ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT SETS UP HOTLINE
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
27.05.2009 13:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ For a more efficient discussion of citizens’
complaints and to ensure transparency of its activities, the Armenian
government has set up a hotline. Citizens can express their concerns
by calling 52-70-00 or sending an e-mail to [email protected], the
government’s information center said.
AMBASSADOR OF BENIN HANDS COPY OF HIS CREDENTIALS TO RA FOREIGN MINISTER
NOYAN TAPAN
MAY 26, 2009
YEREVAN
On May 26, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received newly
appointed Ambassador of Benin to RA Ayi Visinto d’Almeida (residence
Moscow) on the occasion of the ceremony of handing the copy of
credentials. The Minister expressed the hope that the accreditation
of the first Ambassador of Benin will contribute to development of
bilateral contacts.
The Ambassador, in his turn, stated that Benin is interested in
establishment of cooperation with Armenia in various spheres, and
his appointment is the evidence of that wish.
According to the RA Foreign Ministry Press and Information
Department, during the talk both sides attached importance to
deepening of cooperation between Armenia and Benin within the
framework of international organizations, especially UN, as well as
the International Organization of Francophonie.
AREG GALSTYAN: ANY COUNTRY CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW NUCLEAR POWER UNIT
Anna Nazaryan
"Radiolur"
26.05.2009 18:07
The 4th forum on "Nuclear energy and energy security" was held in
Yerevan today under the auspices of NATO. Specialists from different
countries participated in the forum. "It’s very important for Armenia
to listen to the opinions and remarks of specialists before the
construction of a new nuclear power plant," Deputy Foreign Minister
of Energy and Natural Resources Armenia Areg Galstyan said.
Speaking about the construction of a new power unit, the Deputy
Minister said it would be built with application of modern
technologies.
On May 13 the Australian Worley Parsons Company won the tender for
construction of the new nuclear power unit. This Australian Company
will help the Armenian Government to organize the whole process. Worley
Parsons represents several American, Australian and European affiliate
companies.
Areg Galstyan assures that the construction of the new unit is
going to be open, transparent, and any country can participate in
the process. Will it be safe to involve Turkey in the construction
works? "Even the neighbor countries can participate in this business
if they wish so. The nuclear power point produces energy," the Deputy
Minister stated.
The construction of the new unit will cost about $5 billion. The
construction works will, most probably, start at the end of 2010 or
at the beginning of 2011, Areg Galstyan informed.
TURKEY’S POLICY TOWARDS ARMENIA OPTIMAL
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
26.05.2009 15:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey’s Ambassador to Russia Halil Akinci said
his country’s policy towards Armenia is optimal.
"The closed border is not the only problem. There are also relations
between Turkey and Azerbaijan which are described as one nation two
states. There are also differences on historical facts," he said.
"We endeavor to have good relations with neighbors. We have launched
flights to Armenia. However, establishment of diplomatic relations
should go parallel to resolution of the Karabakh problem," the
ambassador said.
"Our President was in Yerevan last year . This visit was a sign of
good will. Now it’s Armenia’s turn to take steps. It’s our sincere wish
to have all borders in the Caucasus open," he concluded, RBC reported.
Turkey’s leadership is more than ready for a solution
By Jasper Mortimer
24 May 09
Cyprus Mail
Letter from Ankara
A NEW momentum seems to be developing. In the past four weeks, Turkey
has sent a series of signals that it wants a settlement in Cyprus; that
the negotiators haven’t got `all day’, they must move.
Cypriots have seen so many initiatives to resolve their division that
they’ve grown sceptical. `We’ve been here before,’ is the standard
response. But the latest signals are interesting.
April 21: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells reporters
he wants to see a solution in Cyprus `by the end of 2009′.
April 22: Erdogan says he will not brook any interference in the
settlement negotiations by the winning party in the Turkish Cypriot
elections whose leader, Dervis Eroglu, has long championed partition.
`A new government has emerged,’ Erdogan said. `It will be a wrong
approach to say that this government will end the talks or that the
talks will be conducted on a different basis. We will not be
supporting any step that will weaken the hand of the (Turkish Cypriot)
president.’
May 5: President Demetris Christofias and his Turkish Cypriot
counterpart Mehmet Ali Talat decide that their aides, George Iacovou
and Ozdil Nami, will meet more often in a bid to expedite the
problem-solving.
May 6: Turkey’s new foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, flies to north
Cyprus for talks with Talat only 24 hours after being sworn in.
It is traditional for Turkey’s foreign minister to go to Cyprus on his
first trip abroad, but my colleague, Simon Bahceli, who covered the
visit for this publication, said Davutoglu distinguished himself by not
taking a swipe at Greek Cypriots.
