Category: 2020

Ahval
By Ian J. Lynch
Sep 30 2020
President Donald Trump’s business ties in Turkey have drawn ongoing
speculation, particularly given the context of his repeated
willingness to accede to his Turkish counterpart’s policy priorities
to the bipartisan consternation of the U.S. Congress and the American
intelligence and diplomatic communities.
New reporting on Trump’s tax returns by The New York Times provides
the greatest detail yet on the scale of Trump’s financial interests in
Turkey, but important questions remain unanswered.
Central to questions surrounding the U.S. president’s potential
conflicts of interest in Turkey is a licensing deal for two Trump
towers and a shopping mall in Istanbul. Trump himself admitted in 2015
that the towers posed “a little conflict of interest”.
The tax records obtained by the NYT show that the deal has earned
Trump at least $13 million, substantially more than previously known,
including more than $1 million since becoming president. Trump had
claimed he would not pursue foreign deals while in office, but NYT
reporting shows he earned $73 million from abroad, including from
authoritarian-leaning countries.
The licensing deal for the Istanbul towers was negotiated in 2008 by
Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ on behalf of his father-in-law’s company, Doğan
Holding. Yalçındağ has since become a key conduit between the Trump
and Erdoğan administrations.
Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner all
attended the 2012 opening of Trump Towers Istanbul with Yalçındağ.
Since then, the Turkish businessman has reportedly socialised with
Trump three or four times a year. When Trump won the 2016 election, it
was Yalçındağ, who was with Trump on election night, that the Turkish
Embassy relied on to connect with the new president-elect.
On the strength of his close relationship with the Trump family,
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan soon appointed Yalçındağ as the
chairman of the Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAIK), a state-run
organisation that lobbies the United States government on Ankara’s
behalf.
TAIK has since held its annual conferences at Trump International
Hotel in Washington, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of
revenue for Trump’s business. Last year, the event also provided the
setting for the informal diplomacy that Yalçındağ facilitates between
Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, and Erdoğan’s
son-in-law and Treasury and Finance Minister, Berat Albayrak.
During the April 2019 conference, Kushner arranged an Oval Office
meeting with Trump and Albayrak, in which the latter reportedly
convinced the America president not to impose sanctions on Turkey for
its purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile systems.
After Turkey accepted delivery of the Russian military hardware in
July 2019, the U.S. removed the country from the joint F-35 stealth
fighter programme, but Trump has repeatedly blocked the imposition of
sanctions despite bipartisan demands from U.S. legislators for such
action.
The tax returns obtained by the NYT raise further questions about
consulting fees associated with the Trump Towers Istanbul deal that
initiated Yalçındağ’s relationship with the Trumps.
The records reveal that between 2010 and 2018, Trump deducted $26
million from his taxes for unexplained “consulting fees”. The NYT
speculates that, “Trump reduced his taxable income by treating a
family member as a consultant, and then deducting the fee as a cost of
doing business”.
By comparing Trump’s tax returns to his daughter Ivanka’s financial
disclosure, the NYT found that some payments that her consulting
company received exactly match the consulting fees Trump claimed as
deductions. Such an arrangement, in which Ivanka was treated as a
consultant on projects she helped manage for the Trump Organization,
would raise legal red flags.
The NYT found that in some cases involving millions of dollars in
consulting fees foreign partners reported no knowledge of any outside
consultants: “In Turkey, a person directly involved in developing two
Trump towers in Istanbul expressed bafflement when asked about
consultants on the project, telling The Times there was never any
consultant or other third party in Turkey paid by the Trump
Organization. But tax records show regular deductions for consulting
fees over seven years totalling $2 million.”
Executives involved in another hotel deal in Azerbaijan, Turkey’s
ally, told The New Yorker in 2017 that Ivanka Trump was heavily
involved in that project. A lawyer for the Trump Organization argued,
however, that the Trumps could not be connected to the suspicions of
corruption surrounding the project because Trump was “merely a
licensor” and had no substantive role in the development.
However, according to the new NYT reporting, “the tax records for
three Trump L.L.C.s involved in that project show deductions for
consulting fees totalling $1.1 million that were paid to someone”.
Trump’s tax returns alone cannot prove that Ivanka Trump is collecting
lavish consulting fees that reduce her father’s tax burden in legally
dubious ways, but they do beget the question. Still, the greater
detail the records provide regarding the millions of dollars involved
in the Trump Towers in Istanbul do reinforce the argument that money
lubricates the informal diplomacy conducted between the families of
President Trump and President Erdoğan.
