INTERNATIONAL TRADE BANK ARMENIA TO ENTER MORTGAGE CREDITING MARKET SOON
Arka News Agency, Armenia
Oct 24 2006
YEREVAN, October 24. /ARKA/. ITB – International Trade Bank (Armenia)
will enter the mortgage crediting market soon. The ITB press service
reported that the bank has already become one of the participants of
the KfW credit program “Development of Stable Market of Housing Loan”.
Executive Director of the ITB Ara Kitabalyan reported that the KfW
program will become an important incentive for new qualitative
rise of this segment of the financial market in the country,
and encourage local banks to the next improvement of the terms on
crediting for clients, reduction of interest rates and extension of
payment deadlines.
“Implementation of this program will raise the quality level and
culture of the very process of provision of crediting. The technology
of crediting provision will be considerably improved that is very
important for further development of this segment of the market,”
Kitabalyan said.
Under this program, the bank will give opportunity to the middle
class of Armenia to take the opportunity of housing loan.
Besides this, the ITB intends to provide mortgage loans from the owned
funds, and also it is planned that it will participate in various
international programs. The bank has elaborated its own program on
mortgage lending and will announce it’s entering this markret.
The bank will provide mortgage loans for no less than 10 years. At
the initial stage, the loan will not exceed AMD 12mln. The start of
the program implementation has been scheduled for November-December
2006. The refinancing will be carried out in the mid of February 2007.
International Trade Bank (Armenia) was created on the basis of
“Bank-Menatep-Armenia” in 1992 as the Yerevan branch of the Russian
bank Menatep. In April 2000, the bank’s share were purchased by
foreign companies, later joined in the Makarios (MG) Holdings GMBH,
and bank itself was renamed to ITB – International Trade Bank. In 2005,
the bank’s 99.91% shares were purchased by Makarios (MG) Holdings GMBH.
ITB’s total assets made up AMD 5.1bln as of 30 June, 2006, the credit
portfolio totaled AMD 2.98bln. The bank currently operates four
branches The Makarious Group Holdings GMBH joins about 60 companies
that are registered in Austria, Great Britain, Ireland, Switzerland,
Cyprus, and in a number of CIS countries. The group consists of banks,
leasing, investment and consulting organizations, the activity of
which is aim at implementing large-scale investment programs in the
spheres of construction, metal mining, timber, woodworking and textile
industries, and also trade and high technologies.
The economic interests of the Makarios group are not limited in Armenia
only by the banking sphere. The group has made large investments for
$22.5mln in the program of construction of the Northern Avenue of
Yerevan. ($1 – AMD 382.47).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY-EUROPE: THE WIDENING GAP
Prepared by: Carin Zissis
Council on Foreign Relations, New York
Oct 24 2006
A supporter of the True Path Party marches under a giant Turkish flag
during an anti-France protest. (AP/Murad Sezer)
The possibility of Turkish EU accession appears increasingly
uncertain. In recent weeks, European leaders have voiced unease over
Ankara’s membership bid, citing concerns over Turkey’s infringement
on freedom of expression and its embargo on Cypriot ships and planes
(AP), the latter a manifestation of a long-standing dispute over
division of the Aegean Sea with Greece. Some EU members, including
France and Germany, have suggested Turkey seek “privileged partnership”
rather than full membership. Olli Rehn, commissioner of EU enlargement,
opposed this idea, but warned the Turkish accession process that began
in October 2005 has been slowed by Ankara’s failure to repeal Article
301, which gives the government free reign to arrest journalists
and activists for disparaging Turkey. In an interview with the BBC,
EU President Jose Manuel Barroso said it could take twenty years for
Turkey to become a member nation.
Recent events have done little to ease growing EU-Turkey tensions
and Europe seems hesitant to absorb the overwhelmingly Muslim nation
of more than 70 million people. France’s parliament recently angered
Ankara when it decided to make criminal the denial of mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. The law was condemned by Turkish
author Orhan Pamuk (Reuters), who was previously indicted under Article
301 for raising the issue of the genocide and who received the Nobel
Prize for Literature the same day the French rule passed. Europe-Turkey
relations also took a hit last month when Pope Benedict XVI’s comments
about Mohammed sparked widespread Muslim protests and temporarily
put the pope’s November visit to Turkey in doubt.
