Author: Vasilian Manouk

TURKISH FOOTBALLERS ARRIVE IN YEREVAN

armradio.am
05.09.2008 17:40

Players of the national football team of Turkey headed by chief
coach Fatih Terim arrived in Yerevan today. After a short rest the
footballers will leave for "Hrazdan" stadium, where they will hold
a training today.

At 7 p.m. the head coaches of Armenia and Turkey Jan Poulsen and
Fatih Terim will give a joint press conference at "Hrazdan" stadium.

Fifty sports journalists arrive din Yerevan from Turkey. According to
sports commentator of the "Hyurriyet" daily A. Ismayil, the Armenia vs.
Turkey match in Yerevan is going to be hard but interesting. Turkish
players have seriously prepared for the match.

TERIM: "THIS IS JUST A GAME, NOT BATTLE"

Sabah
Aug 31 2008
Turkey

The technical director of Turkey’s national team, Fatih Terim, made
moderate comments on Saturday night’s game against Armenia for the
World Cup European Eliminations.

"Turkey’s national team will not be carrying the weight of history
on its shoulders in the game against Armenia. If we did so, it would
slow us down and affect our game. This is the first match between the
two countries in the A category. This is very important, they are
using special motivation techniques in their preparations. For us,
this is just a football game, not a war" said Terim.

MEDVEDEV SAYS RUSSIA, ITS CLOSEST CIS ALLIES TO PRESENT UNITED FRONT ON GEORGIA

Rossiya TV
Sept 2 2008
Russia

[Presenter] The situation concerning South Ossetia and bilateral
economic cooperation have been the main subject of talks between
the Russian and Armenian presidents. Dmitriy Medvedev received Serzh
Sargsyan at his Sochi residence.

After expressing condolences over the death of peaceful civilians and
Russian soldiers, the Armenian president said that his country was
ready to receive South Ossetian schoolchildren to study in its schools.

The talks were held ahead of a summit of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization [CSTO, which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan], whose chairmanship will be taken
over by Armenia. At the summit, which is being held in Moscow at the
end of the week, the CSTO members will formulate their single position
on recent events in the Caucasus.

[Medvedev, addressing Sargsyan] We have a CSTO summit coming
up literally in a few days’ time. Armenia is taking over the
chairmanship. I think we could consider how to organize work,
especially as we have not met since Georgia’s aggression against
South Ossetia. Let’s also discuss these difficult problems.

[Sargsyan] I would again like to express my condolences in connection
with the death of many people – Russian citizens, peacekeepers –
my regret that events have unfolded this way, and a wish for the
consequences of the humanitarian catastrophe to be dealt with as soon
as possible.

[Medvedev] Thank you, Serzh [patronymic indistinct], for the
humanitarian forms of support. As for everything else, including the
consequences of what happened – I mean our work in the CSTO format –
we will have a preliminary discussion about it now, but the final
position of the CSTO member states will be formulated during the CSTO
summit in Moscow.

NALBANDIAN TO ATTEND CSTO FOREIGN MINISTERS SUMMIT IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.09.2008 16:18 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will
depart for Moscow on September 3 to attend the summit of CSTO Council
of Foreign Ministers, head of media relations division at the RA MFA
Tigran Balayan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Foreign Ministers of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are expected to participate in the summit.

"Armenia will take over the CSTO presidency on September 5. The
Armenian delegation will be led by President Serzh Sargsyan,"
Balayan said.

SARGSYAN-GUL: THE EXCEPTIONAL MEETING OF THE BEGINNING OF 21ST CENTURY

Panorama.am
15:29 03/09/2008

The director of Museum Institute of Armenian Genocide Hayk Demoyan
calls Abdula Gul’s visit to Armenia a significant breakthrough in
Armenia-Turkey relations.

"This would be an exceptional meeting not only in political view but
in "breaking the ice of cold relations" as well. Turkish President
is making a visit to a country with which they had no diplomatic
relations for long 16 years," H. Demoyan says.

According to Demoyan, the problem concerns not only Armenia-Turkey
relations but the whole region as well: these relations progress
may include Azerbaijan and world leaders too. Hence Armenia-Turkey
relations will give rise to new developments in the region.

Questioned whether Sargsyan’s decision to invite Gul to visit Yerevan
for watching Armenia-Turkey football match was right, Demoyan said
the President’s initiative was correct, because after this invitation
Turkey had experienced a real diplomatic stun.

"We’ll be witnesses of new developments of our relations. Of course,
nothing can be done in a hurry, don’t expect too much from this
meeting. However, there will be new formats for further talks and
the establishment of Armenia-Turkey relations," Demoyan said.

