EU To Provide Armenia With Fresh Aid
Radio Free Europe, November 04, 2014, https://www.rferl.org/content/
The European Union has pledged to provide between 140 million and 170 million euros to Armenia for private-sector, public administration, and justice reforms over the next three years.
The commitment is contained in a memorandum of understanding launching the Single Support Framework for EU support to Yerevan that was signed in Brussels on November 3 by newly appointed Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and Armenian Economy Minister Karen Chshmaritian.
"The EU and Armenia are committed to continuing cooperation in areas of mutual interest based on shared values," Hahn said, on his first official working day as commissioner. "We support the country’s modernization efforts and we will continue encouraging necessary reforms in Armenia."
EU-Armenia Relations
EU not losing interest in Armenia - education minister
Tert, November 04, 2014, https://www.tert.am/en/news/
In an interview with Tert.am, Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan hailed the new EU assistance program for Armenia, considering the €170 million worth deal a good sign that Union has not lost its interest in the country.
“The door has never been locked; opening it is just a matter of good will. Armenia has a desire to open the doors to Europe, and those doors are open to us.”
“So it is important to understand in this context that all countries apart from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic are foreign states and all languages apart from Armenian – foreign languages for the Republic of Armenia,” he said. The minister further stressed the importance of prioritizing state and state values, noting that any other ideals should be rejectable for national state figures and national political forces. “I have repeated it and want to say once again that in foreign relations, we serve only our own national and state interests, making them compatible with our colleagues’ approaches.” he added.
General News on Armenia
ADB working out Country Partnership Strategy for Armenia
Armradio, November 04, 2014, https://www.armradio.am/en/
President Serzh Sargsyan today received the Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Wencai Zhang, President’s Press Office reported.
The President praised the ADB’s cooperation with Armenia and its activities aimed at developing Armenia’s infrastructure and ensuring steady economic growth. Serzh Sargsyan thanked the bank for supporting Armenia for many years and said that Wencai Zhang’s visit bore witness to the firm relationship between Armenia and the ADB.
Wencai Zhang expressed satisfaction with the fact that the bank has been collaborating with Armenia since 2005 and underscored that the ADB was working on the Country Partnership Strategy for Armenia for the upcoming 5 years and was ready to support the development of priority spheres in Armenia, including infrastructure (transport, energy, road construction, urban development, water supply), as well as state-private sector cooperation, local technical assistance capacity building, promotion of regional collaboration, encouragement of investments, export stimulation and development of an innovative and knowledge-based economy. Noting that it was his first visit to Armenia, Wencai Zhang underlined that he was impressed with Armenia, a country with great development potential. He also expressed the bank’s readiness to organize an investment forum in Armenia which will give Armenia’s economy the opportunity to attract new foreign investments and will stimulate realization of primary projects.
Armenian Ruling Party ‘Open’ For Meeting With Tsarukian
Azatutyun, November 04, 2014, https://www.azatutyun.am/
President Serzh Sarkisian is unlikely to reject the opportunity of a meeting with the top opposition leader should the latter seek such a meeting, a senior member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) said on Tuesday.
Parliament Speaker Galust Sahakian, who is a deputy chairman of the party led by Sarkisian, at the same time did not confirm the latest media reports alleging that a meeting between the president and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian took place over the weekend.
“But we are open to the possibility of a meeting,” Sahakian said. Still, he repeated that the HHK does not have a clear idea of what it is that the current opposition movement wants to discuss.
Maternity benefit amount to be maintained by 100%: New bill
Armenpress, November 04, 2014, https://armenpress.am/eng/
The Republican faction of Armenia summoned a sitting at the National Assembly to discuss the bill on making amendments in the law on temporary unemployment benefits, Armenpress reports.
As RPA faction head Vahram Baghdasaryan told journalists, the RPA faction presented its proposals, today the government submitted a new version as a result of the joint work. “We maintained the issue of the unemployed pregnant women. A threshold was defined as well. The benefit of those who receive salary up to 1 million will be maintained,” Vahram Baghdasaryan noted.
Housing problem in earthquake-hit areas will be resolved completely – Minister
Panorama, November 04, 2014, https://www.panorama.am/en/
The Armenian government plans to complete the housing project, in the areas hit by a devastating earthquake in 1988, in 2015-2016, Minister of Urban Development Narek Sargsyan announced in the parliament on Tuesday.
Residents of Gyumri city, whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake, will be provided with houses by late 2015. The housing problem in the villages of Shirak and Lori provinces will be resolved by the end of 2016.
“We have worked out a plan and will soon begin approving investment programs to tackle these problems. I can say that now we are prepared to deal with this problem,” Sargsyan said.
