Author: Tumanian Talar

AZERBAIJAN CONCERNED BY TURKEY-ARMENIA THAW

Hurriyet
April 3 2009
Turkey

ANKARA – A bid to open the border between Turkey and Armenia faces
strong opposition in Azerbaijan, with the country’s foreign minister
saying Turkey would act against Azerbaijan’s interests if it normalizes
relations with Armenia before a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict

Azerbaijan expressed concern late Thursday at the prospect of the
border being opened between its old foe Armenia and Turkey, where
U.S. President Barack Obama is set to visit next week.

Azerbaijani politicians and pundits believe that an open border with
Turkey would ease Armenia’s regional isolation and encourage it to
maintain the status quo on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

With growing signs of a thaw in relations between Turkey and Armenia
after a century of hostility, the chances of Ankara opening the
frontier it closed in 1993 have improved sharply. The Wall Street
Journal reported the potential deal on Thursday, and said it could
be unveiled as soon as April 16, when Turkey’s foreign minister is
expected to fly to the Armenian capital.

The Turkish and Armenian governments have agreed on terms to open
formal talks in three areas: opening and fixing borders, restoring
diplomatic relations and setting up commissions to look at disputes,
including the reported killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915.

Azerbaijan’s interests

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said Thursday that
Turkey would be acting against his country’s national interests
if it normalizes relations with Armenia before the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is resolved. "If the border is opened before Armenian troops’
withdrawal from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, it will run
counter to Azerbaijan’s national interests. We have conveyed this
opinion to the Turkish leadership," Mammadyarov told journalists
during a visit to Georgia.

Turkey closed its 268-kilometer border with Armenia in 1993 to protest
Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan,
following a bloody war. That conflict remains unresolved. But an
accord would be seen in Western capitals as a major potential success
that could help open up and stabilize the Caucasus, a region that is
studded with unresolved conflicts and hostile borders, and saw war
between Russia and Georgia in August.

Normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia would "create a new
and positive dynamic" in relations across the region, "as well as
in developing the economic and transport links we have been pursuing
ever since the collapse of the former Soviet Union," said U.S. Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew
J. Bryza, the State Department’s point man in the Caucasus.

But if the United States proceeds with the genocide resolution
introduced in Congress and dealing with the 1915 events, "I cannot
imagine any Turkish government opening the Armenian border," said
Ozgur Unluhisarcıklı, director of the Ankara office of the think
tank German Marshall Fund of the United States. Unluhisarcıklı
said he believes Turkey and Armenia will not be ready to sign a deal
before April 24, and that Turkey will instead "signal" its commitment
to reopen the borders in hopes that will be enough for Washington.

"Any durable reconciliation has got to be built upon Turkey’s
acceptance of its past, and that is acknowledging the Armenian
genocide," said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian
National Committee, a U.S.-based lobbying group.

The extent of Armenia’s isolation was demonstrated by the
Georgia-Russia war last August, which involved the Georgian
government’s armed attack on South Ossetia and also showed the
limitations of American and European Union influence in the
region. When Russia cut off Georgia’s main east-west railway by
blowing up a bridge, it also cut off the dominant supply route to
Armenia, a close Russian ally. Additionally, the conflict showed the
vulnerability of pipelines that have been carrying oil and natural
gas from Azerbaijan to Western markets via Georgia since 2006 and were
targeted unsuccessfully during the Georgia war. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline carries 1 million barrels of crude oil per day to Turkey’s
Mediterranean coast.

Conference in Baku

A conference on the bilateral relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan
will be held with the participation of parliamentarians from both
countries in Baku from April 13 to 15, said Sabir Rustamkhanli, the
chairman of the Citizen Solidarity Party. Rustamkhanli added that
the chairman of the Motherland Party, Fazail Agamali, is in Turkey
to resolve organizational issues around the conference.

The Nagorno-Karabakh issue

Politically and geographically, Nagorno-Karabakh is far from the
European Union and the United States. As is true of most disputed
areas, some find the situation of this contested former territory
of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic to be a murky one and it
is difficult to determine which side Ä~^ Armenian or Azerbaijani Ä~^
to fully support.

Materialistically, fossil-fuel-rich Azerbaijan is the greater
prize. There is also a degree of understandable sympathy for the tragic
past of the Armenian people and some have expressed apprehension over
the human-rights situation in Azerbaijan and, to a lesser extent,
Armenia.

