TRUE PATRIOTISM
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot.am
29 Aug 06
Richard Hogland’s appointment as the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia caused
a great attention both in Armenia and Diaspora and in the U.S. Armenian
lobbyists, as well. Thanks to John Evans who has pronounced the word
”genocide”, irrespective of the fact he has done it accidentally or
in favor of patriotism. But it isn’t secret that the recognition of
genocide by the U.S. depends on Evans or Hogland as much as holding
fair elections in Armenia depends on Victor Soghomonian. Especially in
a country like the U.S. is, the Ambassador expresses the opinion of
its government, the latter reflects designed, formulated conception
of national interests. Otherwise we can conclude that if Mr. Evans
remained in his post, U. S. would change its policy in the problem
of genocide.
I think our sensuality approach to the political issues. Not only
the opinion of ambassador but the president’s too can be decisive in
the U.S. For instance, the current president of that country isn’t
a giant of wisdom but it doesn ‘t have any influence on the common
U.S. citizens, designed mechanisms operate there as there are in the
foreign policy. That same person /Bill Clinton for example/ is inclined
to recognize the Armenian genocide before and after his posting. But
when he feels the post of president he refuses. It’s another approval
that the person isn’t decisive at all in the policy of that country.
In my opinion Evans’ true pro-Armenian policy would be expressed when
he didn ‘t ignore the results of referendum in 2005. Because having
democratic, developing state is the most important thing for us. Only
in that case our country can develop and become a factor in this
region. Becoming a factor our national problems will be easy to solve.
–Boundary_(ID_mvCk9StnQWypeYp+7f1ZBA)–

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN DENIES CONFLICT BETWEEN TOP OFFICIALS
Mediamax news agency
30 Aug 06
Yerevan, 30 August: The press secretary of the Armenian president,
Viktor Sogomonyan, today denied the allegations that a conflict
existed between Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Defence
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan.
Speaking at a briefing in Yerevan today, Viktor Sogomonyan also denied
reports about a conflict between the Republican Party of Armenia, led
by Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan, and the Prosperous Armenia Party,
led by a well-known businessman, Gagik Tsarukyan, Mediamax reported.
“As far as I can judge, there exists certain disagreement between those
political forces which is quite natural,” the Armenian presidential
spokesman said.
Commenting on numerous media reports on imminent resignation of
Ecology Minister Vardan Ayvazyan, Viktor Sogomonyan said this issue
is not on the agenda of the president.

YEZIDI PUPILS HAVE THREE TEXTBOOKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
ARMENPRESS
Aug 30 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS: When Yezidi schoolchildren in Armenia
will go to school on September 1, when academic year here begins,
they will find, for the first time, three text-books in their native
language. They are the ABC, and textbooks on Yezidi language and
literature.
Hasan Tamoyan, head of a radio program broadcast by the Public Radio
for Yezidis, said the Union of Yezidis was instrumental in helping
to develop and print the textbooks. Yezidis have now media outlets-
a 30 minute radio program and an official newspaper run by the Union
of Yezidis.
Yezidis, also known as Yezidi Kurds, are Armenia’s largest minority
community, numbering officially more than 40,000. Many Yezidis began
to settle in Armenia during the Russian-Turkish wars of the 19th
century and more fled with Armenians during the massacres of 1915.
Neither Christian nor Muslim, practicing their own ancient rites,
the Yezidis stayed when Azerbaijanis and Muslim Kurds fled Armenia at
the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute in 1988-90. They keep
an ancient nomadic lifestyle and live by breeding cattle and sheep.

AS RESULT OF SEVERAL EXPLOSIONS IN TURKEY, 4 PEOPLE DIED, 90 WOUNDED. IF THERE ARE ARMENIANS AMONG THE SUFFERED, IT IS UNKNOWN AS YET
Ankara, August 29. ArmInfo. As a result of several explosions in
Turkey, 4 people died, 90 are wounded. As ArmInfo was told today in
the Department of Information and Press of RA MFA, the latter has no
information yet if citizens of Armenia or other Armenians suffered as
a result of explosions. It is only known about two suffered Russians.
