Author: Torgomian Varazdat

NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH TIES IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT NKR CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.04.2009 16:04 GMT+04:00

Normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is possible, though
difficult, without NKR conflict settlement, Ichik University
international Relations Department Head Byulent Aras told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"Recently, Turkey started to perceive Armenia in a more positive
light. Though this is more the case with European part of Turkey. The
majority still gives preference to Azeriis, who’re closer. But
Armenians are close to us either," Aras said. At the same time,
Turkish professor noted that neither Russia, US or any other
country in the world can hamper normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations. "Negotiation process should involve Turkey and Armenia
only," he stressed.

As for Armenian Genocide acknowledgement, the Turkish professor
maintains that not only Armenians became victims during World War I
but other nations, including Turks, as well.

"The past should be left to historians, and we should go on living
in present. Why should we pass through Georgia to visit Armenia or
Turkey when there’s a shorter way," Byulent Aras noted.

EXPERT: ARMENIA’S DIPLOMACY MOST STABLE IN REGION

/ARKA/
April 27, 2009
YEREVAN

Armenia pursues is the most stable diplomacy in the region, Oriental
Institute Director Ruben Safrastyan said in Novosti International
Press Centre on Monday.

He said the current situation in South Caucasus is due to geopolitical
and geo strategic changes caused by the August war in Georgia.

"The war has strengthened Russia’s positions in South Caucasus and
changed status quo in the region. Armenia has managed to maintain
stability and strengthen own positions", Safrastyan said.

The expert said that Georgia has lost its significance as geopolitical
factor, and Azerbaijan, who supported Georgia at the initial period
of the war, but later shifter its bias toward Russia, has proven to
be an unreliable country.

Unlike its neighbors, Armenia has managed to maintain strategic ties
with its ally, Russia, good relations with Georgia and normal relations
with the United States, having proven to be the most stable country
in the region.

Safrastyan said that Armenia worked out the most reasonable diplomacy
in the region and went out of the situation with stronger-than-before
positions.

As a result, Turkey withdrew its precondition for establishing
diplomatic ties with Yerevan and expressed willingness to improve
relations with Armenia.

On Wednesday, Armenian Turkish and Swiss foreign ministries issued a
joint statement say ing "a roadmap" had been drawn by them to improve
the relations.

HEAD OF RPA PARLIAMENTARY GROUP: ARFD WILL BECOME CONSTRUCTIVE OPPOSITION

ArmInfo
2009-04-27 19:22:00

ARFD will become constructive opposition, a political force we will
be able to negotiate with, says the head of the parliamentary group
of the Republican Party of Armenia Galust Sahakyan.

"I don’t think that ARFD’s split will make the coalition weaker. On
the contrary, the political field will become stronger. ARFD will
act more correctly and purposefully. We need strong government and
strong opposition," says Sahakyan.

Concerning Armenia’s relations with Turkey, he says that
Armenian-Turkish relations must be normalized with no
preconditions. Otherwise, we will not be able to do it.

ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER OPENING IS NOT VITAL TO ARMENIA

PanArmenian News
April 22 2009
Armenia

Yerevan -Moscow TV space bridge entitled "Armenia-Turkey: Progress in
bilateral relations or geopolitical games of world powers?" launched
today.

Discussions, involving normalization of Armenian-Turkish ties focused
on positive economic influence of Armenian-Turkish border opening.

Still, according to Yerevan Genocide Museum Director Hayk Demoyan ,
Yerevan did not pursue economic gains in Armenian-Turkish negotiations,
though Ankara is trying its hardest to prove Armenia’s deplorable
state and desperate need for opening border with Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister’s statement about opening of Armenian-Turkish
border determined by NKR conflict settlement is another one of
Turkey’s delusions.

"Armenia will never agree to a bargain with Turkey or risk NKR people’s
safety," Hayk Demoyan stressed.

US’S ATTENTION TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT CAN BRING ENDURING PEACE TO REGION: AMBASSADOR
S.Agayeva

Trend
April 23 2009
Azerbaijan

The United States’ attention to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
can help bring enduring peace to this region, U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan Anne Derse believes.

"Secretary Clinton and President Obama are focused on this process,
and we believe their attention can help bring enduring peace to this
region," comments by Derse said.

The United States intends to activate its efforts in peaceful
settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton said while making speech at the hearings of the House of
Representatives of the Congress, ITAR-TASS reported.

"We have also assured the government of Azerbaijan that we will
intensify our efforts to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
and other outstanding issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia," she
said. The head of the U.S. diplomacy promised that the United States
is going to be deeply engaged in the OSCE Minsk Group activity on
the Nagorno-Karabakh. Clinton also reminded that the State Department
has sent its official to Azerbaijan two times in the last three weeks.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed
forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently
holding the peace negotiations.

The ambassador expresses her optimism that intensified efforts by
the Minsk Group co-chairs – can bring about positive steps.

SINGING AZNAVOUR’S PRAISES
IRWIN BLOCK

The Gazette
April 21 2009
Montreal

Charles Aznavour may live in France, but part of his soul is here.

That’s how the renowned Paris-born singer of Armenian parents responded
yesterday as he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universite
de Montreal for his contribution to francophone culture.

"I do not feel like a stranger here in Quebec," the 84-year-old told
an audience of about 300 people, including members of the Armenian
community.

"I am an old, old Quebecois. My accent hasn’t changed, but never mind,
my heart hasn’t changed, either. I still have all the emotion and
happiness I had then," he said, to thunderous applause.

When he first played here 61 years ago at the fabled Faisant Dore
near St. Laurent Blvd and Ste. Catherine St., francophone popular
culture was in its infancy.

"All the clubs were English and francophones did not know where to
go to sing."

That has changed, along with the names of our boulevards,
he noted. "French singers came to entertain here, and today it’s
the other way around – Quebecers, especially female singers, are
performing in France, and it’s very, very pleasant."

Recalling some of his best tunes, voice students sang up-tempo versions
of For Me, Formidable, Les Deux Guitares and La Bohème.

University Rector Luc Vinet used a word play to recall Aznavour’s
early debut here: "On a eu le bonheur de vous connaître de bonne
heure." (We had the pleasure of getting to know you early.)

Quebec musician Robert Charlebois recalled that the first sheet
music he ever bought was Aznavour’s Je m’voyais deja – "a song that
influenced my life."

Charlebois confessed feeling small next to the diminutive Aznavour,
comparing their encounter to a seminary student meeting the pope.

Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens and Leo Ferre might have been favoured
by intellectuals, but their fame never matched that of Aznavour,
Charlebois said.

"He is our biggest star of francophone music."

CANADA FACES TURKISH IRE
Daniel Proussalidis

580 CFRA Radio
;nid=64659
April 22 2009

Foreign Affairs is out with the statement that Canada’s position
calling the mass deaths of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 a genocide is
"not an indictment of modern Turkey."

But that’s doing little to cool tempers in Turkey’s capital.

Ankara’s ambassador to Canada has gone back to Turkey for
"consultations" to protest Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s
attendance at a genocide memorial in Ottawa Tuesday.

Kenney is standing firm, despite the criticism.

"The government’s position remains unchanged since the prime minister’s
statement of April, 2006 which is consistent with the motions that
passed through both the Senate and the House of Commons," says Kenney.

In 2006, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognized the mass
killings of Armenians as genocide, Turkey briefly withdrew its
ambassador and pulled out of a military exercise in Canada in protest.

Twenty other countries, including France, Italy, and Russia recognize
the deaths of 1.5-million Armenians in Turkey more than 90 years ago
as a genocide organized by the government of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey officially denies genocide, saying the Armenian death toll is
inflated and was the result of civil war.

Accusing the Ottoman Empire of the Armenian genocide in Turkey is
punishable as "disparaging the nation."

RESPECT TO MUTUAL PAST

Abadolu Agency
April 22 2009
Turkey

PRESS SCAN
MILLIYET

Villagers of Gevas town of the eastern province of Van opposed to
construction of school on former Armenian cemetery. The villagers
reacted by saying, "it is disrespect to construct school on a cemetery
whatever its religion and sect is."

AZERBAIJANI FM: INFORMATION ABOUT PREPARED TRIP OF TURKISH JOURNALISTS TO OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI LANDS IS ONE MORE HOAX OF THE ARMENIAN SIDE

Today.Az
1614.html
April 17 2009
Azerbaijan

The attempts of the Armenian side to spread false information do not
cause astonishment in anyone, said spokesman for the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry Elkhan Polukhov commenting on the information
spread by PanARMENIAN.Net about the prepared one-day visit of Turkish
journalists to the occupied Azerbaijani lands on April 18.

"The Foreign Ministry empowers the Azerbaijani embassy to Turkey to
investigate this issue. Representatives of our diplomatic mission
in Turkey have contacted for the purpose with the leadership of the
state TRT TV channel, where they were said told that the information
spread by Armenian mass medias is false", said he.

According to Polukhov, sources in the TV channel told representatives
of the Azerbaijani diplomatic mission that the TRT officials and
journalists from other Turkish mass medias, covering the work of
the session of the BSEC foreign ministers council did not receive
proposals to visit the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.

"According to the TRT administration, even if the Turkish journalists
receive such proposals from the Armenian side, they will never be
accepted", said Polukhov.

TURKISH JOURNALISTS’ VISIT TO NKR IS CANCELLED

PanArmenian
Armenia
April 17 2009

Turkish Journalists’ visit to NKR is cancelled, well-informed circles
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The journalists were reluctant to understand they need a visa to
leave for another country. To visit Stepanakert, Turkish journalists
were offered to address a letter to NKR Foreign Minister Georgi
Petrosyan. The journalists thought a simple address, "Mr. Petrosyan"
would suffice. When told for the second time about correct form of
address, they wrote "Dear Mr. Georgi Petrosyan" without specifying his
position. After such "misunderstanding" RA MFA refused to sanction
the visit. Later, the journalists themselves declared they changed
their mind about a trip to Stepanakert.

To enter NKR territory, foreign citizens need to receive NKR visa in
NKR Permanent Representation in Yerevan.

A group of Turkish journalists who arrived in Armenia to participate
in BSEC Foreign Ministers Summit on Apr. 18, was supposed to pay a
1-day visit to NKR.