Author: Frangulian Shushan

Pan Armenian News

LENNMARKER SATISFIED WITH PARTICIPATION OF PARLIAMENTS IN KARABAKH
SETTLEMENT

05.07.2005 04:21

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) special representative
for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Goran Lennmarker is satisfied with the
participation of the Parliaments of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the conflict
settlement. `Within this period I actively cooperated with them. They
received me in the course of my regional visits. We actively cooperated
outside the countries as well. I would say that our cooperation was
productive. We became friends. During my frequent trips to Baku Azeri MPs
assisted me much. Thus I cannot complain of participation of Parliaments in
the process,’ he said, AzerTAj reported.

Opposition pauses: too early to speak of collaboration

Yerkir/Arm
1 July 05

In a rare case of cooperation, representatives of the authorities and
opposition in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) held a joint news conference this week. Usually the views of
the authorities and opposition differ on the issues discussed at PACE
sessions; this time there seemed to be a consensus.

The latest PACE plenary session discussed the Armenian constitutional
amendments, and the Armenian delegation declared a balanced document
was adopted. Shavarsh Kocharian, opposition member of the National
Assembly, noted that this would make it possible to bring the country
out of the internal crisis.

Speaking at the joint news conference, he said the opposition insists
that the Constitutional amendments should comply with the memorandum
of understanding Armenia has signed with the Venice Commission. So, is
the opposition ready to collaborate with the authorities and
relinquish its calls for the regime change? “We are ready to
collaborate as far as the Constitutional amendments are concerned,”
Shavarsh Kocharian said. “I believe there are issues that more
important than the relations between the authorities and opposition.”
He added that goal of revolutions is bring about reforms.

In his turn, Hrant Khachatrian, another opposition member of the
Natioanl Assembly, said that what happened in Strasbourg was not the
authorities’ achievement, the Council of Europe pressured the Armenian
authorities to concede. “This is the victory of the Armenian people
and opposition,” he said, adding that unless the authorities take
steps towards getting rid of the clan system, the opposition may
consider adopting a relevant tactics.

Another opposition politician, Hmayak Hovhannisian of the Liberal
Progressive Party not represented in the NA, mentioned that the
“upbeat” sentiment has no grounds. “Nothing is clear yet. We will make
a statement only after the final draft (of the amendments) is ready,”
he said.

AGO DEFENDS ARMENIA’S STANDPOINT

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
01 July 05

The head of the AGO monitoring group Roland Wegener is hopeful that
Azerbaijan will also commit to the settlement of the conflict. The
head of the AGO monitoring group of the EC Committee of Ministers,
German Roland Wegener was in Armenia on an official visit. In the
evening of June 28 he gave a press confere nce. Summing up his visit
in the press conference together with the foreign minister of Armenia,
he evaluated his visit as effective. Although the maintopic of the
meetings of the AGO group was the issue of constitutional reforms in
Armenia, the German diplomat said the Karabakh issue was also touched
upon. Minister Oskanian had briefed the ambassadors on the current
process of resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the developments
and prospects. The head of the European delegation stated they were
informed about the issue in detail because they had shown by their
activities that they are confidential. Anyway, as distinct from the
AGO delegation, it again remained a secret for the Armenian people
what definite issues had been discussed by the foreign ministers in
Paris, because declassification would affect the talks. Instead the
minister stated once again that nevertheless something was discussed,
and added, `We did not come to a final conclusion but we came quite
close to it. I think several small questions are left, the solution to
which finally can be reached. Allthe proposals are on the table and
under consideration by the ministers and the president. At the moment
when the final agreement is achieved, it will not be easy to put it
down on paper.’ But it looks like the situation is far from the moment
of putting it down on paper, and neither do the parties seem to have
come to an agreement; the latest meeting in Paris simply brought them
closer to some X point. `I think several small questions are left, the
solution to which finally can be reached. This being successful, we
may say that one of the hindrances is overcome and we can already
proceed to other problems,’ said the foreign minister. In his turn the
German diplomat mentioned that they endorse the commitment of the
president, the government and the foreign minister of Armenia to
resolution. Roland Veneger said that they will also visit Azerbaijan
where election will be held in autumn which, according to him, will
not impact the country’s effort for resolution. As to good news,
V. Oskanian informed that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will arrive
in the region in July but will not bring along any new proposals. One
of the questions of the journalists referred to the recent statements
of the Azerbaijani side. Namely the Azerbaijani political scientist
Salizadeh stated, `In order to resolve the Karabakh issue, Azerbaijan
needs strong army, but even with a strong and effective army it is
necessary to take the position of peace process.’ Salizadeh’s
statement was followed by Ilham Aliev’s counterargument that for
Azerbaijan negotiating with the Armenian side is the same as making a
compromise. And at the point whenthe negotiations are stopped,
military force is used. Vardan Oskanian mentioned that he was not
aware of Aliev’s statement but if Aliev made one, it is pointless to
comment on this kind of statements.

