Author: Toganian Liana

"TALKS OVER KARABAKH ENTERED A FINAL PHASE"

5/lham-aliyev
02:12 pm | October 05, 2009

Politics

Talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
region are in their final phase, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
announced during a summit of heads of Turkish-speaking countries
in Nakhichevan.

"Positive dynamics are observed in the negotiation process, and
I can say the negotiation process is already in its final phase,"
Aliyev is quoted as saying.

"The issues discussed can promote conflict settlement. The issues
discussed ensure the conflict settlement based on territorial
integrity," the Azerbaijani president said.

Remind that Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev are scheduled
to meet in Kishinev on October 8.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN MEETS WITH DIASPORA ARMENIANS OF US EASTERN COAST AND CANADA

ARMENPRESS
OCTOBER 5, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS: The all-Armenian tour of the
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan continues and meetings with
the representatives of the Diaspora Armenian organizations and
establishments take place. Presidential press service told Armenpress
that the second stop of the president was in New York where October
3 he met with the representatives of Armenian communities of the US
Eastern Coast and Canada. Deputy Head of the Board of Trustees of
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund Gagik Harutyunyan, Armenian President’s
ambassador on special assignments Arkadi Ghukasyan, Diaspora Minister
Hranush Hakobyan also took part in the meeting.

The participants of the discussion welcomed the initiative of the
president to visit Armenian-populated communities and noted that in
spite of the years of partnership between Armenia and Diaspora and
rich experience the all-Armenian tour of the president and such
meetings form a new institute to hear the voice of world spread
Armenians about the issues of national importance.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his opening speech referred to
the process of regulation of Armenian-Turkish relations, main concerns
voiced over the pre-signed protocols and once again pointed out that
Armenia is going forward to normalization of relations with Turkey
without preconditions.

"I think that for this period of time we managed to get the utmost,"
President Serzh Sargsyan said, referring to the concern that it was
possible to reach more favorable for Armenia documents.

Serzh Sargsyan pointed out that in last August after the known events
in the region a new situation has been created which on its part
in a certain way promoted the move in Armenian-Turkish political
dialogue as it is obvious for everyone what challenges the unsettled
conflicts may have for security of the peoples, peaceful and prosperous
future. Serzh Sargsyan expressed assurance that the normalization of
Armenian-Turkish rel he general tension in the region and increase
of the atmosphere of mutual trust.

Referring to the concern that the Armenian side has not calculated
the possible impact and consequences of the normalization of relations
and opening of the border, the president said that in that respect the
specialized establishments and institutions made an extended work and
in some ways they are still in process and relevant assignments have
been given. The president of the country pointed out that in reality
it is difficult to calculate all the challenges and risks till the
end for all the scenarios of development.

The concerns about the economic expansion the president considered
ungrounded, stating that the state has enough tools and mechanisms
including legislative, to give solution to the upcoming issues and
challenges.

The president again pointed out that in the pre-context of
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations the fact of Armenian
Genocide cannot be discussed. "The only issue connected with the
genocide that may be a topic for discussion is that how we can help
the Turkish people to be more unbiased in listing the pages of their
history or how to overcome the consequences of the Genocide," the
leader of the country noted.

The participants of the meeting expressed their opinions and approaches
over the pre-signed protocols, the opportunities which may open and
possible challenges.

Today’s Zaman

03 October 2009, Saturday

Turkic world to put ties in institutional framework in Nakhchivan

President Abdullah Gül traveled to Nakhchivan for a two-day
summit of Turkic-speaking countries. The meeting will end with the
signing of an agreement outlining the institutionalization of the
summit.

President Abdullah Gül traveled to Nakhchivan for a two-day
summit of Turkic-speaking countries. The meeting will end with the
signing of an agreement outlining the institutionalization of the
summit.

A two-day summit of the Turkic-speaking countries held in the
autonomous Azerbaijani republic of Nakhchivan will end today with the
signing of an agreement that outlines the institutionalization of the
summit.

The first such summit was held in 1992 at the initiative of
then-Turkish President Turgut Ã-zal. The most recent edition of the
summit took place in November 2006 in Antalya. The summit in
Nakhchivan, where Turkey was represented by President Abdullah
Gül, was the ninth of its kind.

