Author: Khoyetsian Rose

BAKU EXPECTS CHANGE IN ARMENIA’S POSITION ON KARABAKH

Tert
Nov 19 2009
Armenia

Baku expects "a fundamental and clear discussion on issues related to
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" to take place during
Armenia and Azerbaijan’s presidents’ upcoming meeting in Munich,
said Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Araz Azimov.

"We anticipate a change in Armenia’s position. If those changes
don’t take place, then we cannot speak about moving forward in the
negotiating process," noted Azimov.

The deputy foreign affairs minister also noted that "there are no
hidden thoughts or intentions in Azerbaijan’s position that are
against the opposite side."

PRESS RELEASE

Armenian Sisters Academy
440 Upper Gulph Road
Radnor, PA 19087

Contact: Susan Pogharian
Tel: 610-757-7090
Fax: 610-687-2450
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

YEPOYAN TO EXHIBIT AT PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
Armenian Cultural Day Celebrated as Part of Gorky Retrospective

In the early 1990s when Armenian artist Armen Yepoyan saw the
masterpieces of his fellow countryman, Vosdanig Manoog Adoian (Arshile
Gorky), on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, for
the first time, he was awe struck and inspired. Immediately he found
himself absorbed by the mixture of forms, inventive lines, intensity and
tenderness of Gorky’s drawings and paintings. Yepoyan experienced an
over-whelming sense of pride as well, based alone on the fact that the
Armenian Genocide survivor and self-taught artist became such an
influential figure in modern art history.

A loyal follower of Gorky’s art ever since, Yepoyan attended every
single museum and gallery exhibition of his works along the East coast.
In Gorky, he found a mentor and powerful source of inspiration, and one
who shared the same background, as Yepoyan’s maternal grandfather was
also from Van. During his ten years of residence in the nation’s
capital, Yepoyan’s visits to the museums were frequent, and he would
often find himself spending hours in front of his favorite Gorky
drawings and paintings. It was at this time that Yepoyan’s own career
as an artist in the US began to take off, with his abstract series in
particular showing a heavy influence of Gorky’s art.

It was this influence that lead to an invitation from the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, asking Yepoyan to exhibit his artwork as part of an event
running alongside the Arshile Gorky: a Retrospective exhibition,
currently running through January 10, 2010. The museum wants to
incorporate Yepoyan in a special `Armenian Cultural Day’ event
taking place on Sunday, December 6, 2009, giving Yepoyan an especially
meaningful opportunity to have his own artwork presented in conjunction
with his master’s show. `When I got the call, I immediately
thought what a wonderful and unique opportunity I’ve been given, to be
associated with my favorite artist’, admits Yepoyan.

These days, Yepoyan is no stranger to the museum or to the Armenian
community of Philadelphia, having moved to the city’s suburbs five
years ago with his family for one major reason – to send his children
to the Armenian Sisters Academy in Radnor, PA. Its reputation for
academic excellence, enriched by Armenian language and culture, made the
relocation an easy decision for the artist and his wife. It also opened
another door for Yepoyan: to mentor and inspire others creatively –
his mentorees now fondly referred to as his 1st – 8th grade students.

When Armen Yepoyan joined the faculty of the Armenian Sisters Academy as
the new art teacher three years ago, very few families and students knew
what they were in store for. But students soon came to enjoy the
soothing music and relaxed atmosphere in his sunny classroom. Expressing
their creativity comes easily thanks to Yepoyan’s style and approach,
which allow his students a small reprieve in their structured day. `I
try to create an environment that will allow our students to be
motivated and excited about art, a place where they are able to express
there feelings, emotions and thoughts through their art’ explains
Yepoyan. `Of course, this past month leading up to the retrospective
exhibition, I’ve done my best to impart the appreciation and pride I
have for Gorky’s work upon my students. The halls of our school are
adorned with their renditions of his masterpieces, as our very own
`Ode to Arshile Gorky’ exhibition’, he adds. Yepoyan’s artwork
can be viewed by visiting To learn more about the
Armenian Sisters Academy, see

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ARMENIANS AND RUSSIANS FRATERNAL NATIONS

news.am
Nov 16 2009
Armenia

19:46 / 11/16/2009November 16, RA President Serzh Sargsyan received
the delegation of Russian TV and radio representatives headed by
RF President special representative on the international cultural
cooperation and Russian TV academy founder director Mikhail Shvydkoy.

RA President welcomed the guests and attached significance to the
event, stating that Armenian-Russian strategic, partner relations
demand permanent focus on all fields, RA Presidential press service
informed NEWS.am. "We draw special attention to the relations’
deepening in humanitarian field. We are fraternal nations, our
forefathers and fathers were making friends that extends to our days,"
Sargsyan said, underlining the role of mass media and TV in particular.

