization to arrive in
Armenia in May

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli arrives Friday in Yerevan for
a two-day working visit

*********************************************************************

OFFICIAL TBILISI DISCUSSES THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSIT TRANSPORTATION
OF GAS BY THE ROUTE OF IRAN-ARMENIA ~VGEORGIA- UKRAINE

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Georgian Prime Minister Zourab Nogaideli
stated today in Yerevan that Georgia is interested in the
construction of the Iran ~VArmenian gas pipeline. According to RA
Government~Rs Press Service, Nogaideli stated that official Tbilisi
discussed the possibility of transit transportation of gas by the
following route: Iran-Armenia ~VGeorgia- Ukraine.
Construction of the Iran ~VArmenian gas pipeline should be completed
till January 1, 2007. After that, joint work of gas systems of the
two countries will begin. In accordance with the agreement, at the
initial stage the volume of gas import to Armenia will make 1,1 bln.
cubic meters annually, and since 2019 – 2,3 bln. cubic meters. A.H.
–0–

*********************************************************************

ON MARCH 14-15, RA MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
61ST SESSION OF THE UN COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. On March 14-15, RA Minister of Foreign
Affairs Vartan Oskanian will leave for Geneva for a working visit, to
participate in the 61st session of the UN Committee on Human Rights.
According to the RA MFA~Rs Press Service, it~Rs planned that Oskanian
will speak at the session. In the framework of the visit he will meet
the General Secretary of the Committee and will hold bilateral
meetings with official representatives of various countries. A.H.
~V0–

*********************************************************************

USDA-MAP ARMENIA OFFICE TO WORK AS CARD

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. From April 5, 2005, the Armenian office if
the United State Department of Agriculture~Rs Marketing Assistance
Project (USDA-MAP) is to start working as the Center for Agribusiness
and Rural Development (CARD) Foundation. Sos Avetisyan, Public
Relations and Information Executive, USDA-MAP, reported that the
USDA-MAP will be closing its doors on March 31, 2005. He reported
that the newly established Foundation is an independent local
organization which has a Board of Trustees and Executive Director.
Jeffrey E. Engels, the out-going USDA-MAP Director, will continue as
CARD Executive Director, and Gagik Sardaeryan, former marketing
manager USDA-MAP, has been appointed CARD~Rs Deputy Director.
The Foundation is mainly to be funded by the US Department of
Agriculture~Rs farming services.
Executive Director. In speaking of this transition, Mr. Engels said,
~SThe transition from MAP to CARD is a unique one: for the first time
an international USDA agricultural development project will
transition its best activities to a private sector, locally
registered legacy organization. CARD carries on the successful
history begun under MAP, directly responding to the needs of farmers
and agribusinesses with market-driven, economical, and
technologically-appropriate solutions to Armenian agriculture. This
is an exciting opportunity.~T
Since 1996, USDA-MAP has helped to over 60 Armenian enterprises and
25 production and sale cooperatives, 50 credit clubs and thousands of
farms in all Armenian regions by rendering technical, financial and
marketing assistance to them. In 2004, the RA Ministry of Agriculture
awarded USDA-MAP a gold medal ~SFor agricultural achievements.~T P.T.
~V0–

*********************************************************************

REGULAR SITTING OF THE ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION
ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION TO L BE HELD IN THE FIRST HALF A YEAR OF 2005
IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. The regular sitting of the
Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic
cooperation will be held in the first half a year of 2005 in Yerevan,
as stated RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan in the course of the
meeting with his Georgian colleague Zourab Nogaiteli, according to RA
Government~Rs Press Service. Margaryan discussed the issue of
construction of Sadakhlo check-point, establishment of a gas
measuring nearby the Armenian border for the part of the territory
through which gas is supplied to Armenia through Georgia, issues of
legal registering the process of passing Ashotsk-Ninotsminda electric
power line to the Georgian side. The Prime Ministers emphasized the
necessity of urgent development of a project to solve the problems
and to be discussed at the ext sitting. In this regard, it~Rs also
planned that till the end of March 2005, meeting of Ministers of
Finance and Economy of the two countries will be held for the
discussion of current financial problems and getting prepared to the
sitting.
In the course of the meeting the Armenian side raised the issue
disrespectful attitude to Armenian churches in Georgia and the
necessity of taking adequate measures to prevent such things. In this
regard, the Ministers of Culture of the two countries were ordered to
jointly consider the issue and report on it at the next sitting of
the commission. A.H. –0~W

*********************************************************************

AAO DEMANDS FACTS SUBSTANTIATING CHARGES OF ANTI-SEMITISM FROM US
DEPARTMENT OF STATE

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. The Armenian-Aryan Order (AAO) demands
facts substantiating the charges of anti-Semitism from the US
Department of State. An open letter of the AAO Supreme Council
addressed to the US Department of State says that the Department~Rs
recent report on global anti-Semitism mentions among other forces the
~Sultranationalist Armenian-Aryan Order~T, which makes antri-Semite
appeals and demands that the country [Armenia] be cleared of Jews and
Yezids. ~SWe still do not understand what statement made by the Jewish
community of Armenia and unknown to us served as a basis for this
decision,~T says the letter. Moreover, the AAO Supreme Council does
not understand the paragraph concerning Yezids, considering the fact
that they repeatedly refuted the fact included in the report. ~SWe
demand the presentation of substantiated facts related to the report.
Otherwise, we will consider the report of the US Department of State
as interference in Armenia~Rs domestic affairs,~T the letter says.
Also, the AAO leaders do not understand deliberate identification of
anti-Semitism with anti-Judaism.
Referring to the information of the Jewish community of Armenia, the
US Department of State~Rs report on global anti-Semitism indicates a
number of cases of insult of Jews in Armenia. Specifically, the
document says that the Director of the ALM TV channel made frequent
anti-Semite remarks, and the Union of Armenian Aryans, which is a
small ultra-national group, made an appeal for clearing the country
of Jews and Yezids. P.T. ~V0–

*********************************************************************

VISIT OF THE HEAD OF THE FEDERAL FOREIGN DEPARTMENT OF SWITZERLAND IS
EXPECTED TO THE SOUTH CAUCASUS STATES IN AUTUMN 2005

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. In autumn 2005, visit of Mishlin
Calmy-Ray, the Head of the Federal Foreign Department of Switzerland
is expected to the South Caucasus states, as stated the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Armenia Stephan
Shpek. According to him, like other European countries, neutral
Switzerland is interested in the stability in the South Caucasus,
since instability in three states of the region that are the members
of the Council of Europe is quite dangerous for the whole Europe and
for Switzerland in particular. He emphasized that Switzerland has a
regional approach to the South Caucasus. However, according to him,
South Caucasus may be called a region only from geographic
standpoint. In the meantime, he characterized the Armenian- Swiss
relations as ~Svery good but not intensive~T, meaning insufficient
relations among the top officials of the two countries. A.H.~W0~W

*********************************************************************

MONITORING GROUP OF GRECO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO ARRIVE IN
ARMENIA IN MAY

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Monitoring group of GRECO (groups of
countries against corruption) international organization is expected
to arrive in Armenia on May 30, as Bagrat Yesayan, the Head of
Monitoring Commission for Implementation of Anticorruption Strategy,
stated. In his words, the organization has clear mechanism to conduct
monitoring, in the frames of which Armenia has already presented
report on steps taken. According to Yesayan, the Group will present
the report at its session to be held late this year. After that,
bails will be made to Armenia. He said a scheme of their
implementation would be worked out. Yesayan also said legislation
reformation concrete directions would be presented to Armenia after
the first stage completion. In his words, Armeian legislatyion should
conform to European criteria of struggle against corruption.
In 2004, Armenia became the 37th member of GRECO. M.V. -0–

*********************************************************************

GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER ZURAB NOGAIDELI ARRIVES FRIDAY IN YEREVAN FOR
A TWO-DAY WORKING VISIT

YEREVAN, March 11. /ARKA/. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli
arrives Friday in Yerevan for a two-day visit at the invitation of
his Armenian counterpart Andranik Margaryan. The Georgian PM will
meet with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Armenian PM Andranik
Margaryan and Armenian Apostolic Church Leader Garegin II. The
Geogian high-ranking official will also lay flowers at
Tsitsernakaberd, a memorial of Armenian Genocide victims in Yerevan.
The delegation includes Georgian Foreign, Finance, Defense, Energy
and Economic Development Ministers as well as the PM Adviser,
Director of Regional Cooperation Department of Georgian Foreign
Ministry and other officials. M.V. -0–

*********************************************************************