Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

Turkey’s decision to recall ambassador ‘blackmail’

Updated Wed. Apr. 22 2009 4:13 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

Turkey’s decision to recall its ambassador to Canada to protest an
event commemorating the Armenian genocide is "blatant blackmail" of
the Canadian government and people, says a prominent member of the
Canadian-Armenian community.

Turkey has recalled Ambassador Rafet Akgunay to protest the decision
by some Parliamentarians to attend an event Tuesday night that
commemorated Canada’s decision to label the 1915 killing of Armenians
as genocide.

Parliament voted in favour of a private member’s bill acknowledging
the genocide five years ago under former prime minister Paul Martin.

It is estimated that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered
by Ottoman Turks. However, Turkey strongly objects to the idea that
the killings amount to genocide, arguing that the death toll is
exaggerated and the casualties were a result of civil war.

Turkey’s move to recall its ambassador is "ridiculous" and the
Canadian government should respond in kind, said Aris Babikian, the
executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Canada.

"This is purely and blatant blackmail of Canada and the Canadian
people. And this is blatant interference in our internal affairs,"
Babikian told CTV.ca in a telephone interview from Ottawa on
Wednesday. "We are not a banana republic where Turkey can dictate what
to do, what to say, what to organize."

The event was organized by the Congress of Canadian Armenians on the
fifth anniversary of Canada’s decision to formally recognize the
events of 1915 as genocide.

The event in question was attended by Citizenship and Immigration
Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, among
other members of Parliament.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent a message to the event’s organizers
in which he paid tribute to the "terrible loss of life during the
demise of the Ottoman empire in 1915, and in particular the horrific
suffering endured by the Armenian people."

A spokesperson for Kenney referred media queries to the Department of
Foreign Affairs, while calls to a spokesperson for Ignatieff, as well
as to Turkey’s embassy in Ottawa, were not immediately returned on
Wednesday.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Andre Lemay told CTV.ca in an email that
the federal government’s position on the issue is "not an indictment
of modern Turkey" and said the ambassador’s recall does not indicate
that diplomatic relations between the two countries have been severed.

Lemay said Canada maintains a good relationship with Turkey, which
Canada considers a key ally.

According to Burak Ozugergin, a spokesperson for Turkey’s Foreign
Ministry, Akgunay was recalled for "thorough evaluations and
consultations."

Ozugergin did not specify why the ambassador was recalled or how long
the recall the will last.

However, a Turkish government official who spoke on the condition of
anonymity said the move was in response to the event held in Ottawa on
Tuesday evening to commemorate the killing of Armenians at the close
of the First World War.

This is not the first time that Turkey has recalled its ambassador to
Canada over the genocide issue.

In 2006, Turkey withdrew its ambassador, pulled out of a planned
military exercise in Canada and criticized Harper for comments he made
that supported recognizing the killings as genocide.

Arman Akopian, the Armenian Charge d’Affaires to Canada, said he
couldn’t comment on Canadian-Turkish relations and hoped the situation
could be resolved quickly. But he added that Canada recognized the
Armenian genocide five years ago and has made numerous official
statements since, and he questioned the timing of Turkey’s actions.

"Frankly, I see no strong reasons Turkey should have acted this way,"
he told CTV Newsnet.

He added that Canada has been a strong supporter of negotiations
between Turkey and Armenia to reopen their borders to each other,
which have been closed since 1993.

"Canada has always been very supportive of the Armenia-Turkish
reconciliation process and has been encouraging Armenia and Turkey to
engage in dialogue to continue the negotiations," he said. Bill
introduced in U.S.

Babikian said that Canada’s decision to recognize the genocide not
only acknowledges an important human rights issue. It also honours the
Canadians who raised money to bring Armenian orphans to Canada in
1922, an event that Babikian said marked Canada’s role in "pioneering"
international humanitarian efforts.

The issue is also coming to the fore in the United States, where
legislators have introduced a bill that would label the deaths
genocide. If the legislation is passed, it could compromise President
Barack Obama’s goal of improving relations with Turkey, a NATO ally.

Intense opposition from the Bush administration quashed a similar bill
two years ago.

During his campaign, Obama called the killings genocide. But during a
recent visit to Turkey he avoided using the term.

