PUTIN: ACTIONS OF GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES ARE STATE TERRORISM ACT WITH SEIZURE OF HOSTAGES
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.10.2006 13:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin held a
conferred with permanent members of the Russian Security Council,
during which much attention was paid to latest developments in
the Russian-Georgian relations. “In spite of Russian consistently
fulfilling all agreements that we have over withdrawal of our military
units from the territory of the Republic, as it is known, our military
are caught and thrown into prisons. This is a sign of succession of
Laurenty Beria’s policy both within the country and the international
arena. It is obvious that they are trying to provoke Russia and those,
who do it, probably believe it fits the interests of the Georgian
people. I do not think it is so. These people believe that under the
roof of foreign sponsors they will feel comfortable and secure. Is
it true indeed? There are, perhaps, forces creating new crises,
believing it will divert attention from old problems. In the short
run it may have an effect. However, it will not help solving old and
rather serious crises in the world,” Putin said.
Owing to the actions of the Georgian leaders, the Russian President
intends to hold consultations with political parties, represented in
the State Duma, and leaders of the Council of the Federation next week.
Putin ordered the Defense Ministry, in spite of the situation,
continue withdrawal of Russian Armed Forces from Georgia according
to the schedule, Kremlin Press Office reports.

JACQUES CHIRAC: FRANCE IS READY TO ASSIST MODERNIZATION AND DIVERSIFICATION OF ECONOMY OF ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. France wants to accompany Armenia
in the process of its political modernization, support its will to
build a legal state what may be a guarantee for public freedoms.
President of France Jacques Chirac made such a statement in the
September 28 interview to the “Hayastani Hanrapetoutiun” (Republic
of Armenia) newspaper, touching upon present and future of the
Armenian-French mutual relations. He added that France is ready to
assist modernization and diversification of economy for Armenia is
capable to create the best future for its sons.
The President of France mentioned that the two nations have the same
preferences: independence, priesthood, wisdom in art and culture,
beauty and sacredness of the languages. “The present is that
natural inner generality and also about 500 000 Frenchmen taking
roots from the land of Armenia. They gave to France their courage,
talent, nobleness. They also remained tied with Armenia. They assist
strengthening of our tie,” J.Chirac emphasized.
“An old nation like your’s must not apprehend taking the road of
future,” Jacques Chirac said.
On the eve of the state visit to be paid to Armenia on September 29,
the President of France wished the Armenian people for this year more
strengthens centuries-old friendship between Armenia and France: “…
Let numerous Frenchmen come to reveal this country, the soul of its
nature, monasteries, culture, warmness, let our friendship assist
implementation of hopes of the Armenian people’s daughters and sons,”
Jacques Chirac said.

MEETING AT NKR FOREIGN MINISTRY
Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
Sept 29 2006
On September 26 NKR foreign minister Georgy Petrossian met with
Baroness Caroline Cox, the chair of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust
leading the delegation of British and American benefactors visiting
Stepanakert. The foreign minister of NKR expressed willingness to
assist the projects implemented by American and British benefactors
in Nagorno Karabakh. On the request of the guests, Georgy Petrossian
presented the current stage of the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict. The foreign minister expressed concern about the Azerbaijani
efforts to report the settlement of the issue to the UN which is
now under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. “We scrutinize
the current situation and draw conclusions to make efforts,” said
the foreign minister. Georgy Petrossian also emphasized that it is
impossible to solve a problem affecting the fate of an entire people
without taking into consideration its opinion. “We fulfilled our
role in maintaining the cease-fire so why at present we do not have
the right to sustain peace?” said the foreign minister of NKR. With
regard to the relations with Armenia, Georgy Petrossian emphasized,
“Armenia guarantees the independence and security of NKR, as for the
sphere of political relations, both republics honor the principle of
not interfering.” With regard to the continuing information war, the
foreign minister touched upon Baku’s allegations concerning the fires
in the border area. “We proposed that the OSCE conduct a monitoring
and get an unbiased opinion on the reality. The government of the
republic are willing to receive the international experts and show them
everything that interests them,” said the foreign minister. Georgy
Petrossian said hopefully the members of the delegation will get an
unbiased idea of Nagorno Karabakh and will convey this information
in their countries.

