Author: Kajoyan Gevork

TOUJOURS UN DOUTE SUR LA PRESENCE DE L’ARMENIE AU SOMMET EUROPEEN

Diplomatie

Vendredi, Erevan a officiellement refuse de preciser si le president
Serge Sarkissian assistera au sommet de l’Union europeenne la semaine
prochaine a Vilnius, sommet qui mettra l’accent sur les relations de
l’UE avec l’Armenie et d’autres anciennes republiques sovietiques .

” Nous ferons une annonce d’une manière appropriee et en temps voulu
“, a declare le ministre des Affaires etrangères Edouard Nalbandian
aux journalistes. Il n’a pas voulu preciser quand.

La participation de Sarkissian au sommet prevue pour les 28-29
novembre a ete mise en doute depuis le 3 septembre a Moscou, jour
de l’officialisation de rejoindre l’Union douanière. Le changement
de politique empeche la signature de l’accord d’association entre
l’Armenie et l’UE, qui devait se derouler lors du sommet.

Les fonctionnaires armeniens et europeens ont commence le mois dernier
a negocier sur un autre document non contraignant qui pourrait etre
signe dans la capitale lituanienne. L’ambassadeur de Lituanie a
Erevan, Erikas Petrikas, a declare le 7 novembre que les pourparlers
sont toujours en cours. Les fonctionnaires armeniens n’ont divulgue
aucun detail.

De meme, Nalbandian a refuse de preciser si des accords entre
l’Armenie et l’UE seront signes a Vilnius. ” Quoi qu’il arrive,
vous serez informe en temps voulu “, a-t-il dit.

Nalbandian ne serait pas influence par la decision de dernière minute
de l’Ukraine cette semaine. ” Chaque pays decide lui-meme comment
developper ses relations avec les pays voisins et les differentes
structures regionales”, a-t-il declare. ” En ce qui concerne nos
relations avec l’Union europeenne, nous avons deja dit que nous voulons
poursuivre notre cooperation dans toutes les directions possibles. ”

lundi 25 novembre 2013, Claire ©armenews.com

Syria, Egypt Reveal Erdogan’s ‘Hidden Agenda’

Posted GMT 11-23-2013 18:25:1

The eruption of the Syrian conflict early in 2011 heralded the demise
of Turkey ‘s officially pronounced strategy of “Zero Problems with
Neighbors,” but more importantly, it revealed a “hidden agenda” in
Turkish foreign policy under the government of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.

What Sreeram Chaulia, the Dean of the Jindal School of International
Affairs in India ‘s Sonipat, described as a “creeping hidden agenda”
( on Sept. 15, 2013) is covered up ideologically as
“Islamist.”

But in a more in-depth insight it is unfolding as neo-Ottomanism that
is pragmatically using “Islamization,” both of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s
legacy internally and Turkey ‘s foreign policy regionally, as a tool
to revive the Ottoman Empire that once was.

Invoking his country’s former imperial grandeur, Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davotoglu had written: “As in the sixteenth century … we will
once again make the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Middle East,
together with Turkey , the center of world politics in the future.
That is the goal of Turkish foreign policy and we will achieve it.”
(Emphasis added)

Quoted by Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby, writing in last March/April
edition of , the goal of Erdogan’s AKP
ruling party for 2023, as proclaimed by its recent Fourth General
Congress, is: “A great nation, a great power.” Erdogan urged the youth
of Turkey to look not only to 2023, but to 2071 as well when Turkey
“will reach the level of our Ottoman and Seljuk ancestors by the year
2071” as he said in December last year.

“2071 will mark one thousand years since the Battle of Manzikert,”
when the Seljuk Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire and heralded the
advent of the Ottoman one, according to Fradkin and Libby.

Some six months ago, Davotoglu felt so confident and optimistic to
assess that “it was now finally possible to revise the order imposed”
by the British — French Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 to divide the
Arab legacy of the Ottoman Empire between them.

