Author: Karagyozian Lena

ARMENIAN TV CHANNEL TO BROADCAST ALL OVER RUSSIA

Aysor.am
02.02.2010, 17:22

Armenia Ru TV is the first Russia-located public-service Armenian
television broadcaster which will begin working by September 2010.

The channel’s key objective is to cover cultural, political, social,
economical highlights of Diaspora’s Armenians from Russia, Asia,
Europe, and the United States. It will provide coverage of interesting
events and developments of past and present years as well as Armenia’s
history and culture and Armenians in history and culture world-wide.

Channel’s another main goal is to provide an indivisible information
field connecting Armenians all over the world.

To get more about Armenia Ru TV go to its official web-site at
.

ARMENIAN-CYPRIOT DELEGATION TO VIEW THE INITIAL PROGRESS OF THE RESTORATION OF THE ARMENIAN CHURCH IN NICOSIA

Noyan Tapan
Feb 2, 2010

CYPRUS, FEBRUARY 2, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On 24 January
2010, an Armenian-Cypriot delegation (Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian,
Representative Vartkes Mahdessian, Temagan Chairman Sebouh Tavitian,
Varchagan Chairman Dr. Antranik Ashdjian and Varchagan member &
architect John Guevherian) visited the site of the Armenian complex in
Turkish-occupied Nicosia. According to , the aim of
the visit was to view the initial progress of the restoration of the
church, which is sponsored by UNDP-ACT. the Prelature building and
the Melikian-Ouzounian and kindergarten buildings of the community’s
school. The complex also includes the Melikian mansion and the Armenian
Genocide monument.

YEREVAN HOSTS ‘ROAD MAP FOR THE REFORM OF QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE’ WORKSHOP

Panorama.am
16:42 02/02/2010

On February 2, 2010, Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Centre
(AEPLAC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, EU Advisory
Group to Armenia, German Institute of Metrology (PTB) and The World
Bank organized a workshop on "Road Map for the Reform of Quality
Infrastructure".

The target audience of the workshop were decision-makers of the
Ministry of Economy, National Institute of Standards, National
Institute of Metrology, Agency of Accreditation, State Inspectorate
of Protection of Markets and Consumers Rights.

The workshop was an important milestone in a coordinated effort
of international donors to assist Armenia in the reform of the
quality infrastructure with the objective to raise the international
competitiveness of its economy and ensure progress toward a Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with EU.

Coordinated activities of international donors were initiated in
July 2009 following the need to create a modern system of quality
infrastructure in Armenia, which would comply with international
requirements including EU standards and hence reduce technical barriers
to trade.

Since then, an awareness workshop was held, a metrology assessment
report written and submitted to the Ministry of Economy, road map
for the reforms drafted, and additional resources for high-quality
policy advice on respective reform measures convened.

The workshop discussed draft road map for further QI reforms, which
guides the Armenian government in the process.

Raul de Luzenberger, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia and Nerses
Yeritsyan, Minister of Economy opened the workshop with short remarks.

DARCHINYAN VS. GUERRERO ON MARCH 6

Panorama.am
16:19 01/02/2010

WBA and WBC unified champion Vic Darchinyan finally managed to find
his next opponent for March 6 in the US. The reasoning is simple:
Darchinyan’s left-hand bombs are so lethal he has rival fighters
running scared. "I’m fighting on March 6 on the Arthur Abraham-Andre
Dirrell card, but up until today nobody has wanted to fight me,"
Darchinyan said. "It’s been frustrating. They know my power and they
don’t want to feel it. My last three opponents have cancelled. They
say it’s because of money, but I think it’s because they’re scared.

I’m the champion and I don’t care who I fight, I’ll fight anybody."

The son of an Armenian Olympic wrestling coach, Darchinyan finally
landed an opponent last Friday in the form of Mexican Rodrigo
Guerrero. To defend his WBA and WBC world title belts, Darchinyan
intends to mix up his training regimen to try to improve his already
brutal punching power. The Sydney Olympian has been working with world
champion discuss thrower Dani Samuels to improve the fast-twitch muscle
fibres and explosive power in his legs. Parramatta Eels conditioning
gurus Hayden Knowles and Craig Catterick are supervising the new
lower-body program. "Vic doesn’t need to work on his upper body,
boxing is enough for him in terms of maintenance there," Knowles
said. "But by working on the power from his legs, we believe we can
increase his power quite considerably."

