Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ARMENIANS OF MIDDLE EAST AND RUSSIA
Igor Muradyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 12:34:15 – 07/08/2012

The Armenians can hardly be interested in the events in the Middle
East, at best, they are interested in the fate of their compatriots,
so a variety of troubles occurs to them. Even quite educated people
have no idea what’s going on in the neighboring region, which is so
important for the interests and security of Armenia. Nevertheless,
the Armenian population is not indifferent to these events, and their
presence in this region is haunted not only by Turkey, but also Russia.

For decades, Armenians in the Middle East have not fitted in the
interests of Russia, and have been an extremely unpleasant factor
for the latter, which reminded about some problems, directly linked
to Armenia. Besides the unpleasant associations related to the desire
to distance Armenia from the Middle East and in general from foreign
policy, the Armenian population reminded of the existence of the
numerous Christian population in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt
and Iraq.

The Soviet Union and Russia for many decades have considered the
Christian population of the Middle East not only as an undesirable,
but also as hostile to the Russian interests. The Soviet Union and
Russia for some time bet on the Muslim political forces, designating
the Christian forces, as “right-Christian.”

Of course, this was an invented and senseless concept which first
brought the USSR to a deadlock and then also Russia leaving them
with quite untrustworthy groups which engaged in terrorizing the
Russian diplomats.

Who knows the not so old history of the Middle East, understands what
I mean. In Moscow, they had to hear that Russia can lose in tactics,
but it never loses in geopolitics. What kind of nonsense? Russia lost
the geopolitics across its border, and in all, without exception,
geopolitical areas.

Of course, in many respects, this was due to the inheritance, which it
received from the Soviet Union and the Communist Party, but also the
new, non-communist Russia has successfully continued doing nonsense in
which simply got stuck the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some circles
which in some formal or informal way, clung on the guardianship of
state structures.

Now, Russia is trying to make friends with the same “right-Christian”
forces, but it receives speculative actions in response. Too much
baseness against them for decades.

Now the Russians imagine that, finally, the history of Armenians in
the Middle East is over, which will strengthen Armenia’s foreign policy
problems, and will limit its potential in international relations.

The Russian media, especially the news agency “Regnum” continue to
play up entirely far-fetched questions, trying all means to configure
Armenia against the United States and cause anti-American sentiment.

In this way the problem of the Middle East is spread to other
regions, in this case to the Caucasus. But this region has become
more incontrollable, as it may seem.

A good opportunity, I must say. However, the fact is that they are
approved by stupid Armenian “political scientists” whose place should
be in an organization such as the society “Knowledge”.

Of course, both the Americans and Russians will get “their” portion who
have long speculated on Middle Eastern themes. Ensuring presence in the
region has become a costly affair, but if the U.S. and its partners
are always able to “recoup” their presence, then Russia is unable,
even, to provide weapons to the countries at “affordable” prices.

From: Baghdasarian

THREE PLAYWRIGHTS NOMINATED FOR SAROYAN PRIZE

Published: Monday August 06, 2012

>From left: Kelly Stuart, Sevan Greene and Adriana Nichols.

Los Angeles – The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) has announced
the three finalists and upcoming event for its Third Biennial $10,000
William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting Award.

The finalists are: “Doon,” by Sevan Kaloustian Greene; “Night Over
Erzinga,” by Adriana Sevahn Nichols; and “Belonging to the Sky,”
by Kelly Stuart.

Sevan Kaloustian Greene is a New York-based Lebanese?Armenian/Pakistani
actor and playwright. He is a member of The Public Theater’s 2011
Emerging Writers Group, Rising Circle Theatre Collective’s 2010 InkTANK
Writer’s Lab, a NYTW 2011/2012 Teaching Artist at the Khalil Gibran
Academy, and a previous William Saroyan Playwriting Prize Finalist in
2010. “Doon” takes the familiar genre of the kitchen sink family drama
and focuses it through the lens of four generations of an Armenian
family living in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.

Adriana Sevahn Nichols is a native New Yorker and award-winning actress
and playwright. She received the 2008 Middle East America Distinguished
Playwright Award to research and write “Night Over Erzinga,” inspired
by her Armenian grandparent’s survival of the Genocide in 1915. The
play has been produced by The Lark Play Development Center in New
York, Silk Road Theatre Project in Chicago, and Golden Thread in
San Francisco. Her one-woman show about friendship and 9/11, “Taking
Flight,” had its world premiere in May 2006 by Center Theater Group in
Los Angeles, and she has performed it at several theaters nationwide.

