ARMENIAN FM: NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY WERE HELD BEFORE ERDOGAN WROTE TO KOCHARYAN
Regnum, Russia
June 8 2006
Negotiations and meetings between Armenian and Turkish diplomats have
always taken place, at a higher or at a lower level, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan told journalists on June 8.
“However, recently allegations have appeared in the Turkish press
that the talks between the two states were initiated by the letter of
the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan. This is not true, meetings were held before that,”
Oskanian said.
Turkish sources claim that Erdogan’s letter was followed by three
privy meetings between Turkish and Armenian diplomats. The last of the
meetings, i. e. the third round of negotiations, was held in March
in the margins of the summit of the three European Union countries
in Vienna. Head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Abdullah Gul took
personal part in the talks.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHAIRMANSHIP IN PABSEC TO BE TRANSFERRED TO AZERBAIJAN
Author: A.Mammadov
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
Today the 27th plenary meeting of the General Assembly of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC)
was completed in Armenia.
According to the speaker of Armenian parliament Tigran Torosyan, the
work of the Assembly was beneficial and aimed at resolving unsettled
questions facing the countries of the region.
On the final day of the meeting, the participants adopted the agenda
of the next 28th meeting of General Assembly which will be held in
Baku in November 2006.
The agenda of the meeting included various issues related to
alternative energy resources and their possible application in the
Black Sea region, optimization of international conditions in studying,
mitigating and minimizing the disasters in the Black Sea region,
legal protection of intellectual property, globalization process and
potential threats of cultural diversity.
The chairmanship in PABSEC will be transferred from Armenia to
Azerbaijan in near 6 months.

IRAN DENIES ITS TV CHANNEL’S REPORT ON ‘GARABAGH INDEPENDENCE’
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
Baku, June 7, AssA-Irada
Iran’s state-run television channel has reportedly termed Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region under Armenian occupation, as an
independent country, despite its officials dismissing the statement.
The head of Iranian Foreign Ministry’s department on CIS, Mehdi
Safari, has told the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry that the reports
have no merit.
According to some media reports, the neighboring country’s TV-1
channel maintained that Upper Garabagh has been an independent state
for 15 years, while Azerbaijan is allegedly putting forth “territorial
claims” against the self-styled republic. The reports were commenting
on Sunday’s round of talks between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents
in Bucharest to discuss settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
The Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada said that in his
statement, Safari indicated that as a state channel, TV-1 expresses
only the position of the Iranian government and the latter’s stance
on the Garabagh conflict is clear.

RUSSIA WITHDRAWING FROM GEORGIA ACCORDING TO PLAN – COMMANDER -1
RIA Novosti, Russia
June 08, 2006
TBILISI, June 6 (RIA Novosti) – Another train with Russian military
hardware from a Soviet-era military base in Georgia departed from the
former Soviet republic according to plan, a senior Russian military
officer said Thursday.
Major-General Andrei Popov, in command of the Russian troops in the
South Caucasus, said the train had departed from the Black Sea base
of Batumi. He added that the remaining equipment at the base could be
removed by three trains, whereas 15 trains would be needed to withdraw
the remaining hardware from a base in Akhalkalaki in southern Georgia.
“The equipment is being removed according to schedule and without
any problems,” Popov said.
Under an agreement Russia and Georgia signed March 31, Russian
troops and hardware are to leave Georgia’s two Soviet-era bases in
Akhalkalaki and Batumi by 2008. The pullout from Akhalkalaki, about
30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Turkey, a NATO member,
is to be completed by December 2006.
Trains carrying equipment from the Akhalkalaki base depart once a
week from a railway station in Tsalka, 100 kilometers (62 miles)
east of the base, Popov said.
The withdrawal is being monitored by a joint Georgian-Russian
commission set up under the March agreement.
The bulk of Russia’s weapons will return to Russia and the rest of
it will be delivered to a Russia military base in Armenia.

TURKISH JOURNALIST CLEARED IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH TRIAL
Agence France Presse — English
June 8, 2006 Thursday 3:40 PM GMT
A Turkish court Thursday acquitted a prominent Turkish journalist in
a freedom of speech case linked to debate over the mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The court ruled that Murat Belge, a columnist for the daily Radikal,
did not insult the judiciary when he criticized a court decision that
briefly blocked a landmark conference last year on the massacres,
a long-standing taboo that Turks have only recently began to discuss.
The judge dropped similar charges against Belge over a second
critical article on the same issue, citing the statute of limitations,
Anatolia reported.
Belge risked up to 10 years in jail for the two articles.
The European Union has repeatedly warned Ankara that the prosecution
of intellectuals for exercising their right to free speech is damaging
Turkey’s membership bid.
Charges against four other leading journalists, who had been indicted
with Belge in the same case, were dropped in April because their
articles fell under the scope of the statute of limitations.
A landmark conference contesting Ankara’s official line on the Armenian
massacres — recognized as genocide by many Western countries —
was blocked in September when a court, petitioned by a group of
nationalists, ordered the suspension of the event.
It was held the following day after the organizers changed the venue
to circumvent the court order.
The ruling came under widespread criticism, including harsh words by
the EU and even the Turkish government, which backed the event in a
bid to prove its tolerance of dissenting views.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings during World War I and want the massacres to
be internationally recognized as genocide.
Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and argues that
300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife
when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and
sided with Russian troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