In 1988, Armenia occupied 20 percent of Nagorno-Karabakh and
seven surrounding regions. In late December 1991, Azerbaijan
lost Nagorno-Karabakh, except for Shusha and Khojali; by 1993,
the Armenian Armed Forces occupied those regions as well. In 1994,
the two countries signed a cease-fire agreement that ended active
hostilities. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, including Russia,
France and the U.S., are currently holding peaceful, but so far
fruitless negotiations between the rival states.

U.S. PRESIDENT LAUNCHES EUROPEAN TOUR

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2009 21:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. President Barack Obama leaves Tuesday on his
first visit to Europe as president.

He will travel first to London for a summit of the G-20 industrialized
and developing nations, which will focus on the global economic crisis.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Saturday that the President
and the United States are going to listen in London, as well as lead.

Mr. Obama also has plans to meet on the sidelines of the summit with
a host of world leaders, including the British and Indian prime
ministers, the presidents of China and Russia, and the king of
Saudi Arabia.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: TIMELY PAYMENT OF SALARIES, PENSIONS AND BENEFITS MOST IMPORTANT TASK OF GOVERNMENT

ARKA
Apr 1, 2009

KAPAN, April 1. /ARKA/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan considered
timely payment of salaries, pensions and social benefits a most
important task of the government.

The President made this statement at the target meeting in regional
administration of Siunik of Armenia where problems of the mining
industry under the global crisis, further steps and social measures
to be taken were discussed.

Sargsyan said that no cuts of wages, pensions and social benefits
are to take place and that the payments will be made in time.

Any delay in paying salaries and pensions will be considered
negligence, President said.

THE TORCH OF LIBERTY
By Rosario Teixeira

1/the-torch-of-liberty/
March 31, 2009

WATERTOWN, Mass.-This year, the Armenian genocide commemorative
billboard is scheduled to go up in Watertown, on Arsenal Street,
on April 6. In the middle of the billboard, the torch of liberty
is urging the United States to officially recognize the Armenian
genocide. The commemorative billboard is sponsored by Peace of Art,
Inc., a non-profit organization which uses art as an educational
tool to bring awareness to the universal human condition, and promote
peaceful solutions to conflict. Peace of Art, Inc. is not associated
with political or religious organizations.

Around the same time that the Armenian genocide commemorative billboard
will be installed, President Obama will visit Turkey as part of his
international tour. It has been speculated that he may influence the
opening of the borders between Turkey and Armenia.

Everyone has been following President Obama as he engages in carrying
the torch of liberty and attempts to open dialogue for peace and
cooperation with all nations. The Armenia Diaspora has been following
President Obama as well, and waiting for the official recognition of
the Armenian genocide by the U.S.

"Political compromise is not a solution to this problem," said Daniel
Varoujan Hejinian, the founder of Peace of Art, Inc. He added that
recognition of the Armenian genocide will contribute to discouraging
future use of genocide as a socio-political solution. "In addition,
it will contribute to the political stabilization in the region, and
it will improve and normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey."

For more information about Peace of Art, Inc., and to view the Armenian
genocide commemorative billboards previously sponsored by Peace of Art,
please log onto

G20 MUST TAKE RADICAL MEASURES TO AVOID SLUMP, SAYS NICK CLEGG

guardian.co.uk
Press Association
Monday 30 March 2009 10.01 BST

Liberal Democrat leader warns that failure to agree on immediate
action could lead to a ‘dangerous market stampede’

Radical measures must be decided at the G20 summit or it could become
the "fateful moment" when the global recession lurches into an outright
slump, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said today.

Clegg said the meeting of world leaders in London this week was one of
"immense psychological importance" and warned that failure to agree
on immediate action could lead to a "dangerous market stampede".

Disunity could spark further panic among jittery markets, sending the
world economy into "freefall" and raising the spectre of a 1930s-style
depression.

Speaking ahead of the gathering on Thursday, Clegg said: "A grand
one-day summit cannot alone deliver us out of the global economic
crisis.

"But its timing, and the expectations raised, means that this week’s
meeting is of immense psychological importance. People desperately
need to see that their leaders are able to work together, take radical
decisions, and stick to a plan that offers hope.

"If not, this summit could become the fateful moment when recession
lurches into outright slump."

