Author: Varosian Antranik

Aysor, Armenia
April 9 2010

Serzh Sargsyan: `When did Kocharyan leave the politics?’

Today during the briefing RA president Serzh Sargsyan touched upon the
former president Robert Kocharyan’s return to the politics.

Responding to the question of the journalist the head of the country
said, `When did Kocharyan leave the politics to return now?’

`I think that Mr. Kocharyan has always been in the politics and the
nervous repercussion of some political circles that we see against any
activity Mr. Kocharyan realizes, be it a trip or expressing any idea,
seem a bit strange to me,’ the RA president said.

According to the journalist of Aysor.am it is incomprehensible for S.
Sargsyan that’ those who have never tried to lead the country, who
have not read even two books, those who cannot even appear next
Kocharyan try to teach or give advice.’

`I think that it is normal that Kocharyan expresses his viewpoint
about this or that issue. There is nothing strange,’ Serzh Sagsyan
said.

The head of the country advised some journalists and political circles
to stay apart from the overindulgences. `If their goal is to bring
some forces or some people to collision they have always reached it,’
the President summed up.

Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
April 1 2010

Moscow attack should push Russia to tackle Karabakh issue

The attacks on the Moscow metro on 29 March can become yet another
argument to convince the Russians that the Karabakh settlement should
not be delayed, the editor of the pro-opposition.

The Karabakh settlement should not be delayed because Russia’s North
Caucasus might be affected if war resumes between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan said in a comment on 1 April.

"The possibility of this war should be a very serious concern for
Russia, because the war itself would mean an uncontrollable flow of
ammunition and armed groups. Like a chain reaction, instability could
reach the North Caucasus, which is well within the range of a shell to
be fired from the possible Armenian-Azerbaijani war zone," Pashinyan
said.

The Karabakh settlement is likely to top the list of Russia’s
priorities because tension in the region has increased due to the
developments in Armenian-Turkish relations and the probability of a
new Armenian-Azerbaijani war, Pashinyan said.

The editor believed that "only the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani
and Armenian-Turkish relations can become the guarantee the prevention
of war".

The attacks in Moscow may boost Russia’s recent interest in
contributing to Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish settlements
and "this can have a decisive meaning for further developments in the
Nagornyy Karabakh issue", the editor said.

Pashinyan hinted that the Moscow attacks may have had an impact on
recent developments in the Karabakh talks, saying the blasts coincided
with a 24-hour period between two different statements from the OSCE
Minsk Group Russian co-chair, Yuriy Merzlyakov. Merzlyakov said on 28
March after meeting the Karabakh president that the Armenian side
opposes some provisions of the Madrid principles of the settlement,
but denied this statement on 29 March after meeting the Armenian
leadership in Yerevan.

"It is a little improbable that Russian diplomacy would act with such
speed," the editorial said. "It is very likely that all this is mere
coincidence. However, it is known that there are no coincidences in
politics."

NKR marks another anniversary of Maraga Tragedy

2010-04-10 13:52:00

ArmInfo. The Nagorny Karabakh Republic is marking another anniversary
of the tragedy in the village of Maraga, Mardakert region, ArmInfo
correspondent to Stepanakert reported. Maragha was one of the largest
villages of Nagorno Karabakh. It WAS because on April 10, 1992, the
Azeri’ "omon" forces broke into the peaceful village Maraga,
neighboring the Azeri town of Mirbashir. Barbaric massacre was
inflicted. 45 people were tortured to death. 49 people were taken
hostage, of them 9 children, 18 women, 3 elderly
(one of the elderly people was visually impaired). 19 of them are
still missing. The massacre continued from April 22 through April 23
when the survived residents of Maraga returned to the village to bury
the dead.

"We can’t consider the tragedy in Maragha as a war because Maragha was
not a military post, but rather a peaceful settlement. It should be
considered as a crime against humanity for which there is no
expiration date for punishment and the perpetrators must be brought to
justice sooner or later by Karabagh, as well as the international
community." This was what president of the Karabagh National Assembly
foreign relations committee Vahran Atanesyan said on April 10 during a
press conference dedicated to the "Tragic events in Maragh on April
10, 1992".

The Maraga tragedy is viewed as one of the most horrible examples of
genocide and is considered by the Karabakh side among Azerbaijan’s
bloody crimes in Getashen, Martunashen, Buzluh, Erkej and other
settlements in the north of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic at the time of
aggression in 1991-1992.