Davotoglu knows very well that Pan-Arabs have been ever since
struggling unsuccessfully so far to unite as a nation and discard the
legacy of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, but not to recur to the Ottoman
status quo ante, but he knows as well that Islamist political
movements like the Muslim Brotherhood International (MBI) and the Hizb
ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) were originally
founded in Egypt and Palestine respectively in response to the
collapse of the Ottoman Islamic caliphate.

However, Erdogan’s Islamist credentials cannot be excluded as simply a
sham; his background, his practices in office since 2002 as well as
his regional policies since the eruption of the Syrian conflict less
than three years ago all reveal that he does believe in his version of
Islam per se as the right tool to pursue his Ottoman not so-“hidden
agenda.”

Erdogan obviously is seeking to recruit Muslims as merely “soldiers”
who will fight not for Islam per se, but for his neo-Ottomanism
ambitions. Early enough in December 1997, he was given a 10-month
prison sentence for voicing a poem that read: “The mosques are our
barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the
faithful our soldiers;” the poem was considered a violation of
Kemalism by the secular judiciary.

Deceiving ‘Window of Opportunity ‘

However, Erdogan’s Machiavellianism finds no contradiction between his
Islamist outreach and his promotion of the “Turkish model,” which
sells what is termed as the “moderate” Sunni Islam within the context
of Ataturk’s secular and liberal state as both an alternative to the
conservative tribal-religious states in the Arabian Peninsula and to
the sectarian rival of the conservative Shiite theocracy in Iran.

He perceived in the latest US withdrawal of focus from the Middle East
towards the Pacific Ocean a resulting regional power vacuum providing
him with an historic window of opportunity to fill the perceived
vacuum.

“Weakening of Europe and the US’ waning influence in the Middle East”
were seen by the leadership of Erdogan’s ruling party “as a new chance
to establish Turkey as an influential player in the region,” Günter
Seufert wrote in the German Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) on
last October 14.

The US and Israel , in earnest to recruit Turkey against Iran ,
nurtured Erdogan’s illusion of regional leadership. He deluded himself
with the unrealistic belief that Turkey could stand up to and sidestep
the rising stars of the emerging Russian international polar, the
emerging Iranian regional polar and the traditional regional players
of Egypt and Saudi Arabia , let alone Iraq and Syria should they
survive their current internal strife.

For sure, his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood International (MBI) and
his thinly veiled Machiavellian logistical support of al-Qaeda —
linked terrorist organizations are not and will not be a counter
balance.

He first focused his Arab outreach on promoting the “Turkish model,”
especially during the early months of the so-called “Arab Spring,” as
the example he hoped will be followed by the revolting masses, which
would have positioned him in the place of the regional mentor and
leader.

But while the eruption of the Syrian conflict compelled him to reveal
his Islamist “hidden agenda” and his alliance with the MBI, the
removal of MBI last July from power in Egypt with all its geopolitical
weight, supported by the other regional Arab heavy weight of Saudi
Arabia, took him off guard and dispelled his ambitions for regional
leadership, but more importantly revealed more his neo-Ottoman “hidden
agenda” and pushed him to drop all the secular and liberal pretensions
of his “Turkish model” rhetoric.

‘Arab Idol’ No More

Erdogan and his foreign policy engineer Davotoglu tried as well to
exploit the Arab and Muslim adoption of the Palestine Question as the
central item on their foreign policy agendas.

Since Erdogan’s encounter with the Israeli President Shimon Peres at
the Economic Summit in Davos in January 2009, the Israeli attack on
the Turkish humanitarian aid boat to Gaza, Mavi Marmara, the next year
and Turkey’s courting of the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas,” the
de facto rulers of the Israeli besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip, at the
same time Gaza was targeted by the Israeli Operation Cast Lead in
2008-2009 then targeted again in the Israeli Operation Pillar of
Defense in 2012, Turkey’s premier became the Arab idol who was invited
to attend Arab Leage summit and ministerial meetings.

However, in interviews with ResearchTurkey, CNN Turk and other media
outlets, Abdullatif Sener, a founder of Erdogan’s AKP party who served
as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in successive AKP
governments for about seven years before he broke out with Erdogan in
2008, highlighted Erdogan’s Machiavellianism and questioned the
sincerity and credibility of his Islamic, Palestinian and Arab public
posturing.

