Author: Hambardsumian Paul

Panorama.am
14:59 16/01/2009

`RUSSIA DOES NOT PROVIDE WEAPONS TO ARMENIA,’ SAYS LAVROV

Russia rejects the rumors spread by the Azeri mass media that Russia
provides weapons to Armenia, announced the Foreign Minister of Russia
Sergey Lavrov.

`We have conducted an investigation. And the person, who has signed
documents according to Azeri mass media, has nothing to do with this
story, he has signed nothing, and no weapons have been transported to
Armenia,’ announced Foreign Minister.

According to Azeri sources, Russia provides weapons to Armenia. The
Ambassador of Russia to Azerbaijan has been called to the Foreign
Ministry to give explanations to the information.

This information has been rejected by the Ministry of Defense of
Armenia also.

Source: Panorama.am

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet

PRESS RELEASE
January 17, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ARMENIAN AMERICANS CONGRATULATE OBAMA ON INAUGURATION

— Community Leadership Voices Support for President’s
Pledges to Recognize Armenian Genocide, Strengthen
U.S.-Armenia Relations, and Seek a Fair and Durable
Regional Peace in the South Caucasus

WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian American advocacy, civic, religious,
charitable, and educational organizations joined together today in
congratulating President-Elect Barack Obama on his inauguration and
outlining the community’s expectations of the incoming Obama-Biden
Administration.

The text of the January 17th letter, delivered today to the
Presidential Transition Office, and a listing of the signatories is
provided below.

#####

January 17, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
The President-elect
Office of the President-elect
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. President-Elect:

We are writing, as the collective leadership of Armenian American
advocacy, civic, religious, charitable, and educational
organizations, to congratulate you on your historic election as
President of the United States and to warmly welcome your
inauguration to this high office. On behalf of some two million
Americans of Armenian heritage, we look forward to working with you
and your Administration to end the cycle of genocide, strengthen
U.S.-Armenia relations, contribute to Armenia’s economic growth,
and work toward a fair and sustainable regional peace.

We have, as a community, long admired your principled commitment to
ending genocide, including, of course, the need for urgent efforts
to stop the ongoing slaughter in Darfur. As a vital part of the
growing genocide-prevention movement, our community looks forward
to working with you from the first day of your Administration to
end the Darfur Genocide and to help bring peace to this troubled
land.

As a community, we have been proud that you have stood with us as
we have worked toward Congressional commemoration, Presidential
recognition, and Turkish acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.
As you have stated so eloquently and repeatedly, the facts of this
crime are undeniable. The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation,
as the Turkish government shamefully contends, but rather a widely
documented mass crime supported by an overwhelming body of
evidence. Confronting this denial represents an obligation for
America and the entire international community. Our nation’s
commitment to the principles of the Genocide Convention, which just
last year marked its 60th anniversary, is rooted in America’s
values and cannot be sincerely upheld in our relations with the
rest of the world without an outright recognition of the Armenian
Genocide.

Our government must clearly and unequivocally condemn the 1915
crime of race extermination by Ottoman Turkey that, during the
course of eight years, killed one and a half million Armenians,
emptied vast areas of the Armenian homeland, and inflicted grave
material harm to every aspect of the Armenian people’s cultural
heritage, depriving it, to this day, of its right to exist on its
native soil. Sadly, the inevitable consequence of Turkey’s refusal
to acknowledge this crime has been its inability to adapt to the
changing realities in the region. Rather than being a factor for
peace, Turkey has actively contributed to increased tension in the
South Caucasus. Instead of demonstrating a willingness to honestly
confront the past in the spirit of truth and justice, its leaders
have sought to pressure other governments to underwrite Turkey’s
historic guilt. The United States should neither be a hostage to
Turkey’s fears, nor a victim of its moral failings. For its part,
Armenia, which supports international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide as a core element of its foreign policy, has called for
the normalization of relations with Turkey without any
preconditions.

