CSTO SECRETARY GENERAL TO VISIT ARMENIA
armradio.am
12.03.2007 12:42
March 13 the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) Sergey Bordyuzha will arrive in Yerevan, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.
In the framework of the visit the CSTO Secretary General will have
meetings with the leadership of the republic. However, the exact
schedule of the visit has not been announced yet.
ARAM I CATHOLICOS RECEIVES FRENCH HIGH-RANKING DELEGATION
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 12 2007
ANTELIAS, MARCH 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A high-ranking
delegation representing all the French churches arrived in Beirut on
March 4 to hold meetings concerning the issue of political tension in
Near East. The 5-person delegation formed of clergymen was headed by
Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the Bordeaux Archbishop, President of the
French Episcopal Conference. Ararm I Catholicos of the Great House
of Cilicia received the delegation in Antelias. Issues relating to
overcoming Near East crisis were discussed during the meeting. As Noyan
Tapan was informed from the Antelias Cathedral, Aram I Catholicos gave
comprehensive answers to questions the delegation was interested in.
RA FOREIGN MINISTER HOPES THERE WILL BE NO MISTAKES IN THE NEXT HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
armradio.am
12.03.2007 16:26
"Saying that the annual Human Rights Report of the US Department
of State includes mistakes in the section on Armenia, among other
points I meant that it mentions that "Armenia continues keeping
occupied Nagorno Karabakh and seven other regions considered to
be the territory of Azerbaijan," Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian told the reporters today. He informed that this mistake has
been presented to the attention of the State Department. "US policy
and approaches on this issue are very distinct. Knowing this, I’m
confident that this is a mistake," Minister Oskanian noted.
The report has already been publicized, and according to Mr. Oskanian,
amendments will hardly be implemented in it, but on different occasions
the US will reiterate its approaches. The Minister expressed hope
that the mistakes will be corrected in the next report.
FRENCH MEDIATOR PLEASED WITH TALKS AHEAD OF ARMENIAN-AZERI MEETING ON KARABAKH
Mediamax news agency
12 Mar 07
Yerevan, 12 March: The French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Bernard Fassier, today described as "very constructive" his talks with
the Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership, which took place during the
past few days in Yerevan and Baku.
Speaking during a briefing in Yerevan today, Bernard Fassier said that
tomorrow in Geneva there will take place a meeting of the co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, where the agenda of the talks between the
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers scheduled for 14 March
will be finally formed.
"If during the meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers in Geneva we manage to formulate the basic principles of
the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, after that one or
two more meetings between the foreign ministers will take place, the
results of which will be possible to submit for the consideration
of the presidents of the two countries," Bernard Fassier stated,
stressing that meetings between [Armenian President Robert] Kocharyan
and [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev will in no case take place
before the parliamentary election in Armenia, which is planned for
12 May.
The French mediator met the president of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic
(NKR), Arkadi Ghukasyan, in Yerevan today. The co-chair stated that
the mediators continue to believe that at a certain stage of the talks
it will become necessary that representatives of Nagornyy Karabakh
also participate in them.
NEVER GIVE UP FIGHTING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR
Lilit Hovakimyan
The Coloradoan, CO
March 10 2007
My heart is paining for those who had lived their whole lives in
peace and who wanted to die in peace, for those who were so young
and had so many plans for the future, for those who would have so
much to tell and who’d just learned to say "Mother." Is it fair?
No, it is not just. I know what it means. Genocide. Even hearing
this word, I tremble. This word fills the heart of a 16-year-old
girl with hatred. A question that doesn’t leave my mind alone is,
"Why? For what?" The answer is simple: "Why not?"
I am talking from a name of a whole nation. From the name of parents
who saw their children burning in the fire, from the name of husbands
who saw their wives being raped and from the names of children getting
killed when they were still under their mothers’ hearts.
I am crying while putting down what I feel on this sheet of paper.
Yes, I am crying because I knowa 16-year-old girl and her thoughts
or feelings cannot stop it. But I know one thing for sure. We cannot
change the past, but the future is in our hands. We learn from the
past and bring it to the future. If we all fight and never give up,
there will come a day of triumph.
I would do everything to make that day tomorrow. I could even give
my life, but. …
My mind, my body and my soul can understand a genocide that took place
in 1915 at some points. But people, open your eyes there are hundreds
of people being killed every day. There are people that fall asleep
without any hopes that they will wake up next morning. I am talking
about Darfur, a region in Sudan where all these inhumane things take
place. More than 16.000 Africans were killed in the last two years. In
front of our eyes. Don’t people see or understand that common people
are very important?
What can we do to stop it?
I know that a 16-year-old girl has so much to see and to learn, but
I still think that sometimes we need to get used to the idea that we
cannot have everything. We just cannot.
I am asking you in the name of all the children that were killed in
Darfur. People, please, stop for just a second and think about all
this. Think about the people that could be your parents, sisters,
brothers, husbands. …
Smile at the world and the world will smile back. Never give up.
