Author: Kalantarian Kevo

RUSSIAN MFA. NOT ON A THRESHOLD OF A NEW CONFLICT, BUT NEAR THE SETTLEMENT.

By Aghavni Haroutyunian

AZG DAILY
31-05-2011

Azerbaijan has fallen into the absurd extremes

The statement, made today on May 26 in Deauville by the leaders of
the USA, the Russian Federation and France on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, would clearly have different responses for its positive and
negative thoughts and formulations. According to Edward Nalbandian,
Foreign Affairs Minister of Armenia, the statement made today contains
important messages and may become an impulse for the settlement of
the issue.

“Armenia has always been in support of the settlement of the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh through exclusively peaceful
means and has repeatedly proven that in practice, therefore, it is
clear to whom is addressed the unequivocal message of the statement in
this regard,” said Armenian Foreign Minister on day of the statement.

He added that Armenia has given a clear answer to the latest version of
the basic principles proposed by the three Co-Chairs as a basis for the
negotiations of the settlement. “If Azerbaijan gives an unequivocal
agreement, then it will be possible to register a progress in the
process of the settlement” Nalbandyan said.

Azerbaijan needed time to respond to this statement and to represent
it according to its own logic and context, moreover, the made comments
were presented illogically. It is not understandable where from the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, the statement of which “Trend” transfers,
took the Deauvillean logic, which derives from the statement and
which says that “Armenia must withdraw troops from the territory
of Azerbaijan, allowing the internal displaced people to return to
their homes…”

Certainly, it is not possible to find such an idea in the statement,
it is also clear that there are no any lines or ideas in it for
making such a conclusion. And the anonymous representatives of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said to the Azerbaijani news agency that
through the trilateral statement “the Armenian side should understand
that the international community will not accept the occupation of
Azerbaijani territory by Armenia”.

“Azg” daily presented text of the trilateral statement and commented
it, but let us remind that this statement does not contain such kind of
thoughts and statements that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry provides
to its population. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s other statements
also do not yield in lack of logic, so let leave it to them, for their
“internal consumption”.

In the sense of illogical and absurd statements the Azerbaijani Deputy
Prime Minister Ali Hasanov got ahead of the country Foreign Ministry
with long strides. He is “concerned” about the current situation in
Armenia, instead of worrying about the problems of their own country.

“The phenomena taking place in the world would not bypass Armenia,
as the Armenians in Armenia are dying of starvation and they will
not tolerate it.” The abundance of the officials in Azerbaijan that
appeared in such a propagandistic primitivity, offer an opportunity
to leave the interpretation of such statements without comments.

Instead, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia made more
optimistic and diplomatic comment in connection with the statement of
the presidents of Russia-US-France. According to ITAR TASS, Russia’s
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia is convinced
that the possibilities of peaceful settlement are higher than ever,
compared to the periods of all trilaterally signed statements. “We are
not on a threshold of a new conflict, but are near the settlement,”
said Ryabkov. He stressed that in this situation the probability to
achieve resolution is great, considering the huge work carried out
and the exerted efforts.

ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES WILL DIALOGUE WITH OPPOSITION, BUT NOT ON PRE-TERM ELECTIONS: SHARMAZANOV

epress.am
05.30.2011 15:19

Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) parliamentary faction secretary
Eduard Sharmazanov, speaking to journalists in Yerevan today, said
the “political spring” was heated, but also constructive and aimed
at unity.

“And the 2011 spring positively differentiated from recent political
springs in that both the opposition, whether that be parliamentary
or extra-parliamentary and, in the first place, the authorities
made great efforts toward establishing an environment of dialogue,
solidarity and tolerance in Armenia,” he said.

Referring to the recent amnesty approved by parliament as well as
amendments to the RA Criminal Code, Sharmazanov stressed that in this
sense, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan made an important move when
on Apr. 27 he pointed out that he is willing to take steps toward
establishing and developing a political culture in the country,
as well as easing the tension in the domestic political climate.

The authorities’ positive steps, in Sharmazanov’s opinion, were well
received by their extra-parliamentary colleagues. “And even the first
president [Armenian National Congress leader Levon Ter-Petrossian]
assessed this stage positively, saying he is moving toward open
dialogue; moreover, noting that dialogue shouldn’t be interrupted.”

