Author: Jidarian Alex

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

PRESS RELEASE

December 18, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

SCHIFF SLAMS TURKISH LOBBY GENOCIDE DENIAL

— Presses Adoption of Armenian Genocide Resolution

"The best way to ensure that the truth about the Armenian Genocide is
recognized is for the United States Congress to act to commemorate the
victims now, while a handful of survivors are still with us." —
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)

WASHINGTON, DC – House Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsor,
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), this week, called for the adoption of the
Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.252) as a necessary step to both
counter Turkey’s campaign of denial and to help lay the foundation for
a lasting Armenia-Turkey relationship based on truth, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Rep. Schiff’s actions came in response to a letter from the Assembly
of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and Federation of Turkish
American Associations (FTAA) that cited the historical "commission"
provision of the recently signed Turkey-Armenia Protocols as
justification for blocking Congressional condemnation and
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. "The Turkey-Armenia
Protocols, which the United States, Europe and Russia are supporting,
include the establishment of a historical commission to investigate
the events of 1915," explain ATAA President Gunay Evinch and FTAA
President Kaya Boztepe. "This investigation will necessarily probe the
Armenian Revolt (1885-1919) during which 1.1 million Ottoman Muslims
and Jews perished, and its consequences for Ottoman Armenian rebels
and their supporters," they continue, advancing the standard Turkish
government propaganda denying the Armenian Genocide.

Rep. Schiff, in a letter made public on December 18th, explained, "I
received your letter regarding the Armenian Genocide Resolution
(H.Res.252) and after reading it, I am more certain than ever that the
best way to ensure that the victims of the Armenian Genocide are not
forgotten is to pass the resolution." The California legislator also
stressed his concern that "tiny, landlocked Armenia will be forced to
accept an historical whitewash in order to end the punitive blockade
that is stifling its economic development and threatens to condemn
another generation of Armenian children to poverty."

Referencing recent statements by U.S government officials that the
"commission is not intended as a vehicle to review the history of the
Armenian Genocide," Rep. Schiff described the ATAA/FTAA joint letter
as "a vehicle to continue Ankara’s decades of denial."

The complete text of Rep. Schiff’s letter is provided below, along
with the text of the ATAA/FTAA letters.

"Congressman Schiff’s powerful response to the ATAA and FTAA clearly
rejects Turkey’s attempts to use the Turkey- Armenia Protocols to
block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA. "We value, as well, the Congressman’s
strong words, his principled stand, and his tireless efforts to firmly
establish the fundamental truth that Turkey has spent decades trying
to avoid – namely that the universal recognition of this crime –
including by both Washington and Ankara – represents a necessary
element of any durable Armenia-Turkey relationship."

H.Res.252, introduced on March 17th of this year by lead sponsors Adam
Schiff and George Radanovich (R-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-chairs Frank Pallone (D- NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), currently has
over 135 cosponsors. Its companion legislation in the Senate
(S.Res.316), spearheaded by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and John
Ensign (R-NV) has 11 cosponsors, including Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Carl Levin (D- MI), the most recent
addition to the cosponsor list. Both bills are identical to
legislation in the 110th Congress that was adopted by the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, and publicly endorsed by then-candidate for
President Barack Obama, current Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. Since the introduction of the current
resolution this March, President Obama has broken his pledge to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, retreating markedly from repeated
statements and promises he made throughout his service in the Senate
calling for proper U.S. condemnation and commemoration of this crime
against humanity.

#####

Text of Schiff Letter to Assembly of Turkish American Associations
(ATAA) and Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA)

December 17, 2009

Dear [ATAA/FTAA]:

I received your letter regarding the Armenian Genocide
Resolution (H.Res.252) and after reading it, I am more
certain than ever that the best way to ensure that the
victims of the Armenian Genocide are not forgotten is to
pass the resolution.

Ninety-four years ago, the government of the Ottoman
Empire, launched what is almost universally considered the
first genocide of the Twentieth Century – the Armenian
Genocide. By the time the atrocities ended in 1923, 1.5
million men, women and children had been killed – shot,
beaten, starved, raped and force-marched through searing
deserts.