As the leading world information agencies inform, the first explosions
happened on the night of Sunday to Monday in Istanbul and in a resort
town of Marmaris. One explosion more happened in the evening the day
before in a resort town of Antalia. According to the eye-witnesses,
the explosion was of such a force that some cars turned into a heap
of metal. According to information, the Turkish police prevented one
act of terrorism more , being prepared in the seaport Ismir.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Government House # 2, Republic Square
Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
30-08-2006
Minister Oskanian Participates in
International Conference Caspian Outlook 2008
On August 27-28, Minister Oskanian participated the Bled Strategic Forum, an
international conference entitled ‘Caspian Outlook 2008’ held as a joint
initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia and the Institute
for Strategic Studies in Ljubljana.
Minister Oskanian delivered a statement during a panel entitled “European
Neighborhood Policy: The End Game.” Minister Oskanian specifically stressed
the importance of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) for development,
stability and peace in the region. “What European structures have done is
invaluable. In Europe’s search for peace, stability and prosperity for
itself, it has rightly decided to enhance rule of law, democracy and
economic development to those who live at its borders. We share these values
and we want them to take root in our societies – for our own sake, not just
for Europe’s.”
“Looking at it from the inside out, the Neighborhood Policy has facilitated,
encouraged, rewarded reforms. In Armenia, those reforms are irreversible and
already showing remarkable results. We are going to move now to second
generation reforms in order to continue to register successes in the second
half of this decade,” he continued.
The Minister expressed hope that ENP implementation by the three South
Caucasus countries will facilitate regional cooperation as well. Regarding
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict specifically, the Minister said, “We are at a
critical stage now. On the one hand, there is a sound and balanced document
on the table which is the result of two years of work by all parties, and
many of those principles have already been agreed to. There are a few left
to address, but we are hopeful that there, too, agreement can be found. On
the other hand, there is increasing Azerbaijani intransigence commensurate
with their accumulation of oil wealth, there is the illusion that time is
working to their advantage, and that there is always a possibility of a
military solution.” Minister Oskanian continued and said this is extremely
dangerous, because first, it can indeed become a self-fulfilling prophecy,
and second, this public rhetoric is effecting perceptions inside Azerbaijan
and making it difficult to reach a compromise resolution. The minister
reiterated the view that there is no military solution to this conflict and
the only way forward is through mutual compromise on the basis of the
current document.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I MEETS WITH THE REPRESENTATIVE
OF THE LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER
The representative of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, Culture
Minister Tarek Mitri, visited His Holiness Aram I in Bikfaya on August 26.
On behalf of the PM, the minister thanked His Holiness Aram I for his
efforts in favor of Lebanon during these times of crisis, especially in
international circles. The minister also talked about the current situation
in Lebanon, the external and internal factors affecting it and the
continuing efforts for national consensus with the aim of sustaining the
country’s internal unity.
The Pontiff and the minister also discussed the issue of potential Turkish
contribution to the UNIFIL forces in South Lebanon. The Catholicos asked
minister Mitri to inform the PM of the Lebanese Armenian community’s and his
personal objection to the participation of Turkey in the peacekeeping
forces.
“This is not only an Armenian issue, it is a problem for Lebanon, a problem
for the Arab World, when Turkish history is full of massacres, human rights
violations and past and present injustices. Our opposition to the
participation of Turkey in the UNIFIL forces comes to express the just
demands of all those nations that have suffered under the bloody hands of
the Ottoman-Turkey. Our people will oppose to all attempts aimed at casting
shadow over irrefutable historical facts for the sake of political
considerations,” His Holiness said.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Turkey key to Western energy, security
Political developments in Turkey have the West concerned about the
country’s possible actions in northern Iraq and its role as an oil and
gas facilitator
ISN Security Watch (Zurich, Switzerland)
28 August 2006
By Federico Bordonaro
European observers and decision-makers are closely watching ongoing
political developments in Turkey and their implications for Ankara’s
foreign policy. Foremost among these concerns is the appointment in late
July of General Yasar Buyukanit as the new military chief of staff, not
to mention upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
General Buyukanit will take over as the new military chief of staff on
30 August, replacing General Hilmi Ozkok. In a country where the
relationship between the civilian administration and the army is key to
the preservation of democracy and national unity, a change of leadership
on the military side of the equation is considered a delicate moment –
even more so as the country prepares for presidential and parliamentary
elections.
