Author: Vasilian Manouk

ARMENIAN FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER: WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE. CHOOSING IS NOT A CHOICE

arminfo
2008-08-29 15:48:00

ArmInfo. Armenia should be more active and demonstrate its
non-partisanship to the conflict around South Ossetia, Armenian former
foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan said in an interview with Azg daily.

‘In other words, Armenia would have clearly said to all that it is
not going to choose between friends, that if Russia is our strategic
partner, Georgia is our natural partner. Both are of existential
importance to us. If in the past we used the policy of complementarity
to maintain and nurture relations with both the West and Russia, now
the situation is at our door and that need is even more acute. Now,
we must use enhanced complementarity, more audacious and blunt,
to openly and actively promote relations with all. We have no other
choice. Choosing is not a choice’, – Oskanyan said.

Asked if Russia’s role will change in the region, Oskanyan replied
of course it will and the region will not be the same.’It is the
political relationship that will be evolving between Russia and the
West that is of utmost concern to us. This relationship has been
badly damaged. The scars that are sure to remain will make future
cooperation or collaboration even more complicated. Worse, there is the
fear that there may be a return to Cold War partisanship. Even after
the honeymoon ended, Russia-West relations remained respectful. To say
that the disappearance of such a tolerant environment will adversely
affect Armenia and the region is a great understatement. East-West
tensions will be reflected in the Georgia-Russia relationship, by
proxy. That means Armenia will have to not just adhere to its policy
of complementarity, but as I said, will have to practice enhanced,
more audacious complementarity in order to assure our own, unique
role in this new configuration’, – Oskanyan said.

GREAT FUTURE FOR ARMENIA-CHINA RELATIONS

Panorama.am
16:44 28/08/2008

President Serzh Sargsyan has received the ambassador of Rebublic of
China Khun Tziu today.

The President expressed gratefulness for the respectful attitude
and warm welcome to Armenian delegation during Olympic Games in
Beijing. Sargsyan has appreciated China’s efforts in making the 29-th
Olympic Games unforgettable for all sportmen and fans. But most
outstanding in the Games, according to Sargsyan, was hospitality,
attentiveness and courtesy of Chinese people.

President Sargsyan also mentioned our sportsmen’s successful
participation in the Games stressing the fact that the better our
economy is, the more attention is paid to development of sport.

The realtions between two countries were also discussed during this
meeting. The government of Republic of China pays great significance
to its relations with Armenia and is convinced that the two states’
relations have great future, Chinese ambassador said.

AUCTION HELD ON PLACEMENT OF STATE BONDS OF AMGT39265093 ISSUE

Noyan Tapan

Au g 26, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 26, NOYAN TAPAN. An action on placement of state
(treasury) short-term bonds of AMGT39265093 issue with a redemption
period of 39 weeks was held on August 26.

The bonds subject to placement amounted to 1.5 billion drams, the
demand made 2 bln 131 mln 238 thousand drams. The placement of bonds
made 1.5 bln drams. The placement proceeds made 1 bln 411 mln 222
thousand 39 drams. The weighted average yield from placement made
8.2956%, the maxiumum yield – 8.4444%.

According to the press center of the RA ministry of finance, 12
dealers and the treasury participated in the auction.

DECISION BY RUSSIAN STATE DUMA AND FEDERATION COUNCIL TO COMPLICATE SITUATION IN REGION: PACE VICE PRESIDENT

Trend News Agency
Aug 25 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 August / Trend News corr. I.Alizade / Samad
Seyidov, the Head of the Azerbaijani Delegation to Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and Vice President of the
organization, believes that the decision to support the independence of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia by the Russian State Duma and Federation
Council will complicate the situation and cause more problems in
the region. "The Russian two Parliamentary Chambers appealed to
the President with regard to the accepted decision. We should wait
for the decision of the President Dmitry Medvedev. I consider that
international legal norms will demonstrate their superiority,"
Seyidov told Trend News on 25 August.