Despite a series of convictions of some of the leading
perpetrator after World War I, the Turkish state has never
accepted responsibility for the acts of its predecessor
government and has stubbornly maintained that the genocide
never took place. Even today, Turks are forbidden to
discuss openly the Genocide are subject to prosecution if
they do so. Ankara’s failure to acknowledge the truth
about the vents of 1915-23 has complicated Turkey’s
relationship with the United States and a number of
European countries and is also an impediment to Turkey’s
efforts to join the European Union.

The evidence of the Genocide is overwhelming. American
newspapers, especially the New York Times, chronicled the
Genocide in great detail. American diplomats throughout
the crumbling Ottoman Empire transmitted a flood of cables
and other reports detailing the slaughter of Armenians. In
1919, Congress passed legislation to aid the victims and
ordinary Americans contributed money to aid the survivors.
Our National Archives houses thousands of cables, reports,
eyewitness testimony, photographs, and other evidence of a
deliberate campaign of extermination.

For the past 90 years, the Armenian people have sought
justice; they have fought to have their suffering, which
inspired a young Polish Jew to coin the term "genocide,"
recognized by the international community and especially
the descendants of those who carried out the slaughter. In
response, the Turkish government has maintained a decades-
long policy of fighting any attempt by the American
government or other nations to recognize what happened to
the Armenian people for what it was.

Earlier this year, the governments of Turkey and the modern
state of Armenia, signed the Protocols that, upon
ratification by the two countries’ respective parliaments,
will end Turkey’s 16-year-old blockade of landlocked
Armenia. The border will be reopened and the Armenian
people, who have suffered economic privation and physical
isolation as a result of Ankara’s blockade, will certainly
benefit. And open border would also help Turkey in its
quest for EU membership and by removing a significant
irritant in Ankara’s relationship with the international
community.

While I strongly support ending Turkey’s blockade of
Armenia and for improving relations between the two
countries, I share the deep concerns of many Armenians and
Armenian-Americans about the inclusion in the Protocols of
an historical commission that will examine the past –
including the Armenian Genocide. I fear that tiny,
landlocked Armenia will be forced to accept an historical
whitewash in order to end the punitive blockade that is
stifling its economic development and threatens to condemn
another generation of Armenian children to poverty.

In recent months, some, including some in our government
have suggested that the commission is not intended as a
vehicle to review the history of the Armenian Genocide.
Your letter honestly characterizes it as a vehicle to
continue Ankara’s decades of denial, supporting my own
interpretation of the Protocols’ commission provision.

The best way to ensure that the truth about the Armenian
Genocide is recognized is for the United States Congress to
act to commemorate the victims now, while a handful of
survivors are still with us. By speaking now, and on
behalf of the American people, the House of Representatives
can forestall any effort by Turkey to force the victims of
one of history’s great crimes to cooperate in denying that
it ever happened. True reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia must be built on a foundation of truth.

Sincerely,

[signed]
Adam B. Schiff
Member of Congress

==================================
LETTE R FROM ATAA/FTAA LEADERS TO REP. ADAM SCHIFF

Assembly of Turkish American Associations
Federation of Turkish American Associations

December 9, 2009

The Honorable Representative Adam Schiff
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Schiff,

We, the Presidents of America’s largest Turkish-American
grassroots organizations, The Assembly of Turkish American
Associations (ATAA) and Federation of Turkish American
Associations, (FTSS), urge you to support the nascent
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. Therefore, the present
Armenian resolution in the House (H.Res.252) should neither
advance nor pass.

Extremists in the Armenian American community have
contacted you to press for passage of this one-sided
resolution, which would condemn the Ottoman empire and, by
implication, Turkey and the people of Turkish heritage, of
the high crime of genocide. Passage would derail the vital
and brave steps being taken by the Turkish and Armenian
people to achieve a fuller relationship that will advance
peace and security in their region.

The Turkey-Armenia Protocols, which the United States,
Europe and Russia are supporting, include the establishment
of a historical commission to investigate the events of
1915. This investigation will necessarily probe the
Armenian Revolt (1885-1919) during which 1.1 million
Ottoman Muslims and Jews perished, and its consequences for
Ottoman Armenian rebels and their supporters.

