Author: Chakhmakhchian Vatche

TRIUMPH OF ARMENIAN MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM AT 38-TH WORLD CHESS OLYMPIAD

ArmInfo
2008-11-25 16:35:00

ArmInfo. Armenian men’s national chess team has become the winner at
38-th World Chess Olympiad in Dresden (Germany).

As vice-president of Armenian Chess Federation, international
grossmaster Smbat Lputyan told ArmInfo correspondent, in the match of
the 11th tour Armenia-China, Levon Aronyan and Vladimir Akopyan tied
the score. Tigran Petrosyan won his party and Gabriel Sarkisyan also
tied the score. Final score in the game became 2,5:1,5 in favour of
the Armenian national team. Despite the result of Ukraine-USA game
Armenian national team has preserved the title of Olympic Champion.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan was present at the match of the
11th tour Armenia-China.

ARMENIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST: "INTERESTS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN HAVE COINCIDED WHILE SIGNING THE MOSCOW DECLARATION, BUT THIS CONTRADICTS TO RUSSIA’S INTERESTS"

Today.Az
/politics/49203.html
Nov 24 2008
Azerbaijan

"The interests of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict have coincided again while signing the Moscow
declaration for the first time after 1991", considers Stepan
Grigoryan, head of the analytical center for globalization and
regional cooperation.

"The Moscow declaration is unique in the sense that for the first
time beginning from 1991, the heads of Armenia and Azerbaijan voiced
similar interests, especially in the issue of continuation of the
conflict resolution in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group", he
told a press conference on Monday.

He considers that this fact contradicts to the interests of Russia,
which tried to fix its positions in the region by displaying initiative
in signing the Moscow declaration.

According to the political scientist, another positive side of the
declaration is its flexibility.

"The conflict parties may comment on each proposal of the declaration
differently", said he.

He listed the non-participation of "NKR president" in the document
signing among the negative sides of the declaration.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Armenia expects Baltic states to assist for simplifying visa system with EU
22.11.2008 15:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In the framework of his formal visit to Tallin,
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with his Estonian
counterpart Urmas Paet to discuss the Armenia-EU relations and the
steps taken for their development, the RA MFA press office told
PanARMENIAN.Net.

Mr. Paet thanked Armenia for assistance in evacuating Estonian
citizens from Georgia during the August clashes and informed that he
will pay a visit to the RA in 2009.

On the Estonian FM’s request, Minister Nalbandian briefed on the
recent developments in the Karabakh process and possibilities to
normalize the Armenian-Turkish relations.

ARMENPRESS

ARMENIAN PM DISCUSSES POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS OF WORLD FINANCIAL CRISIS
WITH MURILO PORTUGAL

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS: Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan received today the delegation headed by Deputy Managing
Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Murilo Portugal, who
arrived in Armenia to participate in celebrations dedicated to the
15th anniversary of circulation of Armenian national currency.
At the beginning of the meeting he noted that the anniversary
already witnesses about the serious financing policy carried out in
Armenia by now.
Governmental press service told Armenpress that the sides also
discussed the possible developments of world financial and economic
crisis and events directed towards smoothing their impact on Armenia.
The prime minister presented to the guest the
government’s approaches and policy which is based on
applying tools promoting the economic growth and maintaining
macroeconomic indexes and stability of financial sector.

STRANGE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE NEGOTIATIONS
Gevorg Harutyunyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
20 Nov 08
Armenia

As we know the President invited the leaders of all the registered
parties to participate during the discussions on the topic "The
Process of the Peaceful Settlement of Nagorno Karabakh Conflict". The
leaders of the parties, member to the Armenian National Congress,
also received this invitation, but they refused to participate in
the discussions. On this occasion

Representative of ARFD Supreme Body, Chairman of NA Committee on
Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan expresses his viewpoint.

"The initiative of the President is really commendable. It lays an
important foundation to hold discussions regarding vital issues
and directly hear the positions of the political forces. All the
political forces are given the possibility to have influence on the
decisions of state and national importance. The decisions will be
well elaborated and pro-Armenian, because they will derive from the
general interests. I hope the initiative of the President will be
ongoing and the thematic discussions will be regular.

It is very important for the structures that consider themselves
political forces to be able to express their standpoints and
positions directly to the country’s President. So it is an exclusive
occasion. And it is very strange that some political forces use this
occasion to put forward th eir preconditions.

In such circumstances the best thing to do for the political forces
is to estimate their role in the right way. If the political force
comprehends that they are unable to have any influence on the
situation, that they are not a real force, then their refusal to
participate in such an important discussion is quite understandable.

