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ITAR-TASS, Russia
October 23, 2011 Sunday 06:41 PM EST
Sargsyan won't change program of Russian visit because of quake
MOSCOW October 23
The powerful earthquake in Turkey, which was felt in Armenia and other
countries of the region, will have no effect on the program of the
state visit of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to Russia.
"There is no change in the program of the visit. It was not even
discussed," head of the presidential press service Mary Arutyunian
told Itar-Tass. She is accompanying the president on the visit.
Sargsyan came to Moscow on Sunday. The presidential delegation said
there was no quake damage in Armenia.
People in Armenia were alarmed by the powerful earthquake, which
happened in Turkey and sent tremors to the entire region, including
Georgia and Iran.
The tremors in Armenia measured three to five points on the
twelve-point scale, the National Seismic Protection Service of the
Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry said. There were neither
casualties nor damage in the republic.
A quake of 7.6 points on the Richter scale happened in eastern Turkey
on Sunday. The quake epicenter was located 35 kilometers northeast of
Van. The quake nested at the depth of 94 kilometers.
More than 200 people were hurt, the local media said. About 50
buildings, including residencies and a school dormitory, were
flattened to the ground, and several hundreds of buildings sustained
serious damage. The police said that casualties were large but their
precise number is unknown.
Eyewitnesses said that people left their homes in panic and refused to
go back as long as the tremors continued. The quake disrupted power
supply and telephone service.
The head of the national seismic service said that the quake might
have hurt up to 1,000 people.
A large set of documents, including those economic, will be signed on
results of the first-ever state visit of Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to Russia.
Sargsyan came to Moscow on Sunday at the invitation of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev. The leaders will hold negotiations at the
Kremlin on Monday.
The program of the three-day visit also includes meetings with Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin, the speakers of the Federation Council and
the Moscow mayor and an address to students of the Moscow Lomonosov
State University.
Medvedev and Sargsyan "will discuss a broad range of bilateral issues,
further political dialog and trade and economic cooperation and a
number of topical items of the international agenda," a Kremlin source
told Itar-Tass. "The negotiations will result in the signing of a
weighty set of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements
concerning humanitarian and youth exchanges, healthcare, economy and
foreign political coordination."
The presidents of Russia and Armenia had about ten meetings in
2010-2011, including those during the working visits of Sargsyan to
Moscow and St. Petersburg and multilateral events. They met, for
instance, on the sidelines of an informal summit of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Astana and at the CIS Dushanbe
summit in September. There were tripartite meetings, as well,
involving Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"The state visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia on
August 19-20, 2010, laid down a solid foundation for further
strengthening of the bilateral relations. A number of important
documents in various spheres was signed during that visit," the
Kremlin said.
Russia is a key foreign economic partner and investor of Armenia.
Bilateral trade stood at $859.1 million last year and $487.7 million
in January-July 2011, which was 15.2% more than in the same period of
2010. According to the forecast, this year's trade will hit the
pre-crisis level of $899.9 million in 2008.
Russian investments amassed in Armenia since 1991 have exceeded $2.8
billion or almost 60% of the total foreign investments in the country.
About 1,300 enterprises in Armenia have Russian capital in them, which
is over a fourth of all companies with foreign capital in the
republic.
Mostly, Russian investments are made in energy, banking, telecom,
mining, metallurgical and construction sectors. Gazprom, Inter RAO
UES, Russian Railroads, VTB, VympelCom and AFK Sistema are actively
operating on the Armenian market.
The Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation is an
important instrument of bilateral trade and economic interaction. The
commission held its latest meeting in Rostov-on-Don on July 8.
Large joint projects in priority energy sectors - gas, electric power
and atomic - are progressing successfully. Gazprom assisted the
construction of the fifth unit of the Razdan thermal power plant,
which is being prepared for the startup.
Russia is taking continuous efforts to normalize external transport
links of Armenia. Profound modernization of Armenian railroads started
with their putting into concession management by Russian Railroads in
2008. A railroad ferry line is operating the Kavkaz and Poti seaports.
Traffic goes through the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the
Russian-Georgian border. All that gives Armenia a land route to Russia
and an opportunity to enlarge its export potential.
Inter-regional relations are developing dynamically and involve about
70 Russian constituents. The first Russian-Armenian interregional
forum was held in Yerevan in April.
Long-standing historical and cultural traditions, which connect Russia
and Armenia, provide a high level of interaction in humanitarian
affairs and education. An office of the Russian Agency for the
Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and
International Humanitarian Cooperation in Yerevan is working actively,
and the Center for Innovative Cooperation opened on its basis in
April. A renovated monument to Russian soldiers, who died in the
Battle of Oshakan in 1827 was unveiled in April. The Days of Russian
Word were held under the umbrella of the Armenian president in Yerevan
in early October, and the House of Russian Book was opened within the
festival's framework.
The dialog on international issues is a priority of the bilateral
relations. A key subject is the Karabakh situation. "Being a cochair
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia carries on its mediating efforts aimed
to coordinate fundamental principles of the Karabakh peace process,"
the Russian presidential press office said.
Moscow and Yerevan interact in the CIS and the CSTO and coordinate
their positions in key aspects of international politics at the UN,
the OSCE and the Council of Europe.
