Author: Jabejian Elizabeth

ARMENIAN DRAM DOWNFALL NOT TO INFLUENCE IMPORTED SPIRITS PRICE

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2009 14:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Agena company, which imports spirits to Armenia,
will not inflate prices for its products despite dollar exchange
rate increase.

"We will do our best to protect our consumers from negative
consequences of dollar upsurge," a company representative told
PanARMENIAN.Net.

Agena imports BAILEYS, JOHNNIE WALKER, DIAGEO, SMIRNOFF and SHERIDAN’S
brands in Armenia.

The dram-to-dollar exchange rate has gone up to AMD 360/$1 in few
hours today against yesterday’s 305 -310 index for sale and purchase
respectively.

Dram/euro exchange rate reached AMD 440 (against 387).

The upsurge followed CB President Arthur Javadian’s statement on
cessation of control over the foreign currency market and return to
floating rate policy.

According to the Central Bank, the dollar exchange rate will fluctuate
from AMD 360 to 380 in 2009.

OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS EXPECTED TO RETURN TO BAKU AFTER THE MEETING WITH ARMENIAN LEADERSHIP

APA
March 2 2009
Azerbaijan

Yerevan-APA. Armenian president Serj Sargsyan met with OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov, Matthew Bryza and Bernard Fassier,
as well as Personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office
Andrzej Kasprzyk in Yerevan.

Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandia also attended the meeting,
APA quotes News Armenia agency. The sides mentioned the Zurich
meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents and discussed
the issues of current situation of the talks over the conflict
settlement. Sargsyan said statements made on Nagorno Karabakh conflict
prevented strengthening of progress in the settlement process. The
co-chairs informed the Armenian president about results of their
meetings in Baku and Khankendi.

On Monday, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs met with Armenian foreign
minister Edward Nalbandian and discussed with him the process of
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The co-chairs will return
to Baku again after the meetings in Khankendi and Yerevan.

DELEGITIMIZING THE UN
By Amos Schupak

Jerusalem Post
8317759&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
March 2 2009

After Canada and Israel, the US equally announced, last Friday,
its intention not to attend the upcoming "Durban II" Conference on
Racism. Although this is an important decision, in the past mere
boycotts have not been sufficient to effectively discredit UN biased
anti-Israeli decisions and summits. To have a greater impact, the
strategy of delegitimization should be taken a step further. Jerusalem
should announce that it will apply for a membership to the Council of
Europe – an international organization whose human rights protection
system is much more credible than the UN mechanisms.

The UN disproportionately condemns Israel for human rights violations
since the majority of its members are non-Western countries hostile to
the Jewish state. This is especially true within its recently-created
Human Rights Council, which is in charge of preparing the upcoming
conference.

With Libya chairing the preparatory committee for the event and
countries like Iran, Pakistan and Cuba serving on its bureau, the
conference should not be much different from the precedent one held
in Durban in 2001, which was clearly dominated by an anti-Israeli
agenda. In fact, current draft resolutions for the next summit assert
that Israel leads racist policies and even implicitly question Israel’s
right to exist.

AN ISRAELI candidature for admission to the Council of Europe would
send the clear message to the world that the Jewish state does not
fear criticism from international bodies as long as they are not
dominated by anti-Zionist dictatorships. This idea would be difficult
to challenge as the Council of Europe generally sets higher standards
of human rights protection than the UN. Israel would be less criticized
within the Council of Europe as the majority of its 47 member states
are democracies that have good relations with Jerusalem.

Israel could then use the work of the Council of Europe to
discredit the UN. For instance, the European Commission on Racism and
Intolerance, a well-respected institution of the European organization
which has done much to fight anti-Semitism would never label Zionism as
a racist ideology. If Israel joins the organization, the conclusions
of the commission could be opposed to any UN attempt to do so in
the future.

SOME COULD still claim that there is no need to join yet another
organization which could consider Israel as an occupier. Yet one has
to keep in mind that there are many territorial disputes within the
Council of Europe. Azerbaijan considers that Armenia occupies Nagorno
Karabakh, Georgia that Russia occupies Abkhazia, Cyprus that Turkey
occupies its northern region, and while some countries have recognized
the independence of Kosovo, many still oppose it. Therefore Israel’s
situation will be only one out of many such issues.

