Author: Chalian Meline

ARMENIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER PRAISES PASSAGE OF H. RES. 252

armradio.am
05.03.2010 10:56

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian issued a statement,
praising the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the United States House
of Representatives for adopting the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

"We highly appreciate the decision by the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the United States House of Representatives to adopt Resolution
252 on the recognition of the Armenian genocide.

This is another proof of the devotion of the American people to
universal human values and is an important step toward the prevention
of the crimes against humanity."

ARMENIA RESPONDS TO ‘UPDATED’ KARABAKH PEACE PLAN

Asbarez
%e2%80%98updated%e2%80%99-karabakh-peace-plan/
Mar 4th, 2010

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Armenia has officially responded to international
mediators’ recently modified plan to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
an aide to President Serzh Sarkisian said on Thursday.

The American, French and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
announced in January that they have developed an "updated version"
of the basic principles of a Karabakh settlement. They have still not
disclosed changes made in a document that was formally submitted the
conflicting parties in Madrid late 2007.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents are understood to have
discussed the updated Madrid document at their January 25 talks in
Russia hosted by President Dmitry Medvedev. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev agreed to "prepare their
own concrete ideas and formulations" on their remaining disagreements.

According to Garnik Isagulian, Sarkisian’s representative to the
Armenian parliament and former national security adviser, the Armenian
side has already sent relevant proposals to the mediators. But he
said he is unaware of their content.

"Armenia has submitted its concrete proposals, whereas the president
of Azerbaijan, according to our information, has still not made any
proposals," Isagulian told a news conference.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Wednesday that
Baku has already accepted the Minsk Group’s modified peace proposals
"with some exceptions." "We want to find out the Armenian side’s
opinion about the amended document, and for that purpose I will meet
the Minsk Group co-chairs [in Paris] on March 5," he said, according
to Azerbaijani media.

In a recent interview with the Euronews TV channel, Aliyev again
claimed that the mediators’ peace proposals are "based on restoration
of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan." "Azerbaijan will never
agree to independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, or to any kind of mechanisms
or procedures which will eventually lead to secession," he said.

Armenian leaders insist that the proposed agreement does include such
a mechanism. They say one of the basic principles upholds the Karabakh
Armenians’ right to formalize the disputed region’s secession from
Azerbaijan in a future referendum.

STATE-SUPPORTED ARMENIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA COMPLETED

Today’s Zaman
March 4 2010
Turkey

Work has been completed on a three-volume Armenian encyclopedia in
English, exploring Armenian history, culture and politics, with the
support of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey
(TUBÄ°TAK).

The encyclopedia, which has yet to be published, was a result of a
project led by Abant Ä°zzet Baysal University Associate Professor Kamer
Kasım, who is also an expert on the Caucasus at the International
Strategic Research Organization (USAK), and the president of USAK,
Associate Professor Sedat Laciner.

Kasım and Laciner discussed the project with TUBİTAK in 2006. With
its recent increase in interest in social sciences, TUBÄ°TAK responded
positively to the project. The two academics recently completed their
four-year study, and a three-volume encyclopedia now stands ready to
be published.

Stating that there are dozens of works in Turkey on the topic of
Armenians, Kasım explained that they prepared the encyclopedia in
English because few sources produced in Turkey are in a language other
than Turkish. He also said the encyclopedia’s content is arranged
alphabetically, with articles on many subjects ranging from history to
cuisine and from music to politics. The work also explains in detail
the incidents of 1915, during which many Armenians died while being
forcibly deported. Kasım also said they worked to dispel stereotypes
and false beliefs held about Armenians.

TUBÄ°TAK previously supported another social sciences project involving
Turkish-Armenian relations. Titled "Ninelerimizin KomÅ~_uları"
(Neighbors of our Grandmothers), the book, written by Zekeriya
BaÅ~_kal, focuses on the peaceful aspects of Turkish-Armenian relations
and was published recently.

AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL SCIENTIST: "THE WEST DEMANDS ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS OF DRIVING OUT RUSSIA FROM THE REGION"

APA
March 4 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Elnur Mammadli – APA. The Political Innovation and Technologies
Center released monthly report on the outcomes of international and
regional socio-political processes. According to APA, head of the
center Mubariz Ahmadoglu said at a press conference eon Thursday that
one of the issues being in the focus of world’s attention last month
was the processes around Iran. The political analyst said not only
Iranian nuclear program, but whole country was a threat for the world.

He said "controversial statements by the Iranian leaders created
distrust of the world community in Iran. Iran is not a strong country
today and its economy became unsustainable". Ahmadoglu said Iran’s
nuclear technologies policy turned into the speculation.