PRIME MINISTER UNHAPPY WITH OSCE MINSK GROUP PERFORMANCE

Yerkir
01.02.2010 13:24

Yerevan (Yerkir) – The efforts by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group, which has striven to
resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for more than 17 years, have
not been productive, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
on Sunday.

Ankara, which last year agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations
with Yerevan and reopen their mutual border, insists on seeing progress
on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to
Turkey’s English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman.

Speaking in an interview broadcast live on state-owned television
station TRT, Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s unease over the grounds for
the Armenian Constitutional Court ruling.

"There has been serious neglect by the Minsk trio," Erdogan added,
referring to the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group – France, Russia
and the United States. "They couldn’t bring this issue to a certain
point in 20 years. The performance of Russia, America and France was
below expectations," he said.

Arshile Gorky Exhibit at London’s Tate Museum Next Month

Tert.am
14:33 – 30.01.10

>From February 10 to May 3, 2010, there will be a retrospective exhibit
on the life and work of well-known and revered Armenian-American
artist Arshile Gorky (c.1904-1948) at London’s Tate Museum, organized
with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art
in Los Angeles.

According to an official press release from the museum: `Along with
Rothko, Pollock and de Kooning, Gorky was one of the most powerful
American painters of the twentieth century, and a seminal figure in
the formation of Abstract Expressionism. The exhibition includes
paintings and drawings from across his career, and a handful of rarely
seen sculptures.’

Gorky was born Vostanig Manuk Adoian in an Armenian village in eastern
Turkey. As reported by Times Online, on arriving in New York in the
early 1920s, Gorky let it be understood that he was Russian, a cousin
of the writer Maxim Gorky, and that he had studied under Kandinsky in
Paris.

He never discussed the fact that he was present during the siege of
Van in the early stages of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. After Gorky
and his sister Vartush made their way to America, Gorky set about
turning himself into an artist, educating himself piecemeal at various
institutions in New York and Boston while taking menial jobs. He used
the pseudonym Arshile Gorky for the first time in 1924.

Arthur Petrosyan appointed Minister of Sport

armradio.am
30.01.2010 12:25

On January 29 President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on releasing
Armen Grigoryan from the position of the Minister of Sport and Youth
Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.

According to another presidential decree, Arthur Petrosyan was
appointed Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs of the Republic of
Armenia, President’s Press Office reported.

COALITIONAL PARTIES OF ARMENIA REQUIRE EXPLANATIONS FROM PACE CHAIRMAN

ArmInfo
2010-01-29 11:36:00

ArmInfo. Some comments of the newly appointed PACE Chairman Movlud
Cavusoglu on the Nagorno Karabakh problem prejudice his impartiality
to the conflict perception, the statement of three parliamentary
factions of Armenia’s National Assembly – the Republican party of
Armenia, Prosperous Armenia and Orinats Yerkir parties says.

To recall, RPA, PPA and OY make up the ruling coalition in the
country. On January 26, a newly appointed PACE Chairman, representative
of Turkey M. Cavusoglu said in an interview with APA Azerbaijani Agency
that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is one of the primary problems
in the region which hinder normalization of relations between Turkey
and Armenia.

"PACE chairman does not understand the nature and elements of the
conflict, as well as the negotiation process on its settlement
well enough. He apparently prefers to ignore the fact that peaceful
settlement is based on several principles, including a principle of
self-determination", the statement says. According to the documents
authors, Cavusoglu indifferently treats the problems related to
security of the NKR people which are permanently threatened by the
Azerbaijani authorities via propaganda of hatred to Armenians and
chauvinism. According to the statement, the interview of PACE chairman
confirms once again that holding of negotiations is in the sphere
of the only authorized body – OSCE and MG cochairmen in this case,
and that any irresponsible step, falling outside the scope of this
format, complicates and harms the negotiation process on the Karabakh
conflict settlement.

"Taking into account the foregoing, the coalitional factions –
Republican party of Armenia, Prosperous Armenia and Orinats Yerkir
recommend the chairman of the Armenian parliament to specify the
authenticity of the disseminated interview from Mr. Cavusoglu and
demand to explain whether his words may be considered as an official
stance of PACE, as well as seriously discuss, if necessary, the issue
of freezing of Armenia’s participation in PACE work during chairmanship
of M. Cavusoglu", the statement says.