GEORGIA SHOWS CANADA WAS RASH ON KOSOVO
By Scott Taylor On Target

The Chronicle Herald
6341.html
Sept 2 2008
Canada

BACK ON March 18 when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced
that Canada would recognize Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of
independence many decried this decision as a violation of the United
Nations charter.

It was without a UN mandate that NATO had intervened in the clash
between Serbian security forces and Albanian separatist guerrillas
in 1999. However, it was UN Resolution 1244 that brought a ceasefire
to the disputed province, and although NATO troops were to replace
Serb forces in providing security, Kosovo was to remain the sovereign
territory of Serbia.

It was obvious that Harper’s Conservatives understood the implications
of recognizing the secession of a province based on a unilateral
declaration of independence by an ethnic majority of that territory,
as it took a full month for Canada to concede to recognition of the
new state.

The U.S. and the British had been the primary pilots steering Kosovo
towards independence in this manner, as they knew that Russia and
China would block any further efforts to achieve a consensus on this
issue through official United Nations channels.

Under tremendous pressure from the U.S. State Department, Harper
finally buckled and joined the small number of nations that had already
recognized Kosovo’s independence. At that juncture some three dozen
countries had followed the American lead, and despite George Bush’s
best efforts, that number has topped out at just 46.

A similar number of nations have rejected Kosovo’s independence
outright and the remaining 100 UN members continue to sit on the fence.

At the time that Harper reluctantly agree to the recognition of Kosovo,
he claimed that this particular Balkan province was a "unique case" and
therefore violating the UN charter, which deems national sovereignty
to be inviolate, would not set any sort of precedent.

As witnessed by recent events in the Republic of Georgia, the breakaway
territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have wasted little time in
proving Harper wrong. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early
1990s, three new countries — Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia —
emerged in the strategically important region known as the Caucasus.

While much of the western media’s attention was focused on events
in the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, an equally brutal series
of wars was being conducted in this region. The end result was a
number of unresolved frozen conflicts with sovereign territories
occupied by belligerent nations — such as the Nagorno-Karabakh
region of Azerbaijan, which is still being held by Armenian troops —
and regions such as South Ossetia and Abkhazia that refused to join
Georgia when it separated from Russia.

Armed with U.S. assurances and military aid, American-educated Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili decided on Aug. 7 to flex his muscles
and attempt to exert control by force over South Ossetia. The Russians
were not caught napping and they responded immediately and forcefully.

The Georgian troops were hurled out of South Ossetia back into Georgian
territory and Saakashvili immediately took to the airwaves to call
upon the international community to save him from Russian aggression.

Back in April at the NATO summit in Bucharest, it had been Canada
and the U.S. who had pushed forcefully for Georgia’s inclusion into
the alliance. Thankfully, the central European nations rejected both
Georgia and Ukraine’s admission to NATO as it could unnecessarily
provoke the Russians.

Had Canada and the U.S. been successful, as a NATO member,
Saakashvili’s cry for support would have plunged the alliance into
a military showdown with Russia.

It has now become clear that the Russian bear may be reawakening
in terms of military might, but its intention in the Caucasus seems
limited to recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as separate states —
not reoccupying all of Georgia.

What is hypocritical beyond belief is Bush and Condoleezza Rice
claiming that by recognizing these two small states as independent,
Russia is setting a dangerous precedent for others to ignore the
UN charter.

That would be the same UN charter that the U.S. ignored when it bombed
Serbia in 1999, when they invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and when they
invaded Iraq in 2003.

Canada made a grave mistake in the recognition of Kosovo, and we
should not be so quick to leap on board the Bush bandwagon when it
comes to determining a policy on the Georgian crisis.

Like the Americans, we no longer have the moral authority to denounce
Russia’s present actions.

Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Aug 31 2008

Turkish president says no decision on Armenian visit yet

Ankara, 31 August: Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who
attended the 30 August victory reception hosted at the Gazi officer’s
club in Ankara, signalled Saturday that President Abdullah Gul might
travel to Armenia.

Commenting on the possibility of President Abdullah Gul’s travelling
to Armenia for a national soccer match after decades of no diplomatic
exchange with this country, Erdogan said he wished it would bring
positive results, hinting that the president might have actually
decided to accept invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsian.

Erdogan also said Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan would
accompany Gul during the trip to discuss relations with Armenia.

However, Gul, who also attended the reception, told reporters that
they did not reach a decision on the matter yet saying that they were
still contemplating.

Armenian President Sargsian, who publicly declared that he would
shortly take steps to revive relations with Turkey, has recently
invited his Turkish counterpart Gul to Armenia to watch together the
2010 World Cup qualifying round game between the two countries on 6
September.

