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KOCHARIAN GEARS UP FOR IRAN VISIT
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 4 2006
President Robert Kocharian will fly to Tehran Wednesday on a two-day
visit which officials in Yerevan hope will cement Armenia's close
economic and political ties with Iran.
Kocharian is scheduled to hold his first face-to-face talks with
Iran's controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and meet other
senior Iranian officials. A statement by his press office did not
list the Islamic Republic's powerful supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, among them.
The statement said a number of unspecified "bilateral agreements" will
be signed during the trip. Kocharian's spokesman Victor Soghomonian
could not give their details, telling RFE/RL only that the Armenian
leader will discuss a "broad range of issues" in Tehran.
The presence in the Kocharian-led Armenian delegation of Energy
Minister Movsisian, who visited Iran as recently as in late May,
suggests that growing Armenian-Iranian cooperation in the energy
sector will be high on the agenda. Movsisian and Armenian Deputy
Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian were already in Tehran on Tuesday,
making last-minute preprations for Kocharian's arrival.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Movsisian met with Iran's
Oil Minister Vaziri Hamaneh and Energy Minister Parviz Fattah to
discuss multimillion-dollar Armenian-Iranian energy projects, notably
the ongoing construction of a pipeline which is due to start pumping
Iranian natural gas to Armenia next year.
"The Tehran Times" daily reported on June 13 that Yerevan and
Tehran will soon sign an agreement to build a third high-voltage
transmission line that will connect the power grids of the two
neighboring countries. The paper said the $80 million project will
be financed by a state-run Iranian bank.
The Iranian government t has already provided a separate $35 million
loan to finance the ongoing construction of Russia's state-run
gas monopoly, Gazprom, announced earlier this week plans to buy the
Armenian section of the pipeline which was supposed to ease Armenia's
strong dependence on Russian energy resources. The issue may also be
discussed during Kocharian's visit.
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 4 2006
President Robert Kocharian will fly to Tehran Wednesday on a two-day
visit which officials in Yerevan hope will cement Armenia's close
economic and political ties with Iran.
Kocharian is scheduled to hold his first face-to-face talks with
Iran's controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and meet other
senior Iranian officials. A statement by his press office did not
list the Islamic Republic's powerful supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, among them.
The statement said a number of unspecified "bilateral agreements" will
be signed during the trip. Kocharian's spokesman Victor Soghomonian
could not give their details, telling RFE/RL only that the Armenian
leader will discuss a "broad range of issues" in Tehran.
The presence in the Kocharian-led Armenian delegation of Energy
Minister Movsisian, who visited Iran as recently as in late May,
suggests that growing Armenian-Iranian cooperation in the energy
sector will be high on the agenda. Movsisian and Armenian Deputy
Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian were already in Tehran on Tuesday,
making last-minute preprations for Kocharian's arrival.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Movsisian met with Iran's
Oil Minister Vaziri Hamaneh and Energy Minister Parviz Fattah to
discuss multimillion-dollar Armenian-Iranian energy projects, notably
the ongoing construction of a pipeline which is due to start pumping
Iranian natural gas to Armenia next year.
"The Tehran Times" daily reported on June 13 that Yerevan and
Tehran will soon sign an agreement to build a third high-voltage
transmission line that will connect the power grids of the two
neighboring countries. The paper said the $80 million project will
be financed by a state-run Iranian bank.
The Iranian government t has already provided a separate $35 million
loan to finance the ongoing construction of Russia's state-run
gas monopoly, Gazprom, announced earlier this week plans to buy the
Armenian section of the pipeline which was supposed to ease Armenia's
strong dependence on Russian energy resources. The issue may also be
discussed during Kocharian's visit.