ASBAREZ Online [06-15-2006]

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06/15/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Committee Adopts Amendment to Block US Subsidy for Armenia Railroad Bypass 2) Matthew Bryza Appointed US Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group 3) Luxembourg PM Proposes Freezing EU Talks with Turkey 4) Kocharian to Visit Iran 1) Committee Adopts Amendment to Block US Subsidy for Armenia Railroad Bypass WASHINGTON, DC--The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed Wednesday the vote by a powerful Congressional panel to block US taxpayer funding for an unnecessary and costly proposed railroad between Turkey and Georgia that would, if built, circumvent Armenia and, in the process, undermine the economic viability of the existing Caucasus railroad route through Armenia. With a unanimous voice vote Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee adopted the amendment offered by panel member Joe Crowley (D-NY). The measure prohibits the Export-Import Bank from providing any assistance ~Sto develop or promote any rail connections or railway-related connections that traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey, and that specifically exclude cities in Armenia.~T Representative Crowley serves as the Chief Deputy Minority Whip. His amendment to the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2006 was co-authored by Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA). ~SWe thank Congressman Crowley, his colleagues Ed Royce and Brad Sherman, and all the members of the Financial Services Committee for protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing an ill-advised and over-priced railroad project that--at the insistence of Turkey and Azerbaijan--has been proposed solely to exclude Armenia,~T said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. ~SWith this amendment, we are sending a message to the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan that continually excluding Armenia in regional projects fosters instability,~T said Congressman Crowley. ~SBypassing Armenia is just another attempt to further suffocate this republic, which has made great strides in democratic and economic reforms notwithstanding its neighbors~R hostility. If the Caucasus region is to move forward, we must ensure that all countries move forward together at the same time.~T He added that, ~SThe American taxpayer should not be required to finance a project that goes against the interests of the US government in the South Caucasus. I thank my colleagues for recognizing the importance of this legislation.~T A proposed new Caucasus rail line--at the urging of Turkey and Azerbaijan--would circumvent Armenia. Promoters of the project have sought, even at the planning stages, to secure US financing for this undertaking, prompting Congressional friends of Armenia to preemptively block such attempts. The Crowley Amendment is similar to the South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2006. This measure was introduced in both the House (HR 3361), by Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), and in the Senate (S 2461) by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). The House version has 85 cosponsors; the Senate version has been cosponsored by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). Both measures stress that US policy should oppose the ~SThe exclusion of Armenia from regional economic and commercial undertakings in the South Caucasus,~T noting that such actions ~Sundermine the United States policy goal of promoting a stable and cooperative environment in the region.~T Thousands of activists throughout the United States have sent ANCA WebFaxes to members of Congress in support of this legislation at anca.org/action_alerts/actionalerts.php?aaid=93 . In October of last year, the European Commission voiced official opposition to the proposed Caucasus railroad bypass of Armenia. A formal statement by the Commission~Rs Directorate General for Transport and Energy noted that its construction was both unnecessary and inefficient in light of the existing railroad connecting Kars, Gyumri, and Tbilisi. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank~Rs mission is to assist in financing the export of US goods and services to international markets. 2) Matthew Bryza Appointed US Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew J. Bryza was appointed the American co-chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said. ~SThe US informed us that Mr. Bryza will replace Steven Mann at the post of co-chair. After confirmation in Vienna he will fully engage into the process of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict settlement.~T Bryza is expected to pay a visit to the region to get familiarized with the situation and the peace process. When news of the replacement was first announced Azeri Foreign Affairs Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said that changing the American co-chairman will not have a negative impact on negotiations. He said that what is important is that the US remains in the regulation process. He added that Mann~Rs replacement will be fully involved in the process within one or two months. 3) Luxembourg PM Proposes Freezing EU Talks with Turkey PARIS (Reuters)--The European Union should freeze membership talks with Turkey if Ankara does not open its ports and airports to traffic from Cyprus this year, said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker Thursday. It was the clearest signal so far that some leaders will seek a complete halt to the negotiations if Turkey does not fulfill its obligation to extend its EU customs union to all new member states, including Cyprus, which it does not recognize. Juncker was asked by the French daily La Croix whether the EU had shown weakness by agreeing to conclude the first detailed accession negotiations on science and research this week without a move by Turkey on Cyprus. "No. European ministers firmly reiterated to the Turks that this condition should be applied in 2006," he said. "If Turkey were not to implement this condition this year, my view is that the negotiations will have [to] be postponed." Turkey has said it would open air and sea access to Cypriot planes and ships if the EU made good on a promise to end the economic isolation of Turkish Cypriot northern Cyprus. The EU has rejected any linkage between Ankara's treaty obligation and its own political pledge, which Nicosia has so far impeded. Officially, the EU has not threatened a complete suspension of talks if, as expected, Turkey does not meet the condition. Foreign Ministers said this week "Failure to implement its obligations in full will affect the overall progress in the negotiations" without specifying how. The executive European Commission is due to review Turkey's performance in a report in late October or early November and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has warned of a potential "train crash." Juncker, a veteran center-right politician close to Germany's governing Christian Democrats, suggested the EU would have to reconsider further expansion in the light of the defeat of the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands. "Anyhow, Croatia aside, I think that it will probably not be possible to continue the enlargement process without limits and precautions if we do not manage to restore order to European institutions," he told La Croix. "A large-scale enlargement does not seem feasible to me on the sole basis of the current treaties." 4) Kocharian to Visit Iran YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--President Robert Kocharian will travel to Iran next month for his first face-to-face talks with the Islamic Republic~Rs President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his spokesman said on Thursday. Victor Soghomonian, the presidential press secretary, said that the official visit is tentatively scheduled to take place ~Sin the middle of this summer.~T Energy Minister Armen Movsisian was in Tehran late last month and discussed with senior Iranian officials details of Kocharian~Rs planned trip, suggesting that it will focus on Iranian-Armenian energy projects. According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Movsisian told his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, that it could ~Sopen a new chapter~T in the close ties between the two neighboring states. Mottaki, for his part, was quoted as praising ~Scommon interests~T shared by Armenia and Iran and calling for a further deepening of their ~Sprofound relations.~T The remarks are in line with Ahmadinejad~Rs pledges to continue his predecessors~R policy on Armenia, which he made following his election as president a year ago. Kocharian had already visited Tehran in 2003 to meet with Iran~Rs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and then President Mohammad Khatami. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.