Month: November 2009

DOMINO EFFECT OF TURKEY-ARMENIA WARMTH TO COAT GATE OF ORIENT, SAYS ANALYST
Fulya Ozerkan

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 17 2009
Turkey

The warm winds of change in Turkish-Armenian ties will somehow create
a domino effect with positive implications, from the lifting of the
blockade on Nakhichevan to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem, according a senior foreign policy analyst from an Ankara-based
think tank

The warming relations between Turkey and Armenia could change the
fate of Nakhchivan, an isolated territory on Turkey’s eastern border,
according to an Ankara-based think tank.

Nakhchivan is an autonomous region of the Republic of Azerbaijan
geographically separated from the motherland and surrounded by Armenia.

"As a gesture of goodwill, Armenia could lift the blockade on
Nakhchivan and allow the restoration of its north-south and east-west
connections," said senior foreign policy analyst Burcu Gultekin
Punsmann in a written policy proposal developed for the Economic
Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, or TEPAV.

"This would be a considerable confidence-building measure for the
settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh," she said.

Nakhchivan, the former "Gate of the Orient," is at the crossroads
of the east-west and north-south railway connections. In the 17th
century, traveler Evliya Celebi described the city bordered by Iran,
Armenia and Turkey as one of the wonders of the world. Since 1993
a ceasefire line has surrounded Nakhchivan and the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict cut its communications off from the rest of Azerbaijan.

"The rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia will somehow create a
domino effect with positive implications, from the lifting of the
blockade on Nakhchivan, to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem," Punsmann told the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

"But if the process is stalled, then the whole chain will be negatively
affected."

Nakhchivan is blockaded by Armenia on its west, north and east sides.

All land links with Azerbaijan are also blocked. Flights between
Nakhchivan and Baku are the only remaining direct link.

"Even at the worst times in the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, Nakhchivan was able to protect
its territorial integrity. That can be linked with its proximity to
Turkey and the guarantees provided by Turkey. Armenian troops stopped
on the border of Nakhchivan during the war," said Punsmann.

Asked if the Armenian gesture of lifting the blockade on the autonomous
region depends on the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, she
said it would be inaccurate to put forth preconditions to take any
step but "such a development could be seen in the context of the
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement."

Dilucu border gate may become trade hub

In the policy proposal, Punsmann highlighted that if Yerevan lifted
its blockade on the landlocked region, the reopening of east-west
communications would boost the activities of the Turkish-Azerbaijani
border gate of Dilucu.

Turkey’s Igdır province is located 85 kilometers from the border post
with Nakhchivan and 35 kilometers from the border with Armenia. The
Dilucu border gate, commonly known as Hasret Kapısı, opened in 1992
and a bridge built over the River Araxes links Turkey to Nakhchivan.

"Unlocking Nakhchivan will transform the Turkish-Azerbaijani border
gate of Dilucu into a trade center," said Punsmann. "Dilucu can be
a meeting place for people from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran and Turkey."

Plans are also under way to extend the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad
to Nakhchivan. Azerbaijan is negotiating with Turkey to construct
a branch line from the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The branch will
run to Igdır and further to Nakhchivan. Other new railroad projects
entirely bypass the enclave.

IS TURKEY DRIFTING AWAY OR NAVIGATING ITS WAY? (I)

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 16 2009
Turkey

Since the Justice and the Development Party, or AKP, came to power in
2002, there have been many articles and discussions that questioned
AKP’s "real" intentions, and whether some of AKP’s foreign policies
should be taken as signs of Turkey leaving the Western alliance.

The AKP establishment, if I may call it this way, has strongly opposed
such scenarios and has given many instances to prove that AKP aims to
make Turkey a strong part of the western world and if EU, concomitantly
with ever-stronger ties with the eastern and the Muslim world. And if
one takes a closer look into this paradigm and hotly debated question,
one finds plenty of arguments to support both sides.