APPROVAL OF EU-ARMENIA ACTION PLAN DELAYED OWING TO NEIGHBOR STATES
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.06.2006 15:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Talks with European Parliament Vice-President Edward
MacMillan-Scott in Yerevan were rather successful, Armenian FM Vartan
Oskanian stated at a news conference in Yerevan. “Vice-President’s
statement that Armenia can become EU member in coming 10 years was
good news to me,” Oskanian said.
The Armenian FM also noted that talks between Armenia and the EU over
approval of the Action Plan are not over yet. “There are no unsolved
matters within the program and there is no need for another round
of talks over the Action Plan. Delay of the final decision is due to
our neighbors having some difficulties with the EU,” Oskanian said.
As of Iran’s nuclear program, in the Armenian FM’s words, “Yerevan
assesses as positive the fact that Teheran did not turn down the EU
new proposals.” “We welcome EU High Representative for the Common
Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana’s efforts in Teheran and the
intention of the US to hold direct dialogue with Iran. We also hope
that it will be possible to solve Iran’s nuclear issue by means of
talks, without application of sanctions and military force,” Oskanian
underscored. The Armenian FM refused to comment on anti-government
statements of Azerbaijani residents of northern provinces of Iran.

ARMENIA-DIASPORA THIRD FORUM TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN IN SEPTEMBER 2006
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.06.2006 15:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia-Diaspora Third Forum will be held in
Yerevan September 18-20, Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian stated at
a news conference in Yerevan. In his words, 15 years of Armenia’s
independence will be summarized at the forum. “Cultural events will be
held within the forum framework. One Nation, One Culture festival and
Golden Apricot Third Cinema Festival will be held before the forum,”
Vartan Oskanian remarked.
The Armenian FM also said that challenges changed in the course of the
past 15 years and so did the country. “We have other opportunities
now, other potential. Armenia is much stronger now and is able to
solve challenges the people and the country face,” he emphasized.
The forum will open September 18. Armenian President Robert Kocharian
and NKR President Arkday Ghoukassian, Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II and Catholicos of the Great Cilician House Aram I will
address the first plenary session. Relations between Armenia and
Diaspora, cooperation prospects will be discussed at the session. The
second day will focus on agriculture exclusively. New Solutions of
Old Problems of XXI Century Problems for Nation and State conference
will be held on the third, final day of the forum.
“By convening the Armenia-Diaspora forum we hope that by uniting all
national possibilities, capabilities, we can jointly solve all-national
problems and create secure conditions for development and prosperity
of the country,” Oskanian stressed.

US COMMITTED TO KARABAKH PEACEFUL RESOLUTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.06.2006 15:33 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The United States remains committed to helping
secure a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, said
US Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza. In his words, the
Presidents met in Bucharest last weekend for intensive, detailed
negotiations. “Obviously, no breakthrough was reached, but we
continue to believe that 2006 represents a window of opportunity
if the Presidents can make difficult, courageous decisions to move
forward with a settlement,” he underscored.
Bryza also stressed that the United States is interested in
broadening cooperation with Azerbaijan in all fields. “We already
enjoy excellent cooperation on military and security matters, energy
issues, and democratic and economic reforms. President Aliyev’s visit
to Washington was very successful in advancing this cooperation and we
hope to deepen our cooperation still further in the weeks and months
to come,” he remarked, reports Trend.

TALKS ON KARABAKH TO BE HELD WITHIN DARTMOUTH CONFERENCE GROUP JUNE 18-20
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.06.2006 17:34 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 18 – 20 the 10th round of the talks between
the representatives of Armenian, Azeri and Nagorno Karabakh public
within the frames of the American-Russian Working Group of Dartmouth
Conference on Regional Conflicts will be held in Snegiri, a town in
the Moscow region. The issues to be discussed will be determined at
the spot. However, it is known that in the course of the 10th round
of the talks the outcomes of Armenian and Azeri Presidents’ latest
meeting in Bucharest are to be discussed.
Some modifications have been made in the Armenian delegation:
first Ombudsperson of Armenia, Executive Director of the Fund
against Violations of Law Larisa Alaverdyan had been included in
the delegation.
The Dartmouth Conference on Regional Conflicts is the only format of
the Karabakh talks held with the participation of the representatives
of the Nagorno Karabakh public. At the 9th round of the talks within
the framework of the Dartmouth Conference on Karabakh held in December,
2005 a Framework Agreement on the peace process in the region was
coordinated and approved by Armenian, Azeri and Nagorno Karabakh
representatives. March 2006 the Co-Chairs Harold Saunders and Vitaly
Naumkin visited Baku, Yerevan and Stepanakert for the first time,
reports De-Facto agency.

IN 2011 ZVARTNOTS AIRPORT TO RECEIVE 3 MILLION PASSENGERS ANNUALLY
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.06.2006 17:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Zvartnots airport will have flights round the
clock beginning on July 2, Airport Director Juan Pablo Gechijian
told journalists. In his words, owing to repair works at the landing
strip all flights since this March were put off till evening. “The
arrival hall of airport new complex will open in September, while the
waiting room will be ready by spring 2007. The new complex provides an
opportunity to receive 2 million passengers annually instead of today’s
1.2 million. After construction works finish in 2011, the airport will
have the capacity to receive 3 million passengers,” Gechijian remarked.