VERELQ լրատվական-վերլուծական կենտրոնը Եվրասիական փորձագիտական ակումբի կողմից արժանացել է Շնորհակալագրի՝ Եվրասիական տնտեսական ինտեգրման գործընթացի առարկայական, անաչառ և բարձրորակ լուսաբանման, ինչպես նաև Եվրասիական փորձագիտական ակումբի գործունեության հանդեպ բարյացակամ վերաբերմունքի համար:
Շնորհակալագիրը շնորհվել է VERELQ լրագրող Լիա Խոջոյանին՝ Եվրասիական փորձագիտական ակումբի տարեկան նիստի շրջանակներում:
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia December 21, 2017 Thursday The Armenian government approved a list of companies that had prequalified selection for the construction of the largest solar power station "Masrik" Yerevan December 21 Naira Badalyan. On December 21, the Armenian government approved a list of companies that had prequalified selection of an investor for the 55-MW solar power plant project Masrik. The Cabinet also approved the draft agreement on assistance from the government and on the invitation to participate in the procurement procedure. Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Ashot Manukyan, presenting the draft decision, recalled that the scale of the project has no analogues. 20 companies submitted applications for participation in the international tender for the investor's choice of the project for the construction of the solar power plant "Masrik-1". The prequalification stage of the international tender was overcome by 10 companies and 1 consortium. "All 10 companies have high international prestige and wide experience in this area," the minister said. As ArmInfo informed earlier, until March 2018, the tender for the investor's choice of the project for the construction of the solar power plant "Masrik" will be fully completed, and at the end of 2018 Armenia will receive the first powerful solar power plant. According to preliminary data, the total investment in this generation facility will be $ 65-70 million. Earlier in an interview with the corr. ArmInfo Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Hayk Harutyunyan reported that the prequalification tender was announced on April 28 and finished on June 10. It will be voluminous and will last until the second quarter of 2018. At the first stage of the competition, it is planned to identify an investor for whom clear criteria have been established. In particular, he must have experience in the construction of solar power plants with a total capacity of at least 100 MW. This is done in order to involve serious companies in the project. The very preparation for the tender was conducted for a long time. As a result of the project, Armenia will receive a competitive and record low solar power plant. The deputy minister refused to name the size of the tariff, pointing out only that it should be more affordable in comparison with the tariff from thermal blocks. "There is a hope that it will be within the tariffs established for hydropower facilities," Hayk Harutyunyan said. According to him, Armenia has a good resource for solar energy, and good conditions have been created for investors. It should be reminded that the total cost of the program for the construction of solar power stations in Armenia is $ 129 million. A feasibility study for the construction of solar power plants has already been prepared. Within the framework of the program it is planned to build solar power stations with a capacity of up to 110 megawatts in various regions of Armenia. Of the 6 surveyed areas in two, the Spanish consulting company Aries Engineering has already submitted feasibility studies. They relate to the localities of "Masrik" in Gegharkunik region and "Dashtadem" in Aragatsotn region, studies on the remaining four localities continue. On May 3, 2010, the German bank KfW jointly with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany provided credit to the Central Bank of Armenia in the amount of 18 million euros and a grant of 1.5 million euros. Then the chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia Artur Javadyan noted that the funds are directed to the implementation of the second phase of the program "Promoting renewable energy." Within the framework of this program, 14 credits for the amount of 2.9 billion drams have already been provided, eight of which are for the construction of small hydro power plants, and six for the modernization of existing small hydropower facilities. Javadyan recalled that in November 2004, a loan program "Renewable Energy Development Assistance" was signed between the Central Bank and KfW Bank for a total of 6 million euros, and another 1.5 million euros were provided in the form of a grant. In addition, the Climate Investment Fund for the development of alternative energy provided Armenia $ 28 million, of which $ 2 million - a grant and $ 26 million - a loan. The loan terms are soft - 0.25% per annum with a maturity of 40 years and a grace period for payments in the first 20 years. Grant funds are being used to study the localities, develop a feasibility study for the project, calculated at a 110 MW station.
Armenian athletes Artur Davtyan and Vigen Khachatryan won a bronze medal at the 24th Mikhail Voronin Cup, an international artistic gymnastics tournament, currently underway in Moscow, Russia.
Scoring a total of 161.550 points, the Armenians were outperformed by the Russian team Dinamo.
Also, Davtyan secured one more medal, becoming the third prize-winner in the men's all-around event.