Therefore, when this unavoidable question was posed to me last week,
I felt obliged to delve into the underlying cogency or reasoning of
the AKP leadership, and I found it useful to enter into the discussion
in light of this underlying assumption, that I believe what drives
the AKP leadership to view and conduct its foreign policy. That
underlying assumption is the pragmatist modality of the AKP foreign
policy makers, which suggests that of ‘what works’ policies are the
main driving force for this leadership in order to be able to navigate
in this difficult geographical set up in which Turkey is situated. I
hope that I will able to analyze this difficult question diligently
and in an impartial fashion, as it gets increasingly harder to find
such objective analyses of this question nowadays.

First, I think the AKP administration, as said in the previous
paragraph, should be taken primarily as a pragmatist administration,
rather than an ideological one. I would even argue that this is the
most pragmatist administration Turkey has ever seen. In terms of this
pragmatic modus regarding foreign relations, the AKP sometimes comes
into view as the most liberal and most Western government in Turkey’s
history and sometimes the most conservative and pro-Islamic. Though one
must confess, AKP is most successful, while it plays its pro-Islamic
role, which suits it much better and appears to be genuine, because
of the electors it addresses and also because of the ideologies that
the many leaders of AKP have been fed and raised into.

It is true that today the administration in Turkey aims to capitalize
the Turkish Republic’s Ottoman links, and while doing that they
never needed to hide this sentiment. If one wishes to emphasize one
of these identities more than the others, and would like to call this
administration a newborn Ottomanist, or neo-Ottomanist, I think this
could be possible as well, even though as far as I know and hear, Mr.

Ahmet Davutoglu, himself, never used the term neo-Ottomanism.

Albeit we have witnessed in the recent history that the same AKP
administration utilized Turkey’s secular identity in many instances
as well, when it sees it fit. However, it is possible to view that
the AKP administration likes to emphasize Turkey’s secular identity
more while it engages with the Western world and the religious,
historic and democratic identity more while it engages with the Muslim
countries. This pattern is also another glimpse of its pragmatism.

I can elaborate on this argument with pure speculation to make my
point clear. And it is not a product of an outrageous imagination to
think that when the leaders of the AKP visit another Muslim country
or are visited by one of them, behind closed doors they quite possibly
would emphasize and refer to the common religious identity, let’s say,
against the Western hegemony, to further the relations. At the same
time, again as a pure conjecture, it is not so far off the chart
to think that the same Turkish political leaders, when they engage
with a Western leader, would turn to Turkey’s secular identity and
emphasize how different Turkey is from those backward countries in
the region in following a progressive path, whatever that path may be.

However, one matter is established and for that there is no need for
any speculation, and that is that today’s Turkey strives to calculate
its moves and likes to play a pro-active, pre-emptive role while
charming the immediate neighbors in a wide variety of foreign affairs.

This makes the AKP administration very unique and different from
past administrations.

The biggest reason for these pro-active policies, I believe, is to
level Turkey as one of those regional powers like in the other parts
of the world. Turkish foreign policy thinkers including Davutoglu,
the Turkish Foreign Minister, as a leading actor, apparently believes
that Turkey has enough tools in its toolbox to play this role. Its
history, growing economy, relatively vast population, geographical
location with its advantages or complications, religious identity as
well as secular one, lead them to think that Turkey is indeed up to
the task of being a regional power.

Turkey is trying to unlock its historic impasse with Armenia and
looking for better relations with the Kurdish autonomy in northern
Iraq as well as the Kurdish population within Turkey. It also
supported the reunification talks in Cyprus, especially during the
referendum in 2004, contrary to the state establishment views; and
it still maintains a persistent approach for full membership of the
EU by appointing a minister for the accession talks, even though the
appointment came very late. Hence, it can be argued that Turkey is
trying to advance its profile both in the East and the West. Turkey
with ever-improving relations with the Balkan countries, contrary
to arguments that it only engages with the Muslim world, even though
the Muslim world visits are more apparent and have brought tangible
results so far, tries to engineer "East and West together" paradigm
to reclaim a regional power status it once held in the Ottoman
times. And I think the AKP administration should be credited with
these intense engagement policies. In light of these developments,
it is safe to say that Turkey now has a self-confident and outward
looking administration, rather than an inward looking traditional one,
whether one likes many parts of this approach or not.

