Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

BERNARD FASSIER: CURRENT PERIOD FAVORABLE FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.03.2010 11:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ After conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in 1994,
Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan live in ‘no peace no war’,
French Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group said.

"In 2009, the Minsk Group Co-Chairs held 6 meetings with Presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan. 3 meetings were initiated by Russian
President," Ambassador Bernard Fassier said during the 73rd NATO PA
Rose Roth seminar in Yerevan on Friday.

"The OSCE Minsk Group is committed to implementation of Madrid
Principles, which are on the table," the French mediator said.

According to him, any solution to the conflict should ensure an
interim status for Karabakh, envisage security guarantees and return
of displaced persons.

"Madrid Principles stipulate for conduction of a referendum in Nagorno
Karabakh, for those residing there before the war. They also suppose
a corridor between Armenia and Karabakh, return of refugees and
establishment of lasting peace with the assistance of international
forces. The current period is favorable for the conflict settlement,"
he said.

Ambassador Fassier also informed that the mediators met in Paris with
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. "A meeting with the
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian is expected as well,"
he said.

KARABAKH POPULATION MUST EXPRESS ITS OPINION

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.03.2010 11:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh representatives have to sooner or
later become involved in conflict settlement negotiations, according
to OSCE MG Co-Chair Bernard Fassier .

"People, who’ve resided in Nagorno Karabakh before the war, have to
speak out. A time will come for Karabakh people to be more actively
involved in negotiation process," he said at 73rd NATO PA Rose Roth
seminar in Yerevan.

Drawing parallels between Karabakh conflict and Kosovo issue, the
Co-Chair noted: "Those two instances can’t be compared. Kosovo faced
an internal conflict on the territory of one state. Karabakh conflict
is also an internal problem, yet both Armenia and Azerbaijan are
involved in it." According to the expert, Kosovo precedent forced
Azerbaijan to show more caution in Karabakh conflict settlement issue.

"What was an option for Kosovo can’t be realized in Karabakh," the
French mediator emphasized.

THREE ARMED MEN WHO PENETRATED INTO ARMENIA FROM AZERBAIJAN KILLED AS A RESULT OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON MARCH 3

Noyan Tapan
March 12, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 12, NOYAN TAPAN. Another trespassing incident was
recorded a few days ago. A subversive reconnaissance group that
penetrated into the territory of Armenia from Azerbaijan to reconnoitre
and obtain information was rendered harmless. According to the press
service of the RA Ministry of Defence, such groups also regularly
stole cattle.

At about 1.30 am on March 3, Armenian servicemen discovered a group of
5 plain-clothes men near the village of Koti in Tavush marz. The group
members had penetrated into Armenia from the territory of Azerbaijan
and were armed with special weapons for subversive activity. The
Armenian servicemen opened warning fire. A skirmish began, as a
result of which one member of the subversive group was wounded,
captured and later died while being taken to hospital.

The second wounded man and other members of the group managed to
escape into Azerbaijan.

The obtained information confirmed that the Azerbaijani side intended
to send a few more reconnaissance groups into Armenia. To prevent
their possible activities, the special sub-units of Armenian armed
forces took additional steps on protecting the indicated section of
the border.

Later on the same day – at about 9 pm, another group of 3 persons in
black camouflage uniforms, who penetrated from Azerbaijan and had
devices with optical sights and submachine guns, was spotted near
the village of Koti. The group was moving towards the nearest forest.

The analysis of the incidents shows that this group acted with the
assistance of another group firing from the rear. As a result of
measures taken by the Armenian side, the armed Azerbaijanians suffered
losses and retreated, leaving two bodies in the neutral zone. The
body of one killed Azerbaijanian was carried from the neutral zone
to Armenia at about 6 am on March 5.

As a whole, 3 armed men from Azerbaijan were killed as a consequence
of the measures taken on March 3. The bodies of two of them are in
Armenia. A person named Ibrahim was wounded, he managed to reach the
territory of Azerbaijan.

The names of several other armed Azerbaijanians were also established
soon: they are Vali Valiyev, Sagif Namazov from the village of
Kyosalar, and certain Nizami and Khagani.

The cell phone of Hasan (one of the two killed men, whose bodies are
now in Armenia) had videos showing the funeral of a martyr-shahid,
the special training of police troops in Kazakh, and the Azan
religious ceremony.

It is not ruled out that the killed trespassers are members of Vahabits
– an extremist radical Islamist organization. Their personal items
and the tattoos on different parts of their bodies give cause to
assume that they were connected to Azerbaijani special service and
underwent special training.

GORAN LENNMARKER: AZERBAIJAN SHOULD CUT ITS MILITARY BUDGET

ArmInfo
2010-03-11 16:06:00

ArmInfo. It is surprising that Azerbaijan spends so much to grow its
military budget, Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly for Nagorno Karabakh and Georgian conflicts, said in Yerevan
in the course of the 73 Rose-Roth Seminar "Regional Developments
in the South Caucasus: Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects" on
Thursday. The event was organized by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
in cooperation with the National Assembly of Armenia.