 

Stockholm Center for Freedom
By SCF
Three activists, part of an online group called “Anonymous Movement”
(İsimsizler Hareketi) that produces content critical of the Turkish
government on their Twitter account, were arrested yesterday for
insulting Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to
Turkish media.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention
warrants on September 25 for the alleged members of the group who
produce Twitter content. Police raided several homes in Istanbul and
detained 19 suspects including journalist Hakan Gülseven and columnist
Temel Demirer. Şehmus Kavak, Misli Cihan Şenleten and Özgür Doğuş
Erhan were arrested, while Taylan Kulaçoğlu, the founder of the group,
was already in jail for insulting President Erdoğan.
The group was accused of producing provocative content, inciting
enmity and hatred, demeaning state officials and attempting to
overthrow the elected government. Demirer was released after
questioning. “We grow as they try even harder to oppress us. We are
right, they are wrong, and we will win this struggle.” he said.
n Turkey, criticizing the president can be subject to criminal
investigation if it is perceived as an insult. Article 299 of the
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) states that any person who insults the
president faces a prison term of up to four years. Criticizing the
government on social media platforms is also heavily sanctioned in
Turkey, sometimes triggering a counterterrorism investigation.
The sentence can be increased by a sixth if it has national exposure,
and by a third if committed by the press or media.
Since Erdoğan assumed office in 2014, thousands of people have
received prison sentences for insulting him — 2,046 in 2018 and 3,831
in 2019 alone. In total 9,554 people have been handed down sentences,
most of which have been suspended, for insulting the president.
In a 2016 opinion, the Venice Commission had noted with concern the
large number of investigations, prosecutions or convictions reported
by the press for insulting the president. It had recalled that the
European Commission in its 2015 report on Turkey underlined that
“there is a widened practice of court cases for alleged insult against
the President being launched against journalists, writers, social
media users and other members of the public, which may end in prison
sentences, suspended sentences or punitive fines.” According to the
same report, this intimidating climate has led to increased
self-censorship.
According to the Venice Commission, the use of offensive, shocking or
disturbing words especially within the context of a debate on matters
of public interest are guaranteed by freedom of expression.
Expressions that may be perceived in the abstract as denigrating, such
as “thief” (in relation to a corruption probe) or “murderer” (in
relation to demonstrators who lost their lives during the Gezi
protests), “dictator” and the like must be evaluated in their public
debate context.
According to human rights lawyer Kerem Altıparmak, more than 100,000
Turkish citizens have been investigated for insulting President
Erdoğan and in excess of 30,000 court cases were opened. Altıparmak
says Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code on insulting the Turkish
president runs against the provisions of the European Convention on
Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party, and should be annulled. The
offense of insulting the head of state has been decriminalized in
several European countries, and although it is still part of the penal
code of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, there have
been no recent convictions.
 

                                        Wednesday, 
Russia In Fresh Crisis Talks With Armenia, Azerbaijan
NAGORN-KARABAKH -- A serviceman of Karabakh's Defence Army fires an artillery 
piece towards Azeri positions, September 28, 2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again spoke with his Armenian and 
Azerbaijani counterparts by phone on Wednesday as Moscow kept pressing for a 
halt to fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh that raged for a fourth day.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that during his separate phone calls with 
Armenia’s Zohrab Mnatsakanian and Azerbaijan’s Jeyhun Bayramov, Lavrov urged the 
two sides to immediately cease fire and resume negotiations as soon as possible. 
He also reaffirmed his readiness to host a trilateral meeting of the ministers 
in Moscow.
Lavrov already called Mnatsakanian and Bayramov hours after the outbreak on 
Sunday of the worst hostilities in the Karabakh conflict zone since 1994.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, meanwhile, that Baku will halt the 
hostilities involving tens of thousands of troops and many tanks and artillery 
systems if Armenia agrees to “unconditionally, fully and immediately leave our 
lands.”
“This condition remains in force, and if Armenia’s government fulfills it the 
hostilities will stop … and peace will come to our region,” Aliyev said during a 
visit to a military hospital in Baku.
AZERBAIJAN -- Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban visit the 
Central Military Clinical Hospital of the Defense Ministry to meet with Azeri 
service members, who were wounded during clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian said on Tuesday that Baku has failed to achieve its military 
objectives in Karabakh. “I hope this will make Azerbaijan realize that there is 
no military solution to this conflict,” he told a Russian TV channel.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mnatsakanian discussed with Lavrov 
“Turkey’s direct military-political involvement” in the continuing fighting 
along the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact” in Karabakh.
