Author: Kajoyan Gevork

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
May 12 2012

Turkish officials offer France olive branch

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News
Serkan DemirtaÅ?

Turkey offers olive branches to the new French President, including a
phone call from PM ErdoÄ?an and a letter from President Gül, in an
attempt to mend ties

Turkey seeks a new era with France after the election of Hollande. REUTERS photo

Turkey and France, the sparring partners of Europe, are making
tentative moves to mend their ruined ties, just days after Socialist
François Hollande was elected as the new French President. However,
more time is needed for a full recovery, according to Turkish
government officials.

`We have sincerely expressed our will and intention to fix our ties
with France. This is not only important in terms of bilateral
relations but also with regard to a number of international and
regional issues of our common interest,’ a senior Turkish official
told the Hürriyet Daily News Friday.

Turkey has taken the first step and offered a hand of friendship to
the newly elected French President François Hollande, aiming to break
the ice with Europe’s new heavyweight. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an has made a phone call to Hollande to congratulate him on his
electoral success, which followed a carefully-crafted congratulatory
letter sent by President Abdullah Gül.

ErdoÄ?an telephoned Hollande late Thursday and the two talked for 12
minutes, in what was `quite a good conversation about a new era’ in
bilateral relations, an official from the prime minister’s office told
the Hürriyet Daily News.

Relations between Turkey and France, whose diplomatic relations date
back to the 16th century, hit rock bottom during outgoing Nicholas
Sarkozy’s presidency due to the former French president’s
non-negotiable policies against Turkish membership of the European
Union and insistence on passing the bill penalizing denial of Armenian
genocide. Though Sarkozy’s move on the latter has since been annulled
by the French Constitutional Council, political and military sanctions
imposed by Turkey against France are still in effect.

However, with the election of a Socialist President whose party
delivers moderate messages regarding Turkey’s joining of the EU, the
Turkish government has decided to lead the rapprochement process.
France is among the countries on which Turkey places the utmost
importance, ErdoÄ?an has stressed, voicing his hope that the
deep-rooted Turkish-French relations would `get rid of artificial
problems that do not befit this common past,’ the official said.
ErdoÄ?an also wished Hollande’s party success in the parliamentary
elections next month.

Hollande responded that he too values relations with Turkey – a
country he has praised for its growing economy – and stressed that the
two countries share a common position on many international issues,
according to the official. However he did not go into specific issues
and did not drop any hint on whether or not France would soften its
objections to opening new chapters in Turkey’s accession talks with
the European Union.

In a letter to Hollande earlier this week, President Abdullah Gül
congratulated France’s president-elect, also expressing his hope that
bilateral ties would gain a new momentum during his presidency and
that the two countries would create a `strong Europe’ together.
`Turkey is ready to hold close cooperation during your presidency,’
said Gül in his letter.

Gül and Hollande are expected to meet in Chicago, if only briefly, on
the margins of the NATO Summit slated for May 20-21.

Armenian genocide still a problem

Although there are hopes for repaired ties, there are still potential
risks that could prevent the reconciliation process. Hollande, like
Sarkozy, promised his French Armenian electorate that he would
penalize denial of Armenian genocide during the election campaign.
Given the fact that Hollande’s Socialist Party will run for
parliamentary elections in mid-June, similar tension between two
countries could resurface. This is why Turkey’s Ambassador to Paris,
Tahsin BurcuoÄ?lu, has publicly urged the French leadership not to
bring the issue back to the agenda if they value relations with
Turkey.

May/12/2012

Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
May 11, 2012 Friday

Turkey hopes for better ties with France

ISTANBUL, Jumada II 20, 1433, May 11, 2012, SPA — A Turkish news
agency has reported that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has telephoned
French President-elect Francois Hollande to congratulate him on his
election victory, and expressed wishes for a new era in relations,
according to AP.

Anadolu news agency said late Thursday that Hollande responded to
Erdogan’s gestures to resolve tensions by saying France and Turkey
share a common vision on many international issues, and that he wants
the countries to be on good terms.

Tensions peaked earlier this year when France debated a law making it
a crime to deny that the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a
century ago amounted to genocide. The law was eventually ruled
unconstitutional.

The Diplomat
May 12 2012

Israel’s Reluctant Friend
May 12, 2012

Talk of allowing its airstrips to be used in a military strike against
Iran thrust Azerbaijan into the spotlight. It doesn’t want to be
there.

A new and perhaps surprising country took center stage recently in the
ongoing row over Iran’s nuclear program – Azerbaijan. Citing anonymous
`high-level sources’ from U.S. diplomatic and intelligence circles, a
controversial article in Foreign Policy at the end of March suggested
the possibility that Israel might have been proffered the use of
Azerbaijani airstrips for any strikes against Iran’s nuclear
facilities.

