Author: Nahapetian Samvel

SCHMIDT TRIP TO TURKEY IRKS FOE
By Howard Wilkinson, [email protected]

Cincinnati.com
http://new s.cincinnati.com/article/20090529/NEWS01/905300326 /Schmidt+trip+to+Turkey+irks+foe
May 29 2009

U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, has been in Turkey since
Sunday night, touring the country and participating in a conference
on relations between Turkey and the U.S.

The trip has one of Schmidt’s political opponents – David Krikorian, an
Armenian-American who is running for next year’s Democratic nomination
in the 2nd Congressional District – hopping mad.

"Like most Americans, I spent Memorial Day with my family and friends,"
Krikorian said in a statement released Friday morning. "Jean Schmidt
spent Memorial Day in Turkey on the dime of the Turkish Coalition
of America."

Barry Bennett, Schmidt’s chief of staff, who is also on the trip,
said that the Turkish Coalition of America did pick up the tab – it’s
not clear how much – for Schmidt’s weeklong stay in Turkey. Schmidt
is the only member of Congress on the trip, though other staff members
are also on the trip.

Schmidt’s close ties to the Turkey have been a bone of contention
between her and Krikorian for over a year now. Last year, Krikorian ran
as an independent candidate in the 2nd District and accused Schmidt
of taking $30,000 in "blood money to deny the genocide of Christian
Armenians by Muslim Turks" during World War I.

Schmidt filed an Ohio Elections Commission complaint against Krikorian,
saying he made false statements. The commission agreed earlier this
month to investigate the complaint.

Bennett said Schmidt has been interested in U.S. relations with Turkey
because "we can’t ignore one of the major democracies in this region;
one that is tolerant of people of all religions."

"Krikorian hates Turkey; I understand that, but he needs to get over
it," Bennett said. "If he wants to be a United States congressman,
he is going to have to be a little more open-minded when it comes to
the rest of the world."

Krikorian’s press release Friday blasting Schmidt said that "over
Memorial Day weekend," the congresswoman laid a wreath at the mausoleum
of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turk Republic.

Bennett said the wreath-laying occurred on Wednesday; and pointed
out that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi have done the same thing in recent months.

Schmidt spent Saturday and most of Sunday in her district attending
Memorial Day events before leaving for Turkey Sunday night, Bennett
said. Friday, she was to be the keynote speaker at a conference dinner
in Istanbul, Bennett said. She will return to the U.S. Sunday.

So far, Krikorian, a Madeira resident, is the only candidate who has
announced plans to challenge Schmidt in 2010.

The Turkish Coalition posted a photo and account of Schmidt’s trip
at

EDUARD SHARMAZANOV IS SURE THAT REPUBLICAN PARTY OF ARMENIA IS THE FRONT-RUNNER AT MAY 31 ELECTION

ArmInfo
2009-05-29 17:21:00

ArmInfo. The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) positively assesses the
pre-election campaign. Secretary of RPA faction, RPA Press-Secretary
Eduard Sharmazanov told ArmInfo correspondent that the pre-election
campaign passed quite efficiently.

"Though there are certain problems, the society trusts the Republican
Party, particularly, Gagik Beglaryan and Taron Margaryan",-
Sharmazanov said. He added that unlike the political forces, which
only give pre-election promises, RPA will carry out all the items of
its pre-election program.

Sharmazanov highly assesses RPA’s chances for victory. "The
front-runner during May 31 election is the Republican Party",- he said.

TURKISH PRESIDENT DISSATISFIED WITH NEGOTIATION PROCESS

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
29.05.2009 19:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Neither Armenia nor Turkey are satisfied with the
current stage of the negotiation process, Turkish President Abdullah
Gul said. Armenia’s calls for Turkey’s non-interference in Karabakh
issue halted the negotiation process. "Turkey has not changed its
radical stance on Kharabakh conflict settlement, and mediators are
required to assist in the process," Turkish media quote Mr. Gul
as saying.

CO-CHAIRS VISIT THE REGION TO ARRANGE THE MEETING OF PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

armradio.am
29.05.2009 11:27

The co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza (USA), Bernard Fassier
(France) and Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) have started their visit to
the region, APA reports.

The mediators arrived in Baku on May 28. The diplomats told journalists
at the airport that the aim of their visit was to arrange the meeting
of the Armenian and Azerbiajnai presidents in Saint Petersburg.

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev
met at the U.S. Embassy in Prague to discuss the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as part of the EU Eastern Partnership summit
on May 7.

The next meeting between the two presidents is scheduled for early
June on the sideleines of the economic forum in St. Petersburg.

RUSSIAN MOBILE FIRM VIMPELCOM POSTS $271.5 MLN LOSS IN Q1

RIA Novosti
May 28, 2009
MOSCOW

Russia’s second largest mobile phone operator VimpelCom announced
on Thursday a net loss of 8.5 billion rubles ($271.5 million) in
January-March against a profit of 14.59 billion rubles ($466 million)
a year ago.

The net loss resulted from foreign exchange losses of 23.6 billion
rubles ($754 million), VimpelCom said.

At the same time, operating revenues climbed 30.7% to 66.8 billion
rubles ($2.1 billion) while OIBDA (operating income before depreciation
and amortization) increased 5% on the fourth quarter to 32.2 billion
rubles ($1.03 billion), with the OIBDA margin improving from 44% in
October-December 2008 to 48.1% in January-March 2009, VimpelCom said.

VimpelCom, which operates under the Beeline brand, provides services
in Russia and also in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,
Georgia and Armenia. In 2008, VimpelCom acquired licenses in Vietnam
and Cambodia.

The mobile operator covers a territory with a population of 340
million. Its franchise stood at 62.7 million as of March 31, 2009.

POLITICS BEHIND KARABAKH VISA DENIAL FOR JOURNALISTS

Today’s Zaman
May 28 2009
Turkey

Masis Mayilian, former deputy foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh,
has said the recent denial of visas for Turkish journalists hoping
to travel to Karabakh was connected to Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayip Erdogan’s recent speech at the Azerbaijani parliament in which
he said the normalization of relations with Armenia was contingent
on the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

"I directly asked the [Armenian] Foreign Ministry about the issue,
and this is the response they gave me. I am personally opposed
placing obstacles in front of journalists," he told Today’s Zaman
at the Turkey-Armenia Relations Workshop organized by the Foundation
for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA).

Last week 10 journalists who were in Armenia for the Turkey-Armenia
Journalist Dialogue Project, organized by the International Hrant Dink
Foundation, attempted to get visas to go to Karabakh on May 23 and
24. But after receiving initial approval from Karabakh, the journalists
later received a last-minute response from the Karabakh authority in
Yerevan denying them authorization to visit the region. Aris Nalcı,
who submitted the visa applications on behalf of the journalists,
said he was not given an explanation for the denial.

Mayilian, who is president of the Public Council for Foreign and
Security Policy based in Karabakh, said he hoped the journalists
would try once again to visit the region.

In Baku Erdogan had said there would be no normalization in ties with
Armenia unless Armenia withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh. The statement
pleased Azerbaijan but drew ire from Armenia, which said Turkey should
not interfere in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and warned that such
moves by Ankara would harm efforts to resolve the deep-seated conflict.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity
with Azerbaijan after Armenia invaded Nagorno-Karabakh and seven
regions adjacent to it. Armenian withdrawal from Azerbaijani territory
was a condition for normal ties with Yerevan, but the conditionality
was apparently softened when Turkish and Armenian diplomats started
closed-door talks to normalize ties one-and-a-half years ago. Last
month, they announced that they had reached a framework agreement on
restoring their ties, sparking protests from Azerbaijan.

ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS TO CONTINUE DISCUSSION OF ISSUES IN SAINT PETERSBURG

ARMENPRESS
May 25, 2009

YEREVAN, MAY 25, ARMENPRESS: Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
will continue discussion of those issues which remain unsolved in
the Karabakh conflict regulation agenda, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mamedyarov who is currently in Syria stated.

In Damascus Mamedyarov is participating in the 36th session of the
member states of the Islamic Conference Organization.

The discussion between the sides will take place within the frameworks
of the already outlined agenda and will become the continuation of
the contacts in Prague, Mamedyarov said.

The coming meeting of the presidents is expected to be conducted in
Saint Petersburg in June within the frameworks of economic conference.

"During the former Administration of Armenia we have reached everything
in the peaceful process but with the current Administration we have
not reached anything. As a negotiating side, I may say that I cannot
be proud of the changes we reached in the process," he said.

In response to the Azerbaijani statements that Armenia has toughened
its position in the process, Armenian President said at a joint
press conference with Croatian President that "I do not think that the
Republic of Armenia has toughened its position in the negotiations with
Azerbaijan. The core issue of the process is the status of Nagorno
Karabakh and if we put definitely this issue expecting answers it
does not mean that we have toughened our position."

Mkhitaryan worthy of a higher callingFriday 22 May 2009
by Khachik Chakhoyan from Yerevan

FC Pyunik coach Vardan Minasyan has admitted that he would love to see
his star player Henrikh Mkhitaryan "playing in a stronger league"
after the 20-year-old started the Armenian season with nine goals in
eight league games.
Star billing
With his late father Hamlet Mkhitaryan – not to be confused with the
current Armenian international midfielder of the same name – already
recognised as one of Pyunik’s star players of the late-Soviet era,
young Henrikh is well on his way to becoming a legend in his own
right, with coach Minasyan telling uefa.com: "He can win games on his
own. He seizes control at the crucial moment and scores for fun."
Cracking start
Scorer of the winning goal in the recent Armenian Cup final,
Mkhitaryan has also scored nine of his side’s 21 league goals to date,
with Pyunik making a suitably emphatic unbeaten start to their bid for
a ninth successive local title. "He has made a huge step forward,"
said Minasyan. "However, I would like to see him playing in a stronger
league. That would help him and the national team as well."
Arsenal fan
Mkhitaryan for his own part is dreaming of the English Premier
League. "My favourite team is Arsenal," said the attack-minded
midfielder, who has played ten games for Armenia, scoring once. "I
like their attacking play and fast style. Moreover, Arsène Wenger
puts faith in young players while demanding results at the same
time. I like that and want to play there one day."
Inspiring examples
Making that dream a reality may demand better performances on the
biggest stage, with Pyunik yet to progress beyond the second
qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Mkhitaryan remains
hopeful. "BATE Borisov and Anorthosis Famagusta showed we shouldn’t be
afraid of the big teams," he said. "If we can’t reach the Champions
League group stage I really hope we can play in the Europa League."
‘Almost perfect’
In the meantime, Mkhitaryan is busy with domestic matters, where he
insists things are tougher than they look. "We are top but it is no
pushover – we have worked hard. Everyone is at their best against
the champions." Tougher games, though, can only improve him, as
Minasyan said: "He is almost perfect. All he needs is confidence, but
he has the time and skills to work on that."

TEN DAYS BEFORE THE ELDERS ELECTION …

armradio.am
22.05.2009 17:00

The Press Club has invited the elder-candidates, six from parties
and one from a union representative of a ruling Republican Party Of
Armenia, speaking of the forthcoming elections to the Elders’ Council
of Yerevan, particularly mentioned that local elections are at the
core of democracy, and pre-election campaign started in Yerevan move
at the regular pace.

According to RPA representative, transfer to a new system of city
administration elections should be very smooth. He also believes that
pre-election promises must be based on truly realizable programs. "Our
population will give votes to the candidate, who will give the most
realistic promises, and who is experienced in urban management. Our
promises should have real ground," stressed Hovhannisyan.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER: ARMENIA’S OFFICIAL POSITION REGARDING NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS CANNOT CHANGE

ArmInfo
2009-05-20 18:25:00

ArmInfo. "Armenia’s official position regarding normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations cannot change",- Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan said in Armenian parliament when replying to Head
of ARF Dashnaksutyun Party faction Vahan Hovhannisyan’s question,
Wednesday.

According to the prime minister, the relations with Turkey may be
established only without any preconditions. Sargsyan stressed that
any agreement, which will become a basis for establishing diplomatic
relations between the two countries or opening of the border, should
be ratified by the Armenian parliament. "Armenia’s position should
be pro-active",- Sargsyan said and added that Armenia can never
forget the fact of the Armenian Genocide. The prime minister added
that the process of international recognition of Armenian Genocide
should continue in the full scale. As regards the specific term of
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, he said: "Certainly,
we cannot delay this term endlessly. The football match to take place
in Turkey in autumn 2009 is the moment which specifies the relations
between the two countries".