Author: Torosian Aram

HEAD OF TURKISH CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES MEETS WITH AZERBAIJANI POLITICIANS

APA
Feb 10 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Lachin Sultanova-APA. Head of Turkish Center for Strategic
Studies Jalal Jem Oguz met with Azerbaijani politicians at the Center
of Strategic Studies under Azerbaijani President. Oguz delivered a
speech on "Foreign policy of Turkey", APA reports.

The expert compared incumbent Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davudoglu
with former counterpart Ismayil Jem, being on this post in 90th, and
noted that their activities coincide with each other by 90%. He told
that there isn’t a radical change in Turkish policy and that Turkish
policy based on 3 principles. They are expansion of cooperation with
Turkic World, Moslem World and the West. Oguz spoke about reasons why
his country wants to join the Europe Union, the EU’s needs in this
region, protocols on normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations. He
noted that Turkey signed the protocols with Armenia under the pressure
of the West, and the US has increased pressure on this lately: "Turkey
has made two terms for opening borders with Armenia – Armenia has to
stop its territorial claims against Turkey and put an end to Nagorno
Karabakh conflict".

Head of Center of Strategic Studies Elkhan Nuriyev noted that Ahmad
Davudoglu’s appointment caused revolution in Turkey’s foreign policy.

He spoke about its influence on Central Asia and South Caucasus.

Chief of Democratic Reforms Party Asim Mollazadeh noted that Russia
is more interested in the opening of Turkey-Armenia borders than the
West: "If the borders are opened, projects will not work, Georgia
will be destroyed". Touching upon the so-called "Armenian genocide",
Mollazadeh noted that if the US Congress recognizes it, the US itself
will lose, but not Turkey.

Politicial scientist Vafa Guluzadeh told that he was surprised, when
Turkish Prime Minister Racab Tayyib Erdogan wanted help from the
NATO’s enemy Russia in construction of the nuclear power station in
Turkey during his visit to Moscow.

Touching upon the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Guluzadeh stated that OSCE
Minsk Group doesn’t make efforts to resolve this conflict, the purpose
is to split first Azerbaijan and then Turkey: "Turkey had to have its
nuclear weapon so far. From this view point, Iran is on a right way".

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER, HEAD OF IMF MISSION DISCUSS PROSPECTS OF COOPERATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.02.2010 18:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan received
a delegation from the International Monetary Fund, led by the head
of IMF mission in Armenia Mark Lewis , press office of the Armenian
government reported. Welcoming the guest, the Armenian prime minister
described the economic situation in Armenia and short-and medium-term
development prospects.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization
that oversees the global financial system by following the
macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those
with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments. It
is an organization formed with a stated objective of stabilizing
international exchange rates and facilitating development.[3] It
also offers highly leveraged loans, mainly to poorer countries. Its
headquarters are inWashington, D.C., United States.

The IMF’s influence in the global economy steadily increased as it
accumulated more members. The number of IMF member countries has more
than quadrupled from the 44 states involved in its establishment,
reflecting in particular the attainment of political independence
by many developing countries and more recently the collapse of the
Soviet bloc. The expansion of the IMF’s membership, together with
the changes in the world economy, have required the IMF to adapt in
a variety of ways to continue serving its purposes effectively.

In 2008, faced with a shortfall in revenue, the International Monetary
Fund’s executive board agreed to sell part of the IMF’s gold reserves.

On April 27, 2008, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn
welcomed the board’s decision of April 7, 2008 to propose a new
framework for the fund, designed to close a projected $400 million
budget deficit over the next few years. The budget proposal includes
sharp spending cuts of $100 million until 2011 that will include up
to 380 staff dismissals.

At the 2009 G-20 London summit, it was decided that the IMF would
require additional financial resources to meet prospective needs of
its member countries during the ongoing global financial crisis. As
part of that decision, the G-20 leaders pledged to increase the IMF’s
supplemental cash tenfold to $500 billion, and to allocate to member
countries another $250 billion via Special Drawing Rights.

SONYA WITHDRAWS FROM ARMENIAN FINAL DUE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS

esctoday.com
s/read/15064
Feb 10 2010

Sonya, one of the participants of the Armenian National Final,
withdraws because of health problems.

Sonya, who was going to present her song Never to compete in the
Armenian national final, withdraws because of health problems.

This Sunday nine singers will compete for representing Armenia in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Norway,Oslo. On Thursday the running
order of the songs will be announced on ArmTV.

The nine singers participating in the Armenian national final are:

1.Another Story – Ays dzmer (This winter) (A. Sargsyan) 2.Eva Rivas
– Apricot stone (A. Martirosyan/K. Kavaleryan) 3.Nick Egibyan –
Countdown (N. Egibyan) 4.Emmy & Mihran – Hey (Let me hear you say)
(V. Ter-Yeghishyan/M. Kirakosyan) 5.David Ashotyan – Infected dreams
(D. Ashotyan) 6.Maria Kizirian – Little Red Riding Hood (M. Kizirian)
7.Razmik Amyan – My love (V. Petrosyan/V. Zadoyan) 8.Ani Arzumanyan –
The Mermaid song (A. Nersisyan) 9.Meline Beglaryan – We must believe
(M. Beglaryan)

ABRAHAM TO TAKE ON DIRRELL MARCH 6

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.02.2010 11:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Tournament point leader "King" Arthur Abraham
will kick off Group Stage 2 of the Super Six World Boxing Classic
when he faces Andre "The Matrix" Dirrell on Saturday, March 6, 2010,
at the Agua Caliente Casino, Resort, Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif.,
in greater Palm Springs.

The Armenian-born, German sports icon Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) currently
leads the Super Six World Boxing Classic point standings with three
by way of his final-round knockout victory over American Jermain
Taylor on Oct. 17 in Berlin. Dirrell, the former middleweight bronze
medalist (2004 Olympic Games) from Flint, Mich., dropped a close,
disputed 12-round split decision to defending champion Carl Froch
in his Group Stage 1 match for the World Boxing Council (WBC) World
Championship the same night in Nottingham, England. The event is
being promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and Sauerland Event.

"I need two more victories to secure my place in the semifinals and
I will start with Dirrell," said the 29-year-old Abraham, who is
training in Zinnowitz (Baltic Sea). "He is a very skilled, yet very
awkward fighter. It will be a difficult challenge but together with
my coach Ulli Wegner we have developed an idea how to beat him."

Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) is eagerly awaiting the showdown. "The end
of Camelot is near," he said. "It’s off with ‘King Arthur’s’ head
on March 6." Said Shaw, "Andre is going to pull the sword out of the
stone and stab it straight into King Arthur’s ego."

This will be Abraham’s second fight in the United States. He previously
defeated Edison Miranda by fourth-round KO in June 2008.

"I have said it before and I will say it again: It is my goal to become
a star in America," Abraham stated. "That is where boxing legends are
made, and I want to become a boxing legend. That is what the Super Six
(World Boxing Classic) tournament is all about for me.

The victory over Taylor was a good start, but I am not finished yet."

Abraham is counting on the support of the huge Armenian community in
Los Angeles as the fight will be held just 90 miles east in the Palm
Springs desert. "A lot of Armenians live in L.A. and I hope they all
come and support me against Dirrell. I will put on a great show just
like I did against Taylor," he said, boxen.com reported.

TURKEY NOT AUTHORIZED TO COME BETWEEN KARABAKH ISSUE

Aysor
Feb 5 2010
Armenia

The Center for Political Development Research (CPDR) has responded
to spokesperson for Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, Burak Ozugergin, who
said that "Turkey is the OSCE Minsk Group member, and no one can ask
why Turkey comes between the Karabakh issue and settlement."

"The OSCE Minsk Group members are: Belarus, Germany, Italy, Finland,
Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and the co-chairmen’s countries.

Meanwhile the Minsk Group is not authorized to intervene in the
settlement to the Karabakh conflict," said in the statement by CPDR.

"The only authorized members to mediate the Karabakh issue are the
organization’s co-chairmanship represented by France, Russia, and
the United States.

"Another argument which rules out Turkey’s involvement in the
settlement to the Karabakh conflict is Turkey’s embargo against
Armenia. The blockade that Armenia has been facing since 1993 as
Turkey’s support and backing policy in favor of Azerbaijan — in
the context of Karabakh-Azerbaijan conflict — means that Turkey
completely helps Azerbaijan."

THE ISSUE OF FIVE DISTRICTS GETTING MORE SERIOUS ON THE EVE OF PRESIDENTS’ MEETING
by Sahil Quliyev

Baki Xabar
Jan 24 2010
Azerbaijan

The number of experts supporting this position increase in Moscow

Russia has become a place where the Karabakh peace process has been
frequently discussed over the recent period. Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently discussed the Karabakh conflict with
the Russian leadership in Moscow. After that, the Russian and Armenian
presidents held a meeting outside Moscow.

Russian officials frequently visit the region. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov was in Yerevan last week. After that, the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs, including the Russian co-chairman, started visiting
the region. According to various reports, another meeting between
the presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia will take place in
Sochi on 25 January.

Now the main issue that interests political analysts is Russia’s fresh
activities and the intensification of the Karabakh talks in general.