Freelance journalist Nicholas Birch said Wednesday that while the
ambassador’s recall has garnered little attention in the Turkish
media, the issue of the genocide is one that still resonates today.

"To be fair, this is something that happened before the foundation of
the Turkish Republic, this is something which happened in the last
days of the Ottoman Empire," Birch told CTV Newsnet from Istanbul.

"Although, the interesting thing is – and I think this is probably why
it’s so sensitive – is that many of the people who played an important
part in the clearances of 1915 actually ended up taking quite
significant posts in the Republican government which came in in
1923. So there is a kind of bloodline which goes back from the last
days of the Ottoman Empire into the Republic, which was set up in
’23."

According to Birch, while Turks are not taught about the genocide at
school, they can read about it in books written by Armenian and
Western historians and are increasingly engaging in discussions about
the events.

"So there is the beginning of a debate, but the trouble is that this
is a state policy that 1915 is absolutely not a genocide and the state
in this country is still very, very powerful."

With files from The Associated Press

THE ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE OF JERUSALEM

Armenian-patriarchate
www.armenian-patr iarchate.org/page2.html

The Armenian presence in the Holy Land dates back to the earliest
years of Christianity, even before the conversion of Armenian King
Tirdat the Third on or about 301 A.D. There is recorded historical
evidence that as early as 254 A.D. bishops of the Armenian Church, in
cooperation with bishops of the Greek Orthodox Churches in Jerusalem
and Alexandria, Egypt, were actively engaged in the discovery and
confirmation of Holy Places deemed to be related to the activities of
Jesus Christ, and the construction of edifices for the preservation
of these early Christian treasures.

Further, from the inception of Christianity, Armenian pilgrims
began trekking to the Holy Land on spiritual journeys in steady and
continuous numbers, braving disruptive political upheavals and other
hardships. A large number of them chose to remain in Jerusalem, and
to take up residence in the proximity of the sanctuaries owned by the
Patriarchate (the Armenian Convent), with the St. James Cathedral
as its centerpiece. Eventually, these areas near the Patriarchate,
located in the southwestern corner of the Old City of Jerusalem,
constituted the Armenian Quarter, which today takes up one-sixth of
the geographic area within the walls of the Old City. The pilgrims
also built houses, churches, and convents in other areas, some no
longer standing, like the one at the Musrara Quarter, a stone’s
throw from the 15th Century walls of the Old City where, in 1991,
archaeologists uncovered an incomparable mosaic, laid down by an
unknown Armenian priest, Eustadius, in the 7th century. At its peak,
the Armenian presence in Jerusalem numbered 25,000.

According to historical records, as early as the 3rd century A.D.,
the Armenian Church, under the uninterrupted leadership of successive
bishops, not only maintained the integrity of the Holy Places,
but also had a leading role in their protection and reconstruction
following their repeated destruction by invading armies.

>From the 4th through the 8th century A.D., monasticism took strong root
in the Christian world, from the mountains of Asia Minor through the
Holy Land, the Sinai Peninsula and the deserts of Egypt. Considered
to be an honorable profession in the service of God, it attracted
scholars, educators and artisans of all kinds.

With the influx of thousands of monks and pilgrims from Armenian
cities, Armenian monasteries were established in the Holy Land,
particularly in the hills outside Jerusalem, near the Dead Sea, and the
Sinai Desert in the south. The monks became an influential creative
force and pioneered the enrichment of the Church with an invaluable
trove of manuscripts and archives. The development of the Armenian
Lectionary, consisting of a comprehensive anthology of Armenian church
readings, hymns and celebration of feasts, liturgical calendar, and
numerous saints’ days, was a unique accomplishment. These elements and
others have become an integral part of the tradition of the Armenian
Church in the Holy Land thus making the Armenian Patriarchate a very
unique institution throughout the world.

Because of the Armenian Church’s enhanced prestige, the leading bishop
of the Church was elevated to the status of Patriarch sometime in the
5th century A.D. The first formally recorded Patriarch of Jerusalem
was named Abraham who, in the middle of the 7th Century A.D.,
received a charter and official recognition from the Arab Caliph
Omar Ibn-Il-Khattab of the Omayyad (Damascus) Dynasty. The charter
enumerated the rights and privileges of the Armenian Church in the
Holy Land, guaranteeing its integrity and security.