Mnatsakanian also reiterated Armenian concerns about the reported deployment in 
Azerbaijan of Turkish-backed mercenaries from Syria. The Azerbaijani army denies 
the presence of such fighters within its ranks.
ARMENIA -- An ethnic Armenian soldier, who was wounded in fighting with Azeri 
forces over Nagorno-Karabakh, is carried on a stretcher after being transported 
by a helicopter to Erebouni Medical Center in Yerevan, .
The Armenian military claimed throughout the day that F-16 fighter jets and 
combat drones of the Turkish Air Force joined Azerbaijani warplanes in striking 
civilian and military targets across Karabakh. Karabakh officials said three 
civilian residents of the northern Karabakh town of Martakert were killed in one 
of those air strikes.
Both Ankara and Baku deny any Turkish involvement in the Azerbaijani military 
operations. Aliyev on Wednesday thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 
for his “resolute and brotherly stance” and “tough statements” in support of 
Azerbaijan.
Commenting on the Turkish role in the escalation of the Karabakh conflict, 
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian military officials are “very 
closely monitoring developments” and “meticulously analyzing all information” 
coming from on the frontlines.
“We disagree with them [the Turks,]” Russian news agencies quoted Peskov as 
saying. “As I said yesterday, one must not add fuel to the fire.”
NAGORNO KARABAKH -- A still image released 29 September by the Armenian Defense 
Ministry shows an explosion during military clashes along the Line of Contact 
around Karabakh.
The United States, France and other Western powers have also been trying to stop 
the Karabakh war.
U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien phoned Erdogan’s top aide, Ibrahim 
Kalin, as part of those efforts. The White House told RFE/RL that O’Brien 
stressed the importance of restoring the ceasefire regime in Karabakh and 
restarting Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations mediated by the U.S., Russia and 
France.
According to Erdogan’s office, Kalin made clear that Ankara will continue to 
strongly support Azerbaijan and press Armenia to “pull its troops out of the 
occupied territories.”
“There is no military solution to this dispute,” O’Brien tweeted on Monday. 
“This violence must stop now, before more lives are unnecessarily lost.”
Iran Wants ‘Urgent End’ To Violence In Karabakh
IRAN -- Iranian President Hassan Rohani delivers his United Nations General 
Assembly speech online from the capital Tehran, September 22, 2020
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani added his voice to international calls for an 
end to the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and spoke out against “any foreign 
intervention in this matter” during a phone conversation with Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday.
Rouhani was quoted by his office as telling Pashinian that the region “cannot 
withstand instability and a new war."
"It is important for us to stop this conflict and we expect the two countries to 
take a step in this direction with tact and restraint," he said, referring to 
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Rouhani said Iran has friendly relations with both South Caucasus nations and 
stands ready to play “any constructive role” in easing tensions between them. 
"We wish an urgent end to the conflict and we should all seek to resolve issues 
in the region through politics and international norms," he added.
The Iranian president was also reported to say: “Any foreign intervention in 
this matter will not only not help resolve the problem but also prolong … the 
situation and make it more complicated.”
It was not clear if he referred to Turkey’s vehement support for Azerbaijan 
which has led Armenia to accuse Ankara of participating in the continuing 
fighting on Azerbaijan’s side.
The official Armenian readout of the phone call said Pashinian discussed the 
“direct Turkish involvement” with Rouhani. “Prime Minister Pashinian presented 
some details of that,” it said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called his Armenian and 
Azerbaijani counterparts following the outbreak on Sunday of the large-scale 
hostilities along the Karabakh “line of contact” adjacent to Iran. Zarif 
reportedly urged both sides to restore the ceasefire regime and resume peace 
talks.
France’s Macron Deplores Turkey’s ‘Dangerous’ Rhetoric On Karabakh
LITHUANIA -- French President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech as he is granted an 
honorary doctorate of the University in Vilnius, 
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized on Wednesday Turkey’s “warlike” 
statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that they are encouraging 
Azerbaijan to continue hostilities in the conflict zone.
“I have noted Turkey’s political declarations [in favor of Azerbaijan] which I 
think are inconsiderate and dangerous,” Macron told a news conference in Latvia.
