Author: Jidarian Alex

2008 rough year for world’s oil and gas pipelines

Published: Jan. 2, 2009 at 3:20 PM

European countries were forced in 2008 to recognize the risk of a
non-diverse supply of oil and gas, as geopolitical strife shut down or
otherwise threatened oil and gas pipelines. Further east, tensions
such as the India-Pakistan row, exacerbated by the Mumbai terrorist
attacks, could derail planned pipeline projects.

Oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in September
following the conflict in Georgia with Russia. Top U.S. officials,
along with the European Commission and 15 other countries, signed a
declaration of principles at a November summit in Baku, Azerbaijan,
calling for greater energy securityin response to the skirmish.

Georgia worried in Baku that Russia was using political leverage to
increase its position in the energy sector of its former territories,
and BP-Azerbaijan, the regional operator of BTC, said in the wake of
the conflict that oil from the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan would reach
Turkish routes to Europe by November.

Azerbaijan reported Dec. 19 that Kazakh oil through BTC reached 9.5
million barrels, bringing total transits through the artery up 17.5
percent from 2007.

Azerbaijan, with Turkmenistan, moved on the Trans-Caspian project to
bring resources across the Caspian Sea. The Trans-Caspian system
includes tanker systems and oil terminals. The initial stage will have
a 500,000 barrel per day capacity, with later expectations reaching
1.2 million bpd.

With Europe looking to diversify its energy sector, political and
economic developments in the region brought greater emphasis on the
Nabucco gas pipeline.

Azerbaijan and suppliers in the Caspian region are expected to provide
the bulk of natural gas through Nabucco, though Iran and Iraq recently
were discussed as potential suppliers.

Output from the Shah Deniz () gas
field in Azerbaijan is not enough for the 2,050-mile Nabucco, though
Reinhard Mitschek, the head of the six-nation Nabucco consortium, said
in Septemberthe project would see over "100 percent booking from day
one." Mihaly Bayer, the Hungarian envoy for Nabucco, told lawmakers in
Budapest that talks were under way with fellow hosts Austria, Turkey,
Bulgaria and Romania ahead of a January meeting on the project.

C. Boyden Gray, the U.S. special envoy for Eurasian energy, said the
Russian-backed South Stream pipeline to Italy may develop quicker than
Nabucco, however, as steel prices as of October had driven the Nabucco
price tag to 1.5 times its original $6.8 billion price tag.

The South Stream pipeline from Russia to Italy is intended to travel
through Bulgaria and Serbia to Hungary and Austria. Russia signed an
agreement with Bulgaria in January 2008 for South Stream. A separate
deal with Serbia concluded in December.

Russia also received support for South Stream from Greek, Bulgarian
and French officials. France had supported Nabucco, but was snubbed by
Turkey for a Paris decision regarding the Armenian genocide.

High costs, complicated by the current global financial downturn, put
South Stream in limbo as Moscow delayed any immediate plans on the
project.

Germany, meanwhile, skirted U.S. criticism over the $9.4 billion Nord
Stream project and endorsed the project in September. Germany lodged a
formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy in Beirut after U.S. Ambassador
to Sweden Michael Wood urged Stockholm to take a "hard look" at the
project.

Nord Stream is a planned natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea
from Russia to Germany. The majority shareholder is Russian energy
giant Gazprom, with the German Wintershall owning a 20 percent stake
in the pipeline consortium.

The Baltic Sea is clogged with some 100,000 tons of unexploded
ordnance and over 2,000 shipwrecks, causing worry over the Nord Stream
route. The project is also plagued by cost concerns, and in May,
European ministers said in a Petitions Committee report the project
was a "serious threat to biodiversity." The French-based pipeline
manufacturer EUPEC signed a $1 billion deal in August to produce the
concrete coating for Nord Stream, while Italian oil and gas contractor
Saipem signed in June a $1.58 billion contract for its construction.

Polish officials, for their part, shunned the project in September,
saying geopolitical concerns and conventional land routes through
Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine bore consideration.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in August, meanwhile,
called for the Odessa-Brody pipeline to move in its intended
direction. The pipeline for Kazakh oil deliveries to Europe through
Georgia and Ukraine had been operating in the reverse direction,
Brody-Odessa, since 2005.

Azerbaijan and Ukraine in July agreed to a test run of the 419-mile
route using Azeri oil, though analysts cautioned neither Azerbaijan
nor Kazakhstan was willing to move forward on plans to extend
Odessa-Brody to Poland and elsewhere.

