IRAQ CONVOY ATTACKERS CAUGHT BY POLISH FORCES – POLISH PREMIER
Polish Radio 1, Poland
Nov 14 2006
[Announcer] Perpetrators of the attack on a convoy in Iraq, in which
a Polish soldier died, have been caught. This has been reported by
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Sergeant Tomasz Murkowski, 30,
died on Friday to Saturday night in an attack near the locality of
Al-Kut. A Slovak soldier also died. Another Pole and an Armenian were
wounded. The perpetrators fired at the vehicle which was taking the
soldiers back to base.
The prime minister said all of the attackers were now in Polish
servicemen’s hands.
[Kaczynski] Four are being questioned. One has pleaded guilty. The
work of our services which deal with the Polish units’ security in
Iraq is good.
[Announcer] The head of government reported that pensions would be
paid to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq. Defence Minister
Radoslaw Sikorski added that injured soldiers would have priority in
medical care. They will also be exempted from paying for medicines.
President Lech Kaczynski and the head of MON [Ministry of National
Defence] will take part in Sergeant Murkowski’s funeral tomorrow.

TURKISH, LUXEMBOURGIAN MINISTERS VIEW REFORMS, CYPRUS PROBLEM
Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Nov 14 2006
Brussels, 14 November: “Criticisms that Turkey’s reforms on its way to
European Union (EU) membership slowed down stemmed from the inadequacy
in implementation rather than the willingness of the government,”
the Turkish state minister and chief negotiator for EU said on Tuesday
[14 November].
Speaking at a joint news conference after meeting Luxembourg’s minister
for EU affairs, Nicolas Schmit, [Ali] Babacan said he informed
executives from Luxembourg about Turkey’s efforts on reforms and
developments about Cyprus.
“Ninth Reform Package will be concluded soon. We make a very rapid
progress on human rights and freedom of speech,” Babacan noted.
He said reforms continue in economy, as well as in politics, stating
that Turkey maintained a rapid growth.
“The approach of the EU (which is) against enlargement causes
difficulty,” Babacan argued.
Turkish state minister emphasized that the process regarding Turkey’s
EU membership could be concluded within 3-4 years, stating that Turkey
would be ready for membership in 2014.
Replying to a question, Babacan said the fall-back in Turkish public
opinion’s support to the EU did not stem from the reform process but
from the statements of some European politicians against Turkey,
adoption by the French National Assembly of a bill making a crime
the denial of so-called Armenian genocide and injustice that Turkey
has to face on Cyprus.
Mentioning efforts of EU rotating president Finland on Cyprus,
Babacan said, “There is nothing submitted to the parties. There are
some ideas.” He said Turkey would open its ports to the Greek Cypriot
party in case the blockade on [self-declared] TRNC [Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus] is lifted.
Nicolas Schmit
On the other hand, Schmit said they were pleased over statements of
Turkey that it was open to dialogue on Cyprus.
“Turkey’s accession to the EU is a long process. Such a process is
necessary to make the societies understand each other better and
to believe that this process is in their own interest. Schmit said
the EU does not apply any sanction against the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and noted that lack of direct trade hampers
TRNC’s economic development.

TURKEY: GUL RULES OUT IRAQ’S FRAGMENTATION AS SOLUTION, COMMENTS ON TIES WITH US
Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Nov 14 2006
[“FRAGMENTATION OF IRAQ CANNOT BE A WAY OUT, GUL” – AA headline]
ANKARA (A.A) -14.11.2006 -“Some circles try to show fragmentation
of Iraq as a way out. Such an approach, which will certainly drag
Iraq into a chaos, cannot be Turkey’s policy. The mistake that were
made at the beginning of Iraq war cannot be repeated,” Turkish FM &
Deputy PM Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday.
Commenting on Turkish-US relations, Gul said, “our relations with the
USA cover a wide range and are directed towards similar targets.” He
said fight against terrorism was the main concern of Turkey and
the USA.
Briefing MPs at the parliament about recent developments in Iraq, Gul
said Turkey, from the very beginning, did its best for a democratic and
well-administered Iraq, which also preserve its territorial integrity
and political unity.
“Unfortunately, we are sorry to see that sectarian acts of violence
escalated in Iraq and the security, generally speaking,is worsened,”
Gul noted.
“Another issue on which Turkey feels uneasy is the future status of
Kirkuk,” Gul indicated, and noted that the ambitious policies carried
out on this matter were very dangerous.
-PKK/KONGRA-GEL-Pointing to the presence of members of PKK/KONGRA-GEL
terrorist organization in (northern) Iraq, Gul said fight against
terrorism can only succeed in case all support coming from abroad
is stopped.
-MIDDLE EAST-Underscoring that Palestine-Israel conflict was on the
basis of the problems in the Middle East, Gul said Turkey believed
that the only way out was through (the establishment of) two-states
(Palestine and Israel) living side by side.
Commenting on sending of Turkish peacekeepers to Lebanon, Gul
added, “not only military but also members of NGOs and humanitarian
organizations were sent to this country. This proves that Turkey is
a reliable partner as regards preventing clashes and human tragedies
in its region.”
-IRAN-“Turkey closely monitors the developments regarding Iran’s
nuclear programme.
Turkey exerts efforts to solve this problem through diplomatic means”
Gul said.
“Turkey supports the right of all countries to take advantage from the
nuclear technology for civilian purposes,” Gul said, indicating that,
“Turkey deems proliferation of nuclear weapons as a serious security
threat.”
-ARMENIA-Touching on relations with Armenia, Gul said, “Turkey
expressed its willingness to normalize relations with Armenia within
the framework of good neighbourhood, mutual interest and respect
to territorial integrity. Armenia has not yet displayed a similar
approach.”
-RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA-Gul said Turkey considered relations with
Russia from a positive point of view, noting that recent reciprocal
high ranking visits strengthened mutual confidence.
Turkish FM indicated that Turkey has become Russia’s second biggest
trade partner last year with a trade volume of 15-billion USD . “We
hope to raise this figure to 20 billion by the end of this year and
to 25 billion USD in 2008,” he said.
-GREECE-Gul said Turkey deployed efforts to solve problems with Greece
through dialogue and underlined that Turkey’s objective is to raise
the bilateral trade volume with this country to 5 billion USD.