It is hard to imagine any political force, the participation of which
in the discussion of Karabakh issue will not be helpful. Of course
if that force has got a standpoint and stance.

So it is strange why the parties acting in the radical pro-oppositional
field refused to participate in the discussions organized by the
President.

When Ter-Petrosyan announced about the closing of the demonstrations,
when he announced that the settlement of Karabakh conflict is very
near and he doesn’t want to hinder this process, so why doesn’t
he want to help the process? Why doesn’t he want to use his chance
and meet tête-a-tête with someone who has direct participation in
the negotiations? Because Serge Sargsyan’s failure is our failure,
isn’t it.

So it is senseless to avoid responsibility, or to abstain from taking
necessary actions. Dashnaktsutyun is also concerned and we will
definitely participate in that political discussion, because we can
influence the decision and that way we can find a more pro-national
solution. We can discuss a ll those issues inside the coalition
but it is not right to miss any chance that can contribute to the
settlement of the conflict. Besides that we must understand that
the joint discussion of all the political forces will bring to more
comprehensive solutions."

–Boundary_(ID_kh5BzMONcGTnPahZ2 f90SQ)–

MEDIATORS RAISE CONCERNS OVER DEADLY KARABAKH FIGHTING

Agence France Presse
November 17, 2008 Monday 3:47 PM GMT

International mediators raised concerns Monday over fresh fighting
near Azerbaijan’s disputed Nagorny Karabakh region that left at least
one soldier dead at the weekend.

"The situation is tense… We are deeply concerned by what happened,"
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza told a news
conference in Yerevan of the Minsk Group, which leads international
efforts to resolve the dispute.

Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenian separatists seized control of
Nagorny Karabakh in the early 1990s in a war that killed nearly 30,000
people and forced two million to flee their homes.

An Azerbaijani soldier was killed overnight Sunday during fighting on
the region’s southeastern border, a spokesman for Karabakh’s military
forces, Senor Asratian, told AFP.

He said the fighting began when Azerbaijani special forces launched
an incursion into the region’s territory. The Azerbaijanis were pushed
back and separatist forces suffered no losses, he said.

In Baku, Azerbaijani Defence Ministry Spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu
confirmed that one of the country’s soldiers had been killed and
said two soldiers from Karabakh’s rebel forces had also died in
the fighting.

He denied that Azerbaijani forces had tried to move into the region.

"The armed incident was a result of the violation by the Armenian
side of the ceasefire regime. The Azerbaijani soldiers were acting
only in defence," Sabiroglu said.

The incident comes after Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his
Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev signed a declaration in Moscow
this month calling for a peaceful resolution to the long-running
dispute.

The country’s two foreign ministers are to meet for further talks in
Helsinki on December 4, the Russian representative in the Minsk Group,
Yury Merzliakov, said at the press conference in Yerevan.

France, Russia and the United States are co-chairs of the Minsk Group,
which is seeking to resolve the conflict and is under the auspices
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

A ceasefire was signed between the two former Soviet republics in
1994 but the dispute remains unresolved after years of negotiations,
and shootings between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the region
are common.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH LEADERSHIP DELIVERED KILLED SERVICEMAN’S BODY TO AZERI PARTY

De Facto
Nov 19, 2008

STEPANAKERT, 19.11.08. DE FACTO. On November 19 the Nagorno-Karabakh
leadership delivered a body of the serviceman killed in the incident
at the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri Armed Forces’ contact line on the
night of November 15-16, 2008, to the Azeri party. The information
of the NKR State Committee on POWs, Missing and Hostages received
by DE FACTO runs, in part, "On the night of November 15-16, 2008,
a diversion group of Azerbaijani Armed Forces made an attempt to
penetrate in the rear of Karabakh subdivisions at the south-eastern
direction of the contact line, however, it was revealed, and a member
of the diversion group was killed in fighting.

Under the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross,
as a goodwill gesture, the NKR leadership delivered the killed
serviceman’s body to the Azeri party without preliminary conditions
on November 19, at 2: 45 p.m."

DRESDEN CHESS OLYMPIAD: ARMENIA BEATS THE NETHERLANDS 2.5:1.5

armradio.am
18.11.2008 12:24

In the 5th round of the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden the Armenian
men’s team beat the team of the Netherlands 2.5:1.5. Gabriel Sargsyan
defeated Daniel Stelwagen. Levon Aronyan – Luk Van Velly, Vladimir
Hakobyan – Yan Smets and Tigran Petrosyan – Ervin Lam games ended in
a draw.