Experts say such obstacles to Turkey’s EU membership could lead
to missed opportunities for making inroads in Christian-Muslim
relations. Denis MacShane, Britain’s former Europe minister, writes
in the Financial Times that the Armenian genocide had little to do
with modern Turkey and warns against Europe’s increasingly demeaning
attitude toward Ankara. He asks, “How much longer will this secular,
democratic, Muslim country look westwards to a European future,
instead of turning east?” Sedat Laciner, director of Ankara-based
think tank International Strategic Research Organization, criticizes
“unsuccessful politicians” in Europe for condemning his country, and
argues that EU accession would help “erode the unilateral policies”
of the United States and Israel in the Middle East by drawing Europe
closer to the region.
The problems in Europe coincide with a breakdown in U.S.-Turkey
relations, despite Washington’s support for the country’s EU
membership. This Council Special Report from June describes the
“fractured alliance” and says that although Washington and Ankara
agree that an Iraq splintered into three independent states is not in
either country’s interests, Turkey is frustrated by the U.S. handling
of the Iraqi war. Tensions also exist over America’s failure to
support the Turkish fight against the separatist Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK). In an August interview, CFR Fellow Steven A. Cook said
the United States is unwilling to go after PKK cells in northern
Iraq because “it would be foolhardy from a military perspective…to
go after the PKK and destabilize the one region where people really
aren’t shooting at Americans.” Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise
Institute says the United States is too soft on Turkey’s government
(WSJ) and U.S. diplomats should stop delivering “PC platitudes” that
fail to address the “anti-secular agenda” of Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party.

SAIPANPRENEURS OF THE WEEK: VICTOR AND LINDA BALIAN
By Walt F.J. Goodridge
Saipan Tribune, Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia in S. Pacific)
Oct 24 2006
The Saipanpreneur Project: Creating economic success for the CNMI
The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of
living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique
product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in
exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula
applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy
has its own products or services of value to export to the world.
Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to
exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on
your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!
In last week’s column, I made the suggestion that Saipan (and of
course, the entire CNMI) could achieve a brand identity as a place
of health, healthy lifestyle and/or eating. As a result, I received
quite a few suggestions to meet and get to know a special couple who
already seem to be leading the movement to achieve just that.
Meet Victor and Linda Balian, owners of the Golden Lobster Restaurant,
located on the Chalan Lau Lau end of Middle road opposite the NMPASI
building, a few yards down from TicToc. Syrian-born Victor, and his
wife Linda, originally from Iraq, are now proud U.S. citizens who
took over the Golden Lobster in May of this year.
(They’ll be changing the name of the restaurant very soon to the
Magic Lamp to reflect its new Mediterranean menu.)
So, how and when did the two of you meet?
Victor: “My sister is good friends with Linda. She introduced us
back in 1986. I think we met in a hospital for about 10 seconds. But
she was married to the “other guy,” [Linda smiles] so we were just
acquaintances. We didn’t get to know each other better until after
Linda divorced. So I’d say we really met and started getting serious
in 1995.
How did you end up on Saipan?
Victor: It was business initially. In 1996, I was made a great job
offer by a major construction company. So we’ve been here for 10
years now.
You mentioned you’re Armenian, born in Syria. Would you explain
that please?
Victor: “Armenian is an ethnicity I’m very proud of. It’s just like
here someone might be of Chamorro or Carolinian blood, but born on
Saipan, I’m of Armenian blood, born in Syria.
Why a restaurant? Is that a mutual passion?
Victor: My wife is a very good cook. It’s her passion to cook.
Linda: A few months ago, we were sitting home. We had both lost our
jobs, and were deciding what we were going to do next. Should we leave
the island? Should we stay? We love Saipan, so we decided to stay.”
