Today we live in a society, which can not imagine life without expressing views on social media. Probably it does have certain advantages. Nevertheless, many participants of active discussions have already forgotten or do not even know about the developments, which unfolded in Armenia 5, 10 or 15 years ago.
To fill the gap Mediamax presents 5/10/15 project, which introduce developments in Armenia 5, 10 and 15 years ago.
• 15 YEARS AGO: SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2003
The first step to peacekeeping in Kosovo
On 3 September 2003 in Yerevan, heads of the general staff of the Greek and Armenian armed forces Georgios Antonakopoulos and Mikael Harutyunyan signed a memorandum on the participation of Armenian platoon in the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo as a part of the Greek battalion.
“A divorce without alimony”
On September 4, Acting CEO of ArmenTel Georgios Vasilakis described as “myths” and “legends” the Armenian government’s accusations against the telecommunication monopolist.
While speaking at the open meeting of ArmenTel shareholders, Georgios Vasilakis said that the fact of holding such a meeting itself was “illegal”. According to him, the company’s license envisaged that all arguments between the government of Armenia and ArmenTel should be considered in the international arbitration tribunal in London. Despite that, Vasilakis said, “we agreed to take part in the open session, since we care about the fate of Armenia’s telecommunication system and the USD 400 million that we invested into this country”.
Georgios Vasilakis and Armenian Justice Minister Davit HarutyunianPhoto: Photolure
“A group of representatives of the Armenian government is trying to get a divorce without alimony. This group wants to oust from the market a large foreign investor that paid USD 142 million for the ruined telecommunication system of Armenia,” said Georgios Vasilakis.
The Armenian-Greek football scandal
On September 6, President of Armenian Football Federation (AFF) Ruben Hayrapetyan said he was offered USD 1 million to make the Armenian team lose the Euro-2004 qualifier against Greece.
While speaking at a briefing in Yerevan after the match, which Armenia lost 0:1, Hayrapetyan said that former captain of the Armenian national team Yervand Sukiasyan called him two days before the match and said that the president of the Hellenic Football Federation was ready to pay USD 1 million for the game.
On September 8, the Hellenic federation made a statement denying all accusations.
“No one has the right to play with the good name of Greece and the Greek National Team. As it seems, the successful course of the team has caused problems to many people who did not expect it. That can also explain Mr. Hayrapetyan’s unsupported accusations after the match between Armenia and Greece,” read the statement.
The Hellenic Football Federation branded Ruben Hayrapetyan’s accusations “shameless lies” and said they registered an official complaint with UEFA, “strongly requesting a full thorough investigation and appropriate punishment for those who are attempting to besmirch the good name of the country and the HFF”.
Serzh Sargsyan’s hopes
On September 9, Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan said he hoped that the opening of Armenian-Turkish border was a “matter of months”. “At any rate, there are preconditions for making this statement,” Sargsyan said in the interview to “Golos Armenii” newspaper.
“I am certain of the expediency of opening the border and so I don’t intend to get involved in any discussions. If anyone fails to see this expediency, that is their problem,” noted Sargsyan.
Economic freedoms
On September 8, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said that “by the indices of economic freedoms we are far ahead of a number of European countries”.
While speaking at the closing ceremony of the Armenian-Bulgarian business forum in Sophia, Kocharyan said:
“Armenia has the most liberal foreign trade regime in the entire post-Soviet space. By the indices of economic freedoms, we are far ahead of a number of European countries. More than 80% of Armenia’s GDP is produced by the private sector, 35% - by small and medium enterprises.”
“According to the long-term program of economic development, by 2015 Armenia’s economic development should be level with minimal standards of the European Union by fundamental indices,” concluded Kocharyan.
• 10 YEARS AGO: SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2008
To recognize or not to recognize: Abkhazia and South Ossetia
On September 3, 2008 Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev said in Yerevan that the official Moscow would not pressure CSTO member states to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
“Recognition of independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is in the competence of each state individually and they should make an independent decision,” he said while answering the question from Mediamax.
On the same day, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan spoke at the annual meeting of heads of Armenian diplomatic missions abroad and stated that “Armenia cannot recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia without recognizing the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”.
Turkish President comes to Armenia
On September 6, Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Zvartnots Airport in Yerevan. His cortege headed to the Armenian presidential residence, where he had a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. After the meeting they went together to Hrazdan Stadium to follow the match between the Armenian and Turkish national football teams from a VIP lodge. Immediately after the game, the Turkish President left Yerevan.
Abdullah Gul and Serzh Sargsyan at Hrazdan StadiumPhoto: REUTERS
As he spoke with the journalists after the meeting, Abdullah Gul noted that he and Sargsyan discussed Turkey’s initiative of setting up a “Caucasus Platform of Stability and Security”. President Gul also thanked Serzh Sargsyan for supporting the initiative.
“We demonstrated the political will to solve the problems between Armenia and Turkey. I hope that the visit will serve as a basis for normalization of bilateral relations,” Abdullah Gul said.
“We shared the hope that we would be able to demonstrate the will to solve the existing problems between our countries, for the next generations not to inherit those. I saw readiness and wish to assist the establishment of peace and stability in the region, for which I am very glad,” said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
• 5 YEARS AGO: SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2013
The Customs Union
On September 3, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement which read that Armenian planned to join the Customs Union and participate in formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin Photo: REUTERS
On the following day, Foreign Minister of then-EU chairman Lithuania Linas Linkevicius said that Armenia closed the possibility of signing a free trade deal with the European Union by choosing to join the Russia-led Customs Union. According to him, the EU respected the decision to join the Customs Union, which the Armenian leader announced in Moscow, but “the two systems are incompatible”.
On September 5, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule said that “in the light of recent developments, it is difficult to imagine the initialling of the Association Agreement with Armenia at Vilnius summit in November, as it had been negotiated”.
Ara Tadevosyan
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