Month: November 2006

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
November 22, 2006 Wednesday 05:47 PM EST
Armenian pres to discuss fight against organized crime in Cyprus
by: Rodion Kochetkov
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has arrived in Cyprus to discuss
deeper cooperation in the fight against organized crime. Papadopoulos
to focus on the future of EU-Turkey talks and Ankara’s possible
recognition of genocide of Armenians in Osman Empire in 1915.
Later in the day, Kocharian will meet with parliamentary speaker
Dimitris Christofyas, Foreign Minister Georgios Lillikas and
Archbishop of Cyprus Christomosos II.
On November 24, he will have talks with Nicosia Mayor Mihalakis
Zambelas and meet with representatives of the Armenian Diaspora. On
the same day, he will lay a stone of remembrance to the monument to
victims of genocide in 1915 in Larnaca.

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
November 22, 2006 Wednesday
Media advisory: Days of Armenian National Assembly at FC
Russian Federation Council
Press Service
Days of the Armenian National Assembly will be held at the Federation
Council on Thursday and Friday, November 23 and 24.
Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov will meet with Speaker of
the Armenian National Assembly Tirgan Torosian at the Federation
Council building (26, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, room 701) at 12:00
on Thursday, November 23.
Accreditation of Russian and foreign journalists for covering the
meetings will be held by the Federation Council Press Service until
16:30 on Thursday, November 23.
For more information, please call 692-4145, 692-1877, 692-7525 or
692-5604.
Fax: 692-4305.

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
November 22, 2006 Wednesday
Aliyev ready to meet Kocharyan in Minsk over Karabakh
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev has agreed to meet his Armenian
counterpart Robert Kocharyan for searching for ways to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, an Azerbaijani official told Itar-Tass on
Wednesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Armenia consented to hold a meeting between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan as part of the CIS summit to
take place in Minsk on November 28, said Yuri Merzlyakov, Russian
co-chairman of the Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The meeting of the presidents’ mediators yielded results, the Russian
ambassador said on Wednesday before his departure to Baku.
In 2006 this will be the third meeting between the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia. The previous talks took place in France and
Romania.
“It is necessary to receive Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev’s
approval” although earlier the Azerbaijani foreign minister “made a
corresponding statement to this effect”, the Russian ambassador
said.
The Russian co-chairman said U.S. ambassador Matthew Bryza’s absence
is conditioned by the fact that the co-chairmen “agreed to divide
their obligations. These days the American colleague is to meet
Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arkady Gukasyan, who is currently in the
United States.”
Merzlyakov believes, “In general, the year is rather optimistic for
us. If we manage to do this, we have good prospects in 2007.”
French co-chairman Bernard Fassier said he is hopeful that the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan “will succeed in bringing
closer their positions on certain difficult issues.”
Recently military rhetoric has become “more subdued” and it has not
prevented the 2006 key task – to organise a meeting between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Military rhetoric impedes the
negotiating process on the Karabakh settlement whether such
statements are made on the eve of important meetings,” the Russian
co-chairman stressed.
“The co-chairman have a common position – the war is not a real
possibility to solve the conflict,” Fassier added.

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
November 22, 2006 Wednesday
Kocharyan agree to meet Aliyev in Minsk over Karabakh – diplomat
by Tigran Liloyan
Armenia has agreed to hold a meeting between the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan as part of the CIS summit to take place in
Minsk on November 28, said Yuri Merzlyakov, Russian co-chairman of
the Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The meeting of the presidents’ mediators yielded results, the Russian
ambassador said on Wednesday before his departure to Baku.
In his words, “it is necessary to receive Azerbaijani President
Ilkham Aliyev’s approval” although earlier the Azerbaijani foreign
minister “made a corresponding statement to this effect”.
The Russian co-chairman said U.S. ambassador Matthew Bryza’s absence
is conditioned by the fact that the co-chairmen “agreed to divide
their obligations. These days the American colleague is to meet
Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arkady Gukasyan, who is currently in the
United States.”
Merzlyakov believes, “In general, the year is rather optimistic for
us. If we manage to do this, we have good prospects in 2007.”
French co-chairman Bernard Fassier said he is hopeful that the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan “will succeed in bringing
closer their positions on certain difficult issues.”
Recently military rhetoric has become “more subdued” and it has not
prevented the 2006 key task – to organise a meeting between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Military rhetoric impedes the
negotiating process on the Karabakh settlement whether such
statements are made on the eve of important meetings,” the Russian
co-chairman stressed.
“The co-chairman have a common position – the war is not a real
possibility to solve the conflict,” Fassier added.