Now even though you serve a wide range of meals including chicken and
beef, yours is the first I’ve seen with such an extensive vegetarian
menu. Why is that?
Victor: My wife has been vegetarian for six years now. Since we’ve
been here on Saipan, it’s been a little difficult to find restaurants
that really understand what that means. I remember once we were in a
restaurant and ordered vegetable soup. When the soup came, we saw it
had shrimp in it. Linda is also allergic to seafood. So we told the
waitress that we ordered a vegetable soup and showed her the shrimp.
She took it back to the kitchen. A few seconds later, she came back,
put the soup on the table, and we noticed that the shrimp was still in
the soup. She said, “Chef says, ‘don’t worry, no charge for shrimp!'”
So what makes YOUR restaurant special?
Linda: What we serve in here is very unique. You cannot find it
anywhere on the island, and nowhere in the Pacific for that matter.
Nobody has what we have here. We’re representing Mediterranean food,
from our countries, so we go to special lengths to make our food
taste just right.
Victor: See those 50lb bags of there? That’s bulgur wheat. I import
it myself. It’s a regular part of people’s diet where I come from.
Linda: Bulgur wheat is very low in carbohydrates. No starch, so it’s
great for people who are diabetic. It comes in different sizes, so you
can use it for many types of dishes, including as a rice substitute.
Victor: We get exotic Mediterranean spices for our dishes, many that
you can’t find anywhere even in the states. And my wife mixes her
own spices.
Linda: There’s no MSG in our food either.
Victor: My wife makes a homemade chocolate yogurt that kids really
like; kids really like the chocolate, and there’s no sugar in it,
and it’s healthy. We also make homemade pickles.
Linda: And if there’s any cheese or butter in any of the dishes,
I make sure the saturated fat is less than 3 percent.
Speaking of saturated fat, you mentioned something very impressive
about that when we spoke earlier. Could you share that with our
readers?
Linda: Well, I brought my cholesterol level down myself without any
medication. It was 260; now it’s 190.just by eating pretty much what
we serve here.
Victor: My wife also has a diploma in Fitness and Nutrition, AND
she’s a Herbalife distributor, so if anyone needs it, she can put
them on a diet and help them make money at the same time! [Laughs]
Anything else?
Linda: Let’s see..Our pita bread is home-made. I mix my own baking
powder.
Victor: And we make our own ketchup! With low sugar!
Now Victor, you’re not vegetarian. How do manage at home?
Victor: Well it’s just like on our menu, there’s food for the
vegetarian and food for the meat eaters. We’re not out to change
anyone, but just want to give people different choices every now and
then that they might find tasty.
Linda: Being vegetarian is just my personal choice. We started
raising animals here on Saipan. And as I got closer to the animals,
I just couldn’t chew on them anymore! Everytime I think about it,
I hear our goat crying in my mind.
Victor: My wife asks me ‘how can you eat that? Don’t you remember
Bambi? Don’t you hear the goat crying?’ I say, ‘yes, I’m crying too,
but I’m hungry!’
And just in case people think a healthy diet isn’t just as delicious
as what they eat now, tell us some of the feedback you’ve gotten.
Victor: We had a group come in the other day, and when they had our
Shawarma [Mediterranean dish popular throughout Asia.], they said
they never tasted Shawarma like ours!
Most of our clients who are doctors from CHC and other places are
regular customers.
Linda: People taste our hummus, and say, ‘We never ate humus like
this.’ That makes me happy, because I give the dish as much as it
takes to be perfect. If I cut back on the lemon, or on the tahini,
it won’t taste the same.
[On their way out, two diners from NMC complimented Victor on the
food. Just then, another customer, Jack Stokes of the TSA, came in
and greeted us. I decided to find out for myself what people liked
about the Golden Lobster. I asked Mr. Stokes:] Why do you come here?
Jack: “I love the Shawarma! It’s different, tastier.. the lunch
specials are reasonable, I like the atmosphere, and the customer
service is fantastic.”