After the fifth round Russia, Armeniam Germany 1, Azerbaijan,
Ukraine and England have 9 points each. Russia ranks first, according
additional criteria. Armenia comes 2nd, Germany 1 is 3rd, Azerbaijan
is 4th, Ukraine is 5th and England – 7th.

In the women’s section the Armenian team beat France 2.5:1.5. The
Armenian women’s team has eight points after five rounds and ranks 7th.

The team of Hungary is in the lead.

AZERBAIJAN VIOLATED MOSCOW DECLARATION

A1+
[04:46 pm] 17 November, 2008

Today the OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs met Armenian journalists. They
came a little later in high spirits. Just at the beginning of the pres
conference the Co-Chairs dispelled the rumours that Armenia will assume
"non transparent" responsibilities under the Moscow Declaration signed
between the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

"The November 2 meeting gave a new stimulus to the talks. In this
regard, I am very grateful to our Russian partners. The Presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan already feel mutual respect and view the talks
in each other’s eyes in order to outline their further steps. They have
both confirmed that the conflict should be solved peacefully within
the framework of the Minsk group," said U.S. Co-Chair Metthew Bryza.

Bryza’s words could have been taken for granted if Azerbaijan hadn’t
violated the cease-fire and opened fire two months later after the
adoption of declaration.

In reply to A1+’s question whether they confide in the Azeri side
which, on the one hand, signs a declaration ensuring a peaceful
settlement for the conflict and, on the other hand, fires a shot,
Metthew Bryza said: "We are much concerned over the military actions
in Fizuli. We hope that the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk will hold a crisis monitoring
there. No serviceman must fall a victim to provocations."

French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier noted that an adoption of declaration
is not enough for the sides to achieve peace.

IT IS ENVISAGED SIGNING NEW AGREEMENT ON ARMENIAN-CYPRIAN INTERPARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION

Noyan Tapan

Nov 13, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The heads of the parliaments of
Cyprus and Armenia have agreed to deepen bilateral realtions, the
President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus Marios Karoyian
stated at the joint press conference of the speakers of the Armenian
and Cyprian parliaments at the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia on November 13. In his words, Cyprus as a EU member state is
ready to assist Armenia in implementing its programs with the EU.

M. Karoyian said that during his meeting with Armenia’s president,
prime minister and foreign minister, the sides informed each other
about the foreign policy problems of the two countries and expressed
a desire to deepen cooperation in the spheres of economy, tourism
and culture. According to M. Karoyian, the businessmen who arrived
with him in Armenia have expressed an intention to cooperate with
Armenian colleagues. Noting that until now the level of economic
cooperation was quite low, he expressed a hope that henceforth the
commodity turnover between two countries will grow.

Both sides intend to make mutual investments, and concrete programs
will be developed and presented in the near future.

In the words of M. Karoyian, in the foreign policy sphere, both
Armenia and Cyprus conduct policies aimed at ensuring security,
peace and stability and their policies are based on the principles of
international law and European cooperation. He stated that in this
issue Cyprus has the same position as Armenia, taking into account
the fact that the South Caucasus is gradually acquiring a greater
geopolitical significance in the world. He underlined that Cyprus
also tries to solve its problems by peaceful negotiations.

According to him, historically, Cyprus and Armenia have the same
adversary – Turkey that in 1994 occupied 37% of the territory of
Cyprus, keeps a 45,000-strong army there, and has moved illegally 185
thousand people from Anatolia. Human rights, principles and resolutions
of the UN and the EU are constantly violated in Turkey. While
proposing programs on peace and stability in the region, Turkey
has not recognized so far the fact of the genocide of 1.5 million
innocent Armenians and continues keeping its border with Armenia
closed. According to M. Karoyian, when giving its consent as a EU
member for the start of negotiations on Turkey’s membership of the EU,
Cyprus put forward a number of preconditions, none of which has been
implemented so far.

The Speaker of the RA National Assembly Hovik Abrahamian in his turn
said that Cyprus was one of the first countries to recognize the 1915
Armenian Genocide, while its House of Representatives in 1975 declared
April 24 as the National Day of Genocide Remembrance. He announced
that his counterpart has invited him to Cyprus where it is envisaged
signing a new agreement on interparliamentary cooperation. According
to H. Abrahamian, it is planned to revise and expand the agreement
signed between the parliaments of Armenia and Cyprus in 2003.