Turan News Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 23 2006
OSCE MEDIATORS CONFIRM AZERI, ARMENIAN LEADERS TO MEET IN BELARUS
Baku, 23 November: The [French and Russian] co-chairmen of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier (who also acted on behalf of US
co-chairman Matthew Bryza), and Yuriy Merzlyakov, visited Yerevan and
Baku on 20-21 November. They met the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents and the foreign ministers of the two countries.
The talks resulted in the two presidents accepting the co-chairmen’s
proposal to meet in Minsk next week [28 November] on the sidelines of
the next summit of CIS heads of state, says a joint statement by the
co-chairmen which Turan news agency has received from the OSCE
office.
The talks in Yerevan and Baku confirmed that the three rounds of
consultations between the foreign ministers held in Moscow, Paris and
Brussels in October and November were useful in advancing
negotiations.
“In light of the current meetings with the two countries’ foreign
ministers and presidents, the co-chairmen are hoping that the
forthcoming meeting between the presidents in Minsk will allow both
sides to make a new step towards reaching agreement on the basic
principles of the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. The
principles were backed by the leaders of G8 in Saint Petersburg in
July 2006 and are still remaining on the negotiating table as the
best opportunity to achieve fair and durable peace,” the statement
said.

Public Television, Armenia
Nov 23 2006
ARMENIAN, CYPRIOT LEADERS DISCUSS TIES
[Presenter] The Armenian president has started an official visit to
the Republic of Cyprus. A ceremony to meet the Armenian president was
held at the Cypriot president’s residence after which Robert
Kocharyan and Tasos Papadhopoulos held one-to-one talks.
[Correspondent, from Cyprus] An official ceremony to meet the
Armenian president was held at the Cypriot president’s residence this
morning. Robert Kocharyan paid tribute to the memory of the first
Cypriot president, Archbishop Makarios, and laid a wreath at his
monument.
The Armenian-Cypriot talks started with the presidents’ one-to-one
talks. Then, they were joined by the two countries’ delegations. The
delegations include officials from the spheres of tourism and
banking. These are the main trends of prospects for the development
of Armenian-Cypriot relations.
The presidents will also discuss integration into Europe. As a member
of the European Union, Cyprus can help Armenia within the framework
of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The presidents also discussed
ways to boost bilateral relations. The Armenian and Cypriot
governments have signed an agreement on cooperation in the fight
against organized crime.
The presidents will soon hold a news conference.