The data on Maraga victims are confirmed by different international
human rights organizations, in particular by `Helsinki Watch.’ Having
arrived at the tragedy scene Vice-Speaker of the House of Lords of the
British Parliament Caroline Cox witnessed the people bury remains of
cut up and sawed bodies, children and adults burnt alive.

Baroness Caroline Cox has described Azeri atrocities in Maraga village
in her book entitled `Ethnic cleansing continues’. In particular, Cox
waxes indignant over the fact that Azeris make high-sounding
statements and appeal to various international organizations on the
occasion of the events in khojalu, where in her words, everything was
not so unambiguous, while the Armenians having at their disposal
incontestable proofs of the atrocities present them to the
international community insufficiently actively.

The NKR believes that the tragic events in Maraga have not yet
received relevant assessment by the world community. The village is
still under Azerbaijani occupation. The survivors founded a new
village "Nor Maraga" in the place of the other ruined village. The
last census in Maraga in 1989 registered 4660 people mainly Armenians.
New Maraga has half as much residents.

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY HAVE TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

ArmInfo
2010-04-09 11:18:00

ArmInfo. Before the visit of the Turkish Foreign Ministry
Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu to Baku, Foreign Minister of Turkey
Ahmad Davutoglu had a telephone conversation with his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, trtrussian.com reported. Davutoglu said
that they got into touch before and after of each major event. During
the conversation, Davutoglu passed to Mammadyarov Sinirlioglu’s
impressions from Yerevan.

The parties also exchanged views regarding the forthcoming
Erdogan-Sargsyan meeting in Washington. Davutoglu also told his
Azerbaijani counterpart that the great part of the last meeting
between Erdogan and French President Nicolas Sarkozy was dedicated
to discussion of the issues related to the Karabakh settlement.

To recall, during the meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan,
F. Sinirlioglu passed him Turkish PM Erdogan’s proposal on holding
the bilateral meeting during the international summit on nuclear
security on April 12-13 in Washington. To also recall, S. Sargsyan
accepted this proposal.

SCHEDULE OF TURKISH PM’S VISIT TO US SET

April 9 2010
Turkey

Erdogan will hold bilateral talks with U.S. President Barack Obama
and Armenian President Serzh Sargsian during his visit to the United
States.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold bilateral talks
with U.S. President Barack Obama and Armenian President Serzh Sargsian
during his visit to the United States.

Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to arrive in Washington D.C on
April 11 to attend the nuclear security summit on April 12-13.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Energy & Natural Resources
Minister Taner Yildiz will accompany the prime minister.

During his stay in the U.S. capital city, Prime Minister Erdogan will
give a conference at the George Mason University on "the Alliance of
Civilizations as a Vision of Global Peace".

Besides U.S. President Obama and Armenian President Sargsian, Prime
Minister Erdogan will also hold bilateral talks with leaders of
several countries including Brazil, Kazakhstan, China, Ukraine and
Russia on the sidelines of the summit.

Turkey-Armenia protocols and the resolution about Armenian allegations
are expected to top agenda of the meeting between Prime Minister
Erdogan and President Obama.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Davutoglu is set to meet with U.S.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Davutoglu will also hold a series
of talks.

PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS CONCERNED OVER THE ONCOMING SARGSYAN-ERDOGAN MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 9, 2010 – 16:16 AMT 11:16 GMT

International nuclear security summit is scheduled for April 12-13
in Washington, with a meeting planned between Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in
the course of the summit.

There’s noting unexpected about Serzh Sargsyan’s agreeing to meet the
Turkish Premier in Washington, Heritage parliamentary group leader
Stepan Safaryan said.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, "Armenia can’t withdraw from
reconciliation as it’s not the only participant of rapprochement
process. Any steps in this direction could entail negative
consequences."

"Still, despite possible attempts to present the meeting as a step
towards reconciliation, Armenia-Turkey Protocols ratification process
has already exhausted itself," Stepan Safaryan emphasized.

Orinats Yerkir parliamentary group leader Heghine Bisharyan, however,
characterized the oncoming meeting as a signal of readiness to ratify
protocols without preconditions.