As you have stated on several occasions, America deserves a leader
who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds
forcefully to all genocides. The clarity of your promise is
particularly welcome in light of the unfortunate practice of past
U.S. Presidents to use, under Turkey’s pressure, evasive and
euphemistic terminology rather than directly acknowledging the
Armenian Genocide. The term, Armenian Genocide, is the only one
that can meaningfully be used to characterize the crime committed
by Ottoman Turkey. We look forward, in the coming weeks, to your
firm and principled leadership in clearly and unambiguously ending
the sad chapter of the U.S. Executive Branch’s capitulation to
pressure from Turkey.

We are particularly encouraged, in this regard, that you will be
joined in your Administration by supporters of Armenian Genocide
recognition, among them Vice President-elect Joe Biden, a 35-year
champion of this human rights issue, and Secretary of State-
designate Hillary Clinton, who, in January of last year, so
eloquently stated that, "our common morality and our nation’s
credibility as a voice for human rights challenge us to ensure that
the Armenian Genocide be recognized and remembered by Congress and
the President of the United States." Others in your
Administration, including incoming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar,
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood,
and CIA Director Leon Panetta have also supported Congressional
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We are also pleased to see
that the Congress will be led by two of the most longstanding
advocates of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both of whom
have repeatedly called for full U.S. recognition of this crime
against humanity. We look forward to your leadership with these
officials and others in Congress, among them Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman, John Kerry, and House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman, Howard Berman, to help bring about
Congressional recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

We look forward to continuing, over the next four years, the active
engagement that we established with you and your leadership team
during your service in the U.S. Senate, and more recently during
your campaign for the Presidency. Among the issues that will, of
course, remain as high priorities on our common agenda will be
those that contribute to the growth of U.S.-Armenia relations,
Armenia’s economic development, and Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh’s
security. We welcome your commitment to expanding bilateral
commercial, political, military, and cultural relations, and are
eager to work with you to increase U.S.-Armenia trade and
investment levels and to expand our development assistance
programs, through the FREEDOM Support Act, the Millennium Challenge
Account, and other avenues. We place, as well, a very high
priority on U.S. leadership in lifting the Turkish and Azerbaijani
economic blockades of Armenia and in ending the exclusion of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh from regional commercial and
infrastructure projects.

In terms of ensuring a durable regional peace, we echo your call
for a Nagorno Karabagh settlement that respects democracy and self-
determination and encourage you to ensure that these principles
serve as the pillars of any agreement. As you know, a vital key to
peace, in Nagorno Karabagh and around the world, is direct
dialogue. For this reason, we encourage elimination of all
artificial barriers to U.S.-Nagorno Karabagh contacts,
communication, and other means of increasing our level of mutual
understanding. With Azerbaijan’s President once again threatening
war, as recently as in his New Year’s message, it is more important
than ever for the United States to strengthen the current
ceasefire, to work through the OSCE process to secure the
commitment of all parties to the disavowal of force, and, as a
matter of high priority for our government, to take concrete steps
to prevent a renewed war in the South Caucasus. Our ability to
advance these and our nation’s many other interests in this
strategically pivotal region would be substantially enhanced by a
concerted effort on the part of our government to expand U.S.-
Armenia relations.

Working with you and your White House, Department of State, and
Pentagon staffs on all of these issues, we will, as you stated in
your remarks this past January 19th, "build, in new and exciting
ways, upon the enduring ties and shared values that have bound
together the American and Armenian peoples for more than a
century."

Thank you for your consideration of the priorities we have raised
in this letter and for your years of friendship with the Armenian
American community. The enthusiastic and broad-based support the
Obama-Biden ticket received from Armenian Americans during the
campaign, including endorsements from all our leading civic groups
and newspapers, reflects our community’s confidence in your
leadership and ardent support for the real change that you have
pledged in how our government acts on all these issues.

We join together in warmly welcoming your victory and look forward
to working with your Administration. In this spirit, we stand
ready to meet with you to discuss these issues in greater detail
and also to address the challenges facing our nation both at home
and abroad.

