Armenia Leading Country in Number of Visitors to Neighboring Georgia

According to figures released by Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, there has been a steady increase in the number of foreign visitors to Georgia in the period 2006–2011. There was a 4% increase in the number of visitors this year as compared to last year.

The highest number of visitors to Georgia come from Armenia. This is followed by citizens from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, EU states, Ukraine and Iran.

These countries are followed by visitors from Israel, Greece, Poland, the US, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, the UK, China, Belarus, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Spain, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Lithuania and Belgium, reports Georgia Online.

According to the state agency’s statistics, the months when more tourists visit Georgia are January, July, August and September.  Read more... (146 words)

Russian expert compares Armenian Diaspora with Jewish communities abroad

Sergey Markov, a Russian lawmaker and political analyst, finds the Armenian Diaspora a very powerful tool promoting the country’s development.

In an interview with Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo, he said Armenia’s big international Diaspora is influential enough to be compared with the Jewish communities abroad.

The expert particularly spoke of the country’s economic situation, considering it very serious.

“The small country’s location in a landlocked area adds to that. Very often it depends on the Georgian authorities’ whims,” he said, adding that the strong diaspora appears to be a countermeasure to that.  Read more... (168 words)

Russian citizen was denied boarding Azeri airliner because of his Armenian surname

Popular Russian radio and TV anchor, journalist Vladimir Solovyov declared a few days ago that the Azeri authorities’ attitude towards Armenians has nothing to de with their citizenship, but is pure manifestation of racism, just as Nazis treated the Jews at the time.

“Even one drop of Armenian blood to them is a subject of wild, inhuman, I would even say, beastly, hatred. To me as a Jew that hatred outright reminds of the tragedy of my nation and the Holocaust,” Solovyov stressed.  Read more... (377 words)

Armenia Delegation Disappointed with Istanbul Symposium to Revitalize Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement: Giragosian

A two-day symposium entitled “The Normalization Process between Turkey and Armenia: Prospects for Revitalization” took place in Istanbul last week with the participation of about 30 well-known academics and experts from Turkey and Armenia, as well as from other countries.

The symposium aimed to explore the dynamics of the Armenia-Turkey rapprochement process in 2008–2009, the factors that led to the current stalemate, as well as the prospects for the revitalization of the normalization process. Participants were expected to examine the evolution of the rapprochement by focusing on its intergovernmental as well as civil society dimensions, as well as to analyze the current state of the normalization process by not only exploring the positions of the parties, but also situating the process into the relevant regional and international context.  Read more... (792 words)

Azerbaijan wins Security Council Seat, while Armenians remain idle

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Pres Aliyev was celebrating last week his country’s historic victory at the United Nations. With an overwhelming number of votes, Azerbaijan was elected for the first time to the prestigious UN Security Council for a two-year term.

This column shall address three questions: 1) how did Azerbaijan manage to get elected to such an elite body? 2) what will Azerbaijan accomplish with its newly-acquired seat? 3) what actions did Armenians take to counter Azerbaijan’s candidacy?  Read more... (734 words)

Turkey Thanked Armenia and Israel, But Accepted Earthquake Relief Only from Azerbaijan

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked other countries for offers of help, including Israel and Armenia, but said Turkey was able to cope with the effects of the earthquake that struck Van and Ercis on Sunday by itself, Reuters reports.

A Reuters source in Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly declared that Turkey received several offers of assistance, however, has not accepted any of them save for Azerbaijan, its rescuers of which are currently working in the disaster zone.

Erdogan visited the town of Ercis by helicopter to see the scale of devastation. On return to Van city he said in a televised statement that at least 93 people had been confirmed dead in Van city and 45 in Ercis, some 100 km (60 miles) to the north. An official at the provincial crisis center had earlier said officials had received patchy information so far and the casualty toll would undoubtedly rise.  Read more... (208 words)

OSCE looking for new mechanisms to settle Karabakh conflict

The visit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group cochairmen to the Karabakh conflict region late last week was entirely devoted to the strengthening of the ceasefire along the border. No new proposals on settling the conflict were made by the co-chairs, but for the first time as part of the international mediators’ visit, a meeting was held with Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.

In Baku, the United States, Russian and French co-heads of the Group are due to meet with the spiritual leader of Azerbaijan, Sheikh ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade.

Russian Minsk Group co-chair Igor Popov said that in November a meeting of the South Caucasus religious leaders in Yerevan will take place November and that the mediators hope for an appeal for peace to be made.  Read more... (493 words)

Economist says possible second wave of world recession may hit Armenia harder

Economist Grigor Hayrapetyan believes that the second wave of the global financial crisis may have a much worse effect on the economy of Armenia than the first one several years ago when the country’s robust GDP growth abruptly ended and a steep decline was registered.

Economists say the second wave of recession will be deeper for the entire world as at present the world economy is much weaker than during the latest downturn in 2008.

At a meeting with journalists on Wednesday Hayrapetyan, who teaches economics to Yerevan State University students, reminded that Armenia’s economy is heavily dependent on remittances (that reach some $2-2.5 billion a year) and the deterioration of financial conditions in the world would also reduce the amount of money wired to Armenia and that will lead to exacerbation of social problems.  Read more... (576 words)

New Format?: “Azeri community of Karabakh” ready for dialogue with Armenians

Recently in Azerbaijan a new idea of “double-community” of Nagorno Karabakh again has been raised and, in statements to the international community, Baku authorities are quite generous in their promises of social welfare and security guarantees for Karabakhi Armenians.

Since summer thoughts have been repeatedly voiced on the necessity of starting a dialogue between “the Armenian and Azeri communities of Nagorno Karabakh”. Head of Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno Karabakh public union Bayram Safarov said that “Armenians residing in Nagorno Karabakh are citizens of Azerbaijan and have a right to receive IDs as such. They can see modern Azerbaijan’s success and achievements and, I believe, Karabakhi Armenians want to live in the Republic of Azerbaijan and enjoy the privileges of a successful country.”  Read more... (466 words)