These domestic events come at a time when Ankara is experiencing
difficulties in finding a political and diplomatic convergence with the
US on how to deal with Kurdish rebel activities in northern Iraq, and
with the EU on the still complex Cyprus question.
Moreover, Turkey’s decision to take part in an enhanced United Nations
mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as decided by UN Security Council
Resolution 1701, will bring Turkish military personnel into a former
Ottoman province for the first time since World War I, and the issue
already is causing heated debate at home. While Ankara’s latest
declarations signal Turkey’s willingness to play a role in the
humanitarian and reconstruction fields, they also show its refusal of
any task involving the disarmament of non-state actor Hizbollah in Lebanon.
Furthermore, since both Washington and the EU increasingly view Turkey
as a strategic partner for European and Mediterranean energy security,
Ankara’s democratic stability and foreign policy orientation are of
crucial importance for Western interests.
Buyukanit’s appointment: the heart of the matter
Turkish and international analysts alike point out that Buyukanit’s
political and cultural orientation is not exactly as pro-European and
pro-Western as that of his predecessor. More importantly, some fear that
the new chief of staff will promote a tougher policy towards Kurdish
activists and will be less likely to make concessions to the EU on the
Cyprus issue.
Should Ankara’s position on these two issues become more rigid, a
deterioration in European-Turkish relations may occur, further
complicating the already intricate matter of Turkey’s integration into
the EU.
An even more worrisome possibility would be a stronger anti-Western turn
that could signal the beginning of Turkish rapprochement with Iran and a
strengthening of Russo-Turkish relations at the expense of Ankara’s
traditional pro-US and pro-EU orientation.
However, this eventuality is a worst-case scenario only. Turkey’s
constitution, although it allows the military a key political role, is
nonetheless well-balanced and not wholly dependent on army
decision-making. In addition, the current administration leans towards a
cautious policy aimed at harmonizing Turkey’s more explicitly Islamic
cultural identity with a classical pro-European stance – though
parliamentary elections could change that.
In fact, although the Pan-Turkic nationalist movement Ulusalci recently
expressed its hopes that Buyukanit’s appointment would coincide with a
less pro-Western foreign policy, the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) does not seem to share such expectations.
According to Onder Aytac and Emre Uslu writing in the August issue of
Ankara’s English language daily The New Anatolian, Buyukanit’s inaugural
speech will tell volumes about his foreign policy orientations. The two
specialists maintained that `if he chooses not to use the word
‘democracy’; not to emphasize Turkey’s EU perspective; and not to
mention a democratic and broad solution to Turkey’s terrorism question,
it will be a signal that Turkey will move closer to the East, Russia and
Iran, and that Turkish democracy will face turbulence for a while.’
Some recent developments in northern Iraq also have fuelled the anxiety
of those in the West who hold a pessimistic view of Buyukanit’s
appointment. In Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) –
labeled a `terrorist organization’ by the US, Britain and the EU – has
raised the tempo of its armed operations, according to Turkish
officials. As a result, last May, both Ankara and Teheran launched
military operations on the border to counter the PKK’s activities.
This event has caused some significant concern in Washington. Turkish
military intervention in northern Iraq would disrupt the delicate
regional balance and plunge the area into chaos, complicating
Washington’s already difficult position in Iraq. Moreover, it could
further embolden Iran, the US’ main rival in the Middle East, in the
event of anti-Kurdish strategic cooperation developing between Ankara
and Teheran.
When Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan threatened to invade northern
Iraq on 17 July, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top
officials immediately called their Turkish counterparts to reassure them
of Washington’s willingness to repress hostile PKK activity. However, as
Turkish media reported, Ankara’s officials cast doubts on Washington’s
real will to engage the PKK militarily.
The big question now is whether Buyukanit will accept Western calls for
restraint or will push for autonomous military action against the PKK.
Dr Seyfi Tashan, president of the Ankara-based Foreign Policy Institute,
holds a more optimistic view of the evolution of Turkey’s relations with
the West, and interprets Erdogan’s actions and declarations on the
Kurdish question in a different way.
He told ISN Security Watch last week that `Erdogan’s July statements
must be understood as a warning of last resort from Turkey, intended to
encourage the US to effectively intervene. He says Washington was
actually receptive of the encouragement.
However, “both the US and the EU have to understand that it is Turkey’s
right to defend itself, under UN Article 52, and that being sympathetic
to the West, just like entering the EU, cannot mean renouncing the right
to self-defense.’
With regards to Buyukanit’s appointment, he said `the general may have a
different style than Ozkok, but he won’t reverse the pro-Western
orientation of secular Turkey, nor he will be less committed to democracy.”
“Turkey is a solid secular republic and a free country with different
influential opinions. Some think the military shouldn’t have such an
important role, but in the end, the constitution has allowed for
democracy to flourish.’
Similarly, Dr Tashan maintained that `European media often misunderstand
Turkey’s intentions on Cyprus.’
Many indeed view Ankara’s stance on the presence of Turkish troops on
the Mediterranean island as far too rigid in relation to Greek Cypriot
expectations and EU reconciliation efforts.
`Turkey indeed wants a settlement, and it perfectly understands that no
EU membership will be possible without it, but at the same time, it
considers its duty to protect the safety of Turkish Cypriots,’ Tashan said.
`General Buyukanit’s appointment won’t prejudice the long but steady
process of settlement, and continuity will prevail.’
Energy security
While Turkey’s importance for the trans-Atlantic security structure in
the Cold War era was linked to its geostrategic role for NATO, the US
and the EU now see Ankara as a key ally in energy policy.
Turkey occupies an ideal geographic location for energy supplies, as a
gateway between the oil- and gas-rich former Soviet countries and
Southeastern Europe, and between the Black Sea region and the Middle East.
However, Turkey’s strategic significance in energy security has risen in
recent years also because of Russia’s assertive energy policy in the
context of US-Russian competition in Eastern Europe, the Caspian region
and Central Asia. This has become even more evident since the 15-17
August Eurasian Economic Community summit held in Sochi, on the Black
Sea, which gathered together Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Moscow agreed with Minsk and Astana to create
a customs union, while another project involves a common market.
As a result, Russia seems to have gained the upper hand in Central Asia,
and at the same time, Moscow’s recent gas deal with Algeria likely will
increase Europe’s dependence upon Russian gas.
Turkey’s independence from Russian-dominated energy markets is
consequently an important asset for Europe. London, together with
Washington, actively promoted the construction and commercial launch of
the recently inaugurated Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, whose
geopolitical significance has been often interpreted as basically
anti-Russian.
However, in recent years, Russia’s relationship with Turkey has featured
a complex combination of political competition (mainly in Central Asia)
and economic cooperation. Generally speaking, Moscow’s relations with
Ankara have become friendlier, and Russia has even been courting Turkey
to engage in more extensive collaboration in the energy field.
Hence, Condoleezza Rice recently warned Ankara to work with the US-EU
combine so as not to allow Russia to play a monopolist role in Europe’s
energy supplies. Moscow, however, maintains that energy cooperation with
Turkey is `inevitable,’ and that nobody can prevent the two players from
effectively coordinating their energy strategies.
Tashan told ISN Security Watch that `the US and EU should not think that
there will be an absolute alternative between Russia or Turkey: at a
time of globalization and economic interdependence, the answer to
Western energy needs is rather ‘Russia and Turkey’.’
According to Tashan, Ankara `favorably sees itself as a major energy hub
to Southern Europe.’