On the back wall facing the main entrance to the St. James Convent
there is an elaborately carved inscription in Arabic which, loosely
translated, warns all intruders: `This decree from our Lord Sultan
and King Al-Daher Abu Sayid Mohammed, cursed be to all those and their
sons through generations, and may Almighty God curse whoever harms or
inflicts any injustice to this Holy Place. Abu Kheyer Razan hereby
guarantees this to the St. James Armenian Convent in Jerusalem. In
the year of Mohammed 854 (1488 A.D.)’. This and previous protective
edicts have helped strengthen and perpetuate the integrity of the
Patriarchate and have provided a basis for succeeding conquerors to
honor these pledges.

The final and most important pledge was made by the written
declaration of the Turkish Sultan, Abdul Majid, in 1852. This
declaration officially established the principle of "Status Quo"
(i.e. existing "as is" condition) in the Holy Places, which defines,
regulates and maintains, without change, the proprietary rights in
the Holy Places granted exclusively to the three major Christian
rites–Greek, Armenian and Latin Catholic–thus making the Armenian
Church equal in stature to the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches
despite its relatively small size.

As a result of the "Status Quo", one interesting aspect unique to
the Holy Places is the cadre of guards, caretakers, called "Kawasses"
who were primarily Moslem, a choice seemingly inspired by logic. Not
being Christian, they could impartially administer any Holy Place,
thus eliminating points of contention between the three major Christian
rites. Over the centuries, these functions were passed from father
to son throughout succeeding generations. The Kawasses protecting
the Armenian Patriarch have become such familiar figures over the
past hundreds of years that the successive generations have learned
Armenian and speak it fluently.

Throughout the ensuing decades the resident Armenian community
continued to grow and prosper, yielding tradesmen and merchants
who shared their prosperity with their Church by donating land and
assisting in the construction of new churches, commercial buildings
and housing. The need for printed materials in the Armenian language
resulted in the establishment of the first printing press in Jerusalem
in 1833 within the walls of the St. James Convent. The first issue of
"SION", the official monthly publication of the Armenian Patriarchate
was first distributed to the public in 1866. In 1841 the first
Armenian Theological Seminary was founded just north of Jerusalem,
in the town of Ramle, and in 1845 that Seminary was physically moved
to a newly-built complex within the confines of the Convent.

As World War I ended, and Palestine was liberated from the Ottoman
Turks by the British, there was a large influx of Armenian
refugees who were welcomed by the Patriarchate and settled in
available facilities. With the increased population in and around
the Patriarchate, children’s education became a growing matter of
concern. Fortunately, the Seminary afforded a ready-made system
for the education of boys at the elementary level. This approach,
by its nature, must have provided future candidates for the Seminary
and subsequent ordination into the priesthood. However, without the
inclusion of girls in the scheme, the endeavor was not deemed to
be complete. Finally, in the 1860’s, a small building was erected
adjacent to the Seminary, thus creating the first girls’ elementary
school in Jerusalem. These schools continued to operate well into
the early 1920’s.

In 1925, through the efforts of the newly-elected Patriarch Yeghishe
Tourian, a staunch believer in education, a unified elementary school
came into existence. Patriarch Tourian set about modernizing the
curriculum of the Seminary and acquiring highly-qualified instructors
from the cadre of talented teachers and educators who had come to
Jerusalem as refugees. He envisioned the construction and establishment
of an educational institution under one roof to accommodate the growing
number of children in the community. In 1929, the unified elementary
school officially opened its doors. By consolidating disparate
locations, including the St. Gayane Girl’s School, this elementary
school became the first co-educational institution in the Holy Land
and was renamed School of the Holy Translators ("Serpots Tarkmantchats
Varjaran") after the Sts. Sahag and Mesrob, the inventors of the
Armenian alphabet in approximately 400 A.D. It is in existence today.

These organs of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem–the School,
the St. James Cathedral, the Patriarchate, the Armenian Seminary,
the Calouste Gulbenkian Library, and the Edward and Helen Mardigian
Museum — together with its custodianships of the Holy Places —
form the core of the Armenian presence in Jerusalem today.

