August 6, 2009

ACNIS Director Richard Giragosian Convenes Special “Closed Briefing” Addressing Current Developments

Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) Director Richard Giragosian convened a special “closed briefing” on August 6 to address three of the most significant current developments in the region.  The briefing featured three separate presentations, including an assessment of the latest developments in Iran’s ongoing post-election crisis, with a focus on the implications and lessons for Armenia, an update on the status of Turkish-Armenian diplomacy, and a review of the mediation effort aimed at seeking a negotiated resolution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.

Participants in the briefing included a number of leading Armenian specialists and experts, representatives from international organizations and the diplomatic community, parliamentary staff from the Armenian National Assembly, as well as a number of summer interns from the Armenian Assembly of America (AAA).  Additional guests included officials from the British, Egyptian and Syrian Embassies, the United Nations, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several leading experts from Yerevan State University.  Several participants representing Armenian civil society were also in attendance, including officials from the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), the Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), and the National Citizens’ Initiative (NCI).

The off-the-record briefing, which was closed to the press, is the first in a monthly series of special briefings aimed at raising awareness and promoting debate and discussion of issues of national importance.

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) is a leading independent strategic research center located in Yerevan, Armenia.  As an independent, objective institution committed to conducting professional policy research and analysis, ACNIS strives to raise the level of public debate and seeks to broaden public engagement in the public policy process, as well as fostering greater and more inclusive public knowledge. Founded in 1994, ACNIS is the institutional initiative of Raffi K. Hovannisian, Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Over the past fifteen years, ACNIS has acquired a prominent reputation as a primary source of professional independent research and analysis covering a wide range of national and international policy issues.

For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; email root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am; or visit www.acnis.am.