And I understand you do all the cooking yourself, Linda? Wow, talk
about passion!
Linda: I’ll give the food as much as it takes. There is a big
difference in the food whether you spend 10 minutes or two hours
preparing like I do. There’s a difference whether you use canned
vegetables or fresh like we do, soy sauce or real spices like we do.
I only use virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in our salads. If
it is expensive, it doesn’t matter. The quality of the food is what
comes first in my list. This is how I am. If it takes expensive,
exotic spices, that’s what I use. What I’m sharing is a traditional
and cultural way to cook. I cannot just make shortcuts.
[During the interview, Linda got up a few times to go the kitchen.] I
notice how involved you are in the cooking. Are you training anyone
to take over for you?
Linda: In my country, we say, “It’s the hand.” The unique way the
food tastes is in the cook’s “hands”; it’s the spirit of the cook
that you taste. It’s a talent, passed from one person to another. I
got it from my mother, and she got it from her mother. When I cook,
I don’t even have measurements, my measuring cup is my hand. And I
don’t even taste the food. I know how it tastes just from the smell.
So I cannot train someone. I’m not trying to be selfish, but it’s
just that the quality of the food will suffer, because they have
different hands.
[While I was there, a couple walked in, sat down, looked at the menu,
but left shortly afterwards. I asked Victor about it.] Why did that
couple leave?
Victor: She [Angel, the waitress on duty] told me they wanted a certain
pork dish. We don’t serve pork. Not because of religious reasons,
but because it’s not healthy. That’s been proven.
Linda: I come from a different corner. I cannot change my quality
or serve certain dishes just to get more customers. I can prepare
a dish of humus much cheaper but I would rather close. These are my
principles in the kitchen, and I cannot change it.
Follow your passion and stick to your principles. That seems like
great advice for everyone. Victor, any advice for other entrepreneurs?
Victor: Pay attention to every detail in your business. You may need
to alter your expenditures in hard times, but be patient for better
times to come!
Experience Linda’s Mediterranean cooking passion every day from 8am
to 2pm, and from 6pm to 10pm. (Lunch specials start at 11am). Contact
Victor and Linda at the Golden Lobster (soon to be Magic Lamp) at
670 234-765. Visit for more information.
* * *
Until next week, remember, success is a journey, not a
destination!–Walt
(Walt F.J. Goodridge is author of 12 books including Turn Your Passion
Into Profit. Walt offers coaching and workshops to help people pursue
and profit from their passions. Originally from the island of Jamaica,
Walt has grown several successful businesses in the US, and now
makes his home here in Saipan. To learn more about the Saipanpreneur
Project and Walt’s philosophy and formula visit
and Send article suggestions, entrepreneur
nominations and feedback about this article to [email protected].) .com/newsstory.aspx?cat=3&newsID=62362

RUSSIA’S PUTIN PLEDGES TO ATTRACT 300,000 BACK TO RUSSIA BY 2010
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 24, 2006 Tuesday 4:28 PM EST
DPA x Russia Society Russia’s Putin pledges to attract 300,000 back
to Russia by 2010 Moscow Amid an unprecedented demographic crisis,
Russia proposed Tuesday to repatriate 300,000 Russians living abroad
as President Vladimir Putin vowed to make it easier for all foreigners
to live and work in the notoriously immigrant-unfriendly country.
Putin, speaking Tuesday at the opening ceremonies of the so-called
Congress of Compatriots in St. Petersburg, promised measures to
increase immigration, to be introduced January 15.
His comments followed a pledge by Federal Migration Service head
Konstantin Romodanovsky to spend nearly 200 million dollars to lure
50,000 native Russians to the country in 2007. The following years
would respectively see 100,000 and 150,000 return.
To attract people back to Russia, Romodanovsky told government-
controlled newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday, the service would
try to concentrate immigration in 12 of Russia’s 89 regions and open
a number of offices in countries including Germany.
