Month: December 2008

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT CAN BE PROBLEM FOR AZERBAIJAN’S JOINING EASTERN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM: HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN AZERBAIJAN

TREND News Agency
Dec 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, December 2/ Trend News corr R. Novruzov/ The
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be problem in joining
Eastern Partnership program of the European Union, therefore the
European Union is going to reinforce its efforts in the settlement
of this conflict, head of the office of the European Commission in
Azerbaijan Alan Waddams said to Trend News.

This assistance will not run counter to or parallel to the activity
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Waddams said.

It will target at supporting activity of the Minks Group without
competition from the co-chairman countries, Waddams added.

The European Commission has created a new subdivision on Eastern
Partnership. The first meeting scheduled for the end of the year is
planned to focus on success of Eastern Partnership member states in
the process of integration to Europe and key ways of integration will
be determined.

On May 26, Poland and Sweden introduced proposals to the EU
foreign ministers to create a forum of eastern neighbors – Eastern
Partnership. It will be composed of 27 EU states including Ukraine,
Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Within the organization, talks will be held on cancellation of visas,
introducing free trade zones and concluding strategic agreements.

FAZIL GAZANFAROGHLU: "IMPROVEMENT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIA IS FAVORABLE FOR AZERBAIJAN"

Today.Az
s/politics/49363.html
Dec 2 2008
Azerbaijan

"The resolution of the Karabakh problem is not successful. This
conflict remains unsettled for many years, therefore, consolidation of
relations between Turkey and Armenia is favorable only for Azerbaijan",
said chairman of the Great Creation party Fazil Gazanfaroghlu.

He noted that it is inexpedient to look for a negative in the relations
between the two countries.

"Unlie France, Russia and the United States, Turkey is closer to
us. This country has common interests with Azerbaijan, therefore,
there is a hope that the Karabakh conflict will be settled in the
interests of our country.

I consider that the cooperation between Turkey and Armenia will be
favorable for Azerbaijan", noted Gazanfaroghlu.

ARMENIA NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN COE CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR CULTURE IN AZERBAIJAN’S CAPITAL

Azeri Press Agency
Dec 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Ulkar Gasimova – APA. Council of Europe Conference of the
Ministers responsible for Culture on "Intercultural dialogue as a basis
for peace and sustainable development in Europe and its neighbouring
regions" is being held in Baku today.

Council of Europe has invited Armenia to the conference along with the
other member states, but official Yerevan refused to send delegation
to Azerbaijan.

Press service of Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Ministry told APA
that Armenian Culture Ministry had sent an official letter saying
that delegation would not be sent to the conference.

AZERBAIJAN’S AND TURKEY’S FOREIGN MINISTERS SUPPORTED THE CAUCASIAN STABILITY PLATFORM IN BAKU

Azerbaijan Business Center
Dec 2 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The question regarding whether Turkey could open
its borders with Armenia before the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is
regulated or after that, is still not clear. Turkey’s Foreign Minister
Ali Babajan during his visit to Baku has not answered directly to
this question to the journalists.

Babajan after his meeting with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov, said today the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is a very
serious problem demanding solution in the region.

"We think the problem should be solved in a peaceful way on the basis
of political dialogue," Babajan said.

Reminding of Turkey’s initiating the idea of strengthening stability on
Caucasus, Turkey’s Foreign Minister noted presence of unsolved problems
in the region such as Russia-Georgia and Azerbaijan-Armenia relations.

"All these problems are to be solved through a political dialogue
in order to normalize relationships between the regional states and
strengthen peace and stability in the region," Minister stated.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Mammadyarov said the both Ministers
came to conclusion that it is necessarily to continue the Caucasian
Stability Platform’s work and construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway.

"The sooner we complete this railway construction the better for
Azerbaijan and Turkey," Mammadyarov said.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO PROFIT FROM BETTER ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS – TURKISH FM

Interfax
Dec 2 2008
Russia

BAKU. Dec 1 (Interfax) – The normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations will help improve Azeri-Armenian relations and to speed up
the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan said on Monday.