Weighing in on democratic reforms in the country, the HHK spokesperson
cited a segment of Sargsyan’s May 28 speech where, in Sharmazanov’s
words, the president established a new political agenda and proposed
a new resolution for political entities and, in the first place,
for the ruling coalition.

“And this resolution lies in the fact that the rights of individuals
and citizens are as important as collective national interests. The
strongest bulwark against domestic and foreign tremors and defense
against external enemies and internal illegalities are free citizens,
and only through the existence of free citizens are we able to
reach our goals and our dreamed Armenia. This is a new phenomenon in
Armenia’s political field,” he said.

To journalists’ observation that the Armenian National Congress says
it has one subject to have a dialogue with the authorities on and
that is pre-term presidential elections, Sharmazanov said he sees
neither the likelihood nor a political or legal reason for holding
early elections at this time.

Asked in that case, what will the authorities have a dialogue with
the opposition about, the HHK spokesperson said they will dialogue
on important political, economic and foreign issues.

PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN VISITS THE SARDARAPAT HEROIC BATTLE MEMORIAL

ARMENPRESS
MAY 30, 2011
YEREVAN

President Serzh Sargsyan visited May 28 the Sardarapat heroic
battle memorial and participated at the festive events dedicated to
Republic’s Day.

The President of Armenia laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to the
memory of the heroes of the Sardarapat battle. Later, he participated
at the festive public events and concert dedicated to Republic’s Day.

PRESS RELEASE
Beylan Compatriotic Union
Attn: Dikran Sarafian
325 N. 3rd St., apt. #325
Burbank, CA 91502
Tel: 818-972-2835

The Beylan Compatriotic Union is proud to present ‘The power of
Soul DNA’ book by Dr. Alicia Ghiragossian.

The event will take place on Sunday the 12th of June, at 6:30 pm. at
the Glendale Central Library at 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale, CA 91205.

DR. ALICIA GHIRAGOSSIÃ=81N is an Argentine-American world class
poet of Armenian ancestry, former attorney and actor, who resides in
Glendale, California.

This Honorary Doctor of the National Academy of Sciences of
Armenia, is author of 63 volumes and creator of surprising paradoxes
and metaphors. She is also the only poet in the world who writes in
three languages: English, Spanish and Armenian and the only living one
whose work has been illustrated by the legendary Pablo Picasso. She is
the founder of groundbreaking theories, such as Meta-dimensional
Poetry, wherein she formulates the equation of elements in
metaphors. Moreover, as a student of metaphysics, she dives into
powerful concepts outlining the existence of Soul DNA, the Quantum
Seed phenomenon, and the Teiwas Energy Factor.

For more information contact Aida at (818) 332-0624 or e-mail
[email protected]

# # # #

May 29, 2011

REEL INCARNATIONS

Rrishi Raote / New Delhi May 28, 2011, 0:51 IST

Among the new biopics the most promising are of less-known but still great
Indians

Truth is better than fiction, especially in Bollywood. Perhaps, as
they say, there is now more experimentation and less `inspiration.’ in
the film world. Predictability of plot and the habit of making Indian
avatars of Hollywood films are still problems at the big-budget
end. Saviours, however, are in sight. They are not (or not only) young
and innovative filmmakers and scriptwriters. Rather, they are (more
often than not) interesting dead people, who make excellent subjects
for biopics.

Gauhar Jaan, for instance. She was a singer of the late 19th and early
20th centuries, and one of the early Indian `celebrities’. She was
born Eileen Angelina Yeoward, an Armenian Christian. Her father died
when she was young, and she converted to Islam. Gauhar Jaan became one
of the best-known tawaifs and singers of Calcutta, patronised by the
deposed Awadh ruler Wajid Ali Shah (1822-1887), himself a poet, singer
and dancer. She developed a broad and deep musical repertoire.

As she grew famous, Gauhar Jaan also developed a lively
reputation. She was associated with wealthy lovers. She became rich,
and was notorious for driving around in a carriage drawn by six horses
-not a privilege permitted to ordinary Indians, but she happily paid
the fine. Postcards with her portrait on them were sold in Europe. She
even made musical recordings, starting in 1902 when she became
probably the first Indian singer to have her voice recorded. The
crackly three-minute recording still survives, and is the basis for
the revival of interest in Gauhar Jaan. By 1920 she had made over 600
records.