“Erdogan acts without considering religion even at some basic issues
but he hands down sharp religious messages … I consider the AK Party
not as an Islamic party but as a party which collect votes by using
Islamic discourses,” Sener said, adding that, “the role in Middle East
was assigned to him” and “the strongest logistic support” to Islamists
who have “been carrying out terrorist activities” in Syria “is
provided by Turkey” of Erdogan.

In an interview with CNN Turk, Sener dropped a bombshell when he
pointed out that the AKP’s spat with Israel was “controlled.” During
the diplomatic boycott of Israel many tenders were granted to Israeli
companies and Turkey has agreed to grant partner status to Israel in
NATO: “If the concern of the AKP is to confront Israel then why do
they serve to the benefit of Israel ?” In another interview he said
that the NATO radar systems installed in Malatya are there to protect
Israel against Iran .

Sener argued that the biggest winner of the collapse of the Syrian
government of President Bashar al-Assad would be Israel because it
will weaken Lebanon ‘s Hizbullah and Iran , yet Erdogan’s Turkey is
the most ardent supporter of a regime change in Syria , he said.

Erdogan’s Syrian policy was the death knell to his strategy of “Zero
Problems with Neighbors;” the bloody terrorist swamp of the Syrian
conflict has drowned it in its quicksand.

Liz Sly’s story in the Washington Post on this November 17 highlighted
how his Syrian policies “have gone awry” and counterproductive by
“putting al-Qaeda on NATO’s (Turkish) borders for the first time.”

With his MBI alliance, he alienated Egypt , Saudi Arabia and the UAE,
in addition to the other Arab heavy weights of Syria , Iraq and
Algeria and was left with “zero friends” in the region.

According to Günter Seufert, Turkey ‘s overall foreign policy, not
only with regards to Syria , “has hit the brick wall” because the
leadership of Erdogan’s ruling party “has viewed global political
shifts through an ideologically (i.e. Islamist) tinted lens.”

Backpedaling too late

Now it seems Erdogan’s ” Turkey is already carefully backpedaling” on
its foreign policy,” said Seufert. It “wants to reconnect” with Iran
and ” Washington ‘s request to end support for radical groups in Syria
did not fall on deaf Turkish ears.”

“Reconnecting” with Iran and its Iraqi ruling sectarian brethren will
alienate further the Saudis who could not tolerate similar
reconnection by their historical and strategic US ally and who were
already furious over Erdogan’s alliance with the Qatari financed and
US sponsored Muslim Brotherhood and did not hesitate to publicly risk
a rift with their US ally over the removal of the MBI from power in
Egypt five months ago.

Within this context came Davotoglu’s recent visit to Baghdad , which
“highlighted the need for great cooperation between Turkey and Iraq
against the Sunni-Shiite conflict,” according to
on this November 13. Moreover, he “personally” wanted “to spend the
month of Muharram every year in (the Iraqi Shiite holy places of)
Karbala and Najaf with our (Shiite) brothers there.”

Within the same “backpedaling” context came Erdogan’s playing the host
last week to the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government,
Massoud Barzani, not in Ankara , but in Diyarbakir , which Turkish
Kurds cherish as their capital in the same way Iraqi Kurds cherish
Kirkuk .

However, on the same day of Barzani’s visit Erdogan ruled out the
possibility of granting Turkish Kurds their universal right of
self-determination when he announced “Islamic brotherhood” as the
solution for the Kurdish ethnic conflict in Turkey , while his deputy,
Bulent Arinc, announced that “a general amnesty” for Kurdish detainees
“is not on today’s agenda.” Three days earlier, on this November 15,
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said, “Turkey cannot permit (the) fait
accompli” of declaring a Kurdish provisional self-rule along its
southern borders in Syria which his prime minister’s counterproductive
policies created together with an al-Qaeda-dominated northeastern
strip of Syrian land.

Erdogan’s neo-Ottomanism charged by his Islamist sectarian ideology as
a tool has backfired to alienate both Sunni and Shiite regional
environment, the Syrian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Emirati, Saudi and Lebanese
Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Israelis and Iranians as well as Turkish and
regional liberals and secularists. His foreign policy is in shambles
with a heavy economic price as shown by the recent 13.2% devaluation
of the Turkish lira against the US dollar.