Today’s agreement foresees the establishment of the Turkic-speaking
Countries Cooperation Council, with its permanent secretariat to be
based in Ä°stanbul.

A separate declaration to be released at the end of the summit will
call for an end to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijan’s
Nagorno-Karabakh, with a highlight of Turkey’s regional sensitivities.

In addition to Gül and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the
host of the summit, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were represented at the
presidential level while Uzbekistan was not represented at
all. Uzbekistan did not participate in the November 2006 summit in
Antalya, either.

Turkmenistan was represented by its ambassador to Turkey at the
November 2006 summit but did not sign the summit’s final declaration.

Nevertheless, at Gül’s initiative, Turkmenistan is now expected
to send its vice president to the summit, which kicked off on
Friday. When he hosted his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly
Berdimuhammedov, in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, Gül
underlined his view
ation at the Turkic-speaking countries summit.

Yet, Turkmenistan will not put its signature on the agreement which
will be signed today by participants of the Nakhchivan summit. Turkmen
officials cite their foreign policy based on `positive neutrality’ as
the reason for not signing the agreement.

The Turkmen policy of neutrality was announced by the late-President
Saparmurat Niyazov shortly after the country became independent in
1991. In December 1995, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution
recognizing Turkmenistan’s status of permanent
neutrality. Nonetheless, if it changes its mind concerning the
Nakhchivan summit agreement, Turkmenistan can still sign it in the
future. This is also valid for Uzbekistan, which was absent from the
summit. In addition to the establishment of the Turkic-speaking
Countries Cooperation Council, today’s agreement will outline the
establishment of a consultation mechanism which will regularly hold
meetings. In addition to the permanent secretariat to be based in
Ä°stanbul these consultation mechanisms are:

Turkic-speaking Countries’ Heads of State Council, Turkic-speaking
Countries’ Foreign Ministers Council, Senior Officials Council and a
Wise Men Delegation. Mustafa Ä°sen, secretary-general of the
presidency, will represent Turkey in the Wise Men Delegation.

The summits, which have so far been held on an irregular basis, will
be held every two years and, accordingly, the next summit will be
hosted by Kazakhstan in 2011.

After being elected president in August 2007, Gül renewed
Turkey’s relations with the rest of the Turkic world, which had waned
in recent years. He made official visits to Azerbaijan (three times),
Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan (twice) and Kazakhstan (twice); he also
received his Kazakh, Turkmen and Azerbaijani counterparts in Ankara

03 October 2009, Saturday
SÃ`LEYMAN KURT ANKARA

18.5% DECLINE OF ARMENIAN GDP TO BE REDUCED TO 15% IN LATE 2009, MINISTER OF FINANCE FORECASTS

Noyan Tapan
Sep 29, 2009

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. "After the release of preliminary
macroeconomic indices for January-August 2009, we can say with
confidence that we have already reached the lowest point of the
economic decline," RA Minister of Finance Tigran Davtian stated at the
September 29 meeting with reporters. According to him, a 0.1% growth
was recorded for the first time after 18.5% decline of GDP in 8 months.

"It means that we have already reached the lowest point of the decline,
after which, hopefully, a slow recovery of the economy will begin. This
process is quite hard, but I think this tendency will have a more
stable manifestation in the coming months," the minister said, adding
that as a result of that, the 18.5% decline will be reduced to 15% at
the end of the year. "I believe out forecasts are close to reality,"
T. Davtian noted.

In his words, by attracting loans from outside, the government
managed to maintain the level of expenditures envisaged by the 2009
budget. Out of the envisaged expenditures of 945bn drams, expenditures
of 900-910bn drams will be incurred in late 2009, with the sums on
social and economic development-related measures being spent fully.

The minister said it became possible to implement the 2009 budget at
the expense of the loans received, to which the fact that the law
passed by the RA National Assembly has allowed to raise the budget
deficit to 7.5% of GDP has contributed as well. He announced that in
2010 it is envisaged lowering the budget deficit to 5.6-5.7%.

