Author: Basmajian Ani

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER: EUROPE, TURKEY USING ARMENIAN PROBLEMS AS MEANS
FOR SETTLING MATTERS BETWEEN THEM

YEREVAN, May 26. /ARKA/. Europe and Turkey are using Armenian problems
as means for settling matters between them: in particular, Turks are
using Armenian-Turkish border closeness and Europeans the issue of
Armenian genocide admission, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s Foreign
Minister Arman Melikyan said in his interview with NKR Public
Television.

In his words, serious geopolitical changes are being seen in the world
while Turkey keeps Armenia-Turkey border locked to bargain over the
issue of its EU possible membership. “Turkey is blackmailing European
Union and to explain this blackmail lays the blame on Nagorno-Karabakh
problem”, Melikyan said. This trick is often being applied in
international politics as Armenian-Turkish border closeness has little
in common with Karabakh problem, the Minister said. In his opinion,
European diplomats acknowledge that and, in their turn, raise the
issue of Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey as counterbalance.
Speaking about the steps needed when interests collide, Melikyan
stressed the necessity of securing own interests. “Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic is mainly interested in the country’s full-scale
participation in international processes and in turning it into a
full-fledged member of international community”, the Minister
said. M.V. -0–

Investment Opportunity in Armenia

BISNIS AUTOMOTIVE UPDATE
May 26, 2005

SECTOR TRADE LEAD:

1. Sportmotors, LLC: This Armenian company seeks to become a distributor
of U.S. manufacturers of automotive parts and accessories.
For more information, see

*******************************************************************************
MARKET ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Serious on entering the Russian market? The MIMS Autoshow in Moscow is
only 3 months away, and the US Foreign Commercial Service is gearing up
for a US pavilion at the show:

The U.S. Commercial Service in Russia will be supporting U.S. companies
at the Moscow International Motor Show 2005 (MIMS). With exhibitors from
30 countries and over 300,000 visitors, this show is the leading
automotive aftermarket industry event in Russia and the ideal venue to
connect with potential customers or partners. To promote your company’s
products, we are offering two cost-effective programs designed to meet
the needs of both new-to-market U.S. exporters and those already doing
business in Russia.

You can save on show space fees by sharing a US National Pavilion with
other US companies interested in establishing presence in Russia, and
wishing to decrease market entry expenditures. The Commercial Service
staff will always be at the pavilion to assist you in your negotiations
with potential customers. We can assist you in finding/contracting booth
staff and interpreters. After the show, we will help follow up with
Russian customers that negotiated distributor agreement or buying your
products. Thus, we will continue to work with you to develop the trade
leads generated on the show floor.

For more information about the show and the U.S. pavilion, contact:

Alexander Kansky, Commercial Specialist, U.S. Consulate, St. Petersburg,
Russia E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 011-7-812-326-2581, Fax: 011-7-812-326-2561