TURKEY-ARMENIA PACT HITS SNAGS

Lragir.am
28/01/10

Marc Champion, Marcus Walker and Stephen Fidler

A deal between Turkey and Armenia to open their border and establish
diplomatic relations after generations of dispute over genocide
allegations and territory is under growing threat of collapse.

Armenia is pushing for rapid ratification of the deal, signed
in October, while Turkey has a longer time frame. On Wednesday,
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev added to concerns for the deal when
he said he was confident Turkey wouldn’t ratify the agreement until
Armenia has returned Azeri territory that it occupies, including the
mainly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno Karabakh.

‘There is a common understanding in the region that there should
be a first step by Armenia to start the liberation of the occupied
territories,’ Mr. Aliyev said in an interview with The Wall Street
Journal in the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland. He said he was ‘fully satisfied’ with Turkey’s
understanding of the issue, despite harshly criticizing Turkey’s
handling of it in the past.

A History of Dangerous Relations

‘If the two issues are disconnected, then probably Armenia will freeze
negotiations with Azerbaijan (over Nagorno Karabakh),’ said Mr.

Aliyev, adding that he believed economic pressure was one of the main
incentives for Armenia to come to the table. Mr. Aliyev has warned
previously that such an outcome could lead to renewed war.

Turkey’s leaders, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
have said repeatedly that the border opening and settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict are linked.

There is no sign of progress in the 15-year-old peace talks. But some
ambiguity remains in Turkey’s position. The territorial dispute isn’t
mentioned in October’s protocols.

‘Now we are approaching the moment when things get more and more
difficult,’ said Vigen Sargsyan, deputy chief of staff to the Armenian
president. Pressure on the Armenian president to abandon the effort
is building strongly as the next annual April 24 U.S. presidential
commemoration of the 1915 genocide approaches, creating a tight
Armenian schedule to see the protocols ratified.

Turkish officials, by contrast, talk about an open-ended process that
could last a year or more if necessary. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu also recently expressed anger at a decision by Armenia’s
constitutional court that he said in effect puts conditions on the
deal-a claim Mr. Sargsyan dismissed.

Mr. Sargsyan said that while Armenia’s government is sending
ratification papers for the deal to parliament, it is also preparing
legislation to enable the president to withdraw his signature from
treaties. ‘If this opportunity is lost it will push the whole region
back, not to where we started when talks began but beyond that,’ said
Mr. Sargsyan. He said trust between the two sides would be destroyed.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in protest at the
occupation by Armenia-backed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and seven
districts around it that were seized as buffer zones. But in the
wake of the war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008, Turkey’s
government said it was ready to negotiate an end to Armenia’s
isolation, as Ankara sought a bigger role in the Caucasus region.

By last Spring, the two sides had drafted protocols outlining a deal
that would open the borders, establish diplomatic and trade relations
and set up a joint commission to examine historical issues, including
the 1915 Ottoman massacre of up to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians,
in what is now Eastern Turkey, which Armenia and many historians
consider genocide. But Turkey’s leaders refused at the last minute to
sign, in the face of fierce opposition from Mr. Aliyev and opponents
within Turkey.

The U.S., Russia and the European Union have strongly backed the
Turkish-Armenian initiative, saying it could help to stabilize a
region that is strategically important for energy supplies.

Mr. Aliyev has expressed his anger over the Turkey-Armenia talks
by threatening to reroute Azeri natural gas and oil exports away
from Turkey. ‘Azerbaijan can export gas in four directions: Turkey,
Georgia, Iran and Russia,’ Mr. Aliyev said Wednesday. ‘We can expand
volumes of gas in each of these directions.’

The Azeri president also expressed frustration over the delays in
construction of the EU’s planned Nabucco pipeline, which would carry
natural gas from the Caspian Sea to EU markets via Turkey. ‘Gazprom
has said it will buy whatever we supply. If Nabucco is delayed, we
will sell more to Gazprom, it is clear,’ said Mr. Aliyev, referring
to the Russian state gas giant OAO Gazprom.

ARMENIA’S FM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LONDON CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN

armradio.am
28.01.2010 12:42

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, has left for
Great Britain today to participate in the International Conference
on Afghanistan.

The conference will take place in London on 28 January 2010. The
international community are coming together to fully align military
and civilian resources behind an Afghan-led political strategy.

Foreign ministers from International Security Assistance Force
partners, Afghanistan’s immediate neighbours and key regional player,
as well as representatives from NATO, the United Nations, the EU and
other international organisations such as the World Bank are expected
to attend the conference.