Of course, her life took a tragic turn. Eventually she lost her
wealth, her lovers and her patrons. She ended her life at the Mysore
palace, a mere court musician. She died in 1930.

Now what could make a better subject for film or book? You can’t make
up a story like hers. Yet the book had to come first. A young techie
from Bangalore named Vikram Sampath published a biography of her a
year ago, titled My Name Is Gauhar Jaan! (This is what she said at the
end of every recording.) The book was launched to unusual fanfare. As
many as three well-known film makers are said to be interested in
filming Gauhar Jaan’s story, including Kiran Rao, director of Dhobi
Ghat.

Sampath says, `Many people have shown an interest.’ But he does not
want his protagonist `cheapened’ by a typical Bollywood portrayal. On
the other hand, he points out that `it would be a dream role for any
woman actor’. Without his book, however, there would be no story to
film – Gauhar Jaan has received little scholarly attention and as
Sampath says, `the music world has more or less forgotten her. She
left no lineage, family or students.’

Bal Gandharva (real name Narayan Rajhans), the great Marathi stage
singer and actor of the same era, was one of Gauhar Jaan’s lovers. He
is the subject of a just-released Marathi film – among the most
expensive and technologically advanced – directed by ad filmmaker Ravi
Jadhav (who released Natarang in 2010, a film on tamashas, the popular
Maharashtrian performance form). But Bal Gandharva would not have
happened if the actor who plays him, Subodh Bhave, had not read a
biography of the star while researching a role for a play and then
approached producer Nitin Desai with the idea of a biopic.

* * * * *

Not surprisingly, biopics have tended to be about big names. Out now,
for instance, is a biopic titled Gandhi To Hitler which looks at the
German dictator’s last hours with lover Eva Braun in his Berlin
bunker. There are two films on the last Iraqi dictator, including The
Trial of Saddam Hussein. Ram Gopal Varma has said he is working on
Terror Turns to Horror: Al Qaeda Part II in which Osama bin Laden
returns as a ghost to haunt the White House. (Really.) The Ramakrishna
Mission is planning a biopic on Swami Vivekananda (Bernardo Bertolucci
was name-dropped).

Also not surprising, old film personalities offer subjects for new
films. Three (or four) films are being made on Kishore Kumar. One by
Anurag Basu features Ranbir Kapoor as Kumar and Katrina Kaif as
Madhubala. Rajinikanth, Silk Smitha (played by Vidya Balan), Salman
Khan, Rekha and Suchitra Sen (in Bengali) are some upcoming star
subjects.

Potentially more interesting, however, because they are based on
little-known but great people, are films on cultural stars like
painter Raja Ravi Varma (focusing on his love life), Malayalam poet P
Kunhiraman Nair (who loved `nature and women’), and Maharashtrian
musical prodigy DV Paluskar, who died young. The first two follow from
books, a biography and an autobiography. The third was filmed by an
independent Pune scholar named Anjali Kirtane who released her Marathi
`docu-drama’ Gaanyogi and a fat biography of Paluskar on the same day
last year.

A biopic of the great runner Milkha Singh (whose family was killed
during Partition) and of Noor Inayat Khan, a Tipu Sultan descendant
who was one of England’s most useful spies in Nazi-occupied France
during the 1940s and died in a concentration camp, have both come out
of recent books =80′ Singh’s Hindi and Punjabi memoirs and historian
Shrabani Basus biography, The Spy Princess. These is also big money –
Singh has said he was offered Rs 1-1.5 crore for his story, though he
settled for Rs 1 and a share of the profits for his charitable
foundation.

With already famous subjects, filmmakers have to pick an angle. It is
the lives of the less-known names, rediscoveries of modern scholars,
that offer the most meat. They offer mild name recall, a terrific
story that is still fresh and combines achievement with tragedy in an
inspirational or satisfying way, that illuminates history or the
present, that derives from more or less rigorous scholarship, feeds
our taste for nostalgia and celebrity anecdote, and finally, gives us
something to be proud of. No wonder the immediate future looks good
for biopics.