PORTRAIT OF A NATIONALIST
Shaun Walker

Russia Profile
April 21 2009

As Unemployment Levels Grow, Russia Has no Place for Migrant Workers

Times of economic hardship have been known to breathe new life into
nationalist and racist sentiments. As more people lose their jobs, both
Russian and migrant, the "Russia for the Russians" slogan is gaining
popularity, not in the least thanks to people like Alexander Belov,
the leader of the Movement against Illegal Immigration. As racial
tensions in the country escalate, the threat of violence spilling
onto the streets becomes ever more real.

Alexander Belov slips into the interview quietly; for Russia’s most
famous racist, he cuts an unassuming figure, and is overshadowed
by the giant, shaven-headed Viktor Yakushev, his "chief ideologist"
who has come along to the central Moscow restaurant.

Belov is fresh from a day in court, where he is currently standing
accused of inciting racial hatred. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be
given a jail sentence, as the last thing that the authorities want is
to turn him into a martyr, but he thinks that the court case is meant
as a warning to him to keep quiet. Late last year he was beaten up
by a group of men, in an attack that he thinks was meant to kill him
and he claims was part of the same campaign against him. In times of
economic crisis, nationalists, who in the past have been considered
a useful force by the authorities, could indeed become a major threat.

"There is no legal form of protest and the authorities are pressuring
people like Belov, who want things to be done non-violently,"
said Yakushev. "This means we will see a rise in street violence
and killings."

Belov is the leader of the Movement Against Illegal Immigration,
the DPNI, which is Russia’s biggest nationalist street grouping. Its
critics accuse it of violent methods and a neo-fascist ideology. Belov
denies the former, claiming that the movement is only in favour of
non-violent protests and that by sidelining the DPNI the authorities
only encourage a more organic, violent nationalist movement to
flourish. As for the accusations of neo-fascism, Yakushev cheerfully
calls himself "the leading Russian proponent of National Socialism."

According to Belov, an Orthodox Christian who is fasting for Russian
Lent and fingers a set of prayer beads throughout the interview, the
Russian authorities are out of touch with what the average person on
the streets wants, and this is what makes groups like his popular. "The
last time that Medvedev actually went out onto the streets and met
people was probably about 30 years ago; he doesn’t understand what
ordinary Russian people want," he said. "A normal society should
have a high level of civil activity, but in the period of Vladimir
Putin’s rule, everything was done to get rid of civil society and
revive some aspects of Soviet totalitarianism. The elites are corrupt,
and not working in the country’s best interests."

Indeed, one of the more surreal aspects of talking to someone like
Belov is that despite the fact that he is a neo-fascist with a
racialist ideology, much of what he says could easily come from the
lips of Garry Kasparov, the Armenian-Jewish liberal leader who stands
for just about everything that the nationalists despise.

But when talk moves on from what is wrong with the current Russian
authorities to what should be done about it, the divergence in
opinions becomes obvious. Belov doesn’t want Moscow to be a place
where there are "ghettos:" places where "a white man goes and doesn’t
feel at home."

Given Russian unemployment levels, he claims, there is no need for
unskilled immigrants to come to Russia; they should only be allowed
in when they can demonstrate a clear skill that is not available among
the local population. He also claims, using the traditional arguments
of the far right, that immigrants are responsible for social problems
in Russia: "Illegal immigrants sell weapons, drugs and create petty
crime," he said. "If we introduced a visa regime with the former
Soviet republics, 95 percent of illegal immigration would be dealt
with overnight. We have an absurd situation where people come legally
but work illegally."

Another part of the opposition to migrants stems from classic
racialist arguments that haven’t been much in favour anywhere since the
1930s, and rank races according to their level of development. "Take
Azerbaijan," said Yakushev, referring to a country from which hundreds
of thousands of migrants come to Russia every year. "There is a
different level of consciousness and knowledge. The society is still at
the stage of feudalism; they don’t understand European civilization."

"Different races have different cultural levels," Yakushev continued,
warming to the theme. "Just look at the state of BMW cars in the past
few years–as more and more Turks work at the BMW plants in Germany,
the quality has gotten lower and lower. Even though putting the cars
together is relatively simple, the Turks don’t have the skill or
cultural level to be able to do it properly." (If this is, indeed,
the way in which races are to be ranked, then it doesn’t bode too
well for the Russians, I thought).

