Author: admin

From: "Katia M. Peltekian" <[email protected]>
Subject: BAKU: Turk Pres Visit Unlikely to Entail Soon Opening of Borders

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 5 2008

Turkish President’s Visit to Armenia Unlikely to Entail Soon Opening
of Borders: Experts

05.09.08 11:11

Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 September / Trend News corr. E.Tariverdiyeva,
V.Zhavoronkova, R.Hafizoglu/ Experts believe visit of Turkish
President Abdullah Gul to Armenia is unlikely to entail soon opening
of borders between the two countries.

`It is early to speak about opening of borders, but given slyness of
Armenian politicians, that can take place as time goes by,’
independent Turkish political scientist Mehmet Bekaroglu said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul will visit Yerevan on 6 September on
the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to watch a
football match between the national teams of the two countries within
the selection stage of World Championship 2010.

There are no diplomatic links between Turkey and Armenia and the
border between the two countries has been closed for recent 15
years. Analysts consider Gul’s visit to Yerevan to be an opportunity
to normalize the relationships between the two neighbour countries,
through opening of borders will not be settled in near future.

For a long period Armenia has been in partial economic blockade due to
closed border with Turley and Azerbaijan. Therefore, now Armenia will
make a compromise to open a part of the borders.

`For Armenia it is important not only to resume diplomatic relations
but also to open borders between the two states,’ Bekaroglu, former MP
of the Turkish Parliament, told Trend News in a telephone conversation
from Istanbul.

Anyway, one issue remains unsolved ` how much is Turkey ready to open
the border?

`A visit is not beginning of negotiations,’ European expert of
Caucasus Svante Cornell said. `That should be taken as nor more than a
gesture,’ co-director of the Stockholm Institute of Security &
Development Policy Svante Cornell said to Trend News in a telephone
conversation from Stockholm. According to him, Turley will not change
its hard political policy towards Armenia and it is not the time to
open Turkey-Armenia border.

That can be the beginning, a rather serious endeavour to solve, at
least partially, the problems between Turkey and Armenia or to
commence negotiations in this connection, Azerbaijani political
scientist Rasim Musabayov said. `I think Gul’s visit to Armenia to
watch football match will not be followed by opening of borders a
month or two later,’ Musabayov said to TrendNews by telephone.

This needs certain level of diplomatic relations. This process will
also help to become part of dialogue and it will be an attempt to
normalize Turkish-Armenian relations. But I do no think it will taken
place any time soon, he said.

According to Turkish political expert Bekaroglu, Turkey has a
principal position on Armenia and Yerevan will make any concessions to
restore relations and such development of events can lead to opening
of borders in future.

Opening of borders will provide Armenia with a chance to revive
economy of the country and Armenia can even give up exaggeration of
`genocide’ for this purpose but only until those it will revive
economy to the necessary level, he said.

The official Ankara have stated repeatedly that the resolution of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and giving up policy of international
recognition of `genocide’ against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
during World War I when some nearly 1.5mln people were killed, can
serve as a ground for restoring diplomatic relations with Armenia.

West played a big role in normalizing relations between the two
states, expert said.

The crisis around South Ossetia necessitates the opening of borders
between Turkey and Armenia for the barter among region states, Joseph
Pennington, charge d’affaires of US in Armenia said to media in
Yerevan. No other state, but only US is interested in opening of
borders and normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey, Caucasus
junction portal reported.

Turkey made this move not under its own will, but under US influence
as the war in Abkhazia and South Ossetia seriously affected economy of
Armenia, Cornell said.

`West understands only restoration of relations with Turkey can help
to revive economy in Armenia,’ Cornell said.

The Press Association
Sept 5 2008

US warship delivers aid to Georgia

The flagship of the US Navy’s Mediterranean fleet has anchored outside
a key Georgian port, defiantly bringing in tons of humanitarian aid to
a city still partly occupied by hundreds of Russian troops.

The USS Mount Whitney was the first Navy ship to travel to Poti since
Georgia’s five-day war with Russia last month. The continued presence
of Russian troops here has been a major point of friction between
Russia and the West, which insists Russia has failed to honor a deal
to pull back to positions held before fighting broke out on August 7.

The in-your-face anchorage at Poti came as US Vice President Dick
Cheney visited nearby Ukraine, another former Soviet republic that
feels threatened by Moscow’s military aggression.

