Sargsyan Heads Council of Republican Party of Armenia
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.07.2006 14:54 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At today’s extraordinary 10th session of the
Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) changes were made in the statute
and regulations of the Party. The post of Chair of the Party Council,
which is the First Deputy Chairman and is commissioned to make official
statements, is restored. RPA Deputy Chairmen are also commissioned
to make statements.
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan, who lately became RPA member, has
headed the Council of Republican Party of Armenia. The Council is
composed of 70 people, who will convene once a month according to
the new regulations.

Baku Aggressive Policy Hampers Karabakh Settlement
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.07.2006 13:59 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A package of proposals of the OSCE MG co-chairs over
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict could have been acceptable,
Chair of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan stated in Yerevan. In his words, Azerbaijan’s aggressive
policy hampers it.
“The RPA is committed to peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. This includes international recognition of NKR, impossibility
of NK being part of Azerbaijan, securing NKR population, a common
border with Armenia,” Margaryan said. He underscored that NK should
take part in the talks without fail. “The solution of the conflict
should be acceptable to all parties,” the RPA Chair said.
From: Baghdasarian

CIS Leaders Discuss Commonwealth Reform
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.07.2006 15:11 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ When opening the meeting Russian
President said that he knows the Chairman has prepared proposals on
development of the organization. Thus Putin suggested focusing on
it. He gave the word to CIS Chairman Nursultan Nazarbayev. The Kazakh
President reminded that yesterday via the Embassy a project was sent,
which they would like to present for consideration. “This is one of
the proposals. Anyone can add something,” he explained. “The reforms
have one common goal, i.e. find parameters, which fit all of us,
and for the states not consider themselves deprived in any matter,”
Nazarbayev remarked.
The Russian President thanked all participants of the meeting
for considering possible to arrive in Moscow yesterday and have
an informal meeting today. Putin noted that yesterday the summit
participants had an opportunity to speak in an absolutely informal
atmosphere. In his words, after the meeting in the Kremlin the CIS
leaders will continue discussion outside Kremlin wall, will touch
upon bilateral and multilateral matters. Specifically, the CIS leaders
will be present at the horse races for the Russian President’s Prize,
reports RIA Novosti.
The President of Armenia could not take part in the informal summit
of CIS leaders due to illness.

Azeri Journalist Asks Armenian People Pardon
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.07.2006 15:25 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Luiza Poghosyan did not call the Genocide a myth. She
merely wanted to say that the myth is the conviction that the Genocide
not being recognized by Turks hampers us in developing relations
with Turkey. This is stated by a letter of Azeri participant of South
Caucasus Alternative Alekper Aliyev, received by PanARMENIAN.Net. As
we reported earlier, Aliyev has somehow distorted the text of the
statement of editor of web-site Luiza Poghosyan
at a six-sided meeting of citizens and NGOs of Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Nagorno Karabakh, Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, held in Yerevan
July 8-13.
Aliyev interpreted her words as, “The myth on genocide, we are
stuffed with, has become a complex for the Armenian society and made
it sick. We raise our children in hatred towards Turks. In this case
Turks for us are Turkey and Azerbaijan. We are told we won a war,
however, actually our entire region lost, specifically we lost. No
development is observed, nothing good is taking place. How long can
this hatred propaganda last? We cannot work for the future, constantly
thinking retrospectively.”
“It turned out that I misunderstood Luiza’s first sentence. Luiza
Poghosyan was saying a totally different thing. I exacted it from my
friends, who participated in that meeting. I ask Armenian people’s
and my friend’s pardon!” Alekper Aliyev writes.

AZG Armenian Daily #137, 22/07/2006
OSCE Fact Finding Mission
OSCE FACT FINDING MISSION CONFIRM ARMENIANS DON’T SET
ON FIRE BORDERLINE AREAS
NKR Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian met with
Gunter Volk, Field
Assistant of the Personal Representative of OSCE
Chairman in Office, on July 20.
The press service of NKR Foreign Ministry informed
that Mr. Volk handed the OSCE report on the fires in
the forests near Azerbaijan-NKR border to Mr. Mailian.
At present the report is being studied at NKR Foreign
Ministry. It’s worth mentioning that as a result of
the monitoring activities, the OSCE Fact Finding
Mission found no trace of harm made by the fires to
Azeri settlements near the borders, which was claimed
by Azerbaijan.
By Nana Petrosian