In early 1990s Abkhazia and South Ossetia autonomy republic
separated from the country through Russia’s support and announced
independence. However, the world community did not recognize
their independence. On 25 August, Russian State Duma and Federation
Council supported the independence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both
Parliamentary Chambers appealed to President Dmitry Medvedev regarding
with recognition of independence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Seyidov said that Azerbaijan wants to establish good relations amongst
its close neighbors and allies. Azerbaijan is interested in Russia
and Georgia to hold their activity within the international laws. "It
is also significant for us. We should follow the events and state
our position to solve the issue soon. We recognize the territorial
integrity of Georgia and want the problem to be solved within the
framework of international legal norms," Seyidov said. According to
Seyidov, Azerbaijan should implement careful policy in the current
situation.

Seyidov noted that the recent developments around South Ossetia, as
well as the recent steps taken by Russia will be seriously discussed
at PACE autumn session. The recent developments will negatively affect
solution of separatist conflicts.

"The recent development will not have positive results. We state
repeatedly that the key reason for conflicts in Caucasus has become
the presence of separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh. We also stated
that the unsolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cause the reason for
instability in Caucasus. Solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
may remove all separatist problems. However, it has not happened and
separatist forces became more active in the region," Seyidov said.

CSTO ARMIES TO STOP USING SOVIET WEAPONS, HARDWARE PAST 2020 – OFFICIAL

Interfax News Agency
Aug 25 2008
Russia

The countries comprising the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) will have no military hardware made in the Soviet era times
after 2020, said Vladimir Poleshchuk, a deputy director of the Russian
Federal Military- Technological Cooperation Service.

"It would be naive to count on weapons and hardware built in the
Soviet era times as the basis of the weapons possessed by the CSTO
armies after 2020," Poleshchuk said. Such weapons and hardware would
be modernized by 2020, but after this time they need to be replaced
by modern weapons, he said.

Taking this into account, the CSTO member-states need to start
developing unified standards for weapons and military hardware already
now, Poleshchuk said.

The CSTO is comprised of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

THREATENING TO ‘SPOIL’: JAILED ARMENIAN EDITOR SAYS HIS LIFE IS IN DANGER

Aravot
Aug 22 2008
Armenia

The editor-in-chief of the Zhamanak Yerevan newspaper, Arman
Babajanyan, issued a statement on 11 August, saying that under
instructions from the authorities, the Department of Detentions has
decided to silence him.

"Moreover, the information that I have received from several sources
indicate that my security is under threat in prison." To substantiate
this decision, he pointed to the decision to transfer him from the
convicts’ hospital to Nubarashen prison [in Yerevan].

"According to the information I have received, I have serious
suspicions that the decision to transfer me to Nubarashen prison is
aimed at physically destroying or harming me in a closed prison cell,"
Babajanyan said, withholding the names of the officials who have been
so instructed and have agreed to carry out this task.

However, Aravot has found out that this statement was made after a
video tape showing how criminals "spoil" convicts by forced sexual
acts was given to Babajanyan. Babajanyan was warned that the same
could happen to him. This video will be posted on youtube soon.

Today.Az, Azerbaijan
Aug 23 2008

Sabir Rustamkhanly: "Nobody knows how to settle the Karabakh problem
better than Russia"

23 August 2008 [10:26] – Today.Az

"The limit for the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh problem is
exhausted", said chairman of the Civil Solidarity Party, MP Sabir
Rustamkhanly.

He said Azerbaijan’s geopolitical interests demand holding a balanced
policy, considering the fact that there are millions of our
compatriots in Russia.

"Russia is a big and influential country and Azerbaijan has always
been near it. Despite the destructive influence of the world forces,
both countries should preserve the traditional friendship.

Azerbaijan’s integration into the Euroatlantic area, application of
new technologies and economic development should not become the cause
of worsening of our relations with Russia, as the said process occurs
in Russia too. In this sense, the official policy of Azerbaijan and
Russia is considered positive.