AA.
01-07-2005

Armenian power company denies reports of takeover by Russian energy giant

Mediamax news agency
1 Jul 05

Yerevan, 1 July: The press secretary of the Armenian power grids,
Margarita Grigoryan, has denied reports that the company has been
taken over by the Unified Energy System of Russia.

“There have been only changes in the company management, which will
be announced next week,” Grigoryan told Mediamax today.

To recap, the Unified Energy System of Russia said the following in
its annual report on 30 June: “The Interenergo company, which is part
of the group [Unified Energy System of Russia], has bought 100 per
cent of the shares of the Armenian power grids. The total sum of the
deal was more than R2bn or 73m dollars, which was paid in cash.”

AUA Public Relations Office

PRESS RELEASE

June 29, 2005

American University of Armenia
40 Marshal Baghramian
Yerevan 375019 ARMENIA
Telephone: (37410) 512-522
Fax: (37410) 270-859; 512-512
Contact: Diana Manukyan
E-mail: [email protected]

US Department of Energy Awards Armenian Scientists Proliferation Prevention Grant

Dr. Kenell Touryan, Vice President of Resarch and Develpoment at
the American University of Armenia (AUA) and Dr. Artak Hambarian,
Associate Director of AUA’s Engineering Research Center (ERC), are
announcing a special grant for proliferation prevention that the US
Department of Energy has awarded to a team of scientists at the AUA,
the Yerevan Physics Institute, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and an optico-physics Institute in Moscow.

The proposal calls for the development of a high-speed laser scanning
system for the detection of defects in solid-state wafers, including
solar cells. If successful, the system will accelerate the rate at
which the quality of the wafers is tested in assembly-line production,
by a factor of 10 to 100. Solid-state wafers are very thin slices
of solid-state materials (30cm x 30cm x 800 micrometers thick)
of very high purity that are used in many solid-state devices and
in the manufacturing of solar cells. Any defects in these wafers
will degrade the quality of the device produced from these wafers.
The market for such an instrument is huge. The USDOE has approved
the project at the funding level of $800,000.

“As manager of the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP)
projects at NREL, for the US Department of Energy, I have been able to
obtain funding for several institutes and universities in Armenia, in
high technology. The high-speed laser-scanning project is an ambitious
project. When successfully completed, it will have wide commercial
application in the semiconductor industry. Royalties received form
the sale of this equipment can provide sustainable income to the
participating institutes,” said Dr Kenell Touryan.

According to Dr. Artak Hambarian, Principal Investigator at AUA
for this project, if successful, this project could be a start for
revitalizing a direction in design and construction of semiconductor
test equipment that will help to integrate Armenia into a modern high
tech pattern in a very competitive way. The team at the Yerevan Physics
Institute will be led by Director, Dr. Asatryan. Dr. Touryanof AUA,
will have general oversight along with Dr. Dave Kline at NREL, both
of whom are managers of all IPP projects at NREL, including those
awarded to various institutes in Armenia.

—————————————-

The American University of Armenia is registered as a non-profit
educational organization in both Armenia and the United States
and is affiliated with the Regents of the University of California.
Receiving major support from the AGBU, AUA offers instruction leading
to the Masters Degree in eight graduate programs. For more information
about AUA, visit

Armenian president, South Korean envoy discuss expanding economic ties

Yerkir website
28 Jun 05

Yerevan, 28 June: The newly-appointed South Korean ambassador to
Armenia, Kim Jae-sup, (resident in Moscow) presented his credentials
to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today.

Kocharyan congratulated the South Korean ambassador on his
appointment, adding that this would open a new stage in the progress
of Armenian-Korean relations, the presidential press office reported.

The president said that trade between the two countries doubled last
year. However, this figure is not relevant as against the existing
opportunities and therefore, it is necessary to take steps to make
full use of the existing potential.

Stressing the importance of bilateral relations in the economic sphere,
the Korean ambassador said that he intended to do his best for the
expansion of Armenian-Korean relations.

