Author: Tigranian Ani

ARONYAN DEFEATS ANAND IN THE BILBAO GRAND SLAM FINAL

armradio.am
11.09.2008 11:51

Armenian Grand Master Levon Aronyan defeated Wishvanathan Anand
of India in the 8th round of the Bilbao Grand Slam Final Chess
tournament. In the other games Ukrainian Vasili Ivanchuk defeated
Teymur Rajabov of Azerbaijan, Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) won Magnus
Carlsen of Norway.

After the 8thr ound Veselin Topalov is leading with 13 points. Aronyan
is the second with 12 points. Ivanchuk and Carlsen share the 3rd and
4th positions with 11 points each. Anand and Rajabov have 6 points
each and share the 5tha and 6th places.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN MET WITH BSEC SECRETARY GENERAL

armradio.am
09.09.2008 10:48

President Serzh Sargsyan received the Secretary General of the
Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Leonidas
Chrysanthopoulos.

The President of Armenia discussed with the Secretary General of
the BSEC issues related to the upcoming presidency of Armenia in the
organization and events scheduled for that period.

According to Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia has seriously prepared for that
mission and will do her best to carry it out properly. Serzh Sargsyan
said that Armenia has developed a precise plan of action and intends
to follow it thoroughly.

Leonidas Chrisanthopoulos expressed his satisfaction with the
preparatory works and noted that Armenia is assuming presidency in a
critical period of time related to the recent events in Georgia and
tendencies of normalization of the Armenian -Turkish relations. In
his opinion, the normalization of the relations between Armenia and
Turkey and the dialogue between the two will directly and positively
influence efficient cooperation with the BSEC.

EXPERTS: ARMENIA REVEALING ELEMENTS OF INDEPENDENCE

Panorama.am
18:59 08/09/2008

"Armenia had revealed independence elements in the latest events
concerning Georgia" – assured the president of Analitical centre of
globalization and regional cooperation political scientist Stepan
Grigoryan. According to his words Russia looking for allies had
an influence on the decision of the participant-countries of CSTO,
and in spite of that Armenia succeeded in refusing to agree with its
"elder brother". He also thinks that Armenian publicity has reacted
to the Georgian events independently too.

Reminding: in the result of the summit that took place on the 5th of
September participant-countries of CSTO sighned a joint declaration,
in which the leaders of countries of Organization discussed the affairs
of Georgia. Before that the experts used to assure that Russia had
a seriously influence on its allies in the question of acceptance of
the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and their invitation
to CSTO.

FRENCH PRESIDENT WELCOMED POLITICAL COURAGE OF GUL AND SARGSYAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2008 15:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul’s visit to neighboring Armenia as "courageous
and historic".

"While the region is in the midst of a serious crisis, (his visit)
is a courageous and historic gesture for Turkish-Armenian relations,"
Sarkozy, who currently holds the European Unions rotating presidency,
said in a statement "It allows hope for progress soon in establishing
normal relations between Turkey and Armenia," he added.

Gul made his landmark visit to Turkey’s eastern neighbor – the first
by a Turkish head of state to the ex-Soviet nation – for the first
of two World Cup qualifiers between the two national teams.

"We hope we will be able to demonstrate goodwill to solve the problems
between our countries and not leave them to future generations,"
Armenian President Sargsyan said after the meeting with his Turkish
counterpart.

Sarkozy paid "tribute to the political courage of President Gul and
President Sargsyan" and said he was hoping that reaching out will
allow both countries to show the world that "reconciliation is possible
through openness, dialogue and the respect of others," the AP reports.

BSEC SECRETARY GENERAL VISITS ARMENIA

armradio.am
08.09.2008 11:03

The Secretary General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Organization Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos arrived in Yerevan on
September 8.