Turkey’s energy cooperation will not be limited to Russia. Azerbaijan
and Iran will also play a major role. British Petroleum (BP) will soon
complete the South Caucasus pipeline linking the Azeri offshore field of
Shah Deniz to Erzurum in Turkey; the Nabucco project, a planned pipeline
linking northern Iran to Europe through the Caspian and Turkey, also has
a good chance of being approved. Hence, Turkey will not only guarantee
its own energy security, but also will be able to redistribute gas to
Italy and even to Israel in the future.
As Tashan reminded: `Turkey and Greece are already building a
300-kilometer connector that will be finished by the end of the year and
will make it possible to deliver gas to Italy.’
Being well aware of its strategic role in energy security, Turkey seems
eager to take full advantage of it and does not appear overly concerned
by US and EU anxieties over Russia. Rather than a context marked by
rigid alternatives and fierce Turkish-Russian competition, the future is
most likely to bring a more complex game in which cooperation and
competition will coexist, with regional players opting for flexible
strategies to suit their political and economic needs.
Federico Bordonaro, based in Italy, is an analyst of international
relations and geopolitics with the Power and Interest News Report (PINR)
and Strategic-Road.com. He is an expert on the new structure of the
international system after the Cold War, the European integration
process, security and defense issues and political realism.
fm?id=16582

“YERKRAMAS” NEWSPAPER TO CELEBRATE ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY IN SEPTEMBER
ArmRadio.am
29.08.2006 16:38
Krasnodar based “Yerkramas” newspapers of the Russian-Armenians will
celebrate its 10th anniversary in September. The editorial office of
the newspaper informs that on the occasion of the jubilee the paper
is receiving congratulations from different international, Russian
and Armenian organizations.
Particularly, the World Human Benevolent Fund has awarded “For the Sake
of Humanity ” medal to the newspaper. The medal is generally awarded
to individuals and organizations having considerable contribution to
civic life.

LEBANESE PRESIDENT, BRITISH MP GALLOWAY COMMENT ON WAR “VICTORY”
Lebanese National News Agency website
28 Aug 06
Lebanese National News Agency at 1348 gmt on 28 August carries a
report on several meetings held by Lebanese President Emile Lahhud
at the B’abda Palace on 28 August.
The report first details statements made by President Emile Lahhud
during a meeting with a Jordanian delegation as follows:
Statements by Lebanese president
“President Emile Lahhud hoped that the UN secretary-general, who is
visiting Lebanon, would not make Lebanon wait for days and weeks to
lift the blockade that Israel has been imposing on it since 12 July,
contrary to [UN] Security Council Resolution No 1701. The president
asked: Is it not the duty of the UN secretary-general to ensure the
implementation of Security Council resolutions? President Lahhud said
that a new Israeli military round is unlikely because the Israelis
will think a hundred times before committing any new aggression. The
president called on Arab countries to raise their voices and demand
their right and have national resistance, as we did in Lebanon and
achieved victory.”
The NNA report says that the Lebanese president made these
statements during his meeting today with a delegation of the Jordanian
professional associations, which came to Lebanon to express solidarity
with the Lebanese people and extend congratulations on “the victory
that has been achieved against the Israeli enemy”.
The report then notes that Dr Hashim Abu-Hassan, president of the
Doctors Association in Jordan, delivered a speech on behalf of
the delegation, voicing solidarity with Lebanon and praising its
“steadfastness”.
The NNA report says that Lahhud responded by noting that “Lebanon
achieved victory thanks to its national resistance, which fought
for the sake of all of Lebanon and the Arab nation and free people
in the world”. Lahhud adds: “This victory was not only over Israel,
but over all the countries that supplied it with the most sophisticated
weapons and most lethal and criminal hardware, which is internationally
prohibited. The world will speak about this victory which was achieved
by Lebanon. So far, the West and the USA have not understood how a
small country like Lebanon managed, through its resistance, which is
not great in terms of numbers, to achieve victory over Israel, whose
army is considered the fourth military power in the world. Regrettably,
they are still seeking to get through diplomacy what they lost in
the war. Some big countries support Israel at the Security Council,
led by the USA.”
The report further quotes Lahhud as saying: “On the occasion of the
visit of the UN secretary-general to Lebanon, we told him that Israel
is the one that started the war, and we want compensation for what it
committed against Lebanon. Also, we must reach a cease-fire and not
a cessation of hostilities because Israel uses this pretext to carry
out abortive attacks. We also demand lifting the blockade on Lebanon.”
Lahhud said that he had asked Annan to send a specialized team to
examine the destruction and the rubble to find out what type of weapons
had been used by Israel after “it became clear that the Israelis used
cluster bombs, phosphoric bombs and depleted uranium”.
Statement by British MP Galloway
The NNA report then adds that Lahhud held another meeting with British
MP George Galloway today. The report says that Galloway congratulated
Lahhud on the “victory” achieved by Lebanon in its war against
Israel. The report quotes Galloway as making the following statement:
“I had an excellent meeting with President Lahhud, whom I have met
several times previously and whom I hold in great esteem. In my
capacity as an MP in the British parliament and one of the leaders
of the anti-war British movement, I am here to extend my condolences
over the great human losses sustained by Lebanon during the Israeli
aggression. I also want to extend my congratulations to the Lebanese
people, especially the national resistance in Lebanon, for the great
victory it has achieved against the disproportionate attack carried
out by Israel, which sustained a historic and big defeat that will be
analysed for thousands of years. In this capacity, I wanted to tell
the Lebanese president and people that Tony Blair does not speak
for us. We are ashamed of the role he played during 34 days of the
aggression. He did everything he could to extend the duration of the
war and deepen the suffering of the Lebanese people in the service of
George Bush and the government of Israel. I wanted to explain that,
by doing this, he does not speak on behalf of our country because
the overwhelming majority in Britain is against Blair’s policy in the
Middle East and against the interest he focuses on in foreign policy to
please President Bush. It is important for him to know this because, of
course, on the official level, all countries, including Lebanon, have
to deal with the British prime minister. This is understandable. But
you should know that public opinion in Britain is with the Lebanese,
not with Israel, and not with the great suffering that occurred here
and that was allowed to occur by Britain and the USA and finally by
the international community.”
The NNA further quotes Galloway as saying:
“My feeling is that there is a chance today for a comprehensive
resolution concerning Middle East problems, which caused this war
and all previous wars.
If we fail to seize this opportunity, there will be other wars. The
time is now right, especially since Israel has realized that it can
no longer depend on its military superiority because the days of its
military control are almost over. This is the right time for Israel
and the whole world to decide that they should sit around the table
to reach a comprehensive settlement.”
Galloway adds that this means “Israel’s withdrawal from all the
occupied territories, including the Shab’a Farms and the Golan,
respecting the rights of Palestinian refugees, releasing political
prisoners and establishing a real Palestinian state, with Jerusalem
as its capital.” Galloway said he is optimistic about reaching this
settlement.
The NNA report says that Lahhud met with other people, including a
delegation from the Amal Movement, an Algerian delegation, former
minister Wi’am Wahhab and the patriarch of Orthodox Armenians in
Lebanon. The report provides details of these meetings.

ARMENIAN MINISTER URGES AZERIS TO TAKE “CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACH” IN KARABAKH TALKS
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
28 Aug 06
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has met US co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza within the framework of Caspian
Outlook 2008 Strategic Forum in Slovenia’s Bled city.
Oskanyan today’s speech at the conference was devoted to Armenia-EU
relations within the European Neighbourhood Policy. Vardan Oskanyan
noted that the European Neighbourhood Policy conforms to Armenia’s
reforms programme.
He said that Azerbaijan’s policy to resolve the conflict in a military
way or to extend it is an obstacle for the Karabakh settlement process.
He said that today the [Karabakh] negotiations are at a critical
stage and the international community should do its best to persuade
Azerbaijan to take a realistic and constructive approach and start
a serious discussion of the principles which are on the negotiating
table.