Category: 2017

LETA, Latvia
December 15, 2017 Friday
Armenian parliament's vice-speaker invites Latvian MPs to visit his country
RIGA, Dec 15 (LETA) - It is important to strengthen parliamentary
cooperation between Latvia and Armenia, Latvian parliament
vice-speaker Inese Libina-Egnere (Unity) told the Vice President of
the National Assembly of Armenia, Eduard Sharmazanov, during the
meeting in Riga.
Sharmazanov thanked the Latvian representatives for strengthening
parliamentary relations and invited the Latvian lawmakers to visit
Armenia, the Latvian parliament's press service said.
This year Latvia and Armenia mark 25 years since establishment of
diplomatic relations, therefore this is a good time to intensify
parliamentary cooperation, Libina-Egnere said.
The vice-speakers of both parliaments discussed the role of
parliamentary contacts in promoting closer cooperation also in other
areas.
Latvian lawmakers welcomed signing of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and
Enhanced Partnership Agreement on November 24. Sharmazanov said the
agreement demonstrated Armenia's commitment to democracy and human
rights and the institutional reforms it had implemented.
Internal political developments in Latvia and Armenia as well as
regional developments were also discussed during the meeting.
The Armenian delegation also met with the members of the Latvian
parliamentary committee on European affairs and the group of Latvian
lawmakers for parliamentary cooperation with Armenia.

Interfax - Russia & CIS Military Newswire
December 15, 2017 Friday 1:53 PM MSK
Yerevan confirms intention to annul protocols on normalizing relations
with Turkey
YEREVAN. Dec 15
Armenia's intention to annul Armenian-Turkish protocols on the
normalization of bilateral relations remains unchanged, Armenian
Foreign Ministry press secretary Tigran Balayan said.
"Our position was last voiced by the Armenian foreign minister in
Athens. And it remains unchanged," Balayan told Interfax on Thursday.
"As for other issues, including Karabakh, Turkey has no business
[there], and it had better stay out," he said.
In his speech given at the Greek Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, the
Armenian foreign minister said that Yerevan would annul the
Armenian-Turkish protocols by spring 2018.
The process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations began on the
Armenian president's initiative in fall 2008, he said. As a result,
protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and on the
development of relations to be ratified by the two countries'
parliaments were signed by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey
in Zurich in October 2009.
"To this day, these documents have not been ratified, because Turkey
has set groundless preconditions that contradict the letter and spirit
of the protocols. The president of Armenia said in September that
Armenia would declare the protocols invalid because there is no
positive headway on their implementation, and we will greet spring
2018 without these protocols," Nalbandian said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement earlier on Thursday
saying that Ankara remains committed to the protocols and is ready to
ratify them if there is a favorable political atmosphere and peace in
Southern Caucasus.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in the UN General Assembly
session in New York in September that Yerevan was ready to annul the
Armenian-Turkish protocols.

Interfax - Russia & CIS General Newswire
December 15, 2017 Friday 1:07 PM MSK
Armenia, Azerbaijan not discussing Karabakh settlement details - Sargsyan
YEREVAN. Dec 15
Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been discussing the technicalities of
the Karabakh settlement process at their meetings over the past two
years, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview on the
television channel Armenia on Thursday.
"The negotiations do not address practical issues, but this is only
natural, considering the events of the past two years. It is necessary
to de-escalate tension and create investigative mechanisms before
looking at the documents' intricacies," Sargsyan said.
It is impossible "to negotiate on the one hand, while shooting, on the
other," he said.
"There should be no shooting during talks, as such events make
consensus impossible. Gunfire is always a hindrance," Sargsyan said.
The contact line should be quiet, Sargsyan said. "There should be no
casualties. The ongoing hunt for people should stop. That will create
a certain atmosphere and build trust," he said.
He added that no Azerbaijani acts of sabotage are allowed to happen on
the contact line.
"Armenia has put in place special programs which rule out sabotage and
other hostile activity on the contact line. Special equipment does not
allow acts of sabotage to happen. Azerbaijan made several attempts at
sabotaging but suffered heavy casualties and failed. I'd rather not go
into detail, but I assure you that we have concrete programs, which
will rule out other kinds of hostile activity," Sargsyan said.
As to whether Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had proposed
anything new for the Karabakh settlement process during his recent
visit to the region, Sargsyan said, "The Armenian-Russian agenda is so
packed that we go beyond the Karabakh problem during visits of
high-ranking officials."
"Lavrov said all he had to say about Karabakh at his press conference.
He is sure that the OSCE Minsk Group can resolve the conflict; this
opportunity is provided by the principles proposed," he said.