October 23, 2011 Sunday 06:41 PM EST
Sargsyan won't change program of Russian visit because of quake
MOSCOW October 23
The powerful earthquake in Turkey, which was felt in Armenia and other
countries of the region, will have no effect on the program of the
state visit of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to Russia.
"There is no change in the program of the visit. It was not even
discussed," head of the presidential press service Mary Arutyunian
told Itar-Tass. She is accompanying the president on the visit.
Sargsyan came to Moscow on Sunday. The presidential delegation said
there was no quake damage in Armenia.
People in Armenia were alarmed by the powerful earthquake, which
happened in Turkey and sent tremors to the entire region, including
Georgia and Iran.
The tremors in Armenia measured three to five points on the
twelve-point scale, the National Seismic Protection Service of the
Armenian Emergency Situations Ministry said. There were neither
casualties nor damage in the republic.
A quake of 7.6 points on the Richter scale happened in eastern Turkey
on Sunday. The quake epicenter was located 35 kilometers northeast of
Van. The quake nested at the depth of 94 kilometers.
More than 200 people were hurt, the local media said. About 50
buildings, including residencies and a school dormitory, were
flattened to the ground, and several hundreds of buildings sustained
serious damage. The police said that casualties were large but their
precise number is unknown.
Eyewitnesses said that people left their homes in panic and refused to
go back as long as the tremors continued. The quake disrupted power
supply and telephone service.
The head of the national seismic service said that the quake might
have hurt up to 1,000 people.
A large set of documents, including those economic, will be signed on
results of the first-ever state visit of Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to Russia.
Sargsyan came to Moscow on Sunday at the invitation of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev. The leaders will hold negotiations at the
Kremlin on Monday.
The program of the three-day visit also includes meetings with Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin, the speakers of the Federation Council and
the Moscow mayor and an address to students of the Moscow Lomonosov
State University.
Medvedev and Sargsyan "will discuss a broad range of bilateral issues,
further political dialog and trade and economic cooperation and a
number of topical items of the international agenda," a Kremlin source
told Itar-Tass. "The negotiations will result in the signing of a
weighty set of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements
concerning humanitarian and youth exchanges, healthcare, economy and
foreign political coordination."
The presidents of Russia and Armenia had about ten meetings in
2010-2011, including those during the working visits of Sargsyan to
Moscow and St. Petersburg and multilateral events. They met, for
instance, on the sidelines of an informal summit of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Astana and at the CIS Dushanbe
summit in September. There were tripartite meetings, as well,
involving Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
"The state visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Armenia on
August 19-20, 2010, laid down a solid foundation for further
strengthening of the bilateral relations. A number of important
documents in various spheres was signed during that visit," the
Kremlin said.
Russia is a key foreign economic partner and investor of Armenia.
Bilateral trade stood at $859.1 million last year and $487.7 million
in January-July 2011, which was 15.2% more than in the same period of
2010. According to the forecast, this year's trade will hit the
pre-crisis level of $899.9 million in 2008.
Russian investments amassed in Armenia since 1991 have exceeded $2.8
billion or almost 60% of the total foreign investments in the country.
About 1,300 enterprises in Armenia have Russian capital in them, which
is over a fourth of all companies with foreign capital in the
republic.
Mostly, Russian investments are made in energy, banking, telecom,
mining, metallurgical and construction sectors. Gazprom, Inter RAO
UES, Russian Railroads, VTB, VympelCom and AFK Sistema are actively
operating on the Armenian market.
The Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation is an
important instrument of bilateral trade and economic interaction. The
commission held its latest meeting in Rostov-on-Don on July 8.
Large joint projects in priority energy sectors - gas, electric power
and atomic - are progressing successfully. Gazprom assisted the
construction of the fifth unit of the Razdan thermal power plant,
which is being prepared for the startup.
Russia is taking continuous efforts to normalize external transport
links of Armenia. Profound modernization of Armenian railroads started
with their putting into concession management by Russian Railroads in
2008. A railroad ferry line is operating the Kavkaz and Poti seaports.
Traffic goes through the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the
Russian-Georgian border. All that gives Armenia a land route to Russia
and an opportunity to enlarge its export potential.
Inter-regional relations are developing dynamically and involve about
70 Russian constituents. The first Russian-Armenian interregional
forum was held in Yerevan in April.
Long-standing historical and cultural traditions, which connect Russia
and Armenia, provide a high level of interaction in humanitarian
affairs and education. An office of the Russian Agency for the
Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and
International Humanitarian Cooperation in Yerevan is working actively,
and the Center for Innovative Cooperation opened on its basis in
April. A renovated monument to Russian soldiers, who died in the
Battle of Oshakan in 1827 was unveiled in April. The Days of Russian
Word were held under the umbrella of the Armenian president in Yerevan
in early October, and the House of Russian Book was opened within the
festival's framework.
The dialog on international issues is a priority of the bilateral
relations. A key subject is the Karabakh situation. "Being a cochair
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia carries on its mediating efforts aimed
to coordinate fundamental principles of the Karabakh peace process,"
the Russian presidential press office said.
Moscow and Yerevan interact in the CIS and the CSTO and coordinate
their positions in key aspects of international politics at the UN,
the OSCE and the Council of Europe.