Author: Tigranian Ani

PUBLIC SUPPORT SHRINKS FOR OPPOSITION

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 4 2008

Public support for opposition parties in Turkey has considerably
decreased, in contrast to a sharp increase in support for the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party), a new opinion poll has found.

The Social and Political Situation in Turkey survey, conducted by
the Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic & Social Research Center from
Aug. 29-31, polled 1,251 people in several Turkish cities to find
their views on the current political situation in the country — which
recently heaved a sigh of relief following the rejection of a closure
case against the governing AK Party — and the popularity of President
Abdullah Gul, who recently completed his first year in office.

According to the survey, a clear majority of Turkish society supports
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, while the opposition
parties, namely the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP), continue to suffer from declining popularity
with the public.

Asked who they would vote for if there was an election today, 50.9
percent of respondents said they would vote for the AK Party. The
figure demonstrated the ruling party’s considerable increase in
popularity in less than a month, as around 42 percent of those
polled had said in early August they would vote for the AK Party
if parliamentary elections were to be held the day of the poll. The
survey revealed the CHP and the MHP would remain below the election
threshold should general elections be held on the poll date. Only 9.5
percent of respondents said they would vote for the CHP; 6.6 percent
said they would favor the MHP (6.6) and 2.6 percent said they would
vote for the Democratic Society Party (DTP). However 13.9 percent of
those polled had said in the previous survey that they would vote for
the CHP and 8.4 percent for the MHP. Of the remaining respondents,
11.3 percent said they were undecided, while 7.0 percent said they
would simply vote a blank ballot; 2.0 said they would not go to the
ballot box at all, while 5.3 percent said they had no opinion.

Another major topic of the survey was the president’s popularity among
the people. In response to a question on whether Gul had succeeded
in being everyone’s president during his first year in office, 55.7
percent of those polled said yes, whereas 19.7 percent said no.

The remaining either said they had no idea or that Gul reached his
goal partially. Asked which president — Gul, or former President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer — they trusted, 56.4 percent of the respondents
said they trusted Gul and 21.7 percent said they trusted Sezer.

Participants were also surveyed about concerns over secularism and the
regime in Turkey. In response to a question over whether they shared
the concerns for secularism and the regime raised during the process of
Gul’s election as president, 52 percent responded negatively and 26.6
percent positively. When asked whether Gul’s behavior and decisions
during his first year in office endangered secularism in Turkey,
78.4 percent said no and 17.7 percent said yes.

Respondents were also asked about their view regarding the fact that
Gul’s wife, Hayrunnisa, wears the Islamic headscarf. In response
to a question on whether they perceived her headscarf as a problem,
an overwhelming majority of those polled — 85.8 percent — said no,
with 13.7 percent responding positively.

When asked whether Gul had acted with impartiality during his first
year in office, 60.4 percent responded that he was completely impartial
while 34.4 said he had displayed partisanship. Over 76 percent of
respondents said Gul was sensitive toward society’s social problems,
while around 20 percent said he was insensitive. In response to a
question over whether they were satisfied with Gul’s performance in
the presidency so far, 77.9 percent of those surveyed said yes and
20.8 percent said no.

Those polled were also asked for theirs opinion regarding Gul’s recent
appointments of university rectors. Asked whether they were satisfied
with Gul’s choices, 62.5 percent of respondents said they found them
to be positive, and 25.5 percent said they found them negative.

Gul appointed new rectors for 21 Turkish universities on Aug. 5. The
appointments drew the ire of some circles, who leveled harsh criticism
at Gul, claiming he nominated rectors with no experience in the field
but who were known for their closeness to the AK Party. A number of
professors from various universities even resigned from their posts
in protest, saying they were dissatisfied with the rector appointments
at their respective universities.

When asked if they approved of CHP officials’ refusal to attend any
official or private meetings with Gul held at the Cankaya presidential
palace, an overwhelming majority of respondents said they believed
the CHP officials were pursuing a wrong strategy, and only 12.7 said
they supported the CHP’s stance in that regard.