“Backpedaling” might be too late to get Erdogan and his party through
the upcoming local elections next March and the presidential elections
which will follow in August next year.

By Nicola Nasser

In Memoriam: Roupen Barsoumian (1937-2013)

By Avedis Hadjian // November 21, 2013 in Obituaries

Roupen Barsoumian, a loyal friend, brother, and Armenian, unexpectedly
left us a week ago. A resident of New York for more than four decades,
he was one of the last representatives of the post-genocide,
second-generation Aleppo-Armenian teachers and community leaders,
whose personal virtues and extraordinary intellectual stature was
unknown to many due to his modesty.

Roupen Barsoumian

He was one of the founders of the New York branch of Hamazkayin, an
organization he served tirelessly for more than four decades. A close
friend of American-Armenian writers, such as Hagop Garabents and
Jirayr Attarian, Roupen once half-jokingly said they told him not to
write, `so we have a reader,’ in recognition to his sharp literary
critic’s eye.

The proud son of Ayntap Armenians, his first language was Turkish.
When he was five years old, he returned home crying from his first day
at school, as he had been unable to understand his classmates and they
had not understood him. `Ermenice konuÅ?urlar, yavrum’ (`They speak
Armenian, my child’) his grandmother had told him. He left this world
mastering Armenian as very few do, a language he revered. One of his
greatest concerns was the restoration of the classical or Mashtotsian
orthography in the homeland, a goal he pursued without being deterred
by the considerable obstacles for its accomplishment. The unhealed
wound of his life was his brother Hagop Barsoumian’s kidnapping and
disappearance in unknown circumstances in Beirut, during Lebanon’s
civil war.

Until the last days of his life, the fate of his brother weighed on
his soul. Orphaned at an early age, Hagop, Roupen, and their sister
Silva (currently living in New York) spent their childhood and teenage
years at Aleppo’s `Badsbaran.’ Always surrounded by friends and loved
by them for his unconditional generosity of the Ayntap Armenian, fate
had it that he parted alone and orphaned.

Roupen passed away without any moral debt and left us indebted to him.
We hope he joins his brother and his two friends, who left us a year
ago’Aris Sevag, one of his closest friends in New York, and Bedros
Hadjian, a friend and colleague from their youth in Aleppo. They were
all devoted Armenians, who kept the torch of Armenian culture burning
and passed it on to the new generations. Fundamentally, in the purest
sense of the word, they were good men. God bless Roupen’s soul and
give solace to his family and loved ones.

LINING THE BORDERS

November 22 2013

I share Shant Harutyunyan’s concern regarding Armenia’s eventual loss
of independence; the danger is really existing. I do not agree that it
should be fought against by “manganese – bronze.” Because if you go
against illegality or, possibly, the violence, then you do not know
where you will stop, and since what moment you should resort violence
for not establishing justice, but advancing your own interests. I am
not happy with many manifestations of Serzh Sargsyan’s domestic and
foreign policies. But, I am against writing his, as well as former
Presidents’ names in lowercase, because in doing this we insult not
the person, but the President’s institute, which is the significant
part of the state. After all, we hurt ourselves. I am against
Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union, but I realize that the
majority of the population of Armenia is at least not against it, even
though it does not have clear idea of what it is. In an attempt to
provide more complete information, I accept my people as they are, and
I respect the opinion of the majority of them. In fact, it seems to me
that parallel to enjoying the fruits of the Customs Union, this
opinion will be changed. I think that Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s policy toward Armenia and the former republics is
imperialistic with its crudest, most cynical and most contemptuous
form. Due to his “Byzantine” pretensions, the relations of between the
two brotherly peoples: Armenians and Russians, are strained, because
in the next few years Armenians will inevitably feel (if they do not
feel now) how their dignity is violated. However, rallies need to be
organized not against Putin but our authorities that has created all
political conditions for such violation of the dignity. As for the
attitude to Putin and his visit, it should be respectful; he is the
head of the state that visits our state. Some of us (including me) may
not like his policy, but eventually, Putin is governed by the
interests of his state the way he perceives them. But “cursing,”
blackmailing that who does not join the rally against Putin, he is
such-and-such, at best, is a display of immature man. “Who does not
think or act like me, he is this-and-that,” interestingly, is it
possible to be a democrat and human rights defender guided by this
motto.