Ukraine said in December oil transited through the Druzhba pipeline
from Russia, the world’s longest, declined 4.6 percent, or 159.5
million barrels in 2008.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had signed a decree Dec. 2 for
an 800-mile expansion to the Baltic Sea Pipeline System, a Druzhba
rival, to transit some 600,000 bpd by 2012, but falling oil prices and
production cuts put the $2 billion project in doubt.

In Asia, the November attacks in Mumbai caused major setbacks for the
so-called Peace Pipeline intended to feed energy-hungry India and
Pakistanfrom the Iranian South Pars gas field.

Envisioned in 1989, the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline has limped along
in various stages of negotiation. Increased economic sanctions on
Iran, the looming financial crisis and the political fallout from the
Mumbai attacks have led many analysts to declare the project all but
dead.

Pakistani officials traveled to Iran in December to persuade officials
there that Islamabad should acquire the New Delhi share in IPI. New
Delhi seemingly has backed away from IPI negotiations somewhat,
following a civilian nuclear energy deal with Washington. Pakistani
officials, however, said a deal on IPI would be concluded by February.

India, meanwhile, had examined the U.S.-backed $7.6 billion
Trans-Afghanistan pipeline to bring natural gas from Turkmenistan some
1,044 miles to South Asian markets.

Commitments made by Turkmenistan to transport natural gas west to the
Caspian region leave the future of a planned pipeline through
Afghanistan in doubt.

Officials in Turkmenistan said in May they had enough gas to meet
market demands.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc

CAUCASUS PLATFORM AGREEMENT MAY BE SIGNED IN 2009

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.12.2008 14:57 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ An agreement on the Caucasus Stability and
Cooperation Platform may be signed in 2009, Turkey’s Ambassador to
Azerbaijan said.

"Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia
held their initial meeting in December. Presently, the working group
is developing a draft agreement," Hulusi Kilic said, Day.az reports.

Following hostilities in South Ossetia, Ankara offered formation of a
Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform, which could unite Turkey,
Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

RA President Serzh Sarsgyan welcomed the initiative as an attempt to
create a favorable atmosphere in the region.

ARMENIA SHOULD BE DEMOCRACY MEDIUM IN SOUTH CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.12.2008 13:50 GMT+04:00

The voting rights of the Armenian delegation in the Council of Europe’s
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) can be suspended at its next session
due in late January.

"This will damage the process of Armenia’s integration into European
structures and the country’s foreign policy, since the Council of
Europe is an organization which highlights human rights protection,"
Victor Yengibaryan, President of the European Movement Armenia,
told a news conference today.

"If a country fixes violation of human rights it will certainly have
a negative impact. Nevertheless, we should not get into panic because
our delegation can be deprived of the vote. We should just explain
that Armenia in transition period but we want to move forward and be
a better democracy," he said.

Europe expects greater efforts to strengthen democracy in Armenia,
according to him.

"We should become the carrier of European and democratic values in
the South Caucasus," Mr. Yengibaryan said.

PIRUZ SARGSYAN APPOINTED OMBUDSPERSON OF FINANCIAL SYSTEM

NOYAN TAPAN

Dec 24, 2008
YEREVAN

The first sitting of the Board of Trustees of the "Office of
Ombudsman of the Financial System" Foundation was held on December
22. The Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Arthur Javadian
congratulated the newly-elected board of trustees.

According to the CBA PR Service, Grigor Ghonjeyan (member of the
CBA Board) was elected the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of
the "Office of Ombudsman of the Financial System" Foundation. By
a unanimous decision of the trustees, Piruz Sargsyan was appointed
the Ombudsperson of the Financial System. She will assume her duties
starting from the date envisaged by law: January 24, 2009.

P. Sargsyan has worked in the Legal Department of the CBA since 1995
as an expert, later as the head of the Legal Department and the chief
legal advisor to the CBA chairman. She has also taught at higher
educational institutions.

TWO MISTAKES IN THE DISCUSSION BETWEEN GUL AND ARITMAN
By Fikret Bila

Turkish Press
Dec 24 2008

MILLIYET- Everyone is talking about a statement made by Canan Aritman,
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Izmir deputy, which implied that
President Abdullah Gul’s mother had Armenian roots. Citing his
family tree, President Gul said this argument was false. Gul stated
that he is Muslim and Turkish on both sides of his family, as 100
years of the tree proves. Gul said that he felt he had to set the
record straight in order to correct a tendentious lie which started
when he ran for president last year and has recently been openly and
deviously resurrected. He added that he wanted to establish the truth
for history’s sake.