Goran Lennmarker said that he is not the finance minister of
Azerbaijan, but the military budget of that country should be
cut. All the countries in Europe cut their military budgets and the
South Caucasus states should do the same. Military spending must
not be increased since it is a stereotype of the past, he said. Goran
Lennmarker said that Azerbaijan could spend funds on other sectors such
as education, youth development programs, social programs and others.

EBRD FINANCES BYBLOS BANK ARMENIA

RIA OREANDA
March 9 2010
Russia

Yerevan . OREANDA-NEWS . March 09, 2010. The EBRD is increasing the
availability of financing to private businesses in Armenia, with a
USD10 million financing package to Byblos Bank Armenia, which will
include a local currency element, a first for an EBRD financing in
Armenia, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The EBRD facility, for on-lending to private enterprises, includes
a synthetic loan in Armenian Dram (AMD) for an amount equivalent to
up to USD 5 million, which will be used to finance investments and
working capital needs of local businesses, and an additional USD 5
million to co-finance Byblos Bank Armenias larger sub-loans.

Under the synthetic loan structure, the EBRD is providing the financing
in US dollars at a pre-determined fixed USD/AMD exchange rate. Byblos
Bank Armenias loan obligation is therefore the AMD counter-value
of the provided funds. The synthetic local currency loan will help
Byblos Bank Armenia reduce its foreign exchange risk, increase the
term of its local currency funding, and expand its portfolio of loans
in local currency.

The EBRD funds will enable Byblos Bank Armenia to facilitate the access
to much needed financing for businesses operating in the country in
the current tight credit market.

This transaction will boost the financial intermediation in the
Armenian banking sector, bringing new financing in local currency
to the countrys real economy. The EBRD funds will support further
development of the private sector, addressing an important constraint
for the economic growth in Armenia, said Mike Taylor, EBRD Director,
Financial Institutions, Central Asia, Caucasus, and Mongolia.

Byblos Bank Armenia welcomes the EBRDs facility in order to jointly
support the private businesses in the Republic of Armenia.

It demonstrates EBRD’s confidence in the strength of our bank and in
the economy of the country. This transaction will further allow us to
pursue our expansion strategy in the market, said Mr. Georges Sfeir,
CEO of Byblos Bank Armenia.

Since the beginning of its operations in Armenia, the EBRD has
committed over EUR335 million in approximately 70 projects in the
financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors.

About Byblos Bank Armenia Byblos Bank Armenia CJSC is operated as an
independent subsidiary of the Byblos Bank Group since 2007. For Byblos
Bank, the Republic of Armenia represents a very significant market
with high potential especially for retail and commercial activities.

Byblos Bank has an active presence in 11 countries across Europe,
the Middle East, and Africa: Lebanon, the United Kingdom, France,
Belgium, Armenia, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iraq,
Sudan, and Nigeria.

EBRD TO PROVIDE EURO 15 MILLION FOR MAJOR RECONSTRUCTION OF YEREVAN UNDERGROUND RAILWAY

ARKA
March 10, 2010

YEREVAN, March 10, /ARKA/. The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) will provide EURO 15 million loan to Yerevan
underground railway for a major reconstruction. An agreement to that
end was signed today in Yerevan by Valeriu Razlog, head of EBRD
Yerevan Office, Armenian finance minister Tigran Davtian, Yerevan
mayor Gagik Beglarian and Yerevan Metro head Paylak Yayloyan.

Tigran Davtian said the signing of the agreement marked the end of
almost 18-month long talks with several European organizations.

According to him, the funding will be provided by the European Union,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European
Investment Bank (EIB). He said the European Commission will grant
5 million euros of the sum, while the EBRD and the EIB will lend 5
million euros each to the state-owned subway.

The loan is repayable in 15 years with a three year grace prod and 1%
interest rate. The money will be spent on improving passenger safety by
upgrading its rail cars, escalators and network of underground cables

"This is the first project in its kind and we emphasize it greatly,
like the safe operation of the underground railway. I am sure that
the government should continue to invest in the facility because it
is an important infrastructure and we must preserve and develop it,’
the minister said.

Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglarian also emphasized the importance of the
project saying it will raise the safe operation of the underground
railway.

The government formally agreed in 2009 to guarantee the repayment
of these loans. The metro, commissioned in 1981, has only one line
consisting of ten stations. Under Yerevan’s existing architectural
master plan four new stations are to be built by 2020.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenia Fund USA, Inc
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 301
New York, NY 10038
Contact: Karine Manukyan
Tel: 212-689-5307
Fax: 212-689-5317
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