Over the past month, I had to write final articles for some international journals. It made me think much about the current state of the Armenian world and possible threats to Armenia on the eve of a big clash of the leading centers of power. The last two texts in the Russian version of Forbes were devoted to the recognition by President Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as well as to the introduction of new sanctions against Russia in connection with the problems surrounding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It may seem that these and other world political events have nothing to do with Armenia and the Armenian world. In the short term and directly, this connection may seem weak (although the issue is debatable), but in a strategic perspective, we will somehow get into the general course of future minor troubles and big problems.
The crisis of the US-Russian relations and the strengthening of the radical neo-conservative American elites that are more determined to act against Iran represent the indirect threats of a global nature to the Armenian world, centred on official Yerevan. In addition, we should note the dying interest of the United States in relation to Armenia and the Armenian factor. Washington continues to increase its pressure on Moscow by introducing new sanctions packages in the political, economic, energy and military-technical spheres. In the last year of Obama's presidency, a bipartisan consensus emerged in Congress about the need for consistent pressure in the Russian direction. Sanctions were adopted by a total majority of votes (97%), which cannot be ignored by any head of the White House. Moreover, the party leaders of both Chambers at the legislative level have banned the US President from lifting the sanctions unilaterally.
The military intelligence lobby (Mattis-Pence group), which has a strong influence on the Administration, also supports the tactics of pressure on Russia and advocates the strengthening of the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). This situation puts the Armenian side in a dead end. The national interests of the country are based on the importance of preserving the stability of the US-Russian relations or at least of not letting them roll into a deep interstate crisis. Many experts believe that regardless of the complications in the political dialogue, Washington and Moscow retain unified principles on the settlement of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict. One could agree with this statement, but there are specific points to be taken into account. Firstly, we should not forget that we are talking not about the bilateral US-Russian state format but about the institutionally coordinated position within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group (in fact, we hear the voice of the organization, not of the individual countries). Secondly, since the Administration of George W. Bush, there has been a decline in America's interest in Armenia and Karabakh. The signs of this trend are more than enough: freezing of the Section 907 in relation to Azerbaijan and the annual reduction of external allocations to Yerevan and Stepanakert against the increased aid to Tbilisi and Baku. The current US Administration does not want to spend political and economic resources in the Armenian direction, and only from a pragmatic point of view, Washington does not object to Russia's activity on this issue.
It is necessary to calculate the potential consequences of the worst scenarios, in which both sides can transfer their conflict to the most painful issues for us. While analyzing all "possible", one should realize that for some objective and subjective reasons America has not used the existing arsenal of super heavy sanctions against Russia yet. In other words, we should understand that the recent "stable" turned into the "bad" stage for less than three years. Moreover, this is not the limit. It will be extremely difficult to conduct direct negotiations with such a hawk Administration in order to mitigate the future impact. Even in the period of George W. Bush's presidency, when there was a stable background in the US-Russian relations, and pro-Armenian lobby groups acted in a way, Robert Kocharyan failed to persuade the White House to keep the 907th Section to the "Freedom Support Act". The situation is deteriorated by the fact that not a single bridge has been built during the last 25 years between Armenia and the USA to solve pressing foreign policy issues.
The Iranian issue is another reason for a headache. It is difficult to argue with the fact that Armenia's geopolitical wellbeing largely depends on the positive dynamics of relations with Tehran. Any decisions of Washington to close Iranian issues once and for all automatically are harmful and dangerous for Yerevan. However, unlike the Russian vector, discussions on the Iranian case continue both in the Administration and in the party elites of the Congress. For the Democrats, the agreement with Iran has a political and symbolic significance. It was under the Democratic Administration of Jimmy Carter that America lost Persia, one of the key allies in the region. Therefore, it is symbolic that the process of rehabilitation of the political dialogue began under Democrat Obama. There is no doubt that the "donkeys" will protect their foreign policy heritage in every possible way. Thus, they will indirectly defend the interests of Armenia in this direction (just coincidence).
However, this state of affairs also does not guarantee the preservation of the status quo. The main problems for Trump and neo-conservatives in Congress, wishing to solve the Iranian problem by force, are not Democrats (the minority) but the real and moderate wing of the Republican Party as well as libertarians from the Tea Party. The good news is the absence of prerequisites, signalling the imminent overcoming of the inner-party split. However, this does not mean that the neo-conservative bloc will put aside this issue. We must be cautious, taking into account the factor of pro-Turkish influence groups that actively work with key senators and heads of leading think tanks that are involved in the process of forming political decisions (especially RAND Corporation). Moreover, it is necessary to monitor the dynamics of the American-Azerbaijani dialogue – the measure of Washington's interest in Baku directly depends on the decisions concerning Tehran.