Interfax - Russia & CIS Military Newswire
December 15, 2017 Friday 10:07 AM MSK
U.S. embassy working with Armenian law enforcement on case of terror
attack plotted in country
YEREVAN. Dec 15
The U.S. Embassy in Armenia is cooperating with Armenian law
enforcement agencies in the inquiry into the case of a terror attack
plotted by a U.S. citizen of Armenian descent in the country.
The U.S. embassy is working with Armenian law enforcers in connection
with this case, the diplomatic mission told Interfax. It is currently
unable to provide additional information in the interest of the
investigation, it said.
The Armenian National Security Service said earlier that it had
declared a U.S. citizen of Armenian descent wanted on suspicion of
preparations for terrorist attacks in the country.
In particular, it established that the U.S. citizen, who is an ethnic
Armenian, identified by the initials R.K., created a fake account
under the name Martin Avagyan on Facebook and published materials on
the founding of a group dubbed 'Fighters for Justice', on the tactics
of its activities, the disciplinary rules of its members, security and
confidentiality in September 2017.
"Calls to commit violence against representatives of Armenian law
enforcement agencies and officials, carry out explosions and acts of
arson thus creating an atmosphere of general fear were also
disseminated via the aforementioned account. R.K. pursued the
objective of destabilizing the situation in Armenia, intimidating the
population of the country, creating an atmosphere of fear, illegally
pressuring the state authorities," the National Security Service said.
"By means of recruiting people to commit acts of arson, explosions,
and other socially dangerous acts aimed at cause death or serious
bodily harm to law enforcement officers and other officials and create
an actual threat of the aforementioned consequences, the U.S. citizen
attempted to set up a criminal network, involving ethnic Armenians
living both in Armenia and outside the country," it said.
"Additionally, according to obtained evidence, the U.S. citizens
plotted terror attacks in Armenia via accomplices and by means of
advice, orders and provided funds. It was decided to bring charges
against the aforementioned person for an attempt to create a criminal
network and plot a terror attack. The court ruled to impose a
restrictive measure in the form of placement into custody on the
defendant, and he has been put on wanted lists," it said.
The relevant U.S. authority forwarded information on the suspect's
place of residence to the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office in
order to prevent the plotted crimes, while measures to identify and
detect his accomplices in Armenia are currently underway.

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Turkish Government News
December 15, 2017 Friday
Turkish lawmaker calls German media reports 'FETO plot'
Ankara: The Turkish Government has issued the following press release:
A ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy on Friday described
accusations by a German news channel against him as a "plot by
Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)", the group behind last year's
defeated coup in Turkey. The remark by Metin Kulunk, AK Party's deputy
for Istanbul, came after a program on ZDF claimed the politician had
provided money to a boxing gang in Germany to go after critics of
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Osmanen Germania gang was also allegedly instructed to organize
protests against last year's so-called Armenian genocide resolution
passed by the German parliament, according to the report broadcast on
the channel. Kulunk said in a meeting: "None of the activities or
visits I made in my personal capacity or on behalf of the AK Party are
illegal. On the contrary transparency has always been a priority." He
said the accusations to defame Erdogan are typical to FETO.
"On one hand the German authorities allow the bloody PKK terror group
and its supporters the freedom to blackmail, kidnap, organize protests
and harass the Turkish society [in Germany], and on the other it
defames Turkey through fictional accusations," he said. He called the
accusations an aim to subject Turks in Europe "to a cultural
genocide". 'Germany should use common sense' He asked the German
authorities to exercise "common sense" so that its judiciary and media
does not become "a toy in the hands of PKK and FETO". Separately, in
an interview with Anadolu Agency, Kulunk called on Germany to maintain
positive relations with Turkey and end its cooperation with terror
groups.
“Germany cannot establish strong connections with Turkey by embracing
terrorist organizations like PKK, FETO, DHKP-C. They will strengthen
by respecting the independence of the Republic of Turkey and acting
upon the 250-years of friendly history,” he added. More than 1,200
people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost
their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by
Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in
July 2015.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the July
15, 2016 coup attempt which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200
injured. Regarding the evidences obtained by the German media, Kulunk
said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was illegally
wiretapped by Germany. He also said the allegations are “directly
targeting Turkey like in the [Riza] Sarraf case” and affirmed they
will seek their legal rights in Germany.
Sarraf last month accepted all the U.S. charges against him and agreed
to cooperate as a witness against Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the former
deputy CEO of Turkey’s state-run lender Halkbank. Sarraf was detained
last year in New York on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against
Iran, while Atilla was arrested in the U.S. earlier this year on
similar charges.