Lilit Hovakimyan is a FLEX exchange student from Armenia. She is a
junior, attending Rocky Mountain High School.
rticle?AID=/20070310/OPINION04/703100321
MEETING BETWEEN PRESIDENTS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN MAY TAKE PLACE
IMMEDIATELY AFTER PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS, VARTAN OSKANIAN SAYS
YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. "There are all grounds to suppose that
a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
Geneva will have positive results if only the Azerbaijani side does
not impede this and in advance does not accuse the Armenian side of
being non-constructive." Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
declared this at the March 9 press conference. He expressed
bewilderment in connection with the negative position of Azerbaijani
side to the draft document on settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
which was proposed by OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmen. In the Minister’s
words, the sides expressed satisfaction with many points of document
at the level of President’s of the two countries. "The position of
Azeris to the document does not correspond to its letter and
essence. We confirm our positive attitude to the document,"
V. Oskanian declared. He reported that the meeting between Armenian
and Azerbaijani Presidents may take place immediately after the
parliamentary elections of RA. As regards the draft resolution On
Protracted Conflicts the GUAM countries submitted for consideration of
UN General Assembly, V. Oskanian mentioned that the states having
direct interests in the South Caucasus are discontented: "They must
not pile up together all conflicts of the South Caucasus. Especially
as it is OSCE that is engaged in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict." As
regards the project of construction of Kars-Akhalkalak-Tbilisi-Baku
railway corridor, V. Oskanian said that Armenia continues to be
against that project. "This is a project having no prospect and it
will have negative consequences for the atmosphere in the region and
for regional cooperation," the Minister declared. He also reported
that his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will visit Armenia in early
April.
UNLIKE TURKEY, ARMENIA DOES NOT SEEK TO LECTURE AMERICAN LAWMAKERS
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.03.2007 18:49 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with
U.S. Assistant Undersecretary of State and U.S. Minsk Group Co-Chair
Matthew Bryza, the RA Press Office reports. They discussed issues
concerning the upcoming meeting between Armenian and Azeri FMs in
Geneva on March 14 in the framework of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement process.
At the meeting with the co-chairs of the Congressional Armenian
Caucus, Minister Oskanian outlined the broad U.S.-Armenia agenda,
and ways in which Congress can play a role. During the meeting,
the Armenian Genocide issue was also discussed. In referring to the
pending Genocide reaffirmation resolution, the Minister explained,
"The Armenian government, in contrast to the leadership in Ankara,
does not seek to lecture elected American officials on this core human
rights issue. Sadly, the Turkish government continues to export its
policy of genocide denial, seeking to impose upon the U.S. and other
nations the very intolerance that inspired Section 301 and led to
the murder of journalist Hrant Dink. This should not be tolerated
by any individual or any country. The Armenian government has faith
in the American democratic process and respects the integrity of
U.S. Congressional decision-making."
RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR DOES NOT SUPPORT MILITARY SOLUTION OF NK CONFLICT
Azeri Press Agency
March 6 2007
"Rordyuja’s statement is not to be regarded as the position of Moscow,
as he is not representing Russia, but Collective Security Treaty
Organization," Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasili Istratov
said when commenting on the statement of Nikolay Bordyuja, Secretary
General of CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Bordyuja said that in case of a war in Nagorno Karabakh, Russia will
defend Armenia.
The ambassador stated that Armenia is gradually getting isolated,
and Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars project is an example of it.
"It is not right to say that there is no way but war after all these.
I do not consider military solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
is expedient," he said.
CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS VISITS BOMBAY
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 06 2007
BOMBAY, MARCH 6, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. His Holiness Karekin
II Catholicos of All Armenians left for Bombay on March 3 within the
framework of the visit paid to India. The delegation of the Indian
Orthodox Church of Malabar headed by Metropolitan of Bombay Mar
Koorilos welcame His Holiness Patriarch and the retinue accompanying
him. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Information Services of the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Catholicos of All Armenians visited the
Surb Petros (Saint Peter) Armenian church of Bombay where His Holiness
was met by three Bombay residents of the Armenian origin as well as by
Indian churchmen and Indian Orthodox believers. His Holiness Patriarch
thanked the God for the possibility to reach farther lands of India and
see the Armenian community and its centuries-old heritage. Addressing
to Indian Christians, Karekin II Catholicos persuaded to remain firm
in the Christian belief, to remain faithful to the Indian Apostolic
Surb Church of Malabar founded by Surb Tovmas Arakeal (Saint Thomas
the Apostle).
U.S. missile defense: the facts of life
14:01|02/ 03/ 2007
MOSCOW. (Yury Zaitsev for RIA Novosti)
On December 13, 2001, George W. Bush declared that the United States
would unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM)
Treaty, and a year later he ordered the deployment of an anti-missile
defense system. The reaction of top-level officials in Russia was
low-key. Some voiced "regret," and Yury Baluyevsky, then first deputy
chief of the General Staff of Russia, said that steps by the United
States to put a global anti-missile shield in place by 2010-2015, or
perhaps even 2020, "posed no threat to Russia’s security."