Le Monde, France
26 mai 2011 jeudi

PROFIL: Richard Mallié, le chevalier des causes populaires

C’est un des hommes forts de l’Assemblée nationale. Elu député (UMP)
des Bouches-du-Rhône en 2002 après avoir arraché la 4e circonscription
au communiste Roger Meï, Richard Mallié a connu une ascension
fulgurante. En 2005, il devient secrétaire de l’Assemblée, et, depuis
2007, il en est le premier questeur, un poste clé. Les trois questeurs
gèrent les crédits du Palais-Bourbon, ils disposent chacun d’un vaste
appartement dans les locaux de l’Assemblée qu’ils peuvent mettre à
disposition des élus qui en font la demande. Ils ont beaucoup
-d’amis…

La recette de ce chirurgien-dentiste de 62 ans, à la moustache drue et
à la faconde toute méridionale : un flair inné pour s’emparer des
sujets ” grand public “. Et une communication bien rodée. Il est
aujourd’hui un des fers de lance de la ” bataille des radars “.

Il a très vite compris comment se faire connaître. Habituellement, les
nouveaux élus siègent dans les derniers rangs, tout en haut de
l’Hémicycle, peu visibles. Lui s’est fait une place au premier rang,
multipliant les interpellations des orateurs, soigneusement
répertoriées par les rédacteurs qui prennent en note les débats. Du
pain bénit pour les moteurs de recherche qui comptabilisent le nombre
d’interventions en séance et pour les chasseurs de classement qui s’en
servent pour référence. Et voilà Richard Mallié sacré ” député le plus
actif de France ” !

Ce qu’il s’empresse de faire savoir. Journal, blog : avec l’aide de
l’agence Com’Publics, dirigée par Marc Teyssier d’Orfeuil, qui
s’occupe de sa communication, Richard Mallié devient rapidement un
incontournable. D’autant qu’il a été un des premiers, parmi les
députés de l’UMP, à choisir le bon cheval en se mettant dans les pas
de Nicolas Sarkozy quand ce dernier n’était pas encore le candidat
désigné à l’élection présidentielle. ” Nation et patriotisme ”

Parmi ses grands combats, le refus de l’entrée de la Turquie dans
l’Union européenne. Elu d’une circonscription où la communauté
arménienne est importante, le député est à l’initiative, en 2005, de
l'” appel des 43 ” députés qui demandent au président Chirac de
refuser l’ouverture des négociations de l’Europe avec ce pays. Il met
en place et préside un groupe de parlementaires qui exerce une
vigilance constante sur tout ce qui touche aux relations avec la
Turquie.

Ce n’est pas son seul fait d’armes, loin s’en faut. Ce député qui se
réclame de ” la nation, du patriotisme et de la République ” se fait
fort d’enfourcher les causes ” populaires “. Défense des buralistes
quand Xavier Bertrand voulait étendre l’interdiction de fumer dans les
lieux publics, campagne pour maintenir l’inscription du numéro des
départements sur les plaques d’immatriculation et, peut-être sa ” mère
des batailles “, celle pour l’ouverture des magasins le dimanche. Sa
circonscription englobe Plan de Campagne, une des plus vastes zones
commerciales de France. Il ne désarmera pas avant d’avoir obtenu gain
de cause.

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 27, 2011 Friday 2:05 PM GMT+3

West begins to reevaluate Saakashvili

RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Fedyashin

After Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili broke up an opposition
rally in Tbilisi with rubber bullets, tear gas and clubs, Washington,
which provided one billion dollars in aid to Saakashvili two years
ago, was once again faced with the agonizing question of what to do
with the “first democrat” of the Caucasus.

This always happens when it is impossible to give up on somebody and
yet unqualified support seems inappropriate. It is always very
unpleasant to face the truth about one’s political proteges. American
faced this situation repeatedly with its dictators in Central and
Latin America. President Franklin D. Roosevelt supposedly said of the
Nicaraguan dictator, “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son
of a bitch.” However, this is no basis for a foreign policy in the
21st century.

The last dictator and the first democrat

For all the differences between Alexander Lukashenko and Mikheil
Saakashvili, their attitude to demonstrations by the opposition is
very similar. This proposition may sound criminal until you look at it
through the lens of the law.

By law both Lukashenko and Saakashvili had every right to break up any
unsanctioned demonstration. This happened in Minsk last winter and in
Tbilisi on May 25. The consequences and response were completely
different, but this isn’t the point, even though there was a lack of
objectivity in how they were portrayed. But everyone has the right to
political interpretation, and we do not live in an absolutely black
and white world.

However, as regards Saakashvili, especially after his performance with
clubs and police and his attempts to blame opposition leader Nino
Burdzhanadze for the death of a policeman during the effort to break
up the rally, the change of attitude is becoming more obvious. In this
volatile time of Arab revolutions and universal protest against
authoritarian rule (against dictators, tyrants, satraps and autocratic
rulers) it is very difficult to apply double standards – to see some
things in one place and turn a blind eye to very similar things in
others. All American and European newspapers acknowledge that the
change of attitude to Georgia and in Georgia itself would be much more
pronounced if Saakashvili did not have Russia for a neighbor. Both the
West and Georgia make allowances for Georgia’s proximity to Russia in
order not to be blamed for being too pro-Russian.

Saakashvili’s cessation from Georgia

The process of updating the view of the Georgian president, as well as
his government and entourage, is bound to develop faster after the
events of May 21-25. It will hardly lead to an early change in the
Tbilisi regime. Nobody is predicting a change of power in Georgia
before 2013 unless the opposition becomes strong enough for that, but
for the time being this looks unlikely.

However, the attitude toward Saakashvili is obviously changing. Many
more people understand now that democracy and Saakashvili are not
synonymous and that Georgia and Saakashvili are different things.

These metamorphoses are taking place not only in the expert community
but also, tacitly, in the U.S. administration. Jackson Diehl from The
Washington Post wrote about Saakashvili: “The truth is that it would
be considerably easier for the United States to defend Georgia and its
democracy [the author means ‘from Russia’ without mentioning this] if
it did not have to defend — and depend on — Saakashvili
himself…The crude public attacks on him by Putin and sidekick Dmitry
Medvedev, who publicly called him a ‘lunatic’ and ‘bastard,’ have only
served to strengthen Saakashvili both in Washington and Tbilisi.” This
is usually said when it is clear that someone has become a burden but
“he’s our son-of-a-bitch” and must be defended so that there is some
counterweight to the Russian bear.

Here is another brilliant passage worth quoting in full. Paul
Saunders, executive director of The Nixon Center, wrote: “Ultimately,
however, it wouldn’t matter to Georgia’s president whether the United
States was a democracy, a theocracy or ruled by Martians so long as he
could use Washington to change the dynamics of Georgian-Russian
relations.”

Saakashvili should be given high marks for his ability to manipulate
public opinion. He is indeed very good at brainwashing his donors.

On the eve of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Tbilisi in
2009, Saakashvili announced election reforms (direct elections of city
mayors) and promised the opposition a cable channel for broadcasting
all over Georgia. Biden, who is susceptible to flattery, was
surrounded with such attention that he promised Misha (Saakashvili) an
alliance for a long time to come. His words carried little weight but
had a big propaganda effect.

In the summer of 2010, Tbilisi was looking forward to the arrival of
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It was important to determine
how much Tbilisi could rely on the support of the Obama
administration. The opposition to Saakashvili was growing and his
former supporters were quitting his camp. Tbilisi was dying for a show
of U.S. sympathy.

It did not conceal that if Ms Clinton mentioned even once “Georgia’s
illegally occupied territories” (that is, Abkhazia and South Ossetia),
the visit could be regarded a success. However, on this point Clinton
was evasive. She said only that Washington does not agree with the
presence of Russian troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and that the
U.S. and Russia are working together through the OSCE Minsk Group to
settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict even though they cannot agree on
Georgia. On her tour, Clinton repeatedly emphasized that although
Moscow and Washington are resetting their relations, they will not
necessarily agree on every issue. This statement was intended to
encourage the opponents of the reset, while not committing the Obama
administration to anything specific. But Clinton could have said the
same about the U.S. relations with Israel, France or Germany. It’s
diplomatic boilerplate, nothing more. The expectations of the
Saakashvili regime were not quite justified.

Autocratic inheritance

Saakashvili’s autocratic tendencies were noticed long before the
crackdowns on opposition demonstrations (in November 2007 or even
before and then this May). It was noticed even before the war in the
Caucasus in August 2008 and before he overthrew his patron, mentor and
benefactor Eduard Shevardnadze.

“I think that Misha tends toward the authoritarian,” said Scott
Horton, a human rights lawyer in the United States who taught Mr.
Saakashvili when he was a student at Columbia Law School in the
mid-1990s, later hired him at a law firm in New York, and has remained
friendly with him. He mentioned Saakashvili’s attitude to presidential
prerogatives and authority, attempts to marginalize the parliament and
belittle the opposition. But it cannot all be laid at Saakashvili’s
door. Authoritarian tendencies are regional specialty.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

Economic News (Information Agency Oreanda)
May 25, 2011 Wednesday

Superjet 100 Performed Its First Commercial Flight in Armavia Fleet

Moscow. OREANDA-NEWS . May 25, 2011. Sukhoi Superjet 100 performed its
first commercial flight in Armavia fleet. The aircraft was put into
operation in an extremely short period of time in two days after the
official delivery to the launch customer on April, 19 2011. The route
of the first passenger flight with 96 passengers aboard was
Yerevan-Moscow(Sheremetyevo)- Yerevan .

During the past month the aircraft has made 66 flights in total. All
flights were performed at 35000 39000ft altitude, at the speed of
0.78- 0.8 M . Smooth and regular aircraft operation is the result of
the perfect job done by highly professional Armavia team supported by
the manufacturer of the aircraft.

SSJ100 performs flights to Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Odessa,
Donetsk, Simferopol, Larnaka (Greece), Aleppo (Syria), Venice (Italy),
Teheran (Iran), Rome (Italy), Tel-Aviv (Israel), Beirut (Lebanon),
Lion (France).

The aircraft spent more than 168 hours in flight, took more than 2885
passengers to total distance of 85800 km . No failure having impact on
the airworthiness was registered during the whole period of operation.

SSJ100 perfectly fits Armavia fleet, containing mostly CRJ200, A319
and A320 aircraft. Owing to high economic efficiency and good
operational capabilities we can schedule the aircraft both to regional
and to short-haul routes – basing on current passenger load per each
flight. stressed the owner of Armavia Mikhail Bagdasarov.

It is a great aircraft and it allows intensive operation already at
entry into service. Both crew and passengers receive only positive
impressions.

The aircraft is easy and comfortable to control, the cockpit is quiet
and allows effortless communication between pilots. The cabin is
spacious and comfortable too, the passengers do not have any
difficulties while boarding or placing their baggage. Wide aisles
provide the opportunity to serve food and beverages with maximum
comfort even during short flights. The passengers can easily pass the
flight attendant by while he is serving. adds SSJ100 Crew Chief Sergey
Kharatyan.

Trend, Azerbaijan
May 27 2011

Belgium MP: Armenia has tense social situation

Azerbaijan, Baku, May 27 / Trend T. Hajiyev /

Azerbaijan is showing the world community that it is an open tolerant
country from the national and religious points of view. It is
impossible to say this about Armenia, the head of the
Azerbaijan-Belgium Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Philippe
Blanchard told media.

“There is very tense social situation in Armenia,” he said. “It is
impossible to speak about the presence of religious tolerance.”
Touching upon the relations between the Azerbaijani and Belgian
Parliaments, Blanchard said that it is planned to hold a meeting of
the friendship group in September.

“Azerbaijani MPs are well informed about Belgium, as opposed to
Belgian MPs,” he said. “We would like Belgian MPs to visit Azerbaijan
often and to closer familiarize with the development of Azerbaijan.”

Trend, Azerbaijan
May 26 2011

EU’s intensification in resolving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict not to
lead to drastic changes

by A. Gasimova, Trend News Agency, Baku, Azerbaijan

May 26–BAKU, Azerbaijan — Even if the European Union intensifies its
activity to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it will not lead to
drastic changes, the director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
at Johns Hopkins University Svante Cornell said.

The report “Renewed European Neighbourhood Policy” states that the EU
is ready to strengthen its involvement in resolving the protracted
conflicts. According to the report, the EU must be ready to intensify
its involvement in the formats where it has not been represented yet,
such as the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

“I consider this issue with suspicion,” he told Trend. “At present,
the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is explosive. It would be nice if
the EU became active in this issue, but I do not think that this will
lead to major changes.”

He said that the support and intensification of France, a member of
the OSCE Minsk Group, is necessary to strengthen the EU.

“At present, the OSCE Minsk Group is not very active in its actions,”
he said. “It takes a passive position.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group — Russia, France, and the U.S. —
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.