This issue has turned into one of the main subjects of the discussion
in Russia too. Commenting on the path leading to the current activity,
the Russian political analyst Vladimir Yevseyev said: "I think that
the new round of talks is being discussed at the meetings. Prior to
these activities, we saw that the process was, in fact, suspended.

This process covers both the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement and
the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement. Against this background,
Azerbaijan started making new belligerent statements. I think these
statements are the last straw that led to the current activity, i.e.

the problem should be dealt with now, not in spring. All these issues
are so complicated that there is a need for a mediator. And Russia,
which enjoys good relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey,
took the leading role in this issue".

[Passage omitted: another Russian expert Aleksey Vlasov told the BBC
that he thinks an agreement on Armenia’s withdrawal from five occupied
districts of Azerbaijan is possible]

Some experts believe that Russia, which has established closer
relations with Turkey, is able to force Armenia to withdraw from
several districts. If they withdraw from the districts, it will be
easy for Turkey to open its border with Armenia from political point
of view. But a political analyst from the Moscow-based Institute for
International Relations and International Economy, Anatoliy Pikayev,
believes that it is too early to expect real progress in the Karabakh
conflict settlement. "Russia is not against the opening of the border
between Turkey and Armenia and even is interested in this issue. But
Russia would not like this to happen at any costs."

"Thus, Moscow understands very well that Armenia is not ready to
make serious compromises in exchange for this. Russia will not put
serious pressure on Armenia. Expert on the Caucasus Aleksandr Krilov
believes that one of the main points of diplomatic activities is
that the regional countries are trying to find out Russia’s position
on this issue. The expert said that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
are going to offer an edited version of the Madrid principles to the
conflicting sides and it is important for the sides to the conflict
to learn Russia’s position in this regard.

[Passage omitted: A trilateral meeting between the presidents of
Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will take place in Russia’s Sochi on
25 January]

ARMENIAN PREMIER SAYS JAVAKHK ISSUES ON AGENDA

Yerkir
04.02.2010 12:28

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan told a cabinet
meeting on February 3 that the issues of the Armenian population in
Javakhk have always been on the agenda of the Armenian-Georgian talks.

He said that the Armenian side was not the only one to raise the
problems, but our Georgian partners are seeking to resolve the
problems.

Among the agreements are ones on the renovation and Armenian churches
in Georgia, creation of necessary conditions for Armenian language
teachers and so on.

TURKEY TO SEEK SWISS, US SUPPORT IN ARMENIA ROW

armradio.am
03.02.2010 16:10

A top Turkish diplomat will travel to Switzerland and the United
States to seek their support over an Armenian court ruling that Ankara
says threatens historic reconciliation deals with Yerevan, a foreign
ministry spokesman said Wednesday, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, undersecretary at the ministry, "will visit
these two countries in the coming days to express our concern"
over the ruling last month by the Armenian constitutional court,
spokesman Burak Ozugergin told reporters.

Ozugergin said Ankara maintained its desire to build better ties with
its eastern neighbor.

4 ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS ALSO TO OBSERVE SECOND TOUR OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 7 IN UKRAINE

Noyan Tapan
Feb 3, 2010

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Four RA NA deputies will also observe
the second tour of the presidential elections to be held on February
7 in the Ukraine.

As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by NA Bargavach Hayastan
(Prosperous Armenia) faction Secretary Aram Safarian, he is included
in the given Assembly’s observation mission.

Head of Armenia’s delegation in PACE, Chairman of the RA NA Standing
Committee on State and Legal Issues, RPA member David Haroutiunian
will observe the elections as a member of the PACE mission and BH
member Goharik Yenokian and RPA member Rafik Grigorian as members of
the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly’s mission.

A. Safarian, who observed the first tour of Ukrainian presidential
elections on January 17, mentioned that the elections were estimated
as free and fair. He confirmed his opinion voiced after the first tour
in press, according to which "the Ukraine decided not to discredit
itself, and the political will of the authorities and oppositionists
to hold high-level elections was obvious."

THE ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES NORTH-SOUTH HIGHWAY AGREEMENT

News.am
18:16 / 02/02/2010

On February 2, the RA Parliament ratified the loan agreements on the
North-South highway concluded with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Under the agreements, the ADB is to issue a U.S. $500m loan to Armenia
for constructing the highway before the end of 2017.

This amount is only part of the funds necessary for constructing the
North-South highway – a total of U.S. $1.5bn required for the program.

RA Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan said that the Armenian
Government is negotiating the allocation of the rest funds with the
World Bank, EBRD and Japan Development Agency.

The ruling coalition members and ARF faction voted for the agreement,
but the Heritage faction and the ex-speaker Tigran Torosyan voted
against it. Torosyan pointed out that the Government has not presented
any calculations – how they are going to return the funds.