Month: November 2009

ARMENIAN CUSTOMS PREPARE TO OPEN ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER

news.AZ
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

The customs points hold preliminary work in anticipation of the opening
of the Armenian-Turkish border that will result in trade enlivening,
said Armen Alaverdyan, deputy chairman of the committee on state
revenues of Armenia.

He said Armenia is ready for a flow of Turkish goods, though no large
flow is expected.

Alaverdyan said, economically Turkey is the same partner for Armenia
as Russia, Georgia and other countries and goods imported from Turkey
are imposed the same duties as imports from other countries. He also
noted that Turkish goods had always been imported to Armenia.

The trade turnover between Armenia and Turkey is now being carried via
the third countries, mostly via Gergia and Iran. According to experts,
the blockade by Turkey causes a loss of 500 mln dollars to Armenia
per annum. Economic professor Tatul Manaseryan estimates that the
shadow turnover between the two countries makes up 25% of Armenia’s
overall trade turnover.

By the expert estimates of the Armenian-Turkish business development
council, the trade turnover between Turkey and Armenia nears 100 mln
dollars and will reach 300 mln dollars in case of border opening.

ALEXEY VLASOV: ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS A STAGE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS

news.am
Nov 5 2009
Armenia

Pfter starting negotiations with Turkey, Armenia has to achieve a
consensus on Nagorno-Karabakh as well, stated Alexey Vlasov, Director
of the Information-Analytical Center for Studies of Post-Soviet States,
Moscow State University. According to him, the Armenian-Turkish
protocols are one of the stages of stabilization in the South Caucasus.

"There exists a broader aspect of this process, with protocols playing
an important, but not the only, role. Speaking of the protocols,
we should realize that they apply to only two states, but the entire
context embraces the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the broader aspect
of security in the South Caucasus," Vlasov said.

Quoted by the Tend news agency, the expert said that the external
forces, including the OSCE Minsk Group, pointed out that the
Armenia-Turkey normalization process must be followed by progress in
the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

According to him, Turkish officials have for a long time been assuring
Azerbaijan that Turkey is not doing anything against Azeri interests.

"It is time now when either the signed Armenian-Turkish protocols
must cause progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh process or the Turkish
political elite will fail to keep its promises," Vlasov said.

RUSSIAN MINISTER INDIRECTLY PLAYS DOWN AZERBAIJANI FEARS OVER ARMENIA-TURKEY RAPPROCHEMENT

news.AZ
Nov 6 2009
Azerbaijan

Grigoriy Karasin The Armenian-Turkish accords do not harm any third
party, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin has said,
implicitly referring to Azerbaijan’s concern that the accords will
hinder a solution to the Karabakh conflict.

"Both Armenia and Turkey are our friends, so we are interested in
establishing a neighbourly atmosphere between them," Karasin said in
a wide-ranging interview published today in the newspaper Republic
of Armenia.

He said that improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations would invigorate
economic ties which in turn would benefit society and the economy in
both countries.

"Settling relations between Yerevan and Ankara will objectively help
to reduce tension and promote peace, security and stability in the
Caucasus. Moreover, nothing in the Armenian-Turkish accords can be
interpreted as harmful to a third party," Karasin said, indirectly
referring to Azerbaijan’s concern that the accords will hinder a
solution to the Karabakh conflict.

"The Russian Federation is ready to support the normalization process
through further cooperation projects with Armenia and Turkey. This
primarily concerns electricity, transport and communications,"
Karasin continued.

He said that Russia’s energy giant RAO YeES has facilities in
Armenia and is supplying power to Turkey, while Russian Railways
are ready to establish rail links between Turkey and Armenia via the
Dogukapi-Akhuryan border crossing.

Asked about Russia’s position on the Karabakh peace process, Karasin
said, "We see our role as to assist the settlement process by helping
the sides find mutual acceptable solutions to key issues, but without
dictating any formulas on the sides from the outside."

Karasin said Azerbaijan and Armenia themselves bear responsibility
for settlement of the conflict.

"Russia has been an active mediator in the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since the beginning of the talks process.

Moscow is now carrying out these functions on a multilateral basis,
working with France and the United States as co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group – the main international forum in the search for a
political solution to the Karabakh conflict. At the same time, we
are also mediating through bilateral contacts with our partners in
Yerevan and Baku. It is worth nothing that during the meeting with
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow on 12 October, (Russian
President) Dmitriy Medvedev described Russia’s participation in the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process as ‘a very important yardstick
for our relations overall’."