Another question directed at respondents was about Gul’s pardoning of
former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. In response to a question
over whether Gul was right to use his presidential pardon to lift
Erbakan’s sentence, 54.6 percent said he was right in doing so;
33.7 percent said he was wrong, and 11.8 percent said they had no idea.

To justify his pardon, Gul cited a report prepared by the
forensic medicine administration showing that Erbakan’s health was
deteriorating. Erbakan, the former leader of the now-defunct Welfare
Party (RP), was sentenced to two years and four months behind bars in
a lawsuit known as the "lost trillion" case, but was able to postpone
serving his sentence by submitting medical reports to the court. The
lost trillion case concerns the disappearance of more than 1 trillion
Turkish lira in Treasury grants to the RP.

Asked whether Gul should go to Yerevan to attend a soccer match between
the Turkish and Armenian national teams upon an invitation from his
Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan, 67.4 percent of those polled said
he should go and 22.9 percent said he should not accept the invitation.

Sarksyan had previously invited Gul to watch the Sept. 6 World Cup
qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams in
Yerevan, with which Ankara does not have any official relations.

Officials from the CHP and the MHP have been extremely critical
of the prospect of a possible visit to Armenia by Gul. They say
a visit to Yerevan would mean alienating Azerbaijan, which is of
vital importance to Turkey on many fronts. Turkey was among the first
countries to recognize Armenia’s independence, but closed its border
with the latter and severed formal ties with Yerevan after Armenia
occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

A considerable majority of poll respondents also said Gul was honest
and trustworthy, a strong and decisive leader, a good statesman,
attached importance to the country’s problems and expectations of
the people, represented Turkey with success, was democratic and
pro-freedom and had the characteristics of a leader.

Support for EU membership on the rise

The survey also has found a clear majority of Turkish society supports
Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. Public support for Turkish
EU membership has shown a considerable increase since the survey
conducted in August.

In response to a question on whether they would vote for or against
Turkey’s EU membership if there were a referendum today, 69.1 percent
said they would vote "yes," while 23.7 percent said they would vote
against it. In the previous survey, 28 percent of those polled were
against EU membership while 66.2 percent supported it.

When asked what they thought about political party closures in Turkey,
40.9 percent of those polled said political parties should only be shut
down if they resort to violence or call for violence in the country;
37.4 percent said parties should not be disbanded under any condition,
and 16.9 percent said existing legal provisions about political party
closures in Turkey should remain untouched.

In response to a question over whether the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP) should be shut down, 57.6 percent said it should
remain open; 31.2 percent said it should be closed, and 11.3 percent
said they had no idea.

A closure case was filed against the DTP last year by a state
prosecutor on the grounds that it had become a focal point for
separatist activities.

Another question directed at respondents was about the government’s
plan to launch Kurdish broadcasts through the state-owned Turkish Radio
and Television Corporation (TRT). Asked what they thought of the plan,
43.7 percent said: "I see the plan positively. Having a Kurdish TV
station will improve Turkish democracy." But 51.8 percent said:
"I see it negatively. Having a Kurdish TV station will increase
separatist activities."

In response to a question over whom the respondents admired most
among living statesmen and politicians, 33.3 percent said they admire
Prime Minister Erdogan, followed by President Gul (14.7) and former
President Sezer (5.1).

Asked which of the existing political party leaders they trusted most,
51.9 percent of the respondents said they trusted Erdogan the most,
followed by CHP leader Deniz Baykal (4.2) and MHP leader Devlet Bahceli
(4.2).

The telephone poll was conducted Aug. 29-31 among a random national
sampling of 1,251 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The
margin of error for the full poll is 2.8 percentage points, at a 95
percent confidence level.

ARMENIA’S RECOGNITION OF NKR SHOULD BE WEIGHED UP

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.09.2008 15:46 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ No state will dare to recognize NKR’s independence
unless Armenia does it, Arsen Melik-Shahnazarov, advisor to NKR
Foreign Minister, said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

However, the issue should be weighed up and timely, according to him.