***************************************************************
Mercedes Mulls St. Pete Plant

By Anna Smolchenko, Moscow Times

DaimlerChrysler intends to build Mercedes Benz models in St. Petersburg
by the end of the year, the Kremlin said late Monday, citing the
chairman of the German-U.S. auto giant.
“I am hoping that the first Mercedes will come off the assembly line
this fall,” Jurgen Schrempp told President Vladimir Putin, according to
a transcript on the Kremlin web site.
Schrempp gave no more details, and Putin was quoted as saying that
negotiations were in the final stages. While media have reported that
Mercedes was eyeing Russia, analysts expressed surprise at the speed
with which Schrempp wants to forge ahead.
As the government opens the home market, foreign carmakers are rushing
in. Only last month, Toyota announced the construction of a new plant in
St. Petersburg. The remarks by Schrempp came on the heels of a Daimler
advisory board meeting in Moscow last weekend.
A spokesman for Daimler in Stuttgart, Germany, confirmed the company’s
plans to assemble Mercedes in Russia but declined to provide any
details, saying only that St. Petersburg was under consideration.
More information should be available during the city’s annual economic
forum next month, said a St. Petersburg city official.
Gerhard Hilgert, head of Daimler in Russia, said that Moscow region is
also under consideration, and that the firm may enter a partnership with
a domestic company to assemble models including the Jeep and Chrysler
brands, Interfax reported.
Hilgert also said the company was interested in Russian-made components,
the agency reported.
Schrempp’s announcement was mostly surprising because of the timeframe
he gave. There is no time to build a plant that could produce cars by
the fall, he said, adding that in St. Petersburg there are virtually no
carmakers with which to enter into a partnership.
Ford opened its own plant in St. Petersburg in 2002. But Denis
Nushtayev, an analyst with Metropol consultancy, said the time frame was
achievable if Daimler builds cars from semi-knocked-down kits, which do
not require a fully fledged plant.
The company will most likely start with C-class and E-class models, the
two most popular Mercedes models in Russia, Nushtayev said. Of the 4,029
passenger Mercedes cars sold in Russia last year, 1,185 were C-class and
1,262 E-class.

********** Sent by: ***********************************
Charles Raether, BISNIS Trade Specialist for Automotive Sector
U.S. Department of Commerce
Tel: 202/482-2022
Fax: 202/482-2293

A1plus

| 20:10:51 | 24-05-2005 | Politics |

DANCING TO THEIR OWN TUNE

Today the NA started its work with discussing the issues referring to the
Control Chamber’s report on 2004. To note, the report was presented rather
perfunctory yesterday. This was argued by the fact that the details have
been placed on a website and the copies of the report were spread among the
deputies.

Thus, chairman of the Control Chamber does not take into account the opinion
of the people, who have no access to Internet but are interested in the
developments in the country and parliamentary sittings.

Tageblatt, Luxembourg
Mercredi, 25/05/2005

Démantèlement d’un groupe criminel français en Espagne: 15
arrestations

Quinze personnes membres d’une »organisation criminelle française»,
dont neuf Français, cinq Espagnols et un Arménien, ont été
interpellées mardi dans le sud de l’Espagne, a indiqué la police
espagnole dans un communiqué publié à Malaga, sur la Costa del Sol.
Les membres de ce groupe qui réalisait des hold-ups contre des
banques, des fourgons blindés, des bijouteries, mais surtout des
trafiquants de drogue auxquels ils dérobaient argent et marchandise,
étaient considérés comme »extrêmement dangereux» et agissaient
toujours avec des armes à feu, selon la même source.

L’opération s’est déroulée après que la police a identifié un homme
comme étant le responsable d’une attaque à main armée à Séville
(Andalousie, sud).

Lors d’un des déplacements de ce suspect à Murcie, dans le sud-est de
l’Espagne, pour rencontrer d’autres membres de l’organisation, la
police a réalisé un coup de filet qui s’est soldé par dix
arrestations.

Parmi les personnes interpellées figurent huit Français gés de 24 à
49 ans, quatre femmes et quatre hommes dont un certain Bruno C. sur
lequel pesait un mandat d’arrêt international et condamné à 20 ans de
prison en France pour une attaque à main armée, ainsi qu’une
Espagnole de 28 ans et un Armémien de 33 ans.

Dans le cadre de la même opération, quatre Espagnols ont été
interpellés à Marbella, station balnéaire connue pour être un refuge
de gangsters internationaux. Un dernier homme en possession de
papiers français a été arrêté à Séville.

Zaman Online, Turkey
May 20 2005

Cicek Speaks on Penal Code Changes
By Murat Aydin
Published: Friday 20, 2005
zaman.com

Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek has spoken about the changes to the
Turkish Penal Code, which was been delayed due to demands of NGOs,
the media and public organizations.