ARMENIA FUND USA FORGES STRATEGIC HEALTH CARE PARTNERSHIPS

NEW YORK, New York – Armenia Fund USA has taken critical steps to enhance
and modernize health care and medical education in Armenia and Karabakh with
the establishment of a new entity called HyeBridge Telehealth.
The first step involved pioneering a pilot project in Telemedicine. In 2008,
Armenia Fund USA arranged for the satellite connection and equipment
installation that would allow, via electronic telecommunications, the
exchange of medical information between Armenia’s Yerevan State Medical
University (YSMU) and health professionals practicing in remote regions of
Armenia and Karabakh.
The undeniable success of the pilot session convinced Armenia Fund USA that
"telemedicine is an effective and cost-efficient driver of improved medical
outcomes in Armenia", as Irina Lazarian, Armenia Fund USA Executive
Director, described it.
Telemedicine includes such applications as videoconferencing, transmission
of still images, remote monitoring of vital signs, continuing medical
education and even nurse-advisory call centers. "For Armenia and Karabakh,
this technology is next best thing to in-person consultations and on-premise
clinical and classroom training," noted Ms. Lazarian.
To that end, Armenia Fund USA officially branded the telemedicine initiative
"HyeBridge Telehealth", an entity designed to function like a subsidiary of
the Armenia Fund USA organization.
Under the HyeBridge Telehealth banner, a demonstration was presented in July
2009 at the Tenth Annual Armenian Medical World Congress in New York City.
Professional attendees gathered for a real-time telemedicine session
transmitted from YSMU in Armenia. Four difficult patient cases were
consulted with the use of the electronic technology. The response was so
enthusiastic that the American-Armenian Health Professionals Organization
(AAHPO) announced, at the Congress banquet, their decision to join HyeBridge
Telehealth as a principal partner. Its involvement is consistent with the
AAHPO mission: to improve healthcare awareness and increase disease
prevention while providing medical support and education locally as well as
in Armenia.
The collaboration between the Armenia Fund, eastern affiliate and AAHPO
doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists practicing in NY, NJ and CT,
combines the world-class expertise of medical specialists in the U.S. with
the vast field experience that Armenia Fund USA possesses in program
implementation for Armenia and Karabakh. At the same time, YMSU manages
scheduling of videoseminars and videoconsultation in Armenia and provides
guidance and advice on telemedicine content design, based on the subject
areas of greatest interest and most urgent need among professional
counterparts in Armenia and Karabakh.
Finally, this past October, HyeBridge Telehealth applied for and was granted
membership in the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), which extends
member rights to all HyeBridge Telehealth partners: Armenia Fund USA, AAHPO
and YSMU. This affiliation promises to significantly expand global health
care networking opportunities for HyeBridge Telehealth members as well as
provide access to resources designed to advance Telemedicine in developing
nations, such as Armenia and Karabakh.
As a new member, HyeBridge Telehealth has been invited to participate at the
ATA Annual Conference scheduled for May 2010 in San Antonio, TX. In
addition, the head of ATA has agreed to participate, via videoconference, in
selected telemedicine sessions that the YSMU has organized around its 90th
Anniversary events and professional conferences from October 6-11 in
Armenia.
"By forging strategic partnerships between medical professionals in the
diaspora and Armenia, supported by technologies that facilitate the instant
exchange of up-to-date information, Armenia Fund USA has solidified its role
in helping to bring Armenian medical practices up to world-class standards
and providing quality care to all communities," stated Raffi Festekjian,
Chairman of Armenia Fund USA.
Any individuals, professional groups or institutions interested in
participating in HyeBridge Telehealth are invited to contact Irina Lazarian
at 212-689-5307.
____________________________________ ____
ABOUT ARMENIA FUND USA: founded in 1992, was one of the first of Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund’s 17 international affiliates and serves constituents in
all states east of the Mississippi. As a non-profit, non-governmental,
nonsectarian organization, the Fund represents all Armenian constituents.
Armenia Fund USA is the largest contributor among the 17 international
affiliates – supporting strategic infrastructure projects in Armenia and
Karabakh. The Fund has adopted a policy to go "Beyond Bricks and Mortar" to
provide sustainability for projects it sponsors.

OSCE PA DELEGATION DUE IN ARMENIA ON MARCH 10

armradio.am
09.03.2010 17:14

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation headed by President Joao
Soares will arrive in Armenia on March 10.

The delegation is expected to meet Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan, Chairman
of the NKR National Assembly Ashot Ghoulyan, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian.

The delegation will be hosted by His Holiness Gargin II, Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The OSCE delegation will
lay a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims.

On March 11 the delegation headed by OSCE PA President Joao Soares
will participate in Rose Roth seminar of NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

ARMENIAN MOD REFUTED THE MISINFORMATION OF AZERI MEDIA

armradio.am
09.03.2010 15:58

The Armenian Ministry of Defense reports that the information
disseminated by some Azerbaijani media that the divisions of the
Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia violated the cease-fire near
Chambarak and opened fire in the direction of the Azerbaijani positions
to the northeast of the contact line does not correspond to reality.

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia strongly maintain the
cease-fire regime and undertake corresponding actions only in case
the rival violates the truce.

SERZH SARGSYAN TO VISIT SYRIA IN MARCH

Tert.am
16:54 ~U 09.03.10

On March 8, RA Ambassador to Syria Arshak Poladyan paid a visit to
Aleppo (Haleb), where he had separate meetings with Governor of Aleppo
Ali Ahmad Mansoura and representatives of Aleppo’s Armenian community.

According to a press release issued by the RA Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, discussed during the meetings were issues related to a visit
to Aleppo during Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s visit to Syria
in March.