Kelly Stuart is an American playwright based in New York. She currently
teaches in the playwriting program and Columbia University.

Her plays include “Shadow Language,” (Oberon Press), which was
presented by Theatre 503 in London and originally commissioned by the
Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis; “Mayhem,” which played at Manchester’s
Royal Exchange in the U.K. as well as The Evidence Room in Los Angeles
(with Megan Mullally), and “Demonology” at Playwrights Horizons in
New York and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. “Belonging to the
Sky” is a lyrical intertwining of two monologues by Sabiha Gokcen
and Hrant Dink and their tragic historical connection.

The $10,000 Saroyan grand prize winner will be announced at an
invitation-only awards event on Saturday, December 8, 2012, 6pm,
at the Pasadena Playhouse VIP Room.

Three finalist plays were selected by a first-round panel of theater
professionals, from a pool of submissions from around the world. The
winner will be selected by this year’s Honorary Jury of renowned
theater artists: playwright Catherine Filloux, playwright/screenwriter
Eduardo Machado, and actress/producer Gates McFadden.

ADAA’s annual Armenian Star Award will also be presented at the event.

The award recognizes an individual who has reached high artistic
achievement in their career or has assisted Armenians in the arts.

This year’s recipient is David Kherdian, the internationally known
poet, novelist, and memoirist, whose work has been published in 13
languages, included his acclaimed Root River Cycle. The Road From
Home, his renowned biography of his mother who survived the Armenian
Genocide, has been in print for over 30 years. He is also the editor of
the volume Forgotten Bread: First Generation Armenian American Writers.

ADAA’s William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting, for plays on Armenian
themes, is made possible by a grant from the William Saroyan
Foundation, which established the award at ADAA in 2007-08 in
conjunction with the William Saroyan Centennial. The Foundation’s
Chairman is Haig Mardikian. Additional funding for the Prize was
provided by Gagosian Galleries.

ADAA’s mission is to project the Armenian Voice on the world stage
through the arts of theater and film. It accomplishes this through two
writing contests, playreadings, the Boston Armenian Film Festival,
various networking events, and the pre-eminent Armenian performing
arts website in the world,

From: Baghdasarian

PRIME MINISTER’S “ARMY”
HAKOB BADALYAN

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 16:22:17 – 06/08/2012

We have learnt on August 6 that some student organizations at Yerevan
State University have set up the Armenian movement For Eurasian
Integration Initiative. The news was shared by the National Youth
Council of Armenia board member Tsolak Akopyan.

The Council is adjunct to the prime minister of Armenia Tigran
Sargsyan, the same prime minister who published an article in the
Russian press in June stating that Armenia chooses the European Union
as more opportunities of development will open up.

By the way, there is one more interesting circumstance. This article
was published when Serzh Sargsyan was in Moscow to attend the CIS
anniversary where he was not granted a private meeting with Putin.

It is also interesting that one of the prime minister’s sources
releases this information when Serzh Sargsyan is going to meet with
Putin in Moscow.

Apparently, one of the key issues to be discussed at the meeting will
be the prime minister’s issue, and this fact has made Tigran Sargsyan
take that step to indicate that the Eurasian Union is not a rival.

Perhaps, Tigran Sargsyan is trying to prevent nomination of a candidate
for PM by the Prosperous Armenia Party who would be inaugurated in
September during Putin’s travel to Armenia.

Otherwise, Russia may put forth the issue of the PM sharply and the
West which has been supporting Tigran Sargsyan for such a long time
may decide not to make its relations with Russia tenser just for the
sake of the PM’s post.

Although, it is also possible that Tigran Sargsyan’s gesture has been
permitted by the West in order to take his time and not tease Russia.

Moreover, Russia that retreats in all the fields of the world, is
becoming very irritable about Armenia.

Here, the other side of the issue is also important. It is the role
of Yerevan State University in this situation. It is not news that
the students and especially YSU have become one of the tools of the
authorities. Now YSU and its students are also becoming a foreign
political weapon. But the word weapon is exaggerated here.

