Month: November 2009

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: SWITZERLAND ACCOMPLISHED ITS MISSION WITH CREDIT

news.am
Nov 11 2009
Armenia

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Head of the Swiss Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey discussed
Armenian-Swiss cooperation.

The press service of the RA Foreign Office told NEWS.am that the
sides stressed the recently registered unprecedented progress
in Armenian-Swiss relations, and mutual visits of two countries’
representatives, as well as the Swiss mediation in the Armenia-Turkey
normalization process, being evidence thereof. The development of
bilateral relations was marked by the appointment of Charles Aznavour
as Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland, as well as by the opening of
a Swiss legation in Armenia.

Minister Nalbandian thanked his Swiss counterpart for Switzerland’s
mediation in the Armenia-Turkey normalization process. According to
him, the mission required restraint and exactingness, patience and
caution, and Switzerland accomplished its mission with credit. The
sides also discussed the processes in the South Caucasus.

The minister signed an agreement regulating air communication between
Armenia and Switzerland, and an agreement abolishing visa requirements
for holders of diplomatic passports. Following the signing ceremony
the Ministers held a news conference.

IKMELETTIN IHSANOGLU: "THE ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC CONFERENCE SUPPORTS AZERBAIJAN’S RIGHT STRUGGLE"

APA
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova – APA. "The Organization of Islamic Conference
supports Azerbaijan’s right struggle concerning Nagorno Karabakh
problem and wants the people displaced from the occupied territories
to return to their lands," Secretary General of the Organization of
Islamic Conference Ikmelettin Ihsanoglu told journalists in Azerbaijan,
APA reports. Touching on the protocols signed between Turkey and
Armenia on the normalization of the relations, Ihsanoglu said it is
not against Azerbaijan.

"I am not a Turkish official. As a citizen of Turkey I can say that
there is an unbreakable link between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The foreign
policies of Turkey and Azerbaijan should coincide. Turkey should not
take a step against Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan should not take a step
against Turkey. Our enemies want to stir up discord between us,"
he said.

AZERI MINISTER QUESTIONS ARMENIA’S DESIRE FOR KARABAKH PROGRESS

news.az
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan The next meeting of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents will take place in a European capital, Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters on Wednesday.

He said that the date and venue will be specified soon.

The minister said, however, that there are no new proposals on the
Karabakh conflict settlement.

"We have been discussing the main principles for the past five years.

Of course, individual nuances arise – unfortunately, the Armenian
side raises issues again that we have already discussed and on which
we thought we had reached agreement," Mammadyarov said.

"It is difficult to hold negotiations in these conditions. Therefore,
we should seriously assess whether we are ready for a breakthrough,
i.e. does the Armenian side want progress or are these just talks,"
the minister said.

I. BERKAN: "THE TURKISH PRESIDENT KNOTTED HIMSELF TO AZERBAIJAN"

Aysor
Nov 11 2009
Armenia

"I don’t think that without solving the Karabakh issue it will be
possible to open the Armenian – Turkish border. Only if Armenia and
Azerbaijan will be able to sign a memorandum Turkey will be able
to think about opening the border. The blockade will be ceased if
an agreement will be signed, as Turkey had closed the border for
Azerbaijan", – said Ismet Berkan, the editor of Turkish "Radical"
newspaper.

On the interview with the Armenian journalists he said that everyone
knows that besides the protocols during the development of the Armenian
– Turkish relations Karabakh issue will be touched.

"As an editor I think that the Turkish President knots himself to
Azerbaijan with the statements made y him. There is not a word about
Karabakh in the protocols because it’s not the issue for Turkey,
but it’s Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s problem. On each meeting of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents something happens. I think soon
an agreement will be signed too", – Berkan said.

According to him Russia too is for the regulation of the relations in
the region, which makes the editor to think that the day of signing
Armenian – Azerbaijani agreement is close.

In the same time Ismet Berkan said he didn’t think that any changes
will be noticed in the Armenian – Turkish relations till April 24,
2010.

On the other hand the Turkish editor encouraged: "You should do
something. It’s not only the Turkish side who should think about it.

The important thing is that the Turkish government is inclined
positively in solving the problems."

The editor also mentioned that the Armenian issue is not one of the
important issues for Turkey: "It’s not that the government is not
sleeping day and night and is thinking only about the problem of
solving the problems with Armenia. But it is important for Turkey as
our country wishes to settle his relations with all his neighbors",
– Ismet Berkan sated.

"I have never heard the Armenians complaining of Turkish people. That
means that the opening of the border has only political background,
as the real borders are open long before", – he continued saying that
he doesn’t understand how the people can be against the regulation
of the relations.

He also got surprised why they speak about the Genocide while the
issue of opening the border is touched. Then he added that it’s
normal to speak about the Genocide but also to be for the regulation
of the relations.

