United Press International>Published: Sept. 13, 2007>By JOHN C.K. DALY>UPI International Correspondent>>Of the three post-Soviet Caucasian republics, Armenia in many ways>remains the most isolated.>>Unlike rising petro-states Azerbaijan and Georgia, which earn millions>of dollars annually from transit fees for the Baku-Supsa and>Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipelines, Armenia has, since even before the>Soviet collapse, struggled to meet its power needs. It relies on its>aging Metsamor nuclear power station for nearly 40 percent of its>energy generation.>>Metsamor, which began operations in 1976, contains two VVER-400 V230>376 megawatt nuclear reactors generating about 2 million kilowatt>hours of energy annually.>>Many environmentalists regard it as an accident waiting to happen. The>Armenian government closed Metsamor's Unit 1 in February 1989 and Unit>2 the next month following a massive December 1988 earthquake.>>Armenia's isolation intensified in the aftermath of its armed conflict>with neighboring Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. During>the clash, which erupted in February 1988 and lasted until May 1994,>Azerbaijan blockaded roads, rail lines and energy supplies, leading to>severe energy shortages in Armenia. In 1991 pressure to restart>Metsamor increased after a vital natural gas pipeline from>Turkmenistan was blocked by a Turkish and Azeri fuel embargo. By the>winter of 1994-95, residents of Yerevan often had only an hour or two>of electricity daily, which the restart of Metsamor's Unit 2 increased>to 10-12 hours per day.>>Economic compulsions forced Armenia to restart Unit 2 in October>1995. Five months before the restart, a team of experts from the>International Atomic Energy Agency visited Metsamor to assess the>seismic characteristics of the plant and site. It cautiously concluded>that the plant's seismic protection measures were satisfactory. Both>the United States and the European Union strongly opposed reopening>the facility, saying Metsamor's Soviet-designed reactor was unsafe and>have since given tens of millions of dollars in aid to upgrade>Metsamor's safety systems while pressuring the Armenian government to>close the facility as soon as possible.>>Armenia's energy shortages and deepening ties with Iran, along with>its professed interest in nuclear power, has won it Washington's>attention.>>Armenia is not alone in its renewed attention to nuclear power; by>2020 Russia plans to build 26 new nuclear power plants, increasing its>share of nuclear power generation in the federation's total energy>production from its current level of 15 percent to 30 percent.>>Armenia has adroitly exploited U.S. and European concerns about>Metsamor to entice the EU into assisting the country to develop>alternative power sources. The European Commission's Technical Aid to>the Commonwealth of Independent States' `Substitution of nuclear power>through the development of hydropower capacity' project is designed to>increase Armenia's hydropower capacities with the eventual goal of>shuttering the Metsamor plant by upgrading Armenia's hydropower>capacity by approximately 70 megawatts, beginning with the Tatev Hydro>Power Plant, the major station of a group of hydroelectric facilities>that collectively provided 15 percent of Armenia's electricity in>2004.>>`Vorotan plays an important part in regulating the purity and>reliability of our energy system's performance,' Armenian Deputy>Energy Minister Areg Galstyan said of the project. `We therefore>focused our collaboration activities with the EU in this area.'>>The TACIS project also completed feasibility studies for the>construction of seven small and medium-sized hydropower plants with a>total capacity of 80 megawatts.>>Armenia's energy policies represent a rare conjunction of EU, U.S. and>Russian interests. Since 2003 Metsamor has been operated by the>Russian company Inter RAO UES under a five-year agreement to help pay>off Armenia's debts. Keeping all its options open, Armenia is also>considering construction of a new nuclear facility on the Metsamor>site at a cost of about $2 billion. Armenian Energy Minister Armen>Movsisyan told Parliament, "The project's feasibility study is being>carried out by Armenia, Russia, the U.S. and the International Atomic>Energy Agency. The old NPP is to be rebuilt within 4½ years," adding>that Metsamor must be operational until alternative power sources are>found.>>Throughout the Soviet Union, Armenians were legendary for their>business acumen. By adroitly playing upon EU environmental concerns,>Russian eagerness for business contracts and American desires to>thwart Iranian energy exports, Armenia may pull off its biggest coup>yet, having foreign investors pay for diversifying its energy assets.>>>ARMENIA: EX-PRESIDENT PONDERS COMEBACK>The first president of independent Armenia dips his toe in politics after a >nine-year retirement.>By Diana Markosian in Yerevan>>Only a year ago, the idea that former Armenian president Levon >Ter-Petrosian might be a serious candidate in next year's presidential >election would have seemed incredible. Now, however, as the countdown to >the poll begins, both the press and influential figures have begun actively >discussing the possibility of a comeback.>>Ter-Petrosian was one of the founders of the movement to have Nagorny >Karabakh removed from what was then Soviet Azerbaijan in the late Eighties, >and went on to become the independent Armenia's first president. He was >first elected in October 1991, winning 83 per cent of the vote.>>For many Armenians, the years of his presidency are associated with the >hardships of the severe energy crisis which the country endured during the >conflict over Karabakh.>>"Under Levon we saw nothing but dark and cold years," Anahit Khachatrian, a >50-year-old unemployed resident of Yerevan, told IWPR. "Why should we elect >Levon? I remember how my children went to school by candlelight and I don't >want those years back again.">>As a result of these problems, Ter-Petrosian's popularity plummeted, and >his standing was further shaken by the presidential election in 1996, when >he was elected for a second term despite a damning verdict on the poll from >many international observers.>>In 1998, he was forced to resign after top ministers, including the then >prime minister Robert Kocharian, turned against him over a proposed peace >plan for Nagorny Karabakh. Kocharian was subsequently elected president, >and his second and final term is due to end next spring.