"Official recognition of NKR will put an end to defective concept
brought forth by the Armenian National Movement. The fact is that the
administrative borders of Nagorno Karabakh are not those of former
NKAO," he said, adding, "Armenia can issue an official statement on
recognition of de-facto NKR and conclude a number of agreements, like
the United States did in 1972 as regards unrecognized Taiwan. The
Republic of Armenia and NKR are represented by ‘one nation and two
states’. The phrase Aliyev senior used to repeat when speaking about
Azerbaijan and Turkey."

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PROBLEM DESTROYS TURKEY FROM WITHIN

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.09.2008 14:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Genocide issue will not lose urgency
in case of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Director
of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute Hayk Demoyan told a news
conference today.

"Nothing can erase memory of the nation," he stated, adding that
Turkey doesn’t recognize the fact of Genocide due to "ongoing dangerous
processes pregnant with review of Turkish history."

Genocide recognition issue destroys Turkey from within. The idea to
form a commission of historians is only an attempt to gain dividends,
according to him.

"If formed, such a commission will bring together many scientists,
including those who are persecuted in Turkey over the Genocide issue,"
Demoyan said.

SURB GRIGOR LUSAVORICH CHURCH IN NOVOKUZNETSK CONSECRATED

Noyan Tapan

Se p 2, 2008

NOVOKUZNETSK, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENIANS TODAY – NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian
Surb Grigor Lusavorich Church in the Russian city of Novokuznetsk
was consecrated on August 24.

According to the press service of the Armenian diocese of Nor
Nakhijevan and Russia, on that historical day the primate of Armenian
diocese of Nor Nakhijevan and Russia Bishop Yezras Nersisian travelled
from Moscow to Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo region) and with the help of
spiritual fathers of Moscow, Krasnoyarsk and Barnaul priests Ter
Tadevos, Ter Shahan and Ter Mashtots consecrated the five crosses on
the church dome, after which a holy liturgy was celebrated and the
church itself was consecrated.

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches and
the local Muslim community attended the holy ceremony. Members of
the regional and city authorities, the heads of parish communities of
the neighboring cities of Barnaul and Krasnoyarsk, numerous Armenian
pilgrims and believers were present.

Bishop Yerzas Nersisian addressed those present with words of blessing,
urging them to keep this church with their constant prayers. He also
expressed gratitude to the benefactor of the church, the chairman of
the Parish Council Sarik Abrahamian, on whose initiative the beautiful
church was constructed.

To recap, by official data, about 12 thousand Armenians live in this
region of Russia.

95 TRANSACTIONS WORTH AMD 889.8 MILLION EFFECTED IN 2ND Q

ARKA
Sep 2, 2008

YEREVAN, September 2. /ARKA/. National Statistical Service of Armenia
reports that 95 transactions worth AMD 889.8 million were effected
in the second quarter of this year.

The report says that transactions worth 860.5 million were effected
in the previous quarter.

According to the statistical report, transactions on corporate bonds
amounted to AMD 685.5 million, deals on government bonds AMD 195.6
million and stocks AMD 8.7 million.

13 companies underwent listing in the second quarter.

Armenian Stock Exchange (Armex) was established in 2001 as
self-regulating merger of 21 broker (dealer) companies.

In November 2007, Armex was reorganized into open joint stock company.

In January 2008, OMX (now NASDAQ OMX) is the sole owner of Armex and
Central Depository. ($1=AMD 302.44).

WESTERN UNION LEAVING MONEY TRANSFER MARKET OF ARMENIA TO LEAD TO GROWTH OF CIRCULATION OF OTHER PAYMENT SYSTEMS

arminfo
2008-09-01 16:11:00

ArmInfo. One of the biggest money transfer systems Western Union’s
leaving the money transfer market of Armenia will lead to growth of
circulation of other payment systems.

As director of money transfer system service of Unibank Natalya
Ter-Gevorkyan told ArmInfo correspondent, the bank will continue
serving the Western union system up to 26 September. Then she thinks
tension of international system of money transfer UNIStream may
grow as geography of the main service of the system (75 countries)
is almost the same as geography of Western Union. ‘Earlier we wanted
to finish the current year with $1 bln circulation of the UNIStream
system, but after leaving of the Western Union it is not ruled out
that we shall manage to reach this indicator’, – she said.