He called on the G20 to convey a sense to the world that there was
a way out of the current crisis or there could be "chaos" in the
financial markets.

Public disengagement from the political process could lead to a vacuum
that could be filled by "populism, manipulation and hate", he added.

He said: "There is a very real prospect that if the G20 does not
agree immediate action that re-injects confidence into financial
markets there will be yet another dangerous market stampede.

"The nerves of investors and institutions have already shown themselves
to hinge on the certainty provided by governments.

"Disunity and half-measures could well spark further panic, sending
the world’s economy into freefall and raising the spectre of a
1930s-style depression."

But there were obligations on opposition politicians not to will
negotiations to fail otherwise there could be a wholesale withdrawal
from mainstream politics.

He added: "We are at a psychological tipping point. History teaches
us that economic meltdown can lead to despair, despair to fury,
and fury to violence and extremism.

"We are on the verge of a profound disengagement from conventional
politics.

And the space that creates is too easily filled by populism,
manipulation and hate.

"It is the responsibility of all politicians to stop this, and that
means getting behind the G20 summit. Of course we must not suspend
scrutiny and we must continue unequivocally to speak out for what’s
right.

"But we must set aside the shallow wrangling. We cannot afford to
undermine the G20, we have to make it work."

Meanwhile religious leaders today urged the G20 leaders not to forget
their commitment to the world’s poorest people.

In a statement, they called on politicians to pay special attention to
the poor and vulnerable and state that "to forget their needs would be
to compound regrettable past failures with needless future injustices".

While acknowledging the "sheer complexity" of the challenge facing
politicians, the statement called on them to restore "that lost sense
of balance between the requirements of market mechanisms that help
deliver increased prosperity, and the moral requirement to safeguard
human dignity, regardless of economic or social category".

Figures including the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the
archbishop of Westminster, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the chief rabbi,
Sir Jonathan Sacks, and the secretary-general of the Muslim Council
of Britain, Dr Mohammed Abdul Bari, have signed the statement.

Murphy-O’Connor said: "At a time of economic difficulty, it is
important for all political leaders not to forget their promises to
the world’s poor. We pray for the poor, vulnerable and marginalised
and also for the political leaders in their deliberations this week
as we seek to create a more just world."

Williams said people had high expectations of the meeting.

He added: "As religious leaders, we shall be praying that these
expectations will be met and that the gathered politicians will be
inspired to share a word of hope with all of us."

Among the 32 signatories are the chairman of the Christian-Muslim
Forum, Dr Musharraf Hussain Azhari, the general secretary of the Hindu
Council UK, Anil Bhanot, and the primate of the Armenian Orthodox
Church of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 28 2009

Turkey `hawk’ touted as Obama’s man for Europe

By Stefanos Evripidou

THE US Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave President Barack
Obama’s next `man in Europe’ a grilling over his apparent
`pro-Turkish’ stance during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.

Obama nominated Philip H. Gordon, a Senior Fellow for US Foreign
Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, to replace Daniel
Fried as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs.

However, during his hearing, Gordon came under fire from Democrat
Senator Robert Menendez for his apparent pro-Turkish views, expressed
during his career as academic and analyst, and his reported
unwillingness to recognise Turkish occupation of a third of Cyprus.

The Senator also raised the issue of Gordon’s opposition to US
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, due to the crisis it would stoke
in Turkey.

According to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), the US Senator held a
private meeting with Gordon before the hearing which failed to
convince the New Jersey senator that his views in office would be
impartial and not affected by the apparent pro-Turkish views expressed
in the past.

Menendez referred to articles written by Gordon against US recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, his reaction to the Greek Cypriot rejection
of the Annan Plan in 2004 and his views on Turkey’s role in the world.

During the hearing, Menendez called on Gordon to say whether he agreed
with the statement in Obama’s pre-election campaign which referred to
a political settlement of the Cyprus issue which will end the Turkish
occupation of northern Cyprus and correct the tragic division of the
island.

Gordon replied that he agreed. However, he claimed that the view
concerning occupation was expressed by the government of Cyprus and
some experts.

He went on to claim that there is a Turkish presence in the northern
part of Cyprus which is not accepted by the Cyprus government. This is
an issue under negotiations for a solution which the US supports, he
said.

According to CNA, when Menendez indicated that the occupation was
included in Obama’s declaration on Cyprus, Gordon said he has not
changed his views on the matter.