Students in a civilized, mature country with strategic planning are
one of the main resources supporting sovereignty. This resource is
especially valuable when internal resistance to a geopolitical center
or justification of the refusal to accept the decisions of that center
or to approve them is necessary.

In this sense, students are a more valuable resource than the political
opposition, especially the Armenian opposition and especially Russia,
the students are more independent and difficult to control to organize
resistance.

But in Armenia the picture is different. In the result of long use of
students as a tool, the ruling system has devaluated it as a resource
capable of resisting to the foreign policy. Instead, the ruling system
is opening a new field of service for the students the main “polygon”
of which is certainly Yerevan State University, whereas it should be
turned into a “laboratory” of modernity, competitiveness and new ideas.

From: Baghdasarian

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
Date: August 6, 2012
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
[email protected]

THREE OF FOUR FULBRIGHTS AWARDED TO BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA ALUMNI

To be a Fulbright scholar is like winning the fellowship lottery-you are
included in a small, but very prestigious pool of Americans. As one of the
most competitive fellowships in the world, the Fulbright allows scholars to
interact with their peers internationally. Founder of the fellowship, former
U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright once said, “Educational exchange can turn
nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to
the humanizing of international relations.”

The concept is not too far from that of Birthright Armenia. Though
participants of Birthright Armenia have set volunteer assignments, every
second is about education, even if it is not implied or obvious. Being able
to spend time in Armenia, working and living side-by-side with native
Armenians allows for both parties to learn from each other. In doing so,
Birthright Armenia participants gain a better understanding of Armenia and
Armenians.

Annually only four participants are admitted to the Fulbright program for
the Republic of Armenia. Three out of four of this year’s participants are
Birthright Armenia alumni: Raffi Wartanian ’07, Leah McCloskey ’10 and Ani
Jilozian ’07.

Raffi Wartanian, AYF ’07, Baltimore, MD
“As a Fulbright scholar and artist passionate about social justice, music,
acting, and fiction & nonfiction writing, I will engage in a variety of
activities meant to enrich my understanding of Armenia’s burgeoning civil
society and to produce creative works (writing, music, film, theater) that
reflect these lessons and ruminations I seek to share with audiences.”
Raffi’s research proposal, titled “The Role of Formal Volunteerism in the
Development of Armenia’s Civil Society” will expose him to an array of
issues characterizing Armenia’s social strengths and weaknesses through the
inspiring, captivating, and salient lens of volunteerism.

Raffi’s first visit to Armenia was in 2007 as a volunteer with the AYF and
participant of Birthright Armenia. “I volunteered at four different job
sites. I analyzed reforestation initiatives for Armenian Forests NGO;
traveled to NKR and marked hiking paths for the Janapar Project, and
commuted daily to villages to teach English and computer skills. I also
mentored at-risk youth with the Gyumri Social Childcare Center while staying
with a wonderful host family, the Karapetyans.”

Raffi directly attributes his experience in Birthright Armenia to his
acceptance to the Fulbright program. “Birthright Armenia’s ability to
promote and proliferate a powerful brand of volunteerism by recruiting and
harnessing the potential of insightful, inquisitive, and generous volunteers
inspired me to craft a research proposal that explored its impact.
Birthright Armenia and the AYF together facilitated my first ever visit,
unlocking the treasures of Armenia: the people, the mountains, the
monuments, the idealism, the pessimism, the entire boiling pot of life,
struggle, and perseverance that defines modern Armenia. I was determined to
return thanks to the powerful connections that were made,” explained Raffi.

Leah McCloskey, LCO ’10, Berkeley, CA
Leah will be focusing on the Tatev Revival Project, which consists of
structural restoration of the monastery; reinvigoration of its spiritual and
educational function; redevelopment of the monastery’s ruined oil mill as an
educational center and museum; construction of a world record-setting,
3.5-mile long aerial tramway; and investment in community-based development
of lodgings, restaurants and traditional arts and crafts production in six
villages within reach of the site. As Leah explains, ” I think that this
sort of development makes a powerful impression on Armenia’s architectural
legacy and also represents an interesting moment in the Armenian self-image,
as Armenia works to engage with a more global economy on its own terms.”

