Author: Badalian Vardan

Turkey develops pressure plan against U.S.

ANKARA, March 6 (RIA Novosti)

Turkey signaled on Saturday that it may use countermeasures against
the U.S. if a controversial bill condemning as genocide the World War
I killings of Armenians by Turks was passed.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
voted on Thursday 23-22 in support of the resolution following almost
six hours of heated debates.

Although not yet adopted, the bill has already become a diplomatic
flashpoint between Washington and Ankara.

It will now go before the full House, although no date has been set
for the vote.

Ankara condemned the bill and recalled its newly appointed ambassador
to the United States, Namik Tan, for consultations.

"We condemn this bill that blames the Turkish nation for a crime it
did not commit. Our Washington ambassador was invited to Ankara
tonight for consultations," Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
said in a statement posted on his office’s website.

President Abdullah Gul said Turkey would "not be responsible for the
negative results of this vote," adding that it harmed "peace and
stability in South Caucasus, and establishment of constant friendship
between the peoples."

According to the Turkish newspaper Sabah, among the measures to be
discussed at a governmental meeting on Monday is postponing for the
second time Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan’s visit to the United
States, scheduled for March 19.

Ankara hinted that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may not attend
the Global Nuclear Security Summit, which will be held on April 11-14
in Washington.

Economic measures include determining "new alternatives" in trade
between Turkey and the United States. In the energy sphere, Ankara
will favor closer ties with Moscow.

On the military front, the decision on the bilateral cooperation,
especially in Afghanistan, will be put on hold, but use of Turkey’s
air space and restriction of activities in its military bases "are on
the table." Ankara expects that collaborative efforts between Western
powers and Iran will also be weighed down.

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama
administration would "work very hard" to ensure that the controversial
bill would not reach the full House floor.

Turkey, which has always refused to recognize the killings of an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman period in
1915 as an act of genocide, earlier warned Washington that this move
could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation and set back the talks aimed
at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia, which has been
closed since 1993 on Ankara’s initiative.

A similar vote in the committee was approved by a wider margin in
2007, but the U.S. Bush administration, anxious to retain Turkish
cooperation in Iraq, scuttled a full House vote.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 6 2010

Armenia striving to strengthen relations with Russia-FM

06.03.2010, 11.18

YEREVAN, March 6 (Itar-Tass) — Armenia is striving to deepen still
more strategic, allied relations with Russia, Armenian Foreign
Minister Edvard Nalbandyan said speaking on television on Saturday.

`We are striving to deepen still more our strategic, allied relations
with Russia, we also wish to expand our friendly cooperation with the
United States, the European Union, member-countries of the European
Union,’ the minister said.

`Naturally, we are striving to develop, strengthen still more
good-neighborly relations, cooperation with neighbor countries – –
with Georgia, with Iran,’ the Armenian foreign minister said. `This is
in our interests, and we are interested to go ahead with such
approaches.’

Eurasia Review –
March 5 2010

Furor As U.S. Lawmakers Press Armenian ‘Genocide’ Issue

Friday, March 05, 2010
U.S. congressional committee has voted to approve a nonbinding
resolution recognizing as "genocide" the mass killing of Armenians by
Turkish forces at the end of World War I.

The vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee was 23-22 in favor of
the resolution, ignoring objections by the administration of President
Barack Obama and the government of Turkey.

Turkey responded immediately, recalling its ambassador to Washington.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement that he was
seriously concerned that the resolution would harm relations between
Ankara and Washington. He also expressed concern that the move might
threaten efforts by Turkish and Armenian officials to turn the page on
a century of mutual mistrust and hostility.

Armenian officials described the vote as a boost for human rights.

The resolution now goes to the full House, where it is unclear whether
it will pass.

White House spokesman Mike Hammer said that one day before the vote,
Obama called Turkish President Abdullah Gul to express his
appreciation for Turkey’s efforts to normalize relations with Armenia.

Hammer said Obama urged Turkey to rapidly ratify a deal reached in
October with Armenia that would open the border between the two
countries. The deal still must be approved by the Turkish parliament,
and Turkish lawmakers have warned that the committee’s vote could
stall progress.

Meanwhile, the White House urged the Foreign Affairs Committee not to
pass the resolution, saying it would offend Turkey at a time when
relations with Ankara are crucial for U.S. Middle East policy.

A White House statement said that on March 3, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton spoke with the committee’s chairman, Howard Berman, a
Democrat from California, urging him to let Turkey and Armenia resolve
the issue between themselves. The two countries are now in talks on
improving their relations.

Chief executives from the U.S. aerospace and defense industries also
had warned passage of the resolution could lead to a "rupture in
U.S.-Turkey relations" and put American jobs at risk.

Before the vote, members of the committee debated the issue
vigorously. In opening the hearing, Berman noted that historians and
experts on international law agree that the deaths constituted
genocide.

"As crimes of genocide continue to plague the world, Turkey’s policy
of denying the Armenian genocide gives license to those who perpetrate
genocide everywhere," stated Berman.