The article attracted impassioned rebuttals from officials and
observers alike. But the question remains: how did Azerbaijan get
sucked into the controversy over Tehran’s nuclear plans in the first
place?

Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel developed in earnest 20 years ago,
and have grown significantly in depth and scope ever since. With
bilateral trade currently hovering around $4 billion, Azerbaijan is
Israel’s top trading partner among Muslim states, and the second
largest source of Israel’s oil after Russia.

Conversely, Israel represents Azerbaijan’s second largest oil
customer, and via the Ashkelon-Eilat Trans-Israel Pipeline, a crucial
transit point for Azeri oil flowing to Asia’s growing markets. Israeli
companies have also made no secret of their stake in the country’s
other key, non-energy sectors, including agriculture and
communications. However, it’s the military-defense aspect of bilateral
cooperation that has kept Iran on its toes of late.

Israel began modernizing Azerbaijan’s ragtag army after its six year,
undeclared war with Armenia led to the loss of the Nagorno-Karabakh
enclave and seven neighboring districts. On February 26 of this year,
Baku and Tel Aviv inked the latest in a series of arms deals, this
time to the tune of $1.6 billion, on the basis of which Israel
Aerospace Industries would supply Heron and Searcher drones,
anti-aircraft and missile defense systems over the coming months and
perhaps years.

This closeness represents everything that relations between Iran and
Azerbaijan ought to have been right from the start, given both
nations’ deep historical ties. Azerbaijan was a Persian satrapy under
the Achaemenid, the Parthian and the Sassanian empires, and the Shiite
Safavids credited for laying the foundations of modern Iran were
mainly ethnic Azeris, a sub-branch of the Turkic peoples. Only after
Iran was twice defeated by the Russians in the 19th century was it
obliged to renounce the half of the Azeri homeland located north of
the river Araxes.

This disjuncture largely stems from the overwhelming secularism
brought on by 71 years of Soviet rule (1920-1991) and Azerbaijan’s
palpably pro-West, pan-Turkic and anti-Iranian outlook, especially
under former President Abulfaz Elçibey and his Popular Front Party of
Azerbaijan, a factor that prompted Iran to support Christian Armenia
during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

South of the Araxes, Tehran remains acutely sensitive to potential
Azeri irredentism stoked by the existence of independent Azerbaijan,
despite the fact that its own Azeris – a fifth to a quarter of all
Iranians including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (who is half-Azeri) –
are generally well integrated.

Baku has for its part accused Iran of supporting radical Shiite
elements, including the now outlawed Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, as
well as the Talysh ethnic minority inhabiting the border areas.
Nationalist rhetoric has also sharpened with calls for the country to
be rechristened `North Azerbaijan’ as opposed to what some view as the
`occupied’ South.

Both Israel and Iran have repeatedly accused each other of using Azeri
territory as a base for covert operations, and the Azeri authorities
haven’t held back from publicly linking a number of locally arrested
individuals with Iranian intelligence.

All this suggests that an Israeli `staging ground’ may not be that
farfetched, despite a 2005 Baku-Tehran non-aggression pact and
official insistence – most recently by President Ilham Aliyev during a
cabinet meeting – that Azerbaijan would never allow its territory to
be used against its neighbors.

However, while Azerbaijan is eminently suited to Israeli interests,
the costs of a potential Iranian backlash toward Baku are unbearable
for three key reasons.

AME Info, UAE
May 12 2012

Armenian Ambassador to the UAE visits RAK Free Trade Zone
United Arab Emirates:

n step with Armenia’s commitment to boost its trade relations with Ras
Al Khaimah, the Armenian Ambassador to the UAE, HE Gegham
Gharibjanyan, visited Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) – one
of the fastest-growing and most cost-effective free trade zones in the
UAE.

HH Sheikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK FTZ, and HH
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK Ports and Customs
Department, received HE Gharibjanyan at the RAK FTZ headquarters. The
one-day visit of the Ambassador was aimed to boost Armenia’s
investments into Ras Al Khaimah as well as to strengthen the business
relationship between the UAE and Armenia, and the talks focused on
developing business collaboration across various sectors in Ras Al
Khaimah, such as healthcare, tourism, education, services, etc.

In his comments on the visit, Sheikh Faisal said: “We are extremely
privileged to welcome HE Gegham Gharibjanyan to RAK FTZ and to
showcase the world-class facilities and services on offer at the free
zone. The UAE shares a cordial relationship with Armenia and we are
happy to further strengthen and expand this collaboration. During the
talks, we have discussed on a variety of subjects that would achieve
this goal, which is commonly shared by the two countries.”

