Armenian National Assembly members started their three-day routine session on Monday. After discussion over a number of issues vice-speaker Tigran Torossyan told the lawmakers president Kocharyan had vetoed the law on ombudsman adopted on October 25, 2004.{BR} Robert Kocharyan demands to amend the law so that the law on civil servants would apply to ombudsman institution workers. Ombudsman Larissa...

”The issue of starting negotiations with Turkey over its membership with European Union will be settled positively on December 17”, politician Alexander Iskandaryan supposes, adding that there will be demands in that resolution. Under his forecasts, if it is not made, by pressure of powers in Turkey against EU membership the democratic reforms will be stoped. {BR} Besides, EU is now accused...

”Europe doesn’t imagine what to do but knows it must do”, Alexander Iskandaryan, Vice Director of Caucasian Media Institute, who has recently returned from Brussels, describes “New Neighbours” of European Union this way. {BR} According to him, this program is a display of a political will since EU doesn’t want to tolerate a chaos near its gates. By 2005 March...

Why did “Rose Revolution” succeed in Georgia? How did Ukraine Opposition manage to reach some successes? Why didn’t Armenia manage? The guests of National Press Club have today tried to answer these questions. {BR} According to Albert Bazeyan, the reason was that the force structures both in Georgia and Ukraine were neutral while Defence Ministry Board of Armenia appeared with...

The most revolutionary party of Armenia – Armenian Revolutionary Foundation has today refused participating in the discussion on “Revolutions in the 21st Century” held in National Press Club. {BR} ”Republic” Party Chair Albert Bazeyan, “People’s Party of Armenia” political board member Ruzan Khachatryan, “Democratic Homeland” Party Chair...

Moscow Mayor Yuri Lujkov and singer Iosif Kobzon have arrived in Armenia for the second time. The first was before the presidential elections in Armenia. {BR} Today the leaders of Moscow and Yerevan have signed 2005-2007 Cooperation Program in the new building of Municipality. Within that period Moscow House and wholesale trade centre are planned to build in Yerevan. After signing the document...

On Thursday, leader of governing Republican Party and MP Galust Saakyan, speaking at a news conference on Karabakh conflict settlement latest developments and referring to Atkinson’s notorious report over the matter due to be discussed at PACE winter session, said there is no need to scare people by speaking about possible war on the eve of Christmas.{BR} In his opinion there is still no reason...

Well-known Georgian political analyst Paata Zakareishvili, one of current Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili’s devoted supporters, finds it a bad sign that Saakashvili never once visited Armenians-dominated Samtskhe-Javakhk region throughout his election campaign and presidency but many times toured Kvemo Kartli instead. Azerbaijanis make the bulk of Kvemo Kartli province’s population.{BR}...

Arrests of members of former Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze’s administration continue.{BR} Georgian president’s former deputy representative in Samtskhe-Javakhk and Borjomi province governor Vazha Beridze was detained the other day on charge of inflicting damage of 600,000 lari to the state by providing a land to an organization illegally. He will be kept in police custody for...

Babken Ararqtcyan, founder of “Armat” /Root/ Centre and ex Parliament Speaker has today been the guest of National Press Club. Yesterday “Armat” Centre for Development of Democracy and Civil Society held a meeting and released a statement, which voices anxiety for inward and foreign political failures of Armenia. {BR} Today Babken Ararqtcyan has announced though he represents...

Within Black Sea Economic Cooperation Ukraine will be the presiding state during 6 coming months. Under the order of the structure, a state presiding over it changes once in 6 months. {BR} On November 23-25 Ukraine Rada Chairman was to leave for Turkey to undertake chairmanship. Because of the known events in Ukraine he couldn’t partake in the activity of the structure. In any case, Ukraine...

The states closely cooperating with the ones having separative regime must not be enrolled among those in Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Georgian delegation appeared with such a proposal during the 24th Assembly of member states of Black Sea Economic Cooperation. {BR} Azerbaijan and Greece agreed to the suggestion of the Georgian side. Armenia, Russia and Turkey opposed it. The proposal was turned...