And the funniest thing that the Turkish editor said was that in Turkey
the people do not know that the borders between Armenia and Turkey
are closed or that Turkey has a neighbor called Armenia.

At the end of the interview Ismet Berkan told the journalists that
the singer Arto Tunjboyajyan is the uncle of his wife: "He is a good
and famous person in Turkey. I remember how one day "The Armenia
Navy Band" arrived to Turkey; they called me from the government and
said that there was an army group arrived from Armenia and asked me
whether I needed a small group of army when they learnt that I was
going to meet them. It turned out that the government had understood
it wrongly taking the "Armenian Navy Band" for an army group. That
day we really laughed a lot when we learnt that Arto was claimed in
bringing an a troop to Turkey."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIANS TOUR ARMENIA

The Messenger
Nov 11 2009
Georgia

In the first 9 months of 2009 Armenia was visited by 423,000 tourists,
almost 6% more than in the same period of 2008. Head of the Tourism
Department Mekhak Apresian has stated that Armenia is visited mostly
by persons from Russia, Georgia, the CIS countries, Europe, Iran
and the USA. He also stated that more than 60% of these tourists are
ethnic Armenians.

Recently more tourists have been coming from Turkey, Latin America
and the Scandinavian countries. Apresian thinks that the forthcoming
opening of the Armenian-Turkish border will further facilitate the
development of regional tourism.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERBAIJAN NEEDS TO GAIN A CRUSHING VICTORY OVER ARMENIA: RUSSIAN POLITICAL EXPERT

Today
378.html
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with doctor of historical sciences, senior research
fellow at Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of World Economy and
International Relations Alexander Krylov.

Day.Az: How real are Turkey’s chances to become OSCE Minsk Group
co-chair country?

Alexander Krylov: I think it is unrealistic. Turkey is a member of the
OSCE Minsk Group along with several European countries, and thus has
an opportunity to influence its work. It can become co-chair only
after Armenia’s agreement which is unlikely to happen. Moreover,
it would require one of the co-chairs to give up its role. The U.S.

possible withdrawal from the Minsk Group co-chairs was actively
discussed over a year ago, but now it is obvious that these were only
senseless arguments by some political scientists.

Q: Do you think Russia will facilitate Turkey’s becoming OSCE Minsk
Group co-chair once there is a chance?

A: Russia will not help change the current format of the Minsk Group,
as it will not facilitate the peace process. However, currently Russia
highly appreciates Turkey’s policy which opposes militarization in the
South Caucasus and helps stabilize the situation in the Caspian-Black
Sea region. Russia strongly supports the process of normalizing
relations between Armenia and Turkey, as well as Ankara’s active
mediator role in settlement of the Karabakh problem.

I think joint efforts by the Minsk Group and Turkey, which acts as an
independent and active intermediary, may bring about tangible progress
in resolution of the Karabakh conflict. However, it must be clearly
understood that no diplomatic activity by intermediaries will replace
readiness by conflicting parties to make compromise.

Q: Various media outlets report that Armenia has informally agreed
to leave the occupied Azerbaijani territories …

A: To make it possible, there is a need for mutually acceptable
solution to Nagorno Karabakh or Azerbaijan will need to gain a
crushing victory over Armenia in a new war. None of the options exist
at the moment. Under today’s conditions such a move would be regarded
in the Armenian society as a capitulation, which can not have any
explanation. This would mean instant political death of a leader or
leaders who will do it. I do not see those who are willing to commit
such a political hara-kiri among Armenia’s current leaders.

Q: Can Russia exert pressure on Armenia to leave occupied lands?

A: I think Russia will put no pressure on Armenia. The Russian
diplomacy aims not at a diplomatic capitulation of Armenia or
Azerbaijan, but peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem. It is
impossible to achieve such a settlement through diplomatic and any
other outside pressure on one of the conflicting sides or on all sides
at the same time. Such methods are widely used by American diplomacy,
but they have not helped to resolve conflicts so far.

Moreover, the peace process in the Middle East was in complete impasse
precisely because American diplomacy puts pressure on both Israelis
and the Palestinians. Peace accords were signed as a result, but the
conflict was not resolved, Palestine was split and a new outbreak
of hostilities ensued. The end to all of these is unpredictable. I
think that these diplomatic failures should be a lesson for all those
involved in peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

OFFICIAL WORKING VISIT BY THE ARMENIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

EDA
ecent/media/single.html?id=30042
Nov 11 2009
Switzerland

The head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Mrs Calmy-Rey
received Mr Eduard Nalbandian, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
for a working visit on Tuesday evening. Two agreements were signed at
the meeting. One was an adaptation of the air traffic treaty of 1998,
while the other concerned the issuance of visas to diplomats.