Yet both Russia and Azerbaijan know the main reason of the
disaster. Owing to the Soviet army, Azerbaijan has lost 20% of its
lands. In this connection, Azerbaijani society considers that the
resolution of the Karabakh problem mostly depends on Russia, as no one
excect for this country knows how to settle this problem.

As Russia sometimes adheres to double standards in the resolution of
the Karabakh problem, this worsens the relations between our
countries.

Another problem is connected with Azerbaijanis, residing in
Russia. Their problems are the same: people, who have been building
their lives for years, should begin everything anew. I consider it
correct to remove the language barrier. Russia also attempts to
preserve its rights.

But it should be taken into account that hundreds of Azerbaijanis, who
work at its factories and plants, do not cause harm to the
country. Azerbaijanis do not create problems in Russia, like Russians
do not create problems in Azerbaijan. The cooperation of the two
peoples is mutually profitable. In this connection, it is important to
pay greater attention to Azerbaijani diaspora and familiarize it with
the sociopolitical activity of Russia", said he.

Sabir Rustamkhanly also added that international organizations are not
concerned too much with the fact that there are over a million of
refugees in Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan intends to preserve its territorial integrity and this may
encourage the country for the military way of the conflict
resolution", concluded the Milli Medjlis deputy.

/Day.Az/

URL:

GEORGIA WON’T JOIN CAUCASUS UNION BEFORE RUSSIAN WITHDRAWAL

Today’s Zaman
Aug 22 2008
Turkey

Tbilisi will not participate in a proposed cooperation platform for
the Caucasus as long as Russia doesn’t entirely withdraw its forces
from Georgian soil, Georgian Ambassador to Turkey Grigol Mgaloblishvili
said yesterday.

"Despite the fact that the cease-fire agreement was signed and
that it took these responsibilities vis-a-vis the European Union,
Russian invader forces are still in Georgia," Mgaloblishvili said
in an interview with the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s
(TRT) TRT2 station, which focuses on news and information broadcasting.

Approached by Today’s Zaman following the broadcast of the interview,
Mgaloblishvili said his country has always been open to close
cooperation both at the bilateral and regional level, particularly
with Turkey. "We are always ready for both bilateral and regional
cooperation, either with Turkey or with our other allies. However,
as long as this invasion continues, and as long as even one
Russian soldier remains on Georgian soil, we will not be involved
in any cooperation mechanism that will involve ‘an invader power’,"
Mgaloblishvili told Today’s Zaman.

As of Thursday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had met with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to seek Baku’s support for the
Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform. The proposal is still
in the preparatory stages, but diplomats say it is meant to start
as a regional economic cooperation platform before tackling issues
of conflict. Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are
planned to be members of the initiative, which was proposed after a
regional crisis erupted following a Georgian military offensive in its
Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia earlier this month.

An EU-sponsored cease-fire says both Russian and Georgian forces
must retreat to the positions they held before fighting broke out
on Aug. 7 in Georgia’s separatist republic of South Ossetia, which
has close ties to Russia. The agreement also says Russian forces can
work in a so-called "security zone" that extends seven kilometers
into Georgia from South Ossetia.

Russian forces took up positions Thursday at the entrance to Georgia’s
main Black Sea port city, excavating trenches and setting up mortars
facing the city, despite Russia’s promise to pull back troops from
Georgia, The As-sociated Press reported from Poti.

TENNESSEE DEMOCRAT DEFEATS BLACK LAWYER
By Woody Baird

FinalCall.com
an/publish/article_5136.shtml
Aug 21 2008
IL

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A racially charged Democratic primary campaign ended
with an incumbent congressman trouncing the opponent who ran an ad
linking him to the Ku Klux Klan.

Unofficial results showed Democrat Steve Cohen with 79 percent of
the vote to 19 percent for Nikki Tinker, a Black corporate lawyer who
was his chief opponent in the district that covers Memphis, with all
precincts reporting.

