Author: Jagharian Tania

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN MET WITH THE SPECIAL ENVOY OF THE TURKISH PRIME MINISTER

president.am
April 8 2010
Armenia

Today, at the request of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Serzh
Sargsyan met with the Special Envoy of the Turkish Prime Minister
Feridun Sinirlioglu.

Mr. Sinirliogly handed to the President of Armenia a letter the Prime
Minister and special messages from the President and the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Turkey.

President Sargsyan said that Armenia expects Turkey to undertake
practical steps which would guarantee unambiguous advancement in the
establishment of bilateral relations without preconditions.

Special Envoy Feridun Sinirlioglu also conveyed to the President of
Armenia assurances of the readiness of the Turkish side to work for
progress in normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

Feridun Sinirlioglu communicated Prime Minister Erdogan’s request for
a bilateral meeting with Serzh Sargsyan during his visit to Washington.

WHAT IS ERDOGAN’S MESSAGE TO ILHAM ALIYEV?

Tert.am
11:23 09.04.10

Special delegate of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and Turkish Foreign Minister Deputy Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu
will arrive today in Baku with an alleged letter to hand over to the
Azerbaijani President Ilhan Aliyev.

Earlier he passed another letter to the Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan asking for a meeting with Erdogan in Washington in the
framework of a World Nuclear Security Summit to take place next week.

Turkish local daily Radikal media has elaborated on some details of
the meetings Sinirlioglu will hold while in Baku and also on Erdogan’s
alleged letter to Aliyev.

According to the newspaper in Baku Sinirlioglu will meet with the
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. As for the letter,
it reads in part: "We have not forgotten about you. In this process
[Armenian-Turkish rapprochement] we do not ignore Baku at all. Baku’s
concerns are our concerns. Azerbaijan, in fact, is aware of how
much we want the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to be resolved. But we do
guarantee that the acceleration of the process does not mean at all
that we will neglect your concerns."

The letter also mentions that the normalization with Armenia will
contribute to the establishment of peace, security and stability in
the Caucasus.

x.cfm?fa=view&id=40566
Friday, April 8, 2010
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Armenia and Turkey: Bridging the Gap
by Thomas de Waal

The current crisis between Armenia and Turkey will likely reach a head
by April 24, the date commemorated as Armenian Genocide Day. While
there is virtually no hope that the 2009 Armenian-Turkish Protocols
will be ratified soon, both parties should take small steps to rebuild
confidence and affirm their faith in the process.

If ratified, the Protocols would open the closed Armenia-Turkey
border, promising Armenia long-term economic transformation and an end
to its regional isolation. For Turkey, ratifying the protocols gives
it a new role in the Caucasus and is a major step toward ending the
humiliation of foreign parliaments passing genocide resolutions
condemning Turkey.

Key Conclusions:

* Turkey, which has dragged its feet this year, needs to make
goodwill gestures toward Armenia to keep the process alive. Steps
could include opening the border for noncommercial travelers near the
ancient city of Ani to allow Armenian tourists to visit the site
inside Turkey.

* The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorny Karabakh remains
the deepest problem facing the South Caucasus, and for the Turkish
government, the major obstacle to ratifying the Protocols. Although
Armenian-Turkish normalization is negatively affecting the Karabakh
peace process in the short term, in the long run it has the potential
to change the dynamics of the region and help the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict.

* Negotiations over Nagorny Karabakh are stalled. Mediators should
not push the parties too hard on status issues, but instead focus on
other areas that will underpin a final agreement, such as Track II
talks and economic development and reconstruction plans.

* The Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan offers a `win-win’
opportunity in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. If Armenia agrees to
open up communications with the enclave in tandem with the opening of
the Armenia-Turkey border, all sides could claim success.

On April 24, President Obama should move beyond the annual debate over
the word genocide and look ahead to the centenary of the tragedy in
2015 by encouraging the Turks to take part in commemorating the
occasion.
`The Turkey-Armenia process was the most positive initiative in the
South Caucasus in years and still has the potential to transform the
region. If the process is to get back on track, all involved parties,
including the United States, should articulate a strategic vision for
the region, and for resolution of the Karabakh conflict,’ writes de
Waal. `The centenary of the Armenian tragedy in 2015 is a good
reference point by which to set the goal of Armenian-Turkish
normalization.’

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS ORGANIZATION OF ICE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 8, 2010 – 14:33 AMT 09:33 GMT

During the April 8 session, the Armenian government approved a decision
on allocation of funds for organizing ice hockey division III adults’
championship in Yerevan from April 14 to 18.

Armenia’s Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Arthur Petrosyan noted
that the final composition of Armenia’s ice hockey national team for
effective participation in the 2014 Olympic Games qualifiers will
depend on the competition results.

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN: "CO-CHAIRS OF OSCE MINSK GROUP CAME TO CONSENSUS TO HAND OVER FIVE REGIONS TO AZERBAIJAN"

APA
April 7 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. "Co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group came to consensus to
hand over five regions to Azerbaijan", said Tuesday at a rally of
the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) leader, the first
president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, APA reports.

"By consensus, the co-chairs of the Minsk Group involve the immediate
transfer of the five regions of Azerbaijan," said Mr. Ter-Petrosyan,
noting that "for input after the peacekeeping force, determining
the status of the Lachin corridor and the status of Karabakh, says
nothing," but "the question of the interim status of Karabakh only
determines that the previously unrecognized government Karabakh will
be recognized. Armenia, in his words, "in response to its substantial
concessions received only baseless promises".