Azeri Army Gets Stronger

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 28 2005

Azerbaijan will spend 300 million dollars (248 million euros) on
its armed forces in 2005, a 70 percent increase over last year,
the Azeri leader said at a ceremony in a military academy, AFP news
agency reported.

“The adversary must know that the Azerbaijani army can mobilize at any
moment and liberate the occupied territories,” Azerbaijani President
Ýlham Aliyev said.

“Spending on the country’s defense force will grow continuously”
added Aliyev.

In May, Azerbaijan inaugurated a US-backed pipeline, which will deliver
oil from Caspian Sea oil fields to the Mediterranean and is expected
to generate as much as 160 billion dollars for the country over the
next 30 years.

20 percent of Azerbaijan has been under Armenian occupation for more
than a decade. Armenian forces with the Russian assistance occupied
Karabakh and many Azeri towns and rejected to withdraw. The EU and the
US named Armenia ‘occupier’ in Karabakh. Turkey says its relations with
Armenia cannot be restored as long as occupation continues. Azerbaijan
is the only European country whose large territories under occupation
of another European country. Nilgun Gulcan from ISRO says Armenia
prefers more territories instead of peace, stability and co-operation:

“Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan can establish a regional
economic integration. Regional co-operation will increase integration
with the West. The Yerevan must understand that occupation cannot
be a solution to its economic and political problems. There are more
than 100 million Turkish around Armenia, and Armenia cannot survive
without restoring its relations with the neighboring countries.”

June 28 2005

New EU document to call on Turkey to ‘normalise’ relations with Cyprus

By Myria Antoniadou in Brussels

ANKARA is being called upon to “normalise” its relations with all EU
member states, including the Republic of Cyprus, in the framework
of negotiations’ with Turkey to be discussed by the Commissioners
tomorrow.

Sources believe this reference is of particular importance to
Nicosia, as it could use it in future discussions within the Council.
For example, Nicosia can refuse to open the transport chapter during
the negotiations with Ankara, scheduled to start on October 3, unless
Turkey opens its ports and airports to Cypriot interests.

The framework also calls on Turkey to support the continued efforts
for a settlement in Cyprus and to make further steps in creating a
favourable climate.

At the same time, it asks Turkey to fulfil its obligations regarding
the Association Council (customs union) and in particular to extend
the additional protocol to all member states.

The protocol has been approved by the EU and but it still remains to
be signed by the Turkish government.

However, sources told the Mail they did not believe Ankara would sign
the protocol till mid or end of September, just before negotiations
begin, as it is viewed as de facto recognition of Cyprus and therefore
a very contentious issue in Turkey.

The negotiations framework also calls upon Turkey to respect human
rights as well as relevant European case law. The latter is considered
important to Cyprus because of decisions such as the Titina Loizidou
case by the European Court of Human Rights.

Some parties in Brussels view these references as a change from the
position held towards Cyprus by the previous enlargement Commissioner
Gunter Verheugen. His successor Olli Rehn appears to be more open
to discussion and less inclined towards a blame game, while at the
same time maintaining a good relationship with Cypriot Commissioner
Markos Kyprianou.

The document will be sent to the Council for approval, and therefore
nobody knows its final references.

The government is expected to try adding more elements, like the need
for the withdrawal of Turkish troops and settlers or an end to the
illegal construction in the north, but this is difficult to achieve
in such a brief document. It may feel it has more chance to have them
included in the ‘revised accession partnership’ to be finalised after
the start of talks. The framework of the negotiations with Turkey also
refers to the need for good neighbourly relations, which is of interest
to Greece, Armenia and the Kurds. Reflecting the discussion going
on within the EU over the past weeks, there is a clear reference to
the fact that the negotiations are “open ended” the Mail has learned.