CHIRAC ADVISES TURKEY TO FOLLOW GERMANY’S EXAMPLE AND RECOGNIZE THE GENOCIDE
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 29 2006
French President Jacques Chirac declared in Yerevan today that Turkey
will turn into “a more mature country” if it accepts the mistakes of
its past, particularly the Armenian Genocide.
“After acknowledging the Holocaust, Germany did not lose its grandeur,”
Jacques Chirac noted, saying that the capacity to accept the dark
pages and mistakes of the past is a sign of the state’s maturity.
RA president Robert Kocharyan declared that Turkey’s entry talks with
the EU comprise no danger for Yerevan.
“We wish our neighbors to believe in democratic values and be
predictable. In this regard, Turkey’s desire to join the European
Union does not comprise danger for us. Att he same time we would like
the questions of concern for Armenia to find their solution during
these talks,” Robert Kocharyan said.
Commenting on the draft envisaging penalty for Armenian Genocide
deniers presented by French Socialists, Jacques Chirac reminded that
“in 2001 France fully recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide,
and this law has equal force for everyone.

GEORGIA FREES ACCUSED SPIES, BUT FEUD WITH MOSCOW CONTINUES
Diana Petriashvili
EurasiaNet, NY
Oct 2 2006
In a surprise move, Georgia on October 2 released four Russian
officers arrested for espionage, and agreed to the inclusion of Russian
peacekeepers in international monitoring of the Kodori Gorge, a strip
of Georgian-controlled territory in the breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Despite earlier contrary statements by Russian military officials,
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also confirmed that Russia’s
troop withdrawal from Georgia will continue as planned. Nonetheless,
Moscow’s response to the arrests does not promise to soften. The
Kremlin has announced the suspension of all transportation and postal
ties with Georgia, while the Russian Duma has announced plans to stop
money transfers “to certain countries.”
In a televised ceremony late in the afternoon on October 2 at the
General Prosecutor’s Office, Georgia handed over the four Russian
officers recently arrested on espionage charges to the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The officers, escorted
by police, were transported in OSCE cars to Tbilisi’s airport,
where a plane from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations
flew them to Moscow. The decision to hand the officers over occurred
after talks between Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Karel De Gucht, who flew to Tbilisi on October 2
to discuss the spy crisis with the Georgian leader.
Commenting on the decision to reporters, President Saakashvili stressed
that the handover represented “a good gesture towards Georgia’s Western
friends,” but not a reaction to perceived Russian threats. According
to the president, the Georgian side has also handed over to the OSCE
evidence in its case against the arrested officers.
Four Russian officers and 11 Georgian citizens were arrested on
September 27 and charged with espionage. On September 29, the Tbilisi
City Court ordered the officers to remain in pre-trial detention. The
Georgian prisoners remain in custody. A greatly reduced police presence
was continuing in front of the Russian military headquarters, where
the Georgian government alleges a fifth espionage suspect is hiding.
What the handover means for this officer remains unclear. A
representative of the Georgian Interior Ministry’s press office
stated that the government believes that the officer, identified as
Lt Col. Konstantin Pichugin, is still on Georgian territory, but did
not choose to make an official statement “because of the handover of
the spies to the OSCE.” Russian officials have denied the government’s
claims, and have stated that Pichugin is in “a safe location.”
Prior to the release, the Russian Ministry of Transportation stated
that it had stopped all air, rail, car, and sea traffic with Georgia.
According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the ministry also
announced on October 2 that postal communications between Russia and
Georgia would be suspended.
Meanwhile, in the Duma, proposed amendments to existing legislation
would end all money transfers “to certain countries” in emergency
situations. “The Duma must react to this situation,” Duma Speaker Boris
Gryzlov said, RIA Novosti reported. He added that “$350 million was
officially sent [by Georgian labor migrants] from Russia; according
to non-official data, this amount amounts to over $1 billion.” A vote
is expected on October 4.
