Month: October 2008

TURKEY WINS SEAT ON UN SECURITY COUNCIL
by Dragana IgnjatoviÄ

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
October 20, 2008

On Friday (17 October), Turkey, along with Austria, Japan, Uganda,
and Mexico, was awarded one of the five rotating seats on the
15-seat United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2009 and 2010
sessions. Turkey won 151 votes in the General Assembly vote, easily
surpassing the two-thirds majority (128 votes) required in the 192-seat
assembly, gaining a non-permanent seat on the UNSC’s Western European
and Others Group. Turkey, which last held a seat on the UNSC in 1961,
will take its seat on 1 January 2009.

Significance:Turkey’s victory is a significant coup for Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo an and his government, as they have been
intensely lobbying for the privilege since July 2003. Opposition
leader Deniz Baykal even put aside his Republican People’s Party
(CHP)’s contentious relationship with the government to commend
the success. The UNSC is the main decision-making centre of the
international organisation, having the power to impose sanctions and
dispatch peace-keepers. Turkey’s seat on the UNSC could place the
country in a potentially difficult position, especially if it is asked
to vote on issues close to home, such as putting Iran under sanctions
over its nuclear programme. Nevertheless, Turkey has made a concerted
effort in recent years to maintain and improve relations with its
neighbours in a bid to win the seat, making it adept at navigating
the "middle path." As a result, Turkey has become an increasingly
active participant in the Middle East, thawing its relations with
Armenia, supporting efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus issue,
and mediating between Syria and Israel. It is likely that Turkey’s
two years on the UNSC will be used to perfect its skills at mediating
between contending parties.

–Boundary_(ID_6JdQ9+9MOVLglZY0h0oPRg)–

SURENYANTS: THE UPCOMING VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA TO ARMENIA IS CONNECTED WITH THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM
by Lilit Ovanisyan

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY
October 20, 2008 Monday
Russia

AUTHORITIES OF ARMENIA EXPERIENCE PRESSURE OF BOTH RUSSIA AND THE
WEST ABOUT THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH ISSUE; The confrontation between the
West and Russia increased after the five-day war in Georgia limits
the ability of Armenian authorities to maneuver between these two
forces in making these or those decisions.

The confrontation between the West and Russia increased after the
five-day war in Georgia limits the ability of Armenian authorities to
maneuver between these two forces in making these or those decisions.

Member of the executive board of Respublika party, Suren Surenyants,
said this commenting on the possible goals of the visit of the Russian
President to Yerevan and on the visits of top-ranking Russian state
officials to Armenia that had grown more frequent.

According to the press service of the President of Armenia, President
of Russia Dmitry Medvedev will arrive to Yerevan on a working visit
according to the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisyan on
October 20. The visit will last for two days.

In October, Armenia was visited by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, as well as Executive
Secretary of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Nikolai
Bordyuzha.

At a press conference in Yerevan on October 3, Russian Foreign
Minister Lavrov announced that conflicting parties approved a number
of fundamental provisions. These provisions were fixed in the document
that co-chairs of the Minsk OSCE group representing Russia, US and
France deposited in OSCE.

Lavrov stated, "naturally, non-coordinated issues remain in the
document but there is a number of options that allow for the settlement
of these non-coordinated issues further." Lavrov hopes that the
meetings planned in the framework of resolving of the conflict will
help the parties to move further in solving of this problem.

According to publication of daily opposition newspaper Aikakan
Zhamank (Armenian Time) of October 15, during a meeting with his
Armenian counterpart, Seiran Oganyan, Russian Defense Minister
Serdyukov discussed the removal of Armenian armed forces from the
security zone around Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the newspaper,
the Russian Defense Minister brought a military map of the territories
forming the security belt around Nagorno-Karabakh to Yerevan.

In one of his latest interviews to Rossiyskaya Gazeta dedicated to
resolving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Lavrov said that two or
three unsettled issues remained in the matter of conflict regulation
and these issues would be coordinated at the new meetings of the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. First of all, the matter is
about the Lachin Corridor.

Lavrov said, "as one of the three mediators of the Minsk group
of the OSCE we feel that the outcome is realistic. Naturally, it
is up to Armenia and Azerbaijan to decide this in the framework of
direct agreements but mediators Russia, France and US who understand
all details perfectly and feel sensitivity of this process see a
possibility of the outcome."

