Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

ARMENIAN ARDSHININVESTBANK STARTS OPERATING MONEY TRANSFERS ON RIA INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM

/ARKA/
August 25, 2009
Yerevan

On August 24, all the branches of Ardshininvestbank started operating
money transfers on RIA international system, the press office of the
bank said.

Swift transfers are available to the bank clients in 70,000 points
of service in more than 100 countries.

Nerses Karamanukyan, chairman of Ardshininvestbank’s board, said
that the aim of the bank was to offer Armenians worldwide swift and
reliable money transfer services.

He said Ardshininvestbank cooperates only with advanced and reliable
companies, such as RIA.

RIA is reckoned among the world’s swiftest money transfer systems.

Ardshininvestbank received its license for banking activities from
the Central Bank of Armenia on February 27, 2003.

The main stockholders of the bank are "Region" investment financial
corporation (86.82%) and the International Financial Corporation (10%).

Arshininvestbank is an affiliated member of MasterCard/Europay
international payment system and a stockholder of local transfer
system Armenian Card closed joint stock company.

Currently Ardshininvestbank cooperates with a number of Russian banks –
Promsvyazbank, Socgorbank, Forabank and Sberbank.

The bank has 49 branches, including 6 branches in Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic and a representative office in Paris. Today, the bank provides
services to 170,000 individuals and l egal entities.

In 2008, Moody’s international ratings agency conferred long-term Ba3
and short-term Not Prime ratings to Ardshininvestbank for deposits
in local currency. ("BFSR") "D-" financial stability rating was also
assigned to the bank.

In 2008, Ardshininvestbank received ISO 9001:2000 international
quality certificate.

ARMENIAN-ITALIAN COMPANY ARENERGY INTENDS TO INVEST 300 MLN EUR IN CONSTRUCTION OF EIGHT WIND POWER PLANTS IN SHIRAK REGION

ArmInfo
2009-08-26 16:35:00

ArmInfo. The Armenian-Italian company Arenergy intends to invest 300
mln EUR in construction of eight wind power plants in Shirak region,
Director General of the company, former Armenian ambassador to Italy
Gagik Baghdasaryan said at a sitting of the Public Services Regulatory
Commission, Wednesday. During the sitting the company was provided
licence for construction of "Karakhach-1" wind power plant with a
designed capacity of 18900 KW for a period till January 1, 2013. It
was reported earlier that the Italian company Gierret, one of the
founders of the Armenian-Italian JV, expressed a desire to build in
Armenia a cascade of wind power plants with a total capacity of 270
MW. To recall, the first wind power plant in Armenia with a capacity
of 2,6 MW was built in 2005.

The construction was financed by the Iranian government’s grant worth
$3,5 mln. The operational lifetime of the plant is 20 years.

NEWLY APPOINTED RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA HANDS OVER COPY OF HIS CREDENTIALS TO RA FOREIGN MINISTER

Noyan Tapan
Aug 25, 2009

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward
Nalbandian received Vyacheslav Kovalenko, the newly appointed Russian
Ambassador to Armenia, on the occasion of handing the copies of the
credentials on August 24.

Greeting the guest Minister Edward Nalbandian congratulated him on
the occasion of being appointed the Russian Ambassador to Armenia
and wished him success in implementing his diplomatic mission. Highly
appreciating the Armenian-Russian relations, Edward Nalbandian said
that the mutual understanding, trust and cooperation between Russia
and Armenia create a good basis for strengthening allied relations
and military cooperation for the general benefit of the two brotherly
nations, and that the Ambassador Kovalenko will have an important
contribution in the process of further deepening and expanding the
cooperation.

According to the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press and Public
Relations Deparment, in his turn, Ambassador Kovalenko appreciating
the current state of Armenian-Russian relations noted that he will
do his best for strengthening the present cooperation, and for the
development of the bilateral relations in different spheres.

At the meeting Edward Nalbandian and Ambassador Kovalenko discussed a
series of questions concerning the Armenian-Russian agenda, exchanged
thoughts on the territorial and international issues.