Sincerely,

Apostolic Exarchate for Armenian Catholics
Armenian Bar Association
Armenian Evangelical Union of North America
Armenian General Benevolent Union
Armenian International Women’s Association
Armenian Missionary Association of America
Armenian National Committee of America
Armenian Relief Society
Armenian Rights Council of America
Armenian Youth Federation
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern U.S.)
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Western U.S.)
Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural & Education Association
Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union
Knights of Vartan
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Eastern U.S.)
Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Western U.S.)
Tekeyan Cultural Association, Inc.
United Armenian Fund
U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee

ARMENIA TO HOLD EVENTS DEDICATED TO 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF SOVIET TROOPS WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.01.2009 14:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Defense Ministry’s commission on
organization and conduction of events dedicated to the 20th anniversary
of withdrawal of soviet troops from Afghanistan discussed Tuesday
the list of events, including an exhibit, meetings of veterans and
students of military schools.

According to Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, such events
promote military and patriotic education of the young generation.

‘ARMAVIA’ AIR COMPANY TO DIRECT A LETTER TO ICAO TO REVISE THE DISTANCE OF THE AIR SEPARATION OF AIRPLANES

ArmInfo
2009-01-14 00:52:00

ArmInfo. ‘Armavia’ air company will direct a letter to ICAO to revise
the distance of the air separation of airplanes, director of air
staff of Armavia Migran Khachatryan told journalists today. He also
added such a position of the company is conditioned by the discomfort
situation happened during Sochi-Yerevan flight implemented by A-320
airplane of Armavia on 11 January, when the airplane found itself
in the airscrew slipstream of the oncoming airplane A-380 which was
implementing Dubai-New-York flight. As a result of which the airplane
of the Armavia was tilted to the left on the angle 45 degrees. The
incident lasted for 18 seconds. Khachatryan said that the distance
between the airplanes was not less than the norm – 30 km horizontally
and 300 m vertically. ‘Earlier the minimally admissible vertical
distance was 600 m, but because of growing of the rate of fights
they had to reduce the distance. If the present standards do not pull
through such incidents, the standard distance should be increased’,
– Khachatryan concluded.

HERITAGE FOUNDATION INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM RANKS ARMENIA 31ST OF 183

ARKA
Jan 13, 2009

YEREVAN, January 13. /ARKA/. Armenia’s economic freedom score is 69.9,
making its economy the 31st freest in the 2009 Index of Economic
Freedom released by the Heritage Foundation (USA). The country’s
overall score remains unchanged from 2007. Armenia is ranked 18th
freest among the 43 countries in the Europe region, and its score
puts it above the world average.

Armenia rates significantly higher than the average country in eight
of the 10 freedoms.

Specifically, the country shows the following indices: business freedom
83.7%; trade freedom 86.4%; fiscal freedom 90%; government size 89.7%;
monetary freedom 77.8%; investment freedom 70%; financial freedom 70%;
property rights 35%; freedom from corruption 30%; labor freedom 66.3%.

According to the Index, commercial regulations are flexible and
relatively simple in the country. Low tax rates and moderate government
spending contribute to an impressive degree of fiscal freedom. There
are few restrictions on foreign investment, and banking is wholly
private and well regulated.

On the other hand, widespread corruption and weak protection
of property rights reduce Armenia’s overall level of economic
freedom.

ARMENIAN CHESS YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM LEADER IN TIGRAN PETROSIAN COMMEMORATIVE TOURNAMENT

NOYAN TAPAN

Jan 12, 2009
MOSCOW

In the seventh tour of Tigran Petrosian International Youth
Commemorative Tournament being held in Moscow representative of Armenia
Karen Grigorian defeated Gleb Aprishko (Russia) and remains at the
top of the tournament table with 6.6 points. Robert Hovhannisian
defeated Sergei Vdovin (Russia) and concludes the leading three with
5.5 points. And Zozan Shakrian lost the game and has 2.2 points.