Indeed, the next 10 to 15 years are going to be a political rather
than a military headache for Russia. The technology to develop an
effective intercept network, especially against individually
targetable warheads, does not currently exist. The only unpleasant
note for Russia will be its greater exposure to the system’s
components, which will be located in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The trajectory of an intercontinental ballistic missile can be divided
into four phases. The first is the boost phase: from launch to engine
burnout and jettisoning at an altitude of 200 to 300 kilometers. In
the case of solid-propellant missiles, this phase may last up to three
minutes, and with liquid-propellant ones up to five. The remaining
missile bus contains nuclear warheads, a control system, vernier
engines and devices to help the missile penetrate enemy defenses,
called "penetration aids." The latter include heavy and light decoys
identical in temperature, effective scatter area and flight velocity
to live re-entry vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of chaff pieces
to confuse an enemy radar.
In the second phase, when instructed by the control system, the bus
maneuvers into the first pre-calculated position and fires a warhead
and some of the penetration aids against target No. 1. Then it moves
into the second pre-calculated position, then the third, and so on,
depending on the number of nuclear warheads carried. Each maneuver
takes 30 to 40 seconds.
The third phase is the ballistic coasting of all elements released –
real and dummy – at altitudes of up to 1,200 kilometers. This phase
lasts 15 to 20 minutes.
The final and shortest phase is less than a minute long, with "clouds"
of elements entering the atmosphere at an altitude of 110-120
kilometers and at speeds of around 7 km/sec. Air drag causes the dummy
elements to fall behind heavier combat units. Nevertheless,
identifying a warhead surrounded by a bevy of decoys is incredibly
difficult in engineering terms and is unlikely to be achieved in the
near future. So no anti-missile system will be effective unless it can
destroy missiles in the first, or boost, phase, which affords the best
conditions for pinpointing (from the infrared glow of their burning
engines) and targeting interceptors.
The destruction of missiles is made easier by their large size and
relatively low mechanical sturdiness. But interception at this phase
is possible only if a ground-based interceptor is faster than the
attacking missile and not more than 500 kilometers away, in the case
of liquid-fueled ballistic missiles, or 300 kilometers in the case of
solid-propellant missiles. The Americans themselves concede that
missiles launched from Russia’s hinterland would be impossible to
intercept, which explains their desire to move anti-missiles closer to
the Russian border.
The success of a counter-strike also depends on the sophistication of
an intelligence-gathering system, whose objective is to fix the moment
of launch, second-guess the flight path and guide an interceptor to
its target. The earlier the launch is detected, the better the chances
of a successful hit.
Well before pulling out of the 1972 ABM Treaty, the United States took
concrete steps to deploy, along the Russian border, radars capable of
spotting missile launches and sending targeting data to
interceptors. The first such radar, code-named HAVE STARE, was
stationed in Norway. If the radars scheduled to be positioned in the
Czech Republic have roughly the same characteristics as the HAVE
STARE, they will cover practically all of European Russia, which
extends as far as the Urals.
Experts from an authoritative organization, the American Physical
Society, have reached some very interesting conclusions. These are
contained in a report issued by its working group and dealing with
intercept systems for national missile defense. The authors of the
paper draw attention to the fact that a successful intercept in the
boost phase will prevent a strike against planned targets, but the
surviving warheads will fall on populated areas along the flight
trajectory and inflict a heavy death toll.
So in the event of a nuclear conflict, the first strike will hit
countries which host elements of an American missile defense
system. The experts note that the remaining submunitions will under no
circumstances fall on the territory of a launching country. Their
calculations show that if a missile is hit when traveling at a speed
of 3.9 km/sec, its warheads may travel for another 2,000 kilometers,
and at 5.5 km/sec, they will go a further 5,000 kilometers.
What counter-measures can be taken to reduce, if not neutralize, the
effectiveness of a future American missile interception system?
Shortening the boost phase is considered to be the most radical way of
countering interception. That can be achieved by converting
liquid-fueled missiles to solid-propellant ones. Future plans envision
cutting the boost phase to one minute and ending it at an altitude of
80 to 100 kilometers.
A missile’s maneuvering in the track-out phase will also make
interception more difficult. Yury Solomonov, who designed Russia’s
newest missile, the Topol-M, said that it can maneuver both in the
vertical and horizontal plane, which has been demonstrated in
tests. Another trick is to use a depressed trajectory that practically
never rises above the dense layers of the atmosphere.
On balance, while recognizing that the United States’ withdrawal from
the ABM Treaty was a mistake – one which, however, does not threaten
Russian security – it is still necessary to closely monitor
developments in the U.S. in this field and work out methods of
disabling its anti-missile systems.
Another point to bear in mind is that with cuts in strategic offensive
weapons, the role of missile defense will grow considerably because
its combat effectiveness is inversely proportional to the number of
attacking missiles and warheads. So maintaining a sufficient potential
for nuclear deterrence over the next decades is one of Russia’s key
military and political goals.
Yury Zaitsev is an expert at the Russian Academy of Engineering
Sciences.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do
not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.