Vartan Oskanian's interview with Gala TV in the city of Gyumri regarding Armenia-Turkey relations, Nagorno Karabakh, and Armenia's economy.

We start what promises to be a tough and challenging year (you ask – when have we had any other kind? I agree…) with an invitation to you to review not just our annual report – ARMENIA IN 2009 – PROMISE AND REALITY, but especially the budget graph that was the special annex to that report. How the government spends its funds is an important question for any country, especially one with limited resources.  So, it was worth plowing through 1000 pages of Armenia’s national budget just so we could distill the picture, especially in the context of our continuing economic decline.

We continue to be seized by regional issues – especially those relating to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Turkey-Armenia rapprochement process. Vartan Oskanian spoke about both of those recently in interviews to www.tert.am, 168 Zham newspaper, and A1+.

The activities above fall within the Civilitas Foundation’s Council on International Relations. As part of our Democracy and Development Initiative, we are working hard to develop a database of Armenia’s active non-governmental organizations in order to make it easier for donor and implementor to connect. People wanting to support good work should be able to easily identify those who do good work. In a few months, our directory should make that possible. (Even now, CIVILITAS CONNECTS begins to introduce who to some of the good people doing good work in Armenia.)

Finally, with support from the US Embassy in Armenia, we are helping nearly a dozen of Armenia’s regional libraries become centers of civil society, by improving their physical quarters and acquiring books.

And, for those of you in Armenia this week, join us either in Gyumri or Vanadzor as we hold public debates surrounding the themes analyzed in the annual report -- Gyumri on Thursday, February 11 at 2 pm at the Arevamanook Center, and Vanadzor on Friday, February 12 at 12 noon at the Green House Hotel. All are welcome. (Interpretation will not be available during these two events. Discussions will be conducted in Armenian only.)

Thank you to those who have supported our projects. We hope you’ll join them.

Vartan Oskanian participated in a one-day conference entitled “The Black Sea Region – Current and Future Prospects” in Berlin. The conference was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 25.

Mr. Oskanian is a member of the Black Sea Commission, which had sponsored the conference. The Commission, an initiative of the German Marshall Fund, the International Center for Black Sea Studies, the Bertelsmann Foundation, and TEPAV, has as its members several former high-level officials from Black Sea region member countries. The commission members have met several times over the last year in order to try to identify common interests which would serve to move the governments of Black Sea region countries towards closer cooperation.