Focusing on the South Caucasian processes, the political scientist
said as against the developments few months ago, the West didn’t
insist in full restoration of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

"It was some test for Armenia and the West was assured that Armenia
could obey to them. Today the West demands Armenia to participate in
the process of driving out Russia from the region".

Ahmadoglu said domestic situation in Armenia was not stable and some
political forces addressed the Armenian patriarch in Lebanon Aram I
complaining about the government. He said Nagorno Karabakh separatist
regime was also not satisfied with the Armenian government.

The report also covered information and comments on the developments
in Azerbaijan, Central Asia and other regions of the world last month.

4 DEPUTIES OF RA NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO LEAVE FOR WASHINGTON ON MARCH 3 AT INVITATION OF U.S. CONGRESSMEN

Noyan Tapan
March 3, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, NOYAN TAPAN. At the invitation of the
U.S. Congressmen Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk, the following deputies of
the RA National Assembly: leader of ARF faction Vahan Hovhannesian,
members of RPA faction Artak Zakarian and Koryun Nahapetian, and
member of Prosperous Armenia faction Armen Melikian will leave for
Washington on March 3.

During the visit, the Armenian MPs will meet with U.S. Congressmen
and foreign policy officials and present their opinions and approaches
regarding problems of mutual interest.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS INVITED TO VISIT WASHINGTON

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2010 19:06 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Wednesday, March 3 Armenian parliamentarians Vahan
Hovhannesyan, Artak Zakaryan, Koryun Nahapetyan and Armen Melikyan
will leave for Washington on the invitation of US Congressmen Frank
Pallone and Mark Kirk.

A meeting with US foreign policy officials is on Armenian MPs’ visit
agenda, RA NA source told PanARMENIAN.Net.

NKR VISITORS’ GEOGRAPHY IS EXPANDING

hos17013.html
15:04:34 – 02/03/2010

According to the data of the NKR MFA Consular Service, despite the
world financial crisis, the total number of foreign citizens having
visited the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters
of 2009 increased by 10% as compared with the similar period of 2008.

The geography of foreigners visiting the NKR keeps on expanding. Last
year, tourists from Mozambique, Guyana, Venezuela, and Mauritania
visited the Nagorno Karabakh Republic for the first time. Among the
tourists, citizens of the USA, France, Iran, Great Britain, Holland,
Switzerland, Canada, Italia, Poland, India, and the CIS countries,
especially Russia and Turkmenistan, are prevailing.

These facts testify that the interest in Artsakh by foreign countries
and their citizens continues growing. Trustworthy information about
the Karabakh issue, the history of the country, and the inculcation
of democratic principles in the NKR provided by various international
mass media contributes to this process.

US CONGRESSMEN CONCERNED OVER DISCUSSION OF "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE"

news.az
March 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Bill Shuster Congressmen Solomon Ortiz and Bill Shuster adopted an
appeal to the Committee on Armed Forces of the US Congress.

Congressmen Solomon Ortiz and Bill Shuster adopted an appeal to the
Committee on Armed Forces of the US Congress, which expressed strong
concern in connection with the resolution on "genocide" of Armenians.

According to the USAN statement, the discussions of the resolution in
the House of Representatives is a destabilizing factor for American
interests. This is a blow to the stability and American interests,
especially in a period when the coalition troops would be redeployed
from Iraq to Afghanistan.

"Like in the case with previous resolutions of this kind, the Turkish
government has declared its opposition to such discussions in the
US Congress. As before, we remain deeply concerned that the Congress
damages the relations and creates unnecessary complications for our
interests in the Middle East and Asia by way of attempts to recognize
the resolution on ‘genocide’. Turkey is still a valuable NATO ally
and an important strategic partner.

According to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Turkey currently has
a group of 1700 troops in Afghanistan, two provincial reconstruction
teams, and several operational mentoring and advisory groups in
Afghanistan. In addition, Turkey has been leading a coalition group
of forces since November 2009 and implements regional command to
ensure international security. "Our presence in the Turkish Incirlik
airbase has additional significance for the US-led coalition forces
and increases the pressure on the insurgents in Afghanistan," the
message says.

"The relocation of tens of thousands of American troops is also
prepared in Iraq, where Turkey plays a key role in both air and ground
operations, transportation and logistical support to Operation Iraqi
Freedom.

