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NO ECONOMIC CONTACTS POSSIBLE BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
FEBRUARY 14. Azerbaijan has never changed its position
of rejecting the regional economic cooperation in the South Caucasus,
Chief of the Foreign Relations Department of the Azeri President's
Executive Staff Novruz Mamedov said.
According to the Baku sources, commenting upon the UN, OSCE and CE
high representatives' recent statement in Strassbourg on their
readiness to contribute to the economic cooperation between Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan, Mamedov said that this position is not new.
"The European Union and many other international organizations are
interested in the regional economic cooperation between the South
Caucasian countries. They consider it the best way towards the
establishment of stability and security in the region," he said.
However, Mamedov pointed out that in spite of the existence of
definite contacts, the Armenia-Azerbaijan large scale cooperation
will be impossible "only after fair solution of the Karabakh
conflict."
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT UNDERWENT OPERATION
FORECASTING EARTHQUAKE IN TERRITORY OF OTHER COUNTRIES
NOT PROFESSIONAL AND NOT SERIOUS
FEBRUARY 14.It's neither professional nor serious
to forecast an earthquake in another country, Head of the
Earthquake Information Department, Armenia's National Seismic
Protection Service (NSPS) Armen Manvelyan has told ARMINFO commenting
on the forecast by his Russian colleague Viktor Bokov that it will be
possible to forecast 5-6 point earthquakes in Armenia in the very
near future.
According to Manvelyan, to forecast a quake in a country one must
have necessary information on the situation in that country. But
neither Baku nor Moscow have one. The NSPS's 150 stations monitor the
situation in Armenia on a daily basis. Manvelyan assures that no
quake can be expected in Armenia shortly.
It should be noted that according to Bokov Armenia may be shaken by
an earthquake at any moment, even today, Feb 14.
YOUNG RUSSIAN CITIZENS RECEIVED PASSPORTS OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION
SYSTEM OF INDIVIDUAL ENCODING TO BE INTRODUCED IN ARMENIA
FEBRUARY 14.Today Armenia's government approved
the bill on individual encoding (social code), the minister of Social
Security of Armenia Razmik Martirosian informed the journalists.
According to him, every citizens of the country will have an
individual ten-digit code containing an information about paid social
payments and allowances, length of service, salary. The minister
hopes that the introduction of the system of encoding will allow more
effectively to distribute pensions and social allowances and will
allow to register the number of pensioners in the country more clear.
The information will be kept for 400 years and only after that it
belong to annihilation.
Martirosian pointed out that the program is to last 2-3 years and it
is being implemented at the expense of the World Bank credit and the
technical assistance of the U.S. Agency of international development.
The minister couldn't tell the total value of the program. He said
that there are several components.
Besides, today the government approved the bill on individual data,
which supposes collection of passport information. The innovation is
directed to implementation of the new concept of development of the
system of pension security.
ARMENIA'S CENTRAL BANK SENDS OPEN LETTER TO TWO ARMENIAN DAILIES
HIS HOLINESS KAREKIN II PRESIDES DURING TIARN'NDARAJ CELEBRATIONS IN THE MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ECHMIADZIN
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT INTENDS TO ADOPT RUSSIA'S EXPERIENCE TO INCREASE
EDUCATIONAL LEVEL IN ARMENIA
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FEBRUARY 14.Today in the morning, Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan was taken to the "Nairi" Medical Center.
The presedent was operated on for acute appendicitis, The president's
press-service told ARMINFO.
The operation lasted 30 minutes and was successful. At present Robert
Kocharyan feels good. The president will stay in the hospital for 2-3
days.
FEBRUARY 14. The ceremony of issuing passports of
Russian Federation to young Russian citizens was held today in
Russia's Embassy in Armenia.
As Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia
Anatoly Drukov stated during the ceremony, hence Russia's Embassy
will in every possible way to observe the rights of its citizens in
Armenia. "We set great hopes on you. Henceforth just you will have to
assist in strengthening force, power and authority of the Russian
state", the ambassador underlined.
As Anatoly Drukov informed in the talk with an ARMINFO correspondent,
today about 12,000 Russian citizens live in Armenia.
FEBRUARY 14.Chairman of Armenia's Central Bank
Tigran Sargsyan sent today an open letter to the editors-in-chief of
the Aravot and Haykakan Zhamanak Armenian dailies.
The open letter provided to ARMINFO by the CB's press center says:
"Taking into account you concern about the fate of the banking
system, I would like to give you a chance if not to save the banking
system then at least to contribute to the settlement of the issue of
deceived depositors of some banks. To this end I grant your dailies
the Canary Islands villa, which, as you claim, belongs to me. At the
same time I ask you to sell it and to use the sum received to satisfy
the demands of the depositors of the banks which went bankrupt as a
result of the activities of people ordering articles on the banking
system in your prestigious, free and independent dailies."
The P.S. says not without humor: "I ask you not to be greedy and
not to sell the villa too cheap, lest the deceived depositors should
be deceived again. Potential buyers may see what the villa looks like
in Aravot's 226th issue Dec 1 2001."
FEBRUARY 14. Today the Armenian Church celebrated the Feast
of the Lord's Presentation to the Temple. Tiarn'ndaraj, as it is
known in Armenian, symbolizes the presentation of the 40 day-old
Christ Child to the Temple in Jerusalem.
The festivities began on the evening of February 13, in the Mother See of
Holy Echmiadzin. His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians, presided during an Evening Service which proclaimed the
start of the Lord's Feast. Following the Evening Service, His Holiness
performed the Andastan Service wherein the four corners of the world were
blessed.
At the conclusion of the service, His Holiness lit a candle from the Holy
Altar of Descent, and distributed the flame to the gathered faithful. Taking
the lighted candles home with them, the faithful continue the sweet
tradition of carrying the symbolic Light and Wisdom of Christ to their
families and neighbors.
The following morning, on February 14, a solemn Divine Liturgy was
celebrated in the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, commemorating the Feast of
the Lord's Presentation to the Temple. The celebrant was the Very Rev. Fr.
Arshak Khachatrian, Chancellor of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin.
This year once again saw the continuing of a new tradition, initiated by His
Holiness, which coincides with the celebration of Tiarn'ndaraj. Following
the celebration of Divine Liturgy, a special blessing for newlywed couples
was offered.
Each newlywed couple was presented with gifts, including a specially
prepared, white bound New Testament, as well as a special pearl necklace for
the new bride. Mr. Pierre Hajjar, an Armenian benefactor from Hong Kong,
had generously donated the gifts on this special occasion.