That being said, I do believe that this strategic deep thinking and
multi-dimensional approach incorporates many hazards. And sometimes
having too much self or miscalculated confidence would disillusion
this team about the country’s real power and with that it carries
enormous risks. And if this self-confidence spirit is mismanaged,
some of its consequences may be quite traumatic.

Next: Analyzing AKP’s foreign policy re-orientation in light of the
relationship with Syria, Iran and Israel.

ARMENIAN JOURNALIST DISSECTS KARABAKH IN NEW BOOK

Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 16 2009
Turkey

Though Armenian-Azerbaijani relations have attracted much scholarly
and journalistic attention, one Armenian journalist and author,
Tatul Hagopian, believes his new book presents an original approach
to understanding and analyzing the drama.

"Gananc u Sev – Arzakhyan Orakir" (Green and Black – Artsakh Diary)
focuses on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and is the result
of Hagopian’s 20-year investigation of the region and is based on
countless historical documents, eyewitness accounts and personal
observations.

"The first victim of the war is the truth," Hagopian told Hurriyet
Daily News & Economic in an e-mail interview, borrowing a phrase
from Indian-born British author Rudyard Kipling. "I wrote the truth
on paper in all its honesty by listening to the voice inside me,"
Hagopian said, adding that because he published the book without any
outside sponsorship, he could write as he chose.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied
by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left
around 30,000 people dead and 1 million displaced before a truce was
reached in 1994.

The region unilaterally declared independence but has not been
recognized by the international community. The presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan have been negotiating on the issue under mediation
from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE,
but little progress has been made.

Hagopian was in Nagorno-Karabakh just before the war between Armenia
and Azerbaijan erupted. He experienced the war firsthand and observed
what was happening – sometimes under fire – passing on news to the Azg,
or Nation, newspaper he was working for at the time.

He witnessed tragedies on both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani sides
of the conflict. Since then, he has documented countless stories of
pain and suffering, met with the families of soldiers who were taken
prisoner, talked to friends and relatives of those who went missing and
spoken with those maimed by landmines. Based on his research, Hagopian
concludes that over 23,000 civilian lives were lost to the war.

Missing part

Even though he endeavored to remain impartial throughout his research,
Hagopian admits that his book is missing one key part: Azerbaijani
perspectives. "The opinions and points of view of Azerbaijan should
be in this research because every conflict has two sides," the
author said.

Hagopian tried to continue his research in Azerbaijan, but his Armenian
identity prevented him from overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. He did
not let that stop him, however, as he made interviews with Azerbaijanis
living near the Armenian border.

In "Green and Black," Hagopian also argues Russia attempted to block
a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. In his "Meeting with
Gorbachev" chapter, for instance, Hagopian says former Soviet leader
and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev told him that Russia
forced the problem into a deadlock to look after its own interests.

Hagopian cites details of a meeting between Gorbachev and Silva
Gabudigyan, a prominent Armenian intellectual considered by many to be
Armenia’s greatest recent poet, which expose how the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem was transformed into the gridlock it is today.

In finding a workable solution to the ongoing dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh, Hagopian believes that Russia, the United States
and other Western countries should all participate in finding a
solution to the problem while negotiations between Azerbaijan and
Armenia should continue under watch of international observers.

"If the United States and Russia really want to solve the problem,
they should come up with real keys for a solution. Armenia and
Azerbaijan will come up with the best solutions by themselves," he
said, adding that a lasting solution can only occur if the two sides
continue their dialog. "Unfortunately, however, neither the Armenians
nor the Azeris tend to understand each other."

—

"Gananc u Sev – Arzakhyan Orakir" is currently available only in
Armenia but will soon be available abroad in both English and Russian.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY’S OFFICIAL: "IT SEEMS NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE IS IN THE FOCUS OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN NEGOTIATIONS"

APA
Nov 17 2009
Azerbaijan

Moscow. Roman Aghayev – APA. "The normalization of Turkish-Armenian
relations is an attempt to improve relations between the two countries,
which experienced unpleasant periods in bilateral relations once",
Spokesman for Russian Foreign Ministry Andrei Nesterenko told APA
correspondent in Moscow.

