Author: Chatinian Lara

TURKIC LEADERS AGREE ON CONCRETE STEPS
Zaman, Turkey
Nov 18 2006
The eighth summit meting of Turkic speaking countries, hosted by
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in Antalya, wrapped up.
Meeting again after five years, the heads of Turkic language-speaking
countries agreed on taking concrete steps in political, economic,
and cultural cooperation.
Sezer proposed highlighting the common features of Turkic-speaking
countries. Kazakh President Nurzultan Nazarbayev supported Sezer’s
proposal: “Let’s systemize cooperation among our businessmen.
Turkey’s experience in this regard suffices.”
The leaders discussed the safe transportation of Caucasian oil and
natural gas, particularly Azeri and Kazakh resources, to Europe
via Turkey.
During the meeting, possible risks facing energy security and
cooperation among the countries in countering terrorism and organized
crimes were also discussed, foreign ministry sources said.
Officials said that the most serious energy security issue was the
overseas transportation of Caucasian oil, 30 percent of which comes
from Azerbaijan and 70 percent from Kazakhstan, which might reach an
output capacity of four million barrels a day in the future.
Meeting calls for concrete steps
The joint statement released at the closure of the meeting contained
concrete steps to enhance cooperation.
Building the Istanbul-Almaty railway was one of these steps.
The statement supported Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and
Turkey in the Cyprus and Iraqi Turkmen issues.
Final Declaration
The following are some points from the 27-item final declaration
signed by the four leaders:
Educational cooperation is significant to enforce and improve
friendship among Turkic speaking societies, to create more closeness
among future generations and to train qualified staff.
Cooperation among parliaments, central and local administrations,
media companies and trade associations must be supported because of
its importance in improving social relations among societies.
Completion of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
has international strategic significance. It is crucial to connect
these pipelines to trans-Caspian projected pipelines.

ARMENIAN, GERMAN LEADERS DISCUSS BILATERAL RELATIONS
Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Nov 16 2006
Yerevan, 16 November: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan met German
Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today.
The two countries’ leaders discussed bilateral relations and noted that
they have considerably improved over the last few years, a Mediamax
correspondent reported from Berlin. The sides also noted that the
German government and private investors are playing an important role
in implementing various economic projects in Armenia.
Kocharyan and Merkel also discussed issues related to prospects of
Armenia’s integration into Europe. From 1 January 2007, Germany will
take over the presidency of the European Union for six months and
the European Neighbourhood Policy will be one of the priorities of
its presidency.
The Armenian president and the German chancellor also exchanged
views about the situation in the South Caucasus and touched on
Armenian-Turkish relations in the context of the talks on Turkey’s
membership of European Union.

KARABAKH FOR GEORGIA: RUSSIA OFFERS ARMENIA A DIPLOMATIC DEAL
by Igor Dmitriyev
Source: Versiya, No 43, November 6 – 12, 2006, p. 9
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 15, 2006 Wednesday
MOSCOW PROMISED YEREVAN ASSISTANCE IN KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION
IN ARMENIA’S FAVOR IN RETURN FOR ITS SUPPORT IN THE RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN
CONFLICT; Russian-Armenian relations: mutually beneficial improvement.
Negotiations between the presidents of Russia and Armenia that took
place in Moscow last week marked a turn for a dramatic improvement
of the bilateral relations between the two countries.
According to official reports alone, Russia is expected to deliver
$26 million worth of munitions, weapons, and military hardware to
Armenia before the year is over.
According to what information this newspaper has compiled, Russia
promised Armenia assistance in the Karabakh conflict resolution
in a manner that will benefit Yerevan. President of Armenia Robert
Kocharjan is asked in return to support Russia in its deteriorating
conflict with Georgia. After all, the latter includes a whole region
with the predominantly Armenian population – Samtskhe-Javakheti. Mass
anti-government actions there (with highways cut off, for example)
will become a formidable element of political blackmail the Kremlin
is applying on Mikhail Saakashvili.
The Kremlin even suggested a solution to the main problem – that
of the transport corridor bypassing Georgia that is located between
Russia and Armenia. Moscow suggests a roundabout way across Iran and
the Black Sea. To secure its hold on Yerevan, Russia bought a part
of the gas pipeline (141 km long) between Iran and Armenia that is
to be turned on in late 2006. Russia already owns 90% of the Armenian
energy framework. Acquisition of the Armenian railroads and Armentel
(the only telecommunications company in the republic) is speculated
over. Along with everything else, the Kremlin can blackmail Yerevan
with the threat to start advancing the Russian-Azerbaijani relations.
After all, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is expected in Moscow
soon now.
It seems that the position of the Kremlin becomes decisive for the
future of Nagorno-Karabakh.