Former Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arman Melikyan,
who spoke in the press recently cracked down on the stance of Russia
in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. For example, according to
Melikyan, the statement of Lavrov about the Lachin Corridor should
be viewed as the unwillingness of Russia to leave this corridor in
the jurisdiction of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Melikyan said, "The most paradoxical fact is that this action will
start a decline of the Russian presence in Transcaucasia. This is
the most important aspect of the current actions of Russia. Russia
already fell into a certain trap because of the South Ossetian
events. This will be a continuation. If the President of Armenia
– born in Nagorno-Karabakh – decides to surrender the territories
nobody in Armenia will wish to defend Nagorno-Karabakh for the second
time. Russia will have to undertake the whole responsibility for life
and security of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians." Melikyan also does
not rule out that if Russia continues such policy Armenia may drop
out of the orbit of Russia’s influence.

MOLDOVAN TROOPS TAKE PART IN PEACEKEEPING EXERCISE IN ARMENIA

Basapress news agency
October 20, 2008 Monday
Moldovia

Excerpt

Chisinau, 20 October: Moldovan servicemen ranked third among
the militaries from 14 states that took part in a multinational
peacekeeping exercise Cooperative Longbow-Lancer 2008 conducted
between 8 and 20 October in Yerevan, Armenia.

Nicolae Vranie, the head of the 30-strong Moldovan contingent which
participated in the drill, has said that the results achieved in
Yerevan prove that Moldovan servicemen are well trained and their
professionalism is highly assessed at the international level.

The drill was attended by 600 servicemen.

ARMENIA LEADER, NATO ENVOY DISCUSS TIES

Mediamax
October 20, 2008 Monday
Armenia

Yerevan, October 20. NATO welcomes and supports Armenia’s determination
in the issue of normalizing relations with Turkey.

As Mediamax was told in the press service of the Armenian president,
the special representative of the NATO secretary-general in Central
Asia and the South Caucasus, Robert Simmons, said this today during
his meeting with the Armenian President Serzh Sargsian [Sargsyan].

The Armenian president stated that European direction continues
remaining one of Yerevan’s foreign policy priorities, and cooperation
with NATO is one of its most important elements. According to Serzh
Sargsian [Sargsyan], Armenia considers its cooperation with the
North-Atlantic alliance a component for providing the country’s
security.

Robert Simmons highly assessed Armenia’s cooperation with NATO and
noted the presence of good perquisites for its further development.

The interlocutors exchanged opinions concerning the issues of providing
regional stability and security, the settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict and the recent developments in Armenian-Turkish
relations.

3 TURKS CONVICTED OF DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Associated Press Worldstream
October 21, 2008 Tuesday 2:11 PM GMT

A Swiss court convicted three Turkish men of racism Tuesday for
denying that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians
under Ottoman rule during the early 20th century amounted to genocide.

State prosecutor Andrej Gnehm said the 58-, 53- and 42-year-old men
have been ordered to each pay up to 4,500 Swiss francs (euro2,940). The
defendants were not identified in the ruling because of privacy laws.

Gnehm said the men helped organize an event in Switzerland last year
during which Dogu Perincek, the leader of the Turkish Workers’ Party,
denied the killing of Armenians was genocide. A Swiss court convicted
him of racism and fined him.

None of the defendants received jail sentences.

The case has caused diplomatic tension between Switzerland and Turkey.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in
1915-18 in Ottoman Turkey in what is widely regarded as the first
genocide of the 20th century. About 20 parliaments have passed
resolutions to this effect.

Turkey denies any genocide, saying the death toll has been inflated
and the dead were victims of civil war and unrest.

RUSSIA TO HOST NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE TALKS
By Avet Demourian

Associated Press Worldstream
October 21, 2008 Tuesday 1:29 PM GMT

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday he will host peace talks
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which appear willing to negotiate
a settlement of their 20-year conflict over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Medvedev’s announcement follows a statement by a U.S. diplomat who
said the United States also would step up efforts to help settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

On a visit to Armenia, Medvedev said talks between Azerbaijan
and Armenia about the complex territorial issue have reached an
"advanced" stage. He added the two neighbors appear ready to "search
for a solution."

Medvedev would not provide details about the negotiations or say when
the Russian-hosted talks could take place.