Further, Congress ought not to sit in judgment of Turkey
and people of Turkish heritage, because, as the protocols
imply, legislators are not historians and certainly not
experts in Ottoman history. Also, as the resolution levels
the crime of genocide, by international treaty the United
States acknowledges the sole jurisdiction to hear such
allegations of the International Court of Justice at the
Hague.

Finally, Armenian anti-Turkish resolutions are
fundamentally unfair and unjust, representing ethnic
politics at its worst. Turkish Americans are concerned
about being persecuted by these resolutions and urge
rapprochement as a productive approach.

Sincerely,

Gunay Evinch
President
ATAA
1526 18th St NW
Washington DC 20036
(202) 483-9090

Kaya Boztepe
President
FTAA
821 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-7688

WB-FUNDED CREDIT PROGRAMS IN ARMENIA TOTALED USD 280 MILLION IN 2009

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.12.2009 17:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In 2009, World Bank-bank funded credit programs in
Armenia totaled USD 280 million, according to Aristomene Varudakis,
representative of WB Office in Yerevan. "Out of USD 550 million
envisaged for separate programs, USD 280 million has been formulated,"
he told journalists Thursday.

At that, he noted that the 2009-12 Strategic Partnership Program
envisages creditor means in the amount of $ 550 USD million, of which $
450 USD will be directed at state investment programs.

With regard to 2010 credit programs, Varudakis said the Bank plans
to implement 8 projects with a total cost of USD 160 million. "We
expect WB board of directors to approve 8 programs to be ratified by
Armenia’s National Assembly," he said.

ARMENIA, CAMBODIA TO ESTABLISH BILATERAL RELATIONS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
16.12.2009 14:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Currently in Paris, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian met his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong.

The Ministers exchanged views on the possibility to establish bilateral
relations and economic collaboration and agreed to intensify contacts
for cooperation within international organizations, RA MFA press
office reported.

MEDIATING POWERS MAKE NEW PUSH FOR KARABAKH PEACE
Emil Danielyan

The Jamestown Foundation
December 11, 2009

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
Edward Nalbandian of Armenia, and Elmar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan at
the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens, Dec. 1, 2009.

(OSCE) The United States, Russia and France have again stepped up their
efforts to broker a solution to the Karabakh conflict. Top diplomats
from the three mediating powers urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to hammer
out a framework peace accord "as soon as possible" after intensive
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks held on the sidelines of the OSCE’s
December 1-2 ministerial meeting in Athens. French Foreign Minister
Bernard Kouchner was reportedly confident that a deal could be reached
in the coming months. His optimism was called into question, however,
by the conflicting parties’ continuing different public interpretations
of peace proposals made by the American, French and Russian co-chairs
of the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group on Karabakh.

The Athens talks came just over a week after Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev held
their sixth face-to-face meeting this year in Munich. In a statement
posted on the OSCE website on November 23, the Minsk Group co-chairs
described the meeting as "constructive." "In some areas, progress
was made. At the same time, some issues still remain open," they said
without elaboration.

Addressing a convention of his Republican Party of Armenia on November
28, Sargsyan cautioned that the negotiating process "may take years."

But he also stressed: "The current stage of the conflict’s resolution
gives me reason to hope that we could bring it to a logical conclusion
within a reasonable period of time" (Armenian Public Television,
November 28).

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, followed up on the Munich summit
by holding bilateral talks and separate meetings with the three
co-chairs in Athens on November 30 and December 1. The two-day
flurry of diplomatic activity culminated in their joint session
with Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Deputy
Secretary of State James Steinberg. An ensuing five-party statement
() said that Nalbandian and Mammadyarov
reaffirmed their countries’ "commitment to work intensively to resolve
the remaining issues" preventing their acceptance of the "basic
principles" of a Karabakh settlement that were formally put forward by
the mediators in Madrid in November 2007. It said the mediating powers
had urged Baku and Yerevan to "complete this work as soon as possible."