The thousands of Georgians who work in Russia as seasonal laborers
could also come under scrutiny. Thirteen Georgian citizens, including
children, have been arrested in Moscow for allegedly working illegally
in Russia, Rustavi-2 reported Georgian Consul in Moscow Zurab Pataradze
as saying. The Georgian Embassy in Moscow has reported that deportation
proceedings against the 13 detainees are in progress.
Georgian politicians reacted to the news of Russia’s transportation and
postal services ban as fresh proof of a Russian strategy to pressure
Georgia into letting Moscow have its own way.
“By acting this way, Russia intends to make Georgia do what Russia
wants,” David Kirkitadze, a parliamentarian from the ruling National
Movement Party, stated at a news briefing. “Russia wants us to refuse
to restore Georgia’s territorial integrity,” he said in reference
to the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia which the
Saakashvili administration wants to recover.
One key concession, however, appears to have been made by Tbilisi
with the announcement of the government’s decision to no longer
oppose the inclusion of Russian peacekeepers among an international
peacekeeping contingent that would monitor the situation in the
Kodori Gorge. Late on October 2, the office of Georgia’s State
Minister for Conflict Resolution Issues released a statement that
said that Tbilisi had agreed to accept Russian peacekeepers as part
of any international peacekeeping force, after “taking into account
the opinions of the international community and the parties involved,”
English-language excerpts published on the Civil Georgia news bulletin
site read. Responses from Moscow and the de facto Abkhazian leadership
have not yet been made public.
Throughout the crisis, the issue of Georgia’s relations with the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has continued to
simmer. On October 2, both Sergei Bagapsh, the de facto president of
Abkhazia, and de facto South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity announced
that they would withdraw from peace talks with the Georgians. The press
service of the de-facto Abkhazian leader issued a statement saying that
the Georgian side is violating existing peace agreements by keeping
troops in the Kodori Gorge, while South Ossetia’s Eduard Kokoity
claimed that Georgia has not responded to South Ossetian proposals
to hold peace talks in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali,
RIA Novosti reported.
Both Bagapsh and Kokoity took part on September 29 in a round table
discussion on economic development in southern Russia chaired by
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met separately with Bagapsh to
discuss the conflict with Georgia over Abkhazia, news reports stated.
The Russian president’s official website listed both de-facto leaders
as the “presidents” of states neighboring Russia.
In response to the meeting, the Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a
statement that argued that Russia had shown “once again” that it “is
not and cannot be an unbiased and impartial mediator in the process of
settlement of conflicts in Georgia. This once again confirms the need
for an immediate change in the existing formats of the negotiating
process and the peacekeeping operation.”
Meanwhile, Russian officials maintain that their security concerns
continue. On September 30, the Russian embassy evacuated all remaining
staff and their families from Tbilisi except for two diplomats and
a security guard detail.
The commander of Russian troops in Georgia, Andrei Popov, also
announced on October 1 that special buses would be used to transport
the children of Russian servicemen in Georgia to school to prevent
the students’ arrest as spies. “Of course. Why not? They certainly
could,” Popov told Georgian Public Television when asked to confirm
his worry that Georgian law enforcement would arrest the children.
In keeping with that tact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has
accused Georgia of using Stalinist techniques in its arrest of the
four officers for espionage, describing the act as “state terrorism
with hostage-taking.”
“It is a sign of the heritage of Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria [a notorious
ethnic Georgian chief of the Soviet secret police under Joseph
Stalin] both inside of the country and in the international arena,”
Putin said in an October 1 meeting with the Russian Security Council,
Russian news agencies reported.
“It is absolutely clear that there are attempts to pinch Russia
as painfully as possible, to provoke it. This should be obvious
to everyone,” Putin continued in reference to the spy dispute with
Georgia. “These people think that they can feel comfortable and secure
under the roof of their foreign sponsors.”