In Yerevan Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos will meet with RA President
Serzh Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

The BSEC Secretary General will meet the Minister of Transport and
Commemoration Gurgen Sargsyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
Armen Movsisyana and Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Sept 7 2008

Turkish President Voices his Position on Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict to
his Armenian Counterpart
07.09.08 11:04

Turkey, Ankara, 7 September /Trend News corr. T.Aliyev/ Turkish
President Abdullah Gul returned to his country after a visit to
Armenia, where he watched a football match between the national teams
of the two countries within the qualification period of the World
Football Championship-2010. On arrival in the Ankara Airport, he said
to journalists that the visit to Yerevan had been effective.

According to Gul, at his meeting with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan he informed his Armenian counterpart of TurkeyÑ – s
position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Commenting on the exchange of views on the situation in Georgia and
the entire region, Gul said that he had found support to TurkeyÑ – s
initiative of Stability in Caucasus and Platform of Cooperation. Gul
said the Yerevan meeting paid special attention to the prospects of
relationships between Turkey and Armenia. Presidents agreed to
continue the dialogue in this connection, Gul said to journalists.

Turkish President said he had invited Sargsyan to visit Ankara in 2009
to watch the response game of two countriesÑ – national football
teams.

At the same time, Turkish opposition is still harshly criticizing
GulÑ – s visit to Armenia. Several opposition activists held
demonstration Turkey Not to Forget Karabakh in front of the
Azerbaijani Embassy in Ankara.

TransWorldNews (press release), GA
Sept 6 2008

Turkish President Abdullah Gul Travels to Armenia, Angers Nationalists

Atlanta, Ga. 9/06/2008 04:19 PM GMT (TransWorldNews – Top Story)

Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Armenia on Saturday to
attend a World Cup qualifying match between the two countries,
becoming the first leader from Turkey to ever enter the county.

Gul was invited by Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian to
attend the match, the first ever played between the neighboring
countries who have shared a cold relationship for nearly 100 years.

Before leaving Gul had said he hoped that relationship could thaw but
many Turkish nationalists have called the President’s visit
a betrayal.

Those nationalists have taken exception to claims made by Armenia that
Ottoman forces were guilty of carrying out the genocide of Armenian
citizens during World War I. At the time Armenia was still a part of
the Soviet Union.

Turkey has recognized the deaths but has denied any genocide claims,
calling the killings a part of the war. Turkish nationalists now see
Gul’s visit to Armenia, who gained their independence in
1991, as a betrayal of national interest.

The countries share no diplomatic times.

Azerbaijan Business Center, Azerbaijan
Sept 5 2008

Azerbaijan supports Turkey’s initiatives for security on Caucasus

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijan supports the platform of security and
cooperation suggested by Turkey for Caucasus.

Azerbaijan Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov said
last week he discussed this matter with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

`I told there that Azerbaijan supports the talks between the region`s
countries concerning a suggestion to form a Caucasian Union and peace
and stability must be ensured in the region as soon as possible.,’
E.Mammadyarov said.

The consultations of the interested countries are ongoing and the
issue was recently discussed in Ankara by the heads of Ministries of
Foreign Affairs of Georgia and Russia.

`We will continue consultations with Russia, Georgia and others. It is
early to talk about what kind of organization it will be and we have
to continue consultations,’ E.Mammadyarov said.

At the same time Azerbaijan is not going to pay attention to Turkish
President Abdullah Gul’s decision to visit Yerevan.

`That is Turkey’s business and for Turkish President to
decide. Azerbaijan can not discuss these questions as it is an
internal issue of Turkey,’ E.Mammadyarov said to journalists on
Thursday.

Abdullah Gul accepted the invitation of Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to visit Armenia on September 6 to watch the football match
between Armenian and Turkish teams. That will be the first visit of
the Turkish President to Armenia for the last years as Turkey has no
diplomatic relations with Armenia because the country occupied
Azerbaijani lands and requires to recognize so-called `Armenian
genocide’ during the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Goal.com, Switzerland
Sept 5 2008

WCQ Preview: Armenia – Turkey

What: World Cup 2010 Qualifier, Group 5
Who: Turkey vs Armenia
When: Saturday 7 September 2008, 21:00 local time
Where: Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan
Referee: Tom Henning Ã`vrebø (NOR)

Turkey and Armenia are more often mentioned together as part of a
political or historical discussion, but on Saturday evening all eyes
will be on the football pitch as the two continent-straddling nations
meet in Yerevan…

Expectations Raised

After reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2008, Turkish football is back
on the kind of high not experienced since the 2002 World Cup. With
this jubiliation, though, comes pressure.

Coach Fatih Terim’s side have now undone the underachievement of the
past six years and once again marked themselves out as continental
contenders; as such World Cup qualification is an absolute must.

Still, with 13 slots up for grabs for UEFA instead of the 16 at the
Euros, Turkey could find it harder to progress, not least when one
looks at their group. European champions Spain are odds-on favourites
to take the sole automatic place in Poland and Ukraine in 2010, while
a resurgent Belgium are not to be underestimated.

Even if the Crescent-Stars do edge out the Red Devils, Bosnia et
al. to second place, they still must contest a playoff, assuming that
their record is even good enough to get them there.

It’s a tough group, to be sure, but one feels that the fans, now
accustomed to success, won’t accept a hard luck story should the Turks
fail to progress.

Armenian Aspirations

Armenia, meanwhile, finished second last in their Euro 2008 qualifying
group; needless to say they thus failed to reach Austria/Switzerland.

It was also a fairly ignominious campaign for the Ararat: their
closing matches, both against Azerbaijan, were cancelled due to the
two countries’ having a territorial dispute that disrputed sporting
matters. (As is so often the case, politics and football collide in
this part of the world.)

Still, the players and coach haven’t let themselves grow distracted by
such concerns as they enjoy a fantastic current record. Coach Jan
Poulsen, appointed in January, has lost just one game so far; first
his side strode to second place in the Malta International Cup at
Ta’Qali before managing three friendlies without defeat, including a
credible draw with Greece in the Netherlands.

As such there is newfound optimism among this historic republic that
they can begin to make waves in global football, and a home game
against a local rival gives fine opportunity to do so.

FORM GUIDE

Armenia

01 Jun 08 Greece (N) DREW 0-0 (Friendly)
28 May 08 Moldova (A) DREW 2-2 (Friendly)
26 Mar 08 Kazakhstan (N) WON 1-0 (Friendly)
06 Feb 08 Iceland (N) LOST 2-0 (Ta’Qali Cup)
04 Feb 08 Belarus (N) WON 2-1 (Ta’Qali Cup)
02 Feb 08 Malta (A) WON 2-1 (Ta’Qali Cup)

Turkey

20 Aug 08 Chile (H) WON 1-0 (Friendly)
25 Jun 08 Germany (N) LOST 3-2 (EC)
20 Jun 08 Croatia (N) DREW 1-1 (WON 3-1 pens.) (EC)
15 Jun 08 Czech Rep. (N) WON 3-2 (EC)
11 Jun 08 Switzerland (A) WON 2-1 (EC)
07 Jun 08 Portugal (N) LOST 2-0 (EC)

TEAM NEWS

Armenia

Yegishe Melikyan of Banants Yerevan is out, but coach Poulsen
otherwise has a full squad to pick from.

Possible XI: Berezovsky; Hovsepyan, Arzumanyan, Dokhoyan, Tadevosyan;
Aleksanyan/Melkonyan, Voskanyan, Karamyan, Mkhitaryan; Hakobyan,
Manucharyan/Pachajuyan.

Turkey

Nihat Kahveci is out injured, as is Hamit Altıntop. Tumer Metin will
also sit this one out, while long-serving goalkeeper Rustu Recber has
hung up his international gloves once and for all. While the
Crescent-Stars will look to start with all three points, some fringe
players may get a chance to impress, particularly off the bench. Hamit
Altintop is out, while Nihat Kahveci and Tumer Metin are also
sidelined with injury. Emre Asik is absent, while Rustu Recber has
hung up his international gloves once and for all. Fatih Tekke, Umit
Ozat, and Umit Karan have all been dropped.

