FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA TO VISIT GEORGIA
Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
July 24 2007
( Prime-News ) – Vardan Oskanian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, will
arrive on a working visit to Georgia on July 25-27.
Prime-News was told at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia that
Oskanian held a telephone conversation with his Georgian counterpart
Gela Bezhuashvili on Wednesday.
During the conversation the sides discussed aspects of bilateral
relations and details of the visit.
ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY RESULTS, SARGIS HOVHANNISIAN WINS IN ELECTIONS OF HEAD OF SHENGAVIT COMMUNITY OF YEREVAN
Noyan Tapan
Jul 23, 2007
YEREVAN, JULY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Non-party Sargis Hovhannisian ("Cadillac
Seroj") has won, according to the preliminary results of the July 22
elections of the Head of the Shengavit community of Yerevan. According
to the information provided to a Noyan Tapan correspondent by Zhuzhuna
Sukiasian, the Secretary of Local Electoral Commission 11, 24,334
people voted for Sargis Hovhannisian. Non-party Mushegh Movsisian,
who refused to continue his struggle in the electoral campaign by
violation of the defined term and whose name was included in the
ballot paper for this very reason, received 344 votes.
25,160 out of 101,580 voters of the community took part in the
ballot. 552 ballot papers were recognized as invallid. The number of
inaccuracies makes 9.
R. Kocharian advised not to pay attention on empty
talks around ignoring elections in NKR
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.07.2007 14:56 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "The presidential elections in NKR were held
excellently and I congratulate the newly elected president and people
of Karabakh," Armenian President Robert Kocharian stated to journalists
adding that the Armenian side closely watched electoral processes in
Nagorno Karabakh. He said, all necessary steps were made to reduce to
zero Armenia’s influence on elections in Nagorno Karabakh. "Armenian
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and me had opportunity to visit NKR,
but we did not do that purposely to avoid influences on the campaign
process, as well policy of presidential candidates," Kocharian noted.
Commenting on statements of international organizations that they do
not recognize elections in Nagorno Karabakh, the Armenian President
said people Artsakh hold elections for organizing their own life and
not for Washington, Brussels or Moscow. "And it doesn’t matter how
much they repeat that they do not recognize elections; conduction
of proper and democratic elections is an important step towards
recognizing NKR’s independence," Robert Kocharian stated advising
journalists not to pay much attention on empty talks around ignoring
elections in NKR, IA Regnum reports.
Armenia Stresses Iran’s N. Rights
Fars News Agency, Iran
July 21 2007
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan
voiced his country’s support for Iran’s right to access peaceful
nuclear technology.
Sargsyan made the remarks in a meeting in Yerevan on Friday with the
visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki who is on visit
to Yerevan to attend the two countries’ joint economic commission,
a statement released by the Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press
Bureau said.
During the meeting, the Iranian minister elaborated on the achievements
of the two countries’ joint commission, and pointed out that the
achievements of the two countries’ relations should be made tangible
to the people of both states, adding that such a goal could be
materialized through implementation of the projects underway.
He further voiced pleasure in the two sides’ agreements on the
construction of an oil refinery, a railroad and a power plant as well
as the two states’ cooperation in auto-manufacturing.
Mottaki said that the turnover of Iran’s economic and trade exchanges
with the world amounts to $100 bln, adding that Iran’s trade exchanges
with friendly countries amount to, at least, $1 bln.
He also said cooperation in banking affairs, presentation of more
facilities for traders and industry owners, exploitation of the
port facilities and installations in Iran’s port city of Anzali,
reactivation of exports and transit facilities present proper grounds
and opportunity for the further deepening of Iran-Armenia relations.
Regarding Iran’s nuclear developments, Mottaki stressed Tehran’s
constructive talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
and said that the two sides have accelerated the confidence-building
process.
He also described talks between Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali
Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana as promising,
and said, "These are indications of the Islamic Republic’s firm
determination to materialize the aspirations of its own people who
demand access to a home-grown civilian nuclear technology."
Concerning Iraq, the Iranian foreign minister underlined that he
United States’ improper approaches and strategies have complicated
the situation in Iraq, and that Iraqi people are each day paying a
heavy price for the current insecurities in that country.
He also viewed transfer of all affairs to the popular Iraqi government
as the only way to end the present crisis.
For his part, Armenian prime minister noted the two countries’ good
relations, and stressed that Yerevan attaches much significance to
the progress and advancement of the two countries’ relations.
He also underscored that Iran-Armenia political and economic ties
should undergo simultaneous and parallel development.
Serzh Sargsyan further pointed to Iran’s various economic and trade
potentials, and said that the two countries’ enjoy abundant potentials
for the further consolidation of ties and cooperation.
He also attached much importance to the implementation of projects,
role of transportation and construction of the two countries’ railroad.
The official said that accelerated endorsement of trade agreements
by the two countries can open vast horizons to the two countries’
economic and trade ties and cooperation.