Mrs Calmy-Rey and Mr Nalbandian are currently pursuing their talks
on various bilateral and multilateral issues. The discussions will
focus on the activities of the SDC in Armenia, the economic situation
in both countries, Switzerland’s objectives as chairman-in-office
of the Council of Europe and the activities of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe. The talks will be followed by a
dinner at which the exchange of views will continue.

In October 2008, the two countries re-negotiated the air traffic
agreement initialled in 1998, which had not yet been signed. The
old agreement has now been taken over by developments in the civil
aviation sector. It stated that air traffic between Switzerland and
Armenia would be governed by the principle of nationality. This
principle stipulated that the majority of the capital of airline
companies wishing to establish airlines operating between the two
countries would have to be owned by national investors.

The new agreement signed today stipulates only that the operational
headquarters have to be in one of the two countries. This new
formulation fully takes into account the conditions prevailing in
today’s globalised air transport market. The agreement suppressing
the necessity of visas for diplomatic staff comes on top of the
re-admission agreement which is already in force between the two
countries and underlines the good cooperation in migration matters
between the two countries.

AMERICAN ANALYST: AS MOMENTUM BUILDS IN THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT, THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME GRADUAL MOVEMENT IN THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH ISSUE

APA
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

Washington. Isabel Levine – APA. APA Washington correspondent’s
interview with Jeffrey Mankoff, security analyst for Russian Studies
at the US Counsil on Foreign Relations

-What is the possibility of cooperation between Russia and US in
the security sphere? What would be the role of Azerbaijan in that
cooperation?

-Obviously this is a very broad question. Some security cooperation
between the US and Russia already exists. Russia is allowing the US
to transit equipment to the war zone in Afghanistan through Russian
territory, for instance.

Russia would like more cooperation on issues it considers important,
such as countering the drug trade coming out of Afghanistan and
building links between the CSTO and NATO. The US also wants further
cooperation, but mostly on the issues that matter to it, above all
stopping Iran’s nuclear problem. The key question for both sides is
whether they can find common ground on all but the most basic issues
(START replacement, for instance).

What is Azerbaijan’s role in all of this – hard to say. Russia and
the Europeans (backed by the US) are still maneuvering for access
to gas from Azerbaijan. They also appear, quietly, for Baku to play
a constructive role in the cautious rapprochement underway between
Turkey and Armenia. So it seems to me there is no consistent answer;
some cooperation, but also some competition.

-Do you think that Gabala Radio Location Station is still on the
countries’ agenda in terms of security cooperation?

-Maybe in the long-run. For now though, the Obama Administration has
defined its approach to missile defense, relying mainly on sea-based
interceptors. Moscow is still pressing for some kind of joint missile
defense project which could, I suppose, somehow include the Gabala
site, but that is far in the future at this stage.

-It has been more than one year after the Georgia war, how would
estimate the security situation in the region now? What are the risks
of new tensions in conflict areas?

I would say the situation in the South Caucasus looks better than a
year ago while the North Caucasus looks worse. Saakashvili has been
weakened by the war and is in no position to repeat it, while the
Russians are also more cautious as a result of the war’s fallout.

Meanwhile, the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement has not broken the
ice on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue yet, but as momentum builds there
will probably be some gradual movement. On the other hand, the North
Caucasus is getting out of hand, with the spread of extremism in
Ingushetia and Dagestan threatening regional stability. The economic
crisis has not helped, since living standards are down and frustration
seems higher.

IT IS HARD TO NEGOTIATE UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS: AZERBAIJANI FM

Today
tml
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has agreed to hold a next meeting
with Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in one of the European
capitals, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said.

"The venue and date of the meeting will be set in a couple of days,"
the minister said.

He said no new proposals on conflict resolution have been made.

"We have discussed basic principles for the last five years.

Unfortunately, Armenian side raises issues that were debated and
negotiated earlier," Mammadyarov said.

"It is hard to negotiate under such conditions. Therefore, we must
consider whether Armenian side is ready or willing to achieve momentum
or they are simply negotiations," the minister said.

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENTARIANS TO DISCUSS BAKU-ANKARA RELATIONS IN TURKEY

news.az
Nov 11 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani parliamentarians are leaving for Turkey to discuss
relations between Baku and Ankara established in the light of
normalization of the Turkish-Armenian ties.

"Rabiyat Aslanova chairman of the parliamentary human rights
committee and Ganira Pashayeva, member of the parliamentary committee
of international relations and interparliamentary ties, will be
staying in Ankara November 12-15 to participate in an event on the
Turkish-Armenian relations", the news service for Milli Medjlis
said Wednesday.

"Azerbaijani parliamentarians will speak at the event organized by
the Center of Strategic Studies of Turkey", the sources said.

Moreover, Aslanova and Pashayeva will visit several prestigious high
schools of Turkey to meet with students and inform them of the recent
events in the region, including the situation that established after
the Turkish-Armenian protocols were signed on creation of diplomatic
relations and opening of borders in Zurich on October 10.