Berman acknowledged that Turkey has for decades been a vital and loyal
NATO ally of the United States, but said any souring in bilateral
relations over a U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide would pass
quickly because Turks understand the importance of their link to the
United States.

He also noted that nearly two dozen other countries and the European
Parliament already have recognized the Armenian genocide. Berman said
it’s important that the United States, which views itself as a beacon
of human rights around the world, should do the same.

Some members of the committee who opposed the resolution countered
that the United States shouldn’t be risking any bad feelings with a
predominantly Muslim state at a time when Washington is trying to
bolster its standing with the Islamic world.

One of them was Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from
the southern state of Florida.

"We need to ensure that our decisions and our actions concerning the
resolution before us do not have unintended consequences that could
place at risk critical U.S. security interests, our operations in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and our troops serving in harm’s way."

Representative Dan Burton, a Republican from the midwestern state of
Indiana, reminded the committee of the talks between Armenia and
Turkey. He said the United States shouldn’t intrude but leave the
issue for them to resolve.

"But the question is: Is it the right thing to pass this kind of
resolution? What good is it going to do? I don’t see that it is going
to help anything. Now, the two countries in question are trying to
negotiate a settlement, to bring in international experts to look at
all the historical facts and come up with some kind of a conclusion.
It seems to me that’s the best way to let this thing be solved," said
Burton.

Despite such objections, Berman urged the committee to vote in favor
of the resolution. He said he doubted that Turkey would allow its ties
with the United States to suffer too much.

The committee chairman said he believed that just as the United States
values good relations with Turkey, so must Ankara value its relations
with Washington.

This article was written by Andrew Tully based on RFE/RL and wire reports

5-furor-as-us-lawmakers-press.html

Seattle Post Intelligencer , WA
March 5 2010

Aerospace group condemns resolution condemning genocide

The Armenian massacre was genocide, but Congress shouldn’t condemn
Turkey for it, the head of an aerospace industry group said Friday, a
day after the House Foreign Relations Committee approved such a
resolution.

"Critical national security, economic and diplomatic relations with
our ally Turkey are threatened by yesterday’s House Foreign Relations
Committee vote approving the resolution condemning Turkey for the
Armenian genocide that took place 95 years ago," Aerospace Industries
Association President and Chief Executive Marion Blakey said in a
statement.

Turkey and the United States have important and long-standing
strategic and economic ties. Turkey is a strong democracy, a fellow
member of NATO and a critical partner in the war against terrorists.
Turkey plays an important role in America’s recovery as we anticipate
more than $11 billion in potential defense and aerospace sales to
Turkey this year providing nearly 70,000 American jobs.

While no one supports the events that led to this resolution, we
believe it is not the best use of congressional energy when our
nation’s economy is suffering, and Turkey is supporting our efforts in
Afghanistan. We’re urging President Obama and the Speaker of the House
to ensure that the resolution doesn’t go to the House floor for a
vote. There is simply too much at stake.

Boeing President, Chairman and Chief Executive Jim McNerney was among
the aerospace executives who signed onto a letter opposing the
resolution because it would jeopardize U.S. exports to Turkey.

ves/196725.asp

STATE BUDGET OF RA IMPLEMENTED WITH SURPLUS OF 12.5 BILLION DRAMS IN JANUARY 2010

Noyan Tapan
March 4, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 4, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA state budget was implemented with
a surplus of 12.5 billion drams in January 2010, while a deficit of
32.8 billion drams has been programmed for the first quarter. NT was
informed by the RA Ministry of Finance that in the same period of last
year the budget was implemented with a surplus of 7.3 billion drams.

TURKEY CONDEMNS VOTE, RECALLS AMBASSADOR

04/turkey-recalls-ambassador/
March 4, 2010

ANKARA-Turkey recalled its ambassador to the U.S. for consultations
following the vote by the House Foreign Relations Committee on the
Armenian Genocide Resolution.

"Our Ambassador to Washington Namik Tan was recalled tonight to Ankara
for consultations after the development," said a statement issued
by the Turkish Prime Minister’s office. "We condemn this resolution
accusing Turkey of a crime that it has not committed."

The move came minutes after the U.S. congressional panel approved
the resolution on March 4.

WATER PRICES TO GO UP AS WELL

0 4:44 pm | March 04, 2010

Social

This summer, citizens of Yerevan will most probably pay 206 drams
for 1 cubic meter of water instead of the previous 181 drams.

Trade director of "Yerevan Water" Company Gagik Margaryan informed that
the company had appealed to the Public Services Regulatory Commission
to increase the price for water supply and disposal by 25 drams,
but the appeal will be examined in May. If the appeal is upheld,
water prices will be increased by 14 percent.

Why are prices going up? Gagik Margaryan did not link that to the gas
price inflation. He brought up four reasons for the impact on prices.

"The four reasons are the change of sold water volumes, inflation,
shifts in the Euro-Dollar exchange rates and the predictable inflation
of energy prices."