ARMENIA, EU SIGN ACTION PLAN ON COOPERATION
Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
Nov 14 2006
Yerevan, 14 November: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and
Minister of Trade and Development Paula Lehtomaeki of Finland, which
holds the EU presidency, signed the Action Plan of Armenia within
the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy in Brussels today.
The signing of the document preceded the session of the Armenia-EU
cooperation council, in which Germany’s Deputy Foreign Minister
Guenter Gloser, EU envoy for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby,
and representatives of the European Commission took part, the press
service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Mediamax today.
In her speech, Paula Lehtomaeki highly praised the Action Plan which
was developed jointly between Armenia and the EU. She said that the
EU was ready to help with the realization of the document.
The issue of maintaining Armenia’s energy security was also discussed
at the session.

ARMENIA REPLACES PEACEKEEPERS IN KOSOVO
Public TV, Armenia
Nov 14 2006
[Presenter] A sixth detachment of Armenian peacekeepers left for
Kosovo this morning to replace their colleagues who have to return
to Armenia today. The Armenian peacekeeping battalion has already
been manned by 75 per cent.
Armenian Deputy Defence Minister Lt -Gen Artur Agabekyan said that
Armenia has promised to keep its peacekeeping battalion [in Kosovo]
until 2010.
The Armenian Defence Ministry plans to start establishing a second
peacekeeping battalion.
[Armenian Deputy Defence Minister Artur Agabekyan, captioned] Young
Armenians express their intention to serve in a professional special
peacekeeping battalion. We have 60 applications today. If we continue
the conscription, we shall have a 100-per-cent full battalion by the
first quarter of 2007.

EU ACCORDS WITH SOUTH CAUCASUS NATIONS TO OPEN NEW PAGES – ARMENIAN PAPER
by Anna Akopyan
Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
Nov 14 2006
“New door will be opened”
Today marks a special day for the three South Caucasus states of
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia as individual action plans between
them and the European Union as part of the EU New Neighbourhood Policy
will be signed in Brussels.
This was a long-awaited event for the three states as it was delayed
for more than a year. The fact that EU approved the Action Plans with
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia simultaneously shows that these three
states will develop their relations with the EU in parallel in future.
Anyway we should say that as a result of today’s event in Brussels,
the three states will get new, more specific and in some sense,
a higher status in their contacts with the EU. Let us also note
that some political experts think that the South Caucasus regional
conflicts maybe settled by means of regional integration and the EU’s
New Neighbourhood Policy may provide them with such an opportunity.
At present, it is hard to say if the EU will show strict attitude
towards fulfilment of the three states’ obligations to the EU, but
there is no doubt that Brussels will get serious levers to track
the process.
Yesterday Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan left for Brussels to take
part in the events to be held today. He will also meet Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Brussels today. And we should
say that this second event lags behind the first one. As it became
clear to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs as well as to the parties
to the conflict long ago that no progress may be registered in the
Karabakh issue settlement process over the next two years.
For this reason, the talks continue only outwardly for preserving
dialogue. But it is not ruled out that specific decisions will be made
in the Karabakh conflict settlement process within the framework of
the EU’s New Neighbourhood Policy and thanks to that.