Cheney pledged in Kiev, the capital, that the United States was
committed to Ukraine’s security and freedom and said Ukrainians should
not be forced to live under Russia’s "threat of tyranny, economic
blackmail and military invasion".

In a diplomatic counterpunch, Russia received support on Friday from
six other former Soviet republics who issued a joint statement
condemning Georgia for using force to try to retake control of its
separatist province of South Ossetia.

The declaration by members of the Collective Security Treaty
Organisation – which groups Russia with Armenia, Belarus and four
Central Asian nations; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan – also praised Russia for "helping peace and security" in
the region. However, the nations did not go as far as Russia and
recognise Georgia’s two separatist areas – South Ossetia and Abkhazia
– as independent nations.

The Kremlin has watched the arrival of the USS Mount Whitney and other
US warships carrying aid with deep suspicion, but a Russian Foreign
Ministry official said no military action was planned in response to
the US naval presence in the Black Sea.

The Mount Whitney will unload aid at Poti’s commercial port Saturday,
right next door to Poti’s badly damaged naval base.

During the war, Russian forces bombed Poti, which has a large oil
shipment facility, attacked the port and sank eight Georgian naval
vessels in the harbour.

Signs of destruction were all around. The missile boat Dioskuria – the
flagship for Georgia’s small navy – stood with its hull under water,
its badly damaged communications masts protruding from the water. The
windows of Georgia’s naval headquarters were shattered, the buildings
pockmarked by large calibre ammunition.

RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 6 2008

CIS and Baltic press on Russia
23:36 | 05/ 09/ 2008

ARMENIA

After Russia’s recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, experts and
politicians have been actively discussing the possibilities of
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"If Russia asks Armenia to recognize the independence of the south
Caucasian territories, Yerevan could ask for Russia’s recognition of
Nagorny Karabakh as a pre-condition." "Armenia should not be in a
hurry to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as
it is difficult to forecast what position Russia will take on Nagorny
Karabakh." (Respublika Armenia, August 28)

"Armenia has to thoroughly consider whether it is worth turning the
breakaway territory of Nagorny Karabakh into Russia’s outpost."
(Lragir.am, September 1)

US WARSHIP TO GEORGIAN PORT PARTLY HELD BY RUSSIA
By Steve Gutterman

AP foreign
Friday September 5 2008

POTI, Georgia (AP) – The flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Mediterranean
fleet anchored outside a key Georgian port Friday, defiantly bringing
in tons of humanitarian aid to a city still partly occupied by hundreds
of Russian troops.

The USS Mount Whitney was the first Navy ship to travel to Poti since
Georgia’s five-day war with Russia last month. The continued presence
of Russian troops here has been a major point of friction between
Russia and the West, which insists Russia has failed to honor a deal
to pull back to positions held before fighting broke out Aug. 7.

The in-your-face anchorage at Poti came as Vice President Dick Cheney
visited nearby Ukraine, another former Soviet republic that feels
threatened by Moscow’s military aggression.

Cheney pledged in Kiev, the capital, that the United States was
committed to Ukraine’s security and freedom and said Ukrainians
should not be forced to live under Russia’s "threat of tyranny,
economic blackmail and military invasion."

In a diplomatic counterpunch, Russia received support Friday from six
other former Soviet republics who issued a joint statement condemning
Georgia for using force to try to retake control of its separatist
province of South Ossetia.

The declaration by members of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization – which groups Russia with Armenia, Belarus and four
Central Asian nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan – also praised Russia for "helping peace and security"
in the region. However, the nations did not go as far as Russia and
recognize Georgia’s two separatist areas – South Ossetia and Abkhazia –
as independent nations.

The Kremlin has watched the arrival of the USS Mount Whitney and
other U.S. warships carrying aid with deep suspicion, but a Russian
Foreign Ministry official said Friday no military action was planned
in response to the U.S. naval presence in the Black Sea.

During the war, Russian forces bombed Poti, which has a large oil
shipment facility, attacked the port and sank eight Georgian naval
vessels in the harbor. Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers that Russia
calls "peacekeepers" are still camped just 4 miles (6 kilometers)
from the port.

Still, traffic flowed freely past two Russian checkpoints Friday.

Ketino Kebuchava, the owner of a small grocery store in Poti, welcomed
the warship’s arrival.

"We are a small country and we need help," he said. "We welcome
anyone but the Russians. We want the Russians out of our city and
out of our country."

The Mount Whitney will unload aid at Poti’s commercial port Saturday,
right next door to Poti’s badly damaged naval base.

Signs of destruction were all around. The missile boat Dioskuria –
the flagship for Georgia’s small navy – stood with its hull under
water, its badly damaged communications masts protruding from the
water. The windows of Georgia’s naval headquarters were shattered,
the buildings pockmarked by large caliber ammunition.

According to the port’s director of security, Vakhtang Chichradze,
there was little the Russians didn’t steal – hauling away chairs, light
switches, radiators as well as five U.S.-made Hummer military vehicles.

"From the military port, they took armchairs, toilets – everything,"
he said.

Two U.S. ships have already come and gone from Georgia carrying
humanitarian aid, but they anchored at Batumi, to the south, a smaller
port with no Russian military presence.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and other officials have suggested the
United States is delivering weapons to Georgia along with humanitarian
aid – but U.S. officials have dismissed those accusations and said
the aid included blankets and powered milk.

"There are absolutely no weapons of any sort on these ships," said Cpt.

John Moore. Moscow had signaled it would not impede the ship’s
movement.

But, contrary to earlier reports, Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman
for the US European Command, said Russians won’t be inspecting the aid.

"That will not be allowed," Dorrian said. "The port of Poti is Georgian
sovereign territory."

Georgian Defense David Kezerashvili told the Associated Press that
the ship’s arrival sent a strong message to Moscow.

"It’s very important for an American ship to stand for the defense
of democracy against the totalitarian regime of Russia," he said.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry official Andrei Nesterenko offered
a measured response to Mount Whitney’s arrival.

"There is no talk of military action," he said, but again questioned
the use of warships.

"It is unlikely that warships of this class can deliver humanitarian
aid in great quantities," Nesterenko added.

In Portugal, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Russia was
"deepening its isolation" by not honoring commitments to withdraw
forces from Georgia.

Ukraine was the third country Cheney has visited this week, after
oil-rich Azerbaijan and Georgia, where Washington announced $1 billion
economic aid package to help Georgia rebuild.

Cheney reiterated Friday that Ukraine would eventually join NATO,
despite fierce resistance from Moscow.

"The United States has a deep and abiding interest in your well-being
and security," Cheney said following talks with President Viktor
Yushchenko.

"We believe in the right of men and women to live without threat of
tyranny, economic blackmail and military invasion or intimidation."

The show of support was important for Yushchenko’s Western-leaning
government, which has pushed strongly for closer ties with the European
Union and NATO.

"We value our strategic bilateral relationship highly," Yushchenko
told Cheney. "On the majority of the issues, including Georgia,
we have an understanding with the United States."

Yushchenko has also objected to Russia using its ships stationed in
Sevastopol, a leased Russian military base in Ukraine, during the war,
and condemned Russia’s decision to recognize Georgia’s two separatist
areas as independent states.

Cheney met separately with Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, discussing
regional security and efforts to diversify energy supplies.

Cheney’s visit came during a political crisis pitting Yushchenko and
Tymoshenko, coalition partners, against one another, setting Ukraine’s
government teetering on the verge of collapse.

In the French city of Avignon, European Union nations called Friday
for an international probe to determine which country should shoulder
responsibility for starting the war between Georgia and Russia.

ERDOGAN: TWO PRESIDENTS WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DISCUSS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.09.2008 14:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
Thursday he thinks favorably about President Abdullah Gul’s decision
to travel to Armenia on the occasion of a soccer game between the
national teams of the two countries.

Armenia and Turkey will play against each other in the Armenian
capital Yerevan on September 6th in the 2010 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan declared that he would
take steps to revive relations with Turkey and invited President Gul
to Yerevan to watch together the soccer game.

"You can not get anything as long as you leave the table. You should
sit down at the table and let others leave," Erdogan told reporters
in Syria where he met leaders of Syria, France and Qatar at a quartet
summit on the Middle East.

"They (the two presidents) would of course discuss something after the
game," Erdogan said. "The whole thing here is the Nagorno Karabakh
issue. We think that the Minsk process should be concluded in a
fair way. Moreover, Armenia should comply with UN Security Council
resolution on the matter."