In the team competition Armenia’s national team has gained 14.5 out
of 21 possible points and is in the lead.

‘Gazprom’ offers assistance to Georgia in elimination of accident on
gas pipeline

2009-01-10 12:20:00

ArmInfo. "Gazprom" offered assistance to Georgia in elimination of the
accident on the gas pipeline to recover Armenia’s gas supply, deputy
Head of the Information Policy Department of "Gazprom" OJSC Igor
Volobuyev told journalists.

According to him, Georgia suspended transit of the Russia gas to
Armenia on Friday. The Georgian party explains the suspension by
"carrying out of accident recovery work for elimination of the revealed
damages on 43,4-66 km section of the main gas pipeline
"Kazakh-Saguramo". "In view of this, "Gazprom" OJSC and "ArmRusgazprom"
CJSC sent a proposal to the Gas Transport Company to render an
immediate assistance in elimination of the accident consequences for
prompt recovery of gas supply to Armenia", Volobuyev said.

ERGENEKON ARMS SITE UNEARTHED IN GOLBASHI

Today’s Zaman
o?load=detay&link=163647&bolum=101
Jan 9 2009
Turkey

Police in Ankara discovered a munitions site in an investigation into
the Ergenekon terrorist organization. Weapons, flamethrowers and hand
grenades found buried under the ground appear to date from the year
2004. Other excavations are under way in various areas of the city.

A large cache of weapons, ammunition and bombs was found yesterday
buried underground in Ankara’s GölbaÅ~_ı district, as a result of
a police search based on a map found in the home of Ä°brahim Å~^ahin,
a former head of the National Police Department’s Special Operations
Unit. The operation came at a time when Å~^ahin had ordered the
assassination of non-Muslim minority leaders in Sivas.

Å~^ahin was detained along with 36 others on Wednesday in the
investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine network of groups and
individuals accused of trying to overthrow the government. Thirty
varieties of explosives and bombs as well as three lightweight
anti-tank weapons (LAWs) were found buried underground. The newspapers
wrapped around the weapons were from the year 2004, the police
said. According to the initial official list, there were a large
number of bullets for 9mm guns, two LAV weapons, 10 hand grenades
whose serial number had been deleted and 10 smoke bombs used in
training with colored smoke. Another boxed explosive and an ignition
mine were found in the first phases of the excavation, the police
said. The materials found have yet to be examined thoroughly at a
police crime lab. There were also plastic explosives buried.

The excavation of the site started on Thursday and continued until
midday. The teams resumed excavation on Friday and located the
munitions. Excavations were also launched in the Bala, Mamak, Emek,
BeÅ~_tepe, Saklıbahce and Ataturk Orman Ciftligi districts of the
city to locate more weapons possibly buried in these areas.

The operation started when Å~^ahin, whose phone conversations have
been tapped by police for at least two months, gave the order to
finalize plans to assassinate Armenian community members in the city
of Sivas. Twelve others were detained in Sivas during Wednesday’s
operation. Police also found shocking evidence that the group was
plotting to kill prominent figures including Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, Former Chief of General Staff YaÅ~_ar Buykanıt,
Police Department Intelligence Unit Chief Ramazan Akyurek, journalist
Fehmi Koru, author Orhan Pamuk and some politicians including members
of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP).

Gladio weapons fields

The fields brought to mind a great number of NATO-made arms depots
found buried underground during an investigation started by Italian
prosecutor Felice Casson, who discovered the existence of Operation
Gladio, a NATO stay-behind paramilitary force left over from the Cold
War. In a panel he joined in Ä°stanbul last April, Casson said these
weapons were found buried in cemeteries, under churches and even in
caves. Ergenekon is also thought to be a remnant from the original
Turkish Gladio, which was founded against a possible Soviet invasion
during the Cold War, but later turned into an organization trying to
cut off Turkey’s ties with the West. The retired generals arrested
in the Ergenekon investigation seem to have an anti-EU, anti-NATO
stance favoring a closer relationship between Turkey and Russia and
Eurasian nations.

