Author: Nahapetian Lilit

LEADERS GATHER IN ISTANBUL FOR BLACK SEA SUMMIT

Daily Times, Pakistan
June 26 2007

ISTANBUL: The leaders of a dozen nations in the Black Sea region,
including Russia, gathered in Istanbul on Monday under tight security
to discuss ways to boost trade and economic cooperation.

The summit of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) marks the 15th anniversary of the body, which promotes stability
and economic ties between nations that belonged to opposite camps
during the Cold War.

Turkish police stepped up security measures ahead of the gathering,
to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Five people, among them Chechens, suspected of having links with the
Al-Qaeda network were arrested in Istanbul on Sunday as part of a
general sweep against outlawed groups, media reports said.

BSEC is comprised of the Black Sea littoral states – Bulgaria, Georgia,
Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine – as well as Albania, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova and Serbia.

The summit in Istanbul was preceded by a meeting of foreign ministers,
who stressed that lingering political problems and territorial disputes
were obstructing deeper economic cooperation.

"We can express regret that the political potential of the organisation
is not completely utilised," Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul suggested that informal meetings
on the sidelines of BSEC gatherngs "can constitute a good beginning
to efforts to find a solution to our political problems".

Armenia, which has no diplomatic ties with Turkey, was the only
country to be represented by a foreign minister. All other nations sent
presidents or prime ministers, who were to hold a summit conference
later in the day.

Turkey refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia
because of Yerevan’s campaign for the mass killings of Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century to be recognised
internationally as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
with its close ally Azerbaijan, which was at loggerheads with Armenia
over the disputed enclave of Nagorny-Karabakh enclave.

Turkey, which currently chairs BSEC, says it wants to give a new
impetus to the organisation. It wants to see greater efforts in
transport, energy, trade, environmental protection and combatting
organised crime.

One major objective on the BSEC agenda is upgrading transport
infrastructure, including a projected 7,500-kilometre (4,660-mile)
ring road along the Black Sea coast and regular maritime links between
member states.

Removing legal barriers to trade is another priority, with a special
meeting on the issue scheduled for September.

The group is also seeking closer cooperation with the European Union,
with the vice president of the European Commission, Guenter Verheugen,
attending the summit in Istanbul.

Three of the BSEC nations – Bulgaria, Greece and Romania – are EU
member states.

The BSEC covers nearly 20 million square kilometres (7.7 million
square miles) with a population of 350 million. Its member states
have a total foreign trade capacity of 300 billion dollars (223.5
billion euros) a year.

The region is the world’s second-largest source of oil and natural gas,
after the Gulf.

GREEK PRESIDENT: GENOCIDE PERPETRATORS SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THE ATROCITY AND APOLOGIZE

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.06.2007 13:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greek President Karolos Papoulias accompanied by
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian visited Tsitsernakaberd to
lay a wreath to the Memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims.

Afterwards, he planted a fir at the Memory Alley and visited the
Genocide Museum.

"The Armenian Genocide is a black page in the history of humanity and
its perpetrators should acknowledge the atrocity, assume responsibility
and apologize," Mr Papoulias wrote in the Commemoration Book.

Museum director Hayk Demoyan handed the Greek President a Memorable
Medal and familiarized him with the exposition.

IZMIRLIAN FOUNDATION HELPS WITH CREATION OF 4-5 THOUSAND JOBS IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Jun 26 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. Since 1999, 4-5 thousand jobs have been
created under the programs implemented by the Izmirlian Foundation
in Armenia, which was announced at the June 26 press conference with
the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Izmirlian Foundation
Jacques Sarkisian, the Chairman of Araratbank’s board Ashot Osipian
and member of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) board Artur Javadian.

In the words of A. Javadian, about a billion drams (about 2.9 million
dollars by the market exchange rate as of June 26) has been invested
by the program on crediting of small and medium enterprises implemented
by the Izmirlian Foundation and the Eurasia Founadtion (financed by the
USAID). The Izmirlian Foundation has also implemented several crediting
programs jointly with the Balck Sea Trade and Development Bank.

J. Sarkisian reminded that the Izmirlian Foundation was created in 1994
with the aim of assisting Armenia. It has financed the construction of
three buildings of Yerevan Military Institute after Vazgen Sargsian,
the repairs of the library of Yerevan State University and the school
of the Chldran village in the NKR, the reconstruction of a number of
architectural monuments in Meghri. The Izmirlian Foundation jointly
with the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Eglob organization
is implementing a program on financing farms with low incomes in
Etchmiadzin region.

