Author: Nalbandian Albert

THE CAUCASUS PLATFORM OF TURKEY MAY CAUSE NEW CONFLICTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.09.2008 GMT+04:00

The Caucasus platform has a substantial defect – it has no place
for Iran.

The initiative of Turkey to form a Caucasus platform may be assessed as
an attempt to reanimate the Ottoman Empire at least within the Caucasus
boundaries and in the presence of strategic relations with Russia,
as well as to approach the status of a regional power-holder. What
will happen next is well known to Armenia from her history, and you
needn’t be a prophet to foresee that the Republic of Armenia will
drown in the Turkic sea.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ However, this plan has lots of defects: two
countries, which according to Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip
Erdogan should form a union, are in rather problematic relations
with their neighbours. Armenia and Georgia are the two countries
mentioned. Georgia set the region, as well as the whole world on the
brink of war, definitely knowing that it would end up "in a draw". In
spite of Saakashvili’s calls for peace and friendship, presently no
one regards the Georgian President as a sober person and a reliable
partner. In fact, with his Â"five-day warÂ" Saakashvili tripped up
Azerbaijan and Turkey, which used to rely on the profit from the
Baku-Tbilisi-Jeihan oil-pipeline, as well as on Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
gas line. Not to mention that in case Kars-Gyumri railway is
reconstructed, it becomes useless to build the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line,
construction of this line being useless from the economic point of
view, not to mention the underlying political motives. Even if the
railway line is built, it may stand idle for the most part, since
it passes through risky areas of Turkey, where the militants of the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) act.

As for Armenia, the situation is much more serious here: absence of
relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. And if lately there has been
laid grounds for a dialogue with Ankara, which, by the way, will not
necessarily result in the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border,
the situation is much more difficult with Baku. Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations will hardly be normalized within the next 10-15 years, though
officials from the USA and Russia are pressing for it. At least the
Azerbaijani press is already circulating news on Turkey being the
only substitute for the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict regulation.

The Azerbaijani Mass Media also considers that the mediatory mission of
Ankara will have a better effect than the seventeen years’ activity
of the Minsk Group. "Abdullah Gul’s initiative on regulating the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is fully supported by both Russia and the
USA. Turn of events of the past few days shows that Turkey is able
to substitute the whole Minsk Group, which has been unsuccessfully
engaged in the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation
for 17 years," Bakiliar.AZ informs.

Moreover, the Turkish President openly declares that Armenia is ready
to withdraw its troops from the safety area of Nagorno-Karabakh. The
presence of Armenian troops in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
is past Gul and Aliyev’s comprehension. In fact, the safety area
is controlled by the NKR Army and the whole world, including the
co-chairs, knows about it. However, the opposite side believes that
it is more suitable to distort the reality, just like they keep
reminding about the 20% of the "captured" Azerbaijani territory,
which, in reality, is 13% and is the land of Nagorno-Karabakh. Anyway,
it is the problem of Ilham Aliyev, and, perhaps, that of Gul’s.

The Caucasus platform has another substantial defect too – it has no
place for Iran. In principle, Iran can have no place in this platform,
since the Ottoman and the Persian Empires were constantly at war
with each other and Iran’s joining the union, in case it is formed,
is simply impossible. The pro-Turkey position of the USA is another
reason why Iran cannot join the platform.

Yet, in short perspective, i.e. before regulation of Russia-West
opposition, the Caucasus platform may become a reality. However,
it will be incapable of taking decisive steps, such as regulation of
conflicts in the Caucasus, and prevention of new ones.

–Boundary_(ID_hol80PGXJxUT+xGKv+E6Pg)–

TURKISH FM: GUL’S VISIT TO ARMENIA NOT "U-TURN"

Sept 12 2008
Turkey

"Now the stones have been moved and everyone should re-consider the
regional policies," Babacan said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Thursday that an important
step was for Turkish-Armenian relations after Turkish President
Abdullah Gul’s recent visit to Yerevan, the Armenian capital.

"I would not describe our president’s visit to Armenia as a ‘U-turn’
but it surely is an important step to move things further in our
relations," Babacan told reporters at a press meeting in Bern,
Switzerland, where he met his Swiss counterpart.

Babacan said he saw "a proper environment" for the solution of
"frozen conflicts" in the Caucasus.

"Now the stones have been moved and everyone should re-consider the
regional policies," Babacan said.

HAMMARBERG OBSERVES PROGRESS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
12 Sep 2008
Armenia

In yesterday’s session of the PACE Monitoring Committee held in Paris,
Thomas Hammarberg, CoE High Commissioner for Human Rights, gave a talk
on Armenia’s compliance with the requirements of the PACE Resolutions #
1609 and 1620.

As reported by Avet Adonts, member of the PACE Monitoring
Committee, the talk lasted 10 minutes, and wasn’t followed by long
discussions. Mr.

Hammarberg presented the results of his visit to Armenia and mentioned
that Armenia had recorded a progress in terms of the implementation
of the PACE Resolutions, but more essential changes were anticipated.

"With regard to the implementation of the PACE Resolutions # 1609 and
1620, Thomas Hammarberg mentioned that there was definitely a progress,
however, he added that they anticipated more essential changes in the
near future. He underlined the necessity of more effective activities
by the interim committee, as well as informed the participants that
negotiations and consultations were being held with the Armenian
authorities with the purpose of setting up the fact finding group. He
also expressed hope that all the forces would participate in the
activities of the group, including both the opposition and the radical
opposition," A. Adonts said, presenting more details.

The implementation of the PACE Resolutions will also be touched upon
during the20Committee’s next session to be held in October.

ARMENIA NOT EXCLUDED IN RAILWAY PROJECT

Today’s Zaman
Sept 12 2008
Turkey

A railway project linking Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia is not meant
to exclude neighboring Armenia, with which Turkey has no formal ties,
Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım said yesterday.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars bypasses Russia and Armenia. The railway,
which is scheduled to be completed in 2011, will not only link the
three countries but will also revive the historic Silk Road trade
route that once connected Asia with Europe.

"The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is by no means a project excluding
Armenia," Yıldırım told reporters. "This is an international
project aimed at boosting international trade and tourism, and it is
quite possible that other countries may also join. Russia, Greece and
Iran could join. It is not confined to Turkey and Azerbaijan alone,"
he added.

Some 1.5 million people and 6.5 million tons of cargo are expected
to be transported by the railway in the first year following its
launch. Yıldırım also praised a visit by President Abdullah Gul
to Armenia on Saturday and said he may also visit the neighboring
country after coordinating such a trip with the Foreign Ministry. "As
positive developments keep coming between Turkey and Armenia in the
diplomatic and political spheres, these developments will also be
reflected in other areas, such as transportation, communications,
trade, education, health and tourism," he said.

–Boundary_(ID_CRFdoMgs2vhsC2qpL4/BZA)–

THEY WILL APPLY TO HAMMERBERG

A1+
[05:05 pm] 11 September, 2008

Five years along the residents, whose owned estates were estranged
by the Government, for the state needs, complain on Government.

They addressed their complain-letter to the Prime Minister Tigran
Sargisyan on August 25, with the demand to organize a working group
for reviewing the procedure of estate estrangement. The leader of
public organization "Private property Rights", Vachagan Hakobyan
told to A1+ that two weeks already had passed, but they did not get
a respond from the Prime Minister.

"They expect from Turks the Genocide recognition, but they why do
not recognize their genocide against us?" says Vachagan Hagobyan. We
have to mention that even though all residents leave in different
districts of the city, every Thursday they come to the Government
building to make them to listen to their demands.

"We are not going to stop our struggle, contrary, we are going to
act more energetically", says Vachagan Hagobyan.

Currently the estranged zone residents complete the package of all
documents to submit it to the Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights, Thomas Hammerberg.

NONINFECTIOUS DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM WORKED OUT IN ARMENIA

ARKA
Sep 10, 2008

YEREVAN, September 10. /ARKA/. The RA Ministry of Health worked out
a program of preventing non infectious diseases.

The Ministry attaches importance to the prevention of noninfectious
diseases and to timely medical intervention. The program is aimed to
ensure an early diagnosis and further consultations of specialists,
says the Ministry’s official website.

In this context, RA Minister of Health Harutyun Kushkyan called for
effective implementation of the program.

SPECIAL EMPHASIS PUT ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IN ARMENIA, ABDULLAH GUL

AzerTag
Sept 8 2008
Azerbaijan

Commenting on his visit to Armenia, Turkish President Abdullah Gul
said special emphasis was put on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict during his meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

According to him, the settlement of the conflict is the most important
issue for Turkey in the South Caucasus.

Mr. Gul stressed his visit to Armenia would contribute to resolution
of the conflict.

ABDULLAH GUL BELIEVES THAT HIS VISIT TO YEREVAN WILL REMOVE PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS IN CAUCASUS

ArmInfo
2008-09-08 18:27:00

ArmInfo. "I hope that my visit to Armenia will remove the psychological
barriers in the Caucasus", Turkish President Abdullah Gul said to
journalists on his way back to Turkey.

According to the Hurriyet newspaper (Turkey), the Turkish president
expressed content with his visit to Yerevan, as well as with Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan’s warm attitude to him. Asked about Armenia’s
steps related to international recognition of 1915 events, Gul noted
that the negotiations didn’t cover this topic, as well as the topic
of possible unblocking of the border with Armenia.

Gul said that his visit to Yerevan created a favorable positive image
for Turkey worldwide. He attached much significance to the fact that
his visit will be estimated positively as Turkey doesn’t deserve a
negative image.

IN CASE OF NEW WAR IN KARABAKH, TURKEY WILL ASSUME IMPARTIAL POSITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2008 GMT+04:00

Interview

Kaan Soyak:

The visit of Turkish president Abdullah Gul to Armenia made a big
stir in the region. Informal contact between the leaders of the
two countries, who have exercised ping-pong diplomacy, can lead
toward normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. Kaan Soyak,
Chairman of the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABC)
commented to PanARMENIAN.Net on the recent developments.

How do you assess the arrival of Turkish President Abdullah Gul
in Yerevan?

Arrival of Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul in Yerevan was an important
and resolute step. The fact that he invited Mr Sargsyan to Istanbul
is no less important. We never thought that President Sargsyan
will invite his Turkish counterpart to Armenia and that Mr Gul will
accept the invitation. But it happened. I should mention that the
internal political situation in Turkey did not affect the President’s
decision. Moreover, judging by publications in Armenia and Turkish
press, the public in both states welcome normalization of relations
and opening of the border. I am hopeful that Serzh Sargsyan’s visit
to Istanbul in 2009 will be another step toward normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations. We are neighbors. The region should be
secure and peaceful. This refers not only to South Caucasus countries
but also to Syria, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.

What is more important for Turkey: recognition of the Armenian Genocide
or resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict?

Recognition of 1915 events as genocide is a more important issue for
Turkey than Karabakh. A commission of historians should be formed to
deal with the issue. Only after that, opening of the border would
become possible. As to the Karabakh problem, Turkey can help the
settlement process. The conflict is a regional issue and war is not
the best way to resole it. I am convinced that Azerbaijan will never
start war against Nagorno Karabakh but if it does, Turkey will assume
an impartial position.

Do you think normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations will help
Turkey to join the EU?

Readiness to normalize relations with Armenia can be described
as a move toward the EU membership. One of EU conditions is normal
relations with neighbors. Although we don’t think that Europe is ready
to accept a 70-million Muslim country, we continue reforms. At that,
normalization of relations is as well important for Armenia, which
participates in the ENP.

Media reports about possible opening of the border for transportation
of humanitarian cargo…

When the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict broke out, some Armenian
and Turkish organizations requested Ankara to lift the blockade for
a humanitarian corridor. There is no talk about it yet. But I believe
that it will happen sooner than we expect.

RA NA SPEAKER TIGRAN TOROSIAN TO COMMENT UPON "INEXPEDIENCY" TO CONTINUE HIS TENURE AFTER RPA BOARD SITTING

Noyan Tapan

Se p 8, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. On September 8, the first day
of the RA National Assembly new session, parliament Speaker and RPA
Vice-Chairman Tigran Torosian refused to comment upon the decision
party’s Executive Body made the day before, according to which
his further tenure was considered inexpedient. In his itnerview
to journalists he said that he will answer all questions after the
RPA Board sitting to be held on September 16, which will confirm or
invalidate Executive Body’s decision. He did not confirm and did not
refute the statement made for many times before that he is not going
to resign the post of the RA National Assembly Speaker. T. Torosian
said that he expressed his position at the Executive Body sitting,
which, in his words, "must be clear for everybody."

Edward Sharmazanov, NA deputy, RPA Spokesperson, considered improbable
non-confirmation of the decision of party Board’s Executive Body. He
reminded to those present that Chairman of RPA Board and RA President
Serzh Sargsyan nominated the candidature of RPA Executive Body member
Hovik Abrahamian on NA Speaker’s post instead of T. Torosian. According
to E. Sharmazanov, in case T. Torosian does not obey the decision
of party’s ruling body, according to the RPA regulations, various
sanctions can be used to him, up to expelling him from the party.

It should be mentioned that newly elected deputy, former head of
RA President’s Administration H. Abrahamian did not take part in
the parliament sitting. The NA Speaker also refused to comment upon
that fact.