Author: Toganian Liana

TURKEY PRESIDENT SAYS VISITS ARMENIA FOR SOCCER GAME

Reuters
Sept 3 2008
UK

ANKARA, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Turkish President Abdullah Gul will visit
Armenia at the weekend for a soccer match, the president’s office
said on Wednesday, in a major diplomatic step for the two states
which have no diplomatic ties.

Turkey severed diplomatic relations with Armenia in protest against
Yerevan’s control of Nagorno-Karabakh region over which Armenia fought
Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s.

Armenia and Turkey will play against each other in the Armenian capital
Yerevan on September 6 in a qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World
Cup. (Reporting by Selcuk Gokoluk; editing by Sami Aboudi)

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS DISCUSS A NUMBER OF ISSUES IN SOCHI

ARMENPRESS
Sep 2, 2008

SOCHI, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS: Meeting of the Armenian and Russian
presidents took place today in Sochi. Greeting the Armenian president,
Dmitri Medvedev noted that the meetings of the two presidents are
conducted on a regular basis. "During Your last visit to Moscow we had
full contacts, the visit was complete and in my opinion the dialogue
continues developing: You are aware of all the results but still there
exists potential for increase. I would also like to exchange with
You opinions over the international issues, and foreign policy. In
a few days the CSTO summit will kick off and the chairmanship of the
establishment will pass to Armenia. I think we can discuss issues on
the organization of the work of the summit," Russian president said.

S. Sargsyan on his part said that the working meetings in Sochi between
Armenian and Russian presidents have become a good tradition. "This
is a good opportunity to discuss in calm atmosphere both issues on
bilateral and multilateral relations," the Armenian president said,
noting that recently "Rubezh-2008" military exercises were conducted
in Armenia, the session of the ministers’ council of CSTO took place
and tomorrow the session of the Security Councils’ secretaries will
be held in Yerevan.

"Of course I would like to discuss issues on economic development
of our relations, further consolidation of our relations within
CSTO, issues connected with the situation created in the Caucasian
region. This is our first meeting after the developments in the
South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia. We have spoken about it on
the phone. I would like to once again express my condolences on the
death of Russian citizens and peacekeepers," Serzh Sargsyan said,
adding that Armenia is waiting schoolchildren from Ossetia and said
that everything is ready for them.

D. Medvedev expressed gratitude for such support. "As to the rest,
including the consequences of what happened, taking into consideration
the work in the format of CSTO, together with You we will have an
initial discussion but the final decision will be made at the CSTO
summit in Moscow," Medvedev said.

BABACAN REMINDS BAHCELI OF TURKES’ TALKS WITH TER-PETROSIAN

Today’s Zaman
Sept 3 2008
Turkey

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has responded to nationalist opposition
leader Devlet Bahceli — who suggested the government acted under
foreign pressure concerning rapprochement moves with Armenia —
reminding him of past contacts between late Alpaslan TurkeÅ~_, the
founder of Bahceli’s party, and Armenian officials.

The debate on the issue stemmed from Armenian President Serzh
Sarksyan’s invitation to President Abdullah Gul to watch the World
Cup qualifying game between the two countries’ national soccer teams
on Sept. 6. Gul has so far remained cautious on the matter, saying he
is still considering whether or not to accept the invitation from his
Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan. However, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, speaking to reporters over the weekend, indicated
that Gul would go to Yerevan for the match.

Such signs hinting that Gul would positively respond to the invitation
prompted Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Bahceli to release
a written statement on the issue on Monday.

"Going to Armenia by bowing to foreign pressures and impositions
and by surrendering to Armenian lobbies inside [the country] will be
historical heedlessness and such a manner will wound Turkey’s honor,"
Bahceli said in the statement.

Babacan, in a statement to the Anatolia news agency on Monday evening,
first of all noted that no decision had yet been made as to Gul’s
travel to Yerevan.

"We have difficulty in understanding Mr. Bahceli’s statement that
this visit will harm Turkey’s honor and self-esteem," Babacan said,
saying that it was not possible to accept Bahceli’s accusing statement.

Turkey has recognized Armenia since the early 1990s and there have
been contacts at various levels between the two countries, including
those held by statesmen of the time starting from the first half of
the 1990s.

"Within this framework, there are talks held in line with the
responsibility of a statesman by the late Alpaslan TurkeÅ~_ with
[Levon] Ter-Petrosian," Babacan said, referring to talks between
former Armenian President Ter-Petrosian and former MHP leader TurkeÅ~_
in 1993.

At the time, TurkeÅ~_ indicated that he had informed the prime minister
and foreign minister of Turkey that a meeting was planned between
himself and Ter-Petrossian, noting that the Turkish ambassador and
counselor were also at the meeting which was aimed at trying to see
if the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan could be stopped.

"If this visit is carried out, it will not be a result of foreign
pressures and impositions, but will be a reflection of Turkey’s
constructive efforts for making contribution to peace and stability
in the international field and in its region," Babacan said.

–Boundary_(ID_HbZubBJJVf7Ogpiqy9p0RA)–

SITTING OF CSTO SECURITY COUNCIL SECRETARIES’ COMMITTEE TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN ON 3 SEPTEMBER

arminfo
2008-08-29 15:39:00

ArmInfo. Sitting of CSTO Security Council Secretaries’ Committee will
be held in Yerevan on 3 September, adviser of Information department
of CSTO Vitaliy Strugovets told ArmInfo.

He also added that about 20 issues entered the agenda of the
forthcoming sitting.

The leaders of security councils will discuss a block of documents
directed to formation of the effective system of collective
counteraction against new challenges. In particular, draft agreement
on training of staff for law-enforcement, fire-fighting, rescue and
special services for the CSTO member-states, etc.

They will also coordinate drawing out, financing and fulfillment
of the purposeful inter-state programmes of the CSTO; discuss the
priority directions of CSTO activity over the second half-year 2008
and first half-year 2009.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITIONIST CRITICIZES INTENTION OF ARFD TO CONDUCT ANTI-TURKISH RALLY

arminfo
2008-08-29 16:02:00

ArmInfo. ‘The authorities are to provide conditions for rallies by
any political force. I respect the right of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation to rally but I criticize the possible anti-Turkish nature
of the rally’, Suren Surenyants, a member of Republic opposition
party Political Council said at Tesaket Debate Club Friday.

On the one hand ARFD is a member of political ruling coalition,
whereas on the other hand it sharply criticizes the initiative of
the authorities to invite Turkish president to football match in
Yerevan. arrival of Turkish president in Armenia is so principal
for ARFD, let it withdraw from the coalition and then criticize the
president, he said.

ARFD has repeatedly announced an intention to organize protest actions
in Turkish president arrives in Yerevan on Sept 2. The municipality
prohibited the rally.

IQBAL AGHAZADE: "SERIOUS STRUGGLE WILL BE INITIATED BETWEEN ME AND ILHAM ALIYEV IN 2008"

Today.Az
tics/47200.html
Aug 26 2008
Azerbaijan

The Umid party has already collected 44,000 signatures, which it
presented to the Central Election Commission, said party chairman
Iqbal Aghazade, who nominated his candidacy for presidential elections.

He said the collection was mainly conducted by the party activists,
therefore, no special funds were allocated for the purpose.

According to him, they faced different obstacles in collecting
signatures.

"In particular, our signature lists were taken away by the order
of the executive powers and torn to pieces before the eyes of our
activists in Geranboy, Zaqatala, Lerik, Qazakh, Samukh regions. Some
of the signature lists were spoiled. But we managed to get the needed
number of signatures. We are now working at creating advertising and
placards to demonstrate during presidential elections.

As to the worthy rival for him, he said he regards Ilham Aliyev as the
only rival. "Serious struggle will be initiated between me and Ilham
Aliyev in 2008. I will represent opposition and he will represent
the powers. Unlike other candidates, I am sure that I will be able
to gather the protest electorate.

Speaking about the idea of creating a single coalition, he said
it can only be executed following the elections. According to him,
there is no need for creating any association, as it will not be able
to influence the process of presidential elections.

Aghazade said if he is elected a president he will pay due attention
to all problems.

"For example, it is impossible to pay attention only to the
socioeconomic development of the country, without paying attention
to the resolution of the Karabakh problem. It requires complex
solution. For this purpose I have my own programs and strategies.

Asked whether his team would include powers or opposition
representatives, he said there is a law "On state service", which
defines rules of admission of citizens for state service.

"There should not be any differences between people for their party
belonging, the most important is that they should worthily fulfill
their duties, while the rest is not decisive".

TO WAIT FOR A FEW MORE DAYS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
26 Aug 2008
Armenia

As reported by Gagik Martirosyan, Head of the operation headquarters,
the Armenian freight has luckily remained undamaged as a result of
the explosion the two tank wagons transporting oil from Azerbaijan.

The explosion was immediately followed by reconstruction work, and the
territory was cleaned. And from the night of August 25, the alternative
bridge was used for the transportation of the Armenian freight as well.

According to G. Martirosyan, all the goods waiting for their turn
to be transported to Armenia will be sent to our country within the
coming week.

It is anticipated that the regular transportation of the Armenian
freight by the railroad passing via the territory of Georgia will
begin at the end of the current week.

ARMENIA WAITING FOR GUL
By H. Chaqrian

AZG Armenian Daily
26/08/2008

Armenia-Turkey

Star newspaper, Turkey, referring to the interview of Armenian
President Serge Sarkisian to Standard newspaper, Austria, says that
Armenia is waiting for the arrival of Turkish President Abdullah Gul
in Armenia on September 6.

Then Star cites the following words of Serge Sarkisian, "None of the
sides has any profit from the present states of the Armenia-Turkey
relations. Both the parties equally suffer. The bilateral confrontation
is not possible any more. It does not help to solve the problems. It
is already time so suggest a solution. Taking some steps in that
direction will be right in the interests of the peoples of Turkey
and Armenia. Months ago Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said that his
country is ready for new dialogue."

The Armenian President, as reported by Star, said that the dialogue
is possible only if the political leaders of both the sides show
political initiative. That is why the invitation of Abdullah Gul to
Yerevan is so important.

Panorama.am

17:42 22/08/2008

Russia suspends military cooperation with NATO

NATO has received a note from Moscow saying that Russia would break
off military cooperation with the west’s military alliance.

The British `Guardian’ reports that the move is the latest fallout
from Russia’s short, sharp war with Georgia.It appeared to be a
tit-for-tat response to NATO’s announcement this week that there could
be "no business as usual" as long as Russian forces remained in
Georgia. Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels had decided that the
NATO-Russia council would no longer meet for the time being.

The council, set up in 2002, paved the way for cooperation on several
projects. They included the participation of Russian warships in NATO
Mediterranean counter-terrorism patrols, sharing expertise to combat
heroin trafficking from Afghanistan and developing battlefield
anti-missile technology.

An alliance spokeswoman, Carmen Romero, today said NATO had received
notification through military channels that Russia’s defense ministry
had taken a decision "to halt international military cooperation
events between Russia and NATO countries until further instructions".

The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, suggested that NATO
needed Moscow more than Moscow needed NATO.

He said Russian cooperation with NATO efforts against militants in
Afghanistan could be jeopardized, adding: "Russia’s help is critical
for NATO." Lavrov added that after this week’s emergency meeting in
Brussels, during which NATO "adopted a sharp but not very concrete
document" on how to deal with Russia, "leading alliance members came
to us and whispered in our ears, hoping that we do not halt
cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan"."Everything depends on NATO – if
their priorities go to the unconditional support of the bankrupt
Saakashvili regime to the detriment of partnership with NATO, it’s not
our fault."

The US played down the significance of the Russian decision, saying
NATO had already effectively frozen cooperation in protest at Russia’s
continued military presence in much of Georgia.

NATO warships entered the Black Sea for what the alliance said were
long-planned exercises and routine visits to ports in Romania and
Bulgaria. NATO said the exercises were not linked to the conflict in
Georgia, which lies on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, around 550
miles from the Romanian coast. The three warships – from Spain,
Germany and Poland – sailed into the Black Sea today and are due to
joined by a US frigate, the USS Taylor, later this week.

The move could irritate Russia, which has deployed ships from its
Black Sea fleet to the Georgian coast.

Source: Panorama.am

Armenians finished competitions in Beijing

armradio.am
23.08.2008 17:15

The Armenian sportsmen Hrachik Javachyan (60 kg) sustained a defeat
from Russian Olympic champion Alexey Tishchenko and got a bronze medal
in the 29th summer Olympic Games. This was the 6th bronze medal of the
Armenian Olympic delegacy. So the Armenian sportsmen finished their
competitions in the 29th summer Olympic Games in Beijing.