At the same time Ter-Gevorkyan added that according to the results
of the first half-year 2008 the share of UNIStream was 51,2% out
of the general volume of money transfer to Armenia and 44,5% – from
Armenia. The volume of UNIStream money transfer in Armenia has grown
by 40% over the first half-year 2008 if compared with the same period
of 2007 and amounted to $324.

AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT DEMONSTRATES HIGHEST POLITICAL MATURITY IN RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN CONFLICT: RUSSIAN POLITICIAN

TREND News Agency
Aug 29 2008
Azerbaijan

Russia, Moscow, 29 August / Trend News corr. R.Agayev / The Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev showed the highest political maturity in
the issue of the Russian-Georgian conflict and was not drawn into
the anti-Russian company urgently initiated by the West, Mikhail
Alexandrov, the head of the Caucasus Institute Department of the CIS
countries, said. "Thus, Azerbaijan’s position was positive and even
demonstrative in definite sense," Alexandrov said at discussions on
Russia- Georgia- United States: War for resources? held in Moscow.

According to him, exactly due to such position of the Azerbaijani
leadership, the importance of Azerbaijan for Russia further
grew. Alexandrov considers that due to the recent events in Georgia,
military rhetoric in Azerbaijan reduced and it deals with the
re-consideration of the real situation in Caucasus.

The politician says that Russia is prepared to further continue
co-operation with Azerbaijan in all spheres if Azerbaijan will
be continuing friendly policy, not being drawn in anti-Russian
geo-political combination which currently the West tries to realize
in Caucasus.

According to him, in the long-term plan this will go only in favor
of Azerbaijan because the global economic crisis, which now untwists
in the West, sooner or later will lead to the collapse of the Western
economies, the collapse of NATO and complete reformation of the world
space, including in Caucasus. "And when Russia will already play
basic role there, then it will compulsorily consider that positive
attitude of Azerbaijan, which exists," he said.

In the opinion of Aleksandrov, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be
settled in such a way that even if Nagorno-Karabakh will remain as
part of Armenia, then seven regions around it will be compulsorily
returned to Azerbaijan and, most likely, Azerbaijan will obtain
territorial compensation elsewhere.

Speaking about the significance of Russia’s energy wars with Georgia,
the politician said that the energy reason for conflict was peripheral
because there were much more serious reasons here. In his opinion, the
strategy of the West began to be realized in Caucasus, especially in
Georgia, more clearly after Mikhail Saakashvili came to power in 2004
because the West attempted to finally crush Russia as an independent
state. "The plan of the West was such: collapse of Russia, beginning
firstly from the North Caucasus; adoption of Georgia and Azerbaijan
to NATO; collapse of Collective Security Treaty Organization and
support of separatism in the territory of Russia," said Aleksandrov

According to the politician, Russia did not bring its matter in the
conflict with Georgia to the end. He believes that it was necessary
to reach Tbilisi, to arrest Saakashvili and judge him in Vladikavkaz,
to organize the new elections in Georgia of which President welcomes
Russia, make Georgia a federal or confederative device with wide
authorities for all autonomies, including of Ajari, Javaheti populated
by the Armenians, Kvemo-Kartli populated by the Azerbaijanis, etc.

Speaking about the possible sanctions against Russia, the politician
noted that now the West is no longer the leader of the world policy
because there is powerful China, but nuclear parity remains with
Russia. According to him, in response to the possible sanctions of
the West, Russia should intentionally reduce oil production in order
to cause its cost-increase in the world markets, and then to extract
maximum benefit from the prevailing situation.

INTERVIEW OF ARMENIAN PRESIDENT SERGE SARGSYAN TO TURKISH DAILY "RADIKAL"

ARMENPRESS
Aug 29, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS: Below is the interview of president
of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, to the Turkish daily Radikal.

Q: The 2010 World Cup qualifier between the national teams of Armenia
and Turkey, scheduled for September 6 in Yerevan, is probably the most
politicized sporting event in our region. In terms of politics what
were your expectations when you invited Turkish president Abdullah
Gul to Yerevan to watch the game together?

A: My number one goal was to normalize the relations between our
countries. Mr. Gul’s congratulation message upon my election said
about the opportunities of normalizing the relations between Armenia
and Turkey. Later on Prime Minister Erdogan stated that Turkey is
open to a dialogue with Armenia. In return, I decided to use this
opportunity. There is a good sports event ahead. It is the first
time in the history our football teams will meet. It may become a
good opportunity for us to develop our relations. The result of the
game is not important, anyways I hope it will be a pleasure for the
fans. There excitement will be great. This will be a big and exclusive
event in our relations, and I hope it will become more special due to
the presence of the Armenian and Turkish presidents. We are neighbors
and will remains so. I am sure having normal relations will benefit
both the countries. My invitation to Mr. Gul shall be considered in
this context.

Q: There are some concerns in Ankara about this invitation. How, for
example the problem of the borders is to be solved and how president
Gul will be received in Armenia. Do you share these concerns?

A: There is nothing to worry about. If we have invited a president
of a foreign state, we are able to provide everything on a due level.

Q: I have met with some representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) Party, who are against your invitation. They said
they will so everything to be heard in case president Gul arrives
in Yerevan.

A: I am sure their means to express themselves will remain in terms
appropriate for an official visit. Not being politically correct they
will first harm themselves, Armenia and me, then Mr. Gul.

Q: What do you think about the regional power engineering and
communication projects realized by Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan,
which, in case of peace and stability in the region, might be very
profitable? Would Armenia like to join those projects? Do you think
that some day you will be received in Turkey in the same way as the
leaders of Azerbaijan and Georgia are, and the leaders of Turkey will
have doubts to accept invitations from Armenia?

A: By now I have learned two things about regional cooperation
projects. First, in case not all the countries of the region are
involved, or one of them is excluded, the projects do nothing but
create new dividing lines. Second, when political aspects of the
project outscore the economic ones, the projects usually turn out
not as successful as it they meant to be. It is something similar to
harnessing a horse from behind the cart.

Q: Which project do you mean?

A: The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, for example. Doesn’t such railroad
already exist? It can be made operational again with minimum
expenses. A lot is being spent to leave Armenia out. In the past
the leaders of Armenia visited Turkey. I too, in different offices,
have been to Turkey. Reciprocal visits between neighbors are quite a
normal thing, and they should not be deemed as some kind of courtesy
to the opposite party. Our efforts are aimed at that.

Q: When the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was
launched, president Gul in the presence of Aliyev and Saakashvili
said that Armenia could join this project in case of respecting the
international law. Do you think he hinted at the borders defined by
the 1921 agreement of Kars?

A: I think Mr. Gul would give a better answer to that question. I can
only assure that Armenia supports the regulations of the UN, as well
as other international treaties, it respects its own international
commitments.

Q: Well, I shall phrase my question more precisely. There are
some parties in Armenia that refer to a part of Turkey as Western
Armenia and, basing on the Sevres Treaty, have territorial claims
from Turkey. Do you admit that it is difficult to have full-fledged
diplomatic relations with a neighbor which argues your borders? What
is your official opinion about the legitimateness and recognition of
the agreement of Kars?

A: I can hardly remember any Armenian official to make territorial
claims on Turkey. But I can always hear that from Turkey. I don’t
think it is right to base upon single statements. If so, there are
many people in Turkey who assure that in fact there is no Armenia
at all. We do not need any pre-conditions to establish relations
with Turkey. I know about the anxiety of Turkish officials regarding
the phrasings like Western and Eastern Armenia. It seems strange to
me. Western and Eastern Armenia are geographical terms used in the 19th
century. Trying to forget those expressions, coming from the past, is
equal to trying to deny the existence of Sparta, the Russian Empire,
the Ottoman Empire or other historical facts. If we had assumed that
official policy, we would have called our country Republic of Eastern
Armenia, not Republic of Armenia. None of the Armenian officials spoke
such things. Russia, for example, has territorial issues with China
and Japan, but it doesn’t prevent those states from having normal
diplomatic relations.

Q: After your invitation to Gul, very serious things as the
Russia-Georgia conflict happened in Caucasus. What do you think about
Russia’s assistance to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which separated
from Georgia?

A: In fact tragic events happened. People were killed. It showed what
can arms race result in such cases. We advocate settling such issues
through peace negotiations. We also advocate respecting peoples’
right to self-expression and self-determination. It s regretful that
things take such a turn and of course we do not like it. We believe
that the joint plan of the Presidents of Russia and France, Medvedev
and Sarkozy, will bring peace and stability. Peace and stability are
very important to us. Putting everything aside, 70% of Armenian trade
is made through Georgia.

Q: Yerevan experienced problems with fuel because of the railway
bridge in Georgia blown up by the Russians, is that so?

A: Yes, it is. We hope the problem will be solved in two days. The
instability in the region is against Armenia. It displays very well
how we need stability. Prolonging the instable situation for three
more months or years would multiply our problems.

Q: Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian already approved
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s initiative on Caucasian Stability
and Partnership Platform. Can you give any details on Armenia’s policy
in this question?

A: Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian expressed positive
attitude to Erdogan’s initiative on regional stability, security
and dialogue. I think the Foreign Minister took right actions. After
we receive the proposal we will discuss it in details and announce
our opinion.

Q: Do you think that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is a very
important issue in your relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, may soon
be settled? Do you think that making a peace agreement with Azerbaijan
will raise political and economic cooperation in the region onto a
new level?

A: We had a productive meeting with President Aliyev in Saint
Petersburg on June 6. Both of us ordered our Foreign Ministers to
proceed the work in accord with the principles adopted in Madrid. There
have been three meetings since then. I hope we’ll find a solution soon.

Q: Can you suggest an approximate date?

A: It would be wrong to predict anything before the presidential
elections in Azerbaijan. We shall see what happens after the elections.

Q: Do you draw parallels between Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia
and Abkhazia? I ask this because you said that people’s right for
self-determination should be always respected.

A: All the conflicts have something in common and something
different. I prefer making ourselves lessons out of them instead
of focusing on similarities and differences. I can clearly see
that efforts to solve such issues with military force result in
unpredictable and complicated consequences. I would like to know how
many people knew the results of the conflict before starting it. We
have to be very cautious.

Q: From outside it seems that the Turkish-Armenian relations are
in stalemate because of the Genocide issue. Do you think it is
right? Do you think Armenia-Turkey relations cannot progress until
Turkey recognizes the tragic events of 1915 as genocide? Is it a
pre-condition?

A: You can hardly find an Armenian in the world who does not believe
the Genocide took place. But the recognition of the Genocide is not a
pre-condition for establishing dialogue with Turkey. That is why we
say that we are ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey
without any pre-condition.

Q: What is your opinion about making a historians’ commission to study
the 1915 events? Do you think it is possible to have two commissions,
one for normalizing the relations and another for studying the 1915
events? Do you think they can work at the same time?

A: I think we need to elaborate new approaches to this issue. For I
cannot remember a non-governmental commission to be ever established to
settle an intergovernmental issue. The best way is to start diplomatic
relations. In that case numbers of substructures and groups may be
established in the frameworks of the Armenian-Turkish intergovernmental
commission. Earlier a similar commission was found in the USA. Did it
work? Its necessary to create a proper environment for the functioning
of the scientific commission you suggested. Therefore normal diplomatic
relations are bare necessity.

Q. Do you believe that the ongoing confidential meetings of Armenian
and Turkish diplomats will yield any outcome?

A. I would never support them if I believed they would not. But on
the other hand I believe that the course of relations shows that we,
the leaders of the two countries, have reached the decision-making
point. They are not going to be easy ones. Not all Armenians or Turks
will like them. But I am sure that the overwhelming part of both
societies will support those decisions. I do not mean the diplomats’
efforts, by the overall atmosphere. Abdullah Gul’s congratulatory
message, Erdogan’s words, my invitation to Gul, even the interview
with you are parts of this atmosphere. In this sense I believe that
we have reached the decision-making stage.