–Boundary_(ID_H35AQmXyoMSOpYQdXstd2A)–

wimbledon.org
D. Nalbandian – Day 4
Thursday, June 23, 2005

Q. How did that go for you today? How did you feel?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Pretty good. I mean, I think I played very good match, and
I feel every time more confidence on the court. Feeling very good.
Q. Do you feel you’re playing as well now as you were in the year that you
reached the final?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: It’s really tough to compare, but I’m think I’m starting
the matches with more confidence than 2002. So I think I feel a little bit
better now.
Q. Does it still feel kind of strange coming on to grass after so long on
clay, or are you quite used to it by now?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, it’s difficult. It’s a big difference of surface,
but we have enough days to adapt to these courts. So it’s not that bad.
Q. What do you know about your next opponent, Andrew Murray?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I didn’t know him, so I can’t tell you too much.
Q. You haven’t heard of him at all?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: A little bit, but…
I know I have to be careful. I mean, he’s in the third round, so he must be
playing good.
Q. Have you seen any of his games here? You haven’t seen any clips?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Just two, three. Not big deal.
Q. He’s obviously got a lot of support behind him, being one of the home
players. Does that make any difference to you when the crowd are backing the
other player?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: No. Of course gonna be everybody with him. I think he’s
the only one left, so should be a lot of people support him.
But I’m gonna feel okay.
Q. You’ve come across this situation before, haven’t you, with Tim Henman, I
think?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, but is gonna be different. All match are different,
so…
All years are different so…
Q. In terms of the support.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it’s gonna be almost the
same, I don’t know.
Q. Does it kind of fire you up? Does it motivate you more?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: You mean for the people, for the support, the crowd?
Q. When everybody appears to be almost against you.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Everybody – not almost everybody (laughing).
But, no, Davis Cup is gonna be almost the same so…
Q. But that gives you a little bit extra?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, a little motivation extra, yeah.
Q. Because some players would wilt under the kind of pressure.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: No, I like to play like this.
Q. I ask you just about Davis Cup. You won today, Guillermo Coria won today.
Does that boost your chances, do you think, of winning in Australia on
grass?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Even if we do a good tournament, both, it’s gonna be very
tough in Australia. They have a very good players, very good doubles. So
either way it’s gonna be tough. So we know that for grass court they have a
better team than us, but we still believe that we have a chance.
Q. How big a loss is it for you not having Guillermo Canas available for the
team?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Well, of course not a good news for him, first of all, and
for the Davis Cup.
But, I don’t know, of course gonna be a little bit more tough, but we still
having a good players left.
Q. He’s the fourth Argentinian guy to have a positive test. Do you worry
about how that might affect the reputation of Argentinian tennis?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: No. I mean, I don’t know too deep the case. I mean, I
don’t know exactly what is going on, so I can’t tell you too much.
I think is gonna be very tough for him. Was — I think was unlucky for all
the Argentinians, but I don’t know, I don’t know why.
Q. Assuming this match against Murray is on Centre Court where he hasn’t
played before, how difficult was it for you when you played your first match
on Centre in a final to get used to the special atmosphere of the place?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I don’t know. You have to ask him.
Q. But I mean for you.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I can’t tell you for him.
Q. For you.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: For me, was tough because I was in the final and I never
played before. So was two thing: the final and the Centre Court.
But, I mean, you must be nervous in the first few games, and then everything
is going natural.
Q. Will you take any pleasure out of being the guy who beats the last Briton
at Wimbledon?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I have to play first and then I’m gonna ask you the
question after that (smiling).

RUSSIAN OBSERVERS FOLLOWED NKR ELECTIONS ON THEIR OWN
INITIATIVE AND IN PERSONAL CAPACITY: RUSSIAN FM

MOSCOW, JUNE 23. ARMINFO. The Russian citizens observing the
parliamentary elections in Nagorno Karabakh did that exclusively on
their own initiative and in personal capacity, says Russian Foreign
Ministry.

The source says that Moscow consistenly supports the principle of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity like the other norms and
principles of the international law. Russia does not recognize
Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state. The Russian FM is convinced
that the status of Nagorno Karabakh should be determined by peace
talks under the Minsk process. It does not consider that the peace
process should depends on some elections in Nagorno Karabakh. The FM
assures that Russia together with the US and France will continue its
active efforts to help the Azeris and Armenians to find a solution to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reports RBK.

Pan Armenian News

MEETING OF RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY AND ARMENIAN POLICE JOINT BOARD HELD IN
KRASNODAR

23.06.2005 04:04

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 23 the joint board of the Russian Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Police of Armenia will meet in Krasnodar. Russian
Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev has already arrived in
Krasnodar today. Chief of the Armenian Police, lieutenant general Hayk
Harutyunyan will represent Armenia. When commenting on the coming meeting R.
Nurgaliyev indicated the need for close consolidation under the conditions
of new challenges and threats. In his words, this is the only way to secure
citizens and states. The Russian Minister informed that matters of further
promotion of cooperation between law-enforcement bodies of Russia and
Armenia, as well as joint struggle against organized crime will be discussed
in the course of the session.