Menendez invited Gordon to provide the committee with evidence on the
funds which he and the organisations he worked for as analyst received
and also whether they come from countries which will be under his
jurisdiction as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs.

On the issue of the Armenian Genocide, Gordon talked about `a tragedy’
that occurred to 1.5 million Armenians which must be recognised by
Turkey. In the past, he has written that the US `should stand with
Turkey in opposing efforts to punish modern Turkey for an Ottoman
`genocide’ against Armenians’ while encouraging greater honesty about
Turkey’s past.

In his testimony before the committee, Gordon said the US had to show
leadership in the Balkans. It also `must engage energetically on
enduring conflicts in Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh; support the
negotiations on a settlement in Cyprus; promote Turkey’s EU
aspirations while encouraging it to improve relations with Armenia,
Cyprus and Greece; and vigorously promote the diversification of
European energy supplies.’

Gordon noted his time under Bill Clinton on the National Security
Council staff, where he was tasked with coordinating US policy toward
NATO in the run up to its 50th anniversary. He described NATO as `the
closest, most enduring, and most powerful alliance in history’

In contrast to earlier statements, the former analyst said, if
confirmed, he looked forward to protecting `national sovereignty and
territorial integrity’ across the region and resolving the `enduring
conflicts that cause needless suffering on a daily basis’.

Given Turkey’s high profile NATO membership, its proximity to the some
of the hottest crisis zones in the world, and the key role it plays in
Europe’s plans for energy supply diversification, there is little
doubt as to Turkey’s importance in US foreign policy.

In her introduction to the hearing, presiding committee chairman,
Senator Jeanne Shaheen referred to the `critical relationship’ between
US and Turkey while noting that NATO relations would be high on
Gordon’s agenda.

`Dr. Gordon will also be responsible for managing our relations with
Turkey, a valuable NATO ally with a predominantly Muslim population in
a dangerous and geopolitically strategic location. How we define our
relationship with Turkey over the next decade will have significant
repercussions for our long-term interests abroad,’ she said.

House President Marios Garoyian said yesterday as far as he knew,
Obama’s positions on Cyprus had not changed, suggesting Gordon had
come `unprepared’ to the hearing.

Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, refrained from commenting,
saying he had yet to be briefed on the matter.

Gordon has written extensively on Turkey’s role in the world, most
recently in a co-written book called: `Winning Turkey: How America,
Europe, and Turkey Can Revive a Fading Partnership.’

The book presents a plan to restore the partnership between Turkey and
the West where the authors suggest a series of efforts, including a
political settlement in Cyprus and Turkish EU accession, to `anchor
Turkey in the West’.

In 2007, Gordon published `Winning the Right War: The Path to Security
for America and the World’ where he suggests a paradigm shift in the
`war on terror’.

One way of fighting the `right war’, Gordon writes, is to `win Turkey
back’ which requires `new efforts to repair strained relations with
Turkey, the most advanced democracy in the Muslim world’.

Regarding the need to make and maintain allies in the greater Middle
East, Gordon wrote: `In this regard, no relationship is more
important- or more at risk- than the one with the Republic of Turkey.’

On Cyprus, he wrote: `(The US) can make more of an effort to lessen
the diplomatic and economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, who in
2004 courageously- and with Ankara’s backing- supported a political
settlement on the long-divided island that the Greek side rejected.’

In 2006, he wrote that Turkey was `on the brink’ of a nationalist
backlash, referring to growing nationalist frustration with the US and
Europe.

IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF OTTOMAN TURKS BEING ARMENIAN IS SHAMEFUL
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.03.2009 GMT+04:00

The fact that Young Turks did not finish the started destruction of
the Christian population in the Empire can have only one explanation –
the mentality of a nomad, who is used to thinking only for the present
moment and not a minute forward.

April of 2009 may turn to be the most strained month for Turkey in
the last a few dozen years. Moreover, on March 29 the country is to
hold municipal elections that may finally consolidate the power of
Islamists. At least, Prime-Minister Recep Erdogan counts on that. After
the elections US President Barack Obama is to visit Turkey, and then
– April 24… There is indeed a reason for anxiety. But now let us
analyze the events in turn.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ People’s Republican Party (CHP) deputy Canan Aritman,
who was sued by a lawyer protecting the rights of the Head of State,
will have to pay moral compensation for his statement regarding
President Gul’s mother’s Armenian origin. The court of Ankara passed
a judgment saying Aritman has to compensate the moral damage done to
the President by paying 1 lira for an attempt to discredit a state
officer through spreading untruthful information on the ethnic roots
of Gul’s mother, Anatolian News Agency reports.

