Author: Tamamian Anna

ARMENIAN DRAFT BUDGET FOR 2007 ENVISAGES 100.4 BILLION DRAMS FOR DEFENSE SPHERE

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 6 2006

The draft budget of Armenia for 2007 plans to allocate 100.4 billion
drams or 281 million US dollars under the USD exchange rate fixed
in the draft for the defense sphere, Armenian Defense Minister Serge
Sargsyan told journalists. The minister added that the parliamentary
discussions on the draft budget are likely to result in a rise of
the initial sum.

The minister said that an agreement has been reached on provision of
the 3.5% of GDP to the defense sphere. While in 2006 this indicator
was 3%. "The higher is GDP in Armenia and the stronger is the economy,
the higher will be allocations to the defense sphere," Serge Sargsyan
said. He said the budgetary funds will be equally distributed,
including 48% will be directed to wages and social expenses. The
wages of officers will be risen to 165,000 AMD in 2007.

The minister said the budgetary allocations to the sphere are enough
to maintain the fighting capacity of the army. "Of course, these
funds are incomparable to the one billion dollar defense budget of
Azerbaijan, but they are enough in case of a rational and purposeful
use," the minister said. Serge Sargsyan said that "serious armaments"
will be acquired next year. He expressed hope that Armenia’s future
budgets will also have social orientation.

NEW ANTIHAIL SYSTEMS TO BE INSTALLED IN SHIRAK PROVINCE

Armenpress
Nov 06 2006

GYUMRI, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS: Armenian agricultural ministry said
it will test next year a new antihail system, developed by Armenian
engineers, in Armenia’s northwestern province of Shirak. The new
system, operating on solar energy, was already tested 20 years ago in
the region of Talin. The ministry promised also to release finances
for installment of new system.

Four or five antihail stations are to be installed in the province,
each of which costs $22,000.

Scientists say one antihail system is able to protect about 80 hectares
of land under crop from hails. The system transforms hail into rain
saving crops from being damaged.

Rural communities in Shirak chosen to have stations in their territory
will have to make their input into its assembly and installation. Some
30 rural communities are located in areas targeted usually by
hails. Agricultural experts estimate that this year the province has
sustained 1.2 billion drams damages from hails.

NKR President declares general pardon

ArmRadio.am
04.11.2006 15:00

November 3 NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan presented a suggestion to
the National Assembly on declaring general pardon on the occasion of
the 15th anniversary of independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
and the Constitutional Referendum.

ARMENIAN INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE PUBLISHED LIST OF 1000 LARGEST TAXPAYERS OF REPUBLIC

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 3 2006

The Armenian Internal Revenue Service has published a list of the
1000 largest taxpayers of the republic in Jan-Sep 2006.

The Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Complex whose payments to the budget
in Jan-Sep 2006 made up 22.737 bln AMD takes the 1st place on the
list. The "ArmenTel" CJSC ranks next – 13.004 bln AMD. The 3rd place
is taken by the "ArmRosgazprom" CJSC – 8.364 bln AMD. The "Flesh" oil
trading company is in the 4th place – 7.196 bln AMD. "K-Telecom", the
second telecom provider in Armenia, paid 5.854 bln AMD and held the
6th position, leaving behind the "Electricity Networks of Armenia"
CJSC which held the 8th place – 4.453 bln AMD. The Armenian Nuclear
Power Station, the "International Airports of Armenia", the "Yerevan
Brandy Factory", the "Armenia-Lada" and "Karkomavto" are in the top
twenty.

This list changes the idea about competitive companies. For example,
the "Araratcement" company was always said to take lead over "Mika
Cement" by its outputs, but the amount of taxes paid changes this
picture. Thus, if the "Mika Cement" Company paid 271.4 mln AMD and
held the 117th place, the "Arararatcement" is in the 130th place with
247.5 mln AMD tax payments. The "Yerevan Beer" held the 28th place –
976 mln AMD, and the "Kotayk Beer Factory" is in the 58th place – 531
mln AMD. The "Ararat Cognac Wine Vodka Factory of Yerevan" held the
168th place – 188.4 mln AMD. It should be noted for comparison that
the Yerevan Brandy Factory is in 14th place – 1.8 bln AMD. The "Multi
Group Concern" which belongs to Gagik Tsarukyan, a famous
entrepreneur, is in the 247th place on the list and its taxes made up
only 133 mln AMD. The latter has left behind the Charitable Fund for
Micro-Entrepreneurship Development. "Mika Armenia Trading", another
large Armenian concern has held the 21st place – 1.341 bln AMD.

MTS Unaware of ArmenTel Tender Outcomes

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.11.2006 16:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ MTS Russian company doesn’t possess information
on the outcomes of the tender on 90% of ArmenTel’s stocks. "We are
waiting for the official results of the tender," MTS Spokesman Kirill
Alyavdin said. When asked to comment on MTS’s chances, he said the
company ‘refrains from any comments before the announcement of the
formal outcomes of the tender.’ ArmenTel and the RA Ministry of
Transport and Communications also refrain from comments.

Meanwhile yesterday the Armenian government resigned its commission of
10% of ArmenTel’s stocks to Minister of Transport and Communications
Andranik Manukian.