Analysts said on Friday that the buried weapons might shed light on
a number of murders committed in the GölbaÅ~_ı area prior to the
Susurluk investigation of 1996, which started when a former police
chief, a southeastern tribal leader whose men were armed by the state
to fight separatist violence and an internationally wanted mafia boss
were involved in an accident near the small township of Susurluk while
riding in the same car. The police chief and the mafia boss as well
as his girlfriend, a former model, were killed in the accident. No
serious arrests followed from the ensuing investigation, which had
exposed, for the first time in modern Turkish history, a gang with
links to the state.

Some of the most significant unresolved murders were the assassination
of Yusuf Ekinci, a lawyer of Kurdish origin, and the murder of retired
Maj. Cem Ersever and his girlfriend. Investigators are examining
possible links between the GölbaÅ~_ı weapons and unresolved murders
in the area in the ’90s.

Ergenekon suspects on the run

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez, an Ergenekon suspect in whose
houses in Sakarya and Ankara were found to contain dozens of bullets,
hand grenades and weapons, is now reported to be a fugitive. On
Wednesday Dönmez, who promised the police who called him on his cell
phone to inform him that an arrest warrant had been issued for him
that he would go to a police station "right away", disappeared shortly
after the phone call. The police claim they arrived on Wednesday at
the Adapazarı Central Command to capture Dönmez, but gendarmerie
officers who said the area fell under gendarmerie jurisdiction said
they would find Dönmez. Later, the gendarmerie told that police they
had been unable to find Dönmez and that they believed he had escaped.

Twenty-two hand grenades, five revolvers and a Kalashnikovs as well
as 8,300 bullets were found in a house belonging to the lieutenant
colonel in Sakarya. The search in another house belonging to Dönmez
in Ankara revealed three revolvers, 2 Kalashnikov rifles and a pair
of night-vision binoculars.

Thirty-seven in total were detained in the last wave of Ergenekon
detentions on Wednesday, including six army members who are currently
on duty as well as seven retired generals. In addition to Dönmez,
Bedrettin Dalan, a former mayor of the city of Ä°stanbul, was also
being searched by the police on Wednesday, but it soon turned out that
he was in the US. However, some newspapers claimed on Friday was Dalan
had evaded to the US after being tipped off on the Ergenekon operation.

Political clashes over Ergenekon

On Thursday, one day after the high-profile detentions, the traffic
in Ankara between institutions was intense. Chief of General Staff
Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ~_bug visited both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and President Abdullah Gul, with no statement on the content of the
talks but stating that they were indeed about the recent detentions
in which some retired generals and current officers were taken into
custody. Newspapers wrote yesterday that BaÅ~_bug was seeking special
treatment for military members. According to sources which spoke to
various newspapers, BaÅ~_bug demanded that military members should be
invited to the prosecutor’s office instead of being taken into custody.

Sources also say that BaÅ~_bug demanded that senior generals
HurÅ~_it Tolon and Å~^ener Eruygur, arrested last year as part of
the investigation, be released pending trial.

BaÅ~_bug’s visit on Thursday came after a 6-hour meeting of the
Force Commanders on Wednesday evening, convened immediately after
the detentions.

Accusations disrespectful to judiciary, says Å~^ahin

Also yesterday, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin responded to
allegations from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) that
the Ergenekon investigation had turned into a witch-hunt against the
government’s opponents. CHP leader Deniz Baykal claimed the operation
was a revenge against the secular Republic and its supporters. Å~^ahin
said, "Showing our prosecutors and judges because of their judicial
activities to be "settling accounts with the Republic," is the highest
form of disrespect that can be shown the judicial institution." Å~^ahin
called on all segments to show the utmost effort not to cast doubt
upon the judiciary.

–Boundary_(ID_WfSi3kfBzOubWVEIMGsppw) —

ANCA WELCOMES 111TH CONGRESS

armradio.am
08.01.2009 19:40

As Armenians around the world celebrated Christmas, Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) staff and activists spread good cheer on
Capitol Hill, participating in the Congressional swearing-in ceremony
kicking off the 111th Congress.