In an apparent attempt to show that Moscow cannot be provoked,
Putin also stated that the troop withdrawal from Russian bases
in the Georgian towns of Akhalkalaki, Batumi and Russian forces’
headquarters in Tbilisi would continue. On Saturday, September 20,
the Russian commander for the North Caucasus, General Alexander
Baranov, had announced that the withdrawal would be suspended. All
three military installations were also placed on high alert, according
to Russian news agencies.
Responding to Putin’s charges, President Saakashvili argued that the
Russian leader had overreacted.
“I don’t think this is serious… It is an overreaction caused
by nervousness that they have created by themselves,” Rustavi-2
television reported Saakashvili as telling foreign journalists in the
Black Sea port city of Batumi. “They have become hostages of their
own propaganda,” Georgian president commented.
“Some people could consider our action as something that has been
coordinated by Washington. This is not true. The US State Department
made it very clear that this is a bilateral issue between Georgia
and Russia,” Saakashvili added. The Russian presidential press office
issued a statement on October 2 that Putin had discussed the situation
in Georgia with US President George W. Bush.
To many in the Georgian capital, problems with the Russian troops’
pull-out had looked like one of the possible consequences of this
crisis. Now, however, attention is focusing in other directions.
At a September 30 news conference, Georgian Fuel and Energy Minister
Nika Gelauri downplayed the possibility that Moscow would cut off
electricity and gas supplies to Georgia, as some Russian politicians
have urged the government to do. The minister told media that Georgia
is ready to import power from Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran,
the Georgian television station Imedi reported.
“We will be able to import at least 50 megawatts of electricity from
Armenia,” Gelauri said referring to a recent meeting in Yerevan
where Georgian, Armenian and Iranian energy ministry officials
participated. “We will continue talks to increase this amount.”
Gelauri added that in case of necessity Georgia will import 100
megawatts of power from Turkey. Azerbaijan, he told reporters, has
reportedly agreed to supply Georgia with 300 million cubic meters of
gas this year, a fivefold increase from initially planned amounts.
Little can be done to prepare for other events, however. A
demonstration by 20 Russian youths outside the Georgian embassy in
Moscow continued on Monday, with participants expressing support
for the arrested Russian officers and carrying banners condemning
the Saakashvili administration. On September 30, Russian television
showed footage of a man darting out of the embassy to give a kick in
the seat to one of the demonstrators being restrained by police. The
footage has prompted strong protests from Russian media commentators
and pundits, but has elicited no public response yet from Tbilisi.
Editor’s Note: Diana Petriashvili is a freelance reporter based
in Tbilisi.

EU SPECIAL ENVOY ON EVENTS IN GEORGIA: “THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES LEFT TO SORT THINGS OUT”
Regnum, Russia
Oct 2 2006
“We have addressed Russia and Georgia with a clear-cut message: to
come to settling the confrontation through talks, as it is possible
only with consent of both parties,” Peter Semneby, EU special
representative for South Caucasus, has said answering a question by
a REGNUM correspondent in Yerevan.
“We are ready to work with both countries, and I am sure, from the
point where discrepancy starts, there is an opportunity left to return
to normal relations, to put things in order,” Peter Semneby is quoted
as saying.
It is worth mentioning, Semneby is now on visit in Yerevan in
frameworks of the EU Troika delegation visit. The delegation arrived
in Armenia aiming at approving its action plan within European New
Neighborhood Policy.

KOCHARYAN: ANY TENSION IN RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN RELATIONS IMPACTS ARMENIA
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 30 2006
At the joint press conference with the President of France Jacques
Chirac, RA President Robert Kocharyan declared that “any tension in
Russian-Georgian relations always impacts Armenia.”
“Our transport routes pass through Georgian territory, and tension
in Russian-Georgian relations in the reduction of our commodity
turnover volume, and generally has negative impact on our economy,”
RA president noted.
Robert Kocharyan expressed the hope that the tension in
Russian-Georgian relations will be settled through rapid negotiations.”