Day.az, Azerbaijan
Nov 20 2006
AZERI EXPERT PREDICTS NO CHANGES IN KARABAKH ISSUE
An Azerbaijani pundit has said he does not expect any dramatic
changes in the Karabakh issue as the USA and Russia have their own
interests in the region, and although pressure on Azerbaijan may
increase, neither the USA nor Russia will dare to impose a
pro-Armenian solution. In an interview for an Azerbaijani website,
director of the Department of Conflict Studies of the Institute for
Peace and Democracy Arif Yunus said he was not surprised that
pro-American senators triumphed in the mid-term US elections, but
doubted that the so-called “genocide” of the Armenians would be
generally recognized in the USA. Azerbaijan, he said, must work more
with American policymakers and strengthen its ties with Europe and
Israel as a counterbalance to the Armenian lobby. The following is
the text of his interview entitled “It is now time to switch to
specific actions, to open an embassy in Israel and not to be afraid
of the reaction in the Arab world or Iran. They will be on the side
of the Armenians anyway”, published on the Day.Az website on 21
November; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
An exclusive interview for the Day.Az website with the Director of
the Department of Conflict Studies of the Institute for Peace and
Democracy, Arif Yunus.
[correspondent] Arif muallim [mode of address], do you think it is
surprising that senators who are well known for their pro-Armenian
positions have been elected leaders of the Democratic and Republican
parties in the US Senate, or is this what was expected as a result of
organized and methodical work by the Armenian lobby?
Pro-Armenian senators elected in USA
[Yunus] The role, activities and influence of the Armenian lobby in
the USA are too overstated in our country. Yes, during election
campaigns, as a rule, nominees to the Senate or Congress, as well as
the presidency, frequently try to play up to certain groups of the
population. They promise to do something about women’s or other
issues, and so on. In fact, it is all about trying to win as many
votes as possible. But once a candidate is elected to this or that
post, many promises remain just that. So, there is no point in making
too much of the activities of the Armenian lobby. It is more a
question of a clash of circumstances, because political life in the
USA is built on different principles. Here, the interests of other
peoples and countries are lobbied, but only on condition that this is
not detrimental to the country’s national interests.
When the question of revoking the notorious amendment No 907 [Section
907 to the Freedom Support Act banning US aid to the Azerbaijani
government] in relation to Azerbaijan was raised, many of the
pro-Armenian senators did not object because they realized the
importance of our country’s role for US interests. It is another
matter that whereas up to now the US administration, to suit the
interests of the oil companies, has turned a blind eye to many of the
problems in our country in the sphere of democracy and human rights,
now it will be much more difficult to do so.
[correspondent] Senator Harry Reid, who supported the draft bill on
“the genocide of the Armenians” in Ottoman Turkey, has been elected
leader of the Democrats in the Senate. Reid also appealed to the
White House administration to give a precise definition of crimes in
the Ottoman Empire. Do you think it can now be said that everything
is leading towards the US recognizing the so-called “genocide” of the
Armenians?
Armenian “genocide” unlikely to be recognized in USA
[Yunusov] I doubt it. I have already pointed out that the attitude of
senators and American politicians in general to this or that country
depends on many factors. Were Turkey not so important for US
interests, then one could expect such recognition. Why is Western
Europe so guarded in its attitude to Turkey over the question of
acceptance into the European Union and is constantly raising the
issue of the Armenian “genocide”? It is not at all out of respect for
the memory of the dead Armenians or any particular lobbying of the
Armenians.
It is nothing to do with the Armenians but their attitude to Turkey.
They are frankly rather afraid of it in Western Europe and are doing
everything to prevent it joining their Christian club called the
“European Union”. If it wasn’t the Armenian “genocide”, then they
would be raising some other issue. And in the USA it is not the
Armenians who play the main role in adopting this or that decision,
but the attitude to Turkey. Chances are the question of the
recognition of the “genocide” will always be raised in the USA, and
at the same time the Armenians will organize noisy campaigns and
believe that this time the question will be resolved. This will be
used for the USA to put pressure on Turkey to adopt this or that
decision in the Near East. After all, the Americans have many
problems in the region, not least of which is the problem of solving
the Iranian crisis or the Palestinian question and Israel’s attitude
to the Arab world. Meanwhile, Turkey may play a very important role,
which is both a positive and a negative thing for the Americans. So
the problem of recognition of the “genocide” of the Armenians is just
an American big stick for Turkey. It will always be raised, but
whether it will be lowered is a question that is a long way from
being resolved and will depend on the geopolitical situation in the
region.