"With a new Congress beginning its legislative session, it was a
great day to be on Capitol Hill, to reconnect with seasoned supporters
and to meet with Members of the freshman class," said ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian. "In the upcoming weeks, we look forward to
expanding on these meetings here in Washington, DC and around the
country as we pursue a proactive agenda in 2009."

ANCA Legislative Affairs Director Raffi Karakashian, Legislative Team
Member Garo Manjikian and activists from California, Rhode Island,
Michigan, Nevada and New Jersey spoke with a range of Senators and
Representatives on the upcoming legislative agenda – focusing on
Armenian Genocide reaffirmation efforts, self-determination for Nagorno
Karabagh and efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Armenia relationship.

In all, the ANCA team met with elected officials and staff from over
25 Congressional offices including Assistant Senate Majority Leader
Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA),
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), as well as House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Democratic Congressional20Campaign
Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Congressional Armenian
Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and a
range of freshman Representatives including Duncan Hunter (R-CA),
Jared Polis (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Paul Tonko (D-NY).

In total, 94% of ANCA endorsed candidates were elected to the 111th
Congress, with 201 of 211 securing decisive wins in the November 2008
elections. Among those winning in tight House races, with Armenian
American support, were Armenian Genocide Resolution supporters Mike
McCaul (R-TX), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Tim
Walz (D-MD) and Florida Representatives Lincoln Diaz Balart (R-FL),
Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL) and Ron Klein (D-FL). Armenian American
Congresswomen Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) won their
reelection bids overwhelming with 70% and 75% respectively. ANC OH
chairman Dave Krikorian (OH-2) garnered an impressive 18% in his
independent Congressional bid, laying a solid foundation for future
electoral campaigns.

In the Senate, 12 of 15 ANCA endorsed candidates won their election
bids, including Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsor Richard
Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Frank Lautenberg
(D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-MI) as well as Mark Udall (D-CO) and Tom Udall
(D-NM), who moved from the House to the Senate.

MEETING PLANNED FOR AZERBAIJANI AND TURKISH POLITICIANS: ANA VATAN PARTY
A. Huseynbala

Trend News Agency
Jan 8 2009
Azerbaijan

A meeting is planned for Azerbaijani and Turkish political parties.

"Depending on how events unfold, we may hold a conference," Azerbaijani
State Deputy and Ana Vatan Party Chairman Fazail Agamali told Trend
News on Jan. 7. "If the situation becomes serious, we will send
invitations to the parties of the Turkish Parliament."

A conference scheduled for late January 2009 in Baku on
"Turkish-Armenian Relations: Possible Expectations" has been
canceled. Members of the Azerbaijani and Turkish parliaments were to
take part in the event.

Armenian-Turkish relations have been severed since 1993 due to
Armenia’s "genocide" campaign and and forceful occupation of 20
percent of Azerbaijani territory. Turkish President Abdullah Gul
visited Yerevan on Sept. 6, 2008 after being invited by Armenian
counterpart Serzh Sargsyan to watch a football match between the two
countries. Efforts have been made to normalize ties ever since.

Turkey has also acted as a mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan organized a meeting
between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey to discuss
the issue in New York.

Agamali said his party is paying close attention to the negotiations
between Turkey and Armenia.

"We want the negotiations between these countries to be fruitful,"
he said. "But the differences between the previous government’s and
President Abdullah Gul’s views and the apology campaign launched by
some Turkish intelligentsia before Armenia have forced us to take an
expectant position."

The conference hopes to relieve the anxiety of the Azerbaijani and
Turkish people over Turkish-Armenian relations, he added.

"So far we have not held concrete discussions about the conference
with the parties of the Turkish parliament," Agamali said. "But I
do not think the political forces of our brotherly country will be
against the issue."

The pro-government Ana Vatan Party was founded in 1991. Two MPs
represent the party in the Azerbaijani parliament.