ERDOGAN ADDRESSES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND THOUGHT
Turkish Press
June 29 2006
Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
on freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs yesterday,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan commented on the recent cartoon
crisis, saying that insulting a religion shouldn’t be considered
freedom of expression. “Criticism and insult are different from
each other,” said Erdogan. Stressing that it should be seriously
considered whether freedom of expression was being abused as freedom
to insult, Erdogan stated that freedom of expression and thought
were indispensable factors of common values. “Our system of values
shapes our identity,” he said. “Islamophobia should be considered
a crime against humanity.” He stressed that the main problem was a
dangerous polarization in the international community on the basis of
cultural and religious values. “Democracy is a regime of compromise
and patience as well as freedom,” said Erdogan. Touching on the
so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan said that Ankara had proposed
that historians should research the issue. Speaking afterwards,
Erdogan said that the government wouldn’t take any more steps on
Cyprus for its European Union membership. “We’ve taken 11 steps,
and we won’t take any more until those who need to take steps do so,”
added the premier.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NA SPEAKER PRESENTS COUNCIL OF EUROPE SECRETARY GENERAL PROCESS OF MAKING LEGISLATION CORRESPONDING TO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
STRASBOURG, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. After the
referendum on the constitutional reforms in Armenia, amendments
to more than 60 laws must be made to make them corresponding, and
amendments have already been made to 10 laws. Tigran Torosian, the RA
National Assembly Speaker, the head of the Armenian delegation to the
PACE stated about it at the meeting with Council of Europe Secretary
General Terry Davis which took place on June 28 in Strasbourg, within
the framework of the PACE summer session. The NA Speaker mentioned
that active works must be done in summer to accept the Electoral Code
in autumn. Torosian attached importance to formation of an atmosphere
of solidarity of political forces at the Parliament and out of the
Parliament to hold 2007 parliamentary elections in correspondence to
all democratic standards.
Terry Davis congratulated Tigran Torosian on the occasion of being
elected on the National Assembly Speaker’s post and attached importance
to meaning of work of the Parliament during coming one year from the
viewpoint of democratic developments in Armenia and particularly,
of 2007 parliamentary elections.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NA Public Relations Department,
the issue of the aggressive policy of the Azerbaijani delegation
to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was also
discussed at the meeting. Head of the Armenian delegation Tigran
Torosian attached importance to Strasbourg sessions for joint
discussions relating to member countries as well as ones on general
issues, whereas, members of the Azerbaijani delegation use the PACE
tribune to spread aspersions and falsifications, to present invented
accusations to Armenia. Particularly, during discussing all issues
this time, Azerbaijani deputies arise the issue of setting on fire
green territories of Nagorno Karabakh and neighboring regions. Tigran
Torosian presented the reality, emphasizing that till the NKR
authorities addressed to the Office of the Assistant’s Representative
of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to hold a corresponding observation,
to estimate the situation and to disprove false accusations,
Azeris present a political show in Strasbourg. It already becomes
impossible in such a situation to keep members of the Armenian
delegation from making responding speeches. Considering spreading
of aspersions and false accusations incoherent to the CE principles,
the NA Speaker proposed to undertake steps to correct that unhealthy
situation. Terry Davis agreed that it is realy a serious issue,
and promised to take steps.
An interview published in the Armenian press was also touched upon. The
interview with the CE Secretary General was held by a correspondent
of the “Yerkir Media” TV company. Terry Davis explained that the
journalist incites him to make condemning statements, particularly
concerning Turkey’s economic blockade towards Armenia, he has no
necessary data to do it. He also asked to give him the text of the
interview.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VISIT OF CE SUB-COMMITTEE ON KARABAKH TO REGION TO TAKE PLACE IN LATE OCTOBER
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 28 2006
STRASBOURG, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The terms of visit
to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh of the ad hoc committee on
the issue of application of resolution N 1416 on Nagorno Karabakh
settlement within the framework of OSCE Minsk Group were discussed at
the June 28 meeting of RA NA Speaker, head of the Armenian delegation
in PACE Tigran Torosian, head of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE
Samad Seidov and reporter of CE Sub-committee on Nagorno Karabakh
issue Russel Jonston in Strasbourg.