Referring to Iran’s significant role in regional developments, he said,
"We have witnessed the conditions in Iraq from a close distance,
and we have found Iran’s role in regional developments as outstanding."
He reiterated that Iran should have an active participation in
regional developments.
Concerning Iran’s nuclear case, the Armenian premier underlined that
Yerevan has not changed its positions, and said that his country
supports Iran’s right to access peaceful nuclear technology.
THERE ARE SERIOUS POSSIBILITIES FOR INCREASING ARMENIAN-IRANIAN
COMMODITY CIRCULATION
YEREVAN, JULY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. During the July 20 meeting with RA
President Robert Kocharian, Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign
Minister, the Co-chairman of the Armenian-Iranian Intergovernmental
Commission for coordination of Armenian-Iranian contacts, briefly
presented the Commission’s activities. The Minister, who is in
Armenia for the purpose of taking part in the 7th joint sitting
of the Armenian-Iranian Intergovernmental Comission, said that it
distinguished itself with deep discussion of a number of important
issues. M. Mottaki said that a number of fundamental programs in the
sphere of energy, transport are being discussed at present.
According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA
President’s Press Office, emphasizing the two countries’ readiness
to develop cooperation in various directions, the sides said that
the Armenian-Iranian high-level relations are also reflected in the
sphere of economy. In the opinion of the interlocutors, the commodity
circulation indices between the two countries are not sifficient yet
and there are serious possibilities for its increase.
Precedent of civilized power change has been created in NKR without
revolutions or hereditary power transfer from father to son: Russian
observer
arminfo
2007-07-21 16:19:00
"One may state that the election have become the next stage in
strengthening of state institutes of Nagorno Karabakh and development
of democratic society", employee of a non-governmental organization
"Fund of Strategic Culture" Andrey Areshev, who was observing the
course of the election in NKR in the staff of the Russian delegation,
told ArmInfo correspondent in Stepanakert.
He said that such important events do not always pass painlessly,
especially in the states, non-recognized by the world community for
political reasons.
However, Nagorno Karabakh is a unique sample regarding conduction of
elections of different level. A precedent of civilized power change
has been created here without revolutions or hereditary power transfer
from father to son, as it happens in some neighbouring states". He also
said that there was a definite intrigue at the present elections and
their result was not obvious at all. A. Areshev noted that there are no
serious discrepancies among the candidates on key issues for Karabakh
(status, borders, peaceful settlement of the conflict). "Perhaps,
this caused definite displeasure by international officers, who
declared the forthcoming election non-legitimate in advance. However,
they have not been noticing the existing realities over 15 years,
trying to achieve one-sided concessions from NKR, while the militant
rhetoric of Azerbaijan is absolutely neglected. Meanwhile, it is quite
evident that it is impossible to have any dialogue in the situation
of military hysteria and purposeful creation of the enemy image. Any
negotiations about the fortune of Nagorno Karabakh are possible only
with legitimate authorities and taking into account the population
opinion. The ordinary citizens of the republic see no prospects of
return to Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction in one or another form", Andrey
Areshev said.
IRAN-ARMENIA TIES ARE 1500 YEARS OLD: MOTTAKI
Mehr News Agency, Iran
July 20 2007
TEHRAN, July 20 (MNA) – 1,500 years of relations between Iran and
Armenia has prepared the ground for taking giant steps to boost ties,
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said on Friday in a meeting
with his Armenian counterpart Vartan Oskanian in Yerevan.
Last year, during the visit of Armenian Minister of Energy Armen
Movsisyan to Iran a plan to establish a joint oil refinery was proposed
and currently the project is under study, Mottaki stated.
Oskanian went on to say that Iran and Armenia are determined to bolster
ties, and the inauguration of the gas pipeline project between the
two countries shows that they are prepared to move ahead.
TURKEY – A DEMOCRACY UNDER SUPERVISION
cafebabel.com, France
July 20 2007
On 22 July, the anticipated legislative elections are to take place
across Turkey in an attempt to put an end to the political crisis that
has shaken the country since the presidential election of last May.
Turkey’s Prime minister Erdogan criticised the firearm attacks
against the vans of his electoral campaign (Photo: Serdar/ Flickr)
Institutional crisis, religious folds, the question of Kurds… the
prospect of accession to Ankara continues to evoke many questions.
Hamit Bozarslan, co-director of the Institute of Islamic and Muslim
World Studies at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
(EHESS), shares his point of view with us.
What are the main characteristics of the EU-Turkey relationship?
The ‘speculative’ side of the relationship has been growing in size
since 2004, and, personally, I regret that the subjects treated by
politicians and the media suffer from a lack of depth. We often forget
to say that in Turkey things do not go well. There is a movement
developing itself here of retreating into one’s shell, a sort of
‘national-socialism’, according to which the Turks would constitute
an ethnic group oppressed by other classes or by other ethnics groups
and for this reason they launch themselves into a liberation war
aiming to exile the Kurds, the Armenians or the Christians… This
internal dynamic is absolutely disastrous, and is not bringing us
together with the European Union.
So the institutional crisis that spread across Turkey following the
recent elections is only the indicator of an older tendency?
Absolutely, since the ‘mentors’ of Turkey- notably Gerhard Schroder
and Bill Clinton- have disappeared from the political scene, we are
contributing to a deterioration of the situation.
What role can the European Union play?
The problem is that since 1999, the year of Turkey’s acceptance
by Brussels, Turkey has been seen to employ a day-to-day form
of politics. It was not a question of setting out a road map or
clearly established criteria – those agreed upon in Copenhagen are
not sufficient. It was widely believed that the Greek, Portuguese
and Spanish models of a post-dictatorship integration were going to
apply here. However, Turkey has never recognised those examples as
models and it is exactly that refusal which is the problem.
Is a breakdown in negotiations with Turkey conceivable?
This option is still very much alive in Turkey where there remain
those at the heart of the Turkish establishment and the army who are
pleading for the withdrawal of Ankara’s candidacy. This is the case
of High General Tuncer Likinc, formally head of the Turkish National
Security Council, one of the most powerful organs in Turkey. Kilinc,
for example, is in favour of a union with Russia! This Europhobia is
more a reflection of the fractures within Turkey herself, it is not
simply about nationalism…
But is an alliance between Turkey and Russia really plausible?
The Turkish economy is so integrated into that of the European Union
that such an alliance with Moscow is not rationally conceivable.
However, there have been so many turnarounds throughout history that
we can never exclude the possibility of that kind of surprise!
What do you think of the project of Nicolas Sarkozy to create a
‘European Space’ that includes Turkey?
It is very hard to construct an image of Turkey in twenty or
thirty years’ time. To think of the EU in terms of territory is
absolutely absurd; and that is the question here. It is a common
dream, a political project… Furthermore, it is essential that the
European Union be much more present as a partner at the heart of the
Mediterranean space, that it become a third party between the Middle
East and the United States.
We have seen the resurgence of questions regarding human rights
in Turkey, the Armenian genocide or the Kurdish minorities, not to
mention the assassination of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink…
Turkey is a democracy under supervision, at the heart of which
the military gives the ultimatums – even by Internet! It is about
a historic Turkish characteristic: the soldier is considered as a
guardian of the national integrity, a supra-social actor. In Turkey,
there are professors who have been brought before the courts for having
‘insulted’ the memory of Ataturk; Mustafa Kemal is unconditionally
revered. A questioning of the underlying assumption that that ruler’s
transformation of Turkey inevitably required the elimination of the
Armenian ‘enemies’, for example, might be a healthy challenge.
So again, does the European Union not have a card to play, a real
presence to use in order to influence Turkey in a good way?
It is up to Europe to intervene in order to encourage those marginal
democratic movements. However, it is also necessary that this dynamic
come from the inside. The promise of a full and whole integration,
of a day that’ll see the resolution of the problems evoked at the
start, would be necessary – although I fear it may be too late. As to
the question of a privileged partnership between the EU and Turkey,
I would say that is already in place. Besides, it is Europe’s job
to make known its own views on Turkey. I personally believe that
Europeans fear the disrespect of human rights more than anything else.
OSKANIAN AND MOTTAKI DISCUSSED ARMENIA AND IRAN’S RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOR STATES
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.07.2007 17:08 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met today
with his Iranian counterpart, Mr Manouchehr Mottaki, who leads the
delegation that arrived in Yerevan for the 7th joint sitting of the
intergovernmental commission for coordination of the Armenian-Iranian
ties, the RA MFA press office reports.
Assessing highly the level of bilateral ties the Ministers pointed out
to progress achieved during the 15-year cooperation in various fields.
Mr Mottaki briefed on the work carried out by the commission and
said there are preconditions for redoubling the amount of commodity
turnover between Armenia and Iran.
The parties also exchanged views on the regional problems, Armenia
and Iran’s relations with the neighbor states. The Armenian Minister
commented on the democratic processes taking place in Nagorno Karabakh
and the latest developments within the settlement process.
By request of his Armenian counterpart Mr Mottaki familiarized him
with the process and outcomes of talks on Iran’s nuclear file. He
assured that Tehran seeks to smooth discrepancies over the nuclear
file peacefully.
ICRC REPRESENTATIVES MEET WITH ARMENIAN CAPTIVE IN AZERBAIJAN
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 20 2007
Representatives of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
office in Azerbaijan for the forth time met with captured Armenian
Valeri Suleymanyan living in the occupied Azerbaijani territory
Karabakh, ICRC office in Azerbaijan told APA.
ICRC officers monitored the captive’s detention conditions,
physiological state and organized Red Cross messages.
Valeri Suleymanyan has been recently captured. He asked Azerbaijani
government to send him to a third country. Suleymanyan said that
all Karabakh Armenians are tired of the military regime illegally
operating in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, and poverty.
Armenians living there try escape to other places.