Today, the Armenian side has very little time and resources to respond to the consequences of formally indirect threats. A first airbag is the presence of influence within the United States. America is a complicated country in its political structure, where the final decision is made taking into account the multitude of institutional (branches of power) and non-institutional factors (ideology, influence groups, organizations, lobbyists, etc.). The principle of "Anglo-conformism" lies at the heart of the American nation. It means the Anglo-Saxon vision of the world and the Anglo-Protestant religious and ideological, spiritual existence. For decades, rings from various ethnic groups have been formed around this philosophical nucleus. All of them brought some new elements. The Germans diluted Anglicanism with Lutheranism, the Dutch added Baptism, Reformism and Moravism, and the Irish and Italians became bearers of Catholic religious values. These ethnoreligious groups were the ones to form the nucleus of the American political nation.
Other ethnic groups connected to one of these main "chargers" to obtain the necessary energy for the quick and efficient integration into the American national elite. Taking advantage of the religious factor, the Jewish diaspora connected to Evangelical America, becoming an essential element of the conservative elite (the Republican Party). Getting into one of the rings allows you to move to the second stage – formation of ethnic capital, which is urgent to nurture the new generation and provide its further integration into the socio-political, economic and cultural life of the country.
The third step is the final integration and transition from one of the rings to the core. It happens when an ethnic Jew that occupies the position of the Vice President (Albert Gore), the Secretary of State (Henry Kissinger), the Secretary of Defense (William Cohen) becomes a norm for the "Anglo-conformist" American society.
Similarly, the leaders of the Polish community connected to the Irish charger on the basis of the Catholic factor. Today, Turkish and Azerbaijani groups are seeking access to different networks. It should be noted that their groups have achieved some success so far. However, these achievements are temporary because they are based solely on financial instruments (the purchase of one-time chargers). There are no fundamental ideological foundations that could bring these ethnic groups closer to one of the existing rings of the national elite. Armenians that created their heritage in America back in the era of colonial domination of Great Britain have significant advantages.
Nevertheless, for some reasons that we will not be able to disclose even in several articles, Armenians could not create their charger, and we did not connect to any other (we were unlikely to think about it). This issue is again relevant now: either we will influence external elites through existing formats, or we will become an object of projecting their influence. In the current conditions, Yerevan, the political center of the Armenian world, which has the status of a subject of international law, and the communities – the elements of the future Armenian transnational nation – must radically change the attitude towards each other and the changing world.
Areg Galstyan – PhD, regular contributor to The National Interest, Forbes, The Hill and The American Thinker. These views are his own.
TEHRAN, Dec. 17 (MNA) – ‘Crocodile Tears’, an Iran-Armenia production directed by Reza Hosseinabadi, is being screened in several Armenian cinemas.
“The feature film is now on screen at cinemas of Yerevan and Gyumri as two major Armenian cities,” said Hosseinabadi asserting that the joint production is being broadcasted in the Eurasian country with Armenian dubbing.
Hosseinabadi, while underlining that his film had been entirely filmed in the country of Armenia, said “Armenia is a ‘low-cost’ location for the filmmakers as such many Iranian directors make their films in the country.”
“Crocodile Tears has been inspired by Beehive, a 1975 Iranian Persian-genre drama film directed by Fereydun Gole,” he continued.
The Iranian director later stated that his production will be soon dubbed into Persian language to go on screen in Iranian cinemas.
The movie enjoys both Iranian and Armenian cast. The Iranian stars are Majid Moshiri, Babak Nouri and Amir Mohammad Zand.
On December 11, the 5th Khachaturian International Festival summed up. The closing ceremony of the festival was just as impressive, as the start. The Gala concert was live streamed on the world's leading classical music channel MEDICI.TV. MEDICI.TV’s permanent followers are over 500,000. The State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, headed by conductor Sergey Smbatyan, presented compositions by two great representatives of the Armenian Composers' School: the Symphony No. 3 by Avet Terterian and the Symphony No.2 “The Bell Symphony” by Aram Khachaturian.
Summing up the 5th festival the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia Sergey Smbatyan noted that one of the peculiarities of the festival was the introduction of musical formats that were new to the world.
''We presented concert programs with contrasts (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Schnittke, Mirzoyan, Terteryan, Khachaturian), and we have chosen everything carefully. We also demonstrated the high performing art of the orchestra. These two months of music and packed halls state the fact that the society has a desire to listen to good music,'' maestro Smbatyan noted.