“I’ve stated many times in Moscow and Tbilisi that Armenia is
interested in the existence of friendly relations between Georgia
and Russia,” Mr. Kocharyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FBI WORRIES ABOUT AL-QAIDA TIES TO MOB
By Pat Milton, Associated Press Writer
Los Angeles Times
Oct 1 2006
WASHINGTON — The FBI’s top counterterrorism official harbors lots of
concerns: weapons of mass destruction, undetected homegrown terrorists
and the possibility that old-fashioned mobsters will team up with
al-Qaida for the right price.
Though there is no direct evidence yet of organized crime collaborating
with terrorists, the first hints of a connection surfaced in a recent
undercover FBI operation. Agents stopped a man with alleged mob ties
from selling missiles to an informant posing as a terrorist middleman.
That case and other factors are heightening concerns about a real-life
episode of the Sopranos teaming with Osama bin Laden’s followers.
“We are continuing to look for a nexus,” said Joseph Billy Jr.,
the FBI’s top counterterrorism official. “We are looking at this
very aggressively.”
The new strategy involves an analysis of nationwide criminal
investigations, particularly white collar crime, side by side with
intelligence and terrorist activity.
“We have developed an ability to look harder and broader in a greatly
enhanced way to see if there is any crossover,” Billy said in an
interview with The Associated Press.
Organized crime syndicates could facilitate money transfers or
laundering, human smuggling, identification fraud or explosives and
weapons acquisitions, officials said.
The options are many for terrorists groups.
There are the five reputed La Cosa Nostra families in New York,
Russian criminal enterprises from Brighton Beach in the New York
borough of Brooklyn to Moscow, and the emerging Asian crime syndicates
that operate in many Islamic countries with al-Qaida offshoots.
A contract study produced recently for the Pentagon and obtained
by the AP warned that the potential for organized crime assisting
terrorists is growing.
“Although terrorism and organized crime are different phenomena, the
important fact is that terrorist and criminal networks overlap and
cooperate in some enterprises,” the study said. “The phenomenon of the
synergy of terrorism and organized crime is growing because similar
conditions give rise to both and because terrorists and organized
criminals use similar approaches to promote their operations.”
The traditional mafia has highly developed networks for acquiring
goods and services and money, all for a price.
The mob’s potential interest in helping a terrorist has nothing to
do with ideology or sympathy but with greed, said Matt Heron, head
of New York FBI’s organized crime unit.
“They will deal with anybody, if they can make a buck,” Heron said.
“They will sell to a terrorist just as easily as they would sell to
an order of Franciscan monks. It’s a business relationship to them.”
“If the mob has explosives and a terrorist wants them and they have
the money, they could become instant friends,” he said.
Pat D’Amuro, a retired senior FBI official and now chief executive
of Giuliani Security, said a Mafia boss once acknowledged that the
mob would help terrorists.
“I am aware of a high-level Mafia figure, who was cooperating with
authorities, being asked if the Mafia would assist terrorists in
smuggling people into Europe through Italy,” D’Amuro said. “He said,
‘The Mafia will help who ever can pay.'”
Officials said they have no specific evidence that such a relationship
has been cemented. But concerns were heightened last year after an
Armenian immigrant was arrested in New York for allegedly leading
a plot to sell military weapons to an FBI informant posing as a
middleman for terrorists.
Arthur Solomonyan had claimed to be able to deliver shoulder-fired
missiles from his connection in Russian organized crime to the
informant, who claimed to have ties to al-Qaida, federal prosecutors
said. Solomonyan and 17 others in New York, Florida and California
were charged in the case.
Solomonyan is scheduled for trial this month. His lawyer, Seth
Ginsberg, said he plans to “vigorously contest” the charges and call
the government’s confidential informant to the stand to challenge
his motives. The Italian, Russian, and Asian mafia remain active,
particularly in New York, even though the government has successfully
prosecuted numerous figures in recent years.
In the past three years, well over 100 associates from all five La
Cosa Nostra families have been arrested in New York, Heron noted.