Nesteenko said they were aware of focusing the Nagorno Karabakh issue
during the negotiations between Ankara and Yerevan. "It seems these
comprehensive issues are in the focus of process".

The ministry spokesman said they hoped that the solution would be
found in the framework of decisions made by international organizations
and would meet interests of all countries of the region.

ARMENIANS ARE NOT SO POOR
By Albert Khachatryan

news.am
Nov 17 2009
Armenia

In dealing with the consequences of the global economic crisis, many
governments’ top priority is improving the population’s solvency. They
are employing various mechanisms, the aim being the same – preventing
the reduction of population’s real incomes and, within the limits of
the possible, improving the population’s solvency.

Of course, steadily rising prices for goods and services causes a
relative reduction in solvent demand. The recently observed steady
tendency toward higher wages, which form a major part of the Armenian
population’s incomes, is counterbalancing this process. The minimum
basket of goods may serve as a standard for estimating wages.

Specifically, this January-September the average nominal monthly wages
reached 98,400 AMD (about U.S. $258) in Armenia – 3.6 times as much
as the cost of the minimum basket of goods in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

One would only be happy about such "fine figures" but for…

The monthly cost of the minimum basket of goods for a four-member
family (two parents and two children) is 109,500 AMD. Thus, if only
one of the parents is the breadwinner (which is usual in Armenia),
the aforementioned average monthly wages mean such a family will
find itself among "poor" families. With the income tax, 6,500 AMD,
withheld from the nominal monthly wages, the actual amount received
by an employee is reduced to around 91,900 AMD.

According to the Introduction to a table compiled by the RA Statistical
Service, the cost of the minimum basket of goods was calculated
"as a result of an integrated survey involving 6,816 households and
conducted with the use of methods developed by the World Bank, from
April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005." The first question is: who are
the respondents? The richest sections of the population were hardly
involved in the survey. We do not think that the statisticians would
deny this fact. So the actual figures could have been better. It is
not a question of principle, however. What is worse is that the "aim"
of the basket itself is poverty – abject poverty.

Citizens of developed countries may be shocked at the figures showing
the minimum daily amount of food used by their counterparts in Armenia,
so we are citing annual indices. Well, the annual amount of meat
per capita is 19.3 kg (against 40 kg in the mind-1980s), fish 3 kg
(several kilos less than 20 years ago), and so on and so forth. On the
other hand, baked goods and potatoes "have made progress" – 178.5 kg
and 56.4 kg respectively. Of course, Armenians are great lovers of
bread, and bread consumption in Armenia much exceeds the "refined"
European standards. It is a deplorable fact, but low-income families
have to use relatively cheap bread as "compensation" for high-calorie
and much more expensive products – meat, fish, eggs…

The daily caloric value of the minimum basket of goods is 2,232
calories. Before analyzing this figure, we would like to note that
children aged 7-10 need at least 2,380 calories daily. This shows that
the caloric value of the food basket in Armenia actually means chronic
malnutrition. The problem is, however, much more serious. Baked
goods are the main source of calories, their share in the daily
"caloric content" being 61%. The caloric value of one "weight unit"
of baked goods is 1.4 times as much as that of meat products, whereas
the price of one kilocalorie is 3.9 times as low. So minimizing the
cost of the minimum food basket will bring double "gain"!

Although our citizens are complaining about a massive price rise,
the cost of the minimum food basket rose by only 249.6 AMD in the
3rd quarter of this year as compared with the corresponding period
last year! The explanation is quite simple. Against the rising prices
for most of the "basket-forming" products, a 7.9% fall in the price
for baked goods was registered. As a result, due to baked goods, the
cost of the minimum food basket even "fell" by 513 AMD, which was a
partial compensation for a rise in price for meat products (3.2%),
for fish (86.8%!), for fats (3.6%), and so on.

As regards the fall in the prices for baked goods, particularly for
bread, it is common knowledge that the actual weight of one loaf of
bread is much lower than the figures indicated on the labels. The
competing producers reduce the price – and weight — of one loaf to
attract consumers. So what is really behind the "cheaper" bread –
a lower price or producers’ new trick?