BLACK SEA SUMMIT IN ISTANBUL FOCUSES ON EU RELATIONS, ENERGY ISSUES

AP Worldstream
Published: Jun 25, 2007

Leaders and officials from 12 Black Sea countries discussed relations
with the European Union and regional energy routes during their annual
summit on Monday in Istanbul.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC, founded 15 years ago,
is aiming to boost its energy sector, particularly as the EU seeks
to diversify its energy routes and supplies.

Many BSEC countries are also in the EU, while others such as Turkey
are negotiating membership. The BSEC members’ combined oil and gas
reserves are second only to those of Persian Gulf countries, it says.

This year’s summit was the first to which the European Union sent
a representative.

"Common projects with the European Union and the reforms by the
organization are the two most significant successes of this summit,"
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said.

The EU is encouraging BSEC projects to build a highway around the
Black Sea to connect member countries and increase regional trade,
as well as several pipeline projects to bring Caspian Sea oil and
natural gas to the West.

Later Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was joining the
summit meetings, which also included officials from Turkey, Greece,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia,
Moldavia and Romania. On Tuesday, the bloc’s energy ministers open
a three-day energy conference.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he supported
cooperation with other international organizations, and that the
"dialogue with the European Union is encouraging." Erdogan’s comments,
made at a closed-door meeting, were provided to journalists by BSEC
officials.

A founding BSEC member, Turkey has initiated pipeline projects to
become an energy corridor between the oil- and gas-rich Caspian
region and energy-hungry Western markets. An oil pipeline from Baku,
Azerbaijan, through Georgia and on to Ceyhan, Turkey’s Mediterranean
oil hub, was opened last year.

Construction of another pipeline that will carry Kazakh and Russian
oil from the Black Sea coast to Ceyhan started in April and is expected
to be operational in 2009.

However, Turkey’s energy projects face financial questions and steep
competition from Russia, which has assumed a central role in energy
supply to Europe. Russia has projects or studies under way linking
energy sources from the Black Sea and Caspian Sea to the European
Union through Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Hungary.

The EU imports more than 40 percent of its natural gas, and almost
half of this comes from Russia. Some central and eastern European
countries depend almost entirely on Russian gas.

The United States applauded the Black Sea group’s efforts to expand its
energy sector and build new routes for exporting supplies to the West.

"Diverse energy sources will be good for economic growth and security
of energy supplies," U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson said, attending the
summit as an observer.

The combined population of BSEC countries is some 350 million.

SERGE SMESSOV: THE YEAR OF ARMENIA IN FRANCE IS HELD ON A VERY HIGH LEVEL

ArmRadio.am
26.06.2007 16:11

The Year of Armenia in France is held on a very high level and has a
program rich in interesting arrangements, the Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Serge Smessov told the
journalists today.

According to the Ambassador, many Frenchmen are interested in
Armenian culture and art, which can be judged from the number of
people participating in the events.

"This is not a cooperation of one year only. This was another
opportunity for Armenian-French relations to become closer," said
Smessov, expressing hope that cooperation will be launched in other
spheres as well.

"CULTURE DIALOGUE" FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE IN TSAGHKADZOR, ARMENIA
By M. Makarian

AZG Armenian Daily
26/06/2007

This year Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry of Armenia organizes a
youth festival entitled "Culture Dialogue", which is to take place
June 25 – July 2 in Tsaghkadzor. The festival is aimed at helping
young people from various states to get acquainted with each other’s
culture and intensify international relationships.

Young people from over 20 states around the world are to be gathered
at the Tsakhkadzor center of the "International Pan-Armenian Center"
foundation. The participants of the festival are to represent
their national culture, history, habits and customs, peculiarities,
ethnography, religion and architecture.

VERA ARUTYUNYAN – INTERVIEWED BY SIMONE CAPPA

NY Arts Magazine, NY
June 25 2007

Armenian-born, Los-Angeles-based artist Vera Arutyunyan combines
primary colors and an aggressive brushstroke style toward a decidedly
contemporary version of Abstract Expressionism. Although the masters
of the 50s like Pollock and de Kooning created a similar aesthetic
40 years prior, Vera’s emotionally charged paintings appear forever
in the moment. The artist’s vigorous and defined brushstrokes are
charged with the very energy of her technique-the very motions of her
wrist. In total, they are primary color-infused visions of action
painting forever frozen in time. If every element of the artist’s
application process is clearly readable upon her finished canvas,
Vera means it that way. Highly conscious of all those masters who have
tried their hand at the blank canvas before her, Vera paints on, and
with a vengeance that brings the viewer up-to-date. Somewhere between
the mist of Turner and the drips and splashes of Rauschenberg, Vera
stands tall on today’s contemporary art scene for her reinvigoration
and renewal not only of a painting style, but also a frame of mind.