Armenia a permanent US trading partner?
[correspondent] Mitch McConnell, who is also well known for his
position in favour of solving Armenian issues, has been elected to
the Senate from the Republican Party. In particular, Mr McConnell
came out in support of a draft bill under the Freedom Support Act
programme to confer on Armenia the status of a permanent trading
partner of the US. What will the conferring of this status on Armenia
bring and how will this affect the positions of the Armenians in the
Karabakh conflict?
[Yunusov] I don’t know if Armenia will receive the status of a
permanent trading partner of the USA or not. As a rule, there are
many factors involved in taking such a decision, and to some degree
the geopolitical factor is one of them. But one thing is clear:
relatively good times are on the way for Armenia. US economic aid to
Armenia is likely to increase even more. But there will be no basic
changes in the Karabakh question, because one cannot expect any
drastic moves in a settlement of the conflict during the elections
(presidential or parliamentary) in Azerbaijan and Armenia. But in the
USA they will be nervous about statements by the Azerbaijani
authorities about the possibility of solving the conflict by military
means. Here one should expect pressure on Azerbaijan. The
Azerbaijanis will act on the principle that the Karabakh conflict
must not be resolved now, because we will not allow a war to start.
[correspondent] We have dealt with Armenia. But what conclusions
should Azerbaijan draw in the question of building future relations
with the USA?
Azerbaijan, USA and Karabakh conflict
[Yunusov] Azerbaijan should, ultimately, realize that it has to work
in different directions and be a country that is important to US
interests. We have backed the US administration and the alertness of
the oil lobby. Plus the fact that lately there has also been the
Jewish lobby. However, other forces may also take over the US
leadership, and what should be done then? We must work more and,
especially, more effectively with the lawmakers, i.e. the US Senate
and Congress, and also with various politicians and public figures
whose voices have important significance for decision-making in the
USA. We must also strengthen even more our ties with Israel and the
European lobby as a counterweight to the Armenian lobby. The Jewish
lobby is potentially much stronger and more effective in the USA than
the Armenian one. It is now time to switch to specific actions, to
open an embassy in Israel and not to be afraid of the reaction in the
Arab world or Iran. They will be on the side of the Armenians anyway.
We must think about our national interests.
[correspondent] Let me put the question more broadly. Everyone knows
how strong the positions of the Armenians are in Russia, and now they
are being strengthened in the USA. Does this mean that the Karabakh
conflict will also be solved in favour of the Armenians?
[Yunusov] In the Karabakh question everything will remain without
particular changes. The pressure on Azerbaijan may be stepped up, but
they will hardly succeed in forcing a pro-Armenian solution to be
adopted. And this also unlikely to happen in the USA and Russia, and
not because of the lobby towards Armenia or special feelings towards
Azerbaijan. The USA and Russia have their own interests in the
region, and proceeding from precisely these interests, these
countries are deciding on their own attitudes to the Karabakh
conflict. In Russia they realize that a final settlement of the
Karabakh conflict will lead to it being squeezed out of the region
and to a further strengthening of America’s positions. This also
explains Russia’s actions in the conflicts in Abkhazia and South
Ossetia which are seen as a means of pressure on Georgia and, more
widely, on the USA which is standing behind Georgia. Therefore,
Russia will simulate wanting to help in resolving the Karabakh
conflict, but in reality it will operate in another direction. The
USA is worried that if the Karabakh conflict is perceived by
Azerbaijani society in a negative way, this will lead to the
strongest growth of anti-American emotions and, as a consequence, to
a strengthening of Russia’s positions, or of the radical Islamic
forces. Therefore, no-one in fact will seriously rock the boat.
[correspondent] And my final question. Is the strengthening of the
Armenians’ position in the USA and Russia merely the consequence of
the good work of the Armenian lobby, or of the poor work of the Turks
and the Azerbaijanis?
[Yunusov] Both claims are true. The Armenians have always worked and
continue to work more effectively, although, as pointed out above,
not everything depends on them. And there is no cause to doubt the
poor work of the Turks, and especially the Azerbaijanis, in the
information sphere. Take just one example the blowing up of our
compatriots in Iran in May. There can be no doubt that if it had been
the Armenians who went on a protest demonstration, then this news
would have been widely publicized in the West, and the governments of
these countries would have taken one decision after another in this
connection in favour of the Armenians. There was virtually no
reaction in the West or even any coverage in the media, partly
because the USA and its allies did not want to face accusations by
Iran, but also to a considerable degree because of the information
inactivity of the leaders of the southern Azerbaijanis and the
authorities of Northern Azerbaijan.

International Herald Tribune, France
Nov 23 2006
Azerbaijani, Armenian leaders agree to bilateral meeting to discuss
Karabakh problem
The Associated PressPublished: November 23, 2006
BAKU, Azerbaijan: The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia have
agreed to hold a bilateral meeting aimed at resolving the simmering
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, officials said Thursday.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region in Azerbaijan that has been
under the control of Armenian and ethnic-Armenian Karabakh forces
since a 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year separatist war that killed
about 30,000 people and drove about 1 million from their homes.
The region’s final status remains unresolved, and years of talks
under the auspices of international mediators have brought few
visible results.
President Ilham Aliev’s press service said Thursday he has agreed to
meet with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian on the sidelines
of a Tuesday summit of ex-Soviet republics in Minsk, Belarus.
Earlier this week, Russian officials involved in mediating the
conflict said Kocharian had also agreed to meet.
Both leaders last held bilateral talks in June and the meeting failed
to produced a breakthrough.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 23 2006
Azerbaijani Ambassador: No Tensions among Georgian Azerbaijanis
Observed

Source: Trend
Author: A. Ismayilova

23.11.2006

The situation over the Georgian region of Kvemo-Kartli, where many
Azerbaijanis live, is not distinguished from a usual one, and no
tensions among Georgian Azerbaijanis have been observed, Namig
Aliyev, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Georgia, exclusively told Trend,
while commenting the information spread by Russian News Telecast
`Vesti’ of the Russian TV referring to a report made by the
International Group for Preventing Crisis.
Notably, the report points out that oppressing ethnic minority in
Georgia could trigger new conflict situations on its territory. The
Georgian Government should take serious steps to avoid such a
development. The report also points out that there are some tensions
in Kvemo-Kartli and Samtskhe-Djavakheti. Just the above-regions of
Georgia are populated with hundred of thousands ethnic Azerbaijanis
and Armenians.
The discontent of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities is linked
with their insufficient representation in all the spheres of the
social life and administrative bodies of the country. `The situation
is bad due to the economic problems that Georgia is facing now,
including the highest level of unemployment’, the reports points out.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 23 2006
28th Session of General Assembly of PA OBSEC Concluded

Source: Trend
Author: A. Ismayilova

23.11.2006

The 28th plenary sitting of the General Assembly of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Organization for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(PA OBSEC) has been held at the highest level, Azerbaijani MP Asif
Hajiyev, Vice-Chairman of PA OBSEC has said during the
press-conference at the end of the Session, Trend reports.
He also touched upon Armenia’s non-participation in this meeting and
assessed it as a repeated proof of the non-constructive positions of
Armenians. Mr. Hajiyev said that invitations had been sent to all the
member-states of the Organization. For its part, Azerbaijan took part
in the 27th session of the General Assembly held in Armenia, and
proved once more that our country was the supporter of conflicts
settlement peacefully through negotiations.
Mr. Hajiyev said that during the Session of the Organization, three
kinds of issues were discussed: political, economic, and cultural
cooperation between the member-states of the Organization. He said
that the Organization’s future would be bright, and holding the last
session of PA OBSEC gave grounds to make such a conclusion. The
Representative of the Organization is sure that the Organization
could have its influence on processes happening in the Black Sea
region.
David Saganelidze, Vice-Chairman, Head of the Georgian delegation to
PA OBSEC, also touched upon an issue on frozen conflicts, and
particularly marked the Georgian-Abkhazian and the Georgian-South
Ossetian conflicts. He expressed his regrets that PA OBSEC was just
an economic organization, and solving these issues were not the
responsibilities of the Organization. `We only hope that this and
other international organizations could find a joint approach in the
issue of the above-mentioned conflicts. But, unfortunately, there
have been no real concrete decisions of these issues’, emphasized Mr.
Saganelidze.
Representatives of the other delegations also expressed their
opinions on the issues and ideas discussed during the Session.