Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN MAY MEET IN MOSCOW

ArmRadio.am
16.05.2006 10:54

The recurrent meeting of religious leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
may take place July 4-5 in the capital of Russia in the framework of
an international conference of interreligious dialogue.

Information Service of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin informs that
no final decision has been taken about the meeting of the Cathlicos
of All Armenians Garegin II and Allah Shukur Pasha- Zadeh.

The conference will be presided over by the Patriarch of all Russians
Aleksi II.

ARMENIAN MEN AND WOMEN CHESS PLAYERS FLYING TO ITALY FOR CHESS OLYMPIAD

Armenpress
May 16 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS: Armenian men and women chess players are
flying this week to Italy’s Turin which is hosting the 37-th Chess
Olympiad set to kick off on May 20. Armenia’s men team is headed by
Levon Aronian, ranked number three in the world.

Gagik Hovhanesian, the chief secretary of Armenian Chess Federation,
said the chess players are in good shape. He said the men who are
ranked third in the world will try to achieve as higher as possible
results. He said Armenia’s main rivals are Russians, Indians and
Ukrainians.

RUSSIANS START WITHDRAWAL FROM MILITARY BASE IN GEORGIA

Channel One TV, Moscow
15 May 06

[Presenter] The first convoy of military equipment left the Russian
base at Akhalkalaki two hours ago. It contains 20 tanks and an
equal number of reconnaissance vehicles. The heavy equipment will be
completely removed from Akhalkalaki by the end of the year, and the
personnel by the end of next year. Our correspondent Mikhail Robakidze
reports from Georgia.

[Correspondent] The first convoy of Russian military equipment left
the Tsalka railway station at 10 o’clock. Yesterday the military were
saying that the departure might be delayed until midday because of
customs paperwork. But in the event everything was done in time and
the convoy will cross the Georgia-Azerbaijan border by the end of
the day. It will cross Azerbaijan on its way to Russia.

[Igor Konoshenkov, head of information service, Russian Ground
Troops] The Georgians are responsible for security inside Georgia. In
Azerbaijan, the Azeris are responsible. And on Russian territory,
the Group of Russian Forces in the Caucasus will provide guards to
travel with the convoy.

[Correspondent] The first convoy to leave Akhalkalaki will take seven
tanks, eight infantry fighting vehicles, two radio stations and four
communications vehicles. [Note: figures as heard, at variance with
presenter’s lead-in] In the meantime, enough hardware, weaponry and
other resources for another two convoys have been gathered at Tsalka.

Twenty-one convoys will go from the Akhalkalaki base by the end of
this year. A further one convoy will go from Batumi to Russia via
Azerbaijan. Only a small proportion of the hardware here is planned
for redeployment at the Russian base in the Armenian town of Gyumri.

[The entire process of vacating the base at Akhalkalaki will be
completed on time, the deputy commander-in-chief of Russia’s Ground
Troops told Interfax-AVN Military News Agency. “The first convoy
with armour deployed at military base No 62 in the Georgian town of
Akhalkalaki departed for Russia today in accordance with the plan and
schedule,” Gen Valeriy Yevnevich said in a report at 0646 gmt. “And
there should be no doubt that the other convoys will also leave in
strict compliance with the plan and schedule endorsed by the chief
of the General Staff.”]

ERDOGAN MEETS CHIRAC AND ANNAN IN VIENNA

Anatolian Times, Turkey
May 15 2006

VIENNA – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met French
President Jack Chirac, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan during
the formal dinner hosted in honor of leaders participating in the
EU-Latin America summit in Austrian capital of Vienna last night.

During his meeting with Chirac, Erdogan expressed Turkey`s uneasiness
over the resolution, which makes any denial of the so-called Armenian
genocide a crime and which will be debated at the French parliament
soon. Chirac said that they will show the necessary sensitivity toward
Turkey`s concerns.

On the other hand, Erdogan and Annan discussed developments in the
Middle East and political process in Iraq.

Erdogan is expected to meet Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis
and German Prime Minister Angela Merkel today.