Karasin said that Russia is willing to support any solution acceptable
to both sides.

"Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev met seven times in 2008-2009 and four tripartite meetings were
held involving the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian presidents.

Despite the existing differences, the sides made significant progress
towards agreement on the basic principles. Moscow is ready to take
all possible steps to move this process forward."

Karasin was upbeat on Russian-Armenian relations overall. "Regular,
trusted political dialogue on a high level and elsewhere between
Russia and Armenia gives our contacts a good dynamic," he said. "All
practical issues that arise in Russian-Armenian ties are resolved
constructively. Our collaboration is becoming more balanced and
harmonious, which is a sign of its maturity. Cooperation is expanding
and improving not only in the traditional political and military
spheres, but in the economic, humanitarian and inter-regional areas.

"Our positions on most key problems in world politics concur or
are close, which creates a sound basis for further fruitful foreign
policy collaboration."

Karasin said that although trade between the two countries has fallen
this year in comparison to last, Russian investment in the Armenian
economy is continuing to rise.

"Overall, we are optimistic about the future of Russian-Armenian
relations. We think that through our joint efforts we will be able
to steadily improve their substance."

AZERBAIJAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY HAS NOT HEARD OF US ULTIMATUM ON KARABAKH

news.Az
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

MFA of Azerbaijan "Azerbaijan is not a country that accepts the
language of ultimatums," the Foreign Ministry said.

"Washington has presented a stiff ultimatum to Azerbaijan: it made it
clear that if the country ‘attempts a military operation in Nagorno
Karabakh, the United States will recognize its independence’,"
newsru.com reports.

A spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, Elkhan Polukhov,
said he had no idea of the ultimatum.

"Azerbaijan is not a country that accepts the language of ultimatums,"
Polukhov said.

"We carry out an independent foreign policy based on our national
interests."

EX-US STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: SELF-DETERMINATION DOES NOT JUSTIFY SEPARATISM AND USE OF FORCE

news.AZ
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Richard Armitage News.Az interviews Richard Armitage, former US deputy
secretary of state.

Do you expect any changes in the present US leaders’ approach to
Azerbaijan?

I don’t expect a major change in the relationship between the US
and Azerbaijan.

Is it possible to make progress on the Karabakh settlement in the
near future?

Although progress is possible, I don’t see a rapid resolution.

Do you think that the right to self-determination can justify
separatism and occupation by use of force, as was the case in Karabakh?

No

There is an opinion that Moscow has more power than the US as mediator
in the Karabakh process, because it is closer to Azerbaijan and
Armenia geographically and economically, and has influence over them.

Do you agree?

Moscow may have more influence than the US for the reasons you state
but the question is whether they truly intend to seek a resolution.

What could the great powers (the US, Russia, the EU) do if Azerbaijan
decides to liberate Karabakh by war?

War would not be in the interest of Azerbaijan, as it would inhibit
the economic growth of the country and limit the government’s ability
to develop human capital.

Are you sure that Azerbaijan can play its role in Europe’s energy
security by seeing through Nabucco and other energy projects?

Azerbaijan (and Turkey) have long been at the crossroads of East and
West. I believe that Azerbaijan can play this role with energy… but
also as a transportation hub. The future should be bright.

TURKEY’S PRESIDENT EXPECTS TALKS TO BE STEPPED UP ON ARMENIAN WITHDRAWAL FROM AZERBAIJAN

news.AZ
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Abdullah Gul Turkey’s president, Abdullah Gul, has said that
discussions on Armenia’s withdrawal from the territory it occupies
in Azerbaijan will be intensified.

"There is no doubt Azerbaijan’s occupied lands belong to Azerbaijan,"
Gul said in a lecture at the inauguration of a new building of the
International Strategic Research Centre in Ankara.

Gul said he believes that discussions on Armenian withdrawal from
Azerbaijan will be stepped up, as this will help solve many problems
in the region.

The Turkish president said that developments in Georgia showed once
more that "frozen" conflicts in this region can escalate into war at
any moment.

He said there would be disaster without the Montreux Convention,
which severely restricts the passage of military vessels through the
Bosporus and Dardanelles, and gives Turkey control over the straits.

Elsewhere in his lecture, the Turkish president denied that Turkey
has changed direction in its foreign policy.

"Some are questioning where Turkey is heading to, which suggests
Turkey is confused and drifting with the waves in the middle of the
sea. This is not the case. Turkey knows what it has been doing,"
Hurriyet Daily News reported the president as saying.