“While in Armenia, I want to look at the history of the Tatev site, the
process leading up to the recent architectural interventions, and the way
that the site is currently functioning as a monument and document all of
these things into a resource that will hopefully be useful both in academic
environments and to future efforts in tourism development,” explains Leah.

As an LCO volunteer, she worked on a reconstruction project in Yeghvard.
She also worked at the Historic Houses of Gyumri, assisting in documenting
historic homes of the city; and helped compile resources on sustainable
buildings for the Engineering Research Center of the AUA. “Birthright
Armenia did a great job of connecting me with people in Armenia who were
doing very inspiring work and instilling in me an enthusiasm for the
country, its development, and its architectural legacy. Ultimately,
Birthright gave me access to people and ideas that made my Fulbright
proposal possible, gave me access to a background in the Armenian language
that I am still building upon, and helped me to dig in roots during my time
in Armenia that are deep enough that I want to return.”

Ani Jilozian, AVC ’07, Broomall, PA
Ani will be spending the majority of her time conducting qualitative
research on women of reproductive age to better elucidate the complex and
nuanced contextual factors surrounding abortion in Armenia from a public
health perspective. Faculty and students at the AUA’s College of Health
Sciences will assist her in conducting this research study during her
September to June grant period.

While volunteering in Armenia, Ani worked at the Our Lady of Armenia summer
camp teaching English to underprivileged children. “This was my first
introduction to Armenia, through the lens of precious (and some precocious)
Armenian children” explained Ani. I decided to extend my stay to work at the
Arabkir Hospital laboratory in Yerevan, where I had the opportunity to
shadow physicians and help technicians test blood samples. This provided me
with an inside perspective on the Armenian healthcare system and piqued my
interest in public health.”

“I left Armenia that year feeling unequipped to simply resume my life in
the States and jumped on an opportunity to return and organize mental health
outreach and health education seminars for refugees and other marginalized
populations in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh,” said Ani. This experience
further intensified her passion to provide health services for underserved
communities. Afterwards, Ani moved to New York City to pursue a master’s
degree in Global Public Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “I can say
without hesitation that the Birthright Armenia experience entirely informed
my decision to study public health and serve communities in the developing
world. It also provided me with an edge as a Fulbright applicant. I went
into the application process with a context regarding the Armenian
healthcare system, which helped me accurately frame my research proposal.
But, perhaps more importantly, I was able to convey a sense of passion and
longing to return to Armenia”.

Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the homeland and
Diasporan youth, by affording them an opportunity to be part of Armenia’s
daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work, study
and volunteer experiences, while developing life-long personal ties and a
renewed sense of Armenian identity. For additional information on
Birthright Armenia, please visit

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY TO STAY IN SYRIA, ARF-D REP SAYS

tert.am
06.08.12

At a news conference on Monday Kiro Manoyan, head of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs
Office said the Armenian community in Syria is unlikely to completely
leave the country like it happened during the war in Iraq.

“First of all the Armenian community in Syria is much larger than in
Iraq, secondly, the Syrian-Armenian community is much more firm there,
there is even a 7th century church in Syria,” he said, adding that
some of them will leave the country but the majority will stay there.

He said first of all it is necessary to think about their safety.

“The safety of the Armenian community, especially in Aleppo and
Damascus, is a prior issue. Everything must be done for the Armenian
community to be safe and not be politically persecuted,” he said,
adding that the state should support those who want to return to
Armenia temporarily.

Referring to the developments in Syria and intervention of external
forces, Manoyan said it is aimed at not establishing democracy in
Syria but seeking equalization of strategic forces in the region.

“We can see only one way out – the establishment of Kurdish autonomy
and no matter who will come to power or stay at it, the Kurdish issue
will be solved, and the rest is not clear yet,” Manoyan said, adding
that it is the issue the Turkey is concerned with.

From: Baghdasarian

WIKILEAKS: BOXING SCANDAL FIGURE TOOK BRIBES
By Nina Mandell

LONDON. August 4, 2012: The middleman in a boxing bribery scandal
that has cast a shadow on the London Olympics was described in 2010
by an American diplomat as an important and corrupt player in the
oil-rich country’s government.

