Armenian News... A Topalian... Armenia buddies up with Israel

Eurasia Daily
Nov 9 2017
Armenia buddies up with Israel: What will Iran say?
Arshaluys Mgdesyan 

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian ’s recent visit to Israel has given experts grounds for forecasting a breakthrough in the Armenian-Israeli relations. 

But the key problem here is that this breakthrough may damage Armenia’s ties with Iran. For the Iranians, Israel is the biggest enemy in the region and one of the biggest obstacles in their relations with Azerbaijan. 

Through scandals and diplomatic protests 

Nalbandian visited Israel on the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . According to official sources, the sides expressed commitment to enlarge their contacts but there is no information about any specific documents signed. So, we can qualify this as a reconnaissance visit – similar to the July visit of Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Tsachi Hanegbi to Yerevan. 

During that visit, the sides signed two documents: a visa waiver for diplomats and a convention on avoidance of double taxation of incomes and property. A Knesset delegation visited Yerevan shortly afterwards. 

Armenian-Israeli relations came into the spotlight after the April 2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, when the Azerbaijanis actively used Israeli kamikaze drones. 

The Armenians were displeased to know that the Azerbaijanis had a lot of Israeli arms in stock and even warned the Israelis that they might provide the Iranians with information about their shot-down Israeli drones. Armenia’s Ambassador to Egypt Armen Melkonyan met with the Israeli’s Foreign Ministry’s Eurasian Department Dan Orian and said that Armenia was extremely displeased with the fact that Azerbaijan used Israeli arms. 

The Israeli authorities replied that they were ready to sell their arms to Armenia, but, according to Armenia’s former Deputy Defense Minister David Tonoyan , the Armenians refused to buy Israeli arms just because they did not need them. 

Armenian mass media mentioned Israel again when they received a report that Israeli Aeronautics Defense Systems was going to sell Azerbaijan Orbiter 1K unmanned aerial vehicles and had agreed to test them against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result, the Israeli Defense Ministry started an investigation and suspended the $20mn contract. 

The Armenian authorities urged Israel to inquire into the situation. “They are obliged to do this according to international and humanitarian laws,” Chairman of the Armenian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee Armen Ashotyan said. 

Iran may be displeased 

Armenia’s former Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Navasardyan believes that Armenian-Israeli rapprochement may affect Armenian-Iranian relations. “But we still need to develop our relations with Israel. Armenian-Israeli relations are the business of our two states and is not aimed against anybody else,” Navasardyan said. 

He believes that this cooperation will benefit both sides. “Israel is a regional power with an annual budget of $90bn. If we like, we can find lots of common grounds in very different spheres. Israel has huge experience in contacts with Diaspora, has modern technologies in farming and efficient education, health care and defense systems,” Navasardyan said. 

According to Head of the Noravank Political Studies Center Karen Veranyan , Armenia may become a bridge between Israel and Iran. “We can attract Israel as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, an organization with a multibillion market,” Veranyan said. 

He believes that Nalbandian’s meetings in Israel will pave the way for a breakthrough in Armenian-Israeli relations. 

According to Navasardyan, the sides should first open embassies. “I am sure that Nalbandian discussed this issue during his visit as without embassies inter-state relations are like a distance marriage,” Navasardyan said. 

Experts believe that Armenia is embarking on a dangerous path. Iran is the only regional state that has borders with Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. So, when contacting Israel, the Armenians are forced to keep Iran in mind. 


News.am, Armenia
Nov 10 2017
FM: Armenian Genocide recognition was and is always a topic of our dialogue with Israel 
The recognition of Armenian Genocide was and is always a topic of our dialogue with Israel. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian, noted the aforesaid speaking to i24NEWS television of Israel. 

When asked whether this matter had been a topic during his meetings in Israel, he responded as follows: 

“It was and it is always a topic of our dialogue. As I said, two nations passed through the horrors of genocide. Many scholars, many politicians consider that in case of adequate condemnation of the Armenian Genocide maybe could be possible to prevent Shoah and other genocides. That is why of course, we are expecting that Israel will recognize officially the Armenian Genocide. We feel that in the public opinion of Israel more and more people are in favor of the recognition, including in the Parliament. Yesterday I had a meeting with the Chairman of the Knesset. He again expressed his very clear position of the importance of the recognition by Knesset of the Armenian Genocide.” 


