Armenian News
SINGER AZNAVOUR SWAPS STAGE FOR DIPLOMATIC CAREER
Reuters
Feb 12 2009
UK
YEREVAN (Reuters) - French singer Charles Aznavour said Thursday
he had agreed to become ambassador to Switzerland for his ancestral
homeland Armenia.
Aznavour, aged 84, was born in France of Armenian parents and
established an international singing career that still takes him
around the globe.
"At first I hesitated, because I thought that this is no easy
matter. But then I thought that in the end, what is important for
Armenia must be important for all of us," Aznavour said in comments
broadcast on Armenian television.
"I accepted this proposal with pleasure, joy and a deep feeling
of honour," said Aznavour, who was granted Armenian citizenship in
December, 2008.
(Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Conor Sweeney; Editing by
Elizabeth Piper)
ARMENIA DENIES NEGOTIATING WITH TURKEY ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Interfax
Feb 11 2009
Russia
Armenia is not holding negotiations with Turkey regarding the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tigran Balayan told Interfax on Wednesday.
"Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandian has said repeatedly that
negotiations on settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are proceeding
with mediation by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen on the basis of
the Madrid proposals," Balayan said in commenting on a report by
the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, which alleged that an agreement on
Nagorno-Karabakh had been reached with Turkey's mediation.
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN REPORTEDLY APPROVE TURKEY-MEDIATED
PEACE PLAN, CONFIRMATION PENDING
Natalia Leshchenko
World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
February 11, 2009
Turkish newspaperHurriyetpublished an article announcing a partial deal
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. The plan was allegedly
offered by the Turkish Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the
Munich security conference last weekend, and discussed with foreign
ministers of both states. The four-point plan as laid out by the
newspaper suggests that Armenia will return to Azerbaijan some towns
around the disputed region and repatriate Azeris who fled from them;
Nagorno-Karabakh will receive an autonomous ruling body, which will
then return the town of Kelbajar; a railroad and auto highway will
be opened between the countries, with an international peace force
patrolling the border region between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Significance:Since the news broke, the Armenian Foreign Ministry has
denied making a deal with Azerbaijan with Turkey's mediation, saying it
is committed to peace regulation within the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)-sponsored Minsk Group. It is hard for
Armenians to subscribe to any plan that involves surrendering towns and
territories to Azerbaijan, so the public denial is not a surprise. This
does not, however, preclude an agreement, since Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Turkey have intensified diplomatic efforts to an unprecedented
level since late 2008, including the landmark meeting of the Armenian
and Turkish presidents during the World Economic Forum in Davos this
month. Talks are certainly going on, and may well prove successful,
since the peace effort is being encouraged both by Turkey and Russia,
which is seeking to outweigh U.S. influence in the region by proposing
a joint security plan. We are likely to have more to discuss on the
peace settlement front in coming months.
Natalia Leshchenko
World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
February 11, 2009
Turkish newspaperHurriyetpublished an article announcing a partial deal
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. The plan was allegedly
offered by the Turkish Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the
Munich security conference last weekend, and discussed with foreign
ministers of both states. The four-point plan as laid out by the
newspaper suggests that Armenia will return to Azerbaijan some towns
around the disputed region and repatriate Azeris who fled from them;
Nagorno-Karabakh will receive an autonomous ruling body, which will
then return the town of Kelbajar; a railroad and auto highway will
be opened between the countries, with an international peace force
patrolling the border region between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Significance:Since the news broke, the Armenian Foreign Ministry has
denied making a deal with Azerbaijan with Turkey's mediation, saying it
is committed to peace regulation within the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)-sponsored Minsk Group. It is hard for
Armenians to subscribe to any plan that involves surrendering towns and
territories to Azerbaijan, so the public denial is not a surprise. This
does not, however, preclude an agreement, since Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Turkey have intensified diplomatic efforts to an unprecedented
level since late 2008, including the landmark meeting of the Armenian
and Turkish presidents during the World Economic Forum in Davos this
month. Talks are certainly going on, and may well prove successful,
since the peace effort is being encouraged both by Turkey and Russia,
which is seeking to outweigh U.S. influence in the region by proposing
a joint security plan. We are likely to have more to discuss on the
peace settlement front in coming months.
AUTOMATIC CARD SYSTEM OF FARE COLLECTION TO BE USED IN
YEREVAN SUBWAY FROM FEBRUARY 14
Noyan Tapan
Feb 9, 2009
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Starting from February 14, an
automatic card system of fare collection will be used in Yerevan's
subway which will allow passengers to use not only tokens but also
electronic cards. The director of Yerevan Subway Paylak Yayloyan
said at the February 9 press conference that automatic turnstiles
have been installed so far at Yeritasardakan subway station, but new
turnstiles will be put at all the stations by late February. Old
turnstiles will be removed only after March 1 so that passengers
could use their tokens until this date.
It was announced that 400 million drams (about 1.3 million USD)
was allocated from the state budget for implementation of this work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Noyan Tapan
Feb 9, 2009
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. Starting from February 14, an
automatic card system of fare collection will be used in Yerevan's
subway which will allow passengers to use not only tokens but also
electronic cards. The director of Yerevan Subway Paylak Yayloyan
said at the February 9 press conference that automatic turnstiles
have been installed so far at Yeritasardakan subway station, but new
turnstiles will be put at all the stations by late February. Old
turnstiles will be removed only after March 1 so that passengers
could use their tokens until this date.
It was announced that 400 million drams (about 1.3 million USD)
was allocated from the state budget for implementation of this work.
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