Erdogan will depart from Austria for Indonesia after participating
the opening session of the EU-Latin America summit.

esctoday.com, Netherlands
May 13 2006

Second rehearsal
Andre for Armenia

The second rehearsal for the Semi finalists started at 11:00 local
time today in the OAKA hall, with Andre for Armenia. Whereas in the
first rehearsal there is 40 minutes allocated to each performer, in
the second rehearsal there is 30 minutes, as there is less
preparations required, and everything should just be that bit more
efficient. Andre still though had a few sound problems to start with,
and there were several restarts required before this was sorted out
satisfactorily. The actual performance was a lot slicker this time
around, and the choreography with all the ropes seemed to be more
skilful. The costumes are in red, black and white for the most part.
Andre wears an interesting head dress to start the song, but this is
quickly removed early on in the performance. As there were a lot more
journalists and photographers present than there was on Thursday
morning, the song received a lot more applause at this rehearsal.
Just as there is less time allotted to the second rehearsal, the same
applies to the second press conference. A lot of questions tend to
get repeated, so we will only try to be reporting on any additional
information obtained from the second conferences.

Have you had time to listen to all the other songs and which do you
see as your biggest danger? “I have listened to them all, and I like
the songs from FYR Macedonia and Greece…but I don’t see them as a
dangerous as Armenia is very good”.

What are the ideas behind the choreography? “Its about a man who has
issues about love, and everyday problems and fights to escape, and
wants to trade places”.

What was the last CD you bought? “It was one with Jewish spiritual
songs”.

Which artist have influenced you musically? “Internationally, Whitney
Houston. We also have our own State Music Theatre, which is one of
the best and has produced good artists”.

You were born in Azerbaijan, so how does it feel to represent
Armenia, and what are you memories of the Eurovision song contest?
“Well actually when I was born it was all part of the Soviet Union. I
think its great that the Eurovision song contest unites all
countries, in terms of friendship, and there are no conflicts. I am a
huge fan, but never had the opportunity to vote, but I think the best
songs have won the contest”.

Are you aware that you are no the only Armenian in the contest, that
there is also an Armenian who is a dancer as part of the Turkish
entry? “I think that’s cool. In the same way we have Russian dancers
who are part of our entry, this is what I think is good about the
contest, its perfect”.

Which countries have you been to promote your entry? “Ukraine,
Moldova, Andorra, Russia, Poland, Cyprus and Greece”.

The press conference ended with the photo opportunity. The next time
Andre will rehearse will be at the first dress rehearsal of the Semi
final on 17th May from 14:00.

Agence France Presse
11 mai 2006 jeudi 3:35 PM GMT

Le PM turc avait demandé au Canada de ne pas parler de génocide arménien

OTTAWA 11 mai 2006

Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan avait envoyé à son
homologue canadien une lettre lui demandant de ne pas qualifier de
génocide le massacre d’Arméniens en 1915, juste avant que des propos
de Stephen Harper ne provoquent la colère d’Ankara, rapporte jeudi le
quotidien Globe and Mail.

Selon le journal, dans une lettre datée du 18 avril, M. Erdogan
avertissait M. Harper que l’emploi du terme de génocide était une
“question très sensible” pour le peuple et le gouvernement turcs.

Il demandait en outre à M. Harper d’appuyer une initiative turque
visant à réunir des historiens turcs et arméniens et à leur demander
de réaliser un étude sur cette question.

Mais, le 21 avril, le Premier ministre canadien saluait dans une
déclaration tous ceux qui commémorent le génocide arménien. M. Harper
avait ajouté qu’il continuait à soutenir des résolutions du Parlement
canadien reconnaissant “le génocide arménien de 1915”.

Ankara avait réagi en rappelant son ambassadeur à Ottawa pour des
consultations et en annulant sa participation à un exercice militaire
aérien au Canada.

L’ambassadeur de Turquie au Canada, ainsi que son collègue accrédité
à Paris et rappelé pour des raisons similaires, sont en train de
regagner leurs postes, a-t-on indiqué jeudi à Ankara.

Un diplomate turc à Ottawa a confirmé, sous couvert de l’anonymat,
qu’il y avait bien eu “une correspondance”, sans toutefois en
préciser le contenu et il a indiqué que l’ambassadeur Aydemir Erman
serait de retour dans la capitale canadienne “dans quelques jours”.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Azerbaijan Should Wait with Karabakh Conflict Settlement,
Political Scientist Says

12.05.2006 16:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `Armenia is awaiting parliamentary and presidential
election after which it will become weaker. Armenians guess about
it. That is why the tough position it held on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is growing somewhat uncertain. Due to this reason they admit
the possibility of concessions from their part,’ Director of the
Center of Innovation and Political Technologies Mubariz Ahmedoglu
stated when commenting on the situation in the South Caucasus. In his
words, `Azerbaijan should wait with the conflict settlement until the
completion of elections in Armenia.’