Russian companies MTS and Vympelcom as well as VTEL-Holding are
participating in the tender.

Earlier it was reported that ArmenTel can be sold to Arab Emirates
Telecommunications Corporation (ETISALAT)/ Istithmar PJSC/Emergent
Telecom Ventures (ETV) for $600 million, however Andranik Manukian
refuted the information, reports newsarmenia.ru.

VAHAGN CHAKHALIAN CONSIDERS ACCUSATION BROUGHT TO HIM AS ABSURD

Noyan Tapan
Nov 01 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. Vahagn Chakhalian, Presidency member
of the United Javakhk Democratic Bloc and Chairman of the Javakhk
Youth Sport and Cultural Union, considers the accusation brought to him
as absurd. Declaring this at the November 2 meeting with journalists
at the Pakagits club, he at the same time refrained from going into
the details of this case, as it is still at the stage of preliminary
examination. V.Chakhalian only said that he learnt from press about
5 years’ prohibition of entering Armenia determined to him for some
fault. We will remind that V.Chakhalian was arrested on October 11 on
the charge of violating RA state border illegally. By the decision of
the first instance court arrest was chosen as a preventive punishment
to him.

And on October 30, the Appeal Court in Criminal and Military
Cases chose a signature on not leaving towards V.Chakhalian and
he was released from the isolation cell of the National Security
Service. V.Chakhalian said that Javakhk is faced with the danger
of complete displacement of Armenians: according to official data,
about 30 thousand Armenians have left Akhalkalak since the collapse
of the USSR, which, as he estimated, is destructive for a region
with a population of 70 thousand people. He considered as strange
and unintelligible the statements in press about the possibility of
Russia’s using the Armenians of Javakhk in the context of aggravation
of Russian-Georgian relations. In V.Chakhalian’s words, this is a
servile approach and the Armenians of Javakhk have their approaches
and interests. Declaring that the issue of Javakhk autonomy has
not been raised at present, V.Chakhalian at the same time noted:
"and in the respect of the future we can say nothing." In his words,
the United Javakhk pursues the goal to preserve the national cultural
values, to achieve stipulation by law a status equal to the Georgian
language for Armenian, fights construction of Kars-Akhalkalak railway,
as well as dislocation of Georgian troops in Javakhk. It was mentioned
that no issue of armed conflict with the Georgian authorities is on the
agenda of the Bloc. RA MP Hmayak Hovhannisian, who was present at the
meeting, said that the United Javakhk registered serious success in the
October 5 local self-government elections. According to official data,
the Bloc received 30% of electors’ votes. Touching upon the project
of Kars-Akhalkalak railway construction, H.Hovhannisian said that in
case of its fulfilment Javakhk "populated with Armenians, making part
of our historical homeland will be used for Armenia’s blockade with
a sanitary cordon that will separate us from our brothers, Georgians."

AZERBAIJAN SPREADS RECURRENT MISINFORMATION

ArmRadio.am
01.11.2006 17:39

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Safar Abiev’s statement that the question
of " withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan" was raised during his meeting with the Foreign Minister of
Armenia at Ijevan-Ghazakh part of the contact line do not correspond
to reality, RA MOD Press Secretary Seyran Shahsuvaryan informs.

In reality the question has not been discussed at all.

As it had been announced earlier, only issues related to border
control and maintenance of the cease-fire regime were discussed.

KOCHARYAN MEETS WITH FRADKOV

A1+
[07:10 pm] 31 October, 2006

Today, RA President Robert Kocharyan met with Russian Prime Minister
Michael Fradkov.

"We see great progress in the Russian-Armenian collaboration, but a
number of issues in the transportation-communication sphere hinder this
fruitful co-operation," said President Kocharyan during the meeting.

At the same time he added that the issues connected with transportation
are compensated by investment projects, namely in the construction
and energy fields.

In Michael Fradkov’s words, he will meet with his Armenian counterpart
in Moscow on December 1 to discuss the issues of the two countries’
cooperation.

Igor Levitin, Minister of the RF Transportation and co-president of
the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental committee, was also present
during the meeting of Robert Kocharyan and Michael Fradkov.

ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER RECEIVES NEW-APPOINTED SWEDISH AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Oct 30 2006

YEREVAN, October 30. /ARKA/. Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan
received Friday newly appointed Swedish Ambassador to Armenia Hans
Gunnar Aden, Armenian Defense Ministry’s press office reports.

The minister and the ambassador discussed Armenia’s role in
geopolitical processes and the republic’s cooperation with NATO as part
of Individual Partnership Program and Partnership in the Name of Peace.

Sargsyan and Aden also considered the current stage of Karabakh
conflict settlement stressing the importance of OSCE Minsk Group’s
mediation in this process.

ARMENIA BROKE THE CEASE-FIRE REGIME AGAIN
Author: E.Javadova

TREND, Azerbaijan
Oct 30 2006

On October 29, the divisions of the Armenian armed forces broke the
cease-fire regime on the front line, Trend reports with reference to
the Press-Service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

>From the north-west positions located in 20 km from Garalar village of
Tovuz district, the divisions of the Armenian armed forces fired with
automats and machine-gun at the opposite positions of the Azerbaijani
armed forces.

The enemies were made silent with response fire.