The NKR government allocated 9 million AMD to organize an exhibit at the Milan International Tourism Exhibition now underway in the northern Italian city.

Sergey Shahverdyan, who heads the NKR Tourist Board, mentioned at a press conference held today, that there have been no problems at the NKR booth despite attempts by Azerbaijan to protest the presence of Karabakh as an independent country. »»»»»

Refugees from Azerbaijan Need “Crash Course” in Armenian to Find Work

Tamara Amirdjanova, an Armenian refugee from Azerbaijan, had the following to say regarding the issue of refugee return bandied about in the Karabakh conflict settlement negotiations:

“I will never go back to Baku. I can’t even think about returning for I remember how we grabbed our kids in our arms and fled that place. Better I live in poverty in Karabakh, the homeland, than return there.” »»»»»

According to an elections amendments package that was passed today by the NKR National Assembly, political parties would have to garner 6% of the upcoming May 23 parliamentary elections to take seats in the legislative body. Political alliances would have to win a minimum of 8%.

Sergei Nasibyan, President of the NKR Central Elections Commission, commenting on passage of the bill, noted that the new law had thused eased requirements in place during the last parliamentary elections. The prior law had stipulated 10% for parties and 15% for political alliances. »»»»»

This year, work to supply the NKR towns of Martakert and Hadrut with gas is scheduled to begin, this according to Karlen Petrosyan, head of the NKR’s Department of Industrial Infrastructure.

Mr. Petrosyan said that gas distribution work will also take place in the village of Nerkin Horatagh in the Martakert district and the village of Patara in Askeran. He said that as of January 1, 2010, some 23,347 apartments in the country had been registered as customers of the “ArtsakhGaz” utility.

Moscow benefactor promises to help; has already sent $20,000

Alla Soghomonyan remembers what happened after they moved into their new home in Shushi. The family had been living in Shushi since 2001. The three room house was built for them by the NKR government, after Mr. and Mrs. Soghomonyan had their seventh child. The government wants to encourage large families.

“We moved into the new house in October, 2003. Soon after, we noticed that the walls would get damp and the plaster crack,” she said. »»»»»

NKR President Bako Sahakyan today named Vasily Atadjanyan to the post of NKR Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Prior to the posting, Mr. Atadjanyan had been a member of the NKR Parliament, serving as President of the Standing Committee for Social Affairs. He will join Vardan Barseghyan as the NKR’s other deputy foreign affairs minister.

NKR President Bako Sahakyan met yesterday with a delegation from the All Armenia Fund, headed by Executive Director Ara Vardanyan. The two sides discussed on-going projects in the country, with special attention to the plans for the town of Shushi.

President Sahakyan emphasized the importance of completing the projects envisaged for Shushi in a timely manner and according to the higher standards, given the town’s significance for Armenians worldwide. »»»»»

During yesterday’s meeting with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Robert Bradke, NKR President Bako Sahakyan stated that Karabakh’s independence and security are non-negotiable and that any attempt to disregard this reality would lead to a failure of settlement talks.

The Press Office of the NKR’s Office of the President stated that President Sahakyan told the visiting U.S. Co-Chair that a settlement would only be possible if the NKR and Azerbaijan engaged in bilateral negotiations. Both Mr. Bradke and President Sahakyan stressed that the normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations was a separate process not linked to the Karabakh conflict settlement.

NKR Defense Minister Movses Hakobyan proudly proclaimed that 188 apartments had been allocated to military service personnel in 2009. He said that this was a substantial increase over previous years despite the ongoing financial crisis.

During a press conference yesterday, DM Hakobyan stated that to date 770 officers in the NKR Defense Forces had been allocated housing and that 217 million AMD had been spent for this purpose in 2009.

At a press conference held today, NKR Minister of Defense Movses Hakobyan described 2009 as militarily “quite complex”, but nevertheless claimed that units of the Karabakh Defense Force were able to advance their frontline positions by about one kilometre in five different locations along the Arax River.

The NKR Defense Minister also boasted that, “I am ready to perform operations with this tank unit anywhere, even deep in enemy territory, and I am convinced we’d face no problem at all.” Here he was referring to the outstanding results of military inspections conducted in 2009 and the fact that the tank unit in question also performed quite well in military manoeuvres. »»»»»