As for the U.S.’s position on the conflict settlement, especially in
the light of Ilham Aliyev’s recent visit to Washington, the political
scientist said the `U.S. sees the settlement of conflicts in the post
soviet space within the framework of territorial integrity.’ `The
U.S. is now thinking over the soonest settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict in order to proceed to the determination of Kosovo’s
status without hindrance,’ Mubariz Ahmedoglu stated, reported Mirror
Baku-based newspaper.

ARTUR BAGHDASARIAN DOESN’T EXCLUDE HE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS IN 2008

Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. Artur Baghdasarian, leader of “Orinats
Yerkir” party, speaker of RA National Assembly, doesn’t exclude that
he will run for the Presidential Elections in 2008. He stated about
this at today’s press conference.

At the same time, he emphasized that the resources for carrying out
preliminary planned elections are exhausted. “Armenia should spare no
efforts to carry out Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in 2007-
2008 in accordance with the European standards. My party will
consistently work in that direction,” Baghdasarian said.

It’s worth mentioning that Baghdasarian explained the decision to
withdraw the coalition by deepening contradictions among the coalition
parties and constant pressure on his party.

KARABAKH MEDIATORS SEEKING FEEDBACK TO NEW PROPOSALS – RUSSIAN MEDIATOR

Trend news agency
10 May 06

Baku, 10 May: The co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group expect Baku
and Yerevan to react in Strasbourg to the proposals made during a
recent visit to the region by the French co-chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Bernard Fassier, the Russian co-chairman of the group,
Yuriy Merzlyakov, has told Trend.

“Some new proposals”, as well as more specific details of the previous
discussions, were submitted to the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders on
behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group during Fassier’s visit, Merzlyakov said.

“I think that it was a very important visit after our (OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen’s) meeting in Moscow to finally agree on the proposals,”
he said.

The Russian diplomat said that both sides will carefully examine the
ideas that will be agreed later.

Merzlyakov said that he was not ready to comment on the possible
meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. The co-chairmen
will work on this issue, he said.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 9, 2006 Tuesday 02:46 PM EST

French draft law may exacerbate relations – Turkish premier

by Kirill Zharov

A draft law the French parliament is readying to consider may
seriously exacerbate relations between Ankara and Paris, Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

The French parliament will consider a draft law, which punishes the
denial of the Armenian genocide with one year in custody and a large
fine, on May 18. Hence, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul asked
his French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy if he would be put to
Bastille when he visits France.

On Monday Turkey summoned its ambassadors from France and Canada
because of bilateral disagreements over the Armenian genocide in the
Ottoman Empire.

The decision to summon the Turkish ambassador to France for
consultations in Ankara is solely in competence of the Turkish
authorities, a French Foreign Ministry representative said on
Tuesday.

The question of the Armenian genocide should be considered by
historians, rather than turned into a political affair, Erdogan said.
Turkey has opened to researchers all of its archives and thus showed
the readiness for cooperation. There are no differences with the
Armenian side in this respect, he said.

The current situation may damage trade and economic relations with
France, Erdogan told French businessmen in Ankara.

The Turkish representative at the European Court of Human Rights said
that Turkish authorities might even file a lawsuit against France in
this connection.

A lawsuit against France may be filed at the European Court of Human
Rights in compliance with the Human Rights Treaty. This is quite
possible, he said.

The Turkish ambassador to Canada has been summoned to Ankara for
consultations in protest against Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper’s pronouncement on the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire
in 19151-1917.

Harper recognized the fact of genocide on behalf of the Canadian
government this April. The previous government of Canada abstained
from the recognition.

The Turkish embassy immediately responded that the pronouncement
would have a negative effect on the bilateral relations. Turkey
rejects and condemns attempts based on years-long propaganda and
political maneuvering to create a one-sided interpretation of history
and pass lies for truth, the newspaper Globe and Mail said on
Tuesday.

The reaction of the Canadian Foreign Ministry was rather calm. A
ministerial representative said that they knew about planned
consultations of the Turkish ambassador last week. Such consultations
are a private matter, and would not be a reason for Canadian
speculations, the ministry said.

Leader of the opposition New Democratic Party Jack Layton supported
the government’s position on the Armenian genocide. He said Canadians
want their government to speak up about such matters even if these
pronouncements create certain bumps in relations with other
countries.

According to Yerevan, 1.5 million Armenians fell victims of the
genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1917. France recognized the
genocide fact in 2001. There are about 450,000 Armenians in France.

Meanwhile, Ankara says that it is question of repression during the
civil war of 1915-1917, and estimates the Armenian casualties at
300,000. Ankara says that approximately the same number of Turks was
killed back then.