While the potential of a gangster-terrorist marriage is on the FBI’s
radar, homegrown terror cells and weapons of mass destruction are
also big concerns for those in the FBI given the job of stopping the
next terrorist attack.
“We are not only aware that they want to come across the ocean to
attack us but they may be physically here developing in our own
homeland,” Billy said.
The Internet has become the new Afghanistan, allowing terrorist
sympathizers to promote their radical ideas and to recruit and train
followers right their home computers. That makes it far more difficult
for investigators to identify them.
Billy said his biggest concern remains weapons of mass destruction.
While Hezbollah and Hamas are more defined terrorist groups, with
a territorial focus and a political platform, al-Qaida is more
unpredictable.
“We know they were trying to acquire it prior to 9/11, bin Laden’s
own words said that,” said Billy. “What makes us think they are still
not trying?”

PACE PRESIDENT: “I DON’T SUPPORT GIVING INDEPENDENCE TO AREAS POPULATED BY NATIONAL MINORITIES IN EUROPE”
Today, Azerbaijan
Oct 2 2006
President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE)
Rene van der Linden held a press conference today on the start of
PACE’s autumn session.
Rene van der Linden said a report on Lebanon, illegal migration in
Europe, situation in Kosovo will be discussed at the plenary session.
Russia-Georgia problems will be discussed between the parliamentary
delegations of the two countries and PACE authorities, APA’s European
bureau correspondent reports.
During the press conference, PACE President was asked questions on
the Kosovo issue and Russia-Georgia relations. “The relations between
Russia and Georgia, which are both members of the Council of Europe,
are developing more and more into a serious conflict, and this cannot
but evoke concern. We urge both parties to show restraint, not to
politicise the situation, to display a sense of responsibility and to
find ways of settling the controversial problems by peaceful means,”
Mr.van der Linden said.
PACE President also commenting on French President Jacques Chirac’s
statement “Turkey has to recognize the false ‘Armenian genocide’ to
become the European Union member” said, “It is not new that Jacques
Chirac has made such statements. The game has already started. You
cannot change the rules of the game while it is on. Like other European
states, France signed a document to start discussions on Turkey’s EU
membership. Jacques Chirac has made a mere political statement. I do
not think this position is right,” Mr. van der linden said.
PACE President also said he does not agree to Chirac’s comment on
the principle of determining fate of national minorities and stressed
that he does not support giving independence to areas in Europe where
national minorities live.
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ROBERT KOCHARIAN AND JACQUES CHIRAC UNANIMOUS IN OPINION ABOUT LEAVING KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF MG
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 30 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Armenian
President Robert Kocharian and the French President Jacques Chirac
take the view that the OSCE Minsk Group should continue to deal with
the issue of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. The presidents
of the two countries stated this at the September 30 press conference
in Yerevan during J. Chirac’s three-day state visit to Armenia.
Assessing the work done for the conflict’s settlement, J. Chirac as
the president of a country – co-chair of the Minsk Group noted that
the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is “a very complex problem”,
with the Minsk Group experts working efficiently for its solution.
“Their last proposals were serious and can be discussed by official
Yerevan,” the French president underlined, not giving details of
these proposals. In this connection he considered it inexpedient to
transfer the settlement process to another stucture which would have
to start its work by familiarizing itself with the facts.
Robert Kocharian expressed his conviction that a solution to the
Karabakh problem should be found thanks to the work of teams of
skillful negotiators rather than through discussing the problem in
commissions. The last way, in his opinion, will result not in success
but in a growing file of negotiation documents with a simultaneous
accumulation of resolutions favorable to the sides to some or
other extent. “This is not a solution to the problem but rather its
continuation from one or another rostrum,” R. Kocharian noted.
In his words, Jacques Chirac has an expert knowledge about the issue
of the Karabakh conflict settlement.
To recap, GUAM organization member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan
and Moldova) are taking actions aimed at putting the issue of the
“long-lasting conflicts” in the territory of the CIS on the UN agenda.