"Everything can not be finalized in a minute. It will take time,"
Erdogan said, the Anatolian Agency reports.

BAKO SAHAKIAN AND ANDRZEY KASPRZYK DISCUSSED SITUATION IN REGION

De Facto
05.09.08

YEREVAN, 05.09.08. DE FACTO. On 4 September Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
President Bako Sahakyan received personal representative of the OSCE
chairman-in-office Andrzey Kasprzyk.

According to Central Information Department of the office of the
NKR President, issues related to the current situation in the region,
Nagorno-Karabagh conflict settlement process and the planned monitoring
of the line of contact between Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan armed
forces were discussed at the meeting.

RECOGNITION A LONELY EXERCISE FOR MOSCOW
By Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writer

The Moscow Times
Sept 5 2008
Russia

Ten days after Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as
independent states, the only other country to have followed suit as
of Thursday was that Cold War battlefield of the 1980s: Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s announcement this week of his
Central American nation’s recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions
was a "pleasant surprise," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

Closer to home, however, Russia’s allies among former Soviet republics
have remained reticent on the issue.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led alliance of
seven former Soviet republics that Moscow hopes will evolve into a
full-fledged military bloc, issued a statement Thursday criticizing
Georgia’s military campaign — which was crushed by Russia — but
making no mention of the Kremlin’s recognition of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia.

Their silence on recognition could change Friday, when the heads of the
alliance’s member states — Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan — are to meet in Moscow for a summit.

But so far it’s just Managua, where the socialist leader was actively
supported by the Soviet Union three decades ago. Ortega on Tuesday
announced that his country would back independence for the rebel
regions.

"This was a pleasant surprise," Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor
Lyakin-Frolov said.

He added that Moscow was not pressuring other governments on the
issue and took a swipe at the United States to make his point.

"We, unlike the United States, give every country a chance to make
its own decision," Lyakin-Frolov said.

Nicaraguan Deputy Foreign Minister Manuel Coronel Kautz told
RIA-Novosti on Thursday that his ministry is drawing up the documents
to recognize the regions and will send them to the parliament for
ratification.

Following Moscow’s Aug. 26 recognition of Abkhaz and South Ossetian
independence, expectations ran high that at least some of the Moscow’s
allies — above all Belarus — would follow suit and not leave Moscow
on its own.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has supported Moscow in
the conflict with Georgia, telling President Dmitry Medvedev in
an Aug. 28 letter that Russia had no choice but to recognize the
separatist republics.

But a Belarussian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said by telephone from
Minsk on Thursday that the letter "does not exactly mean that Belarus
is recognizing them."

She said her ministry had so far received no presidential order to
begin the process of recognizing their independence.

Back in Nicaragua’s neighborhood, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
said on Aug. 30 that Russia was "right" to support independence for
the two regions.

But there have been no reports that Venezuela, to whom Russia has
sold $3.5 billion worth of arms in recent years, would also offer
recognition, despite the close personal ties Chavez has developed
with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, Russia last week attempted — and failed — to win support
from its Central Asian allies on Abkhaz and South Ossetian independence
at Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tajikistan.

The organization offered only a general defense of Russia’s actions
in the Caucasus.

Analysts said it was unrealistic for Medvedev to expect the
organization, in which China plays a leading role, to support Moscow’s
position on independence given Beijing’s own concerns over its own
separatist Tibet and Xinjiang provinces.

Furthermore, most former Soviet republics are being courted intensely
by the United States, which is offering massive investment and
political backing as they integrate into the global economy.

The Kremlin might be better off looking for support not only among
its traditional former Soviet allies, but also among countries at
odds with the United States, said Sergei Mikheyev, an analyst with
the Center for Political Technologies.

Belarus, Venezuela and Syria would fit the bill, Mikheyev said.

EU WELCOMES TURKISH PRESIDENT’S DECISION

Sept 5 2008
Turkey

Armenian President Sargsian invited Gul to watch a World Cup qualifier
to be played between the national teams of Turkey and Armenia in
Yerevan on Saturday.

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union said on Thursday
it welcomed Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s decision to pay a visit
to Yerevan, Armenia.

A statement of Presidency of the Council of EU released by France’s
embassy in Ankara said it welcomed Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s
accepting an invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsian to watch
a World Cup qualifier in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

The statement said this visit could create a positive atmosphere for
normalization of relations between the two countries.