"We should be more cautious and conservative in 2010. We want
to gradually – year by year – lower the budget deficit to the
international level," T. Davtian noted, adding that the deficit of
Armenia’s budget used to be up to 3%.

ARARAT-YEREVAN PIPELINE IS FULLY REPAIRED

Aysor.am
28.09.2009, 19:12

Plots of Ararat-Yerevan pipeline subjected to corrosion are fully
repaired, told press-office of "ArmRosgazprom".

Joint research of "Orgenergogaz" and ArmRosgazprom Engineering
Centre provided the renovation based on new technologies of without
gas interrupting. "ArmGazprom" invested for about 1 billion and 500
million AMD and with participation of TECHNO FIT Company, Egvardstroy
Company and Snart Company repaired the pipeline.

To avoid further similar situations was created a protected zone of
6-9 width with compensation to landlords and agricultural facilities.

Vladimir Markaryan, the adviser to ArmRosgazprom’s general director
announced that the main goal of renovation was providing maximum amount
of natural gas through Iran-Armenia pipeline to gas distribution
stations of Yerevan-1 and Sovetashen-2, and from here to Yerevan
Thermal Power Plant, to gas-holder and to other facilities. In winter
threshold the pipeline will allow to transport 6 million cubic meters
of gas daily.

"ARMENIA PROUD OF ITS CHESS ART": BBC REPORTER WANTS TO FIND OUT SECRET OF OUR VICTORIES

Panorama.am
18:39 28/09/2009

David Edmonds from BBC enjoys much Armenians playing chess and their
victories; hence he traveled to Armenia to find out the secret of
those victories.

The reporter tells in his story that he speaks not a word of Armenian,
and the first man he met in Armenia spoke not a word of English. He
was much surprised to hear that the drivers name taking hi to the
city center from the airport was Tigran Petrosian.

"This seems a weird coincidence. In 1963, his namesake, Tigran
Petrosian, had defeated Mikhail Botvinnik to take the world chess
title," BBC reporter writes.

He recollects that tens of thousands of people gathered in Opera Square
in the capital Yerevan, to watch the games being displayed on giant
boards, as the moves were relayed from Moscow. From that moment on,
chess became a national obsession.

"My driver, Tigran, was not the only Tigran I met. Tigran is an
ancient Armenian name. Tigran the Great built a vast empire here
in Roman times. But since the chess conquests of Tigran Petrosian,
Tigrans have multiplied. Tigran Xmalian is a director, who has made
a film that uses chess to tell the history of modern Armenia. It is
a tragic story," writes the reporter.

It is said that since the late 1980s, Armenia has experienced
a catastrophic earthquake, war with Azerbaijan and economic
collapse. Tigran Xmalian told to the BBC reporter that chess offers
the people hope – the chance of salvation. For in chess every pawn
can become a queen.

"Later I meet the president of the Armenian Chess Federation. The
interview had taken months to arrange. That may seem odd until
you realise that in his spare time, he is also president of the
country. His cabinet consists of two Tigrans – the prime minister
and the finance minister," David Edmonds writes.

Armenian President told the BBC reporter, as it is written in
the story, that the state already offers free training to the most
promising players, and a guaranteed salary (equivalent to the average
wage) to any Armenian who reaches the elite title of grandmaster.

The president told that it is planned to introduce chess into the
school curriculum. "We don’t want people to know Armenia just for
the earthquake and the genocide," President said as BBC writes. "We
would rather it was famous for its chess."

The BBC reporter had a meeting with another Tigran Petrosian who is
chess grand master. Tigran Petrosian junior said that he hopes to
make the Armenian side that will defend its gold medal in 2010. He
said the name gives him a good feeling but it is too much pressure at
the same time as with that name everyone expects him to win every game.

Another Armenian GM Levon Aronian has been called to be the equivalent
of David Beckham as a spectator told BBC.

The tournament held in Jermuk is called the Tigran Petrosian Memorial
Tournament. Reporter concludes his story pointing that the world
champion, who died two decades ago, would have turned 80 this year.