While the racial classifications and nods to Nazism are unlikely to
go down well in Russia, the general feeling that immigrants are a
nuisance and the cause of crime does have widespread sympathy among
the population. More than half of Russians agree with the slogan
"Russia for the Russians," and in times of crisis, with unemployment
likely to rise both among migrants and locals, the stage could be
set for a rise in violence in the coming months.

MGA WATER SEAL PARTNERSHIP FOR NEWBORN HEALTH

LRAGIR.AM
17:42:23 – 21/04/2009

Today, the "MGA Water" LLC and the Unicef stated that the "MGA Water"
LLC will be donating a portion of its monthly revenues to UNICEF
for procurement of essential supplies and equipment for maternities
in Yerevan and other provinces of Armenia, the company and UNICEF
representatives announced today at St.Astvatsamayr Maternity in
Yerevan.

"According to The State of the World’s Children 2009, in Armenia,
roughly 22 infants per 1,000 live births die before their first
birthday. Approximately 80% of these deaths are during the first 28
days of life – the neonatal period. Most of these deaths could have
been prevented, had timely and proper neonatal care and resuscitation
services been provided to those children", UNICEF Representative in
Armenia Laylee Moshiri stressed.

"MGA Water’s monthly donations will help ensure that maternities are
adequately equipped and health providers have required knowledge and
skills to provide proper care for newborns when necessary," UNICEF
Representative said.

PUBLIC TALKS ‘PUT CONSENSUS AT RISK’

Hurriyet
April 20 2009
Turkey

A former Armenian foreign minister criticizes the Armenian president
for the country’s reconciliation talks with Turkey. ‘The new
government’s style is different for normalizing ties. Ours was
confidential, theirs is public,’ says veteran politician Vartan
Oskanian

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian has been criticized by former
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian for making public the
progress of secret reconciliation talks with Turkey.

"Presidents cut ribbons and then do formalities. But if you start
formalities when the substance does not match what you project, you
get yourself into difficulty," he said. Oskanian warned his successors
that Turkey benefited from this exposure, not Armenia.

A veteran politician, who served as the country’s foreign minister for
10 years and conducted similar secretive meetings with his Turkish
counterparts, deciphered today’s talks to the Hurriyet Daily News &
Economic Review in Yerevan on Saturday.

"We are where we were. Abdullah Gul’s visit to Armenia last September
was a formality. As long as the border remains closed and there
are no diplomatic ties, that visit although historic, is still a
formality. Things can only change when the border is opened and
ties are established. Then the formality can transform to pragmatic
diplomatic steps," he said.

Recalling his own experience with Turkey, he argued that the
only way to test whether Ankara was genuine was to engage them
confidentially. "The new government continues the process of
normalizing ties with the same intentions but the style is
different. Ours was confidential, theirs is public. We will see
which one succeeds but I still think that confidentiality should
have been maintained, at least until the agreement is initialized,"
Oskanian added.

When you raise expectations and give publicity to the process of
starting dialogue with, you also attract the attention of third-party
countries, Oskanian said. "This is fine if both sides, and in this
case particularly Turkey, are genuine about opening the border. But
if Turkey is reluctant to do so, then these raised expectations only
serve Turkish interest," he said.

According to Oskanian, even if there is no deal in the end it is
beneficial for Turkey to show the world that there is a discussion on a
committee of historians to study 1915 events. "By this, Turks can tell
Americans and others to stay out of the ‘genocide’ issue," he argued.

The history of Nagorno-Karabakh: A bloody war The issue of
Nagorno-Karabakh goes back to the conflict from February 1988 to
May 1994, in the small ethnic enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan,
between local ethnic Armenians backed by Yerevan against the state of
Azerbaijan. Both countries were formerly part of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics.

The enclave’s parliament had voted in favor of uniting itself with
Armenia and a referendum was held with the vast majority of the
Karabakh population voting in favor of independence. Ethnic violence
broke out within the statelet after the autonomous parliament voted
for Nagorno-Karabakh to be reunited with Armenia in 1988. Full-scale
fighting erupted in the late winter of 1992. In the spring of 1993,
Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself, and by
the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of
most of the enclave and also held and currently control approximately
9 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory outside the area.

Sluggish peace talks As many as 230,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan and
800,000 Azerbaijanis from Armenia and Karabakh have been displaced
as a result of the conflict.

A Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994 and sluggish
peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been going ever since.

Armenia-Turkey border also has been closed since 1993.