The foreign ministers of the 51 other OSCE member states strongly
backed the call at the end of the two-day meeting in the Greek
capital. "We urge the parties to sustain the positive dynamic of
the negotiations and strongly support their commitment to finalize
the basic principles on the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, based on the Madrid document in order to begin drafting
a comprehensive peace agreement in good faith and without delay,"
read a joint ministerial statement adopted at the conference
( 41849_en.pdf.html).

Kouchner was particularly optimistic that Baku and Yerevan will soon
overcome what the mediators have repeatedly described as their "few
remaining differences" related to the Madrid document. "I am confident
it will be done. Immediately? No. In the coming months? Yes," he told
journalists (Trend, December 1). "Now is the time to make decisions,"
the French minister appealed to the two parties in a speech at the
OSCE conference earlier in the day.

The so-called Madrid principles, disclosed by the mediators in general
terms, call for a phased settlement of the Karabakh conflict that would
start with a gradual liberation of the seven districts in Azerbaijan,
which were fully or partly occupied by Karabakh Armenian forces
during the 1991-1994 war. In return, Karabakh’s predominantly Armenian
population would be able to determine the disputed enclave’s status
in a legally binding referendum. Armenian-Azerbaijani disagreements
have until now centered on crucial practical modalities of the proposed
referendum, the timetable for Armenian troop withdrawal as well as the
legal status of a future land corridor between Karabakh and Armenia.

The parties have raised more questions about their ability
to iron out those differences by offering, at least in public,
conflicting interpretations of both the proposed settlement and the
Karabakh-related documents adopted during the OSCE gathering. The
five-party statement, for example, made clear that a peace deal should
be based on a combination of the internationally recognized principles
of non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity of
states and self-determination of peoples. Nalbandian touted this as
a major achievement for the Armenian side, saying that Azerbaijan
for the first time formally accepted the Karabakh Armenians’ right
to self-determination (Aravot, December 2).

However, Mammadyarov insisted on the restoration of Azerbaijani
control over the territory in his speech at the OSCE forum. "Providing
self-governance for Karabakh within Azerbaijan will be a just and
durable solution," he said (, December 2).

Aliyev’s chief foreign policy aide, Novruz Mammadov, likewise said
that Baku can only settle for a "broad autonomy" for Karabakh. "It is
openly indicated in the Madrid principles that the Armenian community
of Karabakh can decide its fate, together with the Azerbaijanis living
there, within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,"
he claimed (, December 5).

Armenian leaders maintain that the Karabakh Armenians would be able
to vote for independence, reunification with Armenia or return under
Azerbaijani rule in the would-be referendum, a claim that is privately
confirmed by some Western diplomats privy to the peace process. Just
how the warring sides can reconcile these opposite visions of
Karabakh peace is still unclear. Despite the lingering uncertainty
and confusion, Mammadov seemed to suggest that Kouchner’s optimism
on the peace prospects is not unfounded. "I think that when making
such a statement [Kouchner] comprehensively analyzed all processes
and substantiated his position," the Azerbaijani official said.

RA MOD: THE RECURRENT MANIFESTATION OF SELF-DECEPTION IN AZERBAIJAN

armradio.am
11.12.2009 18:25

The head of the press service of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan
has recently come up with a number of announcements, where he has
disseminated the recurrent lie about the population of the Republic
of Armenia, the recruitment to the Armed Forces and about frontier
incidents.

The information, that Armenia has lack of human resource and is unable
to raise certain sub-units, is very far from being true. In this regard
the RA Ministry of Defence announces – the autumn roll-call advances
according to the schedule and about 70% of the troop recruitment has
already been realized.

As for the frontier incidents, it is worth mentioning, that the
announcement of the head of the press service of the Ministry of
Defence of Azerbaijan E. Sabiroghli, that the Armenian side has had
twice more losses than the Azerbaijani side, is also a misinformation:
during the last three months two Armenian soldiers were wounded,
because the Azerbaijani side broke the ceasefire.

It is more than obscure that the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan
should come to such a conclusion, while it has never announced
the number of victims and the wounded both from Armenian and from
Azerbaijani side. In this regard the Azerbaijani media themselves have
expressed their doubt. It is noteworthy, that this "sabiroghlian"
self-deception has been disseminated only in Russian, thus it bears
a propagandistic nature and is mostly intended for its compatriots.