TOUCHED UPON TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS AS WELL

d-nalbandyan
03:24 pm | March 04, 2010

Official

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan met with the delegation
led by Chairman of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens.

The interlocutors discussed in detail the ongoing development of the
Armenia-European Union partnership and issues relating to the Eastern
Partnership program, attaching importance to the establishment of a
parliamentary platform for cooperation between EU countries and EU
Eastern neighbors which may contribute to the deepening of relations
with the European Parliament and the cooperation between regional
countries in a new format.

Edward Nalbandyan and Wilfried Martens also touched upon steps aimed
at normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations, the latest developments
of the talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as exchange
views on a number of regional and international issues.

ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ARMENIAN COINS ACQUIRED BY PRINCETON NUMISMATIC COLLECTION

-03-03-ancient-and-medieval-armenian-coins-acquire d-by-princeton-numismatic-collection
Wednesday March 03, 2010

Princeton, N.J., United States – The Princeton University Numismatic
Collection has acquired the Armenian Heritage Collection of ancient
and medieval coins, adding a new area of specialized strength to the
University’s extensive numismatic research holdings.

The Armenian Heritage Collection was assembled over a period of
decades by an expert collector, who sought to represent the various
periods in the pre-modern age when Armenia produced its own coinage
or made substantial contributions to the coinage of other powers,
according to Princeton Curator of Numismatics Alan Stahl.

"The collection includes coins of three distinct periods, all of
interest to the academic concerns of the University," Stahl said.

Stahl said the acquisition will provide scholars with access to
significant materials to study early Armenian civilization, as well
as provide new opportunities at Princeton to research ancient and
medieval societies.

The earliest coins in the collection are those of the Artaxiad dynasty,
which became the largest political power east of Rome in the first
century B.C. The coins of most relevance to Princeton’s existing
holdings are those minted in the reign of Tigranes the Great, who ruled
from the Seleucid capital of Antioch-on-the-Orontes from 95 to 55 B.C.

"The coins of Tigranes from Antioch hold special interest for Princeton
because University scholars led the excavations of the site in the 20th
century and the University holds more than 30,000 coins found there in
our collection," Stahl said. "One of the great mysteries of the coins
from these excavations is the lack of any in the name of Tigranes
and the dearth of local municipal coins for the period of his reign."

Included in the collection are two large silver pieces of Tigranes
the Great and 19 bronze coins in his name, as well as examples of
rare coins featuring his successors. All of these coins follow the
models of the Hellenistic world, with the portrait of the ruler on
the front of the coin and a local deity on the back. The writing on
the coins is in Greek.

"The acquisition of this interesting and uncommon collection will
significantly broaden Princeton’s resources for the study of both
the history and the imagery of the classical world," said Michael
Koortbojian, Princeton professor of art and archaeology. "Moreover,
this new collection will not only allow students and faculty
direct access to primary historical material, but, in the context of
Princeton’s broader numismatic holdings, it will provide an important
body of material for research into the interactions between the various
cultures and societies that comprised the ancient and medieval world."

The second group of coins in the Armenian Heritage Collection comprises
gold solidi of the Byzantine Empire from the sixth through the 11th
century.

"Armenians figured prominently in the government of Byzantium,
including in the ranks of its important emperors. The addition of
these magnificent gold solidi greatly strengthens our holdings of
Byzantine coinage, which has constituted a major focus of acquisition
in recent years," Stahl said.

The third component of the collection comprises coins of the medieval
kingdom of Cilician Armenia, on the south coast of what is now Turkey.

The kingdom, ruled by Roupenid family, had strong ties to its
surrounding powers, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader. These connections
are illustrated by a large silver coin in the collection, equivalent
to the European groat or the Islamic dirhem. The coin bears on its
front an image of the king on horseback in European style, surrounded
by a legend in Armenian characters, while on the back it bears writing
in Arabic.

"The coins of Cilician Armenia in the new collection complement the
Latin Orient Collection of Crusader Coinage that we acquired two
years ago, giving us a fuller picture of the interplay of coinages
in the medieval eastern Mediterranean," Stahl said.

The Armenian Heritage Collection was acquired by the Princeton
University Numismatic Collection with funds from the Friends of
Princeton University Library and matching funds provided by the
University’s Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the
Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund. The Numismatic Collection is part
of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in Princeton
University’s Firestone Library.

FAAE ADDRESSES A LETTER TO US CONGRESSMEN

armradio.am
05.03.2010 15:48

President of the Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe Ashot
Grigoryan addressed a letter to US Congressmen. The message reads:

"Honorable Congressmen,

On behalf of the Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe I would
like to express my deepest gratitude for your debating on the Armenian
Genocide and adopting the Resolution 252.

I convey our highest assurances that your action serves as evidence of
your role as leaders in the United States’ perception of democracy,
justice and truth and as an example to the whole world. The accurate
appreciation of the history of the annihilation of 1.5 million
innocent Armenians should serve to prevent similar crimes against
humanity in future.

Honorable Congressmen, please accept assurances of our gratitude and
deepest appreciation."