Immediately after an Azerbaijani boxer featured in one of the most
bizarre incidents of the Olympics, numerous media outlets noted that
Azerbaijan was accused in a 2011 BBC report of bribing international
boxing officials. The allegations of bribery stemmed from a $10 million
payment by Azerbaijani businessman Hamid Hamidov to the World Series
of Boxing, a money-bleeding U.S. league for lower-level fighters,
which is owned by the AIBA. The BBC’s sources said the payment was
made in return for a promise to give two Azeri fighters golds in
Olympic boxing. Hamidov, Azerbaijani officials and AIBA officials
have repeatedly denied that the money was used in any way to influence
the outcome of boxing matches.

An AIBA investigation in December 2011 cleared the accused parties
of wrongdoing. In the AIBA’s report, Azerbaijani official Kamaladdin
Heydarov is identified as a “translator” between Hamidov and World
Series Boxing. The BBC’s report also mentioned Heydarov, saying he
was involved in communications between the World Series of Boxing’s
chief operating officer and AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu.

Yesterday, referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov of Turkmenistan was dismissed
by the AIBA after making a series of highly questionable calls in favor
of an Azerbaijani boxer who judges then gave a victory by decision –
a ruling that was soon reversed. Last night Reuters reported that an
Azerbaijani technical official, Aghajan Abiyev, was also booted by
AIBA for improperly contacting members of his delegation. (Officials
involved in judging and staging events aren’t supposed to be in touch
with their countries’ athletes and support staff.)

If the alleged 2011 bribe turns out to have been related to the
overturned decision, a 2010 cable between American officials published
by Wikileaks in 2011 indicates that this wouldn’t be the first time
Heydarov was allegedly involved in such a situation.

According to the leaked memo, Heydarov is a minister in charge of
“Emergency Situations,” his fiefdom described as “the ministry of
everything substantial.” (Heydaraov’s government website says he’s
in charge of protecting his country from natural and man-made threats.)

“Some observers have said he might be even more powerful than the
President himself,” the leaked cable read.

Those who upset him, according to the cable, have found themselves
in trouble: “Korean diplomats have confirmed that Heydarov was the
protector for several major business deals, but have complained that
many of these deals have gone awry after the Korean firms refused to
pay adequate patronage to Heydarov.”

The 2011 World Boxing Championships, which served as Olympic
qualifiers, were held in Baku, Azerbaijan, which according to the
cables is where Heydarov’s empire is based.

In the AIBA’s subsequent investigation, headed by U.S. Naval Academy
athletic director Dr. Tom Virgets, Heydarov is described as a “an
Azerbaijan official who had helped to make the introduction to the
private sector investor and assisted with translation.”

Arguing that the BBC report relied on unreliable witnesses, the AIBA
concluded there was no reason to believe that the Azeri government
had tried to bribe the boxing federation for medals.

“We have conducted an exhaustive investigation over the past two
months, and we have concluded that the allegations made by BBC
Newsnight in September that there was an investment by a government
or any discussion or effort to guarantee gold medals were completely
without merit,” the group said in the report.

The AIBA did not immediately return requests from BuzzFeed for comment
(BuzzFeed).

Also see: This Wikileaks Cable About The Azerbaijan
Boxing-Scandal Guy Is A Work Of Central Asian Genius

From: Baghdasarian

ICRC EXPLAINS REASONS OF NON-DELIVERY OF ARMENIAN-CAPTURED AZERBAIJANI SOLDIER’S LETTER TO HIS FAMILY

APA
Aug 6 2012
Azerbaijan

Shahla Gahramanova: “RCMs can only contain family news stricto sensu”

Baku. Hafiz Heydarov – APA. The International Committee of the
Red Cross explained reasons why the letter of Armenian-captured
Azerbaijani soldier was not handed over to his family. Spokeswoman
for the ICRC Office in Azerbaijan Shahla Gahramanova said: “RCMs can
only contain family news stricto sensu. The concerned RCMs did not
meet the criteria, and could thus not be handed over.”

APA reported a few days ago that ICRC refused to hand over the letter
of Armenian-captured Azerbaijani soldier Firuz Farajov to his family.

According to Farajov’s family ICRC representatives in Azerbaijan told
them that their son is in a good state and sent them a letter, but
they refused to hand over the letter. The captive’s family informed
the appropriate organizations about it.

ICRC representatives met with the Armenian-captured Azerbaijani
soldier Farajov on July 31 and handed over RCM from his family and
took two RCMs from him.