Vyacheslav Kovalenko was born in 1946. He graduated from the Institute
of Oriental Languages under M. Lomonosov Moscow University. He has
begun his diplomatic service since 1973. He took the position of
Deputy Director of CIS Second Department of Russian Foreign Ministry
in 2004-2006. He was appointed the Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Russia to Georgia in 2006. He speaks Arabic,
Belarusian and French. He is married and has three children.

ON AUGUST 31 YEREVAN STREETS TO HOST FREE HUG CAMPAIGN

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.08.2009 17:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On August 31 Yerevan streets will host Free Hugs
campaign. On this day at 5:00 p.m. a group of young people will lead
their ways from the Republic Square to the park of lovers, providing
an opportunity for unselfish embrace to any passerby. According to
tradition, on this even strangers hug each other and share warmth.

The Free Hugs Campaign is a social movement involving individuals
who offer hugs to strangers in public places. The campaign in its
present form was started in 2004 by an Australian man known only by
Juan Mann. Since then people around the world just go to streets with
placards and give Free Hugs to all who wish to embrace.

KARABAKH CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED BY MAKING RADICAL CONCESSIONS

The Messenger
Aug 24 2009
Georgia

Former MP Murat Petrosian, a political analyst from Nagorno Karabakh,
thinks that the solution of the Karabakh problem depends greatly on
the positions of Russia and the USA, who should reconcile the positions
of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which are almost mutually exclusive.

Petrosian is very sceptical about this happening however, stating
that real regulation of the conflict is possible only through at
least one party making very serious concessions. Armenian President
Levon Ter-Petrosian was forced to resign in 1998 for advocating such
concessions. It is unlikely that Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan,
will ever recognise the independence of the Karabakh Republic,
and any Armenian President who agreed to the possibility of wide
autonomy for Karabakh within Azeri borders would also be forced to
step down. The analyst draws the very pessimistic conclusion that
in foreseeable future it will be difficult to sign and conclude any
document establishing peace in the region.

Petrosian thinks that the USA is very much interested in seeing
peace and stability in the region but Russia does not need a final
determination of Karabakh’s status. Moscow prefers a situation where
the resolution of the Karabakh problem depends on what the Kremlin’s
position is. He suggests that at the moment it would be useful to
create a document where Karabakh’s status is determined which both
sides can interpret in the way they choose. However Petrosian admits
that this most complicated task is almost impossible to fulfil.

March 1 committee will present the final report till September 15

armradio.am
22.08.2009 16:32

RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan met today with the members of the
temporary parliamentary committee investigating the events of March 1-2
of 2008. Hovik Abrahamyan reminded that September 15 is the deadline
for committee’s work and a final report is ready to be submitted by
March 1. The speaker stressed that the conclusions of the Committee
should be comprehensive, independent, and addresses all questions of
the National Assembly of Armenia.

Speaker also noted that the conclusion would be also important for
PACE, whose assessment of the report is important. However, as Hovik
Abrahamyan said, the Armenian parliament is accountable to the people,
society and political forces of Armenia, expecting full and objective
answers form the committee, press service of RA National Assembly
reports.

AL. AVETISYAN SAYS THE ARMENIAN SIDE GAVE SECURITY GUARANTEE TO AZERBAIJANI JUDOISTS

ARMENPRESS
Aug 20, 2009

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS: The Azerbaijani sports delegation has
been given all the necessary guarantees for taking part in the European
Youth Judo Cup which will take place September 11-14 in Yerevan and
may calmly arrive in Armenia, Chairman of the Armenian Judo Federation
Alexan Avetisyan said today referring to the uncertainty of Azerbaijani
sportsmen connected with their arrival in Armenia. He noted that not
only the sportsmen of Azerbaijan, but the sportsmen of Israel have
required guarantees for security as well.

The Azerbaijani delegation has submitted its initial application for
the participation in Yerevan Championship, but it has not yet informed
about its arrival route and has not registered a hotel. A. Avetisyan
noted that the organizers have guaranteed the security of all the
participants and all the other issues – hotel, food, etc.

According to him, in Yerevan the Azerbaijani sportsmen will come
forward in all weight categories and have specially prepared themselves
for that tournament.