The low caloric value of the minimum food basket and the "overweight"
of "cheap" baked goods result in its purely "symbolic cost." In the
3rd quarter of this year it was less than 17,700 AMD, which, in turn,
allows the "derivative", minimum food basket, to be "optimized."

Unlike many countries, where the nonfood component of the "basket"
is calculated on the basis of natural consumption coefficient for key
products and services, Armenia chose a much easier way – multiplying
the cost of the monthly food basket by 1.55. Thus, the monthly cost
of the minimum food basket turned out to be less than 27,400 AMD in
the 3rd quarter – less than U.S. $77 a month, a "standard" amount in
poor countries. The situation is slightly better in the Baltic States,
which had the same initial position as the Commonweal of Independent
States (CIS). Specifically, in Latvia in the 2nd quarter of this year,
the monthly cost of the minimum basket of goods was around U.S. $348.

It would be naïve to speak "in terms of prices." We are all well
aware of the fact that the prices for consumer goods have reached
the much talked-about European standards, and, in some cases, have
even exceeded them.

In "rich" countries the cost of the minimum basket of goods is much
higher than in Armenia, with even recreation and car maintenance costs
included. We had better not make any unfavorable comparisons. The
social consumption standard in effect is essential for normal life,
and its norms must be constituents of the basket of goods. The "1.55"
coefficient implies that expenses on food constitute a major part
of the population’s expenses (almost 65%), against 10% in developed
countries.

Other questions can be raised as well. In Russia the law determines the
"federal basket of goods", and the Government approves the quarterly
living wage (the cost of the minimum basket of goods inclusive of
mandatory taxes and duties). In Armenia, it is a speculative index,
which is not "underpinned" by any statutory acts or Government
resolutions. Even in the statistical reports released by the RA
Statistical Service this most important index is included in the
section entitled "Entertaining statistics". No comments… A logical
question is: who, and what for, needs a "basket" without any legal
force?

The answer is a simple one. The low cost of the minimum basket of
goods "justifies" the low minimum monthly wages (30,000 AMD or about
U.S. $90). The average monthly wages are 2,000 or 3,000 AMD higher
than the cost of the minimum basket of goods, aren’t they? Well
and good! The employer, without feeling any remorse, can square up
with a hired worker by paying him the aforementioned sum! Another
important fact is that the minimum basket of goods makes "struggle"
against poverty much easier. Armenia has made "dramatic" progress on
this front: 56% of Armenia’s population was below the poverty line in
1998-1999 (the per capita income was lower than the cost of the minimum
basket of goods), whereas the figure was brought down to 25% in 2007!

ARMENIAN-BELARUSIAN TRADING HOUSE TO BE OPENED IN YEREVAN

National Legal Internet Portal
Nov 17 2009
Belarus

MINSK, 17 November (BelTA) – The Ar-Be Armenian-Belarusian trading
house, a joint Belarusian-Armenian company, has been established in
Yerevan, BelTA learnt from the spokeswoman for the Belgospischeprom
concern Irina Guseva. The relevant documents have been signed in
Yerevan.

The company will deliver products of the Belgospischeprom companies to
the Armenian market, and export the alcoholic beverages in particular.

The Belarusian founders of the company are Minsk Kristall, the Vitebsk
and Gomel distilleries, Akvadiv, and the Belgospischeprom trading
house. The Armenian founder is the Multi Group Concern. The concern
brings together 34 Armenian companies.

The statutory funds of the new company total $365,000. Some 54.8%
of them belong to the Multi Group Concern; the Belarusian shares are
divided between the distilleries and the Belgospischeprom trading
house.

The Multi Group Concern allocates on a non-payable basis trading and
warehouse premises to the total square of 6,000 square meters for
the would-be trading house.

At the beginning the Ar-Be trading house will specialize in wholesaling
and retailing of Belarusian vodka and other distilled beverages. The
company is also planning to deliver Belarusian meat and dairy products,
confectionery, flour, TV sets, refrigerators, clothes, footwear,
cosmetics, furniture and bathroom equipment in future.

The Republic of Armenia is the traditional producer and exporter of
alcoholic beverages. The major export items are cognacs and wines.