Turkey often switch between a 4-1-4-1 and 4-4-2; with the status of
favourites behind them they may put two up front here.

Possible Starting XI: Volkan Demirel; Kas, Gokhan Zan, Servet Cetin,
Ugur Boral; Mehmet Topal, Mehmet Aurelio, Belozoglu, Tuncay Sanli;
Semih Senturk, Halil Altintop.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Armenia – Roman Berezovsky: Goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky of Russian
outfit Khimki is no stranger to international or continental action,
having served Russian giants Zenit, Torpedo Moscow and Dynamo Moscow
with distinction. A noted penalty saver, his team’s hopes largely lie
with him. Additionally, Ara Hakobyan is fast approaching the accolade
of top goalscorer for the Armenians, having hit 7 strikes in 40 games
so far. Four more and he’ll equal Arthur Petrosyan’s record.

Turkey – Semih Semturk: Without the injured Nihat, Turkey look a
little short on striking options. However Semih, despite being
something of a late bloomer at international level, has a fine ratio
of four goals in ten appearances, indicating hope that the 25-year-old
can see the Crescent-Stars through. Also watch Volkan Demirel, who
now has the number one shirt to himself after Recber’s retirement.

PREDICTION

While Armenia are proving tough to break down of late, Turkey have
sufficient firepower to edge a win.

Armenia 0-1 Turkey

Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com

-president-goes-to-armenia-in-historic-visit/id_31 609/catid_68

RUSSIA SUPPORTS TURKEY’S CAUCASUS STABILITY AND COOPERATION PACT

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.09.2008 15:17 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday
accused NATO countries of arming Georgia, while at the same time
praising the stance of Turkey – itself a member of the alliance,
the Turkish Daily News reports.

Although Lavrov admitted that Turkey and Russia have different
approaches with regards to Georgia’s territorial integrity, he
nevertheless voiced support for the Turkish proposal for a regional
cooperation mechanism. On a one day visit to Istanbul, Lavrov offered
concrete proposals to solve the problems facing Turkish exporters
by Russian customs. In a joint news conference with his Turkish
counterpart Ali Babacan, Lavrov denied that stricter Russian controls
on Turkish imports are politically motivated. The checks resulted
in hundreds of Turkish trucks being stranded at Russian border posts
over the past few weeks. They raised questions about whether Russia was
punishing NATO member Turkey for allowing U.S. warships carrying aid to
Georgia to pass through the Bosporus. Lavrov said some countries had
breached customs regulations, prompting Russian authorities to take
more stringent measures. "We are not discriminating against Turkey,"
assured Lavrov. "We offered a more simplified method for Turkish
goods," he said, adding that the custom authorities will meet soon
to discuss the issue.

Despite his criticism of NATO countries arming Georgia, Lavrov said
Turkey’s alliance commitments were not an obstacle for Turkish-Russian
relations. "Turkey never used its NATO membership at the expense of
violating international principles. While being loyal to its NATO
commitments it does not forget its commitments to the UN or OSCE,"
said Lavrov, also expressing satisfaction with Turkey’s position on
the maritime regime in the Bosporus and the Black Sea.

While Babacan emphasized the importance of Georgia’s territorial
integrity, his Russian counterpart said the recognition of the
independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is the only way to secure
the existence of the people in these two regions. "We need to respect
our differences," said Lavrov when asked about the divergence of view
between Russia and Turkey. "The difference of view between Russia
and Turkey is that, this does not create hysteria. This does not pose
a threat to our relations. We take it as a matter of fact," he said
recalling how Turkey recognized the independence of Kosovo. "Russia
is loyal to the principle of territorial integrity. But there are
commitments to the security of the people too," he said.

Voicing support for the Turkish proposal for a Caucasus Stability and
Cooperation Pact, Lavrov said Russia appreciates Turkey’s efforts to
defuse the tension. Lavrov added that the two countries officials will
cooperate to set the framework of the new mechanism. "This initiative
is based on common sense," he said, adding that countries of the
region should deal with their problems rather than wait for others
to impose their own solutions.