Turkey plays such an important role in our efforts in the Middle East,
the Caucasus and Central Asia, that we do not see any benefit in such
a deliberate alienation of our close ally. Considering the importance
of our bilateral relations, and the fact that Turkey and Armenia have
been involved in the process of normalization of bilateral relations,
we ask that no other unwanted actions are taken on the level of the
committees of the US Congress. We can not afford to take risks to
American national security by the discussion of such resolutions",
the US congressmen note

UKRAINIAN ANALYST: NEW DECLARATION ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH MAY BE ADOPTED
T. Teymur

Today
918.html
March 2 2010
Azerbaijan

Day.Az interview with senior consultant at Ukraine’s National Institute
of International Security Problems Elena Kotelyanets.

In your opinion, how will the Azerbaijan-Ukraine ties develop further
under the new President Viktor Yanukovych?

Azerbaijan is a key post-Soviet country the relations with which are
especially important for Ukraine. Possible diversification of energy
supply to our country depends on proper model of this relationship.

Maintaining friendly and mutually beneficial Ukrainian-Azerbaijani
relations meets national interest of both countries.

Worthy of note is that the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani relations were
established in mid-1990s and have not been corrected since then. In
our opinion, their current model is a chronic and unbalanced because
of the lack of comprehensive analysis and feasibility study into
foreign policy strategy.

Given Yanukovych’s campaign rhetoric that deepening cooperation
between the CIS countries is priority, one should expect pragmatism in
relations between Ukraine and Azerbaijan: transition from declarative
mood and emotion to economic feasibility and mutual benefit.

And how do you see the future of GUAM? Will the new Ukrainian President
change country’s foreing policy towards this organization?

Lack of last year’s summit of the GUAM member states, which failed to
compensate for the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly and activities
at the Foreign Ministry level, confirmed limited resource base of the
organization and low interest in its further development both by the
participants themselves and external donors. We can assume that without
reforms, GUAM’s official status will continue to decline and as a
result the regional organization for economy and security may turn into
only a political and consultative forum for participating countries.

It is likely that under a new president, Ukraine (together with
Georgia) will cease to be a locomotive for the development of the
organization and main initiator of reforms. Because Yanukovych is
more interested in regional initiatives aimed at development of
free economic zones, rather than deeper cooperation within such
organizations as GUAM. The Ukrainian side is likely to agree with
the new informal status of the organization as a kind of platform
for discussion and consultation.

What are Ukraine’s chances for further integration with the European
Union and NATO?

Key task of national foreign policy is to preserve Ukraine’s
non-aligned status. This is the main thesis of Viktor Yanukovych’s
election campaign which he will realize as a president of the country.

Nevertheless, under the new leadership Ukraine’s will not radically
refect to integrate with the NATO because the current Ukrainian
legislation regulates the Ukraine’s integration with Euro-Atlantic
structures.

Any change in country’s foreign policy requires corrections to the
national security strategy which the current leadership can not
afford due to absence of parliamentary majority. However, Ukraine
may review its Euro-Atlantic policy gradually. Thus, it is possible
that we abandon the rhetoric of integration with NATO and informally
replace it with close cooperation with the Euro-Atlantic structures
under the Individual Partnership Plan.

Under new political situation inside the country, Ukraine will
unlikely give up Euro-Atlantic aspirations and will continue to
cooperate with the EU in the region through "Eastern Partnership"
policy and "Black Sea Synergy" which, in turn, will bring us closer
to obtaining associate membership.

What, in your opinion, we should expect from the Nagorno-Karabakh
negotiations for next few months?

Recently intensified Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations may be indicative
of a certain progress in finding solutions to the conflict as well as
preparation of a framework agreement on the matter. A new declaration
like the Mein Dorf Declaration may be adopted as well. As a key
mediator in settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Russia is trying
to revive this agreement and give it a new meaning. This scheme,
which failed in late 2008, may become realistic under new conditions
after the U.S. stimulates the process of normalizing Turkish-Armenian
relations.

However, whatever outcome of subsequent meetings between the presidents
of the conflicting parties is, it is necessary to understand that
warming Russian-Turkish, Armenian-Turkish and Russian-Azerbaijani
relations will impact the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. The
result will also depend on political will and the level of compromise
of the conflicting parties, as well as consensus among the major
global players on the various components of the settlement of the
Karabakh conflict.

AZERBAIJAN DEFENSE MINISTER ISSUES WAR THREAT

2010/02/26 | 10:37

region

According to Financial Times.com, Safar Abiyev, Azerbaijan’s defense
minister, told Gabriel Keller, the French Ambassador to Baku, on
Thursday, that foreign diplomats had failed to negotiate a resolution
of the Karabakh conflict and that Azerbaijan’s patience was wearing
thin.

"Azerbaijan cannot wait another 15 years. Now it is up to the military
and the risk is getting closer. If the Armenian occupiers do not
withdraw from Azerbaijan’s land the outbreak of a great war in the
South Caucasus is inevitable," Abiyev is reported to have said.