Sergey Smbatyan added that the live stream of the concert by MEDICI.TV is one of the major achievements of their big team.
''MEDICI.TV is the largest platform of classical music dictating high standards, musical principles, and it is a great victory to present on this channel Armenian program,'' maestro added.
The Director of the HD Studio Karen Khachatryan was responsible for the live streaming. He noted that MEDICI.TV has specific requirements for content, shots, as well as artistic requirements. Karen Khachatryan added that it was a great responsibility for them to supply the live streaming for MEDICI.TV. '' Working for four years with Youth Orchestra and thanks to the audience, gaining a great portfolio, we managed to reach the point that MEDICI.TV appreciated our work''.
During the evening, a movie about the 5th Khachaturian International Festival was screened on Medici.tv. The film retrospectively reflected on the past two months.
Thunder of applause and ovations: both compositions were highly appreciated. Avet Terterian wrote the Symphony No. 3 in 1975, a composition in which the composer harmonized the zurna and the duduk with the orchestra. And the Symphony No.2 by Aram Khachaturian is full of deep drama and diverse sound.
The Khachaturian Festival has also received appreciations in the professional circles.
The Minister of Culture of RA Armen Amiryan noted that the Khachaturian Festival has its unique, stable place in our cultural life and communicates us with global stars, presents such programs that are novelties in the world.
“Never setting aside any program, however, we must admit that Khachaturian festival has a very creative idea, is very interesting and always follows innovations in art, takes new steps and new initiatives which make the festival and the cultural life more interesting and colorful. I want to congratulate all those who had the opportunity to communicate with this exclusive concert and the organizers and I hope that the festival will continue to keep the high level in the years to come and will take the high standard of art to the upper level of development of our cultural life, and will be in the highest point,” Armen Amiryan noted.
Maestro Tigran Mansurian characterized this musical feast as rich and productive.
''I would especially like to highlight the first performances of the compositions, the premieres, among which Symphony 13 ''Babi Yar'' by Shostakovich and Orca Symphony by Serj Tankian, are the most notable. I would like to especially mention the visit of John Malkovich to Yerevan and his narration of Narekatsi in English. These events greatly enriched the festival as well. Sergey Smbatyan's work should be perceived within the frames of the highest estimate, because this was a festival of high artistic manifestations and at the same time a huge energy of organizing a complete festival and it was a result of work of mind requiring great attention,'' maestro Mansurian noted.
To remind, the 5th Khachaturian International Festival is held under the high patronage of the President of RA Serzh Sargsyan. It is implemented thanks to the joint efforts of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia (General Partner of the Orchestra – VivaCell-MTS), with the support of the Ministry of Culture of RA, the “Khachaturian” Foundation, European Foundation for Support of Culture.
You can watch the Gala Concert of the festival here .
President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR), Bako Sahakyan, on Saturday sent a congratulatory address in connection with the NKR State Independence Referendum and Constitution Day.
“Dear Artsakh people,
“On behalf of the republic’s authorities and personally myself, I extend my cordial congratulations in connection with the NKR State Independence Referendum and Constitution Day.
“The December 10 referendums of 1991 and 2006 have played a crucial role in the life of our republic, announcing the firm will and unshakable spirit of our people, having embarked on the path of democracy.
“During all these years, together with our brothers and sisters in Mother Armenia and the Diaspora, we have managed to overcome all the difficulties and hardship, defend our state independence, and continue to undertake necessary measures to strengthen and develop it on a consistent basis.
“The Referendum of Constitutional Reforms held on February 20 of the current year and the adoption of the New Constitution of the Artsakh Republic became a vivid manifestation of that.
“The New Basic Law is an objective result of subsequent cementing and strengthening constitutionalism and democratic institutions in our state that once again demonstrated the commitment of our people to building a free and civilized country.
“Dear compatriots,
“I once again congratulate all of you on this significant holiday, wishing peace, happiness and welfare to every family of Artsakh,” reads the address by the NKR President.
On December 6, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh, the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, to the north from Kuropatkino settlement of the Martuni region, press service of the Artsakh foreign ministry reported.
From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova).
The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members.
ManUtd.com provides a look at the current and former Reds stars who also hold the goalscoring record for their nation.
Armenia: Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 25 goals / 70 caps
United's midfield maestro broke his nation's goalscoring record in 2013, when he netted in a 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw with Italy, to surpass Arthur Petrosyan's previous record of 11 goals.
Mkhitaryan now captains Armenia and recently netted in friendly wins over Belarus and Cyprus, to take his international tally to 25.
