Author: Emil Lazarian

NO SALE OF HAYRUSGAZARD SHARES DISCUSSED IN MOSCOW

ArmenPress
May 17 2004

YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS: HayRusGazArd company, a joint
Russian-Armenian company and the sole natural gas supplier to Armenia,
denied today media allegations that president Kocharian discussed
during his weekend visit to Moscow with the chief manager of Russian
Gazprom the question of handing over 45 percent of HayRusGazArd shares
to the Russian company.

A spokeswoman for HayRusGazArd, Shushan Sardarian, said 45 percent
of the company’s shares belong to the government of Armenia, another
45 percent to Gazprom and 10 percent to Itera.

She said Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Robert Kocharian discussed the
current situation with Russia’s gas supplies to Armenia and issues
connected with the condition of the gas network in Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Schwimmer says Belarus far from CE standards
By Kseniya Kaminskaya and Konstantin Kizhel

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 15, 2004 Saturday

MOSCOW, May 15 — Belarus is far from the Council of Europe’s standards
and its admission to this organisation will not be considered in the
near future, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Walter
Schwimmer, said.

He told journalists on Saturday that there were so signs indicating
that Belarus was moving along the road of democracy and human rights.

Schwimmer said one of his tasks as the Secretary-General of the
Council of Europe had been to bring Belarus as close to CE membership
as possible but failed.

He hopes that this question may be resolved in the next five years.

In his words, in order to achieve this goal it is necessary to
strengthen the role of parliament in the country, ensure the freedom
of speech and complete the investigation of abductions.

Speaking about Nagorno-Karabakh, Schwimmer said Azerbaijan and Armenia
had been admitted to the Council of Europe at the same time so that
they could reach agreement on this enclave.

He expressed the hope that the presidents of the two countries will
resolve the conflict through dialogue.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agency WPS
The Russian Oil and Gas Report (Russia)
May 17, 2004, Monday

IRAN AND ARMENIA SIGNED AN AGREEMENT ON CONSTRUCTION OF A GAS
PIPELINE

The agreement on construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline was
signed on May 13. The Armenian Energy Ministry reported that Energy
Minister of Armenia Armen Movsesyan and Oil Minister of Iran Namdar
Zanganeh signed the agreement.

Under the agreement Iran will supply 1.1 billion cubic meters of
natural gas to Armenia a year and Armenia will pay for the gas with
electric energy. The countries also plan to increase gas supplies to
2 billion cubic meters a year in the future. The companies to build
the pipeline will be chosen at a tender. Previously the Armenian
party spoke about intention of Gazprom and Ukrainian companies to
take part in the project. Construction of the pipeline will cost
about $90 million for Armenia and $120 million for Iran.

Source: gazeta.ru, May 14, 2004

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Protestors urge release of Armenian political prisoners

A1+ web site
17 May 04

17 May: An initiative group of the “For and against civic will”
public organizations today staged another picket outside the
Prosecutor-General’s Office.

The aim of the action has not changed, i.e. the release of political
prisoners. Shayane Yesayan, a member of the Nor Hayastan [New Armenia]
public organization, says that the protest action will continue until
there are no political prisoners in Armenia.

She believes that one should not take seriously a statement by Deputy
Speaker of the National Assembly Tigran Torosyan that we have no
political prisoners in the country at all, whereas, there are 14 men
in Armenia. A list of them was submitted to journalists by members
of the Nor Hayastan.

The protest action was attended by Dzhemma Galstyan, the mother of
Suren Surenyants, a member of the Anrapetutyun Party and a political
prisoner.

She said that Suren Surenyants was in a poor health at present:
“We have repeatedly appealed to various instances, asking for the
transfer of Surenyants from the investigatory isolation ward of the
National Security Ministry to another place, however, our requests
remained unanswered.”

Surenyants’ mother considers that his issue can only be resolved
through the mediation of international organizations: “I am not
permitted to see my son because of a special instruction from the
prosecutor-general.”

At the end of the protest action, members of the initiative group
handed over a statement to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, which was
signed by 1,700 citizens, urging it to release the political prisoners.