The decision-making body of the Council of Europe – the Committee of
Ministers – is a traditional intergovernmental institution in which
there is a culture of consensus. Most of its resolutions in recent
years have de facto been passed by unanimity. Unlike in the UN,
Israel would therefore have a real chance to defend its positions
within the organ and oppose possible attempts to label the situation
in the Middle-East in terms with which it does not agree.

Israel could still be condemned by less senior bodies or, more
problematically, by the European Court for Human Rights, which is
part of the organization. Yet looking at the overall picture, this
would cause only limited harm to Israel, which at the end of the day
would improve its international image by joining the Council of Europe.

This would not be the only advantage for Israel. Joining the Council
of Europe would strengthen its democracy and judicial system. It would
also improve Israel’s relations with the different member states as
the broader goal of the organization is to create a greater unity in
Europe. This enhanced cooperation could even be a first step towards
an Israeli admission into the European Union, a move supported by
many Israelis. In fact, compliance with the Human Rights standards
of the Council of Europe is a prerequisite for joining the EU.

A membership in the Council is possible to obtain. Israel already
has an observer status in some of its main bodies. Most importantly,
considering the context of the anti-Israeli UN Conference, no member
state should oppose Israel’s admission.

Let’s hope it will grab the chance.

The writer is a Legacy Heritage fellow at the Begin Sadat Center for
Strategic Studies of the Bar Ilan University and a former trainee of
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

TURKISH POPULATION TRUSTS ARMY MORE THAN POLITICIANS

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 13:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The confidence in the Turkish government is
decreasing, and as the results of 2008 show it makes 4.9 on a ten-point
scale basis, according to results of the research by Turkish Fund
of Economic Policy, spread on Sunday. As compared with last year,
the 2004 quotient was 6.2 points.

The results of the survey carried out in the country’s 25 cities prove
that Turks trust the army most of all as was before. This powerful
Turkish institution scored 8.3 points and it has not practically
changed for the last four years (it scored 8.2 points in 2004).

Politicians are least popular in Turkey. According to last year’s
survey, they scored 2.9 points. The situation was slightly better in
2004, when they scored 3.4 points, as the fund survey results show.

The last but one place regarding the confidence quotient in Turkish
society is that of mass media’s: 3.8 points-last year’s survey against
4.7 points of 2004 survey.

The survey shows that Turks are most of all concerned about economic
problems. 39% of the interviewees claim that for the country with
the population of 70 mln unemployment is still the basic problem,
20% claim that it is the economic instability, and 20%- the inflation
and high cost of living.

The survey carried out once in four years also showed that almost half
of the respondents (49%) do not believe that Turkey will succeed in
ensuring political stability in 2009. Only 31% of those interviewed
believe that the political situation will possibly improve. The
total number of respondents engaged in the survey was 2040, RIA
Novosti reports.

On March 29, Turkey will hold elections for local authorities. The
ruling AK Party headed by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is
the favorite.

Aravot, Armenia
Feb 10 2009

OSCE official, Armenian politicians cautiously optimistic on conflict
settlement

"There are leaders in the region, Serzh Sargsyan has said in Munich,
and Goran Lennmarker has said in Yerevan that now is the time to find
solutions"

Speaking at the Munich forum on security issues, Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan said that lessons should be learnt from the past to
stop militarization and further deepening of the dividing lines in the
South Caucasus region. "We have to do so because labels and
stereotypes have always been used for South Caucasus that should be
wiped out for a peaceful and stable future of our countries. I think
there are leaders in the region today ready for non-standard solutions
and who can take decisions beyond clichés and show enough political
will for implementing them. This makes me optimistic for our region,"
Sargsyan said.

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly special representative Goran Lennmarker,
following his meeting with National Assembly [parliament] speaker
Hovik Abrahamyan, said in Yerevan yesterday that now is the time for
finding solutions to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. The high-ranking
OSCE official [Lennmarker] also said the goal of his visit to Yerevan
"is to discuss the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement as well as
regional cooperation with the Armenian authorities and the opposition
on the settlement."