Simone Cappa: Can you name or describe some of your influences as a
painter-whether they are other artists, concepts, styles, techniques,
etc.?

Vera Arutyunyan: I am influenced by all that is created by God.

Aren’t we all? Every leaf on the tree, every cloud in the sky,
every insect or animal, every footstep in the sand-aren’t they an
inspiration enough to make one’s mind fly so high into the world
outside of ours, the world where you have an answer for everything
and it feels wonderful?

SC: Are your creations completely abstract or do they stem from reality
in some way? In other words, how do your works relate to the visible
world as we see it on a daily basis? Could these works also represent
the dream world?

VA: My creations stem from comprehension of everything that I
envision in my own spiritual and emotional world. My own encounters
with the philosophical content of life and the emotional resonance
of all that surrounds me led me to incorporate colors that emerge in
words sometimes more powerful than those of spoken out loud. Is my
art abstract? It is as abstract as my dream world.

SC: How do you see your style of painting as having evolved during
the course of your artistic career?

VA: Over the years, my form of expression, through mind and words,
melded with the very brushes I used, and became one.

SC: Do you believe this evolution complete?

VA: This evolution is not just one that deals with art but has become
part of myself-in essence, as grows my art so does my soul. I plunge
into my subconscious world when I paint. If only I can regain the
ability to draw upon super-consciousness, this would therein never
cease to evolve until I cease as well.

SC: How often do you immerse yourself in the world of painting? Is
it a daily process, or do you give yourself a little time in between
each canvas?

VA: The world of painting is the primary plane on which I live.

Though I may not be physically in front of a canvas, in my mind I am
always surrounded by a play of colors.

SC: Can you briefly outline the general process and technique that
you employ for each of your vibrant paintings?

VA: The technique I employ is one of blind creativity, beginning with
brushes, then using my very hands as the medium. In a whirlwind of
empty paint tubes, with the drumming of a familiar symphony in the
background embodying the tempest of my own emotions, coming to life.

SC: How does your Armenian background figure into your unique
creations?

VA: You can tell a lot about an artist by their painting. As for my
own, I feel that my culture does not scream but whispers in the very
palette of colors I use. The rich textures unwittingly carry through
my ancient culture, with its vibrant history and strong faith. It is
not a byproduct of my culture, but an instinct that brings it to life.

SC: In your paintings on display at Broadway Gallery this past spring,
I discovered a primarily red-based palette. Is there something to
your predominant incorporation of this strong color into your works,
or was this choice of color completely arbitrary?

VA: If anything, the predominant incorporation of the red-based palette
has chosen me. I have no control over which color the eye of my mind
sees. It is the same with a musician who writes a symphony and not
once stops to analyze the notes with which he plays, but only hears
the melody.

SC: In addition to your use of vivid colors in your works on view in
New York recently, your brushstrokes are similarly strong and even
aggressive in affect. Where is all this power coming from and what
do you hope the viewer will see here?

VA: The trials and tribulations of everyday life have only spurred me
to find strength and passion through my faith and my art. I paint to
deliver myself quite spontaneously of a spiritual world, which I carry
within myself. I am hoping to be understood and for my paintings to
obtain identity and significance, for them to become securely existent.