The guests presented Sargsyan the results of the discussion with
their Armenian colleagues. RA President awarded Mikhail Shvydkoy
with Movses Khorenatsi medal for the contribution to Armenian-Russian
cultural cooperation.

YOUNG ARMENIAN CHESS PLAYERS SCORE 11 VICTORIES IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 4TH ROUND

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
16.11.2009 12:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Young Armenian chess players scored 11 victories in
the 4th round of the World Youth Chess Championship going on in Kemer,
Turkey. Armenian boys scored 8 victories; girls won 3 games.

Armenia is represented by 16 boys and 8 girls.

Right Vision News
November 12, 2009 Thursday

Turkey: Is the West losing Turkey? Probably not

Pakistan

Pakistan, Nov. 12 — In recent weeks a lot of newspaper space has been
dedicated to questioning whether Turkey is moving away from its
traditional Euro-Atlantic orientation, turning its back on the West,
so to speak, and choosing instead to become chummier with the Middle
East and the Muslim world. In fact these aspersions are not really
anything new.Ever since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
— which most of the Western media describe as "Islamist" — came to
power, this question has been bubbling away, and seven years since
taking over the reins, the "hidden" Islamist agenda of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is still being talked about.Every foreign policy
decision is closely scrutinized by eagle-eyed analysts and journalists
and of course by Turkey’s opposition parties, which are always on the
lookout for any skullduggery or signs that the government is putting
Turkey’s secular roots at risk.

It’s fair to say that the government has given them plenty of fodder
to get their teeth into: Prime Minister Erdo?an’s walkout during a
debate with Shimon Peres at the Davos World Economic Forum, Turkey’s
decision to veto Israel’s participation in a joint air force exercise
(citing the Israeli leadership’s conduct in Gaza) and Erdo?an’s recent
visit to Iran during which he declared Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad as his friend and accused those countries which oppose
Tehran’s atomic program of hypocrisy can serve as a few examples.
Indeed the Iranian visit in particular raised many eyebrows in the
West. Combine this with Turkey’s apparent disillusionment with the EU
given the slow progress of its membership talks, and Turkey’s
commitment to the West is brought into question. But is this enough to
suggest that Turkey is shifting its foreign policy orientation? I
would doubt that very much.Today Turkey’s foreign policy is famously
focused on "zero problems with neighbors" and, given the fact that
many of Turkey’s neighbors are part of the Muslim world, this means
Turkey is bound to deal with them and build stronger relations even
though they are countries (in the case of Syria and Iran, at least)
that the West does not trust. Turkey has spent decades dealing with
difficult neighbors, but to be taken as a serious regional power and
increasing global player, Ankara needs to put its own house in order
and move from acrimonious to positive relationships. This shift does
not mean that Turkey’s historical relationship with the West is at
risk — rather, it should complement it. Turkey’s reaction to Israel
may have shocked many in the West, but these decisions were taken out
of genuine anger and concern, not because of some prefabricated public
relations campaign to win support from the Arab street. Turkey has for
years been encouraging progress on the Arab-Israeli peace process and
will continue to do so.On Iran, the fact is no country has the luxury
of choosing its own neighbors. You have to make the best of what you
have, and it would be unrealistic for the West to expect Turkey to
have no relations with Tehran. Turkey needs cooperation with Iran on a
whole range of issues, and the best way to go about this would hardly
be for Turkey’s leadership to harshly criticize its leadership at
every opportunity. Indeed while many in the West do not agree with the
"friendly" relations between Erdo?an and Ahmadinejad, at the same they
are not Iran’s neighbor and it is not they who risk having their gas
cut off in the winter months or have Tehran refuse to cooperate on
containing Kurdish militants. Furthermore, if Erdo?an manages to have
the ear of the president, it can also be beneficial to the West. For
an isolated, distrustful Iran, a friendly and powerful neighbor like
Turkey is not to be snubbed. At the same time Turkey also has no
interest in a nuclear Iran. Indeed, Turkey recently ordered advanced
Patriot missile batteries from the US, which could be viewed as an
action to defend itself against Iran’s missile program.Furthermore,
the upgrading or relations is not limited to the Muslim world. The
recent thawing of relations with Armenia — at the cost of risking
relations with "Muslim kin" Azerbaijan — is an example. And then, of
course, there is Russia. Such has been the dramatic increase in ties
that some people even talk of a "Putinization" of Turkey. A scary
thought, to say the least. While relations with the EU are difficult,
they are progressing and Turkey still remains a valuable and dedicated
member of NATO and a country that continues to contribute
substantially to numerous peacekeeping and military operations around
the globe.It seems to me that Turkey is not trying to re-establish the
Ottoman Empire but is rather aiming for a smart foreign policy, a
foreign policy that looks to the East and the West at the same time.
There is no need to have a single geopolitical direction, no need to
make a "choice." This would not serve the interests of the country. So
no one should expect Ankara to "resign" from NATO or quit its EU
membership talks any time soon. Published by HT Syndication with
permission from Right Vision News.