"Turkey is going in every direction, from north to south and from
east to west," he said

RASIM MUSABEYOV: PRESERVATION OF THE CURRENT QUO STATUS IN THE KARABAKH CONFLICT IS BURDENSOME FOR RUSSIA

news.AZ
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Rasim Musabeyov Russia is seriously checking public reaction in
anticipation of the decisive stage in a four year negotiation round
of the Minsk Group, political scientist Rasim Musabeyov has said
commenting on prospects of the Karabakh conflict settlement by results
of the Moscow meeting of the representatives of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian public.

He said the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian parliamentarians
and then the mass media leaders and the meeting of public figures in
October in Moscow were significant events.

"I suppose this is not by accident. There is awareness that the
preservation of the current quo status in Karabakh is burdensome for
Russia, while Armenia is on the verge of financial bankruptcy and
can support military parity only under Russia’s direct assistance. It
is burdensome to do so also because military supplies to Armenia are
carried via Iran after the loss of communications via Georgia.

Moscow is aware that Baku will not close eyes on the further financing
of Armenia and its armament and that it will have the most negative
impact on the promising Azerbaijani-Russian projects. It means that
Russia’s expenses on Armenia should be added to the loss of the missed
profits in Azerbaijan.

It is difficult to maintain the current quo status. Georgia is lost
forever. Azerbaijan is strengthening and losing patience while Armenia
is stricken with economic crisis and is going through political
instability. We can expect that Russia will use its influence on
Armenians to end the deadlock in the Karabakh settlement. But Moscow
does not only intend to attain maximally possible concessions in
favor of its Armenian satellite but also deprive Azerbaijan of the
most important economic and military and political preferences. Thus,
there will be a fierce trading between the conflict parties and each of
them with Russia. But not all chances for Karabakh settlement are lost.

However, maximum 3-6 months are left to attain progress on the basis
of Madrid proposals, therefore, the mediators, including Russian ones,
should be in a hurry", noted he.

ARMENIAN POLITICAL ANALYST: AZERI-ARMENIAN DISCUSSIONS SHOULD NOT AVOID SENSITIVE TOPICS

news.az
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Artem Yerkanyan News.Az interviews Artem Yerkanyan, a political
analyst of the Shant television company and Novoye Vremya newspaper,
who attended the Moscow meeting of mass media representatives from
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

How do you evaluate the Moscow meeting of media representatives of
Armenia and Azerbaijan?

I assess it positively. This kind of initiative deserves praise. I
think the right format was chosen for the dialogue. The dialogue
involved representatives of those professional groups that are capable
of forming public opinion and influencing decision-making in their
countries.

Were the parties constructive?

Both sides were very constructive. I am pleased that my colleagues
from Baku avoided the descriptions and epithets, prevalent in the
vocabulary of Azerbaijani politicians. I would especially like to note
the constructive position of the ambassador of Azerbaijan in Moscow,
Polad Bulbuloglu, who could prove that words taken out of context from
his statement of readiness "to fight for the liberation of Karabakh
with a gun in my hands" do not really reflect his views on ways to
resolve the conflict. However, it seemed to me that too "pacifist"
sentiments among Russian colleagues, who were present at the meeting,
did not fully reflect the real attitudes of the parties. It seems to
me that the discussion should not bypass sensitive issues. I think
we can do more than reciting sweet toasts and remembering days gone
by when the Armenians and Azerbaijanis were friends and brothers.

Do you think such meetings contribute to the revitalization and
development of intergovernmental dialogue?

I would not set us such an objective. Nevertheless, I believe that the
development of contacts between journalists really create a favourable
climate for a productive dialogue between state figures.

How can the meetings of the intelligentsia and mass media
representatives help the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh problem?

In my opinion, such meetings should aim not at contributing to
the resolution of the Karabakh problem but at creating conditions
in which the parties can understand each other better and inform
their communities. If the parties cope with this mission, it would
be progress. This will help mitigate the image of an enemy, which
will in turn have a positive impact on the negotiations over the
conflict settlement.

At the meeting it was noted that the two peoples will have to learn
to live together. How can the media contribute to this process?

I think the role of the media in this issue is great. Unfortunately,
most of the Armenian and Azerbaijani media today serve different
purposes. In general, Baku’s printed periodicals and Internet agencies
are more aggressive and militaristic than Armenia’s.

ELCHIN SHIKHLINSKI: THE IMAGE OF AN ENEMY EXISTS DUE TO THE UNSETTLED KARABAKH CONFLICT

news.AZ
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Interview News.Az with Elchin Shikhlinski, chairman of the Azerbaijan
Journalists’ Union, editor-in-chief of the Zerkalo newspaper.

What can you say about the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
journalists in Moscow at initiative of the ambassadors of Azerbaijan
and Armenia in Russia?

First of all, I have repeatedly met with representatives of the
Armenian press. Certainly, this occurred not within the framework
of a special meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani mass media
representatives but within the framework of international symposiums,
seminars and other meetings with participation of journalists from
different countries including the South Caucasus states.

As the result, I am familiar with the most leading Armenian
journalists. Therefore, I have a positive attitude towards the meeting
of Azerbaijani and Armenian journalists held in Moscow.

Indeed, mass media play almost a crucial role in formation of spirits
among the population of our countries. Will it be possible to get
rid of the image of an enemy in Armenia and Azerbaijan?

A research was held several years ago. Armenians inspected the
Azerbaijani and Georgian press, Georgians viewed Azerbaijani and
Armenian press and Azerbaijanis – Armenian and Georgian press to
reveal publications forming an image of an enemy in our countries.

And during the presentation of the results of the researches held
in Tbilisi I reminded to everyone that any mass media is a business
built on a social order.

The image of an enemy exists due to the unsettled Karabakh conflict.

It means that not we, the mass media representatives, are to be blamed
for such a social order. The only possible way to remove it is to
eliminate the cause of such event and attain the just settlement of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Moreover, how can we hope on removal of the image of an enemy in
our countries, if Armenia is led by Serzh Sargsyan who had taken a
personal part in terminating Azerbaijani civilians in Nagorno Karabakh
and adjacent occupied territories of Azerbaijan?!

Armenians say Nagorno Karabakh is their historical land and we present
arguments that this is not true and Nagorno Karabakh is an ancient
Azerbaijani lands.

Do the representatives of Armenian mass media agree with the arguments
of Azerbaijani representatives during the meetings within the framework
of different international organizations?

Almost the same people attend different conferences and other
international events both from the Armenian and from our part and
they have been discussing all the debated issues between Azerbaijan
and Armenia for already 15 years. I think each side preserves its
opinion: Armenians say Nagorno Karabakh is their historical land and
we present arguments that this is not true and Nagorno Karabakh is
an ancient Azerbaijani lands.

Being aware that further debates on this issue are senseless, the
sides prefer not to discuss this topic during discussions.

And the last question: do the Armenian or Azerbaijani mass media
differ with their level of professionalism?

In general, we do not differ much. But I have to admit that a group
of Azerbaijani journalists that lay a key role in our country do not
know any other language except Azerbaijani.

Unlike us, the leading Armenian journalists mostly speak not only
Armenian but also Russian and English.

Unfortunately, we see sometimes that when Armenian journalists make
their reports in English during international conferences, most
Azerbaijani representatives even do not understand their speech.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US EMBASSY IN AZERBAIJAN DISMISSES RUMOURS OF KARABAKH ULTIMATUM

news.az
Nov 5 2009
Azerbaijan

Terry R. Davidson The USA has not changed its position on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Terry Davidson, public affairs officer at
the US embassy in Baku, has said.

He was commenting to 1news.az on a report published in Azerbaijan’s
Yeni Musavat newspaper that the USA would recognize Karabakh as
independent if Azerbaijan were to begin military operations in
the region.

"The USA has not changed its position on Nagorno-Karabakh," Terry
Davidson set. "We are for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in line
with the principles of international law, including respect for the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Davidson told a press conference.

Davidson told Yeni Musavat newspaper: "The information that you
published on 2 November, quoting an assistant to Tina Kaidanow, US
deputy assistant secretary of state on European and Eurasian affairs,
is a fabrication. She did not say anything of the kind."

The deputy assistant secretary of state told Azerbaijan’s ANS TV
channel that the United States supports the peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

In her interview, Kaidanow said: "First of all, I would like to note
that the United States support resolution of conflicts in peaceful
and just ways. US President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have
both made an open statement on this and both undertook a commitment
in connection with the resolution of the Karabakh conflict within the
framework of the Minsk Group. We have recently appointed one of our
best diplomats, Robert Bradtke, as the co-chair of the Minsk Group
and I hope we will continue this important and dynamic process in
the coming weeks and months."