The migration service’s five existing representative offices,
in contrast, are all in former Soviet countries: Armenia, Latvia,
Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan and Turmenistan.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russians have immigrated in droves
to the West. An estimated 200,000 Russian natives live in Germany.
Many of the regions designated special resettlement zones are in
Siberia, and others like the Tver region, north-west of Moscow, are
suffering from rampant depopulation. None of the 21 ethnic republics –
inhabited by non-Russian indigenous groups – was on the list.
Russia’s population has fallen to 142 million from 149 million in
the last 14 years. Losing 700,000 people per year, the UN says Russia
could be home to a mere 80 to 100 million by 2050.
Siberia and the Far East have always been among Russia’s least-
populated areas, and many here fear China will overflow into Siberia,
overwhelming the Russian population. The ethnic republics, on the
other hand, have seen positive growth in recent years.
Putin noted that to sustain an economy Russia needed to see immigration
numbers jump, no matter the ethnicity of the newcomers.
“In the modern world, a country’s economy, not its military, determines
its power and potential for development,” the Russian leader said.
“Leading Russian companies will have to draw qualified workers without
regard to their ethnicity.”
But with a surge in racially-motivated violence in recent years,
Putin’s hopes conflict with present realities. This year alone has
seen over 20 hate killings, and a St. Petersburg court last week
acquitted 17 in the 2004 murder of a Vietnamese student.
The Russian president, however, promised to simplify legalization
procedures and improve social benefits for all immigrants in Russia,
beginning January 15.
The speech came the same day figures showed that 5,000 Georgian
immigrants had been deported back to the Caucasus nation this year.
Putin also said the government would step up its efforts to protect
the Russian language and its speakers across the former Soviet Union.
On Tuesday, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered his country’s
parliament to consider switching from the Cyrillic alphabet, which
is used in Russia, to Latin letters.
“I think we have to return to the question of moving to the Latin
alphabet,” Nazarbayev said, Interfax reported.
But Nazarbayev, one of Putin’s closest allies, also said students
should be taught three languages in Kazakh schools: Kazakh, English
and Russian.

TURKISH MPS ANNOUNCE ‘SHAME LIST’
By Cihan News Agency
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 24 2006
On Thursday, the Turkish parliament took a new step in condemnation
of the French parliament’s acceptance of a bill criminalizing any
denial of an Armenian genocide.
It compiled a “shame list” of massacres committed by European
countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands.
The necessary study for the list was conducted by the parliament’s
justice sub-committee as part of its debates over a bill that would
recognize the Algerian genocide committed by France.
The commission is researching the past massacres and tyrannies of
countries that accept the Armenian genocide.
The members of the commission listened to Turkish History Society
President Professor Yusuf Halacoglu and decided that announcing the
European list to the world would be more efficient than recognition
of an Algerian genocide.
In this context, the commission requested that the Turkish History
Society and foreign affairs department carry out extensive studies
into the history of countries recognizing an Armenian genocide.
The “shame list” is expected to be announced following the Ramadan
holiday.
Deputy Mustafa Nuri Akbulut announced that the parliament would
publish the list rather than recognize an Algerian genocide.
Akbulut also asserted that this study would enable the international
community to better see the objective attitude of the Turkish
parliament and added human rights, freedom of speech and the process
that this method was subject to would be discussed extensively in
the document.
Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Akbulut also said the
document would include a text that will explain the circumstances
under which Turkey decided to deport Armenians in 1915.
Akbulut noted that while Ottoman soldiers were deployed in the
Dardanelles and the Caucasus during World War I, Armenians committed
massacres in Anatolia and betrayed Ottomans.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Belgium,
Slovakia, Greece, Latvia and Greek Cyprus have all made decisions
so far about an Armenian Genocide in different years, and some have
issued declarations and reports on the issue.
For further information please visit
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKS IN FRANCE SELF-CRITICAL OVER ARMENIAN BILL
Zaman, Turkey
Oct 24 2006
Turkish businessmen in France have admitted their failure in handling
the situation with the French parliament’s controversial Armenian
genocide bill.