EU ACCORDS WITH SOUTH CAUCASUS NATIONS TO OPEN NEW PAGES – ARMENIAN PAPER
by Anna Akopyan
Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
Nov 14 2006
“New door will be opened”
Today marks a special day for the three South Caucasus states of
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia as individual action plans between
them and the European Union as part of the EU New Neighbourhood Policy
will be signed in Brussels.
This was a long-awaited event for the three states as it was delayed
for more than a year. The fact that EU approved the Action Plans with
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia simultaneously shows that these three
states will develop their relations with the EU in parallel in future.
Anyway we should say that as a result of today’s event in Brussels,
the three states will get new, more specific and in some sense,
a higher status in their contacts with the EU. Let us also note
that some political experts think that the South Caucasus regional
conflicts maybe settled by means of regional integration and the EU’s
New Neighbourhood Policy may provide them with such an opportunity.
At present, it is hard to say if the EU will show strict attitude
towards fulfilment of the three states’ obligations to the EU, but
there is no doubt that Brussels will get serious levers to track
the process.
Yesterday Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan left for Brussels to take
part in the events to be held today. He will also meet Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Brussels today. And we should
say that this second event lags behind the first one. As it became
clear to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs as well as to the parties
to the conflict long ago that no progress may be registered in the
Karabakh issue settlement process over the next two years.
For this reason, the talks continue only outwardly for preserving
dialogue. But it is not ruled out that specific decisions will be made
in the Karabakh conflict settlement process within the framework of
the EU’s New Neighbourhood Policy and thanks to that.

REFUGEES IN SHIRAK PROVINCE REGISTERED
Armenpress
Nov 15 2006
GYUMRI, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: Authorities in the northwestern
province of Shirak have completed registration of Armenian
refugees form Azerbaijan who have settled down in this region of the
country. The registration was initiated by the UNHCR Armenian Agency
and completed in cooperation with Armenian ministry for territorial
management.
The real situation with refugees in the province will be clear after
the results of the registration are summed up. It was the first
official registration of refugees in the province.
According to preliminary estimates, there are 360 Armenian refugees
from Azerbaijan in this province.

ELECTRIC CABLES ON THE GAS PIPE
A1+
[03:31 pm] 15 November, 2006
On November 14 at 08:22 p.m. a fire broke out in Shiraz str. 48,
Yerevan. A fire brigade left for the site immediately.
The fire fighters found out that the electric cables fell on the gas
pipe of the building resulting in gas leakage and fire. The fire was
put out after the gas supply of the building had been stopped.