Interfax, Russia
Nov 12 2009

Belarusian leader urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to settle conflict without
mediators

Minsk, 11 November: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
believes that Armenia and Azerbaijan can resolve the problem of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict by themselves, without pinning their hopes
on intermediaries.

"We realize how painful and important this problem is both for the
Armenian and Azeri peoples. This problem should be cut, and what is
the most important, this problem should be cut by the two presidents.
You should not hope for some intermediaries, though there is the Minsk
OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] group,"
Lukashenka has said in an interview with the Trend news agency
(Azerbaijan) [on 9 November].

"If we, Minsk, as the creation centre of this group, can do something
in this respect, if Belarusians can bring something positive to the
settlement of this dispute, we will do it with pleasure," the
Belarusian president said.

He stressed, however, that "the problem can be solved only by the two
presidents". "Maybe it is fine to involve others here. But then some
commitments will appear, an opinion of a third, fourth, fifth side
will have to be taken into account. Everyone will be trying to build
up politics on this and see themselves," Lukashenka noted.

"If I reason right, you should agree that the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan can resolve the problem in the interests of people who
stayed there (in Nagornyy Karabakh). We support the process in the
sense of that the problem should be resolved by the two presidents,
two peoples," the Belarusian leader said.

Lukashenka said that he "discussed the issue as a friend with both the
former and incumbent presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia". "I have
not interfered in the subtleties which are abundant in the issue. We
have never used this problem in politics, we have never been friends
against anyone," Lukashenka said.

NEW CASES OF SWINE FLU REVEALED IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2009-11-13 18:00:00

ArmInfo. New cases of swine flu have been revealed in Armenia.

Chief infectiologist of Armenia Ara Asoyan told ArmInfo correspondent
that at the moment the number of swine flu patients is 11. Unlike
the first 6 cases, this time all the 5 new patients are citizens of
Armenia. They are being treated of the H1N1 flu in "Nork" infection
hospital.

To recall, the first case of H1N1 was revealed in Armenia on November
10, and the first carrier of the virus was a citizen of Iran.

Afterwards swine flu patients came to Armenia from Russia and Turkey,
in all the cases the symptoms of the new flu were revealed in the
airport. The symptoms of the new flu are high temperature, cough, sore
throat, cold or stuffiness in nose, pain all over the body, headache,
algor, weakness, as well as diarrhea and vomit. Cases of swine flu
have been fixed in a total of 199 countries of the world. According
to WHO data, over 6 thsd cases had a lethal outcome.

DAMAGE TO THE IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE

The Messenger
Nov 13 2009
Georgia

Because of damage to the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline on the Armenian
side the pumping of Iranian natural gas into Armenia stopped on the
morning November 11. According to estimates the pipeline will be
repaired by the evening of November 13.

The pumping of Iranian gas to Armenia started on May 15, 2009 and 2
million cubic metres of natural gas are pumped daily, around 1.1
billion annually. In return Armenia sends electricity to Iran,
3 kilowatt hours for every thousand cubic metres of gas.

AZERBAIJAN MAY ANNUL VISA REGIME WITH TURKEY, REPORTS SAY

Today’s Zaman
Nov 13 2009
Turkey

Azerbaijan is considering lifting its visa requirements for Turkish
citizens, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov was
reported as saying yesterday.

Azerbaijan has already annulled the visa regime for Turkish citizens
with diplomatic and service passports and "now we are talking about
abolishing visas for other Turkish nationals wishing to come to
Azerbaijan," Polukhov was quoted as saying by Azerbaijani news portal
Trend News.

Polukhov’s remarks came after Turkish media reported on Thursday
that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had told his Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) deputies about Baku’s preparations to
lift the visa requirements at a party meeting this week.

Relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan were strained over prospects
of Turkey reopening its border with neighboring Armenia without a
solution in Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols
on restoring their relations in October. Azerbaijan, which lost a
war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s, fears it
would lose major leverage in the territorial conflict with Yerevan
if ally Turkey opens its border with Armenia.

ARAX POULTRY FACTORY IS PLANNING TO INVEST ALMOST 1MLN EUR IN MODERNIZATION

ArmInfo
2009-11-12 18:30:00

ArmInfo. Arax Poultry Factory is planning to invest almost 1mln EUR
in modernization, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan said during
a government meeting today.

The Government has decided to put off the company’s VAT payments
for imported equipment from Oct 2009 till Oct 2012. This privilege
is provided to companies whose investments exceed 300mln AMD. Arax
Poultry Factory has so far invested 360,000 EUR in modernization. The
money has been spent mostly on the purchase of German equipment. These
investments will allow the company to create 230 additional jobs with
average salary of 70,000 AMD.

This is already the fourth company to have got such a privilege
this year.