But let us set aside Gul’s ethic motives for appealing to
court. Naturally, he was offended because of his alleged Armenian
origin. Per se, in the consciousness of Ottoman Turks being Armenian
is still shameful, though, whoever might speak of Â"racial purityÂ",
today’s Turks ought not to. Not to mention the Armenian roots of
blood-shedding sultan Abdul-Hamid II. Let us also not forget that
majority of the Young Turks were denme (Jews that accepted Islam). But
all this is already well known among the Turks and it does not any
more arouse negative reaction in the Turkish society. But it was the
first time that the current president was blamed for Â"impureÂ"
descent. At the end of the previous year a group of Turkish
intellectuals, obviously of not purely Turkish origin, launched a
campaign "Armenians, we apologize", which did not meet the sharp
criticism of the President of Turkey. According to Canan Aritman,
the President supports the campaign.

""Look at his ethnic origins from his mother side and you will see
why he supports the Armenians."

In response to the spread rumours about his alleged Armenian origin,
President Gul stated that his offspring both from mother’s and father’s
side were pure-bred Turks and Muslims. The Turkish leader considered
it an insult and decided to appeal to court. However, the EU instantly
blamed Gul for the indiscreet reaction to the Â"insultÂ". It should
be mentioned, though, that the conduct of the President in this
situation easily fits into the characteristic features, described by
the US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morgenthau in the years
of the World War I. "The offspring of the ottoman Turks will hardly
resemble any of the people I have ever known. They don’t hate, they
don’t love, they feel neither hostility nor affection for anyone. They
only fear. And it is quite natural that they attribute the motives
of their behavior to others."

It is nearly impossible to give a more precise description to the
Turks. They fear the recognition of the Genocide, they fear the
Greeks, the Assyrians, they fear their own history and the Kurds. And
on this basis one the manifestation of the animal instinct to rob,
override and murder all those they are unable to understand can
be justified. The fact that Young Turks did not finish the started
destruction of the Christian population in the Empire can have only
one explanation – the mentality of a nomad, who is used to thinking
only for the present moment and not a minute forward. They were not
even able to establish the really new Turkish nation that Ataturk
tried to create. In the long run, the instincts of a nomad prevail
over all the other reasons, and … we have what we have: 70-million
hostile people for whom the words Â"ArmenianÂ" and Â"enemyÂ" will
always remain identical in meaning. All the remaining steps of the
Turkish diplomacy to be taken in April will proceed from this fact,
and Armenia ought to remember this always.

Barack Obama’s visit means much more to Turkey than just a usual
visit to the country to which the USA is linked only through strategic
partnership and NATO. With the help of Obama, Ankara wants to highlight
her role in the hard job of withdrawing American troops from Iraq. The
consent to give the military base "Incirlik" stands as a proof for it,
if we take into account the fact that in 2003 the Turkish Parliament
forbade American troops to pass to Iraq through Turkey. However,
the Turks are always trying to bargain and even blackmail. The most
interesting scene in all this story is going to be the reaction of
the new US Administration to the old and tested methods of Turkish
diplomacy.

Calls of various Turkish organizations remind of letters of
the Â"collective farmers and workersÂ", who Â"have not read the
story but consider it their duty to state that…Â". Chairwoman
of Turkey’s leading business association, Turkish Industrialists’
and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag sent
a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama urging him to consider the
possible implications of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The
letter particularly says: "The US and Turkey are determined to move
forward for a more intensified cooperation on several key issues under
the vision of the new American leadership. In an era when a strong
US-Turkey alliance is needed more than ever to address the challenges
of the world’s most troubled regions such as the Middle East and the
Caucasus, straining bilateral relations through such initiatives will
have negative consequences beyond Turkey-US relations.", Hurriyet
Daily News reports. And what we can do is to wait until Turkish
Foreign Minister arrives at the BSEC summit in Yerevan.