>>Since stepping down, Ter-Petrosian lived in semi-retirement until he made a >return to public life in July this year, with a series of trips around >Armenia on which he was accompanied by activists from the Alternative and >Republic parties, as well as from his own Armenian National Movement.>>"These are information-gathering visits," said Vahagn Khachatrian, a former >mayor of Yerevan who has been travelling with the ex-president. >"Ter-Petrosian wants to understand what people think about the situation >that's developed in the country, to hear their ideas and find out whether >some of them think the same way he does.">>Ter-Petrosian has also held private meetings with opposition politicians.>>An announcement on whether he will be nominated as a candidate is expected >after Armenian independence day on September 21.>>There is little reliable information on what kind of support the >ex-president might get.>>His supporters point to a number of internet surveys in which Ter-Petrosian >tops the list of potential presidential candidates. But Gevorg Poghosian, >head of the Armenian Sociological Association, cautioned that these surveys >are not a good test of public opinion.>>"In Armenia only certain sections of society use the internet, such as >office workers and the staff of international organisations, who are not >numerous," said Poghosian.>>Political analyst Alexander Iskandarian said he believed Ter-Petrosian "is >too shrewd and experienced to run as a candidate in an election which is >only six months away.">>Iskandarian suggested that such rumours were coming from people who wanted >to see Ter-Petrosian run for their own purposes, rather than from the >ex-president himself.>>However, political analyst Aghasi Yenokian believes the times could be >right for Ter-Petrosian to make a comeback, because the country is crying >out for an "alternative.">>"If he does run in the election, the political atmosphere in the country >will change," said Yenokian.>>The leading official candidate for the presidency at the moment is current >prime minister Serzh Sarkisian, who is also head of the Republican Party >(not to be confused with the Republic Party), which won a majority of seats >in the parliamentary election held in May this year.>>Sarkisian will not be the only candidate from within the governing elite. >The nationalist Dashnaktsutiun ARF party, which has three ministers in the >cabinet, has already announced that it will name a candidate of its own.>>Among the declared opposition candidates are Vazgen Manukian, >Ter-Petrosian's one-time ally and prime minister and subsequently his >opponent; the leader of the New Times party Aram Karapetian; and the head >of the People's Party, Tigran Karapetian. Another section of the opposition >with a strongly pro-Russian orientation is reportedly trying to nominate >former defence minister Vagharshak Harutiunian.>>Nikol Pashinian, a newspaper editor and one of the leaders of the >Alternative movement, believes that the opposition should be looking to >Ter-Petrosian as a unifying leader.>>"Today Ter-Petrosian possesses the greatest potential, as someone who can >unify the opposition," he said. "No other candidate can bring the same >level of unity. And without unity it is impossible to talk about a real >victory in the presidential election. He has a very real chance of becoming >the agreed [opposition] candidate.">>On September 2, Ter-Petrosian met the two leading opposition candidates >from the 2003 poll, Stepan Demirchian of the People's Party and former >Yerevan mayor Artashes Geghamian.>>"In Ter-Petrosian I saw genuine sense of concern and responsibility," >Demirchian told IWPR after the meeting. "I believe that his intellect and >experience are very much needed for our country. If he stands, >Ter-Petrosian will undoubtedly have a strong chance of victory.">>The pro-government media has already begun reminding Armenians of the >energy crisis the country suffered when Ter-Petrosian was in power.>>On August 20, the Hayots Ashkhar newspaper wrote, "We must warn you that if >Ter-Petrosian is a candidate we should all be vigilant. We will all need to >take precautions and fill our homes with firewood, kindling, candles and >lighter fuel. If you were planning to throw out your old overcoat and >woollen socks, don't! And - most important of all - remember to pass on to >your friends that old recipe for fish cutlets for family celebrations.">>But David Petrosian, political analyst with Noyan Tapan news agency, >believes the governing elite is not as monolithic as it seems on the >surface.>>"The oligarchs who were protected by Robert Kocharian will not necessarily >want to see Serzh Sarkisian as their new patron," said Petrosian. "It's >quite possible the governing elite will split if the first president >reappears, as Ter-Petrosian is an acceptable figure for some of these >people.">>Petrosian said that the public, too, might favour the former president, in >large part because they had "no expectations" in the official favourite >Sarkisian.>>Armen Simonian, a 42-year-old taxi driver said, "The public hates the >ruling regime and is disappointed in the opposition, so now is the time for >Levon to come back.">>Diana Markosian is a journalist with A1+ television in Yerevan.>>>Zvartnots airport receives a new navigation tower ensuring visibility in >foggy weather>13 September 2007>ARMINFO News (Armenia)>>Yerevan, September 13. ArmInfo. The Zvartnots airport in Yerevan received a >new navigation tower, whose air navigation facility allows aircrafts to >make a landing in accordance with the 2nd category of standards of the >International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The opening ceremony was >held in Armaeronavigation CJSC, Thursday. Director of Armaeronavigation >CJSC, Eduard Musoyan, noted that the company budgeted about $1 mln for >construction of the tower, which was started in July 2006. Earlier, air >navigation was controlled by a tower in the area of Zvartnots airport, and >this tower didn't meet today's parameters of flight safety. The new >modernized tower gives an opportunity to observe planes up to 10 km away, >however, the radars of the air navigation system can notice flying objects >up to 400-450 km away. One of the key achievements of the new equipment of >"Master" system (Russia) is the ability to see aircrafts in bad weather, >particularly, in thick fog.>The opening ceremony of the tower was timed to the 10th anniversary of >Armaeronavigation CJSC, which was detached from Zvartnots airport in 1997. >To note, in 2006 Armenia became the 36th member country of Eurocontrol - >the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.