PACE Bureau approved the committee’s new structure proposed by Tigran
Torosian in spring and now it consists of heads of Armenian and
Azerbaijani delegations, one opposition MP from each delegation,
reporters of the Monitoring Committee on the two countries,
Sub-committee Chairman Lord Russel Jonston, author of the regional
report on missing people Leo Platvoet. Taking into consideration
the fact that a sitting of PACE Monitoring Committee will be held
in Yerevan in the second decade of October and a sitting of the
Committee on Political Issues in the second decade of November
in Baku, a preliminary agreement was reached about organizing the
Sub-committee’s visit during the last week of October.
As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA NA Public Relations Department,
the Sub-committee’s visit will have a cognitive character and the
meetings in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan will serve for
this purpose.
Sub-committee Chairman Russel Jonston proposed discussing the
idea of holding a joint seminar with participation of parliament
representatives during the visit.

PACE REPORTER ON ISSUES OF MISSING PEOPLE IN ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA TO VISIT NKR AS WELL
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
STRASBOURG, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The meeting of RA
NA Speaker, head of the Armenian delegation in PACE Tigran Torosian
and PACE Reporter on Issues of Missing People in Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia Leo Platvoet was held on June 28 in Strasbourg. The results
of Platvoet’s recent visit to the region were discussed at the meeting.
Tigran Torosian expressed satisfaction that Leo Platvoet agreed to
meet with the head of the NKR Committee and one of the NGOs engaged
in issues of missing people during the visit and remained loyal to
the approach of not politicizing the issue of missing people during
the regional visit. He expressed readiness to assist all the efforts
of the report aimed at the solution of this important, humane issue.
In connection with Tigran Torosian’s proposal made in Yerevan about
visiting NKR Leo Platvoet said that in his opinion, it will be useful
to visit Nagorno Karabakh and Abkhazia and he decided to present
his report on the visit during the sitting of the PACE Committee on
Refugees, Migration and Demography, proposing that the Committee give
consent to the idea of visiting Nagorno Karabakh and Abkhazia. As
Noyan Tapan was informed from RA NA Public Relations Department,
this proposal was adopted at the Committee sitting later.
Leo Platvoet proposed giving the lists of missing Armenians so that
an attempt can be made to organize searches in Azerbaijan to find
those who are maybe still alive. Platvoet was proposed creating a
working group with participation of all sides, under the aegis of
the Red Cross, for the purpose of assisting the searches of missing
people. The proposal was accepted.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEGHAMIAN DRAWS PACE ATTENTION TO MANIFESTATIONS OF HOOLIGANISM DURING VISIT OF CATHOLICOS TO TURKEY
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
STRASBOURG, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Artashes Geghamian,
member of PACE Armenian delegation, Head of the National Unity party
and NA faction of the same name, spoke at the discussion of the
issue “Freedom of Speech and Respect of Belief” at the PACE summer
session. He touched upon the Armenian Genocide, the blockade of Armenia
by Turkey, limitations introduced to Armenian school curriculums
in Turkey and the mainfestations of hooliganism during the visit of
Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II to Turkey considering all this
unacceptable for a country striving for becoming a EU member.
As Noyan Tapan was informed from NA Public Relations Department,
Hermine Naghdalian (RPA), member of the Armenian delegation, spoke at
the discussion of the issue of illegal migrants and human rights. She
mentioned that often migrants and displaced persons find themselves in
a vulnerable position and need especially protection of human rights,
including civil and political, social and economic rights, at the
same time presented the great difference in policies implemented in
Armenia and Azerbaijan towards refugees.

VARTAN OSKANIAN MEETS WITH NINO BURJANADZE AND MAKES SPEECH AT FOUNDATION FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 29 2006
TBILISI, JUNE 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian paying a two-day official visit to Georgia met with
Nino Burjanadze, the head of the Georgian Parliament on June 28.
As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Foreign Ministry’s Press
and Information Department, the sides discussed a wide circle of
issues concerning the Armenian-Georgian relations. Touching upon
particularly the Armenian and Georgian parliamentarians’ cooperation,
the interlocuters considered important coordination and comparison
of their positions at international organizations.
Issues of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and employment of Georgian
Armenians were also touched upon.
