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04/05/2005
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1) New Armenian Ambassador to US Assumes Duties
2) Armenian Delegation to Attend Pope’s Funeral
3) Armenia Dismisses Coach Casoni
4) Armenia, Azerbaijan to Mull New Karabagh Peace Plan

1) New Armenian Ambassador to US Assumes Duties

WASHINGTON, DC–Armenia’s newly-appointed Ambassador to the United States
Tatoul Margarian, arrived in Washington, DC and assumed the duties of his
office on March 31. Prior to his appointment, Margarian served as Deputy
Foreign Minister of Armenia.
According to an embassy press release, Margarian brings to his position a
wealth of experience in US-Armenian relations.
Margarian received the appointment from President Robert Kocharian on March
19, and is expected to present his credentials to President George W. Bush
shortly.
Prior to assuming this position, Margarian served as Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Armenia, beginning June 2000. In that capacity, he was the
Armenian coordinator for US-Armenia Strategic Dialogue, as well as the
NATO-Armenia Political-Military Dialogue.
Margarian also served as the President’s Special Representative for
Mountainous Karabagh negotiations, in 2002-2003.
His previous diplomatic assignments include a term as Deputy Chief of Mission
and Minister-Counselor at the Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC from December
1994 to January 1999.
Before joining the Armenian Foreign Service, Margarian served in Armenia’s
legislative and executive branches. He was Assistant to the Vice Chairman of
the Armenian Parliament from 1990 to 1991, and Assistant and Adviser to the
Vice President of Armenia from 1991 to 1994, and also served as Acting
Chief of
Staff to the Prime Minister of Armenia from 1991 to 1992.
Margarian was born on April 16, 1964, in Ghapan, Armenia. He holds a Master’s
degree in International Relations degree from the School of Advanced
International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, and is a Doctoral
candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He
graduated from the Yerevan University of National Economy in 1985, and
completed a PhD in Economics at the same University in 1988.
Margarian is fluent in English and Russian. He is married and has one son.

2) Armenian Delegation to Attend Pope’s Funeral

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–An Armenian delegation headed by Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian will leave for Vatican City on April 7 to attend the funeral of Pope
John Paul II.
The delegation includes Armenian ambassador to Italy Ruben Shugarian,
ambassador to France and Vatican Eduard Nalbandian, deputy foreign minister
Armen Bayburdian, as well as Catholicos Karekin II, who will be accompanied by
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian, Primate of
the
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) Archbishop Khajag
Barsamian, and Rev. Fr. Geghard Vahuni.
Catholicos Karekin II paid tribute to the pope’s legacy in a message of
condolence to the Vatican. “Throughout his 26-year reign, His Holiness Pope
John Paul II was a staunch defender of life and champion of justice,” he
wrote.
“His Holiness’s calls for peace and reconciliation in the world were anchored
in his moral convictions and love for humanity.”
John Paul was the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to set foot on
Armenian soil and describe the 1915 slaughter of Armenians in Ottoman
Turkey as
genocide–a fact emphasized by Karekin II. The pontiff spoke of a “moment of
grace and joy” as he arrived in Yerevan on September 25, 2001 on a three-day
visit that coincided with official celebrations of Armenia’s adoption of
Christianity as a state religion.
“For ever, the annals of the universal Church will say that the people of
Armenia were the first as a whole people to embrace the grace and truth for
the
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Chris,” he declared. “You zealously guard the memory
of your many martyrs: indeed, martyrdom has been the special mark of the
Armenian Church and the Armenian people.”
The pope had termed the 1915 tragedy a genocide in a joint communiqué with
Karekin issued in the Vatican in November 2000. Another joint statement signed
by the two spiritual leaders in Yerevan likewise referred to “the
extermination
of 1.5 million Armenian Christians in what is generally referred to as the
first genocide of the 20th century.”

3) Armenia Dismisses Coach Casoni

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–Armenia’s French coach Bernard Casoni was fired on
Tuesday, following a string of poor performances, federation president Ruben
Hayrapetyan confirmed.
The former Marseille player and manager, who had landed a one-year contract
with the Armenian football federation last August, had been widely criticized
for his methods and tactical choices, as his side endured 4 consecutive
defeats
against Macedonia (3-0), Finland (0-2 and 3-1), and Czech Republic (0-3)
before
collecting their first 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign points against
Romania (1-1) and Andorra (2-1).
And last Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat in Holland appears to have been the last
straw
for the tactician.
“We were very dissatisfied with the coach’s work, especially his choice of
players for games and his work methods,” Hayrapetyan said.
A new coach is expected to be named within the next 10 days.
Armenia shares last place in European Zone Group One with Andorra after their
most recent defeat, a 2-0 loss to the Netherlands.

4) Armenia, Azerbaijan to Mull New Karabagh Peace Plan

MOSCOW (RFE/RL)–The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in
London next week to discuss new proposals on Mountainous Karabagh put forward
by international mediators, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday.
Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group, said that
Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov may also agree a date for a meeting of
the two countries’ presidents, which he said is essential for further progress
in the peace process. “The parties seem to have reached a point where a
meeting
of the presidents should give a new impetus to the negotiations,” he said.
Mammadyarov announced last week that his new round of talks with Oskanian,
originally scheduled for March 2, will take place on April 15. The Armenian
Foreign Ministry confirmed that Oskanian will travel to London to meet with
the
Minsk Group’s French, Russian, and US co-chairs. But it said a face-to-face
encounter with his Azeri counterpart has yet to be confirmed.
Merzlyakov acknowledged that the London talks will determine whether Aliyev
and Kocharian will meet in Warsaw on the sidelines of the May 15-16 summit of
the Council of Europe member countries. The mediators hope that they will
discuss and present their opinion on the new peace proposals, he said.
“The co-chairs believe that a political decision is required at the highest
level,” he said. “It is possible that they will not agree to our proposals and
will suggest something else.”
The Russian diplomat refused to reveal those proposals, saying that they
require major concessions from both conflicting parties. “The co-chairs of the
Minsk Group have always said that public opinion needs to be prepared for
agreement and to be told that mutual concessions are inevitable,” he said.

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