AZG Armenian Daily #137, 22/07/2006
Opinion
ARMENIAN POLITICAL EXPERTS DISCUSS ISSUE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH PEACEFUL
SETTLEMENT
The Conflict and Peace Research Armenian Association initiated a
political experts’ dedicated to the discussion of the recent statement
by OSCE MG Co-Chair Matthew Bryza. Khachik Galstian, Head of the
Association, gave a positive evaluation to the settlement project. He
said that the new suggestions by the OSCE MG are meant to settle the
contradictions in the principles for the self-determination of the
nations and the territorial integrity of the states.
Mr. Galstian believes that it is impossible to reach that within
the project’s framework, as it does not emphasize the priority to
the determination of Nagorno Karabakh’s status. Stephan Grigorian,
a political expert, noted that in the program the cessations
by Armenia and Azerbaijan are not balanced: the Armenians receive
nothing in exchange of withdrawing the military forces and returning
Azeri refugees. Galstain stated that the weak point in the settlement
scheme is the issue of considering and imposing the deployment of the
peace keeping forces in the zone of the conflict. The cornerstone of
the issue is the very formula for these forces formation that may
yield unexpected results in cases they are not perfect. Moreover,
the deployment of the peacekeepers may break the current balance of
the forces based on solely the political will of the sides in conflict
for peaceful settlement. In his turn Aleksander Manasian, political
expert, stated that the co-sponsors of the peaceful settlement
process see the settlement only at political layer, as they consider
that from solely the political viewpoint. He added that the Azeri
side that put the stress on the issue of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity misled the international organizations. As a result,
it’s impossible to find the solution to the given problem. While
Stepan Grigorian, political expert, emphasized the importance of the
settlement of conflicts in Montenegro and soon in Kosovo, when the two
international basic principles are considered in the same context and
at a same level. Aleksander Iskandarian , Head of the Caucasian Mass
media Institute, stated that “the whole expertise of the problem is
through and this is no intellectual problem any longer.” He added
that the conflict may be settled only politically and depends on
the international political developments. Manvel Sargsian, said that
disclosure of the settlement scheme is a kind of an attempt to exert
pressure on the parties.

AZG Armenian Daily #137, 22/07/2006
Home Politics
“HERITAGE” PARTY INITIATES ROUND TABLE DEDICATED TO NAGORNO KARABAKH
CONFLICT DISCUSSION
The ‘Heritage’ party believes that any decline from the current
position in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, any kind
of unilateral ceding will become a treachery. Vardan Khachatrian,
Secretary of “Heritage’ part, said at July 20 press conference. He
added that Armenia should pose upon Azerbaijan a counter-claim of
Getashen and Shahumian regions – against the claim by Azerbaijan to
return territories adjacent to Karabakh. Khachatrian stated that in
the nearest future his party will initiate a round-table discussion
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and make the relevant statement.

EU Special Representative to Hold Talks with Armenian Leaders
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.07.2006 15:33 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ July 23-25 EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus Peter Semneby will be in Armenia on a working visit, reports
the Press Service of the Armenian MFA. During his visit Mr. Semneby
will meet with Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Speaker Tigran
Torosyan, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan, FM Vartan Oskanian,
Ombudsman Armen Harutyunyan and Central Electoral Commission Chair
Garegin Azaryan.
EU-Armenia cooperation within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP)
will be the main subject of Peter Semneby’s visit.

OSCE MG: No Positive Steps of Karabakh Conflict Parties towards Each Other Yet
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.07.2006 15:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yet there is not any positive step from the sides
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict to meet with each other, said Yuri
Merzlyakov, Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group. Touching on the
disappointment of several politicians for not-invitation of Azerbaijani
and Armenian presidents by the leaders of G8 to the recent summit in
Saint-Petersburg, he noted that he does not “see any sense in inviting
the presidents to the summit.”
According to him, it is necessary to support the sides, when they
reach an agreement. “This question should not be considered at the
G8 summit,” Yuri Merzlyakov added. “We tried to come to an agreement
during last two meetings, but we did not succeed,” Merzlyakov said.
He emphasized that G8 called for Azerbaijan and Armenia to demonstrate
political will and prepare their peoples to peace, not war. Merzlyakov
stressed that the co-chairs of Minsk Group have presented proposals
for consideration by the conflict sides.
Besides, the diplomat ruled out that “it is always sensible to
organize next meetings between the sides and will are trying to do it,”
Trend reports.

Panorama.am
16:20 21/07/06
AMERICANS APPRAISE ARMENIAN RESCUERS
Joe Wheeler, colonel from the Kansas National Guard who is also
co-director of Rescue-2006 exercise told a press conference
today that Armenian rescuers are highly qualified. In his words,
despite of language barriers and differences in the system of troops
administration, the exercises are being held at the top level. He
also said the Armenian rescuers are skillful in quake administration.
Note: Rescue 2005 launched on July 14, 2006 at the Military Aviation
Institute under the ministry of defense. The exercises will run
until July 25. Some 250 specialists from 11 countries take part in
the exercise, including also experts from the International Committee
of Red Cross and UN. The training aims to launch coordinated actions
in case of disaster./Panorama.am/