News.am, Armenia
Nov 9 2017
Minister: We are studying activities of Monsanto in Armenia 
YEREVAN. – The company Monsanto has been registered and working in Armenia for 20 years. The activities of the company are being examined, Armenian Minister of Agriculture Ignaty Arakelyan told reporters after the government's meeting on November 9. 

Asked about the activities of the American company Monsanto, that import GMO seeds in Armenia, he said: “Now we are investigating whether there are any risks in their activity. We must deal with risks not only for agriculture, but overall risks, and we are working the Ministry of Nature Protection. I cannot yet inform about the steps taken. We will tell everything after investigation is over. The fact is that we are not working with this company, they are working on they own,” the minister said, adding, that there is always a danger in using GMO products, so it is necessary to understand the possible risks. 

Rafik Mansour, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan , recently noted that Monsanto company, which produces GMO seeds, will be entering the market of Armenia. Subsequently, concerns were raised that this may be risky for the country’s population. 

The well-known musician Serj Tankian also urged people to stay away from Monsanto products 

RFE/RL Report 

More Scholarships For Syrian Armenian Students
November 09, 2017
More than 300 ethnic Armenians from Syria studying in Armenia's
universities will receive scholarships from private and government
sources for the current academic year, officials in Yerevan said on
Thursday.

According to Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobian, the financial
assistance will total just over 194 million drams ($404,000). She said
the bulk of it will be allocated by two Armenian Diaspora charities:
the U.S.-headquartered Armenian General Benevolent Union and the
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation based in Portugal.

The Armenian government approved Hakobian's proposal to contribute 20
million drams of the sum. A government statement said the funding will
cover 60 percent of tuition fees to be paid by 73 Syrian Armenian
students.

Most recipients of the scholarships enrolled in Armenian universities
after the outbreak of the bloody conflict in Syria in 2011. They took
refuge in their ancestral homeland along with thousands of other
Syrians of Armenian descent.

The first Armenian government scholarships to Syrian Armenian students
were made available in 2012. More than 100 students benefited from
them at the time.

According to government estimates, roughly 22,000 Syrian Armenians
have fled to Armenia since 2011. Some of them have migrated to Europe
and North America for mainly economic reasons.

Many of the remaining refugees are struggling to find jobs in the
unemployment-stricken country. Some have opened shops, restaurants and
other small businesses, drawing on their business experience in
Syria. The government has encouraged that entrepreneurship by
subsidizing business loans extended to them by Armenian commercial
banks.


RFE/RL Report
Karabakh Leader Cautions Against `Premature' Talk Of Concessions
November 10, 2017

Tatevik Lazarian

A senior official from Nagorno-Karabakh said on Friday that it is
still too early to speak of territorial concessions to Azerbaijan that
would be part of a broader Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal.

"I believe that now, especially after April 2016 [fighting in
Karabakh,] we have a much better idea of all components of our
security system," Ashot Ghulian, the Karabakh parliament speaker, told
reporters in Yerevan.

"That system includes both territories and our economic viability. I
am deeply convinced that we cannot weaken that reserve with anything
or give up anything in return for some unknown things," he said.

"I don't think that we should engage in such talk prematurely because
that would only undermine our internal strength as we would start
looking for those who said concessions can be made and who said they
cannot," added Ghulian.

In that regard, Ghulian declined to comment on President Serzh
Sarkisian's recent remark that a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh
dispute could only be "painful" to both conflicting sides.

Sarkisian spoke two weeks after his October 16 meeting with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that was held in Geneva. The two
leaders pledged to intensify the peace process and bolster the
ceasefire regime in the conflict zone.

The U.S., Russian and French mediators announced in the Swiss city
that they will soon hold follow-up "working sessions" with Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar
Mammadyarov. The talks could be held as early as next week.