Armenian Parliament To Discuss EEU Accession Treaty At Special Session
Azatutyun, November 04, 2014, https://www.azatutyun.am/
The Treaty on Armenia’s Accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will be discussed at a special session of the Armenian parliament that is likely to be convened on November 17-18.
Vahram Baghdasarian, the head of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), said the issue will be on the agenda of the special session if before that the country’s Constitutional Court provides its conclusion on the treaty.
The document was signed on October 10 and implies Armenia’s membership in the trade bloc of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan beginning in January. Kyrgyzstan has also made a bid to become a member of the emerging union by the end of the year.
Carrefour Armenia to open in January – country manager
News.am, November 04, 2014, https://news.am/eng/news/
The world-renowned French Carrefour hypermarket chain will open its branch in Armenia in late January 2015.
The Carrefour Armenia Country Manager, Christian De Nale, stated the aforesaid at his meeting Tuesday with the Minister of Agriculture of Armenia, Sergo Karapetyan.
But Carrefour Armenia was planned to open by the end of October, and the causes for the delay in its opening are unknown.
New energy unit of Armenian nuclear power plant to be exploited in 2026
Armenpress, November 04, 2014, https://armenpress.am/eng/news/
The government of Armenia expects to sign an interstate agreement on prolonging the service term of the 2nd energy unit of the Armenian nuclear power plant with the Russian government by the end of the year, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Ara Simonyan stated at the preliminary discussion of the state budget at the National Assembly. “Subsequently that agreement will be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion and ratification,” Ara Simonyan said, Armenpress reports.
He stressed that within the frameworks of the agreement they will carry out joint works with Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation in the direction of prolonging the term of the current energy unit till 2026. 300 million dollars is intended to spend for implementation of the project, 270 million of which will be credit facilities, and the 30 million – grants.
Ara Simonyan informed that the new energy unit of the Armenian nuclear power plant is intended to put into operation in 2026.
General News on Karabakh
OSCE Mission to monitor NKR-Azeri armed forces contact line
PanArmenian, November 04, 2014, https://www.panarmenian.net/
In accordance with the agreement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic, the OSCE Mission will conduct Wednesday, Nov 5, planned monitoring of the line of contact between the NKR and Azerbaijani armed forces in the east direction of the Seisulan settlement of the NKR Martakert region.
From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistants of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Yevgeny Sharov (Ukraine) and Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria).
The NKR authorities expressed readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and ensure security of the OSCE Mission members.
Karabakh President awards medals for California Senate recognition of Artsakh
Panorama, November 04, 2014, https://www.panorama.am/en/
On November 4, Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan signed a decree, according to which, for supporting the adoption of the resolution on Artsakh's Independence by the California State Assembly and Senate, two individuals were awarded the Mkhitar Gosh Medal and fourteen others the Gratitude Medal, the presidential press service reported.
News from International Sources
Azerbaijan’s human rights are on a knife edge. The UK must not walk away
The Guardian, November 03, 2014, https://www.theguardian.com/
Azerbaijan’s six-month chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe comes to an end in November, when it hands over to Belgium. Like the Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku in 2012, the chairmanship has been an opportunity for NGOs and activists to highlight the country’s numerous human rights violations. Much less is reported about how the Council of Europe itself confronts these violations.
Earlier this month, the European court of human rights, which is part of the Council of Europe, confirmed an earlier decision ruling that Azerbaijan’s arrest and detention of Ilgar Mammadov, a well-known opposition politician and commentator, violated the European convention on human rights.
The judgment was as critical as it was clear: the court concluded that “the actual purpose of his detention had been to silence or punish Mammadov for criticising the government and publishing information it was trying to hide”.
Turkey spends $13.2 billion on defence in 2014
Commonspace.eu, November 04, 2014, https://www.commonspace.eu/eng/
Turkey's defense spending stood at 29.4 billion Turkish Liras ($13.2 billion) this year, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz gave the information to Parliament on 2 November in response to a parliamentary question from a deputy of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), according to Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkey spent some 1.71 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense in 2014, a drop from the 3.5 percent of its GDP spent on defense in 2002, Yılmaz said, adding that the 2014 defense budget accounted for 3.7 percent of the overall state budget.
Around half of the country's defense budget goes on personnel spending, such as salaries, benefits and pension payments to retired Turkish Army personnel, he added.
Turkey's military expenditure per capita in 2013 was 474 liras ($213), Yılmaz said. He also said Turkey's defense exports stood at $1.4 billion in 2014, while its imports were $1.3 billion.
Turkey is currently negotiating a $3.5 billion deal for a long-range air and anti-missile defense system, including local production, with suppliers from China and Europe. Ankara plans to spend around $70 billion on military equipment by 2023.