`All sides should be especially careful to avoid negatively affecting
the talks,’ Davutoglu told reporters in north Nicosia.
`Our final aim is to bring peace to Cyprus and make it a centre of
peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.’
In an editorial, this paper commended Davutoglu for avoiding the
political phrases that annoy Greek Cypriots, and described his comments
as `the most moderate and reasonable ever made by a Turkish foreign
minister.’
Davutoglu is an Istanbul-educated professor of international relations
who earned the nickname of Turkey’s Henry Kissinger for his role in
reviving foreign policy as a prime ministerial adviser.
He believes Turkey can enhance its stature in the world by greater
engagement in its own region ` making peace with Armenia, shuttling
between Israel and Hamas, etc. As an advocate of EU membership,
Davutoglu would see big advantages for Turkey from promoting a
settlement in Cyprus.
I asked Hugh Pope, the author of the International20Crisis Group’s
report on Cyprus last year, what he thought of these developments.
`There is a sense of urgency, and it will increase chances of success,’
he replied.
Two factors contribute to the urgency. First, Talat faces election for
the Turkish Cypriot presidency in April next year. His party’s defeat
in last month’s legislative elections showed his domestic policies have
been judged a failure ` primarily on economic grounds.
The negotiations with Christofias have become the last standing pillar
of his presidency. If the talks fail, he will have little to point to
at election time.
Ankara also knows that Talat is its best option for a settlement. If
Talat loses the elections, his likely successor ` probably Eroglu `
would raise the bar of Turkish Cypriot demands. Christofias knows this
too.
The second factor impelling Ankara towards a settlement is its own
agenda with the European Union. Of the 35 chapters that Turkey must
work through in its accession process, eight are frozen because of the
refusal to open its ports and airports to Cypriot traffic; two are
frozen by Cypriot veto and five by French veto, according to the EU
office in Ankara.
Moreover, a further 10 chapters ` where Turkey has fulfilled the
criteria ` cannot be officially closed until Ankara agrees to admit
Cypriot ships and planes. This is what the EU decided in20December 2006
when it penalised Turkey for discriminating against Cypriot traffic.
The EU is due to review that decision in December, and it may impose
additional penalties. Whatever is decided, Turkey will survive, but the
day is approaching when Turkey `is not going to have any chapters to
talk about with the EU’, as Pope put it, unless there is a settlement
in Cyprus.
What often strikes me is the tremendous scepticism, if not cynicism,
about the negotiations. A Turkish diplomatic correspondent told me this
month that Christofias was dragging out the talks. When I asked a
Turkish diplomat about the recent signals, he said Ankara wanted a
solution in Cyprus `as soon as possible’ and it was only because of
Christofias’ `trickery’ that the talks would not be finishing in June,
as the Turkish side had originally intended.
As I write this, Christofias is meeting Talat for the 28th session of
negotiations. As one of many reporters, I covered three of their
meetings last year and my favourite memory is of Christofias taking
Talat by the arm for a private word off-microphone on September 3.
Talat put his head down and listened. There was more hope for a
settlement in their body language at that moment than in what they said
at the press conference.
I try to tell my Turkish colleagues that Talat wouldn’t tolerate
Christofias’ taking his arm if Demetris were stringing him along. But
the fact is the 2004 Annan Plan is embedded in Turkish minds as a fair
and balanced settlement.
Turks believe the current talks should only fine-tune `Annan 7′ to make
it acceptable to Greek Cypriots. And 28 meetings are quite enough for
that.
Turks do not appreciate that Christofias has to make significant
changes to the Annan Plan to get a package that will make Greek
Cypriots overturn their massive `No’ vote of 2004 and vote for a
settlement.
South of the Green Line are thousands of Greek Cypriots who profoundly
distrust Turkey. They believe Ankara’s generals have the final say, and
the generals will never agree to leave the unsinkable aircraft carrier
that is north Cyprus.
Proponents of this view can point to the Admiral Ozden Ornek diaries.
In these, the commander of the Turkish navy recorded meetings in early
2004 in which generals opposed to the chief of staff and Erdogan spoke
of plotting a coup. One motive was to pre-empt a troop withdrawal from
Cyprus in compliance with the Annan Plan.
The plot never went far ` Ornek found the principal plotters `overly
ambitious’ ` but when the diaries were published in 2007, they were
seen as revealing just how strongly the military objected to leaving
Cyprus.
I asked Pope if, once Talat and Christofias had reached a settlement,
Erdogan would be able to get the generals to implement it.
`Definitely,’ he replied. `The 2004 deal showed that once there is a
decision made, and it’s a good one that everyone’s comfortable with,
the Turkish Army does not object. It can’t object. Yes, there were some
generals who were absolutely delighted that the Greek Cypriots voted
down the Annan Plan, but they had agreed to go along with it.’
In a way, the Ornek diaries confirm what Pope is saying. The plotting
generals realised that the only way to stop the Annan Plan was to seize
power. They saw that the government and their chief of staff were
serious. In that sense, the plotters had more faith in Turkey’s ability
to withdraw than many Greek Cypriots.
ABB leader in mortgage credit placement within KFW program
23.05.2009 12:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armbusinessbank (ABB) is the leader in mortgage
credit placement within KFW program in Armenia, the bank’s press
office reported.
156 clients got mortgage credits totaling AMD 931.8 million.
In April 2006 Ukrainian Ukrprombank purchased 35% shares of the
Arminvestbank. In mid-April the Christies Management Company,
registered on the British Virginia Islands, bought the 30% share of
the bank and. In June 2006 Ukrainian Alfa-Garant Insurance Company
purchased the remaining 35% shares of the Arminvestbank.
The decision on renaming the bank to Armbusinessbank was unanimously
accepted at the special meeting of the shareholders of the
Arminvestbank on August 10.
Bank is a member of SWIFT, Western Union, Anelik, Contact, as well as
ArCa and MasterCard.
The bank has 18 branches: 8 in Yerevan, and branches in Gyumri,
Vanadzor, Kajaran, Talin and also in NKR – Stepanakert, Martuni,
Hadrut, Askeran, Martakert and Armavir.
As of 30 November 2008, the bank has 347 employees.
As of 31 March 2009: total capital – 6 828 739 thousand dram, the
assets – 46 322 881 thousand dram, the liabilities – 39 494 142
thousand dram.
Eurasian Development Bank intends to open a branch in Armenia and
implement 2-3 large investment projects
2009-05-23 13:02:00
ArmInfo. The Eurasian Development Bank intends to open a branch in
Armenia and implement 2-3 large investment projects, Armenian Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan said, Friday, when replying
to ArmInfo correspondent’s question.
He said that within the frames of the sitting of the Council of CIS
prime ministers, he met Chairman of Board of the Eurasian Development
Bank Igor Finogenov. "We discussed issues directly related to
investment projects to be implemented by the bank in Armenia",- the
prime minister said. In particular, Armenia has become the third
country-founder of EDB. He added that in summer 2009 the EDB is going
to visit Armenia, and this visit will cover various investment
projects, one of them in the sphere of ore-mining industry. "Armenian
banks can’t implement large investment projects, and the Eurasian Bank
can do this",- he stressed.
To recall, on February 3 the Armenian parliament ratified the agreement
"On creation of the Eurasian Development Bank", founders of which are
Russia and Kazakhstan. Armenia’s share participation in the bank will
initially make up $100 thsd allocated from the government’s emergency
fund. The invested amount will allow the Armenian party to fully
participate in management of the bank, and during distribution of
profit to receive a share commensurable with its participation.
Armenia’s participation in EDB will give an opportunity to attract
funds when reforming the country’s infrastructures, developing
agriculture, industry, ore-mining industry. The energy sphere will most
of all benefit from Armenia’s participation in EDB capital. In
particular, large projects will be implemented – construction of a new
power unit of Armenian Nuclear Power Plant , Meghri, Lori-Berd and
Shnogh hydro-power plants, as well as laying of Iran-Armenia railway
mainline.
ARMENIA TO CONTRIBUTE $1 MILLION TO EURASEC ANTI-CRISIS FUND
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
20.05.2009 17:14 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ EurAsEC Financial and Economic Policy Council has
adopted an anti-crisis action plan and set up an anti-crisis fund, Vice
Premier and Finance Minister of Russia Alexei Kudrin told reporters
following the EurAsEC session that was held in Moscow on May 20.
EurAsEC member states coordinated their aggregate contribution to the
EurAsEC anti-crisis fund which it to amount to $10 billion. According
to Alexei Kudrin, Belarus will determine its individual contribution
by the end of May 20.
Russia will contribute $7.5 billion, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Armenia – $1 million each; Kazakhstan will allocate $1 billion.
The countries do not plan to fill the fund right away. "We will
discuss the replenishment of the fund and reaching $10 billion as
the money is utilized," Alexei Kudrin explained. He informed that the
fund will start working as soon as the relevant agreement is ratified
which might take up to three months, BelTA reported.
