Author: Kanayan Tamar

ARMENIA ORGANIZED TRAINING FOR DIASPORA JOURNALISTS

news.am
June 24 2011
Armenia

YEREVAN.- Journalism department of the Yerevan State University
jointly with Ministry of Diaspora organize training for journalists
from Diaspora.

Nineteen journalists under the age of 33 with working experience in
Armenian-language media outlet will participate in the trainings.

They will represent eleven countries, including U.S., Brazil, UK, the
Netherlands, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Estonia and Georgia.

Journalists will present their works at the end a program providing
trainings in a number of Armenian media outlets.

NEW ROUND OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH TALKS BEGINS

Voice of Russia
June 24 2011

Dmitry Medvedev (C), Ilham Aliyev (L), Serge Sargsian (R). Photo:
RIA Novosti

The Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents are meeting in the
capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Kazan, today in another
attempt to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russia galvanized its mediatory mission in November 2008 by pushing
the trilateral contacts to the top level. In 2008, Dmitry Medvedev,
Ilham Aliyev and Serge Sargsian adopted the Moscow Declaration and
pointed out the need for resolving the conflict exclusively through
peaceful means.

Meanwhile the US President Barack Obama urged his Azerbaijani and
Armenian counterparts in the run-up to Friday’s meeting to sign the
basic principles for a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

The armed conflict flared up after Nagorno-Karabakh, an
Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan, spun out of Baku’s control
following the break-up of the USSR.

‘ARMENIANS NEVER MADE MAJORITY IN NAKHCHIVAN’

news.az
June 24 2011
azerbaijan

‘Armenians are not indigenous people in these lands and they never
made up majority not only in Nakhchivan, but also in Yerevan’.

The statement came from academician at Azerbaijan National Academy of
Sciences Vali Aliyev while commenting on Armenian leader’s remarks for
Euronews that ‘Armenians used to live in Nakhchivan in large numbers.
But later the correlation between the number of populations were
changed and no Armenian were left there.’

‘Yerevan which is populated by Armenians now is a historical land
of Turks. Simply, public and political processes in the region back
1918-1920 made their positions stronger. They still want to have
Nakhchivan. At that time the Czarist Russia were using them for its
own purposes by misleading them. The Czarist Russia was seeking to
gain foothold in the South Caucasus. They were trying to control
processes with the help of Armenians,’ Aliyev added.

‘The Armenians failed to understand that they these lands belonged
to Turks.’

The academician said the time will come when Armenians will understand
that they have made gross mistakes.

‘But then it will late. The historical and cultural monuments in
Yerevan that Armenians introduce to the world belong to Turks. The
traces of Turks are still very well visible in every village, district
there,’ the academician noted.

RUSSIA SEEKS END TO TERRITORIAL ROW BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

Monsters and Critics

June 24 2011

Moscow – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with the leaders of
Armenia and Azerbaijan Friday in a bid to reach an agreement between
the two countries on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Medvedev was hosting a summit with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in the central Russian
city of Kazan.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that
has been controlled by Armenia since 1994, war ended between the
two countries. The dispute over the territory’s status, dating from
the last years of the Soviet Union, is one of the most intractable
conflicts in the Caucasus region.

Medvedev said he wanted to bring Yerevan and Baku back to the
negotiating table to find a solution to the dispute.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s territory currently is marked by a ceasefire line,
where Armenian and Azerbajini troops sometimes exchange fire.

A Kremlin statement said a top goal of the conference was obtaining
a commitment from both sides to renounce force in resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Both Sargsyan and Aliyev, in pre-summit comments, said they were
‘optimistic’ the talks would help negotiators make progress towards
ending the current deadlock.

‘We believe that there can be great autonomy (for Nagorno-Karabakh)
Aliyev said, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency. ‘But
the territory is an unalterable part of Azerbaijan.’

Replacement of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on the ceasefire line
with peacekeepers from neighbouring countries was another probable
discussion topic for the summit, Interfax reported.

Armenia has historically had a stronger army than Azerbaijan. The
military balance between the two countries has shifted in recent
years because of substantial arms purchases by oil-rich Azerbaijan.

FACTBOX-NAGORNO-KARABAKH – DISPUTED BY AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA

Reuters
June 24 2011

June 24 (Reuters) – The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet
along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday to discuss
the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Mediators Russia, the United States and France have urged the leaders
to endorse a framework document that would pave the way for talks to
resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, where ethnic Armenians
threw off Azeri rule in the early 1990s.

Here is a profile of the region and the conflict:

HISTORY:

The status of Nagorno-Karabakh has been disputed since 1918, when
Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent from the Russian empire.

Soviet rule was imposed in the South Caucasus in 1921, and
predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous
region within the Azeri Soviet republic. In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh
authorities demanded to be transferred to the Armenian republic. The
Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Nagorno-Karabakh declared
independence in a referendum boycotted by most of the local ethnic
Azeri population.

WAR:

Sporadic fighting between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azeris
erupted in all-out war in 1991. Ethnic Armenian forces, backed by
Armenia, drove back Azeri forces and took control of seven districts of
Azerbaijan adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh. Some 30,000 people were killed
and about 1 million became refugees, the majority in Azerbaijan. A
ceasefire was signed in 1994, but there are frequent violations.

GEOGRAPHY, POPULATION:

Statistics are disputed, but Nagorno-Karabakh is estimated to have
a population of a little over 100,000 ethnic Armenians. Almost all
Azeris fled during the war. The capital is Stepanakert. Renowned for
its beauty, the mountain region is around 4,400 square km (1,760 miles)
in area. It has its own political institutions, but is closely linked
politically and economically to Armenia. Its declared independence
has not been recognised by any state, including Armenia.

NEGOTIATIONS: The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s
Minsk Group of U.S., French and Russian envoys leads mediation
efforts, and have organised many meetings between the Azeri and
Armenian leaders since the 1990s.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has stepped up Moscow’s mediation.

Before Friday, he had met together with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenia’s Serzh Sarksyan eight times since he took office in 2008.

BASIC PRINCIPLES:

The mediators hope Armenia and Azerbaijan will finalise and endorse
a 14-point framework document setting out key elements — or Basic
Principles — of a resolution and paving the way for negotiations in
a final settlement of the conflict.

The document, which has not been made public, would set guidelines
on six issues at the centre of negotiations:

-The return of Armenian-held territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh
to Azeri control.

-An interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing for security and
self-governance.

-The future determination of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh by
an expression of the will of the people.

-The provision of a land corridor linking Nagorno-Karabakh with
Armenia.

-The right of return of displaced people and refugees on both sides

-International security guarantees, including a peacekeeping force.

PITFALLS:

-If they do agree a framework document, the leaders of Azerbaijan and
Armenia will have to decide whether to make it public after years of
secretive talks, and could face difficulties convincing citizens of
the wisdom of the agreement.

-Fighting along the frontline could jeopardise agreement.

-Diplomats and analysts warn that the sides could drift apart again if
agreement on a framework document is not followed within a reasonable
period by a final peace settlement.

-A resolution will have to square the principles of territorial
integrity, which is emphasised by Azerbijan, and self-determination,
emphasised by Armenia.

-Negotiations on a peace settlement will likely have to involve the
de-facto leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, adding another element
to the volatile mix.

Sources: Reuters/

(Writing by Matt Robinson and Steve Gutterman)

DAVIT BABAYAN SAYS OBAMA’S MESSAGE MEANS THAT NK CONFLICT CANNOT BE SETTLED WITH PARTICIPATION OF KARABAKH IN THE PROCESS

ARMENPRESS
JUNE 24, 2011
YEREVAN

The statement of the US President Barrack Obama was an interesting
development which shows that the OSCE Minsk group co-chairing countries
are gradually coming to the conviction that it is impossible to
reach settlement of the conflict without participation of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic in the talks, head of staff of the NKR president
Davit Babayan said speaking to Armenpress.

At the same time Babayan said he does not think that a document or an
agreement will be worked out at the Kazan meeting today. “Especially
in case when president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev in an interview to
Euronews presenting the official position of Baku noted that he has
nothing to offer for Karabakh “as it was the inseparable part of
Azerbaijan for a long time”. How it is possible to come to common
agreement with a president who is guided with such philosophy. I do
not think anything serious will be registered in Kazan. The utmost
thing will be adoption of a common statement over certain principles
and nothing more”, Babayan said.

LETTER OF ARMENIANS OF AZERBAIJAN TO OSCE MINSK GROUP

Aysor.am
24.06.2011, 19:06

“The return of the Armenian refugees is not being discussed,” said
ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan in the interview given toAysor.am.

H. Kharatyan said that today Armenia simply gives the Armenians of
Azerbaijan the opportunity to become RA citizens, and the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mentions sometimes
that they are ready to support that process.

The ethnographer thinks the silence about this problem is unclear,
while this problem is of a permanent importance.

Hranush Kharatyan noted that the Armenians of Azerbaijan have sent
a note to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs calling on including the
issue of returning of the Armenians of Azerbaijan into the negotiation
discussions.

DASHNAK LEADER SAYS ARMENIANS FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN LEVON TER-PETROSYAN AND SERZH SARGSYAN

Tert.am
24.06.11

Speaking at the party’s congress today, ARF-D leader Hrant Margaryan
said: “We are accused of not forming a united front with other
opposition forces. Why should we? We should unite to replace Serzh
Sargsyan with Levon Ter-Petrosyan? So that the environment of
intolerance, cynicism return? They want to force us choose between
Serzh Sargsyan and Levon Ter-Petrosyan. What’s the difference between
them.”

He also said that the ARF-D is, however, ready to cooperate with
others if the goals, methods, the leadership mechanisms are clear.

PRESIDENTS COME TO NO AGREEMENT ON BASIC PRINCIPLES IN KAZAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 24, 2011 – 21:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The summit between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia
completed without an agreement on basic principles of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement, according to RIA Novosti.

The parties stated the progress on the way to this goal, the statement
on the Kazan summit results runs. “The countries’ leaders registered
mutual understanding on a range of problems, the resolution of
which boosts creation of conditions for approving main principles,”
according to the statement.

It is also said in the document that the meeting participants
considered the course of works carried out with the aim of coordination
of the project with basic principles.

The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan expressed gratitude to the
Russian, French and U.S. leaders, the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs,
for ‘their constant attention to Nagorno-Karabakh problem’ and
highly praised personal efforts of the Russian President in support
of agreements.

SHARE OF EQUIPMENT AND COMMODITIES IN ARMENIAN IMPORTS RISING: ECONOMY MINISTER

/ARKA/
JUNE 24, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, June 24. / ARKA /. Armenian economy minister Tigran Davtian
said today the share of equipment and commodities in Armenian imports
was rising and described the trend as positive.

Speaking at a news conference he said when the share of equipment and
industrial commodities in imports is rising it is positive, and this
trend has been seen clearly over the last months. Imports of mining
equipment and products in January-April 2011 rose to a total of 246.3
million drams, a 16.8% rise compared to the same period of 2010.

The minister also noted that although the foreign trade gap in absolute
terms has formally increased, the growth in exports is higher than
in imports.

“The negative trend is dropping to zero, and if it continues, the
deficit in absolute terms will stop rising,” he said.

Armenia’s foreign trade turnover in May this year rose to $474.7
million, or 177.2 billion drams, having increased by 23% compared
to May 2010. The volume of exports totalled $114.3 million (42.8
billion drams), an increase of 39.7% over the same period in 2010,
and imports rose to $360.4 million (134.4 billion AMD), an increase
of 18.5% from a year earlier. As a result, the negative trade balance
in May 2011 was $246.1 million (91.6 billion drams).