Aram Abrahamyan

Read more at:

ANCA-WR ANNOUNCES GHAILIAN FAMILY AS BANQUET SPONSOR

Friday, November 22nd, 2013

Charles Ghailian

GLENDALE-The ANCA-WR is honored and excited to announce the Ghailian
Family as the banquet sponsor for the 2013 ANCA-WR Annual Gala
Banquet. Philanthropy is a cornerstone of the Ghailian family which
includes Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Julia Ghailian, Mr. and Mrs. Carlo
and Gisella Ghailian, Mr. and Mrs. Angelo and Lori Ghailian and Miss
Monica Ghailian.

Longtime community activist, benefactor and 2010 ANCA-WR Legacy Award
recipient Charles Ghailian has always played and still continues to
play an integral role in advancing the Armenian Cause.

“As patriarch of the Ghailian Family, Charles Ghailian has served
as a shining example to his own children and to all of us of what it
means to give back to the community. With their consistent dedication
to the Armenian Cause and their generosity in sponsoring our Annual
Gala Banquet, we are truly grateful for the Ghailian Family’s
acknowledgement of the important work of the ANCA Western Region,
and we are very thankful for their willingness to participate in such
a significant way this year,” commented ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian.

Mr. Ghailian is the President and founder of Monarch Apparel Group,
a global sourcing company servicing the retail community at large.

Through the years, Mr. Ghailian’s professional successes appear to
have been only a springboard for his family, civic, and community
commitments. He has always shared his success with the Armenian
community and served its various organizations. Among the many
leadership roles held, Charles Ghailian served as Vice Chairman of
Homenetmen’s Western Region Executive Committee, a Board Member of
the ANCA-WR, and an Honorary President, with his wife Julia, for
Homenetmen’s 29th Navasartian Games. Currently, Mr. Ghailian is the
Chair of the University of Southern California’s (USC) Institute of
Armenian Studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

This year, the ANCA-WR Annual Gala Banquet will be coupled with
the much anticipated ANCA Grassroots Conference slated Thanksgiving
Weekend. The banquet will take place on Saturday, November 30, 2013
at The Ray Dolby Ballroom, the site of the Oscar’s Governors’ Ball.

Legendary chef Wolfgang Puck will be catering a special menu for the
ANCA-WR Banquet. The event will begin with cocktail hour at 7:30 p.m.

and formal program and dinner at 8:30p.m. The event is expected to
sell out well before November 15th.

Individuals interested in attending the Annual Gala Banquet and
Grassroots Conference are encouraged to contact the ANCA-WR office at
(818) 500-1918 or purchase tickets online at itsmyseat.com/ANCAWR. To
obtain updates on the conference, like the ANCA Western Region Facebook
page or visit ancawr.org.

This year’s honorees include, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Primate
of Artsakh Archbishop Barkev Martirosyan, Legendary Coach Jerry
Tarkanian, Lifelong Philanthropist Manas Boujikian, Assemblymember
Katcho Achadjian, and Activist and Filmmaker Ara Soudjian.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

ERICSSON LOOKS TOWARD EXPANDING ACTIVITIES IN ARMENIA

November 22, 2013 | 16:38

YEREVAN. – Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan met with Iain
Campbell, Head of the Central and Eastern Europe Local Representation
of Ericsson technology company.

Sargsyan underscored the company’s activities in Armenia.

In turn, the Ericsson representatives informed that the company is
interested in expanding its activities in Armenia and is looking into
a new project.

The PM expressed the Armenian government support to Ericsson’s
activities, and stressed that Armenia attaches great importance to the
expansion of bilateral cooperation in the telecommunications sector.

The interlocutors also reflected on the possibility of establishing
an Ericsson Innovation Center in Armenia.