The soldier of the Azerbaijani armed forces Firuz Farajov Mirza, born
in 1992, was captured by the Armenian armed units near the contact
line between the troops in direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz region.

From: Baghdasarian

THE EXPANSION OF NATO AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
David Stepanyan

Vestnik Kavkaza

Aug 6 2012
Russia

“Turkey and Russia are against the intervention to Syria; only the
Syrians are responsible for the fate of President Bashar al-Assad”,
the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recently.

Meanwhile, given that Syria is the only ally of Iran, which is
the part of the infamous “axis of evil”, according to American
“adepts of democracy”, the fall of Assad will inevitably entail the
“democratization” of IRI, which will be carried out by NATO fighters,
dropping tons of bombs on the heads of Iranians. The operation against
Iran is bound to affect Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, because the
notorious fighters with their deadly cargo will be expected to take
off from the territory of these countries.

However, the current leadership of NATO and its experts and analysts
persistently deny the interest of NATO in the South Caucasus, based
on the fact that none of the countries of the region is a member
of the alliance. However, it does not interfere with NATO and the
U.S. high officials who consistently visit the three countries. In the
case of Georgia, which is eager to enter the alliance, everything is
more or less clear; but there are some problems with the interest of
NATO in Azerbaijan and Armenia with their unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Besides, the prospects of Tbilisi for joining NATO are quite
vague, and this fact is associated primarily with the processes that
occur in Georgia. In addition, not all NATO member countries are
willing to take this step after the war of August 2008.

Plans for the expansion of NATO to the East, together with serious
problems with its own identity and the constant economic crisis in
Europe, are surprising.

According to Anna Shelest, the lead researcher of the National
Institute of Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine,
the alliance has not taken a single effort towards eliminating the
dividing lines in the South Caucasus. In response to the calls for
help to eliminate these lines sounding mostly from Baku and Tbilisi
NATO officials claim that the removal of the dividing line is not an
objective of the alliance, referring to the fact that the countries of
this region are not its members. Each of the countries of the South
Caucasus today has its own objectives, both in security and in the
field of security sector reform; in fact, the three countries are at
different levels of reforming this sector, and after the collapse of
the Soviet Union they were in totally different conditions. Thus,
at this stage, taking into account the complex relations between
Armenia and Azerbaijan and Turkey, the establishment of a common
security system in the South Caucasus is absolutely unreal. However,
one must possess a considerable degree of optimism to assume that NATO
would somehow respond to the possible aggravation of the situation
in the South Caucasus region, particularly in the conflict zone. The
maximum that can be expected is political statements. And certainly
the reaction of Brussels will not be more active than during the
Russian-Georgian conflict. NATO has never intervened in the peace
process in Nagorno-Karabakh, because there are the OSCE Minsk Group
and the EU which are engaged in it.

Meanwhile, in the opinion of Dimitrios Triantafilu, the Director of
the Center for International and European Studies of the University
Kadeer Khaz (Istanbul), the opinion of NATO and its position regarding
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict depends a lot on developing its relations
with Russia.

Sergei Markedonov, a visiting expert at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies (Washington), agrees with him and claims that
NATO’s interest in the South Caucasus is specific and limited. NATO is
interested in the South Caucasus and neighboring countries, according
to him, above all, in the context of Afghanistan and of 2014, i. e. of
the scheduled withdrawal of the ISAF troops, and in the case of
Azerbaijan ~V because of the presence of lobby, since one third of
the supplies to Afghanistan passes through the territory of Azerbaijan.

Georgia has provided more military personnel for operations in
Afghanistan than all other NATO partners. As for Armenia, it is
also a factor considered by NATO, which needs to keep abreast in the
light of the Iranian perspective and the development of the Middle
East process. At the same time, Brussels takes into account the
opinion of Moscow on the proposed membership of Georgia in NATO,
otherwise Georgia would have been a member of the alliance, but
would not have received a MAP. As for Armenia, Yerevan clearly
does not feel the need to enhance cooperation with NATO. There
were Armenian troops in Kosovo, they were also in Afghanistan, the
expansion of this contingent is also possible. Thus, the point is
not only the position of a strategic partner of Yerevan, that is, of
Moscow. First of all, the pragmatic interest in the case of Armenia
and Azerbaijan is necessary in order to increase such cooperation;
this interest comes down to the issue of the side NATO will takein
the Karabakh settlement. It makes Brussels to diversify its steps and
to be delicate in maneuvering between the interests of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, especially considering that one third of NATO exports to
Afghanistan goes through the territory of Azerbaijan. Taking into
account the turbulence in the Middle East and the Iranian issue
Azerbaijan is considered by NATO to be a secular Muslim state. In
the Islamic world, there are few such countries. At the same time,
there is not any clear choice in favor of the position of Azerbaijan
in Brussels, despite the fact that relations with Azerbaijan are very
valuable for NATO, given the length of its border with Iran.

