Author: Maghakian Mike

EU SHARES ARMENIA’S APPROACHES TO REGIONAL PROBLEMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.11.2008 15:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The South Caucasus, a region eyed by outer forces as
a unity, is being torn apart by internal confrontations, the Armenian
Deputy Foreign Minister said.

"Inability to properly analyze the August war can provoke a new
armed conflict," Arman Kirakossian said during ‘European Union and
South Caucasus – A Security Partnership?’ international conference
in Yerevan today.

"Armenia is sincerely interested in regional cooperation. This is
our response to the other states of the region which do not give up
attempts to isolate us from economic projects."

The European Union shares Armenia’s approaches to regional problems,
according to him.

"We welcome new ENP regional initiatives which can bring peace and
stability to the South Caucasus. However, progress is impossible
without resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Mr. Kirakossian
said.

MP VARTKES MAHDESSIAN ACCOMPANYING CATHOLICOS ARAM I OF CILICIA TO ROME

Gibrahayer
Nov 24, 2008

Gibrahayer – Nicosia 24 November – 2008 – The Vatican announced that
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia is visiting Rome this week,
participating in a series of ecumenical events.

Amongst other high-ranking representatives of the the Holy See of
Cilicia, accompanying him is the Armenian MP in the Cyprus Parliament
Vartkes Mahdessian and his wife Maggy.

WILL HILLARY CLINTON BE SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE USA?
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
22.11.2008 GMT+04:00

Armenian Diaspora in the USA reminds that Mrs. Clinton paid a visit
to Turkey as a presidential candidate and there were rumors that some
Turkish lobbying organizations sponsored her election campaign.

The New York Times is reporting that Hillary Clinton has accepted the
position of Secretary of State in the Obama administration. This was
confirmed to the Times by "two confidants" who insisted on remaining
anonymous. According to the representatives of Clinton’s office they
are still in discussions on the matter and any reports beyond that are
premature. However, according to unnamed Clinton and Obama confidants
they have all the grounds to believe that President-elect Obama will
make an announcement on Clinton’s appointment, the AP reports.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ To all appearances, Mrs. Clinton will accept the
offer, though in that case she would have to resign her office in
the Senate and give up the harbored hopes of a future presidential
run. Here a question arises if Hillary Clinton is ready to sacrifice
all that for the position of the country’s dominant voice in foreign
affairs. The figure of the US Secretary of State has always been
more attractive than that of his colleagues from other countries;
even the RF Minister of Foreign Affairs is not regarded so excitedly.

If Obama takes this step and if Clinton accepts his offer, she will be
the third female Secretary of State of the past 20 years. The first was
Madeleine Albright, who is presently advising on the US President-elect
Barack Obama and who even spoke for him in the G20 economic summit
in Washington. Then the position was taken by Condoleezza Rice, who
did a lot for creation of the negative image of the USA abroad. And,
finally, Hillary Clinton. Obama was expanding his search beyond other
candidates mentioned for the job, among them experienced diplomat
Richard Holbrooke, chief architect of the Dayton Peace Accords that
ended the war in Bosnia, Senator of Massachusetts John Kerry, and
New-Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. According to a number of American
experts Barack Obama is inclined to leave John Kerry to his most
important post of Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

It would be naive to consider that with a new administration the US
foreign policy would be radically changed, as among Obama’s aides
we find Zbigniew Brzezinski, Madeleine Albright and many others
from ex-president Bill Clinton’s staff, who will exert pressure
on the new president in making regular unpopular decisions on
international level. Meanwhile the Washington Post directly writes
that the decision on Clinton’s appointment may greatly damage
Obama administration. "Clinton is the wrong person for that job
in this administration. It’s not the best use of her talents, and
it’s certainly not the best fit for this new president. What Obama
needs in the person running the State Department is a diplomat
who will carry out his foreign policy. He does not need someone
who will tell him how to approach the world or be his mentor in
international relations. The last thing Obama needs is a secretary
of state carving out an independently based foreign policy. He needs
an agent, not an author," the paper states. In its turn the Times
directly says that "There is an old principle that you shouldn’t
hire someone you can’t fire. That is why Barack Obama would make
a huge mistake if he were to pick Hillary Clinton as his Secretary
of State. She would do the US proud as Secretary of State. But she
wouldn’t help Mr. Obama as president. She wouldn’t flatter him; she
wouldn’t really defer to him; she might challenge him, even though
she couldn’t actually upstage him. Foreign policy these days is an
intimate affair, carried out between leaders, on the phone, or in
faux-friendly fishing trips. The Secretary of State role has become
more technical, less independent. Would Mrs. Clinton be happy to play
that role? Surely not. It is inevitable that she would disagree with
Mr. Obama, on substance as well as style. After all (as he endlessly
reminded voters), she backed Iraq at the start, where he opposed it.

She will have her own views on the decisions of her husband’s
presidency (the Middle East, Balkans, North Korea), many well judged,
but messy in their legacy. Come to that, Bill will have even stronger
views," the English paper reports.

Meanwhile, Armenian Community is awaiting appointment of the
new Secretary of State, who will determine the U.S. foreign
policy. Representatives of the Community in Washington consider that
if Hillary Clinton in fact becomes Secretary of State she will be
directed by her husband, ex-President of the USA Bill Clinton.

"Obama seemed more sincere when pledging to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. The Armenian community believed him. We should not forget
that Mrs. Clinton paid a visit to Turkey as a presidential candidate
and there were rumors that some Turkish lobbying organizations
sponsored her election campaign," underlined a representative of one
of Armenian lobbying organizations.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET IN HELSINKI ON DECEMBER 3

Azeri Press Agency
Nov 25 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementieva-APA. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will meet
in Helsinki, the capital of Finland on December 3, Matthew Bryza,
OSCE MG US Co-Chair told APA.

The meeting will be held within the framework of the assembly of OSCE
Ministerial Council.

The meeting will debate settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The
Ministers are expected to coordinate on meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian Presidents till the end of 2008.

The Co-Chairs of OSCE MG visited the region on November 12 and
conducted negotiations to continue the process.

MOSCOW DECLARATION DOESN’T PREDETERMINE KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.11.2008 16:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Moscow declaration signed by the Presidents of
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia is a document that can’t predetermine
resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, according to an NKR MP.

During the November 2 meeting, the Presidents Dmitry Medvedev,
Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev pledged to intensify negotiations
to end the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by signing a declaration which
envisages resolution of the conflict on the basis of principles and
norms of the international law.

"Nagorno Karabakh will be a signatory of the final treaty on the
conflict resolution," chairman of NKR parliamentary committee
on external relations Vahram Atanesyan told a news conference in
Yerevan today.

Touching on Karabakh’s participation in the talks, Mr. Atanesyan said
that Nagorno Karabakh is an established entity and its participation
in talks should fit its status.

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE OF THE SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON THE OCCASION OF THE WORLD TELEVISION DAY

National Assembly of RA
Nov 21 2008
Armenia

Mr Hovik Abrahamyan, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia, sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of the
World Television Day.

"80 years ago television came into the life of mankind, became through
times an exceptional and long-awaited opportunity.

After the first experimental programme of November 29, 1956 the
Armenian television entered into everybody’s life step by step,
making revolution in our understandings about time and space. Today,
it is impossible to imagine our life without television that besides
giving detailed information about the events in the world, it became
an indispensable means of the formation of public opinion and peace,
security, development of economic issues, and cultural exchange,
and assessing its values the UN General Assembly declared November
21 World Television Day.

I warmly congratulate all the employees of television. Let the
ability of being at the right place at the right moment always
at the center of attention accompany you, helping you to remain a
source of information of the most important events of the country’s
public-political, scientific-educational, historical-cultural life,
simply a friend, without which we cannot imagine our life."

RUSSIA TAKES MOSCOW DECLARATION AS "ROAD MAP" OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT: AMBASSADOR

Trend News Agency
Nov 20 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 20 November / Тrend News corr. J.Babayeva/ Russia
takes the Moscow Declaration on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that
was signed among the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia as a
"road map" on further settlement of the conflict, Russian Ambassador
to Azerbaijan Vasiliy Istratov said to journalists on 20 November.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenia’s Serzh Sargsyan and
Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev signed a declaration at the end of their
meeting in Mein Dorf castle near Moscow on 2 November. Presidents
of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan decided to make joint efforts to
normalize the situation in Caucasus and requested Foreign Ministers
to make efforts to solve the [Armenian-Azerbaijani] Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. The declaration calls for the settlement of the conflict in
line with the principles and norms of international law and decisions
and documents adopted in this respect, which will create favourable
conditions for economic development and comprehensive cooperation in
the region.

"The views about the initiative to involve Nagorno-Karabakh in settling
of the conflict are mere views and statements. We must proceed from
what we have – the Moscow Declaration. This document does have a
signature of the Nagorno-Karabakh representatives. We must wait to
see the developments," he said.

The Moscow Declaration confirms Russia’s aspiration to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by political means, Sergei Vinokurov, Chief
of the Russian Presidential Directorate for Interregional Relations
and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries, said to journalists in
Baku on 20 November.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and
Nagorno-Karabakh’s seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The countries keep on peace negotiating through
the OSCE Minsk Group.

–Boundary_(ID_IfB8cEpmZCKFANQ6qXFDkg)–

IRAN WANTS JUST RESOLUTION OF CAUCASUS CONFLICTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.11.2008 14:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Iran exerts every effort for resolution of Caucasus
problems avoiding use of force, Iranian senior official said.

"Consultations between Foreign Ministries are needed to engage the
regional and European states in the settlement process. Iran stands
for just resolution of the existing conflicts, which damage energy
cooperation, cargo transportation and economic relations between
the countries," Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki told a
news conference.

He said he is pleased that the states of the region gave a positive
assessment of Iran’s endeavors for Georgia-Russia reconciliation,
Trend Azeri news agency reports.

MR. HAMMARBERG, YOUR WORK IS NOT PRODUCTIVE

A1+
[08:40 pm] 20 November, 2008

The five attorneys of the "Case of the Seven" separate from the
"March 1" case met today with EU Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas
Hammarberg. The meeting did not really please the attorneys, at least
not attorney Hovik Arsenyan.

"We told him that the cases are phony, unsubstantiated; there is no
evidence in the case, no proof for persecution, but Mr. Hammarberg
gave us one question: What do you think will happen in court? That
question was repulsive. If there is no evidence, what’s the point of
a trial? Thus, I don’t think that the meeting with Hammarberg helped
and that is a tragedy. As an RA citizen, Hammarberg’s questions made
me hopeless," told "A1+" attorney Hovik Arsenyan.

Let us recall that Alexander Arzumanyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Myasnik
Malkhasyan, Sasun Mikayelyan, Grigor Voskerchyan, Shant Harutyunyan and
Suren Sirunyan are charged for participating in the state appropriation
and mass disorder.

The attorney presented Hammarberg the core of the verdicts reached
for the political prisoners, including member of the "Republic"
political party Smbat Ayvazyan.

"I also made it clear to Hammarberg that before his visit in July
and afterwards, some prisoners were conditionally released, but this
time it was the opposite. I was straightforward with Hammarberg and
told him ‘Mr. Hammarberg, your work is unproductive, especially in
the fulfillment of the PACE resolutions 1609 and 1620. The PACE says
one thing and doesn’t pay attention when something else is done."

Mr. Arsenyan informed "A1+" that as the representatives of other
international organizations, Hammarberg also doesn’t use the word
political prisoner. Mr. Arsenyan believes that the political prisoners
made a right decision today by rejecting Hammarberg’s proposal to meet.

"That rejection has nothing to do with Hammarberg personally. The
political prisoners express their protest and complaint regarding
the ineffectiveness of the PACE."

Hovik Arsenyan is of the opinion that today the RA administration shows
a lack of discretion by overlooking the requirements of resolutions
1609 and 1620.

"It doesn’t matter who comes to knock some sense into us. We must
able to get through this on our own."

Regardless of the visits of Hammarberg and representatives of
international organizations to Armenia, Arsenyan said: "I want our
authorities to be tolerant towards our citizens and themselves and
show a state approach to any issue."

In any case, Arsenyan believes that it is necessary to work with
international organizations and that there will be results sooner
or later.

EU Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg is having a meeting
with RA First President Levon Ter-Petrosyan as we speak.

IMF EXECUTIVE BOARD APPROVES RELEASE OF 13.6 MILLION DOLLARS TO ARMENIA UNDER PRGF ARRANGEMENT

Noyan Tapan

Nov 19, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The Executive Board of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the release of a 3-year
credit of SDR 9.2 million (about 13.6 million USD) to Armenia under the
Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement in support of
the Armenian government’s program through 2011. This decision allows
Armenia to receive immediately an amount equivalent to SDR 1.31 million
(about 1,9 million USD) from IMF.