Yerivan based Mediamax news agency quoted Sargsian as having said this
game "would contribute to normalisation of relations between the two
countries," during a visit to Moscow in June.

On 24 July, Babacan expressed Turkey’s willingness to normalize
relations with Armenia at a press conference in New York, saying that
Turkey also wanted to create an atmosphere of dialogue with Armenia.

Referring to letters Turkish president, prime minister and other high
level officials sent to their Armenian counterparts shortly after the
recent elections in this country, Babacan had announced that these
letters aimed at opening a new door of dialogue with the new
(Armenian) administration.

Babacan said it was natural for Turkey – whose aim was to have zero
problems with its neighbours – to expect concrete steps from Armenia
and expressed his belief that Turkey’s problems could be solved
through dialogue, and underlined importance of setting up a joint
committee of historians to deal with the incidents of 1915.

Later in July, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian told
Mediamax that they wanted to normalise relations with
Turkey. Nalbandian said to this end they wished Gul would accept
Sargsian’s invitation to watch the qualifier in Yerevan, adding that
it would create an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations.

Nalbandian said Armenia took a step by inviting Gul. "This initiative
received positive response in the international arena. Now it is
Turkey’s turn."

Interfax, Russia
Aug 25 2008

Russian military bloc steps up military exercises

Moscow, 25 August: Large-scale military exercises within the framework
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will be held
once every two years and will take account of the military-political
situation in the collective security regions, including the Caucasus,
the organization’s deputy secretary-general, Valeriy Semerikov, told
journalists on Saturday [23 August].

"It was decided at a session of the CSTO Defence Ministers’ Council to
hold large-scale military exercises once every two years. The next
exercise, Rubezh [Border or Boundary], which ended yesterday in
Armenia, will, thus, be held in 2010. It will certainly be
large-scale," Semerikov said.

"All the exercises will be held on a bilateral basis and will take
account of the situation that exists in the collective security
regions, including the Caucasus," he added.

In between the large-scale exercises, he said, the CSTO countries will
hold smaller-scale exercises, headquarter training sessions and
bilateral exercises.

The CSTO comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

[translated from Russian]

WE HAVE REACHED THE STAGE OF MAKING DECISIONS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
29 Aug 2008
Armenia

PRESIDENT SERGE SARGSYAN’S INTERVIEW TO THE TURKISH "RADICAL" DAILY

"May the September 6 football match between the Armenian and Turkish
national representative teams be viewed as the most politicized
sporting event in our region? What political expectations did you
have when you invited Turkish President Abdullah Gyul to Armenia for
watching the match together?"

"My principal goal was the regulation of the relations between the
two countries. In his congratulatory message addressed to me on the
occasion of being elected to the post of President, Mr. Gyul spoke
about the possibility of developing the relationship. Later, Prime
Minister Erdoghan expressed his opinion on the necessity of having
the doors open for a dialogue.

In response to that, I decided to take advantage of such
opportunity. There is a good sporting event in store for us. Our
national football teams are going to meet with each other for the
first time in history. This may serve as a good occasion for the
development of our relations. It doesn’t matter what result will be
recorded, but I hope that the audience will enjoy the match. There’s
going to be a great enthusiasm. This meeting will be an exceptional
event in our relations, and I hope that it will=2 0become much more
exceptional in the presence of the Armenian and Turkish presidents.

We are neighbors and will continue to remain as neighbors. I
believe that having normal relations will be more useful to the two
peoples. And my invitation sent to Mr. Gyul should be viewed in that
particular context."

"There are certain fears in Ankara in connection with the
above-mentioned invitation; for instance, the problem of the borders
and the issue as to what reception Mr. Gyul will find in Yerevan. Do
you have such concerns?"

"There can be no concerns with regard to the organizational issues. If
we have invited a country’s president, we will take all the measure
to receive Mr. Gyul in a manner appropriate to such kinds of visits."

"I have had a meeting with Dashnaktsoutyun party, and they are against
your invitation. They say they will take all the possible measures
to make Mr. Gyul hear their voice in case he arrives in Armenia."

"I don’t think the measures aimed at raising one’s voice will go
beyond the frameworks acceptable to official visits. The attempts of
demonstrating an uncivilized attitude will be first of all directed
against the Republic of Armenia and me, because I am the inviting
party."

"What is your opinion on the current regional projects in the spheres
of energy and communication? These are projects that may lead to
prosperity in case of peace and stability in the region. Will Armenia
choose to join them? Do you think you will be received in Turkey the
same way as the leaders of Georgia and Azerbaijan, and the Turkish
leaders will accept the invitation received from Yerevan without
hesitation?"