Le Figaro
17 Mai 2004

Un effet boule de neige

L. M.

Depuis que le président de la Convention européenne Valéry Giscard
d’Estaing a lancé un pavé dans la mare, en affirmant que la Turquie
«n’avait pas vocation à entrer dans l’Union européenne», la
géographie, l’islam, la porosité des frontières turques aux trafics
en tout genre, la peur de migrations massives ou l’absence de
reconnaissance du génocide arménien sont tour à tour brandis comme
autant de raisons de dire non aux Turcs.

Longtemps confisqué par le petit cercle des dirigeants européens, le
débat sur la Turquie fait boule de neige et revient aujourd’hui en
boomerang à la tête de l’Europe, malgré l’appui notable apporté à la
candidature turque par la Grèce. En France et en Autriche, les
partisans du «non» semblent majoritaires. La droite allemande est,
elle aussi, turco-sceptique, de même qu’une partie des politiciens
hollandais. Beaucoup s’alarment de la présence au pouvoir d’un parti
islamiste, l’AKP, certes modéré et réformé. D’autres s’interrogent
sur la capacité de la Turquie à se débarrasser d’un système
bureaucratico-mafieux et clientéliste, dominé par le lobby militaire.
Le visage européen de la Turquie, incarné par ses élites modernes et
polyglottes, séduit. Mais l’autre visage, celui d’un Sud-Est
anatolien arriéré, effraie.

Parliamentary Chairperson Visits Strasbourg

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi
May 15 2004

Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze left for Strasbourg on
May 15 to participate in the European Conference of Presidents of
Parliament to be held at the Council of Europe on May 17-19.

“A number of bilateral meetings with my counterparts will be held,”
Nino Burjanadze said before departure.

Trilateral talks between Armenian, Azeri and Georgian Parliamentary
Chairpersons are also scheduled.

The conference will bring together more than sixty Presidents and
Speakers of the Parliaments of 45 member states.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RUSSIA-ARMENIA: FINE PROSPECTS FOR ECONOMIC TIES, SAYS PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 14 2004

MOSCOW, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia
is in Moscow on visit. Today, he held conference with the organising
committee of a nascent Russian-Armenian Business Partnership
Association.

Bilateral economic contacts have excellent opportunities, far exceeding
their present scope, which is impressive, too-suffice it to mention
close on 600 joint ventures and Armenian-based companies with Russian
participation, most of them prosperous, said the President.

Russian-Armenian economic partnership is making good progress,
especially in iron-and-steel and non-ferrous metal industries,
construction and banking. Chemical industrial contacts are very
promising, he added.

Mr. Kocharyan consented to become honoured association president. “If
this is to be my initial contribution, I say yes,” he replied to a
request by Nikolai Ryzhkov, organising committee chief and member of
the Federation Council, Russia’s upper parliamentary house.

The association is a fruitful idea, and President Kocharyan is
surprised just why no one has come on the idea before, what with both
countries’ ample attention to their economic links. Armenia will do
all it can to get the association going, he pledged.

Expected to be established next month, the association had its
organising committee maiden session in Moscow, April. It will promote
bilateral social, economic, research and technological contacts,
beneficial to either country. It has a solid tentative corporate
membership-more than a hundred Russian-based companies and seventy
Armenian have applied to join in for today.

A bilateral parliamentary commission for Russo-Armenian partnership,
which Senator Ryzhkov co-chairs for Russia, is having its nearest
session in Yerevan, June 2-3, he announced. The agenda is already
determined, and will concern economic contacts.

The commission has 22 members on either side. Representing Russia
are ten Senators and twelve members of the State Duma lower house.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri paper says USA gives Karabakh to Russia in return for Ajaria

Zerkalo, Baku
14 May 04

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers continued its work at
yesterday’s session in Strasbourg. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan was the first among the representatives of the 26 countries
of the Council of Europe to sign the supplementary 14th protocol to
the European Convention on Human Rights relating to the reform of
the European Court (Regnum [news agency]).

Yesterday also saw the second day of the negotiations on the resolution
of the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict within the framework of the OSCE
Minsk Group.

