Author: Karagyozian Lena

CSTO AND EURASEC TO DISCUSS MIGRATION ISSUES

ArmInfo
2008-09-09 15:22:00

ArmInfo. Joint session of the CSTO Coordination Council on fighting
illegal migration and Migration Policy Council under EurAsEc
Integration Committee will be held in Cholpon-Ati (Kyrgystan), on
10 September, adviser of the CSTO Information Department Vitaliy
Strugovets told ArmInfo today.

CSTO Deputy Director General Toktasin Buzubayev said at the first
joint session the councils will discuss the problems of fulfillment
of the practical steps on deepening of cooperation in this sphere
between the CSTO and EurAsEc. First, data base about the legal and
illegal migrants should be created. Second, general approaches to
drawing out and application of the national legislations of the CSTO
and EurAsEc member-states in the sphere of migration should be defined.

He also added the problems of drawing out and signing of a number of
bilateral agreements on readmission are also on the agenda.

Agence France Presse — English
September 6, 2008 Saturday 9:21 AM GMT

Armenian press cautious on Turkish president’s visit

YEREVAN, Sept 6 2008

The Armenian press took a cautious view of Turkish President Abdullah
Gul’s historic visit to Yerevan Saturday, saying no breakthrough in
healing strained ties was expected.

Under the headline "Major changes not expected," the independent Ayots
Ashkar daily quoted the director of Armenia’s genocide museum, Gaik
Demoian, as saying: "I don’t expect any major shift in
Armenian-Turkish relations. But I don’t exclude this small step will
open the road to more favourable attitudes."

Gul was expected to land in the Armenian capital at 1200 GMT and would
meet Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian before attending a World Cup
qualifier between Armenia and Turkey scheduled to begin at 1600 GMT.

The Russian-language Voice of Armenia said opinion on Gul’s visit was
divided and quoted political scientist Armen Aivazian expressing
scepticism over a possible change in Turkish attitudes.

"I am convinced that Turkey has not repented for its crimes in
1915-1923 and also continues a policy of oppressing Armenia," he said.

But the newspaper also quoted Armenian lawmaker Avet Adonts as saying
the meeting marked "the moment when Armenia and Turkey can begin
negotiating without intermediaries."

Still others wondered what all the fuss was about.

"It seems to me that the passion around this visit is exaggerated,"
wrote Aram Abramian, the editor of opposition newspaper Aravot.

"It’s only a game after all. If we win, we can all celebrate and if we
lose it won’t be the end of the world."

The two countries have no diplomatic relations and have waged a bitter
international diplomatic battle over Armenia’s attempts to have
massacres of their people under the Ottoman Empire classified as
genocide.

Newsweek
Sept 6 2008

The Rude Awakening

EU leaders believed Russia’s economic development would make it more
European. Not anymore.

By Stefan Theil | NEWSWEEK
Published Sep 6, 2008
>From the magazine issue dated Sep 15, 2008

The criticism of the European Union’s weakly worded resolution on the
Russian-Georgian conflict’warning Russia to withdraw its troops from
Georgia without naming specific consequences should Moscow fail to
comply’was as predictable as it was seething. "Europe can keep sucking
our oil and gas," mocked the Moscow tabloid Tvoi Dyen. Western
commentators likened Europe’s message to Robin Williams’s spoof of
unarmed British cops: "Stop! Or we’ll say ‘stop’ again!"

Once again, the limitations of Europe acting as one on foreign policy
were painfully obvious. The one measure the 27 leaders could agree on
at their emergency summit in Brussels was to suspend talks on a
planned EU-Russia agreement regulating such things as trade and
visas’a largely symbolic act considering the talks have been stalled
for more than a year. But the more interesting news was how closely
aligned EU members were compared to the last emergency summit in 2003,
when the continent’s split over the Iraq War led to the worst
foreign-policy crisis in the EU’s history. This time, they unanimously
agreed that there had been a red line, and that Russia had crossed it
by invading Georgia and unilaterally declaring two of its provinces
independent.

What’s more, the lack of tough action was more a reflection of
coolheaded realism than of disunity. "Europe’s short-term options are
close to zero," says Jan Techau, an analyst at the German Council on
Foreign Relations. Fighting a nuclear-armed Russia over Georgia?
Forget it. Trade sanctions would hit Europe with a painful
backlash’its citizens depend on Russian deliveries for 25 percent of
their oil and gas consumption, and its companies are heavily invested
in Russia. Given Russia’s phobias about Western conspiracies and
encirclement, threats would likely harden Russian policies. Even if it
wanted to take a tougher line, says Techau, the EU hasn’t even begun
to develop strategic options for a more bellicose Russia, instead
choosing to live comfortably with the narrative that Russia’s economic
integration would align it with a soft-power, multilateral,
postconflict Europe.

The Russian-Georgian war has shot down this illusion. "Georgia shows
that a military conflict in Europe is not as unlikely as it seemed
just a short time ago," says Klaus Reinhardt, a retired Bundeswehr
general and former NATO commander. The real test of Europe’s resolve
is how it intends to deal with these threats in the future. That would
start with uncomfortable questions of how the bloc would react if one
of its members were threatened. Several EU countries (including
Estonia and Latvia) have sizable Russian minorities, which Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev said two weeks ago Moscow has the right to
"protect." It would include turning rhetoric into action on cutting
Europe’s growing energy dependence on Russia’finding new suppliers,
building new pipelines, boosting alternative energy and nuclear
power’and getting serious about a European energy market that would
make it harder for Russia to play off one country against another. And
it would include finally getting serious about resolving exploitable
frozen conflicts from Moldova to Armenia.

That assumes that the EU can find the will. The weakest link may be
Germany, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel’s shuttle diplomacy that
kept the bloc unified last week. Germany has traditionally nurtured a
special relationship with Russia, and there is a strong undercurrent
in public opinion blaming the United States (and its Trojan-horse
allies like Georgia and Poland) for any trouble with Russia. In recent
weeks, Russian diplomats and lobbyists, including former chancellor
Gerhard Schröder, seem to have been on a propaganda offensive
to boost public opposition to any robust EU reaction. The emerging
divide between the pro-Russian Social Democrats and Merkel’s more
hawkish Christian Democrats also threatens to draw Russia policy into
next year’s national-election campaign.

So far, though, the biggest effect on Europe of Russia’s actions is a
tenuous unity. Europe’s leaders seem desperate to avoid the fracas
that divided them over Iraq’or, for that matter, over the former
Yugoslavia in the 1990s, another conflict that battered Europe’s
illusion of itself as a soft-power superpower. Now there seems to be
growing agreement that Russia will be a more uncomfortable neighbor in
the future. Whether that is the catalyst for the EU to develop a
common strategy and effective foreign policy remains to be seen.

© 2008

KARO TO GET YOSHI VICTORY
By Jim Burman

The Sun
/article1649527.ece
Sept 5 2008
UK

KARO PARISYAN is looking to get back on the welterweight championship
trail against Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 88.

Armenian Judo star Parisyan could be described as the ‘almost guy’
of the welterweight division. The 26-year-old fighter has had an
excellent career thus far with the exception that he has never made
it as far as a title shot.

In fact he is the longest-serving fighter in the UFC to never make
it to No1 contender status. Soon to celebrate five years with the
promotion, he has only lost three of his 12 bouts – against current
champ Georges St Pierre, Diego Sanchez and his last bout against
Thaigo Silva.

Nicknamed ‘The Heat’ because of the intensity and fast pace he
brings to the Octagon, Parisyan has looked a little luke warm in his
last two fights. Revealing recently that he had been suffering with
stress and from panic attacks, he is looking for a return to form
come Saturday night.

Japanese ace Yoshida is another Judo player who has successfully made
the transition into mixed martial mrts. After losing his second and
third bouts, Yoshida is now on a nine-fight winning streak beating
Ultimate Fighter alumni Jon ‘War Machine’ Koppenhaver in his last bout.

Yoshida also holds a disqualification victory over recent UK UFC
signing Dan Hardy which is shrouded in controversy – many believe the
outcome should have resulted in a no contest as the low blow which
ended the fight was clearly accidental.

Although Yoshida has spent the bulk of his career fighting in Japan,
where rings are favoured over cages, the majority of these bouts
have been with the G.C.M. promotion who use a cage similar to the
Octagon. Parisyan would be a massive scalp for any fighter looking
to make their mark in the UFC and a win here will validate Yoshida
as a serious contender.

You could dub this fight ‘the Judoka MMA challenge’ – both fighters
are high ranking Judo players and we could be in for some high flying
from both men as they jostle to get each other down.

I would peg Parisyan as the favourite in this bout on experience
and the greater variety of skills he brings to the Octagon but if he
isn’t there mentally then the upset is there for the taking.

Realistically Parisyan will want to make the clinch as nasty a place
as possible for Yoshida, stick a jab in his face all night long and
stay off the bottom if the fight hits the mat.

The Armenian will likely take a decision victory outscoring Yoshida
over all three rounds. Yoshida loves to ground and pound and although
he does have submission skills if he wins it’ll be more likely to be
via TKO.

Jim Burman is an MMA expert and writer for Fighters Only Magazine.Issue
42 of Fighters Only is on sale now and features exclusive interviews
with Tito Ortiz, Paul Kelly and Thiago Alves.

RUSSIA SEEKS TO SHORE UP ALLIANCES AT EX-SOVIET SUMMIT
by Nick Coleman

Agence France Presse
Sept 3 2008

President Dmitry Medvedev will seek backing for Russia’s intervention
in Georgia as leaders of seven ex-Soviet states meet on Friday,
officials said, amid signs of a Kremlin drive to fortify regional
alliances.

Russia hopes the meeting of a security bloc called the Collective
Security Treaty Organisation will build on another gathering in
Central Asia last week that included China, said presidential advisor
Sergei Prikhodko.

"We expect from our partners… confirmation of understanding and a
principled assessment of Georgia’s actions, which led to this crisis,"
Prikhodko said, according to the RIA Novosti agency.

Friday’s gathering in Moscow of the heads of Armenia, Belarus,
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan comes as
the Kremlin has brushed off Western condemnation of its surge into
southern neighbour Georgia and subsequent recognition of two Georgian
regions as independent.

Russian leaders have jetted round the region, with Medvedev announcing
closer military ties with Tajikistan, located next to Afghanistan,
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiling a new pipeline deal in
energy-rich Uzbekistan.

This push comes as US Vice President Dick Cheney was making his own
tour of US-friendly states in the region, visiting Azerbaijan on
Wednesday and later due in Georgia and Ukraine to show support in
the face of Russian pressure.

Russian newspapers voiced frustration on Wednesday that not all
appeared to be going Russia’s way among the neighbours.

Even Russia’s ally China has been lukewarm in supporting Russia’s
surge into Georgia, portrayed by Moscow as a defence of Russian
citizens there but by the West as naked aggression against the
pro-Western neighbour.

The popular daily Izvestia noted that no country had followed Moscow’s
lead and recognised as independent the two Georgian regions at the
heart of the conflict, following the Kremlin’s decision to recognise
their independence last week.

"Our close strategic partners… are still keeping quiet or very
cautious in their declarations. Even the closest neighbour and reliable
partner Belarus is completely for us in words but in practice is in
no hurry to recognise the independence of the two Caucasus republics,"
Izvestia said on Wednesday.

However Russian officials may be reconciling themselves to a slow
process towards wider international recognition of the two rebel
regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"Recognition is something each state does in turn. There can’t be any
kind of collective step," Medvedev told Russian television on Sunday.

"Look at the example of Kosovo. It’s quite clear that in this situation
there will be states that agree with the appearance of new states
and states that will consider their appearance untimely," he said.

Russia has so far won the clearest support on Georgia from immediate
neighbour Belarus and from far-off Venezuela, the three all having
close ties and being vocal critics of the United States.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Russia had no
choice but to recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia and even gushed
that Moscow had acted "beautifully" and "wisely" in its military
surge into Georgia last month.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has also voiced support, saying
Russia was "defending its interests."

However Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the independently funded journal
Russia in Global Affairs, said even Belarus’ intentions remained
unclear and all countries in the region were waiting to see how
determined Russia is to stand up to Western pressure.

Of those countries attending Friday’s meeting, several have concerns
about Russia and about ethnic unrest and potential separatism on
their own territory, analysts note.

"For quite a long period Russia will be completely alone in recognising
them (Abkhazia and South Ossetia)," said Lukyanov.

"It will take months, years. But the reality has changed…. The new
Russian approach means we don’t need confrontation with the West but
won’t continue a West-centric foreign policy," he said.

IRANIAN OFFICIAL SAYS MORE PEOPLE TRAVELLING VIA BILEHSAVAR BORDER CHECKPOINT

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
Sept 4 2008
Iran

Bilehsavar, Ardabil: The head of the Bilehsavar border [checkpoint]
in Moghan has said that this year, the number of passengers travelling
– through the border via the Bilehsavar customs checkpoint – between
Baku and Naxcivan has increased.

Because the roads are shut between the cities of Baku and Naxcivan
in the Karabakh region by Armenians, passengers of this route are
travelling between the two cities through Bilehsavar.

Speaking to an IRNA reporter on Thursday [4 September], Lotfollah
Baba’i said that so far this year, over 12,000 passengers have
travelled along this route via the Bilehsavar customs checkpoint,
using 349 buses.

He said that every day at least two buses from Baku to Naxcivan and
back use the Bilehsavar customs checkpoint.

He said that the reasons for the increase in the travel were: an
increase in the number of entrances and exits for lorries at Moghan’s
Bilehsavar customs checkpoint, the travel by Turkish lorries using
the Bilehsavar customs checkpoint because [this route is] suitable
and fast, the creation of cargo facilities and also the building of
facilities where people of Naxcivan can purchase items of general
demand at the Bilehsavar customs checkpoint, the transhiping and
fast sending of goods to other countries and the removal of extra
requirements, and the fact that there is no waiting time at the
Bilehsavar customs checkpoint.

The city of Bilehsavar in Moghan is located 155 km north of Ardabil,
and borders the Azerbaijani Republic.

EXPERIENCED REPORTERS OF RADIO LIBERTY BEING FIRED

AZG Armenian Daily
03/09/2008

Local

When recently, the Yerevan Bureau Chief of Radio Liberty, Atom
Margaryan was fired, reporters could not find out why and what was
the reason. That remained a secret.The story is repeated with Armen
Doulyan and Ruzan Khachatryan, who have both left Radio Liberty,
but remain steadfastly silent about the reasons.The media is also
silent, even though some of its representatives are usually very
outspoken in such cases. Our information indicates that both of
them have been invited by Public TV to have their own talk show,
which will be launched in late September.

However, there was some information among reporters as to why they
left Radio Liberty. According to this, Armen Doulyan, who was Acting
Bureau Chief before he left, sent a reporter to an event, only to
discover that Prague management also sent someone to cover the same
event. This seemed to have been a vote of no-confidence in him, which
angered Doulyan who served 14 years at Radio Liberty. We were not
able to verify this from Mr. Doulyan or ask him about other possible
reasons for his departure. Therefore, we have to be content with our
own assumptions.

Nobody doubts the fact that these journalists were all professionals
and well-informed media people know that they never catered to any
political or other special interests. It is also not a secret –
and regular listeners know well – that especially in the last six
months, Radio Liberty’s programs have assumed a distinctly ‘orange’
colour. The voices of the radical-pro-Levon opposition have a special
place in its programs and the two journalists have tried to maintain
a balance in their own reports and analytical pieces, by trying to
make the voices or other sides heard equally.

Our readers also remember the case of another professional journalist,
Anna Karapetian, who was unfairly fired from Radio Liberty more than
a year ago and now is suing the management in Czech courts. Likewise,
the firing of another experienced journalist, Armen Zakaryan, never
became a subject of discussion by our ‘liberal’ media. We would
like to just add that besides the Washington style, coded modus
operandi, for which we cannot blame the staff of a radio financed by
the U.S. Congress, the Armenian Service of RL suffers from another
problem – the intolerance of its director, Hrair Tamrazyan vis-à-vis
experienced journalists of his own generation. This possibly has
psychological roots. We leave the conclusion to the readers and to
Radio Liberty, its own slogans about plurality of opinion.

–Boundary_(ID_zlKcr79YfWpvmDMnH1YHZw)–

ARMENIA OCCUPIES THIRD PLACE IN CIS BY THE NUMBER OF SCIENTIFIC TRANSACTIONS PUBLISHED IN POPULAR INTERNATIONAL TITLES

arminfo
2008-09-02 16:33:00

ArmInfo. Armenia occupies the third place in CIS by the number of
scientific transactions published in popular international titles,
President of Armenian National Academy of Science Radik Martirosyan
told ArmInfo correspondent.

Russia occupies the first place – about 1.5 thsd scientific
transactions, Ukraine – the second – about 1 thsd.

U.S. VICE-PRESIDENT TO FOCUS ON ENERGY ISSUES IN AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.09.2008 15:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On September 2, U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney
will start a visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Italy to cement
strategic partnership.

According to a White House representative, during his visit to
Azerbaijan, Mr Chaney will hold consultations on the U.S.-Azerbaijani
relations, democracy development and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Energy issues will also be in focus. "Transportation of energy
resources is of great interest to the United States and European
countries," the official said, 1news.az reports.

LENMARKER ARRIVES IN YEREVAN

AZG Armenian Daily
02/09/2008

OSCE-Armenia

Goran Lenmarker, OSCE PA Special Rapporteur, is to arrive in Yerevan
on Thursday, September 4. Director of the OSCE PA communication
department Klaas Bergman told Armenpress that the aim of the visit
is to discuss and get information about the current round of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict regulation process.

Mr. Lenmarker is rapporteur of OSCE PA on Karabakh issue and has been
recently appointed OSCE PA special representative on Georgia’s affairs,
thus he assumes responsibility for the whole South Caucasus.

Today started Lenmarker’s visit to Azerbaijan, after which the OSCE
official is to visit Georgia, and afterwards Armenia, where he is to
meet with the leadership of the country.

OSCE PA Special Rapporteur shall prepare a special report on the
situation in the South Caucasus which will be heard in the OSCE PA’s
fall session scheduled for September 18-21, Toronto.