According to experts, the distilled beverages constitute 64% of the
alcohol imported to Armenia. The export of vodka has doubled recently.

Armenia imports vodka from the CIS and Western Europe. The volume
of the European vodka has dwindled lately. The main exporters of
alcoholic beverages to Armenia are Russia (more than 50%), Ukraine
(25%), and Great Britain (6.45%).

FRANCE NOT TO ACCEPT REFUGEES FROM ARMENIA & TURKEY

news.am
Nov 17 2009
Armenia

France will no more take refugees from Armenia, Turkey and Serbia. This
decision was made in the French Office for the Protection of Refugees
and Stateless People (OFPRA) based on the fact that the mentioned
states are already safe for living, CNNTurk reports.

Thus, all citizens from these countries applying for asylum will be
rejected and applications studied more thoroughly. According to the
source, Georgia was excluded from the list of safe countries.

The refugees’ issue was included in the agenda upon the demand of
Turkish Youth Party leader Cem Uzan who also claimed political asylum
in France.

ARMENIA’S CORRUPTION RATE WENT DOWN

news.am
Nov 17 2009
Armenia

Armenia ranks the 125th among 180 states in the annual global
corruption report. According to the Global Corruption Report 2009
of Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
ranks countries in terms of the degree to which businesspeople and
country analysts perceive corruption to exist among public officials
and politicians.

The countries were assessed on a scale from 1-to 10, the calculations
were conducted by three international organizations of the examined
states. According to Transparency International, Armenian office
Chairwoman Amalia Kostanyan, last year Armenia took the 114th place
in the rating. She considers that this fact is induced not by system
changes, but events that impact people’s mentality and therefore
public opinion.

Transparency International Executive Director Varuzhan Hoktanyan said:
"As compared to the last year, Armenia’s index reduced by 0.2 point,
making 2.7 points. The same tendency was registered in Azerbaijan
and Georgia, however the most dramatic reduction was fixed in Iran."

The lowest indexes-1.1 testifying the high corruption rate are
registered in Somali, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Iraq, while
the highest index 9.4- in New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland
and Singapore.

ARTHUR BAGHDASARYAN RECEIVED SWEDISH AMBASSADOR

news.am
Nov 17 2009
Armenia

November 17, 2009 National Security Council Secretary Arthur
Baghdasaryan received Swedish Ambassador to Armenia Hans Gunnar Adén.

The officials discussed Armenia-Sweden bilateral cooperation issues,
National Security Council press service informed NEWS.am.

Artur Baghdasaryan attached significance to mutual cooperation
development both in bilateral format and within the framework of
international organizations.

The diplomats also touched upon cooperation between Armenia and
international structures. Arthur Baghdasaryan signified the signing of
the association agreement with EU in the context of further Armenia-EU
relations enhancement.

The officials exchanged views on regional issues, particularly
Armenia-Turkey relations and NKR conflict resolution.

TURKISH JOURNALIST VISITING NAGORNO-KARABAKH WAS NAMED IN LIST OF "UNDESIRABLE PERSONS": FM

Trend
Nov 17 2009
Azerbaijan

Journalist of the Turkish Akhsham newspaper Nagehan Alchi, who visited
Nagorno-Karabakh without the consent of Azerbaijan, was included in
the list of "undesirable persons" in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Elkhan Polukhov told Trend News.

"Regardless of their professional activities, those who visit
the occupied territories of Azerbaijan without the consent of the
Azerbaijani side are named in the list of "undesirable persons"
because of the actions that contradict the legislation of Azerbaijan.

This is also referred to journalists and representatives of
non-governmental organizations and others," said Polukhov.

Journalist of the Turkish Akhsham newspaper Nagehan Alchi visited
Nagorno-Karabakh, who declared that Nagorno-Karabakh is a purely
Armenian territory, the Armenian media reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman said that at the same time, according
to information received from the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in
Istanbul, the editorial office of the Akhsham newspaper appreciated
the visit of the journalist to Nagorno-Karabakh as a private visit
and said that the visit was not paid on behalf of the newspaper.

Given the official response of the Akhsham newspaper, the issue of
cooperation with this newspaper will be re-considered, said Polukhov.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress