EDWARD NALBANDYAN TO PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO CHINA
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
04.09.2009 14:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On September 10-14, RA Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandyan will carry out an official visit to China by the invitation
of his Chinese colleague Yang Jiechi, Sinkhua news agency reports,
quoting PRC Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Jiang Yu
AZERBAIJANI SPORTSMEN TO BE PROVIDED WITH DOUBLE SECURITY IN YEREVAN: SPORTS MINISTER
Today.Az
Sept 4 2009
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani judokas will be provided with double security in the
Youth European Championship to be held in Yerevan on September 9-14.
"Armenian security service will ensure security of Azerbaijani
sportsmen. Sportsmen will stay in convenient hotels. Turkish and
Israeli teams will also stay in this hotel. Our sportsmen will be
fully protected," Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov said at
a news conference on Sept. 4.
The agreement on security of Azerbaijani sportsmen was signed between
Azerbaijani and Armenian Ministers of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov
and Armen Grigoryan, presidents of Azerbaijani and Armenian judo
federations Fuzuli Alakbarov and Alexan Avetisyan, as well as members
of the European Judo Federation and the Executive Committee of the
European Olympic Committee during the visit of Azerbaijani Minister
of Youth and Sport to Yerevan.
The agreement stipulates that Armenia shall bear the responsibility
for security of Azerbaijani sportsmen from the moment of their entry
till departure from Armenia and to ensure dissemination of information
and team’s training.
The document said that during the championship the Azerbaijani
flag must be among the flags of other countries. If an Azerbaijani
sportsman wins, the Azerbaijani state flag will be raised and the
national anthem will be played.
All participants of the championship will stand while listening to the
anthem. Armenia must also ensure free participation of journalists
accredited by the International Olympic Committee and ensure free
access to internet.
ARMENIA PLEDGES TO ENSURE SECURITY OF AZERBAIJANI SPORTSMEN (UPDATE)
Trend
Sept 3 2009
Azerbaijan
Armenia has pledged to ensure the safety of Azerbaijani judokas in the
Youth European Championship to be held in Yerevan on September 9-14.
The agreement was signed between Azerbaijani and Armenian Ministers
of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov and Armen Grigoryan, Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents of Judo Federation, Fizuli Alekperov and Alexan
Avetisyan, as well as members of the European Judo Federation and the
Executive Committee of the European Olympic Committee, the Azerbaijani
Ministry of Youth and Sport said on September 2.
The agreement stipulates that Armenia must bear the responsibility
for the security of Azerbaijani sportsmen from the moment of their
entry till their departure from Armenia, and to ensure they can get
in communication and attend training.
The document said that during the Championship the Azerbaijani
flag must be among the flags of other countries. If an Azerbaijani
sportsman wins, the Azerbaijani state flag will be raised and the
national anthem will be performed. All participants of the championship
will stand while listening to the anthem. Armenia must also ensure
free participation in the championships for journalists accredited
by the International Olympic Committee and provide free access to
the Internet.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
AZERI EXPERTS COMMENT ON TURKISH-ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT
Turan News Agency
Sept 1 2009
Azerbaijan
Baku, 1 September: "I accept it as betrayal of Azerbaijan’s interests
and deception of the Turkish and Azerbaijani public. This contradicts
the promises made personally by [Turkish] Prime Minister [Recep
Tayyip] Erdogan to MPs and the public in Baku", political expert Vafa
Quluzada has told Turan [news agency] in a comment on reports issued
by Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministries on the normalization of
[Armenian-Turkish] relations.
"I think that policy pursued by the Erdogan government runs contrary
to the Turkish public and will undermine Turkey’s reputation and
influence", Quluzada said. He did not rule out that official Baku could
take certain measures in response to Ankara’s actions. These measures
may affect plans on the shipment of hydrocarbons via Turkish territory.
Commenting on the reports, the head of the For Azerbaijan public
forum, Eldar Namazov, told Turan: "In all appearance, the package
of agreements on normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations has been
postponed and a shorter version of the [normalization] process has
been given preference. This means that diplomatic relations between
Ankara and Yerevan will be established at the current stage and the
opening of borders and the beginning of economic cooperation will be
postponed for the next stage", he said.
Namazov underlined that the temporary framework for establishing
diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia during the period
of six months coincides with the date of the football match between
the national teams of both countries in order to enable Armenia’s
President Serzh Sargsyan to attend the game without losing his face
in the framework of the so-called "football diplomacy".
However, there is a need to synchronize the process of the
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations with the process of the
settlement of the [Nagornyy] Karabakh [conflict]. According to Namazov,
there will be no complete normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations
until the initiative to take real steps in Karabakh [conflict]
settlement and liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
is implemented.
How will the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey
and Armenia affect relations between Baku and Ankara? In response to
this question, Namazov said that this was a stage-by-stage process
and Ankara would consult Baku when making each move.
"Leaders of both countries talked over phone last week and Ankara sent
its high profile Foreign Ministry officials to Baku", Namazov said. In
any case, Baku will closely follow the developments, Namazov added.
Leader of the [opposition] Musavat Party, Isa Qambar, was cautious
in his remarks.
"As far as I know, the two protocols do not include the issue of
opening borders with Armenia. Therefore, we should have an accurate
approach", he said.
Expert Arastun Oruclu said that the current situation is a logical
result of Turkish-Armenian relations over the past years.
"The incumbent Turkish authorities do not take Azerbaijan’s interests
into account," Oruclu said. According to him, Azerbaijan’s position
is weakening, which can be seen as a defeat. "Turkey’s move is a
result of tensions in Azerbaijani-Turkish relations", he said. He
believes that Baku’s pressure on Ankara in March of this year was
groundless. "Azerbaijan has remained all alone and must quickly define
the priorities of its foreign policy", the political expert said.
EU HAILS ‘CRUCIAL STEP’ IN TURKEY-ARMENIA DISPUTE
Agence France Presse
September 1, 2009 Tuesday 7:17 PM GMT
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday hailed an agreement
between Armenia and Turkey to establish diplomatic ties as a "crucial
step" towards ending their decades-long grudge.
"I welcome yesterday’s agreement between Turkey and Armenia to start
internal political consultations… for establishing diplomatic
relations," Solana said in a statement.
"This is a crucial step towards normalisation of bilateral relations,
which would greatly contribute to peace, security and stability
throughout an important region of Europe," he added.
Armenia and Turkey announced on Monday that they had agreed on a plan
to establish diplomatic ties and re-open their joint border.
The two countries currently have no diplomatic relations, a closed
frontier and a long history of hostility rooted in massacres of
Armenians under the Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Ankara and Yerevan said they would hold six weeks of domestic
consultations before signing two protocols on establishing diplomatic
ties and developing bilateral relations.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, also welcomed the
diplomatic progress made.
"This agreement should contribute to peace and stability in the South
Caucasus," EU commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Olli Rehn said
in a separate statement.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe "warmly"
welcomed the deal between the two OSCE members.
"The establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia
will be a positive step not only for the southern Caucasus region
but also for the region at-large," said Greek Foreign Minister Dora
Bakoyannis, whose country currently holds the OSCE presidency.
Russia hailed the "goodwill" of former Soviet state Armenia and Turkey
in moving towards normal relations.
Moscow "considers the goodwill of Armenia and Turkey positive in
starting the process" to establish diplomatic ties, the Russian
foreign ministry said in a statement.
Turkey has long refused to establish diplomatic links with Armenia
over Yerevan’s efforts to have the World War I-era massacres recognised
as genocide — a label Turkey strongly rejects.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically killed
between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s predecessor,
was falling apart.
Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and says between
300,000 and 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil
strife when Armenians took up arms in eastern Anatolia and sided with
invading Russian troops.
NO CLOSED ISSUES ADMISSIBLE IN KARABAKH PEACE TALKS
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
02.09.2009 15:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Karabakh settlement is a complicated process,
containing wrinkled moments. All variants under consideration allow
for compromise, hence the result cannot be 100% acceptable for
either of parties, NKR second President Arkasy Ghukasyan announced
in Stepanakert. "The process still continues, and I am sure that
we have all chances to reach our goals. There are all objective and
subjective grounds for that," NKR ex-President stated.
With regard to possibility of handing over territories, Ghukasyan
said the issue has been circulating for 18 years, since Karabakh’s
gaining independence. "That will be a permanently discussed issue
not to be avoided by any President. But if negotiations do not focus
on the return of certain territories, Baku will declare of its
intention to renounce talks. We in turn state that if NKR status
is under consideration, negotiations will be conducted by us,"
a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent quotes NKR ex-President as saying.
RA second President Robert Kocharyan who is visiting Stepanakert
refused to answer journalists’ questions.
UNITED STATES WELCOMES ARMENIA-TURKEY THAW
2009/09/01 | 09:23
Politics
The United States warmly welcomes the joint statement made today by
Turkey and Armenia, with Swiss participation, outlining further steps
in the normalization of their bilateral relations. It has long been
and remains the position of the United States that normalization should
take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.
We urge Armenia and Turkey to proceed expeditiously, according to the
agreed framework as described in today’s statement. We remain ready
to work closely with both governments in support of normalization, a
historic process that will contribute to peace, security and stability
throughout the region.
U.S. State Department, Washington, DC, August 31, 2009
ALEXANDER ARZUMANYAN: THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS AND THE KARABAKH ISSUE ARE INTERCONNECTED
Lusine Vasilyan
"Radiolur"
01.09.2009 16:48
Representative of the Armenian National Congress, ex-Foreign Minister
Alexander Arzumanyan considers that the initiatives targeted at the
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations will accelerate the
process of settlement of the Karabakh issue. "The two processes are
interconnected, and ensuring the settlement of the one at the expense
of the other is unacceptable," the ex-Foreign Minister said.
Alexander Arzumanyan said the necessity of ratification of the
protocols in not understandable, either. "The ratification of protocols
on the establishment of diplomatic relations is not a common practice
in international relations," Alexander Arzumanyan noted.
"Armenia has established diplomatic relations with about 140 countries.
It has signed similar protocols with each country, neither of which
has been ratified by the Parliament. My concern is that the format
of ratification is not understandable and it provides an opportunity
to delay the moment the protocols should come into force. That means
holding the Armenian-Turkish relations as hostage, waiting for the
Karabakh issue to be settled," Alexander Arzumanyan stated.
ALEXANDER ARZUMANIAN: WHAT IS ON NEGOTIATIONS TABLE TODAY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE EITHER FOR ARMENIA OR FOR NAGORNO KARABAKH
Noyan Tapan
Sep 1, 2009
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. "There is a serious political,
civilization crisis in Armenia. Until it has been settled society
will always express a complaint, the authorities will try by making an
imitation of some action to show to society that allegedly they care
for society’s needs," former RA Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian
stated in his interview to Radio Liberty. In his affirmation, the
situation will be always strained until a legitimate power is formed,
until the constitutional order is restored in Armenia.
In connection with predictions on a hot political autumn A. Arzumanian
said that the number of public events will increase in autumn and in
that respect perhaps the opposition will be more active: already on
September 18 the Armenian National Congress will hold a big rally.
As to the Nagorno Karabakh problem, according to the former Foreign
Minister, "what is on the negotiations table today is not acceptable
either for Armenia or for Nagorno Karabakh. Therefore the opposition
first of all demands resignation from the authorities to make it
possible to introduce a change in the negotiations process.
According to A. Arzumanian, the only right step the authorities can do
is resignation and holding of free, fair elections, through which the
people itself will form a power representing it and little by little,
step by step will solve all problems faced by Armenia.
PRESS RELEASE BY THE SWISS FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
AZG DAILY
01-09-2009
The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey have agreed to
start their internal political consultations on the two protocols –
the "Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations" and the
"Protocol on the development of bilateral relations" – which have
been initiated in the course of their efforts under Swiss mediation.
The two Protocols provide for a framework for the normalization of
their bilateral relations within a reasonable timeframe. The political
consultations will be completed within six weeks, following which
the two Protocols will be signed and submitted to the respective
Parliaments for the ratification on each side. Both sides will make
their best efforts for the timely progression of the ratification in
line with their constitutional and legal procedures.
The normalization of bilateral relations will contribute to the
regional peace and stability. The Republic of Armenia and the Republic
of Turkey are committed are pursuing their joint efforts with the
assistance of Switzerland.