AZERI, ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS NEW IDEAS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
Regnum, Russia
Nov 14 2006
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Vardan Oskanyan
and Elmar Mammadyarov, held a meeting on the settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group in
Brussels on 14 November. The negotiations took place in a constructive
atmosphere and discussed in detail new ideas and thoughts proposed by
the mediators, the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Regnum news agency.
As a result of the negotiations during which an attempt was made to
bring the positions of the sides closer, the co-chairmen suggested
discussing the expediency of a meeting between the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents. With this aim, the mediators will visit the
region. The visit to Yerevan is expected on 21 November.

ARMENIAN, AZERI FOREIGN MINISTERS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT EU COOPERATION
Armenian Public TV
Nov 14 2006
[Presenter] A new page opens in Armenia-EU relations today. The
Armenia-EU Action Plan as part of the EU New Neighbourhood Policy
will be signed in Brussels today. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan is to meet Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
after the signing ceremony.
The Armenian foreign minister has told a news conference jointly
given by three South Caucasus foreign ministers and the EU leadership
[in Brussels] that this meeting is not a usual one and creates new
opportunites for continuing talks.
[Correspondent reported from Brussels by phone] The sides discussed
the Nagornyy Karabakh, Abkhaz and South Ossetian conflicts within the
framework of regional issues, the current state of Russian-Georgian
relations and cooperation between the three South Caucasus countries as
part of the EU New Neighbourhood Policy. The Armenia-EU Action Plan as
part of the EU New Neighbourhood Policy will be signed on 14 November.
[Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan, speaking in English with
Armenian voice-over] This meeting cannot be regarded as usual. It
differs from all previous ones. A new page will open in Armenia-EU
relations. Our meeting with Elmar Mammadyarov is also different. We
will hold talks after signing the Action Plan within the framework
of the EU New Neighbourhood Policy. We will meet having a new signed
document in our hands which is regulating the approaches of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia.
[Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, speaking in Russian
with Armenian voice-over] The EU has synchronized the approaches of
the South Caucasus countries to integration into Europe.
[Correspondent] [EU Commissioner for External Relations] Benita
Ferrero-Waldner has described the signing of the Action Plan as a
transition to a new stage.
[Benita Ferrero-Waldner, speaking in English with Armenian voice-over]
Action plans are always different. They must assist regional
integration. We will work individually with all the [South Caucasus]
countries after signing the document. It will better if cooperation
assist political and economic ties even more.
[Correspondent] Elmar Mammadyarov is optimistic about South
Caucasus-Europe integration. He wished to see the transparent European
borders in South Caucasus.
[Elmar Mammadyarov] The Armenian foreign minister noted that Armenia
intends to move towards Europe and is happy about it. Why not, our
region should also have transparent borders as in Europe. Therefore,
we need to start acting in this direction.
[Correspondent] Elmar Mammadyarov also hopes that the process will
assist in resolving the refugees’ problems. But the Azerbaijani
foreign minister did not clarify the situation of Armenian refugees
from Shaumyan District [Azerbaijan’s Goranboy District] from this
standpoint. We should not avoid speaking about this, Mammadyarov said.

SERBIA: BAN ON EXPORTING WEAPONS TO ARMENIA REMAINS
EASTBUSINESS.ORG
November 14, 2006 Tuesday 5:41 PM (Central European Time)
SECTION: DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
The management of Zastava Oruzje, the Serbian weapons manufacturer,
has announced that it was surprised by the decision of the Serbian
Government not to lift the ban on the export of military weapons and
equipment to the countries of the former Soviet Union, with which
the factory has contracts worth more than USD 20 million.
The management stated that the company expected the Government to
at least allow the exports to countries which are on friendly terms
with Russia and to which Russia itself exports such weapons, with
only Georgia remaining on the black list.
The representatives of the unions in the factory have sent a letter to
the Serbian Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica and to the Ministers
of Defence and Economy, Zoran Stankovic and Predrag Bubalo, stating
that they are shocked by the Government s decision not to lift the
ban on exports to Armenia, and the fact that the Government has no
intention of reimbursing the factory for the losses it has suffered
as a result, amounting to approximately USD 2.7 million.
The Government s decision also surprised the experts on the Serbian
defence industry, especially in light of the fact that the factory
recently exported a shipment of weapons and equipment to Armenia
worth USD 800 000, without any questions being raised about this.
The management of the factory announced that they would initiate
negotiations with the Government regarding the compensation for the
losses this company has suffered as a result of the ban. The union
of Zastava Oruzje believe that nothing will come out of this, unless
the cabinet of Vojislav Kostunica is faced with pressure in the form
of a series of workers protest during the election campaign.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT STARTS THREE-DAY VISIT TO GERMANY
Public Television, Armenia
Nov 15 2006
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan left for Germany on a three-day
working visit today.
President Kocharyan will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the
president of the Bundestag and the mayor of Berlin.
Robert Kocharyan and the president of the Bundestag will take part
in the official opening ceremony of a new building of the Armenian
embassy.