“France remains extremely concerned by the warlike messages Turkey had in the 
last hours, which essentially remove any of Azerbaijan’s inhibitions in 
reconquering Nagorno-Karabakh. And that we won’t accept,” he said, according to 
the Reuters news agency.
Macron also said he will discuss the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin 
on Wednesday evening and with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday. The 
French leader spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and 
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev by phone earlier this week.
Ankara rejected the criticism and accused France of siding with Armenia in the 
Karabakh conflict. “France’s solidarity with Armenia is tantamount to supporting 
Armenian occupation in Azerbaijan,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu 
was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying.
Turkey -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Azerbaijan's Foreign 
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (L) and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov in Ankara, 
August 11, 2020.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip has blamed Armenia for the latest escalation and 
voiced strong support for Azerbaijan’s military operations in Karabakh. 
Successive Turkish governments have unconditionally backed Azerbaijan throughout 
the conflict.
Macron also said that Paris has no proof at this stage of direct Turkish 
involvement in the large-scale fighting along the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of 
contact” around Karabakh which broke out on Sunday.
Armenia accuses the Turks of participating in the continuing hostilities on the 
Azerbaijani side with fighter jets, combat drones, military instructors and even 
pro-Turkish Islamist fighters recruited in Syria. It says that the Turkish 
involvement is destabilizing the entire region.
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Servicemen of Karabakh's Defence Army wave while riding in 
the back of a truck on the way to the town of Martakert, .
The Armenian Foreign Ministry insisted on Wednesday that one of the Turkish F-16 
jets shot down an Armenian warplane in Armenia’s airspace on Tuesday. It said 
that this and other Turkish warplanes deployed in Azerbaijan in early August 
“have been providing air support” to Azerbaijani army units fighting in Karabakh.
“We strongly condemn Turkey’s provocative actions and demand the immediate 
withdrawal of the Turkish armed forces, including the air force, from the 
conflict zone,” the ministry added in a statement.
Ankara denies downing the Armenian Su-25 aircraft. The Azerbaijani Defense 
Ministry has also dismissed the Armenian claims.
The Armenian Defense Ministry expressed on Wednesday readiness to provide the 
international community with evidence in support of the claims.
UN Security Council Urges Halt To Karabakh Fighting
        • Heghine Buniatian
The United Nations Security Council meets at United Nations Headquarters in 
Manhattan, New York, U.S., February 28, 2020.
The United Nations Security Council called late on Tuesday for an immediate end 
to hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and unconditional resumption of 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.
The council said after a closed-door session in New York that its 15 member 
states “strongly condemn the use of force and regret the loss of life and the 
toll on the civilian population.”
“Security Council members voiced support for the call by the [UN] Secretary 
General on the sides to immediately stop fighting, de-escalate tensions and 
return to meaningful negotiations without delay,” it said in a statement.
“Security Council members expressed their full support for the central role of 
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and urge the sides to work closely with them for 
an urgent resumption of dialogue without preconditions,” added the statement.
The Minsk Group is co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, three of 
the council’s five permanent members. The mediating powers have also expressed 
concern about the dramatic escalation of the Karabakh conflict in separate 
statements made in recent days.
The Security Council meeting was reportedly initiated by Estonia. Armenia’s and 
Azerbaijan’s ambassadors to the UN did not attend it. The council had not 
discussed the Karabakh dispute since 1993.
Yerevan and Baku blame each other for the outbreak early on Sunday of 
large-scale fighting along the “line of contact” around Karabakh which has left 
dozens and possibly hundreds of soldiers dead.
In separate interviews with a Russian TV channel aired earlier on Tuesday, 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
also accused each other of obstructing peace process.
“The Armenian prime minister publicly declares that Karabakh is [part of] 
Armenia, period. In this case, what kind of negotiating process can we talk 
about?” Aliyev said.
Pashinian stated, for his part, that the Azerbaijani offensive in Karabakh has 
failed. “Azerbaijan’s armed forces … have failed to achieve their objective,” he 
said. “I hope this will make Azerbaijan realize that there is no military 
solution to this conflict.”
The hostilities continued on the night from Tuesday and Wednesday and in the 
following hours. Both sides reported heavy artillery fire at northern sections 
of the “line of contact.”
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in the morning that Armenian forces are 
shelling the Goranboy district just north of Karabakh. Karabakh’s 
Armenian-backed army said, meanwhile, that Azerbaijani warplanes and drones are 
firing rockets at its frontline positions in the mountainous area.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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