Armen Rustamyan, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on
foreign relations, told Aravot after his meeting with Lennmarker:
"Lennmarker is a key person because he is well aware what is going on
in the region, especially in the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement
issue. His views are important not only in terms of the conflict
settlement but also because they have impact on the European Union
decision. I tried to present our approaches as detailed as I could. He
is interested in new developments, with the emphasize on the fact that
following the Russian-Georgian war, a new situation has emerged, and
that this new situation calls for new priorities that should be taken
into account. The thing is that how this new situation affects the
Karabakh issue."

[Passage omitted: Rustamyan says it is clear that the conflict has no
military solution, praises the declaration signed by the Armenian,
Russian and Azerbaijani presidents in Moscow on the Karabakh conflict
settlement]

Rustamyan also said that [during the meeting with Lennmarker] they
also spoke about Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s foreign policies,
and a positive thing is that "there is an attempt of not linking the
Karabakh conflict settlement to the normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations and solve these two issues separately. This
is a new approach, unseen until now." Rustamyan also said that they
spoke about the growing role of the European Union in our region and
especially in Armenia.

[Passage omitted: Armenia should not miss the chance of being involved
in regional project]

Lennmarker met the representative of the parliamentary opposition –
Armen Martirosyan, the leader of the Heritage party faction in
parliament, and Larisa Alaverdyan, the secretary of the
faction. Following the meeting, Martirosyan told us that Lennmarker
had expressed his optimism on the Karabakh conflict settlement, hoping
that the issue would be settled soon through peaceful means.

ARMENIAN AIRLINE ADDS TBLISI AND BERLIN-TEGAL TO NETWORK.

Alternative Airlines
Feb 25 2009
UK

>From March Armavia will commence flying the short 30 min. hop from
Yerevan to Tblisi. From April Armavia commence their second new
service, the non stop flight from Yerevan Berlin Tegal airport.

Armavia has no long haul services but does have a very strong medium
haul network extending from Yerevan to airports throughout the Russian
states, to Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Dubai, France, Holland, Greece,
Switzerland and from April Germany. The number of destinations served
from it’s base in Yerevan will then be 30.

The new Yerevan-Berlin flights will operate on Tue and Fridays with
the outward flight departing at 09.20 and landing at in Berlin-Tegal
Airport at 10.30. The return flight leaves at 12 15 and gets back to
Yerevan at 1915-local times.

The new service will be operated by an Airbus A319 with a seating
capacity for up to 136 passengers.

Armavia Air Company became national air carrier in 1996 when the
Republic of Armenia was founded. The airline operates a mixed fleet
of aircraft from its HQ and main base at Yerevan comprising of Airbus,
Boeing, Yakovlev, Ilushin and Bombardier aircraft.

ARMENIA PRAISES OSCE MINSK GROUP STATEMENT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Interfax
Feb 24 2009
Russia

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has spoken in support for
an OSCE Minsk Group statement on a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

"It is a very rare occasion for the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen to
say clearly that one of the parties to the conflict impedes a peaceful
settlement process," Nalbandian told journalists on Friday.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen said in a recent statement that
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved in an exclusively
peaceful way, apparently referring to the two documents Azerbaijan
circulated at the UN General Assembly in December 2008 to substantiate
Baku’s right to self-defense.

Nalbandian pointed out that the Moscow Declaration, the two statements
made in Helsinki, the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmen,
and statements by the foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE member-
states say that there is no alternative to a peaceful resolution to
the conflict.

Earlier on Friday, Baku criticized the statement by the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen, which rejected the possibility that the Nagorno-
Karabakh conflict could be settled in a military way.

"When the 56 OSCE countries and the Minsk Group co-chairmen assume
one position and Azerbaijan another, this country should think why
it is pursuing such a destructive policy," Nalbandian said.

SHIRAK TOROSIAN: GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CARRIES OUT "OSTRICH POLICY" IN JAVAKHK ISSUE

Noyan Tapan

F eb 23, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Shirak Torosian, a member of
the RA National Assembly RPA faction, the Chairman of the Javakhk
compatriotic union, classed as "ostrich policy" the statement
Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze made in Yerevan that
"there are only socio-economic problems in Javakhk like in the whole
Georgia." S. Torosian said at the February 23 press conference that
besides the socio-economic problems mentioned by the Georgian Minister,
Armenians of Javakhk also have ethnic, language, educational-cultural,
and political problems. According to his observation, by disregarding
all these issues the Georgian authorities will only deepen the
Javakhh problem.