He further added: “Armenia is a very important and strategic market
for us. And, after sharing the salient advantages of operating at the
free zone, which include the cost effectiveness of setting up business
at RAK FTZ, its value-added services, the ease to do business here,
and the strategic geographical advantage to serve as a hub for the
entire Middle East, we definitely see a vast potential of future
cooperation arising out of this visit.”

EGLISE ARMENIENNE
Grigorpol désire avoir son église Saint Grégoire l’Illuminateur

La ville de Grigoropol (ou Krikoropol) en Transnistrie (région
autoproclamée se trouvant entre la Moldavie et l’Ukraine) désire
construire une église à l’honneur de Saint Grégoire l’Illuminateur
(Sourp Krikor Loussavoritch). L’information a été révélée par Yan
Verechtchak le responsable des autorités publiques de la région de
Grigoropol. Le cimetière de Grigoropol fut fondée par les Arméniens en
1792 avec plus de 200 anciennes tombes est le seul cimetière arménien
de la région de Transnistrie où la communauté arménienne a été
nombreuse et dynamique eu 18e et 19e siècle.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 12 mai 2012,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Giorgio Napolitano: Status-quo in Karabakh issue inadmissible

armradio.am
12.05.2012 14:40

The peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict stems from
strategic interests of the international community, President of Italy
Giorgio Napolitano said in an interview with the Business Year
magazine.

`The conflict settlement will promote the stability in the South
Caucasus, creating new economic opportunities and guaranteeing best
future to the young generation of the region,’ Napolitano said.

He confirmed the inadmissibility of the status-quo of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and welcomed the efforts of the conflicting parties
to find peaceful ways of settlement.

The Italian president welcomed the commitment of the parties to solve
the conflict in diplomatic way. The Italian president urged the
parties to continue the efforts addressed toward reaching agreement
over the basic principles. Napolitano also stressed that he believes
in the efficiency of the EU’s role in the establishment of peace and
security in the region.

Italian President on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement

tert.am
12:47 – 12.05.12

The peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict stems from
strategic interests of the international community, President of Italy
Giorgio Napolitano told the Business Year magazine.

`The conflict settlement will promote the stability in the South
Caucasus, creating new economic opportunities and guaranteeing best
future to the young generation of the region,’ Napolitano said.

He confirmed the inadmissibility of the status-quo of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and welcomed the efforts of the conflicting parties
to find peaceful ways of settlement. The Italian president welcomed
the commitment of the parties to solve the conflict in diplomatic way.
The Italian president urged the parties to continue the efforts
addressed toward reaching agreement over the basic principles.
Napolitano also stressed that he believes in the efficiency of the
EU’s role in the establishment of peace and security in the region

Carpet factory belonging to Armenian Fstkchyan burnt and destroyed in Lebanon

14:48 . 12/05

Fire burst out in `Byblos’ carpets factory in Lebanon in the morning
of May 11. According to preliminary data, it was caused by a
short-circuit.

Azdak Daily informed the fire quickly spread in the whole factory, in
the result of which the factory’s western 5-store building was also
destroyed. Fortunately, there are no victims. The fire caused huge
material damage.

A helicopter was also involved in the firefighting work. The Minister
of Industry of Lebanon Vrezh Sapunjyan arrived at the scene, who said
they should wait for the investigation results.

The factory belonged to Varuzhan Fstkchyan of Armenian origin.

Armenia’s representative third in Eurovision Young Musicians 2012

armradio.am
12.05.2012 14:07

Armenia’s Narek Kazazyan took the third place at the Eurovision Young
Musicians 2012 competition held in Vienna.

The first and second semi-finals of the contest took place on May 5
and 6. Fourteen countries participated in the competition: Austria,
Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and
Ukraine.

Representatives of seven countries made it to the final. These
included Armenia, Belarus, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany,
Norway and Poland.

Representative of Norway became the winner of the Eurovision Young
Musicians 2012. Violinist Emmanuel Chgnavoryan representing Austria
came second. The winner was chosen by the professional jury.

The Eurovision Young Musicians international contest was first held in
Great Britain in 1982. It is held once in two years. Classical
musicians aged 15-20 are eligible to participate in the contest. This
was Armenia’s first participation in the contest.

No comments on giving up mandate – Heritage member

news.am
May 12, 2012 | 13:16

YEREVAN.- Member of Heritage party Zaruhi Postanjyan is not commenting
on rumors about renouncing her National Assembly seat.

There are no reasons for not commenting on the rumors, she told
Armenian News-NEWS.am, adding that the party would soon express its
position.

According to rumors, Zaruhi Postanjyan learnt about Heritage Party’s
cooperation with president’s office. She was reportedly angered
learning about it and decided to give up parliamentary mandate.

Heritage Party and Free Democrats Party were running for the
parliament with joint proportional list. According to preliminary
results of the May 6 election, the party polled 5.79% (87,095 votes),
enough to have five MP seats.