IN VARTAN OSKANIAN’S WORDS, LOGICAL PROPOSAL, INTERESTING IDEAS ARE ON NEGOTIATIONS TABLE
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 14 2006
BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The Foreign Ministers of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia held a press conference in Brussels on November
13. At the press conference headed by European Union External Relations
Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the Armenian and Azeri Foreign
Ministers were very well inclined towards each other, however, their
interpretations seriously differed from the statements published at
previous similar meetings, Radio Liberty states.
Both ministers appreciated in their preliminary interpretations the
Actions Plan of the European Union Neighbourhood Policy.
Do the interpretations seemed to be friendly mean anything for the
Karabakh negotiations to start on Tuesday? Foreign Minister of Armenia
Vartan Oskanian answered this question: “We do not know what will
tomorrow happen. A logical proposal, interesting ideas are on the
table, one must normally sit, negotiate and express will. So that,
it was expressed by our statement today.”
In the opinion of Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov,
“the issue must be observed within that context that the time already
push us forward, and the understanding also grew that one must move
from the dead point, from there where they stopped in the issue of this
conflict.” “And in the given case, I think, there is good possibility,”
the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan said.
As for the Actions Plan of the European Union Neighbourhood Policy,
Vartan Oskanian mentioned: “Our relations are given a new quality,
it is a rather voluminous document, great possibilities are put by
this document, integration processes are started, so that one must
concentrate and do the best.”
“We want not only to sign but to completely use, as it really will
bring Armenia to a new qualitative level in 5 years, both politically
and economically,” the Foreign Minister of Armenia stated.
In an exclusive interview to Radio Liberty, Benita Ferrero-Waldner
characterized singing of the Actions Plan as a “new stage.” “We
today start a new stage. We want to move our values: human rights,
democracy, hegemony of law, to those countries,” Mrs.Ferrero-Waldner
stated. “We listen to their wishes as well. But it is important for
us to stimulate the regional cooperation,” she said.
Peter Semneby, the European Union Representative to South Caucasus,
explaining, what the Actions Plan of the European Union Neighbourhood
Policy will give Armenia, said: “The European Neighbourhood Policy,
first of all, will give some money, but this money must be used to
change these societies, Azerbaijan and Armenia, to make them more
European.”
Semneby also said that the European Union will with great attention
observe the parliamentary and president’s elections expected in
Armenia: “Those will be important exams for Armenia.”
The Armenia-European Union meeting is expected on November 14, during
which the Actions Plan of the European New Neighbourhood will be
adopted. And in some hours after it, the Karabakh negotiations with
the participation of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan
as well as of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen, will start at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium.

November 9, 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: <; PRELATE PRESENTS REV. BARKEV DARAKJIAN WITH A PONTIFICAL ENCYCLICAL On the morning of Wednesday, November 8, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, welcomed Rev. Barkev Darakjian, long time Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church, to the temporary Prelacy offices, where he presented him with a Pontifical Encyclical by H.H. Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in honor of his 50 years of service. On October 21, the Armenian Evangelical Union honored Rev. Darakjian's 50 years of service with a special ceremony. Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian represented the Prelate at the event, where he read the text of the Encyclical and conveyed the Prelate's best wishes. At the meeting, Rev. Darakjian was accompanied by a delegation of clergy and representatives from the Armenian Evangelical Union, namely Rev. Joe Matossian, Rev. Ron Tomassian, Mr. Hagop Lousararian, Mr. Avedis Demirjian, and Mr. Zaven Khanjian. Also present were Prelacy Christian Education Department Directors Very Rev. Fathers Muron Aznikian and Barthev Gulumian. The Prelate once again congratulated Rev. Darakjian, wishing for God to grant him many more years of service. Rev. Darakijian then presented the Prelate with a letter of thanks. The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss issues of concern to the Armenian people, and the efforts of both communities to alleviate these issues.

POLITICIANS SAY ARMENIAN RUSSIAN RELATIONS BAD
Panorama.am
16:37 07/11/06
Armenian-Russian relations have never been as bad as today, Aram
Manukyan, Pan Armenian National Movement (HHSh) board member told at
national press club today, also saying “only the Armenian side is to
be blamed for that.”
Manukyan thinks Armenian-Russian relations are “humiliating” saying
Russia treats decently only to those countries which behave decently.
Aram Sargsyan, chairman of Armenian Democratic Party and a member of
parliament, supported Manukyan saying Russia would consider us as a
partner if we behaved like a partner. “Corrupt authorities cannot
conduct independent policy” and therefore keep to imposed policy,
he said.

OSCE SUPPORTS AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN, GREEK AND RUSSIAN COMMUNITIES OF GEORGIA
Author: A.Ismaylova
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 7 2006
The results of an OSCE-financed project which aimed to promote civic
participation in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia, where there are
many national minorities, will be presented in Tbilisi on November 8,
Trend reports with reference to the OSCE Information Office.
Set up by the association Women of Multinational Georgia, the project
helped establish NGOs focusing on gender, human rights issues,
and democratic development in the Dmanisi, Tsalka, Bolnisi and
Marneuli districts, which are inhabited by Azeri, Armenian, Greek
and Russian communities. Under the project, training courses and
seminars were organized to develop leadership, financial, personnel and
organizational management skills. A newsletter, published in Georgian,
Azeri and Armenian, was also distributed in the Kvemo Kartli region.