HOLY SEE ST. ECHMIADZIN CONDEMNS

LRAGIR.AM
11:57:30 – 20/04/2009

The Holy See St. Echmiadzin press service issued a press release
which runs that in the second part of April the "Singing men of
Oklahoma" music group is scheduled to hold a concert in Armenia at
the invitation of the Armenian Evangelistic church in memory of the
Armenian genocide. But the Holy See states to have learnt from the
web-site of the group that the group is in reality called "Singing
men of Oklahoma church" which is changed under the repression of the
Armenian Apostolic church.

The Holy See welcomes all the countries and nations which compassionate
the Armenian nation for the greatest tragedy-the genocide. At the same
time, they strictly condemn all the organizations involved in this
event, as manipulating the genocide topic, according to the Holy See,
they try to defame the Armenian Apostolic church.

PanArmenian, Armenia
April 18 2009

Armenian-Turkish relations discussion held in New York April 17

18.04.2009 12:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A discussion on the Armenian-Turkish relations was
held in New York took on April 17.

The event was attended by Author & Armenian Genocide Studies Chair at
Clark University Taner Akcam and Publisher of The California Courier,
President of the United Armenian Fund & Vice Chairman of The Lincy
Foundation Harut Sassounian, Focus on Kurdish-Armenian Dialogue & Ph.D
Candidate at John Hopkins University Biligin Ayata, Executive Director
of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Aram Hamparian
and Editor at the Armenian Weekly Khatchig Mouradian.

THE CONDUCT OF FAIR ELECTION IS JEOPARDIZES

A1+
07:31 pm | April 16, 2009

Politics

"The conduct of free and fair election of Yerevan’s Elder’s Council
is jeopardizes," signals the Armenian Center for Parliamentarism.

The Centre says the Central Election Commission has enabled all
Armenian voters to participate in the polls.

Contrary to the RoA legislation, the CEC has decided that factual
residence in Yerevan City and one-year registration are not compulsory
conditions for enfranchise. The Centre notes that the constitutional
breach has aroused concern among the "Supreme Council-Deputy Club"’
NGO and the Armenian National Congress pre-election alliance. The
latter has already appealed to the court.

None of the six parties submitting electoral lists to the CEC has
reacted to the breach. The ARF Dashnaktsutyun has even named a
candidate for the Mayor having no registration in Yerevan.

Article 2 of the Electoral Code says: "All RoA citizens having
attained the age of 18 are eligible to vote. All those having at
least one-year registration and residing in the given commune can
participate in the election to a self-government body."

The law also covers citizens who have no RA citizenship but are
eligible to vote.

AZERI FOREIGN MINISTER, US OFFICIAL DISCUSS OPENING TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER

ANS TV
April 16 2009
Azerbaijan

New positions concerning the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict have
emerged in the region, but opening the Turkish-Armenian border
without the conflict being resolved runs counter to Azerbaijan’s
national interests, [Azerbaijani] Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
has said. The concern brought about by the possible opening of the
Turkish-Armenian border was also discussed at today’s meeting between
Mammadyarov and the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza.

The minister added that it is wrong to portray the visit of the
Azerbaijani president to Moscow [on 16-17 April] as a gesture of
protest against Turkey since the visit was scheduled back in the
beginning of 2009.

[Elmar Mammadyarov, captioned, speaking at a news conference] Some new
positions pertaining to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict have emerged
in the region. We also discussed this issue with Matthew Bryza and
we reiterated Azerbaijan’s position, which you know.

First, we discussed issues related to the Turkish-Armenian border. You
already know Azerbaijan’s position. We did not discuss the position
of other countries. However, if the Armenian troops do not withdraw
from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, this would certainly
run counter to our national interests.

RUSSIA CALLS ON NATO TO CANCEL EXERCISE

Radio Netherlands
April 16 2009

Russia is demanding that NATO cancel or postpone a planned military
exercise in Georgia. It says the exercise, due to begin on 6 May,
is both a provocation and an infringement of its sphere of influence.

On Wednesday, NATO announced that 1300 troops from 19 countries would
take part in the military exercise in Georgia. The intention, said
NATO, is to see how military cooperation proceeds between countries
that are not members of the alliance, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Kazakhstan.

In August 2008, Russian and Georgian troops clashed in Georgia in a
dispute over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.