Murat Ercan, chairman of the Union des Entrepreneurs Franco-Turcs,
a group for Turkish entrepreneurs in France, said that Turkish
businessmen were not concerned with the Armenian bill passed in the
French parliament.
Even the reactions against the law proposal remained weak and
ineffectual, said Ercan, who focused attention on the need for the
formation of a lobby.
Forming a lobby would require organization, said Ercan. “The French
news media did not even ask Turks living here in France to express
their opinions. We have to have full awareness of our position.”
There was a lack of coordinated action among Turkish people living
in France against the Armenian bill, said Ercan.
“The parliamentary approval of the Armenian bill came as a blow to
the reputation of Turkish people in France. Even the Turkish reaction
against the law proposal was very weak,” said Ercan.
Ercan blamed inexperience and a lack of knowledge on the part of some
Turkish companies, who in turn perhaps harmed all.

RUSSIA’S FUTURE DEPENDS ON STREAMLINED IMMIGRATION
RIA Novosti, Russia
Oct 24 2006
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Yury Filippov).The lower
house of Russia’s parliament has adopted harsh amendments to the
immigration legislation in a majority vote.
The ruling is expected to be approved in the upper house and by the
president, and to come into force by the end of this year.
Foreigners and stateless persons who violate the rules of entry into
Russia, the registration and immigration regime will be fined $200,
and may be also ordered to leave the country.
Western tourists who come to Russia for a couple of weeks to do some
sightseeing and book their trips through reputable travel agencies
have nothing to fear. The law is aimed primarily at curbing the
uncontrolled illegal immigration from the former Soviet republics in
the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Russia, as the main legal successor of the Soviet Union, has inherited
from it the informal status of the “common home” for its former
citizens. Ethnic purges in neighboring republics, some of them soft
and other quite ruthless (as the anti-Armenian movement in Baku,
the capital of Azerbaijan, in 1990), forced millions of non-titular
people to leave their homes. Russia welcomed everyone who wanted to
live, work and do business on its territory.
It was a deliberate policy designed to turn Russia into the pivotal
point for post-Soviet republics. Judging by the number of immigrants,
which is estimated at 8-12 million, it has succeeded.
However, that policy was not fully consistent, and its drawbacks
have recently become apparent. The Kremlin willingly helped its
neighbors cope with unemployment and raise living standards with the
incomes their immigrants earned in Russia, without any reciprocal
requirements. The liberal immigration legislation, and its even more
liberal implementation, did not help Russia to become a political
center or at least a country whose opinion is respected without fail,
the way the Untied States is for its North American neighbors.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which incorporated
nearly all post-Soviet countries, is a feeble organization, a kind
of “presidents’ club” whose meetings are increasingly neglected by
club members.
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova are working hard to create a political
alternative to the CIS. Ukraine is hindering economic integration on
the basis of a customs union, and Azerbaijan and Georgia did their
best to promote the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline via Georgia, although
its economic expediency is questionable and Russia had proposed its
territory for oil transit.
Russian-Georgian relations seem to be breathing their last, with
arguments ranging from NATO and the European Union to Georgia’s
conflicts with the former Soviet autonomous republics of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia, and the low quality of Georgian wines exported to
Russia. Taken together, this shows that truly neighborly relations and
a border open to uncontrollable immigration are two different things.
It has been believed until recently that Russia had political
and economic reasons for keeping its southern and eastern borders
open. A demographic crisis is reducing the Russian population by
about 700,000 annually, and the Kremlin firmly believes that it needs
labor immigrants to accelerate economic growth. President Vladimir
Putin spoke about this in this year’s state of the nation address
to parliament.
But the absence of immigration control is a drawback, not an
advantage. Immigrants are flocking to big and rapidly developing
cities, where they mostly trade (and also work in construction,
transport and utilities), avoiding the provinces, which direly need
them to overcome the consequences of an economic depression.
Unregistered immigrants do not pay taxes, and the employers’ desire
to use cheap labor bypassing the law creates fertile ground for
corruption.