"The improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations will have a positive
influence on the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," Babacan told
a briefing after talks with Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov,
commenting on a possibility to open the Armenian- Turkish border.

The Turkish FM noted that there are problems in the region, which
need to be resolved through dialog. He also stressed the importance of
implementing the Turkey-sponsored Caucasus Stability and Cooperation
Platform.

"There are problems in the region, and efforts are being made to
resolve them. The countries of the region should sit at one table. We
should seek the normalization of relations through dialog, so that
these problems are not left to other generations. There is diplomatic
activity now, and results are needed," Babacan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA REFUSES TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT IN BAKU

Interfax
Dec 2 2008
Russia

YEREVAN. Dec 1 (Interfax) – Armenia will not participate in the
conference of the Council of Europe culture ministers in Baku, Armenian
culture minister spokeswoman Naira Yegiazarian told Interfax on Monday.

"The Armenian delegation will not participate in the conference of the
CE culture ministers. This event is not part of the CE Program. We have
not promised to participate, and we have no commitments," she said.

The conference is slated for December 2-3 in Baku.

Earlier Azeri Culture and Labor Minister Abulfaz Karayev said the
Azeri side would create all conditions for Armenian participation.

The conference will see the participation of some international
organizations, 26 culture ministers, and 18 deputy ministers, with
19 nations being presented at various levels; a total of 250 people
have been registered.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAKU-YEREVAN DIALOGUE WILL HELP NORMALIZATION, BABACAN

Hurriyet
Dec 2 2008
Turkey

ISTANBUL – Better ties between Turkey and Armenia would help resolve
the longstanding conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, said the Turkish
foreign minister yesterday.

"The normalisation of Turkish-Armenian relations would have a positive
impact on the Azerbaijan-Armenia talks over Nagorno-Karabakh,"
Ali Babacan told reporters after a meeting with his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Memmedyarov, in Baku.

The dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan has intensified through
the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe’s, or OSCE,
Minsk process, Babacan added. "The fact that parts of Azerbaijani
territory are under Armenian occupation is a problem that needs to
be urgently addressed. Turkey, one of 11 members of the Minsk group,
attaches great importance to the process," he said and added he hoped
recent diplomatic traffic would yield results soon.

Caucasus platform proposal Babacan’s visit came amid a push by Turkey
for more influence in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia
and Georgia fought a brief war in August. After the conflict, Ankara
proposed the creation of a new forum for cooperation in the region,
for which Babacan called on regional governments to support. "All
the countries of the region must sit at the bargaining table," he said.

Before his departure for Azerbaijan late Sunday, Babacan told reporters
he would meet his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in Helsinki
at an OSCE meeting this week.

"There is an ongoing process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and there
is also a parallel process between Turkey and Armenia," Babacan was
quoted by the Anatolia News Agency as saying. "Following the OSCE
meeting, I will have separate meetings with the two ministers."

Babacan is expected to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia with his
Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. Babacan also said there had
been no date set for a tripartite meeting of the ministers of Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

NATO meeting The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims over Azerbaijan. Since 1992,
Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994 Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
are currently holding peaceful negotiations.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has
been closed for more than a decade over Armenian aggression toward
Azerbaijan.

After Baku, Babacan will proceed to Brussels for the NATO foreign
ministers meeting.

INTERVIEW-OSCE CHAIRMAN UPBEAT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH DISPUTE
By Brett Young

Reuters AlertNet
Dec 2 2008
UK

HELSINKI, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan and Armenia have made progress
in resolving a long-standing dispute over a Caucasus mountain enclave
and the OSCE hopes for a regional declaration on the issue at its
annual meetings later this week, its chairman said on Tuesday.

"Things are looking quite good on Nagorno-Karabakh," Finnish Foreign
Minister Alexander Stubb, who is leading the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe under the Finnish chairmanship, told Reuters
in an interview.

"I think that we are moving away from a frozen conflict towards a
permanent solution, but of course we are not there yet, and it is
very important that the Minsk Group works on this," Stubb said.