4TH ANNUAL ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN CALIFORNIA
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
20.05.2009 01:24 GMT+04:00
California State Assembly member Kevin de Leon has once again joined
LA City Council President Eric Garcetti along with a large list
of elected officials who will co-sponsor the 4th Annual Armenian
Independence Day Festival in Little Armenia, Asbarez reports.
Among the distinguished politicians set to join the Armenian Community
of Southern California are Assemblymember Paul Krekorian and California
State Assembly member Mike Feuer, who will be unveiling the Little
Armenia Freeway sign. The Festival will take place on Sunday, on
Hollywood Boulevard, between Vermont and Alexandria streets.
"We thank our elected officials for their support of this special
event and their continued support of the Armenian American community,"
said Festival Committee Chairman Tro Tchekidjian.
The large scale block party will feature a variety of cultural
displays, musical and dance performances, traditional ethnic food,
and vendors. The festival will also have a kid’s zone, which includes
a petting zoo, pony rides, and various games and rides.
Among the various entertainers that will perform at the festival are
Harout Pamboukjian, Joseph Krikorian, Sahag Sisslian, Ara Shahbazian,
Artin Bedrossian, Arno, Harout Hagopian, Antoine, Erovaski, and
Armenian dance groups.
The Annual Armenian Festival in Little Armenia is the largest
of its kind and is organized by the Armenian Independence Day
Festival Committee, under the auspices of the Armenian Cultural
Foundation. The festival marks the 91st anniversary of Armenian
Independence declared on May 28, 1918 following almost 600 years of
Ottoman Turkish oppression.
The First Republic of Armenia established on this date set the
foundation for today’s independent Republic of Armenia, which was
one of the first former Soviet Republics to declare independence on
September 21, 1991.
ANYWAY, WHICH THE REASON IS WHY THE REPUBLICAN AND THE BHK PARTIES FIGHT
HAKOB BADALYAN
LRAGIR.AM
11:36:10 – 19/05/2009
The relations between the Republican and the Bargavach Hayastan
(Prosperous Armenia, BHK) parties became one of the central topics
of the electoral campaign of the Yerevan Mayor election. Almost
everyone wants to understand, if the fights between the activists of
the Republican and the BHK have an imitative character or they are
natural. For example, Aharon Adibekyan thinks that the Republican and
the BHK parties are fighting seriously because they have to divide
the Yerevan posts.
Somebody else thinks that the Republican and the BHK parties are
engaged in imitative fights in order to persuade the public that the
BHK is opposition for the Republican Party, so the BHK will seize votes
from the opposition, from the Armenian National Congress. Those of
this opinion reason it by the presumption that in the end the BHK and
the Republican will form a coalition in Yerevan too and will continue
their peaceful partnership.
These are the two main opinions around of which there are numerous
other opinions. The situation is interesting because all the opinions
are reasoned and preconditioned. In other words, the Republican and
the BHK conflict has natural grounds and, at the same time, it has
an imitative nature too, not from the point that it is organized but
from the point that it is expedient.
The point is that in this way, the election gains a motivation for both
of the Republican and the BHK parties. Of course, this motivation
already exists by the opposition, the struggle against which is
enough to team the Republican and the BHK parties up and to unite them
against one "enemy" in the electoral process. And, this means that the
Republican and the BHK parties, which "make" the elections in Armenia,
may grow dull because of idleness and may not be able to be in a good
state on the day of the election. Consequently, they do not have to
wait for the oppositional aggression and they have to create some
internal hearths of aggression, with which probably the two parties
are busy now: they are training before the day of the election.
But, this training is not just exercise but a competition as
well. After all, after each election the government divides the
"booty". This division is not made on the principle of beautiful
eyes. In order to get much you need to have a greater contribution in
the victory against the public. The Republican and the BHK parties
today are fighting to have much contribution in the victory. But,
there is a nuance. The Republican Party is not trying to increase its
contribution but not to let the BHK have more contribution than usual
in order not to let the present quota of the division of the booty
be confused. In other words, the Republican tries to do everything
possible not to let the BHK contribution be more than during the
last state elections, and if it is possible even to decrease it,
so they will be able to give less to the BHK now than at the last
presidential elections.
Although, this fact does not mean that the BHK becomes a force,
which would not like electoral breaches to take place. Probably,
the opposite: while combating with the Republican Party, the BHK does
not strive for free and fair elections, but it wants the Republican
to rig its votes more that those of the HAK, because in this case
the Republican will be in debt with the BHK. In other words, the
BHK needs the votes not for a legal government, but for "selling"
them to the illegal government. In this question, the BHK has a real
and sincere clash of interests with the Republican Party.