Turkey’ Parliament Speaker Bulent Arich has met Armenian MPs Mekhak Mkhitaryan from “Land of Law” Party and Vladimir Badalyan from “People’s Deputy” Group. This historical meeting took place in the framework of the 24th Assembly of member states of Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Assembly was held in Antalia City of Turkey on November 23-25. {BR} Turkish Parliament...

National Unity party leader and MP Artashes Geghamyan had to meet with his Yerevan’s Nor Nork district constituents in a secondary school building.{BR} The meeting didn’t take place because of the school principal Garik Kostandyan refused to give permission for holding it. Some 60 people gathered for the meeting outside the school. Artashes Geghamyan and party’s other activists didn’t come.

Azerbaijan called recently on NATO to intensify efforts to solve Karabakh issue.{BR} What CSTO member countries’ security secretaries think about that? Armenian national security secretary Serge Sargssyan said any statement made by the conflict’s one side should be taken as no more than a statement. Russian Igor Ivanov said the CSTO isn’t engaged in conflicts settlement, including...

Situation in Ukraine hasn’t been put on the CSTO security secretarial session, because the agenda was composed beforehand.{BR} Despite that, Russian security secretary Igor Ivanov expressed his opinion about that. Ivanov said Russia is interested in prosperous and united Ukraine with rapidly developing economy. Russia would like Ukrainian political forces to find such a way out of the situation...

On Tuesday, opposition MP Shavarsh Kocharyan, speaking at a news conference on the situation in Ukraine, came to conclusion that unlike Ukrainian or Georgian opposition, Armenian opposition failed to oust the republic current leadership because of lack of public demand.{BR} The opposition activist tried to lump the blame on people again. He was reminded that Armenian people took to the streets...

Whether Armenia will send troops to Iraq or not? President Kocharyan has submitted the issue to Constitutional Court for consideration.{BR} If the international agreement gets Constitutional Court’s approval, it will be put on National Assembly’s floor for ratification. However, there is no need to reckon on rapid result. Defense minister and national security secretary Serge Sargssyan...

Five young Armenians were bitten by Turks Monday in Valance, France, Liberty radio station reports.{BR} The fight was broken out on national ground. Four of the five were taken to hospital with injuries. French Armenians opened a point for collection of signatures against Turkey’s likely EU membership. Two dozen Turks reportedly made offending remarks toward Armenians, then, threw bottles...

Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan received Monday Pietro Ago, former head of the CE monitoring group for Armenia and Azerbaijan and now Italian foreign ministry’s official who visited Armenia as part of his regional tour.{BR} Ago said Italian foreign ministry is planning to hold a seminar focused on regional strategic developments. He asked Oskanyan to present Armenia’s official...

CE former ambassador Pietro Ago, who headed Armenia and Azerbaijan monitoring group, met Monday with Stepan Demirchyan, Armenian National Assembly’s Artarutyun fraction head and Robert Kocharyan’s key rival in the 2003 presidential elections.{BR} The issues related to Karabakh conflict were discussed at the meeting. Before meeting with Demirchyan Ago visited president Kocharyan and...

Discord broken between Armenian Communist Party Tovmassyan-leaning members and their recently expelled fellow partisans escalated into a free-for-all on Nov 20, just before the party’s 36th conference opening ceremony.{BR} Although former communists were denied entry, the party leader Ruben Tovmassyan lost consciousness while presenting his report and was rushed to a hospital. The out-of-favor...

Armenian Communist Party leader Ruben Tovmassyan said Monday in an interview with our correspondent Armenia had been flourishing throughout seven decades of Soviet regime.{BR} In his opinion, these 70 years are the best times in Armenia’s 5,000-year-long history. He pointed out that free medical treatment were available to Soviet-era ordinary people. They had savings could afford to travel....

Today, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is organising a round table for journalists, entitled “Landmines; Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World”. The round table is dedicated to the First Review Conference of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-personnel Mines, also referred to as the Ottawa Convention, which will take place in the Kenyan capital Nairobi from 29 November...