[Passage omitted: Minor details]

Also yesterday, US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice announced
plans to discuss the prospects for settling the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict in Moscow, together with other regional issues. She made
this announcement during a briefing in the run-up to her visit to
the Russian Federation.

[Passage omitted: More about the briefing]

It is interesting to note that the day before yesterday, in an
interview with [Russia’s] Nezavisimaya Gazeta, First Deputy Foreign
Minister of Russia Vyacheslav Trubnikov noted that Russia does not
want non-regional powers to be present on the territory of the former
Soviet Union. He said that over the past few years America’s presence
in the former Soviet Union has increased. The diplomat said that the
talk is about the Caucasus and Central Asia. Trubnikov believes that
the Americans are hardly going to abandon the regions they have just
“discovered”.

[Passage omitted: Minor details]

As can be seen, everything is clear here. While Washington is calling
on Moscow to cooperate in resolving the Karabakh conflict, the latter
is trying to reduce “the American presence” in Karabakh.

Another thing is surprising as well. Condoleezza Rice, delighted
with the settlement of the Ajaria issue, obviously does not quite
realize that as a result of the Georgian president’s “raid”, Ajaria was
deprived of the notorious “right of nations to self-determination”. And
probably, the democratic Condoleezza Rice does not worry about Ajaria’s
future fate.

[Passage omitted: Similar ideas]

It seems that Washington intends to “give” Karabakh to Russia in return
for Ajaria. And as always, no-one is taking account of Baku’s view.

In numerous private conversations between our political experts
and influential Europeans whose statements made behind the scenes
reflect Europe’s real attitude towards the Karabakh problem, they have
repeatedly said: “You are the loser, therefore, sit and do not fidget
around” or “Go and take Karabakh by force if you can. The strong side
one is always right.”

Therefore, if we discard all the numerous politically correct
statements of the EU “for and against”, we have to admit that there
is no other way than to retake by force what belongs to us. Long live,
as the Americans said, “Mr Kalashnikov”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Iran, Armenia sign agreement on gas export

IRNA, Iran
May 15 2004

Tehran, May 15, IRNA — Iran and Armenia signed an agreement in
Yerevan on Thursday to construct gas pipelines that will tranport
Iranian gas to Armenia.

According to the Persian-language daily Hamshahri, the agreement was
signed during a visit by Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh
to Yerevan by and between the Iranian National Gas Export Company
and officials of Armenia.

According to the agreement, Iran will export 1.1 billion cubic meters
of gas to Armenia with the possibility of exports being raised to
2.3 billion cubic meters.

Under the agreement, exports of Iranian gas, estimated at 10 billion
dollars, will be paid through a barter system.

Iran will launch gas exports to Armenia in 2007. Total volume of
gas exports to Armenia is targeted at 36 billion cubic meters, which
could be increased to 47 billion cubic meters.

The agreement is an added step to strengthening the position of Iran
as a secure energy provider, especially of gas.

In addition to exports of gas, the two countries have agreed to the
construction of a gas pipeline that will open a new route for the
transport of Iranian gas to the region via Georgia, the Black Sea
and Ukraine.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Trade between Samara region, Armenia increases 14 times
By Lyudmila Yermakova

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 14, 2004 Friday

SAMARA, May 14 — The trade turnover between the Samara region and
Armenia has increased 14 times for seven years, regional governor
Konstantin Titov cited the figure at the conference on interregional
Russian-Armenian cooperation on Friday.

He noted that “the CIS states are serious partners of the region, their
share in the export of the Samara region is stabilising and Armenia
holds one of the leading places in it.” The regional law on investments
that protects the deposits of businessmen promotes the capital inflow
in the region. The Samara region is a big supplier of oil, electricity,
aluminium, produce of machine-building and chemical industry.

The governor noted that the Samara region is traditionally
multinational, and the Armenian diaspora is one of the biggest there
that promotes the development of bilateral cooperation. “The state
support of multifaceted cooperation between Russian constituents
and the CIS states” is needed for the development of this tendency,
the governor pointed out.