Tert.am
11:56 ¢ 25.09.09

U.S. Congressman Against Creation of Historical Commission: Says No
Disputing Armenian Genocide

Armenian Council of America (ACA) representatives met with
U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff and discussed recent developments on the
Armenian Genocide resolution, US-Armenia relations, Armenia-Turkey
relations, and the Obama administration’s policies toward Armenia and
Artsakh, announced a statement from the Armenian Council of America.

Specifically, the Congressman reiterated his position on the
protocols, stating, `While I welcome what may be an important step in
the rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey and hope that the
upcoming talks result in a swift opening of full diplomatic and
commercial relations between Ankara and Yerevan, as well as a
reopening of the border, I have serious concerns about some provisions
of the protocols accompanying the announcement.’

`In particular, I was deeply disappointed to see that the protocols
call for the creation of an historical commission to review the events
of 1915-23. This is a thoroughly discredited idea; there is no dispute
among scholars that the Armenian people were the subject of genocide
during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire and an historical
commission is another effort to obfuscate the truth.’

`Turkey cannot be allowed to re-write this tragic part of its history
as a price for normal relations with Armenia. To do so means
acquiescence in a charade that demeans the memory of so many victims.

`True reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish peoples will
occur when Turkey acknowledges the genocide that was committed by the
Ottoman Empire against Armenians from 1915 – 1923. The Armenian
Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th Century, resulted in the
deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children and the sorrow
that the Armenian people carry in their hearts cannot be healed by
diplomatic relations alone,’ said Congressman Schiff.

Tert.am

ARMENTEL CUTS WHOLESALE INTERNET PRICES; PLANS ADDITIONAL FIBRE, 3G INVESTMENT

Thursday, 24 September 2009
Armenia

ArmenTel, which markets itself under the Beeline banner of its parent
company Vimpelcom, has announced a 15%-20% reduction in wholesale
internet access prices, PanARMENIAN.Net reports. The price cut took
effect on 15 September, following an agreement made with the regulator
the Public Services Regulation Commission (PSRC).

ArmenTel’s managing director Igor Klimko is also quoted as saying that
the company intends to increase bandwidth capacity and next year will
begin making ‘significant investments in additional fibre-optic lines’,
including a Vimpelcom-backed plan to connect its Georgian and Armenian
infrastructures via a unified network. Elsewhere, Vimpelcom’s Alexander
Torbakhov and Boris Nemsic told reporters the firm is looking to
invest heavily this year to expand its 3G network. Boris Nemsic said:
‘Beeline will make more investments in the next 3-4 months than it
has already invested over 2009.’

TU-154 "BLACK BOXES" PARTLY TRANSCRIBED

News.am
11:12 / 09/24/2009

Experts transcribed half of TU-154 flight-data recorders and are
currently studying the information, ISNA reports referring to Ahmad
Majidi, Head of Crisis Working Group investigating the Caspian Airlines
TU-154 air crash.

According to him, "black boxes" were seriously damaged, however the
experts do their best to transcribe the whole data and announce cause
of the tragedy.

As NEWS.as informed earlier, TU-154 heading Tehran-Yerevan crashed
near Qazvin city (Iran) on 15 July, 2009. All 168 passengers abroad
(citizens of Iran, Armenia and Georgia) and crew members were
reported dead.

PARIS TO HOST UNESCO’S GENERAL CONFERENCE ON OCTOBER 6-23

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.09.2009 23:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ UNESCO’s 35th General conference is scheduled for
October 6-23 in Paris. Participant are expected to approve Irina
Bokova’s candidacy in the post of General Director. Elected by 58
members of UNESCO’s Executive Board, Bokova will become organization’s
first female leader.

General Conference is UNESCO’s superior body which brings together
193 member states partially governed by ministers. Active participants
are usually Presidents and government leaders who carry out official
visit to UNESCO in that period.

Conference determines Organization’s policy and principal
trends. Particularly, it approves a two-year program and
budget. Participants also adopt international legal documents
concerning UNESCO’s competences. Every two years, Conferemce also
renews Executive Board staff, electing some of its members. UNESCO
General Director is elected or re-elected for the term of 4 years.