Aritman’s statement implying that Gul’s mother has Armenian roots was
unfortunate. The path she took was wrong. Whether Gul’s mother has
Armenian roots or not shouldn’t be used for political fodder. Aritman’s
‘racial’ approach was widely criticized, including by the CHP, her own
party. This is another sign that what Aritman did was wrong. Aritman
offended Turkey’s Armenians with her suggestion about Gul. Her
approach, which paints being Armenian as a crime or deficiency, is
contrary to the Turkish Republic’s founding principles. Her words
ill suit a member of a party like the CHP (Turkey’s first party),
which established the founding principles of the republic. The Turkish
Republic isn’t based on an ethnic basis. Ataturk’s understanding of the
nation wasn’t racist. In an excellent formulation of his understanding
of the nation and nationalism, Ataturk said that the nation which
established the Turkish nation is called the Turkish nation. Whatever
one’s ethnic background, each and every citizen of the Turkish Republic
can undertake any post or duty. The president, Parliament speaker,
prime minister, chief of General Staff and government ministers may
have different ethnic roots. This is a requirement of the republic’s
founding principles.

Gul not only released his family tree, but also sued Aritman. The
president represents the entire nation, and he’s head of the
state. Thus his filing a lawsuit against claims that there are
Armenians in his family and allegations of discrimination might offend
our Armenian citizens. If being an Armenian or having a family with
Armenian roots is seen as something which has to be denied, this might
cause misunderstandings, particularly in terms of Gul’s responsibility
to represent the entire nation. Although he was trying to prevent
political exploitation, Gul shouldn’t have sued her, but instead,
out of consideration for our Armenian citizens, found it sufficient to
issue a statement. Looking at the situation in terms of the republic’s
founding principles, Gul filing a lawsuit against Aritman’s statements
amounts to compounding one mistake with yet another."

GENERAL STAFF DISAPPROVES "APOLOGY CAMPAIGN"

Today’s Zaman
Dec 19 2008
Turkey

Turkey’s powerful generals on Friday stepped into a deepening
controversy over an apology by Turkish intellectuals for the mass
killings of Armenians in World War One, saying the campaign had
"harmful consequences".

The General Staff has said that it disapproved the online apology
campaign for the events of 1915.

Gen. Metin Gurak, chairman of the General Staff Communication
Department, said at a press briefing in Ankara on Friday, "we
definitely do not consider the campaign right. This apology is wrongful
and it may lead to harmful consequences."

A group of Turkish intellectuals and academicians issued an apology to
Armenians on the internet earlier in the week for the events of 1915,
boosting a nationwide discussion.

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he did
not accept or support the campaign. "They might have committed such a
crime themselves as they are apologizing now. The Republic of Turkey
does not have such a concern. One can apologize if there is a crime
necessitating such an apology. Neither my country, nor my nation has
such concerns," Erdogan said.

Yesterday, the Presidential Press Center said in a statement that
President Abdullah Gul considered recent discussions in the Turkish
public opinion and academic circles over the events in 1915 a sign
of existence of a democratic discussion atmosphere in Turkey which
was more civilized and freer than many other countries and a sign
of Turkish people’s reconciliation with their history and their
self-confidence.

Armenia and Turkey do not have diplomatic relations and their shared
border has been closed since 1993 when Turkey protested Armenia’s
occupation of the Upper Karabakh.

In September, President Gul visited Armenia to watch a World Cup
qualifying match as a goodwill gesture.

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS ISSUE APOLOGY FOR PAST ATROCITIES AGAINST ARMENIANS

The New Zealand Herald
December 16, 2008 Tuesday

ANKARA, Turkey – A group of about 200 Turkish intellectuals yesterday
issued an apology on the internet for the World War I-era massacres
of Armenians in Turkey.

The group of prominent academics, journalists, writers and artists
avoided using the contentious term "genocide" in the apology, using
the less explosive "Great Catastrophe" instead.

"My conscience does not accept that (we) remain insensitive toward and
deny the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected
in 1915," read the apology.

"I reject this injustice, share in the feelings and pain of my Armenian
brothers, and apologise to them."

The apology is a sign that many in Turkey are ready to break a
long-held taboo against acknowledging Turkish culpability for the
deaths.

Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire,
up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is
widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Armenians have long pushed for the deaths to be recognised as genocide.