Civil society activists call for more openness and transparency in Karabakh peace negotiations
Commonspace.eu, November 03, 2014, https://www.commonspace.eu/eng/
Activists in the ongoing civil society initiative - the Independent Civil Minsk Process, meeting in Helsinki over the last days, have issued an appeal to the political leaderships of the sides involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as to civil society and political and public forces, and have proposed new initiatives to help resolve the conflict.
The appeal states:
"We, together with the other representatives of civil society and experts, in the framework of the Independent Civil Minsk Process (ICMP) Initiative on the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, signed a Declaration in Tbilisi on December 8, 2010, which called upon the leadership of the parties:
- to refrain from war-like rhetoric, and political and information action aimed at conflict escalation;
- to take urgent measures on securing the ceasefire and preventing armed clashes, and to ensure the immediate withdrawal of snipers from the frontline;
- to add to the basic rules of the conflict resolution (the non-use of force, territorial integrity, equal rights and self-determination of peoples) the principle of "peaceful resolution of disputes" based on the Helsinki Final Act;
- to begin the development of a Road Map of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution…”
News on Turkey
Biden says he never apologized to Turkey’s Erdoğan
Today’s Zaman, November 04, 2014, https://www.todayszaman.com/
US Vice President Joe Biden has said he never apologized to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan although the White House says he did.
In early October, Biden placed phone calls to three US allies as he attempted to smooth over a diplomatic spat sparked by comments he made at Harvard University. One of those calls was to Erdoğan, who had angrily demanded an apology and said Biden "will be history for me" if it turned out he'd really accused Turkey of helping fuel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) growth.
But on Monday, Biden contradicted the White House by insisting that phone call didn't amount to an apology.
"No, I haven't apologized," Biden said in a CNN interview. "I never apologized to him. I know him well. I've dealt with him. I called him and said, 'Look, what was reported was not accurate to what I said. Here's what I said.'"
MP invites Armenia President to Turkey in 2015
News.am, November 04, 2014, https://news.am/eng/news/
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is planning on holding three major conferences within the next five months leading up to the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, and it already has invited historians and politicians to these events.
CHP MP Mustafa Balbay told CNN Turk that, in connection with 1915, their party proposes to transfer the recollections of the 20th century to the 21st century and be face-to-face with the respective events.
Turks present award to Charles Aznavour
News.am, November 04, 2014, https://news.am/eng/news/
World-renowned French-Armenian singer, songwriter, actor, public activist, and diplomat Charles Aznavour has received a Turkish award.
With the involvement by Hakki Akil, Turkey’s ambassador to Paris, Posta daily of Turkey interviewed Aznavour in France.
In addition, Akil handed to Aznavour the Golden Maple Award by the residents of Izmit, Turkey.
But the award presentation ceremony will be held on Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey.
The famous singer noted that if her Izmit-native mother had seen this award given to him by her fellow city residents, she would have been very happy.
News from Azerbaijani Sources
Ali Hasanov: Azerbaijan has made tremendous progress toward building democratic society and no one can deny it
APA, November 04, 2014, https://en.apa.az/xeber_ali_
“Artificial exaggeration of the so-called issue of “political prisoners”, attempts to dishonor Azerbaijan with unfounded and biased statements not only undermine the cooperation within the framework of the Council of Europe, but distract it from performing its mission and shatter the confidence toward the organization”
Baku – APA. Head of Political and Public Affairs Department at the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov has commented on an article by Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland published in The Guardian regarding the state of human rights and judiciary in Azerbaijan, the last pardon decree of the Azerbaijani President, the establishment of a working on the issue of prisoners and other steps.
In his interview to Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency (AzerTAc), Hasanov said Azerbaijan has made tremendous progress toward building a democratic society and no one can deny it.
Azerbaijanis gather $9m for National Army in 10 months
News.az, November 04, 2014, https://www.news.az/articles/
The amount of money accumulated for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Assistance Fund has increased by AZN 7,674,742 ($9,739,073).
The amount of money accumulated for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Assistance Fund has increased by AZN 7,674,742 ($9,739,073) over the last ten months, Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
As of November 1, 2014, the amount of money collected in fund’s account made AZN 58,429,256, $211,791 and €593. The growth was observed in manat. The amount of money in USD and Euro remained unchanged. No amount of money was collected in Russian ruble.
Total amount of the money for the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Assistance Fund reached $74,357,926.
The Armed Forces Assistance Fund was established under the order issued by the President of Azerbaijan on August 17, 2002. According to President’s order, the Armed Forces Assistance Fund is formed on the basis of voluntarily donations of individuals and legal entities and at the expense of the other donations not prohibited by the law.