"Armenian leader’s agreement to meet Prime Minister Erdogan proves that
RA government’s initiative policy is open to consider any solutions
proposed," ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group leader Artsvik
Minasyan stated.

"Turkey will attempt to push forward the rapprochement process,
as well as Karabakh issue, aiming to work on fulfillment of its
precondition on Karabakh settlement," he emphasized.

RPA parliamentary group leader Galust Sahakan stressed that RA
President’s meeting with Turkish Prime Minister enables Turkey to
demonstrate its interest in proceeding with reconciliation.

Still, as he noted, reasonable time -frames, stipulated for
Armenia-Turkey ratification have long been expired, so even now,
Armenia is ready to withdraw its signature. "Armenia, however, has
to pick a favorable time to do so," he concluded.

FIRST ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN CENTER OF INNOVATIVE COOPERATION TO BE ESTABLISHED

NOYAN TAPAN
APRIL 8, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN. During the April 8 sitting, the Armenian
government approved the signing of a memorandum between the RA Ministry
of Economy and "Rossotrudnichestvo" Federal Agency of Russia. The
memorandum proceeds from the measures approved at the 14th meeting
of the heads of governments of CIS states in November 2008, as well
as from interstate agreements.

Armenian Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsian said that as a result
of signing the memorandum, an Armenian-Russian center of innovative
cooperation (the first center in a former Soviet republic) will
be established in Armenia on the basis of Rossotrudnichestvo’s
representative office. The opening of the center will take place on
April 15-17.

In the words of N. Yeritsian, the memorandum indicates 4 spheres
of innovative cooperation in various directions, in particular
the provision of advisory services, including training courses,
seminars, and conferences. Besides, assistance will be provided for
the establishment of joint ventures in Armenia and Russia.

ARMENIA — LEADING MOBILE PENETRATION COUNTRY

News.am
April 7 2010
Armenia

A round table with participation of communication field representatives
opened in Armenia. RA Minister of Transport and Communication Manuk
Vardanyan and Secretary General of International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) Hamadoun Toure, who is currently on a visit to Armenia
attended. Toure welcomed the attendees, noting that Armenia is one
of the leading countries on mobile penetration, ranking the third
after Russia and Ukraine. He also underlined that last year 100%
mobile coverage was provided in Armenia.

Manuk Vardanyan informed that currently the number of mobile
subscribers in Armenia reaches nearly 3 million, that nearly equals
country’s population.

"Year after year network providers reduce mobile rates and expand
range of services," the Minister said.

RETAIL PRICES OF OIL PRODUCTS IN ARMENIA UP 4.6%-5.8% STARING APRIL 8

ArmInfo
2010-04-08 13:02:00

ArmInfo. Starting April 8, retail prices of oil products in Armenia
have grown 4.6%- 5.8%.

Petrol Super 98 grew in price from 430 drams per liter to 450 drams,
Premium 95 from 400 drams/l to 420 drams/l and Regular 91 from 380
to 400 drmas/l. Diesel grew in price from 340 to 360 drams/l.

Deputy Director of Flash Oil Trader Company Mushegh Elchyan told
ArmInfo the growth was the result of global prices, first of all,
because Armenia is importing oil products. He said that growth rates
of the oil product prices in Armenia are lower than average global
prices. "Flash Company had not increased the prices for 20 days thanks
to its own reserves, but the new lot of fuel was purchased on the new
price and the company could no longer restrain the growth of prices,"
Elchyan said. Since the beginning of the year the global price of a
barrel grew 65% to $86. Now the global prices have been stabilized,
he said.

SERZH SARGSYAN: FOR MANY CENTURIES ARMENIA HAD CLOSE RELATIONS WITH FRANCE AND FRENCH CULTURE

ArmInfo
2010-04-07 16:18:00

Arminfo. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received today Secretary
General of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF)
Abdou Diouf.

As press-service of the president reported, the president highly
appreciated Armenia’s cooperation with OIC and said that Armenia is
committed to the values of the Organization and will make efforts
to participate in the activity of the International Organization of
the Francophonie.

For his part, expressing gratitude for the warm reception, OIF
Secretary General Abdou Diouf underlined that the relations with
Armenia considerably developed after our country joined the OIF as
an associated member in 2008, and most of all events dedicated to
Francophonie, were held in the republic in 2009.

Armenian president and OIF secretary general also touched on
possibility of further deepening of cooperation.