Saturday 20 September 2008

Armenian News



ARMENIA TO BEGIN DIRECT POWER DELIVERIES TO TURKEY IN 2009
Interfax
Sept 10 2008
Russia

Armenia will begin direct electricity deliveries to Turkey in 2009, Armenian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisian told journalists on Wednesday.

This agreement was reached during the recent visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan at the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Movsisian said.

High Voltage Power Lines of Armenia and Turkey's private company Unit signed a contract on electricity deliveries during Gul's visitto Armenia.

In line with the agreement, the Turkish side will have to restore damaged portions of high voltage power lines on its territory within four or five months and set up new transformers and after this the country will be ready to receive electricity from Armenia. There are no technical problems on the Armenian side, the minister said.

According to preliminary agreements, Armenia will deliver 1.5 billion kilowatts of energy per year to Turkey at the initial stage. It is planned to increase the amount of supplied power up to 3.5 billion kilowatts per year. Power generated at Armenian thermal plants will be shipped to Turkey, the minister said.

Armenia's export price for Turkey will be $0.057 per one kilowatt per hour of energy, the minister said, noting that the price will change in the future.


PRESIDENT GUL ON HIS VISITS TO AZERBAIJAN
Anatolia News Agency
Sept 11 2008
Turkey

BAKU/ANKARA (A.A) -11.09.2008 -Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that he observed the same honest and sincere desire for a solution both in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Gul told reporters aboard the plane on his way back from Azerbaijan that the issue of Upper Karabakh [Nagornyy Karabakh] and recent developments in the Caucasus were high on agenda of his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

"In Azerbaijan I saw the same frank, honest and sincere desire for a solution and respect to opponent that I observed in Armenia earlier. There is a significant opportunity to resolve a long-standing problem. We need to seize this opportunity. Also, everyone is aware that if a solution is reached, it paves the way for cooperation in the region," he said.

Gul said that Armenia had the will to withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in case of a final agreement between the two countries.

"My talks with Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents revealed the need for exchange of views between the two countries on bilateral, regional and international developments. Turkey and Azerbaijan have always advocated that the regional problems should be resolved through
peaceful and diplomatic ways," he said.

Gul said that Azerbaijani authorities welcomed his talks in Armenia.

Asked whether a tripartite summit among the presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia would take place during the United Nations General Assembly meetings, Gul said that there was still not a plan for such a tripartite meeting.


TURKEY SEEKS FENCE-MENDING MEETING WITH ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN
Agence France Presse
September 10, 2008 Wednesday 9:10 AM GMT

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan Wednesday said he was trying to organise a meeting with counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan to discuss decades-old disputes plaguing ties between them.

The idea, Babacan said, emerged during a historic visit to Yereven by President Abdullah Gul on Saturday, which raised hopes that Turkey and Armenia could overcome traditional enmity and establish diplomatic relations.

"We have many reasons to be hopeful, the most important of which is the presence of a strong political will" to improve ties, the minister said in an interview with NTV television.

Babacan and Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian are already scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

Babacan said he suggested that their Azeri counterpart also join the meeting and Nalbandian agreed.

"We will now seek Azerbaijan's consent... The problems between Turkey and Armenia and not independent from the problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he said.

The issue would be discussed when Gul visits Baku later Wednesday, he said.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with eastern neighbour Armenia because of Yerevan's campaign for the recognition of the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey dealt a heavy economic blow to its impoverished neighbour by shutting the border in a show of solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh -- an Armenian-majority region in Azerbaijan which declared independence.

Babacan said Gul's visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish head of state, had raised hopes that the two sides could mend fences.

"In our talks in Yereven we decided to speed up the process (of reconciliation)... We are entering a period in which we will have frequent contacts," he told NTV.

Gul travelled to Yereven for several hours to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between Turkey and Armenia following an invitation by his counterpart Serzh Sarkisian.


TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR JOINT MEETING WITH AZERI AND ARMENIAN COUNTERPARTS
by Grace Annan
World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
September 11, 2008

Yesterday, Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Babacan announced that he would like to hold a joint meeting with his counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan to improve diplomatic relations between the three neighbouring countries, whose problems, he said, are often related. Babacan stated that the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul Enhanced Coverage LinkingAbdullah Gul -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days to Armenia on 6 September (see Turkey - Armenia: 8 September 2008: ) had given him the idea. The Armenian government has reportedly already agreed to the Turkish minister's tentative plans to hold the meeting at the fringes of the UN General Assembly meeting (16 September-1 October).

Significance:Relations between Armenia and Turkey have recently improved to a dramatic extent, and Turkey is now keen to get Azerbaijan on board, given the country's traditional alliance with Turkey and its status as arch-enemy of Armenia. The official line of the Azeri
government is that the recent thaw in Armenian-Turkish relations is a bilateral matter and will not affect the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan in any way. Yet behind the scenes, the Azeri government could be very worried about being left behind in this blossoming diplomatic relationship between Yerevan and Ankara. Therefore, Azeri politicians may agree to hold a joint meeting with their Armenian and Turkish counterparts later this month. Gul is visiting the Azeri
President Ilkham Aliev today to discuss the aftermath of the war in Georgia as well as energy and business relations, and the Turkish president will certainly bring up the proposed tripartite alliance and meeting.


YEREVAN SUBWAY TO TRANSPORT 19 MLN PASSENGERS IN 2008
ARKA
Sep 12, 2008

YEREVAN, September 12. /ARKA/. Yerevan subway plans to transport 19mln passengers by the end of this year, said Paylak Yayloyan, director of the subway.

About 70,000 passengers travel by metro every day - 20% increase compared to last year.

According to Yayloyan, the number of passengers traveling by Yerevan underground has increased by 40% for the past two years.

"Undergrounds in different countries usually work at a loss, and Yerevan underground is not an exception," the director of the metro said.

The underground receives additional 180mln drams from the sales volume growth, but this is not enough to cover all the expenses, Yayloyan added.

Karen Demirtchyan Metro in Yerevan opened in 1981. The underground has 10 stations. The total stretch of the metro is 13.4km.

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