Then Vartan Oskanian made a speech at the Georgian Foundation for
Strategic and International Researches (GFSIS). The Minister spoke
about the regional developments and political priorities of the
foreign policy of Armenia.

DISCORD AT G8 DIPLOMATS’ MEETING
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer
The Moscow Times, Russia
June 30 2006
For diplomats accustomed to papering over differences, the G8’s foreign
ministers sounded rather undiplomatic at the news conference following
their meeting Thursday.
Minutes before Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters the
meeting had avoided internal politics, U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice said the Kremlin’s handling of the media and private
groups had, in fact, been discussed.
It was, perhaps, a prelude to the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, where
U.S. President George W. Bush and other Western leaders may — or
may not — rebuke Russia for abandoning democracy.
Major outstanding questions are when and where that conversation will
come up, and how Westerners, particularly Bush, will balance their
criticism with cajoling Russia into supporting UN sanctions against
Iran and other issues.
Rice said the meeting had included talk about “transition” problems,
such as the Russian state’s attempt to sideline independent news
organizations and strict regulation of nongovernmental organizations.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier backed up Rice. Both
Steinmeier and Rice promised that their governments would be raising
similar concerns in the near future, possibly referring to the
upcoming summit.
Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay added that participants had
“an honest discussion” about Belarus, Moldova and Georgia.
Western leaders have sought to isolate authoritarian Belarussian
President Alexander Lukashenko, whose main beneficiary remains Russia.
And they have had concerns about separatist movements in the breakaway
regions of Transdnestr in Moldova and Abkhazia and South Ossetia
in Georgia.
MacKay, with other Western diplomats, sought to downplay tensions
that might have surfaced during the meeting, saying the discussion
of Russia’s internal politics “was not a provocation.”
Also on Thursday’s agenda was violence in the Palestinian territories
and Iran’s uranium-enrichment program.
The foreign ministers called on Israel and the Palestinians to
do everything possible to bring “calm” to the region. The current
flare-up was ignited by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by a
Palestinian extremist group tied to the Hamas-controlled government.
(See story, page 9.)
“We called on the countries to create conditions for providing security
and returning to the negotiation process on the basis of the road map,”
Lavrov said, referring to the peace process.
Lavrov added that the foreign ministers were united in demanding the
soldier’s release.
Iran, meanwhile, remains a multifaceted problem.
Western leaders have said Iran wants a nuclear arsenal, an aim they
say is unacceptable and must be stopped via the United Nations.
Russia and China oppose sanctions.
European leaders recently made Tehran a deal: In exchange for stopping
uranium enrichment, Iran would receive economic aid and nonmilitary
nuclear reactors.
Iran, which has voiced tentative interest in the proposal, has yet
to give a clear reply.
After Thursday’s meeting, the foreign ministers issued a joint
statement. “We are disappointed by the absence of an official Iranian
response to this positive proposal,” the statement said. “We expect
to hear a clear and substantive Iranian response to these proposals”
at the July 5 meeting between the European Union’s foreign minister
and Iran’s nuclear negotiator.
The G8 countries also called on North Korea, which is thought to
have developed some nuclear arms, to return to disarmament talks with
Russia, the United States, China, Japan and South Korea.
And they sounded unanimous support for tracking down and bringing
to justice those who kidnapped and murdered four Russian diplomats
earlier this month in Iraq.
Rice also noted that Western diplomats had questioned Russia’s
reliability as an energy supplier and its use of its vast energy
reserves as a foreign policy tool.
Those concerns stem from Russia’s move in January to turn off gas
supplies to Ukraine after the two countries failed to hammer out an
agreement on gas prices.
Ukrainian leaders have suggested the spat stemmed from Russia’s
ongoing anger with Ukraine’s pro-Western government, which came to
power in the 2004 Orange Revolution.
Lavrov said he fully agreed with Rice that the oil and gas sector
should adhere to market-based rules. But he added that not only
reliable suppliers but also reliable customers were needed.
“We want to be confident that our reputation for being a reliable
energy supplier that has never breached its obligations for a single
cubic gram is appreciated,” Lavrov said.
Other issues that came up at the meeting included the dormant conflict
in Nagorno-Karabakh, Afghanistan and the need for better relations
between Serbia and Kosovo.

ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR PRESENTS CREDENTIALS IN ESTONIA
Baltic News Service
June 29, 2006 Thursday 3:07 PM EET
Tallinn
Armenian Ambassador Ashot Galoyan today presented his letters of
credence to Estonian President Arnold Ruutel.
Ruutel noted in the meeting that Estonia and Armenia are bound by
continuous cultural ties which have a long history, the president’s
office reports. Estonia thinks highly of Armenia’s efforts to integrate
into Europe and is ready to share its relevant experience with the
Caucasian country, the president said.
Ruutel also said Estonia appreciates the active South Caucasian policy
of the European Union which provides a more concrete framework for
the neighborhood policy and boosts economic development in that region
as a whole.
According to the president, Estonia is eager to intensify bilateral
economic ties which are rather modest at present.
In Galoyan’s words, Armenia sees itself as part of Europe. “I am
certain that Estonia is a strong partner of ours in this,” he said.
The ambassador said he aims to raise Armenian-Estonian relations to
a new plane and strengthen bilateral cooperation.
“Armenia is optimistic about the prospects of the future relationship
of our two countries and the Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions,”
he said.
The ambassador resides in the Polish capital Warsaw.

ARE THERE ANY ANSWERS TO A WORLD FULL OF TERROR?
Canberra Times, Australia
June 29, 2006 Thursday
THE NATION state is not what it used to be. Demographics from Europe,
chronic guerrilla warfare in the Middle East, a terrorist pandemic
and now the World Cup football tournament are all telling us that.
In The Netherlands’ four largest cities, Muslims under the age of 14
now outnumber Dutch children under the age of 14. Demographers amuse
themselves forecasting the year in which Muslims will form a majority
in specific countries, or in all of Europe.
By some counts it is surprisingly close. Eurabia may be only half a
century away. Given that there are thought to be some 20-25million
Muslims within an overall European population of 240 million, that
would appear to be pushing it, but it is still a lot. They riot. They
plot, and commit acts of terrorism. They are determinedly different
in dress and demeanour. Do they give their loyalty to the countries
in which they live, or to the Umma, that is to say the concept of a
Muslim nation transcending national borders? Can we even generalise?
The imams preach hatred and some listen. Others do not. Ahmeds change
their name to Alan, and Mohammeds to Mike, Mick or Michael, so they
can fit into a society to which they wish to belong.
They are also uncompromising. After their defeat in World War II,
Germany and Japan tried peace, and profited enormously. Israel won wars
in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, but not the peace. Muslim terrorists
wage never-ending guerilla warfare against their enemies in Israel,
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iraqis are happy with the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime.
They have elected a government, and they are developing their security
forces. But while this has been proceeding, more than 2000 American
soldiers have been murdered by terrorists, who act on behalf of a
cause, not a country.
They fight a war of random assassination against the government of
Iraq and against America and its allies, while the security forces
conduct police operations to winkle out the perpetrators of these acts
of guerilla warfare, as if they were burglars, or hit and run drivers.
The terrorists kill whoever they can, regardless of nationality,
religion, gender and age, but Israel and the Americans must not kill
a bystander. Australia is engaged in just such a dilemma. A patrol
shot up a vehicle that, behaving like a suicide bomber, drove between
their armoured cars, so that now Kim Beazley wants Australian troops
withdrawn from Iraq.
The nature of war is something else that has changed. It is no longer
industrial war, as we have learned to call wars between countries
employing conventional armies massed for deployment on a battlefield.
Instead, military strategy has merged into negotiation. Soldiers live
among both the people they defend and their shadowy enemies.
Success is to be achieved through the combination of police action
against terrorists, through diplomacy and negotiation, through the
involvement of the United Nations, through NATO as a forum, or the
European Union.
Soldiers have become peacekeepers, trained in restraint as well as
in attack.
As a result, Australian soldiers finally have something to do.
Instead of the boredom of barracks life they are deployed in Iraq,
Afghanistan and the islands to our north.
Muslim migrants constitute an Arabic speaking Diaspora which is only
one of half a dozen. Centuries of persecution created the Jewish
Diaspora. The Turks drove the Armenians into the world 80 years ago.
Lebanese Christians fled from civil war that, on and off, has gone
on for 50 years. The Greeks just travel. So do the Chinese and the
Indians.
Six Croatians helped the Australian soccer side hold Croatia to a
draw and thus to gain a place in the final 16 World Cup contestants.
The Croatian side included three Australians. The French noted that
most members of their soccer side were black.
Does this matter? Not in sport. Does the emergence matter of
international communities of businessmen sharing a language and a
culture and dealing with each other across national boundaries? How
can it be anything other than beneficial? But what about an
international community characterised by religious intolerance,
imbued with triumphalism, determined to hold themselves apart,
and given to violence? Now there’s a challenge, whether you preach
multiculturalism or assimilation.
David Barnett is a biographer of John Howard. He farms in the Yass
district.

PROSPECTS FOR THE BLACK SEA RING
by Olga Stroinova
Translated by Pavel Pushkin
Source: Parlamentskaya Gazeta, June 28, 2006, pp. 1, 7
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part A (Russia)
June 29, 2006 Thursday
An interview with Federation Council member Alexander Dzasokhov; The
27th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation was held in Yerevan, Armenia. Federation Council member
Alexander Dzasokhov discusses the results of the meeting and the work
of this international parliamentary organization.
The 27th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation (PABEC) was held in Yerevan, Armenia. Alexander
Dzasokhov, Federation Council member for North Ossetia, headed the
Russian parliamentary delegation. Dzasokhov discusses the results
of the meeting and the work of this international parliamentary
organization.
Question: You have the richest experience of work in international
parliamentary organizations. In the past, when you were a Duma member,
you headed the Russian parliamentary delegation at meetings of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Now you head of the
Russian parliamentary delegation to PABEC.
Alexander Dzasokhov: PABEC is the youngest interstate organization
that accumulates a big diversity of countries and peoples. It was
established at the beginning of the 1990s when serious disintegration
processes were underway in the Balkans. Afterwards, after breakup of
the USSR, contours of the former Soviet Union were really formed. The
tension of ethnic political conflicts is not relieved there. That is
why for us, for Russia, PABEC is very interesting.
Question: So to speak, member states of the Black Sea economic
cooperation form the Black Sea ring and, as we see, economy is the
basis for the organization’s name. One of the member states, for
example, Turkey has a stable state system. Some others are countries
of the Greater Caucasus that have acquired their statehood quite
recently. The region is very difficult. Do you manage to abstract
yourself from politics absolutely?
Alexander Dzasokhov: In working our of coordinated positions and
decisions the incumbent generation of parliament members, politicians
and state officials participating in activities of PABEC operates
results of the events of the last 10-15 years. What happened in the
Black Sea countries then had such serious consequences that it was
necessary to take this into account in agenda of the plenary meetings
this way or the other. PABEC was established when PACE and OSCE already
existed and this was not incidental that it was named organization of
the Black Sea economic cooperation because the founders wanted to get
abstracted from politics and from very difficult issues that sometimes
could not even be resolved. It is already possible to say that they
have been right. An organization was needed that could synthesize
political problems through solving of economic problems. You are
right saying that the region is difficult.
Let us recall that the ranks of participants of the Black Sea economic
cooperation were formed with big difficulties. The organization will
turn 15 years in 2007. Turkish politicians and parliament members
stood at the cradle of this organization. They never questioned the
fact that Russia should play an important role there.
However, those who started this large geopolitical project were
not ready to see the current composition of participants in the
organization, a part of them being in a state of conflict with
each other.
If the principle we will not accept any country having no Black
Sea coast or we will not accept any country that has conflicts with
the others has been followed the organization would not have been
established at all.
As a result of very difficult discussions and motivations there is
Armenia in PABEC because it is connected with the Black Sea countries
with life bonds. Now the organization includes 12 countries.
Countries located far from the Black Sea already manifested their
interest in their presence in the organization. For instance, Belarus
already received a status of observer. At the next general assembly
the Czech Republic will be included into PABEC. The US and Canada are
standing in a queue. I presume that sooner or later Middle Eastern
countries including Iran will enter the organization too. That is why
it is impossible to fully rule out the political components and this
would probably be not quite correct.
Question: Was the recent session of PABEC in Yerevan different from
the previous ones?
Alexander Dzasokhov: Unfortunately, we need to admit that unregulated
conflicts have the biggest density among the Greater Caucasus
countries. These are Armenia-Azerbaijan, Georgia-South Ossetia,
Georgia-Abkhazia, that is why I take the proposal of Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan “not to wait until regulation of all conflicts and
to start development of the economic projects planned a long time ago”
as a real political stance. Our economic plans should not be overlaid
on the conflicts that exist in the Black Sea region.
We should progress significantly in development of our trading,
infrastructure and energy projects that will contribute to resolving
of the conflicts hanging above our countries.
Question: Is there such project that can unite the conflicting
countries?
Alexander Dzasokhov: It is necessary to say that there is still a
huge deficit in correct and realistic representation of the role
of PABEC. Externally, there is frequency of organization of various
meetings and so on. As to the really meaningful part with possible
potential result in Russia and in the Caucasian countries it does
not exist yet. I am convinced that Russia with its southern regions,
Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan should check opportunities of economic
interaction and then understanding and readiness for more efficient
and detailed participation in the Black Sea economic cooperation would
change qualitatively. Let us take, for example, energy being one of
the most problems for the region. Experts say that Russia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Georgia have such hydro energy potential that they can
generate 140 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. However,
possibilities of hydro energy are used in the mountainous rivers of
the Caucasus only by 9-10% now. Turkey needs purchase of electric
energy and Caucasian republics need these resources too. Here is
already one project.
As you know, the European Union proposed a new transport project
TRASECA to connect European countries with Asia via the Caucasus.
This is a kind of clone of the Great Silk Road. The authors of
this project moved the route to the south of our borders under the
influence of political situation of the middle of the 1990s. Now
European countries, for example, Germany and Scandinavian countries,
understand that this project is expensive and it is necessary to
correct it. Natural and recreational wealth of the Black Sea with
their mineral waters is very big. This may be another joint project.
What is the most interesting what should be done now is construction
of modern transportation routes on the Black Sea coast. If four
countries, namely Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, worked
out common energy, transportation and environmental projects, I am
convinced that potential allies would join this “nucleus.” First of
all, these are Iran and Turkey.
Question: Everything that we speak about is only a wishful thinking
yet.
Alexander Dzasokhov: History has proven frequently that relations
between big and large nations and between the states are primarily
determined by relations between the leaders of these countries and
nations. Of course, the epoch in which we work now is remarkable
because some leaders of the post-Soviet states probably think like
this: now it is possible to use the overall configuration of forces
and to strengthen our positions relying on the states located far
overseas. They think that the less is the influence of Russia the
bigger is the influence of Europe or America. Along with this, having
no common borders with Europe and moreover with America they wish to
become members of the European Union and NATO. There is an absolutely
different example of the group of leaders and post-Soviet states in
the Asian region who reflect expectations of their citizens more
accurately. Of course, relations among politicians and leaders of
the Greater Caucasus countries are uneven but the latest session in
Yerevan has shown that new trends appear in these relations. The next
28th general assembly of PABEC will be held in November in Azerbaijan
and I think that reassignment of the post of the chair from Armenia
to Azerbaijan opens new opportunities for strengthening of relations
in the Caucasus.
Question: To what extent is the executive branch involved in Black
Sea economic cooperation activities?
Alexander Dzasokhov: Discussion about the multi-polar world played
its role. Look how many serious regional organizations were created
by now. These are Council of Europe, European Union, CIS, Euro-Asian
Economic Community, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, APEC. It is
possible to say that multi-polar world is making its way. As for
representatives of executive branch bodies in activities of PABEC, I
will only indicate the issues that are discussed at permanent meetings
of representatives of the executive branch bodies. These are combating
of economic crimes, creation of tourist programs and simplification
of the visa regime. On the nearest agenda there is energy security. A
big work is being done by non-governmental organizations that send
signals to us with regard to migration issues and wages formation. In
the Caucasus alone more than 2 million people are involved in migration
processes. Incidentally, activities of PABEC are currently based in
the Caucasus. Now the general assembly was held in Yerevan. Azerbaijan
will chair it in the next six months.
That is why we hope very much that in the framework of our discussions
we will manage to increase the level of interaction of Russia and
other Caucasus countries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress