Author: Torosian Aram

SEYRAN OHANYAN RECEIVED THE MILITARY DELEGATION OF CHINA

armradio.am
21.07.2008 17:54

On July 21 RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan received the military
delegation of the People’s Democratic Republic of China headed by Major
General Den Czyngun that arrived in Armenia on a two-day working visit.

At the beginning of the meeting Seyran Ohanyan expressed hope that
although the visit is short, it will be fruitful, contributing to
the further deepening of Armenian-Chinese military relations.

The General noted the Chinese Government attaches great importance to
bilateral cooperation both in military and other spheres, expressing
hope that this cooperation will be permanent and useful.

During the meeting Seyran Ohanyan thanked the Chinese Government and
the leadership of the army for the assistance rendered so far.

The parties discussed the current state of bilateral relations in the
military sphere and the perspectives of deepening those, noting that
this cooperation rests on good basis and is gradually developing.

At the end of the meeting the parties wished success to the sportsmen
of the two countries in the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing.

"INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST MAKE MORE EFFORTS TO SOLVE FROZEN CONFLICTS" – EU CHAIRMAN

Trend News Agency
July 18 2008
Azerbaijan

Chairman of the European Union (EU) calls on international community
to make more efforts to solve frozen conflicts.

"International community must make more efforts to solve frozen
conflicts in Central Asia, Afghanistan and South Caucasus and
to support OSCE operation in Kosovo," French Foreign Minister, EU
Chairman Bernard Kouchner said.

As to frozen regional conflicts, Kouchner said situation in Georgia
is aggravating day by day. "We must be more innovative and dynamic,"
he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is also a frozen one. The conflict between
the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed
Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia,
France, and the US) are currently holding peace negotiations.

CHIEF KARABAKH COMMANDER SAYS BORDERS SAFELY PROTECTED
Kim Gabrielyan’s

Azg
July 17 2008
Armenia

"Artsakh’s borders are safely protected"

The defence minister of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic [NKR] and
commander of the defence forces, Movses Hakobyan, is basically content
with the work carried out by the defence ministry in the first half of
this year. Speaking about this at a news conference [in Stepanakert
(Xankandi)] yesterday [16 July], the minister said that the NKR
president also assessed positively the results of recent inspections in
the army. With the exception of the March events, when the Azerbaijani
side carried out subversive operations in Mardakert [Agdara] section
of the contact line and received an appropriate response, no other
notable events occurred on the contact line. Positional changes
were made on the contact line in June to improve the positions of
the defence forces. Engineer work, which will be completed soon,
is being carried out now.

The commander-in-chief said it was difficult to organize combat duty
especially against the background of Azerbaijan’s periodical bellicose
statements. However, the defence troops are carrying out their task
with honour – the NKR borders are safely protected nowadays, the
minister said.

[Passage omitted: the minister spoke about providing apartments to
military staff]

Asked about what is being done to resume grain harvesting in the border
areas, where harvesting has been interrupted due to shooting from the
Azerbaijani side, the minister said that haymaking has already started
in these areas. The defence troops are taking security measures so
that the haymakers can complete harvesting safely.

Asked about the spring conscription, the commander of the defence
troops said that the number of conscripts exceeded the planned figure
by 10 per cent. There are no more ill people in the army, and there
are no more such problems, the minister said.

Azg’s question was about the possibility of the involvement of the
NKR army, which is said to have a high combat capability, in joint
military manoeuvres and peacekeeping measures. Hakobyan said that the
NKR armed forces participate in military manoeuvres, as for carrying
out peacekeeping measures, the defence troops are satisfied with
ensuring the security of their country only, considering it to be
their major mission.

At the request of the journalists, Hakobyan spoke about the military
parade which took place in Baku in the end of June, describing it
as demonstration of the military might ahead of the presidential
election in Azerbaijan to be held in autumn. The NKR defence troops
are aware of the military capacity of the Azerbaijani army not only
via TV broadcasts, but they also have more precise information on the
real force of the opponent. The NKR minister said that many models
of weapons that Azerbaijan demonstrated to its own people had been
acquired by the Karabakh armed forces before.

Hakobyan said that the periodic exchanges of fire on the contact line
were exclusively the initiative of subdivisions of the Azerbaijani
troops. Two servicemen died on the Armenian side and 32 on the
Azerbaijani side in the first half of this year.

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION IS A MAIN PRIORITY- ALIYEV

Interfax News Agency
July 15 2008
Russia

Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the Council of Europe and other
international organizations is a foreign political priority, Azeri
President Ilkham Aliyev said at a meeting with participants of
an international conference dedicated to the tenth anniversary of
establishing the Azeri Constitutional Court.

Baku is making important moves on the track of integrating into the
European family, the Azeri presidential administration told Interfax
referring to Aliyev’s speech at the meeting.

Aliyev said that the successful implementation of the new neighborhood
policy, together with the European Union, and energy activity are
examples of such moves.

Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission Gianni
Buquicchio, who also attended the meeting, noted that after Azerbaijan
joined the CoE it has been cooperating tightly with this organization.

Aliyev also touched upon the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Armenia occupied
a part of Azeri territory, which led to the fact that over a million
people were ousted from their native lands, the president said,
adding that the Azeri government is taking measures to resolve the
issue of forced migrants.

GEORGIA AND RUSSIA BARTER MILITARY EXERCISES
Madina Shavlokhova, Albert Yeremjan

What the Papers Say
July 16, 2008 Wednesday

GEORGIAN-US IMMEDIATE RESPONSE’2008 VS RUSSIAN CAUCASUS’2008; Military
exercises are being run on both sides of the Russian-Georgian border.

Georgian-American exercise Immediate Response’2008 began in Tbilisi
outskirts, right on the territory of what had been the Russian military
base in Vaziani once. The Russian Caucasus Military District meanwhile
launched Caucasus’2008, a counter-terrorism exercise.

Caucasus’2008 is taking place on the territory spanning from the
Black to the Caspian Sea. According to Colonel Igor Konashenkov
of the Ground Forces, up to 8,000 men are involved. "Units and
formations will practice peace enforcement in problematic zones,"
Konashenkov said, "in connection with deterioration of the situation
in Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian conflict areas."

Irakly Aladashvili, military expert working for the Georgian
government, says Immediate Response’2008 will last three weeks and
involve staff officers from Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Ukrainian
regular armies. The involved units will supposedly drill action in
humanitarian operations.

Almost 1,650 men participate in Immediate Response’2008 (approximately
1,000 servicemen of the US Army, 600 from the Georgian army, and ten
representatives of Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Ukrainian armies each).

Georgian Deputy Chief of the General Staff Alexander Osepashvili claims
that computer systems and simulators will be used in the exercise.

Spokesmen for the US Army say the exercise is being run to hone
compatibility of the Georgian and American military and advance
cooperation between the military of the two countries.

TURKEY: NO DECISION YET ON PRESIDENT ATTENDING FOOTBALL GAME IN ARMENIA

PR-Inside.com
July 16 2008
Austria

Turkey’s foreign minister says no decision has been made on whether
the president will accept Armenia’s invitation to attend a football
game between their national teams.

Ali Babacan says President Abdullah Gul’s attendance will depend on
"developments that occur between today and the match date.

The two countries have no diplomatic relations and their joint border
has been closed for years.

Turkey objects to Armenian forces’ occupation of Azerbaijan’s
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Armenia also insists the deaths of about
1.5 million ethnic Armenians in the early 20th century should be
recognized as genocide.

Turkey will play Armenia in a World Cup qualifier on Sept. 6.

PRESIDENT: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES PROMISE TO COMPLY WITH ALL PACE DEMANDS

ARKA
July 16

Armenian authorities promise to comply with all PACE demands and
investigate March events in due way, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan
said on Tuesday at his meeting with CE Human Rights Commissioner
Thomas Hammarberg, presidential press office reports.

Sargsyan said that Armenian authorities examined the PACE resolutions
and are determined to comply with their demands.

The president welcomed the human rights commissioner’s efforts to
solve Armenia’s problems.

Hammarberg stressed the importance of both resolutions and said he
will read out his report at the PACE Monitoring Committee’s meeting
on September 11.

He put a special emphasis on three objectives.

The first was legislative changes in the law on rallies and marches.

The second was an unbiased and transparent investigation into March
events.

The third related to detainees.

Sargsyan said that the police must brought charge only against those
who committed violence.

FORMER TENNESSEE TITANS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN ENDORSES NIKKI TINKER FOR CONGRESS

armradio.am
16.07.2008 12:15

Rien Long, who wore number 99 for the Tennessee Titans from 2003 to
2007, is almost at full strength since a near-fatal car accident in
January and is endorsing Nikki Tinker for Congress in Tennessee’s
Ninth Congressional District, ANC-PAC reported.

Tinker is mounting a strong challenge to first-term Congressman Steve
Cohen, who has made a name for himself in Congress by actively denying
the Armenian Genocide, the murder of 1.5 million Armenian Christians
early in the 20th century.

"I am proud to be endorsing Nikki and hope she wins her August 7th
primary race," remarked Rien Long, whose 27th birthday just happens
to be the day of the election.

"I believe Nikki will bring the energy, intellect and integrity the
people of Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District need and deserve. I
also believe that people like Steve Cohen, who are playing an active
role in blocking legislation in Congress that would mark the first
genocide of the 20th century (Armenian Genocide), have no place in
Congress." Nikki Tinker, like Barack Obama, supports the legislation.

"Sadly, Cohen is an apologist for the Turkish government, which has
never admitted to genocide," Long added.

"My family has been in America for nearly 100 years, because one of
my great-grandfathers escaped the genocide of the Christian minority
of Turkey.

Many of his nieces and nephews were not as lucky."

Long was the subject of a documentary film in 2006, "The Long Journey
from the NFL to Armenia," which chronicled a visit he made to his
ancestral homeland.

"During my trip, I stood just a few miles from the Turkish border and
over that border stood Mt. Ararat, where the Bible says Noah’s Ark
landed in Armenia. That mountain is now in Turkey, which just adds
to the disappointment I have in a person like Congressman Cohen,
who does favors for the foreign government of Turkey, which spends
millions of Turkish tax dollars every year to lobby jaded politicians
against Armenian Genocide recognition," Long added.

"I know Nikki Tinker will not be a lapdog for the Turks like Steve
Cohen, who encourages genocide denial, by fighting congressional
recognition," Long concluded.

Long won college football’s Outland Trophy in 2003, which is awarded
to the best interior lineman. He was then picked in the fourth round
of the NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans and has made Tennessee his
home ever since.

Late in the evening on this year’s Martin Luther King holiday, Long
was behind the wheel during a one-car accident in Nashville. He
was initially listed in critical condition, but has since made a
miraculous recovery. He is in Nashville right now attempting to make
an NFL comeback by as early as this season.

NALBANDIAN-RICE MEETING: KARABAKH SETTLEMENT POSSIBLE ONLY THROUGH PEACE TALKS

armradio.am
15.07.2008 11:31

On June 14 RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice.

At the beginning of the meeting Edward Nalbandian said Armenia attaches
importance to multifaceted relations with the United States and will
pursue the development and reinforcement of friendly partnership
relations and deepening of cooperation between the two countries.

The heads of foreign agencies of Armenia and the United States noted
that the history and traditions of Armenian-American relations, the
existing contractual-legal field, demonstration of political will in
the direction of expansion of cooperation provide an opportunity to
develop the bilateral relations in different spheres.

The interloccxutors discussed the latest developments in the settlement
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In this regard it was noted that the
issue can be solved exceptionally in through peaceful talks under way
within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. The parties appreciated
the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and stressed the importance
of continuing the negotiations on the basis of the Madrid proposals,
which create an opportunity to register progress in the peace process.

Turning to the perspectives of normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations, Minister Nalbandian reconfirmed the willingness of Armenia
to establish diplomatic relations and open the Armenian-Turkish border
without any preconditions and presented the steps Armenia takes in
this direction.

The interlocutors turned to the process of confirmation of the new
US Ambassador designate to Armenia by the Senate. In this regard,
Minister Nalbandian expressed hope that the Ambassador will soon be
confirmed and the will arrive in Armenia, which will have a positive
influence on the further reinforcement of bilateral relations.

Following the meeting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian signed on July 14, 2008, the
"Joint Action Plan between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on Combating
Smuggling of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials."

This political agreement expresses the intention of the two governments
to cooperate to increase the capabilities of the Republic of Armenia
to prevent, detect, and respond effectively to attempts to smuggle
nuclear or radioactive materials. With this agreement, the U.S. and
Armenian governments are significantly enhancing their collaborative
efforts to combat the threat that nuclear or highly radioactive
materials could be acquired by terrorists.

This is the fifth agreement of this nature that has been concluded by
the U.S. government’s Nuclear Smuggling Outreach Initiative. Previous
agreements were completed with Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and the
Kyrgyz Republic.=2 0To date, eight countries and three international
organizations have partnered with the U.S. government to provide
assistance to support implementation of these agreements.

HRANT MELKUMIAN AND ARMAN PASHIKIAN LEADERS IN LAKE SEVAN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

NOYAN TAPAN

JU LY 14

The Lake Sevan International Chess Tournament continues in
Martuni. Hrant Melkumian and Arman Pashikian (both from Armenia)
are the leaders with 2.5 points each after 3 tours.

The games of the 4th tour are scheduled for July 14.