Russia does not intend to erect a new Iron Curtain, but it must
streamline its immigration legislation to prevent chaos and
uncontrollable developments. The time is ripe for this, as proved
by the fact that Putin has addressed the issue. At a recent meeting
with the government, he asked for detailed reports from the ministers
of the economy, labor, the interior and agriculture. The problem
is hugely complicated and needs a comprehensive solution using all
available possibilities of the state.
This may take several years, but the objective is worth the hard
work. Fifteen years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia
is still trying to draft the optimal principles of relations with its
sovereign neighbors, from which the majority of immigrants come. It
is still trying to form a comprehensive strategy for its economic
development, with due regard for the resources it may receive from
the former Soviet countries.
Russia must advance firmly along this path to resolve its problems
without keeping borders wide open.

ANYONE WHO TRIES TO TEACH US A LESSON WILL BE TAUGHT A LESSON THEMSELVES
by Olga Allenova
Translated by A. Ignatkin
Source: Kommersant, October 23, 2006, p. 10
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
October 24, 2006 Tuesday
An interview with Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili;
Gela Bezhuashvili: “Russia keeps viewing NATO the same way it did
in the 1950s. But NATO doesn’t pose a threat to Russia. Russia has
sufficient resources – political, military, and other resources –
to defend itself.”
Question: What awaits the people deported from Russia once they’re
back in Georgia?
Gela Bezhuashvili: Let’s begin with why and how they are being
deported. People are detained on the basis of their ethnic origin.
They are kept in detention cells for weeks and extradited like
criminals. This xenophobic policy has already resulted in the first
victims. In fact, this tendency poses a danger to Russia itself and
to Europe. It is the Georgians who are victims these days, just like
Jews were half a century ago. Importantly, individual states and the
European Union have already condemned the measures Russia is taking
against Georgia as unacceptable.
As for our citizens, we’ve been urging them to come home since the
Rose Revolution. Sure, we have economic problems in Georgia, but who
doesn’t have them? Yes, there were illegal immigrants in Russia but
the majority were legal ones.
Question: Some oppositionists claim that deportation of immigrants
may result in social upheavals in Georgia.
Gela Bezhuashvili: Well, these people can earn in Georgia whatever
they earned in Russia. Forget social upheavals in Georgia, there
won’t be any. Russia is trying to make our life hard. We know it.
Well, we’ll cope with it.
Question: But food prices have already gone up in Georgia. They too
may lead to social disturbances.
Gela Bezhuashvili: Russia is not our only neighbor. There are other
countries. We enjoy a free trade regimen with Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Ukraine… and Turkey, soon. We expect to have a free
trade regimen with Turkey within a few months. When Russia stopped
importing our wines, Turkey raised its wine import quota. Turkey
doesn’t consume much wine, but there are many Russian tourists there.
Anyone who tries to teach us a lesson will be taught a lesson
themselves.
All this is being done to punish Georgia for what is described as an
anti-Russian policy. But what is an anti-Russian policy? Pro-European
doesn’t mean anti-Russian, does it?
Question: It’s a pro-NATO policy rather than pro-European…
Gela Bezhuashvili: Let’s look at NATO then. Two years of individual
partnership with NATO gave us a lot in terms of military reforms,
political reforms, social, and so on. Why would our membership of
NATO worry Russia so much if Russia’s own level of partnership with
NATO is much higher than ours?
Question: But the matter concerns actual membership of NATO.
Gela Bezhuashvili: I cannot even give you the date [when Georgia is
to be invited to join NATO because it is NATO that makes decisions of
this kind. Georgia still has a great deal to do. What counts, however,
is that the government enjoys society’s support in the matter. Our
partnership with NATO is not a problem for Russia.
Question: The Cold War between Russia and Georgia is under way because
Russia is leaving the region and understands that NATO will settle in.
Gela Bezhuashvili: That’s what your politicians think. Russia keeps
viewing NATO the same way it did in the 1950s. But NATO doesn’t pose
a threat to Russia. Russia has sufficient resources – political,
military, and other resources – to defend itself.