"You know, I have learnt two lessons from the regional projects
implemented so far. First, if not all the countries in the region
are involved in the projects or one of the countries is excluded,
there emerge new lines of demarcation. Second, when the political
considerations in such projects prevail over the economic ones, they
never become successful enough. It’s like putting the cart before
the horse."

"Which project do you mean?"

"For instance, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad. A lot of means are
spent for excluding Armenia from the project. The Armenian leaders
visited Turkey in the past. I have also visited that country in
different capacities. Let me add that the mutual visits of neighbors
are a normal phenomenon, and that shouldn’t be perceived as a sign
of courtesy to the opposite party. Our efforts are directed to that."

"While launching the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad,
Abdullah Gyul said in the presence of Presidents Aliev and Sahakashvili
that Armenia may participate in regional programs provided it respects
the principles of internati onal law. Do you think he meant the
borderline approved by the 1921 Kars Treaty?"

"I think if you ask that question to Mr. Gyul, he will give a more
precise answer. The only thing I can say is that Armenia is for the UN
Charter and a number of other international treaties, and it respects
its international commitments."

"Let me formulate my question more clearly. There are certain circles
in Armenia that give the name Western Armenia to a territory which
forms part of Turkey and have territorial claims under the Treaty of
Sevre. Do you admit that it is difficult to establish full diplomatic
relations with a country that has arguments as to your borders? What
is your viewpoint, i.e.

official attitude with regard to the legality and recognition of the
Kars Treaty?"

"I don’t remember any Armenian official expressing any opinion about
territorial claims. But I hear that from the opposite party. I don’t
think it is right to assume the statements made by separate individuals
as a basis. If we follow that approach, we may believe the viewpoint
expressed by some people in Turkey that there is actually no country
called Armenia.

We don’t want any preconditions in our relations with Turkey. I also
hear Turkish officials express concerns on Eastern-Western Armenia,
and it sounds very strange to me. Those are geographical terms used
since the end of the 1 9th century. Forgetting and obliterating the
expression coming from the past in a persistent manner is the same
as denying the existence of Sparta, the Russian Empire, the Ottoman
Empire and a number of historical-geographical terms. If that were
our official policy, our country would be called the Republic of
Eastern Armenia instead of Republic of Armenia.

No Armenian official has ever insisted on anything of the kind. In
case of establishing diplomatic relations, it will be easier to
discuss those issues. For example, Russia used to have problems of
borders with either China or Japan; however, this is not an obstacle
to diplomatic relations."

"After you sent an invitation to Mr. Gyul, there occurred
serious developments in the Caucasus, such as the Georgian-Russian
conflict. What is your opinion on Russia’s policy of supporting South
Ossetia and Abkhazia which are seceding from Georgia?"

"As a matter of fact, there occurred tragic events; there were human
losses. This showed once again what an arms race may lead to in
such matters.

We are for resolving such matters through negotiations. We are for
respecting the right to self-determination expressed by the free
will of the peoples. It is regrettable that the situation is becoming
exacerbated, and we do not approve of that.

We do believe that the implementation of the program initiated jointly
by the RF Presidents D. Medvedev and French President N. Sarkozy will
lead to peace and stability. Peace and stability are very important
to us. Putting aside all the other issues, let me note that more than
70 % of our trade is carried out via the territory of Georgia."

MOSCOW WILL APPOINT SOME RUSSIANS AS MILITARY OBSERVERS

WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 29, 2008 Friday

Vladimir Voronkov, Assistant Permanent Representative of the Russian
Federation to the OSCE: About 100 OSCE military observers are to be
deployed in the security zone established around South Ossetia these
days. Twenty military observers were already dispatched to Georgia,
to Tbilisi to set up the base for 80 more colleagues there.

All these speculations that OSCE military observers will number 200,
300 and more men are just that – speculations that do not have anything
to do with the actual state of affairs. The Permanent Council decision
is plain on the subject. Up to 100 new observers may be dispatched
to the territories around South Ossetia, and no more.

OSCE military observers are not supposed to wield firearms. The group
sent to Georgia includes Finns, Englishmen, Norwegians, Poles, and
representatives of other European states. There will be Americans
there as well, some Canadians, and a representative of Kazakhstan.

Moscow suggested three Russian observers in the team of 100 I’ve
already mentioned. We will do everything in our powers to have their
assignment authorized by the OSCE. We also know that other members of
the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization apart from Kazakhstan
want their representatives in the security zone. Yerevan (Armenia)
is one.