But his statement appeared to reflect a renewed Kremlin push to win
a stronger influence in the energy-rich Caspian region.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces since
a six-year conflict during the waning years of the Soviet Union. Some
30,000 people were killed and about 1 million were driven from their
homes before a cease-fire was reached in 1994. Sporadic clashes
have continued, and international efforts to settle the conflict
have failed.

Medvedev referred to Russia’s war with Georgia in August, saying it
underlined the need to settle regional conflicts through international
talks.

Along with the United States and France, Russia has been part of the
so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe which has tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a diplomatic
solution with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Last month, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza
said during a visit to Azerbaijan that it was more important than
ever now to resolve the dispute, pointing to the war in Georgia. Bryza
promised that the United States would intensify efforts to help settle
the conflict.

Russia has maintained close ties with Armenia and has a military
base there, but it also recently stepped up its efforts to improve
relations with energy-rich Azerbaijan.

Russia has been courting Azerbaijan by offering to buy its natural
gas for shipments to Europe. If Moscow succeeds, that would strengthen
its monopoly on gas shipments from the former Soviet region to Europe.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MEDVEDEV, SARGSYAN SOLEMNLY OPEN SQUARE OF RUSSIA IN YEREVAN

Interfax News Agency
Oct 21 2008
Russia

The coordination of Russian and Armenian effort in the international
arena is a serious factor in the security of the Caucasian region,
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the solemn opening ceremony
of the Square of Russia in Yerevan.

"Comprehensive multifaceted cooperation, as well as the understanding
of apparent advantages in searching for joint responses to various
modern threats, further promotes Russian-Armenian relations. I am
certain that the coordination of our positions in the Caucasian region
and the world is a serious factor in making the region safe as well
as strengthening our world positions," Medvedev said.

Russia will continue doing everything to strengthen and develop
the strategic partnership, "so that new projects and more direct
humanitarian ties add to traditions of mutual cultural enrichment,"
he said.

The opening of the Square of Russia in Yerevan is a landmark event,
which proves how deep relations between the two countries are, the
Russian president said.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at the ceremony that he hopes
that Square of Russia will become "a symbol of devotion and friendship
between the two peoples."

There are also squares of Brazil and France in Yerevan. Jacques Chirac
opened Square of France in 2006.

MEDVEDEV UNDERSCORES PRE-EMINENCE; OF RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN TIES

Interfax News Agency
Oct 21 2008
Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev thinks that Russian-Armenian
relations are exceptional.

Speaking ahead of face to face talks with his Armenian opposite number,
Medvedev said that he plans to discuss "all economic, humanitarian
and current global economic issues" with his counterpart.

"We will discuss all questions that are linked to our exceptional
relations," he said.

The opening of the Square of Russia in Yerevan, which preceded the
talks, is a symbolic event, "which proves our friendship, partnership
and allied relations."

RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN, AZERI PRESIDENT COULD SOON DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN MOSCOW

Interfax News Agency
Oct 21 2008
Russia

Russian, Armenian and Azeri presidents could soon meet in Moscow in
order to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev said.

The August events showed that "any complicated issue should be resolved
on the basis of international principles," Medvedev said, adding:
"there is nothing that can bring more positive results."

Asked to comment on the state of affairs in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue,
Medvedev said: "It is hard to define the level of such talks. We are
at an advanced stage; both parties are ready for talks. I will not
comment on nuances, because this is a negotiating process."

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan confirmed that Armenia "is ready
to continue talks on the basis of the Madrid principles." "They are
very simple. They include the recognition of the principle of self-
determination and the right of the Karabakh people. We are convinced
that the Karabakh issue could be resolved on the basis of compromises
and talks," the Armenian leader said.

MEDVEDEV COMMEMORATES VICTIMS OF ARMENIANS’ GENOCIDE

Interfax News Agency
Oct 21 2008
Russia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the memorial to the
victims of the genocide of Armenians located in the Yerevan park
Thitsernakaberd on Tuesday morning.

Medvedev laid down a wreath of red roses to the memorial and visited
the History Museum, where photos, documents, and other evidence of
the tragedy are displayed.

Among the exhibits displayed in the museum is the text of the State
Duma statement issued in 1995, which "condemns the organizers of the
genocide of Armenians" expressing sympathy with the people of Armenia.

Medvedev wrote the following words in the museum’s Book of Honored
Guests: "The museum of the Armenians’ genocide is evidence of
a horrible tragedy of the 20th century and at the same time is
a reminder of the fact that life is the main value that is to be
protected by civilized peoples."