YEREVAN CRITICAL OF US BAN ON JERMUK MINERAL WATER

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 14 2007

YEREVAN, March 13 (Itar-Tass) — Yerevan regards the U.S. sanitary
authorities’ decision to bar the Armenian mineral water Jermuk from
U.S. market as "anti-Armenian designs" and "encroachment on the
Armenian prestige".

Claims by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that Jermuk allegedly
contains high doses of arsenic dangerous for health "cause plenty of
questions," adviser to the Jermuk Group administration Edgar Kazarian
said on Tuesday.

Strangely, the American agency drew the conclusion from a test of
only one 0.5-liter bottle, he said. Judging by the bottle photograph,
it was a counterfeit Jermuk, as "there is no mineral water with such
a label on the Armenian market," he said.

There may be a political aspect to the problem, as well, Kazarian
said. "Mineral water, which is a consumer product, becomes an
instrument for solving political problems," he said.

"We have been regularly exporting Jermuk to the United States for
seven years, and we could not have done that without permission from
respective U.S. agencies," he said.

Kazarian wondered why the dangerous concentration of arsenic was
found just now.

As known, all mineral waters of Armenia contain arsenic. "Armenian
water has a curative effect thanks to this biologically active
microelement," said deputy chief of the Armenian Health Ministry’s
State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service Marietta Basilisian.

In her words, the content of arsenic in Jermuk does not exceed the
national standards.