Q. Will Gul’s decision to come or not to Yerevan effect that situation?

A. I think his visit will be important. Because it is not easy to
make important decisions. Addressing an audience and looking in the
eyes of the one before you are different things. If I did not believe
it was important I would not send the invitation. We had difficult
times in our history, however Armenia is ready for development of
relations and expects the same from Turkey.

PUBLIC ASSOCIATIONS OF AZERBAIJAN RELEASE STATEMENT REGARDING RECOGNITION OF SEPARATIST FORMATIONS "ABKHAZIA" AND "SOUTH OSSETIA" BY RUSSIA

Today.Az
/47251.html
Aug 28 2008
Azerbaijan

Public associations of Azerbaijan have released a statement regarding
recognition of separatist formations "Abkhazia" and "South Ossetia"
by Russia.

The statement fixes resentment and deep concern over the information
about recognition of independence of separatist formations "Abkhazia"
and "South Ossetia" by Russia, which occurred after the Georgian
population was expelled from these territories and after Russia’s
open military aggression against sovereign Georgia.

The public associations of Azerbaijan regarded this step of Russian
powers as a culmination of the consistently executed plan on
annexation of a part of the territories of the former USSR states,
which refused to fall under the Russian dictatorship and chose the
way of independence and integration to the democratic world society.

"The Russian powers explain their actions with the erosion of the
international law, which was a a result of events in the Balkans, but
we all have been witnesses that Russia has initiated and maintained
the separatist conflicts along the whole perimeter of its borders
since the very moment of USSR collapse.

By recognition of independence of separatist Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, the Russian government has caused a great damage, primarily,
to its deceived people, who, instead of hard work and real state
reforms, are offered the receipts of success, taken from these dark
times, when happiness of some people were built on the enslavement
of others", says the statement.

According to it, after the events in Georgia none of the former USSR
states will feel safe near a country, openly declaring the intentions
to give bloody lessons to those of us, who have disobeyed the Kremlin.

"But the most tragic thing is that by its actions Russia has set the
world to a verge of a new cold war, which will exhaust the planet,
taking in the resources of the world countries, which are critical
for settling the growing problems of the global development".

The public associations of Azerbaijan called on the Russian government
to stop aggression against sovereign Georgia and to disavow the
destructive imperialistic ambitions on enslaving its neighbors and
to take steps to restore such eternal values as hard creative labor
and cooperation between people and nations in the country.

They also called on the governments of the democratic countries and
goodwill persons throughout the world, to support Georgia’s struggle
for its sovereignty.

"We call on the Azerbaijani government to provide necessary support
to Georgia in this hard moment. We also call on the Azerbaijani
government not to yield to blackmail and threats from the side of the
imperialistic circles of Russia and to continue developing the economic
and political cooperation with the democratic world society. We
would like to draw attention of the Azerbaijani government to the
fact that Russia’s attempt to annex Georgia’s lands makes Russia’s
participation, as a neutral arbiter, in the peacekeeping process on
the Karabakh conflict impossible".

The public associations also called on the Azerbaijani civil society to
provide possible information support to Georgia’s resistance to Russian
aggression and take an active part in the collection of financial
means for the Georgian civilians, who fell victims of this aggression.

"We believe that the era of imperialistic wars and annexations has
passed, giving place to the goodwill mutually profitable cooperation,
which will help settle the problems between people and countries
without a lie or violence".

The statement was undersigned by 31 representatives of the public
associations of Azerbaijan.

THE THIRD AND FOURTH STAGES OF "RUBEZH 2008"

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On August 18, 2008 the third and fourth stages of "Rubezh 2008"
were started in the military school after H. Bakhramyan.

The RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan attended it and in his speech
greeted and congratulated the participants of the military exercises.

The Minister noted that the aim of the military exercises was to
unite the forces, for being able to answer the possible aggression
of enemies. He also stressed that the first and second phases of the
exercises had military-political meaning.

After the opening ceremony there were discussions about the preparing
works of closing.

To remind, this year in October military games will be held in which
the general military department will participate.