While Turkey does not deny that many died in that era, the country has
rejected the term genocide, saying the death toll is inflated and the
deaths resulted from civil unrest during the Ottoman Empire’s collapse.

Nearly 2,500 members of the public also signed the online apology,
giving their support to the intellectuals.

Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted after he
commented on the mass killings in 2005.

Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian journalist was shot outside his Istanbul
office in 2007, following his prosecution for comments he made about
the killings of Armenians.

Turkish nationalists have criticised the online apology and a group
of some 60 retired Turkish diplomats described the move "as unfair,
wrong and unfavourable to national interests".

"Such an incorrect and one-sided attempt would mean disrespecting
our history," the diplomats said.

Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Action Party said:
"No one has the right to insult our ancestors, to present them as
criminals and to ask for an apology."

By late yesterday there were no public threats of legal action over
the petition.

"Many in Turkey today, in good faith, believe that nothing happened to
the Armenians. For many years, the official line has been that this
was a secondary event that occurred in the conditions of World War
I. But the truth is not so," Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Istanbul’s
Bahcesehir University and one of the petition’s organisers told Vatan
newspaper in an interview.

"It is a voice from the conscience. Those who want to apologise can,
those who don’t want to don’t have to," he said.

Gila Benmayor, a journalist and columnist for Turkey’s mass-circulation
Hurriyet newspaper said she signed the petition because she believes
"the time has come for change".

"Some things need to be spoken, need to be discussed and expressed
in an open way," she told The Associated Press.

She said she did not hesitate to sign the petition because the wording
was not controversial.

"The words were carefully chosen so as not to upset any side,"
she said.

"We are not betraying anyone. We are merely telling the Armenians
that we share their grief."

The apology comes at a time when Turkey and Armenia have taken steps
toward repairing ties.

The two neighbours have no diplomatic relations and their shared
border has been closed since 1993, when Turkey protested Armenia’s
occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey backs Azerbaijan’s claims to the disputed region, which has
a high number of ethnic Armenian residents but is located within
Azerbaijan’s borders.

In September, however, President Abdullah Gul became the first
Turkish leader to visit Armenia, where he and Armenian President
Serge Sarkisian watched their countries’ football teams play a World
Cup qualifying match.

OBSERVATION MISSION: MEANS VS. A TOOL
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
16 Dec 2008
Armenia

After the meeting held in the Foreign Ministry yesterday, OSCE
Secretary General MARK PERRIN DE BRISCHAMBO and Foreign Minister
EDWARD NALBANDYAN answered the questions of the journalists

The first question was addressed to Ed. Nalbandyan. In particular, it
concerned the issue whether the Azeri Foreign Minister’s statement that
the parties had been proposed additional options related to the Madrid
Principles during the meeting in Helsinki corresponded to the reality.

Touching upon the Azeri official’s "disclosure", the Foreign Minister
noted that Mr. Mamedyarov’s statement did not correspond to the reality
this time either. "There was nothing of the kind. This is the first
thing to say. The second thing is that in this period, different
approaches and proposal are being advanced during discussions, and
the process may last long. It is done within the scope of the Madrid
Principles, and there is nothing new there."

What does Armenia do "towards the implementation" of the strict
recommendations of the ill-famed Bryza, the Commissioner for Human
Rights and others who demand that the issue of the "political
prisoners" be settled urgently.

In the estimation of the Foreign Minister, "Armenia has undertaken
quite a lot of steps towards the implementation of t he clauses of
Resolutions # 1609 and 1620. I can say that their major part has
been implemented. There are question over which the authorities are
making efforts. However, it is impossible to solve some questions
within a couple of days. I don’t think it is possible to carry out
so much work in any country in cooperation with international experts.

But we managed to do that in Armenia, and we are determined to continue
the reforms not because some people may announce we must do that but
because such reforms are necessary for our people. We make that choice
consciously, and we’ll follow that path, deepening and carrying out
all the plans that derive from the interests of our people."

One of the journalists looking forward to the speedy settlement of the
Karabakh conflict tried to find contradictions in the statements made
by the OSCE officials. For instance, Chairman of the Parliamentary
Assembly said that this might happen till spring, whereas, French
Co-Chair Bernard Fassier, expressed an opinion that the document
might be signed till the middle of the coming year, according to the
time-schedule submitted to the parties.

"You cannot find any contradictions in the document adopted by us. Both
the statement made by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE member states
and the joint statement of the Foreign Ministers of the MG Co-Chairing
countries were elaborated in the same spirit and on the=2 0basis of
the same principles.