Belgium: Romelu Lukaku – 31 goals / 65 caps
Lukaku's goal in the 1-0 friendly win over Japan made it three strikes in this international break alone, after he netted a fine double in the 3-3 draw with Mexico last week.
The Antwerp-born front man's brace in Brussels took him level with Bernard Voorhoof and Paul van Himst on 30 goals, before his header against Japan took his tally to 31.
But his new status is disputed by FIFA, who nullified a 2014 friendly between Belgium and Luxembourg in which he hit a hat-trick because the Rode Duivels made seven substitutions – one more than the permitted six. It also meant ex-Reds winger Adnan Januzaj's debut for his country was wiped from FIFA's records.
Bulgaria: Dimitar Berbatov – 48 goals / 78 caps
The languid and stylish striker netted 56 goals in 149 league and cup games during a four-year spell at United before leaving for Fulham in 2012. And his record on the international stage was even more impressive.
Berbatov's 48 goals in 78 caps marks an impressive return for a player who played in just one major tournament (Euro 2004), and he tops his nation's goalscoring charts alongside Hristo Bonev, who represented Bulgaria between 1967 and 1979.
Colombia: Radamel Falcao – 28 goals / 70 caps
The Monaco striker, who plied his trade at Old Trafford in the 2014/15 season, became his nation's leading scorer with a bullet header in a 2-2 friendly draw with Spain earlier this year.
That goal was Falcao's 26th for his nation, taking him above Arnoldo Iguaran's tally of 25. The former Chelsea man has since taken the Colombia captaincy and he netted twice in their final four qualifiers to help Jose Pekerman's side secure a spot at the World Cup finals in Russia.
England: Wayne Rooney – 53 goals / 119 caps
Rooney became United's all-time leading scorer last season as his free-kick against Stoke City took him to 250 goals for the club, surpassing Sir Bobby Charlton's previous record.
However, the powerful forward also holds the illustrious record of being England's most deadly marksman, having scored 53 goals in 119 games before his international retirement in August this year. He also the Three Lions' most-capped outfield player, second only to Peter Shilton in the all-time list.
Mexico: Javier Hernandez – 49 goals / 99 caps
Chicharito enamoured himself to the United faithful during his five-year stint at Old Trafford between 2010 and 2015, in which he bagged 59 goals in 158 appearances across all competitions.
Hernandez has been prolific for his country throughout his career; however, he only surpassed Jared Borgetti's record of 46 goals in May this year, when he found the net in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Croatia.
Netherlands: Robin van Persie – 50 goals / 102 caps
Van Persie famously helped United win our 20th league title, after joining from Arsenal before the start of the 2012/13 campaign, but he also has pedigree on the international stage, too.
The leggy attacker surpassed Patrick Kluivert's record of 40 goals in style, with a hat-trick in an 8-1 World Cup qualifying win over Hungary in 2013. He also once netted four goals in a single game – an 11-0 Euro 2012 qualifying thrashing of San Marino.
Northern Ireland: David Healy – 36 goals / 95 caps
A product of United's famed Academy, Healy only went on to appear three times for the Reds' first team, though he did flourish for Northern Ireland and eventually became their all-time leading goalscorer in 2004 with a brace against Trinidad and Tobago.
Healy is also the only player to date to net two hat-tricks for the Green and White Army, against Spain and Liechtenstein in 2006.
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo – 79 goals / 147 caps
The former United star has a whopping 79 goals for his country, having surpassed Pauleta's previous record (47) in 2014 with a double in a 5-1 friendly thrashing of Cameroon in Leiria.
Since then, Ronaldo has gone from strength to strength and led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title. The Real Madrid forward is now just five goals behind Europe's most prolific scorer, Ferenc Puskas, who netted 84 goals in 89 games for Hungary and Spain.
Scotland: Denis Law – 30 goals / 55 caps
Part of the 'United Trinity' alongside George Best and Charlton, Law netted 237 goals in 404 appearances for the Reds between 1962 and 1973, placing him third in our all-time goalscoring charts.
However, he went two better on the international stage, as his 30 goals in 55 international outings make him Scotland's joint-highest scorer, sharing the record with Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish.
Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 62 goals / 116 caps
Having made his international debut in a goalless draw with the Faroe Islands in 2001, the big Swede went on to fire an impressive 62 goals in 116 matches for his country over a 15-year period, before he announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2016.
The most memorable of his 62 strikes is arguably that overhead kick against England in Stockholm in 2012, a spectacular 30-yard effort that beat Joe Hart and rescued Sweden a 2-2 draw.
*Statistics correct as of .