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The St Petersburg Times
June 26, 2007
42 Held Following Street Clashes
By David Nowak
Staff Writer
MOSCOW – Dozens of ultranationalists armed with metal poles and broken
bottles attacked people from the Caucasus and Central Asia at two squares
near the Kremlin and a third location Friday night, raising fears of an
escalation in ethnic violence.
One ethnic Armenian was hospitalized with stab wounds and 42 people were
detained in the clashes, city police said.
The attackers consisted of about 50 members of ultranationalist groups,
including the Movement Against Illegal Immigration, which sought to carry
out a `provocation against the population of Moscow,’ police said in a
statement, Newsru.com reported.
Alexander Belov, the movement’s leader, called the accusation `some kind of
stupidity’ Sunday and said he had given police his own version of events
when summoned to a police station Saturday.
Arrests were made on Manezh Square and Slavyanskaya Ploshchad, both near the
Kremlin, and outside the Fili metro station in western Moscow.
Police arrested a Russian citizen identified as I. Sergeyev, born in 1988,
on suspicion of assaulting a D. Aganesyan, born in 1990. The police
statement gave no other names or details about the detainees. It was unclear
Sunday whether they remained in custody and whether they would face charges.
Police said both ultranationalists and immigrants had broken the law on
Friday night.
They also appealed to leaders of political parties and movements not to
`provoke their supporters nor entice youths and minors into committing
illegal acts, particularly for ethnic reasons.’
The Movement Against Illegal Immigration posted footage of the clashes on
its web site. Young men carrying broken bottles and metal poles were seen
clashing on what the web site said was Slavyanskaya Ploshchad.
In other footage, people chanted `Russia for Russians!’ and `Kondopoga!’ in
reference to ethnic violence in the northwestern town late last summer that
followed the killing of two local residents during a brawl with Chechens in
a restaurant. Locals took to the streets, burning down the restaurant and
targeting other establishments owned by people from the Caucasus.
Kondopoga has become something of a cause celebre both for
ultranationalists, who claim it serves as a warning to those who tolerate
the integration of different ethnicities, and for human rights groups, which
call the incident a prime example of the propagation of racism.
Earlier this month, hundreds of people staged a protest in the southern city
of Stavropol after two Russian students and an ethnic Chechen were killed in
separate incidents there. Protesters called for the banishment of people
from the Caucasus from the city.
The Movement Against Illegal Immigration participated in the protests in
Stavropol and Kondopoga.
While tensions have simmered in Moscow, with the occasional fight and
anti-immigration rally, larger attacks such as Friday’s have been few and
far between. Political analysts have speculated that some Kremlin officials
are stoking ethnic tensions ahead of national elections to win votes from
people worried about an ultranationalist threat.
Belov said Friday’s violence, which began at around 8 p.m. on Slavyanskaya
Ploshchad, was provoked by people from the Caucasus.
`We were peacefully guarding Moscow from gay prostitutes when groups of
people from the Caucasus approached and provoked a reaction,’ he said.
The square is known as a cruising area for homosexuals.
Belov said his group employs people who are always on hand during such
events to document – this time with the help of video cameras – what goes
on.
Alexander Brod, director of the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights, said quite
the opposite was the case. `The work of Belov’s organization is to provoke
such fights and strengthen the nationalist mood in the country,’ Brod said.
`His organization is gaining momentum, and it is a real threat. Belov
travels the country and provokes these fights, this violence, and law
enforcement agencies don’t touch him,’ Brod said.
`Unfortunately, with the elections coming, these attacks will continue,’
Brod said, adding that the Movement Against Illegal Immigration has close
ties to Dmitry Rogozin’s Great Russia, a party created in April to capture
the nationalist vote.
`One of Russia’s most serious illnesses is xenophobia,’ Brod said.
Rights groups lament the apparent reluctance of authorities to act against
race-related crimes.
They complain that prosecutors prefer to hit apparent participants with
minor public disorder or hooliganism charges.
Since the start of this year, at least 32 people have died in racist attacks
across the country, and 245 others have been targeted by ultranationalists,
human rights activists say.
Mayor Yury Luzhkov condemned the most recent violence.
`Any display of chauvinism, xenophobia or nationalism will be harshly put
down in our capital, on the basis of the Constitution … and on the basis
of the law,’ Luzhkov said in televised remarks.

PRESIDENT OF GREECE TO ARRIVE TOMORROW

ARMENPRESS
Jun 25 2007

YEREVAN, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS: At the invitation of the Armenian
President Robert Kocharian President of Greece Karolos Papoulias and
his spouse May Papoulia are paying state visit to Armenia from June
26 to 28.

Governmental press service told Armenpress that the delegation headed
by the president consists of Deputy Foreign Minister Teodoros Kassimis,
Deputy Defense Minister Ioannis Labropoulos and other officials.

On June 26 the meeting of the presidents will take place which will
be followed by an extended meeting.

R. Kocharian and K. Papoulias will also give a joint press conference.

The president of Greece will meet with the National Assembly Speaker
Tigran Torosian, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsian, Catholicos of All
Armenians Karekin II and with the representatives of Greek community.

Karolos Papoulias is also expected to visit Tsitsernakaberd,
Matenadaran and Yerevan State University.

Armenian and Greek presidents will also be present at a concert of
Greek singer E. Arvanitaki.

The delegation headed by K. Papoulias will leave on June 28.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS GOVERNMENT ACTION PROGRAM TUESDAY

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 25 2007

YEREVAN, June 25. /ARKA/. The Armenian Parliament is to discuss the
government action program Tuesday.

At 10:00 on June 26 the National Assembly of Armenia will continue
its first session, which is to approve the government action program,
the Press Service of Armenian Government reported.

The Armenian Government should submit its program for 2008-2012 to
the National Assembly Monday, Armenian Parliament Speaker Tigran
Torosian said Friday.

The program approved on June 21 envisages the forming of
democracy-based civil society in the country by 2012, establishing
atmosphere of confidence between the people and the authorities, fair
economic competition and ensuring the country’s security.