Cicek claimed that the disputed parts had been changed, adding that
the changes would be evaluated at the Parliamentary General Council
and come into force on June 1. Cicek emphasized that the changes
to be made concern the European Union (EU). The government did not
include any punishment that does not exist in European countries
and concerns about the fact that “the new laws are open to comments”
do not stem from the laws themselves, the Minister added, but from
the human factor.

He answered claims that some issues of the law may be misused in
periods like February 28 saying: “Laws lose their meaning during
extraordinary situations,” and added that the media-related issues
had been changed thoroughly. The Minister of Justice said some people
or groups want special laws for themselves, and that that brings
real problems. Cicek stressed there will not be any privileges in a
society where rules operate.

Meanwhile Cicek noted that some people were unfair to Turkey by showing
Europe as “Kingdom of Freedom”. He mentioned the Belgian Parliament
by referring to recent developments regarding the so-called Armenian
genocide allegations in Europe.

Cicek replied to criticisms about regulations preventing terrorist
organization leaders like Abdullah Ocalan from communicating commands
to militants through their advocates, saying: “There regulations
do not restrict one’s right to defend oneself. If some people are
helping the terrorist organization by misusing this right for his
defense by carrying information from the leader to the militants and
from militants to the leader, we cannot let this to happen.”

DUAL CITIZENSHIP IS STILL SUBJECT FOR ARGUMENTS

A1plus

| 18:35:00 | 20-05-2005 | Social |

Today the Civic Debates Club had organized the following seminar in the
hotel “Yerevan” with the theme “Dual Citizenship in Armenia”. United
Labor Party member Grigor Ghonjeyan and coalition member Hrayr
Karapetyan were invited to the seminar. Both of them are NA deputies,
and the latter was not present at the seminar.

Grigor Ghonjeyan represented the point of view of the United Labor
Party to eliminate the prohibition of dual citizenship in the
Constitution. Nevertheless, they mentioned that the Constitution
must regulate the whole field of dual citizenship and not leave
anything to be regulated by further laws. The reason, according to
Mr. Ghonjeyan, was that their party is a religion of free ideas and
they do not encourage any prohibition of the basic freedom of people.

The draft Constitution processed by the coalition has already been
adopted by the Parliament majority. By this draft the prohibition of
dual citizenship is eliminated, but all the other issues are left to
be regulated by further laws.

The speaker of today’s seminar brought the example of Russia, “Russia
has not adopted dual citizenship. If today we adopt it and give the
citizens of other countries the right to take part in elections,
and if tomorrow Russia adopts it too, the fate of our country will
be decided directly in Kremlin”.

The ULP member defended this point of view with the fact that by
their draft the people define with a constitutional referendum that in
Armenia the dual citizen cannot have the right to elect or be elected.

Nevertheless, there was no political debate, as during the meeting
no opposite ideas sounded.

TERRITORY FOR RUSSIAN CHURCH CONSTRUCTION PROVIDED

A1plus
| 18:02:43 | 19-05-2005 | Politics |

According to the RA Land Code the government approved the decision
to grant the 5000 square meter territory adjacent to Isakov Avenue
to the Russian Embassy with a term of 99 years for the construction
of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The decision was partly conditioned by the fact that a square for
the building of the Armenian Church was granted by the Moscow City
Administration.

‘Turkish-Azeri military relationship is unique’

Wednesday, May 18, 2005
ANKARA – Turkish Daiy News

DIPLOMACY

‘Azerbaijan is the number-one country for us from all points of view,’
says deputy chief of staff of the Turkish General Staff Gen. Ilker
Basbug

Relations with Azerbaijan have major importance for Turkey, Gen.

Ilker Basbug, the second in command at the Turkish General Staff,
yesterday said upon his arrival in Baku.

“Azerbaijan is the number-one country for us from all points of view,”
Basbug said while expressing pleasure at being in Baku for the first
time. He said military relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan have
included a broad range of activities and that training is of particular
importance in this regard.

Turkey has been trying assist in the reconstruction of the Azerbaijani
military, and Basbug said his visit would offer an opportunity for
a discussion of ways to improve the current relationship between the
two countries.