It is also worth reminding, that the information disseminated by
the press service of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan is the
imitation of the "guideline" ideas from the speech of the president
of Azerbaijan Aliev, made on the 17th of November, 2009.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense underlines once again that the RA
and NKR Armed Forces have high battle readiness and the necessary
armaments for giving appropriate counterblow to any encroachment.

TURKEY’S PM: ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS CONTAIN NO PRECONDITIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2009 15:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Despite Turkey’s numerous statements that
normalization of relations with Armenia is impossible unless the
Nagorno Karabakh is settled, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan for the
first time announced said that the Armenian-Turkish Protocols contain
no preconditions.

"Making such statement after a meeting with the U.S. President,
Erdogan reiterated what Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group have been
speaking about for months," said Eduard Sharmazanov, secretary of
Republican Party of Armenia parliamentary group.

Commenting on the timing of protocols’ ratification in the Turkish
Parliament, Mr. Sharmazanov reiterated that in case of unjustified
delays the Armenian side will take relevant steps. "Ratification
of the protocols by the National Assembly of Armenia would require
several months and it will happen in 2010," he said.

Sharmazanov reiterated that Armenia is the guarantor of security of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic and will not make any unilateral concessions.

TURKISH NAMES AND ENGLISH CURSES: VIOLATIONS OF LANGUAGE LAW IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
10:50 ~U 09.12.09

2,200 errors have been registered in the explanatory dictionary
published in 1997, said Lavrenti Mirzoyan, head of the RA State
Language Inspectorate, while speaking with journalists yesterday.

According to Mirzoyan, the lack of censorship turns into "everything
is allowed." In Yerevan’s Garegin Njdeh square, the inspector has come
across a sign with the word "yorgan" ("blanket" in Turkish), while on
Baghramyan Avenue, one can find a sign with Persian writing on it. "In
the capital city, there is a street with an English-language name,
whose Armenian translation is a curse."

According to RA law, foreign language signage must also be accompanied
with an Armenian version of the same size.

Mirzoyan also noticed that the National Assembly approved a new
draft law yesterday, which will give the State Language Inspectorate
the right to fine businesses or individuals who are in violation of
the language law. After the draft law is passed and put into force,
individuals can be fined 150,000-200,000 AMD; legal entities, up
to 250,000-300,000.

In addition, according to the chief state inspector, there are
numerous educational institutions in Armenia where applicants don’t
need to pass an Armenian-language exam; this when, in accordance with
law, Armenian language education and passing an Armenian-language
examination are mandatory.

"In accordance with Article 431, ‘not securing parallel translation
for non-Armenian-language speeches in conferences, conventions,
meetings, scientific meetings where dissertations are announced,
and other official mass events’ is punishable by law," noted Mirzoyan.

YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY PREPARES FOR WINTERTIME AND NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.12.2009 18:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Regular meeting at Yerevan Municipality focused
on applying European experience of open open-air trade. European
model allows such practice only at week-ends, Municipality’s press
service reports.

In addition, Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglaryan briefed on the activities
for the current week, particularly night-watch services in case of
snow precipitations.

Touching on New Year events, Mr. Beglaryan informed of Municipality’s
plans to give presents to 50 thousand kindergarten and elementary
school children, families of servicemen and dead freedom fighters,
individuals with disabilities and pensioners. "On New Year’s Night
all administrative regions of Yerevan will organize firework," says
Municipality’s release.

UKRAINE CHURCHES PAY RESPECTS TO EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

Tert.am
17:22 ~U 07.12.09

At 11 am on December 7, all Armenian churches and chapels in the
Ukraine held a divine service in memory of the victims of the 1998
earthquake in Armenia’s Spitak region, reports analitika.at.ua.

Archbishop Grigoris Bouniatian, Primate of the Ukrainian Diocese of
the Armenian Apostolic Church, read a prayer in the city of Nikolaev,
near the khatchkar (commemorative cross-stone) at St. Kevork church,
which is being built.