Ghulian said that the Armenian side has toughened its position on
Karabakh peace since the April 2016 hostilities. "I think that for the
moment there are no grounds for softening that position," he said.

Ghulian spoke after a delegation of Karabakh lawmakers headed by him
held a regular meeting with members of Armenia's parliament. The
delegation was received by Sarkisian later in the day. A statement on
the meeting released by the presidential press service did not say
whether they discussed the upcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations.

Over the past decade the international mediators have advanced a
framework peace accord calling for a phased settlement that would
start with the liberation of Armenian-controlled districts around
Karabakh. In return, Karabakh's predominantly Armenian population
would be able determine the territory's internationally recognized
status in a future referendum.

Armenia's leadership has repeatedly said that this peace formula is
largely acceptable to it. Karabakh Armenian leaders have been far more
skeptical about it.


168.am
November 10 2017
Health Heart surgeries to be conducted at more affordable prices in Armenia in 2018 
The Armenian government made a redistribution in the 2017 state budget and changes in one of its previous decisions aimed at compensating the current deficit of heart surgery services, a total of 194 million 477 thousand AMD by which 220 additional heart surgery will be conducted.

Healthcare minister said during the Cabinet meeting that this change is due to optimization programs.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan asked whether there is an issue of reducing the prices for heart surgeries. “We are going to propose a new price formula in early December and will start working with the new formula from January”, the minister said.


Pan Armenian, Armenia
Nov 10 2017
Project for creating an eco-village network in Armenia continues 

The Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), with its general partner VivaCell-MTS, continues installation of energy-efficient outdoor lighting systems in the framework of a project aimed at the development of an eco-village network in Armenia.

Recently, 51 LED lights were installed in the village of Agarakadzor in Armenia's Areni community of Vayots Dzor province, providing outdoor lighting along a 1785m-long territory. The main streets, particularly roads to the kindergarten, the school, the cultural house and the village council building were illuminated.

Introduction of energy-efficient systems in border villages is one of the most important steps aimed at the creation of an eco-village network. It allows the villages to integrate in a process, encompassing 4 pillars of sustainability: namely, environmental, economic, cultural and social. Thanks to the project, the budget expenses of the community are significantly reduced, while savings can be directed towards the solution of other community problems.

VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian, the FPWC founder Ruben Khachatryan, Areni community head Husik Sahakyan and village residents attended the launch of the energy-efficient system.

“Development of communities remains a strategic resolution for us. We have kept this in the focus of our attention throughout the years of our cooperation. In the core of these projects is the need to ensure the sustainability of villages and the well-being of villagers, not just through short-term support. The volume of work we have done and the amount of money that has been invested in the projects are crucial components; however, there is a more important purpose: good deeds have to become a regular practice. That may take some time and may require consistency, but I am sure the next generation will opt for that,” Yirikian said.

Compared to regular bulbs, LED lights are more energy-efficient and durable, and can serve for a much longer period consuming 80% less electricity.

The streets of the village will be illuminated from 21:00 till 02:00 in summer, and from 18:00 till 01:00 in winter. On holidays, illumination will be provided all night long.

A1+
1 billion investment in Gyumri for hotel complex and shopping center
November 9,2017
    
By the decision of the government, the former building of Shirak hotel in Gyumri, Shirak region, will be provided to Basen Govk LLC for the construction of a hotel complex, a shopping center and a food service area.

It is envisaged to invest about 1 billion drams for the project and create 100-150 jobs. The company will return the premises if the contract is not completed within three years.


Asbarez.com
Armenia Beats Belarus 4-1 in Friendly Match 
YEREVAN—Armenia’s national soccer team on Thursday beat Belarus 4 to 1 in a friendly match held at Vazgen Sargsyan Stadium.

Aras Ozbiliz opened the score in the 41st minute before Henirkh Mkhitaryan made it 2-0 four minutes later.

Armenia’s Rumyan Hovsepyan and Harutyun Vardanyan added two more goals in the second half, in the 5th and 84th minutes respectively.

Anton Saroka scored the only goal for his team form a penalty kick in the 58th minute.