Ter-Petrosian also said that the situation in Armenia significantly
complicates the fact that Azerbaijan recognizes updated Madrid
principles. At the same time, Ter-Petrosyan said that the consensus on
the issue of putting five territories does not mean that the co-chair
countries have agreed to issue a final resolution of the Karabakh
conflict. To Ter-Petrosian, all further development in the Karabakh
issue depends on the position of President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

"Armenia faces a dilemma – to sign an agreement to the detriment of
the Armenian people or to win time that infuriates the international
community with all the consequences" – the former president said,
noting that "the president is likely to choose the signature".

ABDOU DIOUF: ARMENIA COMPLETELY FULFILLS ITS COMMITMENTS TO OIF

PanARMENIAN.Net –
April 7, 2010 – 13:56 AMT 08:56 GMT

Francophonie Day is internationally celebrated on March 20; Armenia
devoted a month to Francophonie.

As Mr. Abdou Diouf, the Secretary General of the International
Organization Francophonie, told a news conference in Yerevan, "Armenia
completely fulfills its obligations in its capacity of Francophonie
associated member."

Mr. Diouf said he is determined to visit Armenia again, together
with his spouse. "I came to know and love Armenia in the course of
my visit," he said.

Armenia became OIF associated member in 2008.

Francophonie is an international organization of polities and
governments with French as the mother or customary language, wherein
a significant proportion of people are francophones (French speakers)
or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language
or culture.

Formally known as the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
(OIF) or the International Organization of the Francophonie, the
organization comprises 56 member states and governments, 3 associate
members, and 14 observers. The primary mission of the organization
is the promotion of the French language as an international language
and the promotion of worldwide cultural and linguistic diversity in
the era of economic globalization.

BAKU DISMISSES ARMENIAN LEADER’S REMARKS

news.az
April 5 2010
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has
criticized remarks on Karabakh made by the Armenian president in an
interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.

‘Azerbaijan has never refused to grant the Armenians and Azerbaijanis
of Nagono-Karabakh the right to self-determination according to
international legal norms within the framework of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan. Therefore, in this case it is important to
note that Azerbaijan has never shirked its obligations,’ Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov said today.

He was commenting on an interview given by Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to Der Spiegel. Sargsyan said in the interview that the key
issue for a settlement of the Karabakh conflict was the right of the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination.

The Armenian president asked in his interview why Karabakh could
not be independent when the former Yugoslavian states had achieved
independence. Commenting on that statement, Polukhov said that
Yugoslavia, like the USSR, had collapsed due to historical events
and pointed out that Armenia had gained its independence at that time.

‘It is at the very least, therefore, politically incorrect to draw
parallels between Azerbaijan and Yugoslavia,’ Polukhov said.

Asked whether Armenia could be said to have undone progress on Karabakh
through these comments, Polukhov said that if this were the case,
Baku would expect to hear the official Armenian position from the
OSCE Minsk Group mediators.

‘Only then will it be possible to give our view on the issue,’ the
spokesman noted.

Meanwhile, the Armenian president’s spokesman, Armen Arzumanyan,
told Tert.Am today that Der Spiegel had promised to correct what he
described as inaccuracies in the weekly’s published version of Serzh
Sargsyan’s interview.

As of 10.00 GMT on Monday the interview could not be found in German
or Russian on Der Spiegel’s website.

SMBAT MARGARYAN VICE CHAMPION OF EUROPE

Aysor
April 6 2010
Armenia

In Minsk in the capital city of Byelorussia kicked off the weight
lifting championship in Europe. The Armenian representative Smbat
Margaryan who is within the 56 kg w/c recorded 109 kg result in
picking up exercise, and in pushing exercise 146 kg. Smbat took the
title of the champion of Europe with the result of 255 kg. Till the
last second the 17 years old Armenian sportsmen was the leader. At the
end, however Byelorussian Vitali Derbenyov took a privilege over our
weightlifter with one kilo and received the title of the champion. If
Smbat would succeed the picking up exercise he would surely be out
of competing. He performed brilliantly in the other pushing exercise
and received a small golden medal.

However the career of the Armenian talented weightlifter is in the
future. It is obvious that his name in the future will be connected
with many victories.

ARMENIA NOT TO EXPORT APRICOTS

FreshPlaza
April 6 2010

Apricot crops in Armenia will be low due to the recent frost.

Chairman of the Armenian agrarian union Grach Berberyan said the
apricot crops in Armenia will be low due to the recent frost,
therefore, he says there will be no export of production.

Tert.am reports that the gathered crop will hardly meet the demands
of the internal market. He predicts the average price of a kilo of
apricots to make up 500 drams.

The frost damaged almost all apricot trees of Armavir. The damage in
Ararat made up 50%. Mostly mountainous regions where apricot trees
haven’t blossomed yet have benefited.

The official export of apricot from Armenia made up 8000 tons in 2009.

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AZERBAIJAN FIRES AT NKR DEFENSE ARMY POSITIONS

news.am
April 2 2010
Armenia

On the night of April 2 and during the day, Azerbaijani troops
violated the cease-fire on the contact line between the Azerbaijani
and Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces.

The NKR Defense Ministry reported that the Azerbaijani side opened
fire at Nagorno-Karabakh army’s positions from different types of
small arms, including sniper rifles in the directions of Chakhirli
and Jraberd.

The NKR troops opened retaliatory fire, the report says.