Iain Campbell expressed an interest in considering this idea.

News from Armenia – NEWS.a

WILSON CENTER ADVISOR SAYS INCREDIBLE DEVELOPMENT IN AZERBAIJAN ECONOMY

22 November 2013, 12:16 (GMT+04:00)

While attending a high-level conference in Baku, Wilson Center Advisor
to Global Europe Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, Alexandros Petersen praised transformation of Azerbaijan`s
economy in an interview with the State Telegraph Agency (AzerTAc).

Petersen, the author of “The World Island: Eurasian Geopolitics and
the Fate of the West”, said, “I first visited Baku in the 1990s. The
city has changed a lot since then. I’ve been many times to Baku
since then and it`s amazing to see the transformation of Azerbaijan’s
economy going not just from being a petrol state, but now being an
increasingly diverse economy.”

“It’s amazing to see the incredible development and infrastructure
development that has been going on here, he continued. “So I have
great optimism for the future in terms of Azerbaijan’s development not
just in terms of buildings, infrastructure and the sort of things,
but increasingly becoming a centre for intangible things like human
capital, the center for technological development and innovation,
and the bridge between East and West.”

He continued, “We say like many this cliche that Azerbaijan is the
bridge between East and West. But I think it is increasingly becoming
the case in ways that it is not just about the infrastructure. It’s
increasingly about the substance and the people of Azerbaijan, who are,
I think, achieving their great potential.”

Petersen stressed the importance of the “Cooperative Approach to
Energy Security: View from NATO and Beyond” conference, which was
co-organized in Baku by the Center for Strategic Studies under the
Azerbaijani President (SAM) and NATO.

“I think it’s very important that a high-level Azerbaijani
organization such as SAM is organizing a conference with NATO Centre of
Excellence. The more cooperation we can have, particularly on energy
security, which is a strength of Azerbaijan, the more cooperation we
can have between Azerbaijani institutions and NATO institutions. I
think it is very positive for the Western outlook of Azerbaijan and
for the country emerging as an energy security leader in the region.”

He hailed the country’s role in ensuring Europe’s energy security:
“Azerbaijan is central to Europe’s energy security. With the Southern
Energy Corridor that has been led by SOCAR it’s going to ensure
diversification in the European energy market and it’s also going to
make sure that from strategic, security and military standpoints,
which is certainly in the interest of NATO, there is going to be
flexibility should, God forbid, there will be a conflict situation
at some point in the future that NATO might be involved in.”

“Azerbaijan’s energy reserves are key to align flexibility in a
potential future crisis period,” Petersen emphasized. “So Azerbaijan’s
relationships with its European consumers are absolutely a key for
overall EU and NATO energy security.”

He called the selection of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) by the
Shah Deniz consortium, which was a decision led by SOCAR, “a very
wise decision because it was the most commercially viable pipeline
and plus it was the one that realistically will be built.”

“And it is one that, I think, is going to be key in bringing new
markets to Azerbaijani gas so it reaches Italy, but it also very
importantly from Italy could potentially in the future reach Central
Europe, reach Western Europe,” he added.

He saluted Azerbaijan`s role in the region, saying: “I think
Azerbaijan has emerged in the broader Black Sea-Caspian region and
Eastern Europe. Azerbaijan has emerged as a diplomatic, a very dynamic
diplomatic player. It has been enormously important as a partner for
Western institutions such as the EU and NATO, but also strategically
for European individual members in the European countries and for
the United States. There is no better ally for Western institutions
and Western countries in the Caucasus-Caspian region than Azerbaijan.”

Mr Petersen touched upon Azerbaijan`s relationship with the European
Union and the United States.

“The US-Azerbaijan relationship in the past years has emerged to be,
I think, a genuinely substantive and deep partnership. I would even say
that the United States now should consider Azerbaijan as a key ally
in the region.” He said strategic and geopolitical relationship is
extremely important for both countries, not just for Azerbaijan. “The
United States needs Azerbaijan as well,” he added.