Sargsian invited Gul to watch a World Cup qualifier to be played
between the national teams of Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan on
Saturday.

A statement released by Gul’s office on Wednesday said that the
president accepted Sargsian’s invitation.

FIRST EVER ARMENIA VS TURKEY MATCH TOMORROW

armradio.am
05.09.2008 15:16

The first ever match between the national teams of Armenia and
Turkey will take place at Hrazdan stadium of Yerevan of Yerevan at
9 p.m. tomorrow.

President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia and President Abdullah Gul of
Turkey will attend the match. This will be the first ever visit of
the Turkish President to Armenia.

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan invited Gul last month to attend
the qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup finals to mark "a new
symbolic start in the countries’ relations."

On September 4 Turkish President’s Press Office confirmed he would
visit Yerevan. "The visit can contribute to the establishment of a
new atmosphere of friendship and peace in the region," the official
press release noted.

"We hope that the upcoming match will help eliminate the obstacles
to the rapprochement of the two countries having common history
and will contribute to the improvement of mutual understanding,"
the document noted.

Gul will arrive in Yerevan two hours before the match and go directly
to the Office of Serzh Sargsyan. The meeting of two presidents is
expected to last for one hour. The Turkish delegation will leave
Yerevan as soon as the match ends.

Gul’s decision to visit Yerevan has been welcomed by many in the world.

The United States said Wednesday it hoped President Abdullah Gul
‘s planned historic visit to Yerevan would facilitate moves for an
eventual normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia.

"We welcome President Gul’s decision to travel to Yerevan," Mark
Toner, spokesman for the U.S. State Department’s European bureau,
told the Turkish Daily News.

"We commend both presidents for their courage to take steps to
strengthen peace and prosperity throughout the region," he said.

"We hope this historic meeting will help build momentum toward the
full normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations," Toner said.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oli Rehn welcomed the decision of
Turkey’s President to attend the football game in Yerevan.

"I warmly welcome President Gul’s decision to attend the World Cup
qualifying match between Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan on Saturday. The
crisis in Georgia has underlined the importance of good neighborly
relations in the region, including Turkish-Armenian relations,"
Oli Rehn said.

The EU Commissioner expressed hope that President Gul’s important
first step will be soon followed by others that lead to a full
normalization of relations between these two countries, which would
enhance stability in the region and prepare the ground for strengthened
regional cooperation.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Gul’s decision to attend the football match between
the national teams of Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan met the severe
criticism of Turkey’s opposition Republica n People’s Party (CHP).

"In that case let him lay a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian
Genocide victims. He will thus make very happy all those who
persuaded him to make that step," Turkish opposition leader Deniz
Baykal declared.

Whatever, the fact is that the national football teams of Armenia
and Turkey will meet tomorrow, and Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and
Abdullah Gul will attend the match. Renowned singer Charles Aznavour
is arriving in Armenia today to attend the FIFA 2010 qualifying match
between the national football teams of Armenia and Turkey.

THE POLICE BANNED AGAIN

A1+
[02:21 pm] 04 September, 2008

The parents of victim-soldiers who died in their military units
while at service started a sitting-strike in front of the Government
building by the entrance stairs, but the policemen forcingly removed
them from there.

"You have made a show", the policemen were claiming. "We wish you
a show like this in your homes," replied the dead serviceman’s aunt
Susanna Galstian. Her nephew had been at Army service in Agarak unit
in Meghri district and died on May 9, Victory Day this year. "He was
the only son of my brother. They don’t have any other children. The
officers got drunk on that day, beat the offspring and threw him into
the petroleum tank, as if he got drowned. 23 more days and he would
be back home from his service," Susanna talked to "A1+" in tears.

"I’ve been told that my son had died out of electricity shock, but
in that case his clothes would be torn out. His officers had killed
him and scared the other soldiers not to give any testimony otherwise
they would be punished more bitterly." The mother of serviceman Tigran
Ohanjanian who died on August 31, 2007, told "A1+".

According to dead soldiers’ parents’ words they have met Deputy Head
of National Security Service who invited them to his office tomorrow.

Today there was another act of complaint towards Government by the
residents of "the zone of alienation" who demanded to meet the Prime
Minister. However their shouting "Prime-Minister" and loud whistling
didn’t reach the PM.