Armenian National Committee – Western Region
104 North Belmont, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Telephone: (818) 500-1918
Facsimile: (818) 246-7353

PRESS RELEASE

August 20, 2009
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918

ANC-WR INTERN SPOTLIGHT: LAUREN SHENIAN
GCC student leader promotes greater understanding of Nagorno Karabakh
Republic

GLENDALE, CA — Participating in the 2009 Summer Session of the Armenian
National Committee-Western Region’s Internship-Externship Program (ANC-WR
IEP), Lauren Shenian has done a little bit of everything as a Community and
Government Affairs Intern. Over the past ten weeks, she has developed
educational events for students ranging from elementary and middle school to
college and prepared informational packages about the Republic of Nagorno
Karabakh.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in the IEP," says
Shenian. "It has given me the chance to get to know some wonderful,
dedicated, and hard-working people as well as provide me with an
extraordinary experience."

Researching the background of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh and the
ongoing peace process, Shenian prepared informational packages to help
educate community leaders about the history of the region and its residents’
struggle to have their right to self-determination respected. She also
teamed up with fellow ANC-WR IEP intern Nare Kupelian to organize and host a
workshop about genocide education and conflict resolution geared towards
college students.

Shenian is a psychology major at Glendale Community College and is also very
involved with campus life activities. As a member of the Associated
Students of Glendale Community College (ASGCC), Shenian was the student
government’s Vice President of Administration at the college. She is very
active in the Armenian Student Association as well serving as an advisor and
as vice president of the campus club.

Shenian learned about the ANC’s internship program through a presentation
that was given at a GCC ASA meeting. She feels that her participation in
both groups and the leadership positions she has held in them have helped
prepare her for the ANC-WR IEP.

"One of the things I will definitely take away from this program is the
amount of hard work that everyone puts in. It is this kind of tireless
dedication that inspires me to increase my skills and my participation level
in the future," says Shenian.

Shenian is in her last year at GCC and is considering a number of schools in
southern California to continue her studies. She hopes to pursue a career
in optometry. Shenian will continue to work with the ANC following the
culmination of the internship program and looks forward to the opportunity
to see many of the projects she started as an intern come to fruition.

The Armenian National Committee – Western Region is the largest Armenian
American grassroots community organization in the Western United States.
Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the
country, the ANC-WR works to promote understanding regarding issues of
concern to the Armenian American community.

####

VAHAGN CHAKHALIAN NOT ALLOWED TO SEE HIS LAWYER

Noyan Tapan
Aug 19, 2009

TBILISI, AUGUST 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On August 17, 2009,
Stepan Voskanian – Armenian lawyer of Javakheti Armenian political
activist Vahagn Chakhalian – made an attempt to visit V. Chakhalian in
a Georgian prison. However, according to a report of Yerkir union, the
prison administration did not allow S. Voskanian to see Chakhalian,
explaining that the documents, which previously gave the Armenian
lawyer a right to meet with V. Chakhalian, are no longer valid.

On the same day S. Voskanian applied to the Office of Georgian
Ombudsman, whose employees examined the documents presented by the
lawyer and considered the decision of the prison administration as
completely unfounded.

Yerkir union called the decision banning the lawyer from meeting with
Vahagn Chakhalian as "just another gross violation of the rights of
the Javakheti Armenian political activist by Georgian authorities
with the aim of hindering an efficient preparation for the August 18
court hearing on the case of V. Chakhalian".

"Yerkir union called on the Georgian Ombudsman Sozar Subari,
international human rights organizations, international structures
and displomatic missions accredited to Georgia to give a respective
assessment of this gross violation commited by Georgian authorities
and to eliminate its consequences by ensuring meetings of the defence
lawyer with his client in the future," the report reads.

TURKISH MEDIA COVERS NEWS ON ACCUSED AZERI VOTED FOR ARMENIAN SINGERS

Panorama.am
12:22 19/08/2009

Azerbaijani security service and a group of Azeri citizens subjected
to examination because of giving votes to Armenian representatives to
"Eurovision – 2009" international song contest are much covered by
the Turkish advanced media representatives.

Referring to BBC Turkish media reports that a group of Azeri who
have voted for Arshakyan sisters at "Eurovision 2009" are subject to
examination. It is said that 43 Azeri have voted for Armenian singers.

Turkish media outlets write that Azerbaijani security service accuses
its citizens for "not being patriots and threatening country’s
security."