I cannot say anything on behalf of separate OSCE officials, but I
strongly hope that the communications on the highest level may continue
in future provided the parties demonstrate practical flexibility. Of
course, the situation is quite complicated, but the important thing
is that there is a political will to continue the peaceful settlement
process. I think this is what is essential. The 56 Foreign Ministers
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are ready
to support the continuation of the process," the Secretary General
said without, naturally, specifying a "concrete" time-limit.

What attitude does the OSCE Secretary General have towards the
radical activists’ heart-breaking complaints that by making "mild"
assessments, the OSCE and PACE observers gave the green light to the
acts of violence committed on March 1?

Touching upon this question, Mr. Bricshambo made it clear that the
task of an observation mission did not absolutely consist in making
assessments on the pre-electoral or post-electoral situation of the
given country or in estimating the elections as good or bad. The
task of the observers is to record "whether or not there has been
any progress and whether a step forward has been observed during the
elections. This concerns all the countries where we carried out an
observation mission.

The observation mission is n ot a tool for speaking about negative
phenomena; it is a means for ensuring the transition to democracy
and continuing democratic processes in the given states."

In response to the question whether during the meeting in Helsinki
the Ministers touched upon the issue that Georgia and Azerbaijan are
assiduously arming themselves in breach of all the quotas prescribed
by the European Agreement on General Armaments, E. Nalbandyan referred
to his speech, "I specially touched upon the fact that Azerbaijan
has increased its military budget several times and continues its
efforts in that direction.

Unfortunately, many countries that have acceded to the agreement do
not make a relevant assessment on the policy conducted by Azerbaijan
in contravention to international treaties. That fact was clearly
mentioned, and we once again drew the international community and
Foreign Ministers’ attention to the fact that such policy may really
lead to undesired consequences."

When any country, increasing its military budget, speaks about peace,
it is half of the misfortune, but "What Azerbaijan says is quite
different, and there is a possibility of war. In such conditions,
any incident on the border may go be beyond control and have harmful
consequences for both Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the whole
region and generally, it may pose a threat to security and stability,
the principal task of the Organization for Security20and Cooperation
in Europe," the Foreign Minister is convinced.

EU SUMMIT WELCOMES EASTERN PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE

Xinhua
Dec 12, 2008

BRUSSELS, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) — European Union (EU) leaders on Friday
welcomed the Eastern Partnership initiative proposed by the European
Commission last week, which aims to significantly strengthen EU policy
with regard to its eastern partners.

The assembled heads of state called on the EU Council to study the
proposal and report back with a view to the initiative being approved
at the 27-nation bloc’s summit next March, said a draft document
released after the conclusion of a two-day EU summit Friday.

The union aims to officially launch the Eastern Partnership at a
summit meeting with partner countries organized by the incoming Czech
presidency of the EU in the first half of next year.

EU leaders believe that the Eastern Partnership would help the
partner countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova
and Ukraine make progress in their reform process by contributing to
their stability and further movement toward the EU, said the document.

The Partnership foresees free trade, easier travel to the EU for
citizens of these nations, enhanced energy security arrangements
benefiting all concerned, and increased financial assistance, security
and defense consultations, as well as far-reaching economic integration
with the EU, the document added.

Under the plan, the EU will triple its aid to the six partner countries
to 1.5 billion euros (1.95 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020.

The EU summit also endorsed guidelines adopted at last month’s meeting
between the group’s foreign ministers and their counterparts from
the members of the Barcelona Process Union for the Mediterranean,
and called for further ambitious implementation of this initiative
to establish the Union for the Mediterranean in all its dimensions.

ARMENIA OPTS FOR BULGARIAN-MADE GOODS

Standart News
d=2008-12-11&article=26075
Dec 11 2008
Bulgaria

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan visited Sofia at the invitation
of his Bulgarian colleague Georgi Parvanov

Photo BGNES"Choose the Bulgarian-made goods" will be the motto
of a pre-Christmas promotion campaign of Bulgarian produce in
Armenia. Or at least this is what Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan
told his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Parvanov while on a visit to
Sofia. Sargsyan said that the market of Bulgarian goods in Armenia
should be restored and said a land route should be constructed to
connect the two countries and encourage the import of Bulgarian goods
to Armenia.

The two presidents were explicit that experience had to be exchanged
on the work of the power plants in the two countries. . Parvanov said
that transport and energy production were among the top priorities
for both countries. Parvanov and Sargsyan signed four agreements in
the spheres of culture, administration, taxation policy and archives.