Question: Russia is doing all it can to prevent Georgia from joining
NATO. It may even go as far as to recognize the sovereignty of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia. Are you prepared for that?
Gela Bezhuashvili: For Russia’s recognition of Abkhazian and South
Ossetian sovereignty? But what does Russia stand to gain?
Question: Most Georgians would be angry at President Mikhail
Saakashvili, who will have failed to retain territorial integrity.
Gela Bezhuashvili: Attempts to make life difficult for Saakashvili
might backfire, you know. I don’t really expect Russia to go that far.
Question: But President Putin already said that there would be
nothing to prevent Moscow from recognizing the sovereignty of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia when sovereignty of Kosovo was recognized by the
international community.
Gela Bezhuashvili: Actually, he said it differently. It was only a
hint of what might be, a hint that it might provide a precedent…
First, Russia recognizes territorial integrity of Georgia. Second,
let us consider the resolution of the UN Security Council concerning
extension of peacekeepers’ mandate, the document that Moscow hails
as it diplomatic triumph. It states that “the UN Security Council
recognizes territorial integrity of Georgia within the internationally
recognized borders.” Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security
Council. How can it recognize some other borders?
Besides, Russia itself is a federation. Yes, there was a referendum
in Chechnya but nobody can say with any degree of accuracy what the
state of affairs will be there like several years from now.
Precedents like that are dangerous, you know.
Question: Tension in Russian-Georgian relations mounted when several
Russian officers were arrested in Tbilisi. Was it possible to avoid
this scandal?
Gela Bezhuashvili: They were not the first Russian servicemen arrested
for subversive activities. Sergei Lavrov and I discussed the spy named
Boiko last October. One year later, history repeated itself. Georgia
and Russia have an agreement not to spy on each other. There have
been incidents when people were turned over to the other country
quietly. They surfaced in South Ossetia afterwards.
This time, we decided that enough was enough.
There were no problems at all from the point of view of the law. We
could have issued charges and tried these people. The OSCE chairman
intervened, however, and asked us to turn them over to Russia. We
did. Russia knew that we would, it could have kept this quiet –
but it wouldn’t.
This so-called spy scandal is the tip of the iceberg. What is
happening is not a result of this scandal. Russia’s reaction to it
was so inappropriate that it made it obvious that these measures of
putting Georgia under pressure had been designed long ago. Russia
only needed a pretext.

ARMENIA IS A DEFEATED PARTY IN TERMS OF DIPLOMACY
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
Oct 24 2006
In an interview Al-Jazeera Arabic satellite news channel, President
of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev touched on Iran-Armenia relations, saying
it raises public concern in Azerbaijan. According to him, not only
Iran but also other states also have good relationship with Armenia.
This fact must not have an impact on political decision-making in
Azerbaijan. On the contrary, Azerbaijan must seek better relations
itself with those countries.
Saying Armenia is a defeated party in terms of diplomacy, President
Ilham Aliyev added that the countries, which were allies to Armenia,
became friends for Azerbaijan as well. Azerbaijan is more important
for them than Armenia. The land-locked Armenia is not interesting for
them because it is geographically disadvantaged and has already been
left out of regional energy projects. Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway will
isolate Armenia even more.
Azerbaijan is the country that delivers energy resources to the world
markets and located along the East-West corridor. According to the
President, Armenia cannot be compared with Azerbaijan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

“RARMENIAN GENOCIDE” FILM TO BE SHOWN IN BRUSSELS DECEMBER 13
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 24 2006
According to the information DE FACTO got at the RA MFA Press Service,
December 13 a Laurence Jourdan’s “Armenian Genocide” film will be
shown in Brussels.
The measure has been initiated by the Jewish Audiovisual Memory
Institute and the European Sepharadi Institute.
After the film’s demonstration the participants will discuss the
issues referring to the Armenian Genocide committed by the Osmanian
Turkey. The discussions will be held with the political and public
figures’ participation.
From: Baghdasarian