Rep. Cohen is the first White congressman from Memphis in more than
three decades and one of only two White congressmen representing a
majority Black district.

"The results are pretty clear," Rep. Cohen told cheering supporters
July 7 at a victory party. "I’m here to report that Tennessee and
Tennessee (District) 9 voted firmly for the post-racial politics that
has carried a new generation to power."

In the state’s other major congressional primary, Johnson
City Mayor Phil Roe beat Republican Rep. David Davis, giving an
incumbent Tennessee congressman a primary loss for the first time
since 1966. The campaign in the solidly Republican 1st District in
northeastern Tennessee heated up toward the end, moving from joint
stump appearances to negative ads.

In the 9th District, in Memphis, the campaign turned ugly in
its final days, when Ms. Tinker ran a television ad juxtaposing
photos of Rep. Cohen, who is Jewish, and a hooded Ku Klux Klan
member. Ms. Tinker’s supporters argued the district, which is 60
percent Black and 35 percent White, should be represented by a Black
candidate.

The primary will likely decide the next congressman in the heavily
Democratic district, which has returned incumbents to the House since
1974. Rep. Cohen won his first term after a 2006 primary in which a
dozen Black candidates, including Ms. Tinker, split the vote.

Ms. Tinker said her ad linking Rep. Cohen to the KKK for opposing
a 2005 effort to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford
Forrest from a downtown park "merely states the facts. I think the
nation needs to know Steve Cohen’s complete record."

The ad drew condemnation from Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama. It juxtaposed pictures of a statue of Gen. Forrest,
the founder of the KKK, and a hooded Klansman in front of a burning
cross while asking, "Who is the real Steve Cohen?"

"These incendiary and personal attacks have no place in our politics,
and will do nothing to help the good people of Tennessee," Mr. Obama
said in a statement.

Rep. Cohen, a former state senator with a long record as a civil
rights supporter, led an effort in July to get the U.S. House to
issue an unprecedented apology to Black Americans for wrongs committed
against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim
Crow segregation laws.

The ad was also incongruous because of Rep. Cohen’s religion–Jews
are another group targeted by the KKK.

John Geer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor,
said the ad indicated Ms. Tinker knew her campaign was in trouble.

"Steve Cohen has been very conscious that he’s representing a Black
majority district, and he’s not a member of the KKK," Mr. Geer
said. "Voters are not fools, and they can sort this out."

Rep. Cohen’s opposition to a House resolution labeling the killing of
Armenians in World War I as genocide also came up in the campaign. The
House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the nonbinding resolution
last year despite arguments it would anger Turkey, which allows
U.S. military shipments headed for Iraq to cross its borders.

During a news conference at Rep. Cohen’s home Aug. 6 to call
Ms. Tinker’s ad an act of desperation, a cameraman who identified
himself as working for an Armenian-American citizens’ group
interrupted. Rep. Cohen pushed the man, Peter Musurlian of Glendale,
Calif., out of his house and called police.

Mr. Musurlian said his group supported Ms. Tinker because of
Rep. Cohen’s opposition to the genocide resolution. The district does
not have a large Armenian population.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN AND NIKOLAY BORDYUZHA DISCUSS MEASURES TO BE IMPLEMENTED DURING ARMENIA’S CHAIRMANSHIP OF CSTO

Noyan Tapan

Au g 20, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, NOYAN TAPAN. During the August 20 meeting of
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Secretary-General of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolay Bordyuzha,
the sides discussed measures on Armenia’s upcoming chairmanship of
CSTO and during that chairmanship, as well as issues related to the
sittings of the Council of Foreign Ministers of CSTO Member States
and the Collective Security Council to be held in Kislovodsk.

According to the RA MFA Press snd Information Department, the
interlocutors also exchanged ideas on the problems on the agenda of
CSTO and ways of their solution.