He also commented on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh problem:

“I think that it was encouraging that the leaders of Azerbaijan and
Armenia got together recently to start discussions again. I think it
shows initiative on the part of the Azerbaijani leadership despite
a lot of challenges that it faces from the international community
which, I think, generally is more biased towards Armenia.”

Remarking on the US role he said, “I think, we might see from the
US administration a little bit more of an active role in trying to
promote the conflict’s settlement. I think that’s positive. I think
what we need to do is to move towards comprehensive negotiations and
hopefully with more pressure on Armenia from the United States. If
it`s going to be more active, then those comprehensive negotiations
could be achieved in a fair and equitable manner.”

PUTIN, ERDOGAN DISCUSS NAGORNO-KARABAKH AND SOUTH STREAM

22 November 2013 – 2:55pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan discussed bilateral relations and conflicts at the session
of the Russian-Turkish Council for Top-Level Cooperation today. Putin
emphasized that differences between the two states could not stop the
political dialogue and economic cooperation, including cooperation
within the framework of the UN and G20.

Erdogan noted that they had discussed Syria, Azerbaijani-Armenian
conflict and the situation in Iraq.Putin confirmed plans to start
building the South Stream Gas Pipeline in the exclusive economic
zone of Turkey to pump 27 billion cubic meters of gas. He expressed
hope that Turkey would provide benefits and guarantees for Rosatom’s
construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. Turkish companies
will realize about 25% of $20 billion invested in the project.

The Russian leader proposed an exchange of tourism festivals. Turkey
is the main destination of Russian tourists. A record of 4 million
Russian tourists may be set in Turkey in 2013. 100,000 Turkish tourists
visit Russia annually.

Erdogan responded with a proposal to increase Russian-Turkish trade
turnover to $100 billion by 2020. He also spoke about the emergance
of Russian bank Sberbank on the Turkish market.

AL-ASIMAH GOVERNOR MEETS WITH ARMENIAN OFFICIALS

22/11/2013 | 04:35 PM|Kuwait News

KUWAIT, Nov 22 (KUNA) — Al-Asimah Governor Sheikh Ali Al-Jaber
Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah met with Mayor of Armenian Yerevan city Taron
Margaryan on Friday, to discuss a number of projects which Armenia
aims to offer to foreign investors, including infrastructure projects.

Kuwait Municipality said in a statement that the meeting which
was attended by Kuwaiti Ambassador to Armenia Bassam Al-Qabandi,
and Armenian Ambassador Fadeh Charchoglian, discussed a Yerevan
center consisting of residential areas, diplomatic headquarters,
and shopping centers.

Margaryan discussed renovating the Erebuni Museum, together with other
projects regarding light and medium industries in the country. He noted
that these projects aim to present Yerevan as a tourist attraction,
adding that the government is ready to provide the facilitations and
legal consultation to investors.

The Mayor praised the outcomes of his Kuwait visit and the two
countries’ cooperation especially in the field of governorates, local
administration systems, and exchanging experiences. Moreover, he noted
the difficulties Yerevan faces such as environment protection, health,
education, and transportation issues, and finding ways to solve these
problems, adding that his country will sign a twin-city cooperation
agreement with Kuwait.

Sheikh Ali, on his part, praised the Armenian attention towards
cultural, touristic, educational, and entertainment projects, adding
that Al-Asimah will provide all the help needed to execute these
projects. He noted that this visit was an opportunity to see the system
followed in Yerevan, and to strengthen the two countries’ relations,
also praising the efforts of both ambassadors in the process.

Ambassador Charchoglian thanked Kuwait for its prominent role in
helping the Armenian Syrian refugees, adding that Kuwait is known
for its great efforts in helping refugees. (end) hmd.ag KUNA 221635
Nov 13NNNN

GERMAN EMBASSY GETS 3.2 MILLION EURO FACE-LIFT – PHOTOS

Narek Aleksanyan

15:06, November 22, 2013

3.2 million Euros was spent to totally reconstruct the German Embassy
in Yerevan, which officially reopened today.

On hand at the opening ceremonies were German Ambassador Rainier
Morel and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

German and Armenian companies were contracted for the job which took
two years to complete. The embassy continued to function throughout
the construction.