“It is not possible to offer another example of our type of military
relationship,” the top Turkish commander said, emphasizing the
uniqueness of Turkish-Azerbaijani military relations.

He later met with Azerbaijan’s defense minister, Safar Abiyev.

During a March visit to Baku by the commander of Turkey’s naval
forces, Adm. Ozden Ornek, Turkey and Azerbaijan agreed to cooperate
in protecting strategic oil and gas pipelines, including the major
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which is set to begin operations
this year.

Abiyev then said in a statement that he hoped Turkey would remain
on Azerbaijan’s side in its long-standing conflict with Armenia
over Nagorno-Karabakh. The disputed enclave has been under ethnic
Armenian control since a war that ended in 1994 without a political
settlement. He also called on Turkish officials to keep its border
with Armenia closed, upon which Ornek vowed that Turkey would not
open its border to Armenia.

RUSSIAN BUSINESSMEN RELUCTANT TO INVEST IN ARMENIAN ECONOMY

Armenpress

YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian cochairman of an
Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission Vahan Hovhanesian,
who is also deputy parliament chairman, told a news conference today
that Russian businessmen are reluctant to invest into Armenian economy
concerned about the extent of Armenian economy’s freedom and its
monopolization by domestic business groups. Speaking at a joint news
conference with his Russian counterpart Nikolay Ryzhkov after the
end of a regular meeting of the commission in Yerevan, Hovhanesian
promised to provide the Russians with a full relevant information.

The Russian delegation comprised 7 parliament members, 4 senators
and a delegation of businessmen. Resumption of operation of several
Armenian enterprises which Yerevan handed over to Moscow to write off
its almost $100 million debt was high on the meeting’s agenda. Ryzhkov
argued that the Russian-Armenian deal, christened as Assets for Debt,
was a political deal rather. He added that an array of legal problems
should be resolved to remove obstacles for their effective resumption.

Speaking about Russian-Georgian relations, Ryzhkov, a Soviet prime
minister of Mikhail Gorbachev, described Georgia’s president Mikhail
Saakashvili as “very young and too emotional,” saying also that
Russian-Georgian problems should be solved through political means
and that “punishment measures’ would hardly be effective. ;Ryzhkov
said he is against imposing economic sanctions on Georgia as the
move would first of all hit Armenia, since Georgia is Armenia’s sole
conduit to the outer world.

Ryzhkov argued that the life would teach Saakashvili to avoid making
drastic mistakes and unpredictable moves which he said provoke
Russia’s tough reaction. “US president George W. Bush comes and goes
while Georgia stands where it is. Georgia and Russia are neighbors
and should live in peace,” he said

DIPLOMACY AND REALITY ARE INCOMPATIBLE FOR AZERBAIJAN

A1plus

| 21:12:00 | 16-05-2005 | Politics | COE SUMMIT |

It is hard to say what the Armenian and Azeri Presidents spoke about
yesterday, but today in the CoE third Summit Ilham Aliev announced that
Armenia has occupied 20% of the area of Azerbaijan and 1 million people
have become refugees, and consequently their rights have been violated.

According to Aliev, they are ready for compromise, that is –
Azerbaijan is ready to recognize the autonomy of Karabakh, but only
in Azerbaijan’s composition. “One member or Europe cannot occupy
the area of another”, announced Aliev. He thinks that CoE and all
the European structures must make all efforts to reestablish the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

According to him, the Azeris are given hope by the NKR resolution
adopted in the PACE winter session, that is – the document created
on the basis on Atkinson’s speech. As he said, the fulfillment of the
demands of the resolution will reestablish the rights of Azerbaijan.

On the whole, the Azeri President thinks that today they are meeting
all the commitment taken upon in front of the CoE: they correspond
their legislation to the European standards. By the way, Ilham Aliev
announced that in Azerbaijan and economic growth has been recorded.