In his turn, Sergei Konoplyov, director of the programs for the
US-Russia and US-Ukraine relations and for the Black Sea Security of
Kennedy School of Harvard University, believes that at present one can
only speculate on the issue of the upcoming NATO strike on Iran. In
his opinion, there are not any grounds for a military strike on Iran,
at least on the part of NATO as a universal organization. The expert
does not see any statements and indicators according to which NATO has
at least tentative plans of operation in Iran. Iran, in his opinion,
is not like Libya, and the operation here can lead to unpredictable
results, and the U.S., which is the largest military and financial
contributor of NATO, is still involved in two wars, and the Congress
cut a significant amount of the Pentagon spending. Therefore, the
funds for conducting several operations at once are not enough.

Ingo Mannteufel, the head of the department of Eastern Europe and the
chief editor of the Russian edition of Deutsche Welle, also expressed
his views on the relations between NATO and Russia; he believes that
stagnation will dominate in these relations in the coming months. The
reasons for it, in his view, are very simple: the presidential
elections will be held in the U.S. in November. Therefore, neither
the United States nor Russia expects the status quo to change. Russian
President Vladimir Putin also made it clear by refusing to participate
in the Summits of the United States and thus demonstrating the
intention to wait the election of a president in the U. S., and
to re-discuss the issue on the basis of this information. However,
Mannteufel believes that there will not be any aggravation in these
relations in the coming months, because neither the U.S. nor the
European members of NATO or Russia are interested in it. At the same
time, he has noted that he currently does not see the positive dynamics
which would allow speculating about the future development in the
relationship between NATO and Russia. The major problem in relations
between Russia and NATO is a distrust of each other, which affects
both sides. Meanwhile, the creation of a transit center of NATO in
Ulyanovsk in order to withdraw the NATO forces from Afghanistan, which
is, above all, a profitable bargain for Russia, could theoretically
increase the chances of building trust between NATO and Russia.

From: Baghdasarian

EuroNews, France
Aug 52 2012

Russian favourite Vlasov takes 74kg gold

LONDON (Reuters) – Russian favourite Roman Vlasov defeated Armenia’s
Arsen Julfalakyan in the 74kg Greco-Roman wrestling final at the
London Olympics on Sunday after surviving a scare in the
quarter-finals.

The 21-year-old Russian somersaulted across the mat and then climbed
on his trainer’s shoulders to salute the crowd after adding the
Olympic gold to the world championship title he won in Istanbul last
year.

He nearly lost in the quarter-finals when France’s experienced
Christophe Guenot came within a whisker of victory.

The Frenchman, who won bronze in Beijing in 2008, was on level terms
with Vlasov with 30 seconds to go and came close to pulling off a
manoeuvre that would have defeated the Russian. To a huge roar from
the crowd, Vlasov recovered in the dying moments and edged into the
final.

The Russian secured Olympic gold with relative ease, winning the first
two rounds without losing a point.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths, Editing by Nigel Hunt)

From: Baghdasarian

Malaysia Star
Aug 6 2012

China’s Lulu lifts her way to gold with world record
Monday August 6, 2012

CHINA’S Zhou Lulu won the women’s Olympic over-75kg weightlifting gold
with a new world record at the ExCel Arena yesterday.

World champion Zhou set a new record of 333kg, breaking her old mark
from last year’s world championships of 328kg.

She also matched South Korean Jang Mi-Ran’s world marker of 187kg in
the clean and jerk.

And in a stunning competition European champion Tatiana Kashirina of
Russia set a new snatch world record of 151kg as she missed out on
gold by just one kilo. Hripsime Khurshudyan of Armenia claimed bronze
with a total lift of 294kg.

From: Baghdasarian