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ArmeniaNow.Com Digests JULY 29, 2005

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  • ArmeniaNow.Com Digests JULY 29, 2005

    ARMENIANOW.COM DIJESTS JULY 29, 2005
    Administration Address: 26 Parpetsi St., No 9
    Phone: +(374 1) 532422
    Email: [email protected]
    Internet: www.armenianow.com
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    Babken Juharyan)
    Email: [email protected]

    ICQ#: 97152052

    News Digest July 25th - July 29th 2005

    By Ruzanna Amiraghyan
    ArmeniaNow Reporter

    Parliamentarians of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia met in Dublin on
    July 25 th. The Armenian delegation was headed by Vice Speaker Tigran
    Torosian, who said that the meeting followed negotiations held within
    the framework of the South Caucasian parliamentary initiative. To
    remind, at that time the parliamentary leaders signed a memorandum on
    the formation of an Interparliamentary Assembly of the South
    Caucasus. The Azeri delegation claimed that efficient steps would be
    undertaken only after the settlement of the Karabagh conflict.

    A Renault bus with 38 Iranian tourists caught fire in the Vayots Dzor
    region of Armenia on July 25 th. Nobody was hurt but the bus was
    destroyed in the fire, which apparently was caused by overheated
    brakes.

    Defense Minister Serge Sargsian addressed the Third Pan-Armenian Youth
    Forum on the issue of the possible resolution of the Karabagh problem,
    saying: `I formed my opinion long ago and I am convinced that the
    Karabagh problem can be settled on the basis of compromise only.'

    He stated that no conflict in the world had been without
    compromise. During parliamentary hearings, Sargsian noted that the
    Armenian party has already made certain concessions and that he is
    against the return of the territories.

    The building of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway is Georgia's internal
    affair, Armenia's Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan stated in Tbilisi
    on July 25th. In his words, Armenia can only express its opinion, but
    cannot interfere directly.

    `In the course of our previous visits representatives of the Georgian
    Government noted that they will assist us in opening the
    Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway. It matters for Georgia for the territory
    to be linked with Turkey. It is natural that launching the existing
    line is cheaper and more profitable than investing large sums to build
    a new one,' Margaryan stated.

    Georgian MP Beso Jugeli stated tthat an Armenian Tobacco Factory will
    open in Tbilisi on August 5 th. He said it would produce about 32
    brands of cigarettes from Armenian raw materials. Local residents will
    staff the factory and initial production will be sold in
    Georgia. After the meeting of Armenia's Premier Andranik Margaryan
    with Georgia's Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze, Jugeli stated
    that the volume of investment by Armenian enterprises into the
    Georgian economy is some $4 million.

    Tehran and Kiev proposed the formation of a penta-lateral commission
    with Armenia, Georgia and Russia for the study, design and
    construction of the Iran-Ukraine gas pipeline through Armenia, says a
    memorandum signed by representatives of the two countries in
    Tehran. Iran's deputy oil minister Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian
    stated that Ukraine is interested in importing 20-30 billion cubic
    meters of gas per year. Ukraine is also ready to permit Iran to use
    its infrastructure to transport 20 billion cubic meters of gas to
    Europe annually.

    According to an agreement signed in July, Bi Line Company became the
    official distributor in Armenia of all products of Microsoft
    Corporation. Bi Line's Director General Artak Zakaryan reported that
    Microsoft plans to increase the volume of sales in Armenia to $1
    million.

    Armenia has allocated $350,000 to implement programs in the
    Samtskhe-Javakhk region of Georgia populated by Armenians, Prime
    Minister Andranik Margaryan said during his visit to Tbilisi. Part of
    the money will be used to repair Armenian schools in the region.

    Two Turkish soldiers and two Kurdish rebels were killed in a skirmish
    with Kurdish units in Eastern Turkey close to the Armenian-Iranian
    border on July 27 th. Since May 2005, 33 Turks and 44 Kurds have been
    killed.

    Armenia ranked 42 nd in the 2005 annual report on World Economic
    Freedom issued by the Heritage Institute and the Wall Street
    Journal. It is the only CIS member-state in the list to be rateed a
    `partly free economy'.

    During a meeting with European parliamentarians of Turkish origin,
    Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on them to help
    launch a campaign to prevent European parliaments recognizing the
    Armenian Genocide. He urged German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Belgian
    parliamentarians of Turkish origin to oppose activities of the
    Armenian Diaspora targeted at Genocide recognition. However the
    deputies said Europe is tending to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide
    and that Turkey should carry out active lobbying against this
    phenomenon.

    Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, the Director General of the International
    Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA), arrived in Armenia on July 27 th to hold
    meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign
    Affairs and Minister of Energy. He was also due to visit the Metsamor
    Nuclear Power Plant.

    According to Anver Aliyev, a member of the Central Electoral
    Commission of Azerbaijan, 44 per cent of Azerbaijani voters (about 1.5
    million people) do not yet have personal identity cards to allow them
    to participate in the parliamentary election this autumn. `If during
    three years only 3 million people have received identification
    documents then how can a million and a half get them in three months?'
    said Aliyev. However, the head of the Central Electoral Commission,
    Mazair Panahov, sees no grounds for concern since the Interior
    Ministry has asserted that all voters will get identification
    documents in time. Sources: www.panarmenian.net, www.arminfo.am,
    www.armenpress.am, www.regnum.ru, www.irna.ir



    Sport Digest: Armenia's U-19s come of age on European stage

    By Suren Musayelyan
    ArmeniaNow Reporter

    Football

    Out but not down: Armenia's U-19s national team returned with pride
    this week from the European Championship finals in Northern Ireland.

    The team failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament from
    their qualifying group, but impressed observers with battling
    performances against England and France.

    Armenia had an opportunity to qualify until the final day of the group
    event. They lost 0-2 in their opening match against Norway, but kept
    their hopes alive with a 1-1 draw against England.

    They needed a win in the final game against France, preferably with a
    two-goal margin, to be certain of entry to the semis. However, Les
    Bleus won 1-0 on Saturday, leaving Armenia bottom of Group B with one
    point.

    Armen Melikbekyan, the deputy executive director of the Football
    Federation of Armenia, felt that the tournament had provided great
    experience for the young squad. It was the first time that Armenian
    footballers had taken part in a championship finals at any level.

    `Armenia dropped out of the tournament, but when you look back at the
    matches played by our team and at the level of their play, you get a
    feeling that everything might have turned out the other way,' he says.

    Experts pointed to the maturity of Armenia's play in all areas -
    defense, midfield, attack - as well as the team's ability to stay in
    every game until the final whistle. Against England, for instance,
    Armenia leveled the game only five minutes from time and came close to
    snatching victory in the dying minutes.

    In a press conference in Yerevan on Wednesday, the team's head coach
    Samvel Petrosyan and delegation head Artak Mnatsakanyan both said that
    they were pleased with the football shown by team in Northern Ireland.

    `It would not cause me pain if we had lost to those teams 0-3 or 0-4,
    which would simply mean that we are weak and way behind. Imagine that
    we didn't yield to those teams, but even had chances to win,' the
    coach said.

    Petrosyan complained of some misjudgments by the referees, which he
    thinks influenced the outcomes of some matches and also regretted
    Edgar Manucharyan's failure to convert quite a few goal-scoring
    chances throughout the tournament. He feels the best is yet to come
    from his players.

    `We only have five players in the squad whose age will not allow them
    to play in the U19 team next season, so there is more to come from the
    younger players who will be around next season,' he said.

    And the next season for Armenia's U19s starts already in October. The
    first qualifying round for the next European championship will be held
    in the Latvian capital of Riga on October 17-23.

    Armenia will play in Group 12 against Serbia & Montenegro, Ukraine and
    Latvia.

    UEFA Cup

    Thursday July 28: second-leg matches

    Lokomotiv Tbilisi (Georgia) v Banants (Armenia) - 0-2 (3-4 on
    aggregate)

    Mika (Armenia) v Mainz (Germany) - 0-0 (0-4 on aggregate)

    Yerevan's Banants pulled off a shock against Lokomotiv, overcoming a
    deficit at home to register the two-goal victory they needed in
    Tbilisi to progress into the next round of the UEFA Cup. Ashtarak's
    Mika had no such luck, going out after a goalless draw against the
    German team.

    The draw for the second qualifying round in the UEFA Cup is to be held
    today (Friday).

    Chess

    Twelve reaches three: An Armenian 12-year-old finished in third place
    at the world junior chess championships, which ended in the French
    town of Belfort on Thursday.

    Samvel Ter-Sahakyan from Vanadzor was close to winning the tournament
    before the last day of the event, Armenpress news agency reports. He
    won his final game, gaining 8.5 points out of a possible 11 and
    matching the results of India's Srinat Narayanay and Russia's Sanan
    Syugirov.

    However, the Armenian representative yielded first and second places
    after additional coefficients were taken into account.
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