Medvedev’s New Security Vision

Moscow Times
07 December 2009
By Vladimir Yevseyev

In June 2008, President Dmitry Medvedev first floated the idea for a
new, broader structure for European-Atlantic security. The Kremlin
turned the idea into a concrete proposal Nov. 29 when its web site
posted a 14-article draft document titled `The European Security
Treaty.’ Under the motto of `From Vancouver to Vladivostok,’
Medvedev’s treaty attempts to encompass, among others, NATO, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Collective
Security Treaty Organization.

Not surprisingly, the West has reacted to the security treaty
skeptically at best. At worst, many in the West interpret Medvedev’s
proposal as an attempt to restore its lost global influence, if not
its empire.

Medvedev’s initiative was the logical continuation of the Kremlin’s
foreign policy that was sharply articulated by then-President Vladimir
Putin at the Munich Conference on Security Policy in February 2007.
During his speech, Putin said, `Security for each is security for
all,’ and that the model of a unipolar world in the 21st century is
not only unacceptable but impossible. In Moscow’s opinion, any
unilateral action – whether in the former Yugoslavia or Iraq – only
creates new problems.

Every country – especially a totalitarian one – defends its most
fundamental national security concern: self-preservation. For the past
60 years, nuclear weapons have proven to be one of the most reliable
guarantors of security for those countries that are part of the
official and nonofficial nuclear club. But as a rule, those countries
have complex and difficult relations with neighboring states and are
burdened with historical, ideological, religious, territorial,
ecological and other problems. The result is a nuclear domino effect.
If, for example, Iran develops nuclear weapons, this will inevitably
lead to the uncontrolled proliferation of nuclear arms throughout the
Middle East and beyond.

Moscow is extremely concerned about attempts by the United States and
some of its allies to reach decisions affecting regional as well as
global security outside the framework of the United Nations. NATO, the
European Union and the Group of Eight do not have the global mandate
to make these decisions by themselves.

Thus, Medvedev is trying to build a much broader structure for global
security. The basic idea is that `no single state and no single
international organization in the Euro-Atlantic region can strengthen
its security at the expense of the security of other countries and
organizations.’ Medvedev’s draft treaty has already been sent to
NATO, the European Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization,
the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe. It was also presented and
discussed at the latest NATO-Russia Council meeting, held Friday in
Brussels.

Of course, there is a large discrepancy in terms of resources among
the members of these organizations. For example, NATO’s military
potential far exceeds that of the CSTO. In addition, NATO’s zone of
operations has expanded so much that every former Soviet republic now
participates in its Partnership for Peace program. What’s more,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Moldova are in the
initial stages of one day joining the alliance.

But NATO’s future is uncertain, and this underscores the importance
of finding alternatives to provide European-Atlantic security. The
more that NATO tries to expand, the more diluted, cumbersome and
ineffective the organization becomes. Moreover, NATO suffers from a
lack of mission and common cause. The Russian menace is greatly
exaggerated, and international terrorism is too diffuse a threat to
unite alliance members. What’s more, with Washington’s security
guarantees becoming more unreliable, European states have been forced
to consider creating their own security structures. Recall the EU
proposal to form its own security structure – a `NATO without the
United States,’ of sorts. Further, apart from the largely decorative
NATO-Russia council, NATO has not included Russia and its closest
allies in the European security structure. This not only weakens NATO,
but gives it a certain anti-Russia character.

In addition to NATO’s inherent weaknesses, there are also serious
problems with the OSCE. The OSCE member states have never resolved a
major interstate conflict, such as Nagorno-

Karabakh. The OSCE, which lacks sufficient unity among its member
states, has not worked effectively with the CIS to form a unified
security structure

Therefore, there is an urgent need to redesign the old and ineffective
European-Atlantic security structure to meet new threats and
challenges. Medvedev’s European Security Treaty offers a new
architecture for the post-Soviet era, and the West should treat it
seriously. It provides an excellent opportunity for Russia, the CIS,
Europe and the United States to work together toward strengthening
security from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Vladimir Yevseyev is a senior associate at the Institute for World
Economy and International Relations.