OPPOSITION HERITAGE PARTY WILL PROTEST AGAINST ATTEMPTS TO MAKE CHANGES TO LAW ON LAKE SEVAN

ArmInfo
2009-03-27 18:16:00

ArmInfo. The opposition Heritage party will protest against the
attempts to make changes to the law on Lake Sevan, the chairwoman of
the Board of the party, MP Anahit Bakhshyan said while commenting on
the possibility of introduction of amendments allowing GeoProMining
company to build an ore mining and processing factory in the Sevan
region.

Today, Bakhsyan took part in an action of protest of Armenian
ecologists against the "Sevan" appetites of GeoProMining. Bakhshyan
questions the statement of Minister of Ecology Aram Haroutyunyan that
GPM has not submitted any such project to the Ministry and has not
asked the latter to organize its ecological examination. She urges
the Ministry to prove that this project does not exist and hopes that
this protest will sober the government.

VALLETTA RELUCTANT TO POSTPONE ISSUE OF CORPORATE BONDS

ArmInfo
2009-03-28 11:56:00

ArmInfo. Due to devaluation expectations, Valletta Company, the
leader by the number of bonded loans, was reluctant to revise its
plans for the issue of the 4th tranche of corporate bonds. Valletta
Acting Financial Director Hayk Kakoyan says the company has postponed
this plan till the stabilization of the monetary market. ‘Potential
investors and the population have no free funds to invest in debt
securities. Even the banks in Armenia have suspended consumer lending’,
he said.

Prices of the third-issue bonds of Valletta have been falling in the
market recently. Arkady Pinachyan, Head of the Department for Corporate
Finance of ArmSwissBank, the market maker of Valletta, told ArmInfo
the fall of prices is connected with two major factors. First, coupon
payment on March 2 contributed to a 7.2% fall of the price for the
period from Feb 26 to March 3. Since the interest income (coupon) is
included in the price of a bond, it sharply falls after payment. Second
and the key factor of the fall of the debt securities prices is the
growth of devaluation expectation in the country. This will lead
to passivity in the market and freezing of the issuers’ plans for
entering the market with new issues. He said that after the national
dram sharply devaluated on March 3, demand for AMD bonds has plunged.

To recall, after successful repayment of the first tranche, the second
and the third issues of Valletta LLC corporate bonds are in the stock
exchange lists. In particular, the primary placement of the second
issue of non-documentary nominal coupon bonds for 500 million drams
was on November 12 2007. The face value of a bond is 50,000 drams
(10,000 bonds), maturity – 24 months, coupon yield – 10.5%.

Coupon payments are made once in 6 months. 10,000 non-documentary
nominal bonds of the third issue for 500 million drams, with 36 months
maturity and 50,000 drams face value were placed in the primary market
on July 28 2008.

The annual yield of the bonds is 11%. Payments are made once in
6 months.

BIRTH RATE IN ARMENIA INCREASES

ARMENPRESS
March 26, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: In the coming months the 2008 reports
of the Armenian health care system will be published. They include
demographic, and medical-demographic indexes of mother and child
health protection service.

Head of the Health Ministry’s Mother and Child Health Protection
Department Karine Saribekian told Armenpress that Armenia is described
as a country having low birth rate and it is not accidental that
the demographic issues are being viewed in the context of national
security. Luckily, during the recent years increase of the birth rate
and number of families having 3 and more children has been registered.

Among the factors which influence the birth, K. Saribekian singles
out the social-economic conditions, which have essential impact
on reproduction behavior, mentality, educational and traditional
values. She also underscores the implementation of programs of support
to the young families, noting that the social security has positive
impact on reproduction behavior.

Speaking about the issues in mother and child health sphere,
K. Saribekian said that the child death rate in Armenia is quite low
and during the recent years it is decreasing, nevertheless the Health
Ministry, by the implementation of different events, is trying to reach
"Millennium Goals" which demands more purposeful and serious steps.

Mother death rate in Armenia is average, as compared with the CIS
countries it is quite low but as compared with the European countries
it is rather high.

K. Saribekian said that currently the prior sterility in Armenia is
about 3.4 percent, the sterility connected with venereal diseases,
artificial interruption of pregnancy and other factors reaches
28 percent.

The head of the department also referred to process of telegenesis
in Armenia, noting that a great progress has been registered in the
sphere, in respect of technical opportunities. Though it is quite
expensive, nevertheless the number of people applying to it has
increased: only last year 150 babies were in this way.