Touching upon G. Vashadze’s another statement that "people in Javakhk
live even better than in Kutayisi" S. Torosian said that it is not
thanks to the Georgian state but thanks to the Armenians of Javakhk. As
regards RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s statement that there
are no unsolvable problems in Armenian-Georgian relations, according
to the deputy, it is purely a duty statement.

Sevak Artsruni, the Chairman of the Yerkir union of NGOs of
compatriation of settling down, in his turn, touched upon the arrest
of the two Georgian Armenians adding that besides them, dozens of
Armenians are persecuted in Javakhk, but no one speaks about it.

Eduard Abrahamian, the head of the Mitk analytical center, said that
they intend to hold an action of protest with nearly 20 NGOs on
February 25 near the Embassy of Georgia in RA demanding releasing
the above mentioned persons. As S. Torosian added, the action is
sanctioned by Yerevan Mayor’s Office.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb 22 2009

Citizens of Azerbaijan believe that the policy of Turkey on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains the same – deputy of Milli Mejlis
22.02.09 20:22

Azerbaijan, Tovuz, Feb. 22 /Trend News, E.Rustamov/ Citizens of
Azerbaijan believe that the policy of Turkey on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict will remain the same, told reporters on Sunday deputy of
Milli Majlis /Parliament of Azerbaijan/, member of Azerbaijani
delegation to PACE Ganira Pashayeva.

Ganira Pashayeva and chief editor of «Zaman-Azerbaijan»
Enes Dzhansever in connection with the 17 anniversary of Khojaly
tragedy, together with representatives of the influential Turkish
media arrived in the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan on 22 of February. The
guests visited the village of Tovuz District, located near the border
area.

The visit was attended by representatives of the Turkish media such
«Zaman», «Yeni Å?afaq»,«Kanal
7Â& #xBB;, «Auksion», «Bu gün» and
«Star».

Genocide in Khojaly Azerbaijan took place on the night of 25 to 26
February 1992 by the Armenian armed forces. As a result of the
tragedy, 613 people were killed, among them 106 women and 83 children,
1275 – taken prisoner, 150 – missing, 487 – became handycaps.

According to Pashayeva, Turkey is a strategic partner of
Azerbaijan. The deputy also noted that Turkey will not open borders
with Armenia until the Azerbaijani lands will be released.

According to the worker of the «Auksion» magazine,
Tundzhera Cetinkaya, Turkey should not open borders with Armenia.

According to Enes Dzhansever, the editor of the
«Zaman-Azerbaijan» newspaper, Armenia always claims
so-called genocide, however the real genocide has been during the
events of Khojaly.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding
districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in
1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ` Russia, France, and the
U.S. ` are currently holding the peace negotiations.

ARMENIAN LEADER, EU OFFICIAL DISCUSS TIES, REGIONAL ISSUES

Armenian Public TV
Feb 18 2009

The meeting between the president [Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan]
and the EU’s special representative for the South Caucasus, Peter
Semneby, finished a while ago. Tomasz Knothe, the ambassador of
the country presiding over the EU, Poland; Serge Smessow, French
ambassador to Armenia, and Raul Luzenberger, head of the European
Commission mission in Armenia, attended the meeting. President Sargsyan
ascribed importance to further development of cooperation with the
EU and said that he was sure that the 2009-2011 action plan approved
at a session of the [Armenian] National Security Council provided an
opportunity to move in that direction. At the meeting, the sides spoke
about cooperation as part of the EU Eastern Partnership initiative,
talks over the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement, Armenian-Turkish
dialogue and the course of reforms in our country. Sargsyan regarded
the regional component of the European Partnership initiative
as important and expressed hope that EU would be consistent in
ensuring adherence to this component by all countries involved in this
initiative. Peter Semneby again confirmed the intention of the EU High
Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana,
to visit Armenia in the near future in line with the arrangement made
by Serzh Sargsyan during his visit to Brussels.