The Minsk Group — co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France
— was established by the OSCE in 1992 to bring about a peaceful
resolution in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where a Russian-brokered
ceasefire has held since 1994.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s mostly ethnic Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1980s and early
1990s. Some 35,000 people were killed in fighting and more than a
million wre forced to flee their homes.

The territory now runs its own affairs with support from Armenia. The
matter remains a serious source of tension in the volatile Caucasus
region. Stubb said talks among the 50 foreign ministers in Helsinki
on Dec. 4-5 for the annual meeting of Europe’s main security and
human rights body will be dominated by Caucasus disputes, including
Nagorno-Karabakh, along with the broader question of European security.

The August war between OSCE members Russia and Georgia over breakaway
South Ossetia has cast a shadow over the meeting, with military
monitors from the security and human rights organisation still unable
to return to the breakaway region.

POLITICAL DECLARATION

Stubb said he was "rather disappointed" monitors were not allowed back
in, and said talks on the impasse would continue in Moscow on Dec. 8.

"Hopefully we can solve it before the end of the year when the (OSCE)
mandate runs out," Stubb said. "(But) I won’t give any odds on that."

Stubb said he welcomed a new discussion on European security, an idea
first broached by Russia in October, as long as it did not seek to
eclipse the role of the OSCE.

"I will be happy if we have had a refreshing discussion on European
security, but one which confirms the existence and the future of the
OSCE as a vibrant organisation taking care of security, the economy
and democracy," he said.

"There are some key principles on which I think we should not even
being negotiations. They have to do with territorial integrity,
democracy, human rights, and the non-use of force in solving
conflicts," he added.

Stubb said he did not expect a regional declaration on a second
dispute, between Moldova and Transdnestria, during the meeting.

He said Finland was working hard on a political declaration reaffirming
OSCE principles and opening the door to a possible summit meeting in
2009 or 2010 that could be signed by all participants.

The last joint political declaration was signed in 2002 in Portugal,
and Stubb admitted it would be tough to achieve one this time around
given the tense atmosphere following the Russia-Georgia war.

"I am not yet at this stage very hopeful," Stubb said.

INDIANS BEAT ARMENIANS AGAIN, WIN MATCH 2-0

Press Trust of India
Dec 2 2008
India

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) Indian junior team proved their mettle again
and defeated Armenia 3-1 in the third and final match to clinch the
bilateral friendship series 2-0 at the Russian Center for Science
and Arts here today.

Riding high on the success of World Junior Champion Abhijeet Gupta
and GM S Arun Prasad, the Indian team completed an emphatic victory
after the last game was drawn by Deep Sengupta.

Earlier in the day, World under-16 champion B Adhiban had played a
quick draw.

Overall, the Indians won 6 games, lost two and drew the reaming
four. The first match had ended in a 2.5-1.5 victory for the home team
while the second was drawn 2-2 with decisive results on all boards.

Arun Prasad turned out to be the mainstay for team India on the second
board winning two games against Hrant Melkumyan besides the lone draw
that he conceded. Adhiban had a similar score playing white in all
the three games.

Abhijeet Gupta won two and lost one against 2006 World junior champion
Zaven Andriasian while Deep Sengupta and G Rohit lost one game each
besides the draw that Deep obtained against Samvel Ter Sahakyan in
the final round.

Things turned out India’s way early in the day as all of them got
positions they had expected apart from Adhiban who played it safe
with white and drew quickly in a Berlin defense game.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GUL’S ARMENIA VISIT BRINGS TURKEY SPORT PEACE PRIZE

Anadolu Agency
Dec 2 2008
Turkey

Turkey was chosen for the prize after Turkish President Gul and
his Armenian counterpart Sargsian shook hands prior to a World Cup
qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on September 6.

The "Peace and Sport" organization, based in Monaco, has awarded
Turkey with the 2008 Peace and Sport Image of the Year prize.

Turkey was chosen for the prize after Turkish President Abdullah Gul
and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian shook hands prior to a
World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on
September 6.

Turkey will receive its prize on Thursday, December 4 from Prince
Albert II of Monaco. The President of the Turkish Football Federation
(TFF) Mahmut Ozgener will receive the prize on behalf of President
Abdullah Gul.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress