Author: Frangulian Shushan

ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS DISCUSSED AT THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

armradio.am
13.11.2008 15:15

The whole framework of Armenia-EU relations was discussed during RA
President Serzh Sargsyan’s working consultations, featuring members
of the National Security Council of the Republic of Armenia, members
of Government, heads of a number of interested agencies.

The President of the republic presented the details of his visit
to Brussels and posed certain issues connected with the further
development of cooperation with the European Union.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that the agenda of the visit to Brussels was
very rich: during three days he had more than twenty meetings with
the leadership of the European Union and gave interviews to leading
European media.

The primary impression from the talks was that the European structures
and their representatives are obviously satisfied with the level of
relations with Armenia and secondly, there is willingness to continue
deepening the relations and implement more daring programs.

The President said that during the meetings reference was made to
common political issues, Armenian-Turkish relations, settlement of
the Karabakh conflict. However, the main topic of discussion was the
Armenia-EU Action Plan.

Stressing the wish of our county to come closer to Europe, Serzh
Sargsyan said that "as a first step the Armenian side proposes that
the contacts between our citizens are made easier by freeing up visa
rules to bring about the best conditions for trade and commerce.

According to the President, an agreement was reached on creating a
sub-commission with the EU Commission on Justice, Freedom and Security
and it will be established in the near future.

Noting that both parties are willing to deepen the relations, the
President said: "We should view these works not as a commitment,
but as an activity that will provide an opportunity to continue the
reforms in our country."

In the President’s opinion, the new Action Plan will, most probably,be
signed within the framework of the European Eastern Policy and will
have two peculiarities: first, the component of regional cooperation
will be more obvious and second, different volume and depth of
cooperation will be set for participants of the neighborhood policy
depending on how much the country is ready for it.

The President demanded to take the formation of the new program most
seriously and instructed the Ministers and the heads of corresponding
agencies to establish personal control over the works related to
their spheres.

During the consultations Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian presented
the process of implementation of the Action Plan, the works done in
different directions in 2008, noting that those are the continuation of
the actions launched in 2007. The Minister said Armenia will submit a
report on the work done in 2008 during the20sitting of the EU Council
of Ministers on December 9, 2008.

Secretary of the National Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan referred
to the activity of the interdepartmental commission on cooperation
with European structures and noted that a new ambitious package
of actions has been formed on the basis of suggestions of all the
interested Ministries and agencies, which can serve as a good basis
for further discussions and cooperation.

SARGSYAN, GUL LIKELY TO MEET BEFORE OCTOBER 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.11.2008 17:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During talks with European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan discussed a
possibility of another meeting with Turkish leader Abdullah Gul, the RA
President’s spokesman Samvel Farmanyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

As to meeting with Aliyev, he said, "The Armenian President met lately
with his Azerbaijani counterpart and a new meeting makes no sense now."

In an interview with Euronews, President Sargsyan said he doesn’t rule
out that the meeting with Mr Gul can take place before October 2009,
when a game between Armenian and Turkish soccer teams is scheduled.

Meanwhile, the Azeri Press Agency quoted Turkey’s Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic today as saying that "a trilateral meeting
between Presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia is expected till
the yearend in Turkey."

Turkish Foreign Ministry said Turkey doesn’t plan trilateral talks
between leaders of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"Of course, we would be pleased by visits of the Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia. But Turkey doesn’t plan a meeting of the kind,"
said Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the Turkish MFA, the Anatolia
news agency reports.

Earlier, some Turkish media circulated reports that "Turkish President
Abdullah Gul is readying to take another bold step to contribute to
regional peace in the Caucasus by soon hosting a trilateral summit
with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan."

S. SARGSIAN SAYS KARABAKH CONFLICT REGULATION POSSIBLE IF AZERBAIJAN RECOGNIZES THE RIGHT OF KARABAKH PEOPLE TO SELF DETERMINATION

ARMENPRESS
Nov 11, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS: "For a long time we are saying that
Karabakh conflict regulation is possible if Azerbaijan recognizes the
right of Nagorno Karabakh people to self determination, if there is
a land border between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh and if there are
international guarantees ensuring the security of Nagorno Karabakh",
Armenian President Serzh Sargsian said in an interview to French Le
Monde daily, speaking on prospects of Karabakh conflict regulation.

Referring to the question of the French correspondent on "de facto"
common border between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, the Armenian
president noted that "it must have the same status as Nagorno
Karabakh".

WHAT THE OPPOSITION CONCLUDES

Lragir.am
14:58:51 – 10/11/2008

Endorsing the pause in rallies which Levon Ter-Petrosyan has declared,
the leader of the Social Democratic Hnchak Party Lyudmila Sargsyan
stated November 10 at the Iravunk de facto press club that thereby
Levon Ter-Petrosyan showed that the state is more important than
the change of government. Lyudmila Sargsyan noted earlier that the
current government led by Serge Sargsyan has put out Karabakh and the
liberated territories to sale. In that case, why did the opposition
stop instead of struggling against that, the reporters asked?

According to Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a member of the Social Democratic
Hnchak Party, the pause of the opposition intends to enable the
government to take its time to think and act. "But we see that they do
not take their time to think and act," Gurgen Yeghiazaryan said. The
reporters asked what conclusions the opposition draws from the failure
of the government to use the chance that the opposition gives. "If
the opposition draws conclusions, of course," the reporters added.

Gurgen Yeghiazaryan said the opposition definitely draws conclusions
and is attentively following the current process to see what
developments will take place. Gurgen Yeghiazaryan assured that the
opposition will not keep neutral and watch how Karabakh is being
sold out. By the way, Gurgen Yeghiazaryan said little time is left
till the end of the process, evidence to which is Serge Sargsyan’s
statement during his visit to Brussels. Yeghiazaryan also says that
Serge Sargsyan looked bad in Brussels.

Yeghiazaryan also stated that the Europeans want to get our lands
as soon as possible, and they intend to do that through the current
government, for which reason they have tolerated the illegitimate
government of Armenia in the recent years.

EX-FOREIGN MINISTER COMMENTS AND UNDERLINES

Lragir.am
16:24:34 – 10/11/2008

In an interview with Radio Liberty the ex-foreign minister of Armenia,
the founder of the Civilitas Foundation Vardan Oskanyan said the
positive thing about the three-party declaration signed in Moscow is
that the necessity for settling the Karabakh conflict through talks
is underscored. At the same time, Vardan Oskanyan said it would be
desirable if a point on non-use of force in the settlement of the
conflict were included in the document.

"I think that was the initial purpose of the Armenian side. Perhaps
it failed," Vardan Oskanyan said.

According to him, the most vulnerable point of the document for the
Armenian side is that the settlement of the conflict should be based
on the international law and the documents and decisions passed in
the framework of it. Vardan Oskanyan says it would be desirable if
there were not for the second part of that pronouncement because
Azerbaijan will refer to the principle of territorial integrity and
the four resolutions of the UN Security Council and the resolution
of the UN General Assembly.

With regard to Serge Sargsyan’s foreign policy, Vardan Oskanyan
said the expression of his opinion is not a harsh criticism. "I am
not opposition, I do not have a political party, I am not in the
political sphere of Armenia yet. But I have a foundation and I am
a citizen of the Republic of Armenia, and I want to be part of the
civil society which will demand real reforms from the government,"
Vardan Oskanyan said.

Commenting on the rumors about the possible return of Robert Kocharyan
to politics, according to which Vardan Oskanyan intends to set up a
political party for that purpose, the ex-foreign minister said he met
with Robert Kocharyan, ex-speaker Tigran Torosyan, ex-defense minister
of NKR Samvel Babayan but they are not negotiating the creation of
a political party.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE WELCOMES MOSCOW MEETING OF PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan
November 4, 2008 Tuesday

US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner said that official
Washington welcomes the Moscow meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia.

He noted the United States hopes for continuation of negotiations
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement within the framework
of Basic Principles. We are pleased with the parties` obligation
to continue the talks. In September, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
met in New-York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, while
this weekend in Moscow. We are hopeful for continuation of talks
for peaceful settlement of the conflict within framework of Basic
Principles, he emphasized.

NKR FOREIGN MINISTER GEORGY PETROSSYAN’S COMMENTARY ON THE MOSCOW DECLARATION

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2008-11-07 08:29
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

Adoption of the declaration by Presidents of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan testifies readiness of the Russian Federation to act as
an effective mediator in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

The meeting may be regarded as an attempt to clarify the stance of
Azerbaijan and Armenia concerning the prospects of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement via political methods, taking into consideration
the changed situation in the region after the known developments in
August, 2008 as well.

The settlement process of past years has demonstrated that the
participation of the most concerned part, the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, a state that was established in full correspondence with
the international law, will make the negotiations more effective.

If Azerbaijan is really interested in the conflict settlement, then
it should have sat down to talks long ago, instead of trying to exert
pressure upon the Nagorno Karabakh Republic via different international
instances and countries, and misleading the international community.

Anyway, the NKR’s freedom, independent status and the people’s
security conditioned by it are the absolutely interdependent bases
of the NKR policy.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN MEETS EC COMMISSIONERS FOR JUSTICE, TRANSPORT AND TRADE

armradio.am
06.11.2008 10:37

On November 5 the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting
with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner for
Justice Jacques Barro.

Serzh Sargsyan and Jacques Barro discussed the perspectives of
cooperation in implementing judicial reforms and fighting corruption,
the international legal coordination of readmission of citizens,
the opportunities of easing of the visa regime.

At the request of the Commissioner, the President of Armenia
presented the steps taken in the direction of fighting corruption
and implementing judicial reforms.

The EU Commissioner for Justice expressed willingness to render
necessary expert and technical assistance to the efforts and
initiatives of the Armenian authorities in this sphere.

Reference was made to different issues concerning the contractual-legal
field between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union.

At the European Commission President Sargsyan met with the
Commissioners for Transport and Trade.

During the meeting EC Vice-President, Commissioner for Transport
Antonio Tajan, Serzh Sargsyan presented in detail the initiatives of
Armenia in the direction of development of alternative communication
routes in the region.

The Commissioner welcomed the agreements on the construction of
the Iran-Armenia railway, and the initiative of constructing a new
alternative highway linking Armenia and Georgia. The parties agreed
to continue the joint work for the development of the regional
cooperation network.

The main topic of discussion during the meeting with the Commissioner
for Trade, Mrs. Catherine Ashton was the process of our country’s
joining the Free Trade Agreement.

The President stressed Armenia’s wish to sign the agreement with
the European Union as soon as possible. Catherine Ashton suggested
to continue the discussions in this direction and offered expert
assistance in a new format.

The parties agreed to fix a concrete schedule of the process during
the Commissioner’s forthcoming visit to Armenia.

PACE PRESIDENT URGES AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN LEADERS TO CONTINUE DIALOGUE ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

Today.Az
tics/48756.html
Nov 4 2008
Azerbaijan

President of CE Parliamentary Assembly Luis Maria de Puch calls on
the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia to continue dialogue aimed at
the search of the peaceful way of the Karabakh problem settlement,
says the CE statement, according to Interfax-Azerbaijan.

"I would like to congratulate presidents I.Aliyev and Sargsyan as
well as the initiator of the meeting president Medvedev due to their
efforts to search the peaceful ways of the conflict resolution. The
start of this dialogue, to be followed by intensive diplomatic efforts
and a series of measures for strengthening trust, is a hope for the
whole region", said the PACE president,

He noted that the conflict solution based on the international
standards and principles as well as the Azerbaijani and Armenian CE
commitments "is closer than ever".

"PACE is ready to help the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Armenia in
their efforts for the successful promotion of the launched process",
concluded he.

"Voice of America" Needed to Reach Arabs and Muslims, American Diplomat Says

NewsBusters.org
2008-10-31

By Kevin Mooney

U.S diplomacy has suffered in the Middle East because policymakers
dismantled critical instruments of communication in the late 1990s
under the mistaken assumption that ideological struggles had ended
with the Cold War, a former ambassador to Syria and Israel argues in a
new book.

Outlets like the Voice of America (VOA) are critically important to
America’s strategic interests and policy aims in the Muslim and Arab
world where moderate elements are open to persuasion despite previous
diplomatic missteps Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian points out in
"Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador’s Journey Through the
Middle East." [1]

To keep pace with media outlets like Al Jazerera, the major Arab
satellite TV station, it is imperative to have articulate and fluent
Foreign Service officers who can explain and defend U.S. policy in an
effective way, Djerejian pointed out in an interview.

Although differing interests and objectives will remain evident in
some areas, there is enough common ground that presents diplomats with
important opportunities, he suggested.

"The Voice of America" is vitally important as it relates to the
struggle for ideas in the Muslim world between moderation and
extremism," he said. "The manner and content of the American message
is critical. And while 80 percent of the perceptions people have of
America throughout the Middle East are shaped by policies, there is
another critical 20 percent open for diplomacy to promote widely
admired values."

Extensive surveys show that strong majorities in the Muslim world have
great admiration for deeply ingrained American principles like
individual liberty, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, equality
of opportunity and the rule of law, he explained.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has not helped itself in Arab-Muslim world by
virtue of lending support to dictators, even as it promotes the idea
of democracy, Djerejian acknowledges. The experiences of the current
Bush Administration also demonstrate that democracy promotion must go
beyond elections.

"If democracy promotion is focused too much on elections alone, the
principle of unintended consequences comes into play," Djerejian
said. "We saw this with the Palestinian election in 2006 where the
administration did promote elections and Hamas came out as the
winner. This has very real and negative consequences."

Although there is an appetite for democracy and greater political
autonomy, it will look very different from what Americans are
accustomed to and must be built from the ground up, he argued.

"It is important to understand that Islam is not a monolith, it is a
very differentiated society," Djerejian said. "You have Sunnis and
Shiites and it’s a complex landscape. Understanding the culture is the
first key step in any new U.S. administration."

Radical Islamists seek to brand the U.S. as a secular society that
denies God and religion but there is ample room to push back against
false impressions with a carefully calibrated communications campaign,
he explained.

"First you must distinguish between secularism and secularization,"
Djerejian said. "The U.S. is branded as secular society that excludes
God and religion but this totally false. We are a very religious
country. What we have is a division between church and state and
that’s secularization. But freedom of religion is inculcated into our
body politic."

Another main topic explored in the book concerns the relationship
between reason and Islamic law. At one time Muslim scholars relied
upon what is termed "Ijtihad" to reach legal decisions in those
instances where Sharia was silent or unclear. This practice was
abandoned sometime in the 10th century.

"This gets back to the struggle of ideas now taking placed between
moderates and radicals," Djerejian said. "A great majority of Muslims
are moderates who believe in rationale interpretation. They believe
religious doctrine can be modified to fit the requirements of the
contemporary period. Ijtihad is another word for hope."

With regard to Iraq, the ambassador supports a "new diplomatic
offensive" that would directly engage neighbors like Syria and Iran. A
"strategic dialogue" could yield important dividends in his
estimation.

"We should not fear engaging our enemies and our adversaries, unless
we are so insecure about our own ability to conduct negotiations," he
said. "We could make surprising headway."

In the case Syria, "strategic dialogues" have worked in the past, he
recalls. Syria was actually a partner during Operation Desert Storm in
1991 and also helped to secure the release of U.S. hostages in Beirut,
he pointed out.

There is already a strong reform movement at work in Iran that is
putting pressure on the regime, Djerejian said.

Moreover, the real power brokers is the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei not
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incendiary president, he explained.

"The Iranian leadership has to be aware and sensitive to the political
divisions in their own society," the ambassador said. "There is a huge
opportunity here and we can negotiate from a position of strength."

Source URL:
8/10/31/voice-america-needed-reach-arabs-muslims-a merican-diplomat-says

Links:
[1] Ambassadors-Journey/dp/B001FXSOJ0