RA AMBASSADOR ASHOT GALOYAN HANDS HIS CREDENTIALS TO LATVIAN AND ESTONIAN PRESIDENTS
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jul 5 2006
RIGA, JULY 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On June 27, Ambassador
of Armenia Ashot Galoyan handed his credentials to Latvian President
Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
The Latvian President, congratulating the Armenian Ambassador on the
occasion of his appointment, wished him success in his high mission.
Vaira Vike-Freiberga expressed satisfaction with the level of political
dialogue between the two countries and expressed the hope that the
possible potential will be used for extension and deepening the
cooperation between Lativa and Armenia in the coming years.
Ashot Galoyan said that Armenia sees a stable partner in Latvia within
the framework of European integration, especially New Neighborhood
policy, as well as cooperation of Baltic and South Caucasian regions.
During his visit to Latvia the Armenian Ambassador had official
meetings with Latvian Minister of Economy, Defence Minister,
Chairman of Parliament Commission on Foreign Relations, members of
Latvia-Armenia deputy group, State Secretary of Foreign Ministry,
Director of Bilateral Relations Board and Chairman of Latvian
Businessmen’s Union.
At the meeting with the Latvian Minister of Economy the Latvian
side stated that they are ready to found an Armenian-Latvian
Intergovernmental Commission for working out bilateral economic
programs and developing mutually beneficial cooperation.
The Armenian Ambassador also met with the Armenian community of Latvia.
As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Foreign Ministry Press and
Information Department, on June 29, Ashot Galoyan handed his
credentials to Estonian President Arnold Ruutel.
The Estonian President congratulated Ashot Galoyan on the occasion
of being appointed on the high and responsible post of Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Estonia.
He said that Estonia is ready to closely cooperate with Armenia both by
bilateral and different formats, in political, economic and cultural
spheres, and expressed readiness to visit Armenia in terms convenient
for Armenia and to make speeches, to give lectures in defence of the
process of solving the difficult problems faced by Armenia.
During his visit to Estonia the Armenian Ambassador had official
meetings and discussed various issues relating to bilateral relations
with the Estonian Prime Minister, Minister of Economy, Parliament
Vice-Speaker, Chairman of Parliament Commission on Foreign Relations,
Foreign Ministry Political Director and Director of Foreign Ministry
Third Political Board on Bilateral Relations.
Ashot Galoyan also met with the Armenian community and discussed
issues interesting the community in Tallin.

NKR POPULATION OPINION CAN’T BE NEGLECTED
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 15:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “We stand for a peaceful settlement in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and the interests of the NKR people should certainly
be taken into consideration, AAA Executive Director Bryan D. Ardouny
said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. “First I was in Stepanakert
in 1998, then in 2001. Considerable changes are taking place there:
the people have overcome incredible hardships and now build their
own state. As for the absence of NKR in negotiation process, this
is not correct. As I have already said any decision should be made
taking into account the opinion of the NKR population. Thus, its
participation in the talks is essential,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI MEDIA DISTORT INFORMATION ON FIRES IN KARABAKH
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 16:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There are no facts proving arsons in Nagorno
Karabakh, chairman of the permanent committee on defense, security
and order at the NKR National Assembly Rudolf Martirosyan stated in
Stepanakert today. In his words, presently the Fire Fighting Service
of the republic stands on duty round the clock to help the population
to reap harvest. “The NKR government assigned funds for the efficiency
of the Fire Fighting Service activities. We keep the situation under
control and being informed of all the local fires do our utmost to
prevent them,” Martirosyan said. As for the recent reports of the
Azeri media, in the deputy’s words, this information is completely
distorted. “Speaking of arsons set to Azeri houses is absurd,” he said,
reported Novosti-Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CALIFORNIAN COURIER: CONFIRMATION HEARING FOR NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR DESIGNATE DELAYED
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 16:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Confirmation hearing for New U.S. Ambassador
Designate Richard Hoagland was delayed over the protests of the
Armenian community of America, Congressmen and media against the recall
of incumbent Ambassador to Armenia John Evans, reported Californian
Courier. “Last week the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs discussed
the nominations of Ambassadors to three states – Ireland, Switzerland
and Armenia. The designates for Ireland and Switzerland were confirmed,
but the confirmation hearing on the Ambassador to Armenia was delayed
for an uncertain period,” it says.
Some committee members including former presidential contender John
Kerry submitted written inquiries to nominee Hoagland with a request
to shed light on the orders he received from the State Department
as regards the Armenian Genocide. The newspaper says during last
week’s hearing some Senators asked a number of harsh questions on
the pre-term recall of Amd. Evans.
The American and Armenian press many times reiterated that the recall
of Ambassador Evans was caused by the statements on the Armenian
Genocide recognition, reported RFE/RL.

REFERENDUM ON KARABAKH STATUS NOT TO SOLVE CONFLICT BETWEEN NKR AND AZERBAIJAN
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 17:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ For the most part, the referendum on the status of
Karabakh will bot settle the opposition between the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic and Azerbaijan, NKR President’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs
Arman Melikyan stated in an interview with Respublika Armenia
newspaper. In his words, it’s whether Azerbaijan, which cites its
Constitution and says that it doesn’t allow adoption of such decisions
by a part of its population, will agree on in some 5 or 10 years. The
idea of a postponed referendum implies a mechanism, which provide the
possibility not to find the final resolution of the conflict but to
unblock communications. At the expense of these communications serious
regional and geopolitical issues may be solved,” Melikyan said. However
he did not rule out that the postponed referendum is beneficial for
some third states, which do not wish these communication to function
within next 5-10 years.

ARMENIAN DELEGATION FAMILIARIZED OSCE PA WITH FACTS OF ARMENIAN MONUMENTS DESTRUCTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 17:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During today’s sitting of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly in Brussels a report organized by Austrian deputy Wolfgang
Grossruck was heard, third secretary of the Armenian Embassy in Belgium
Tigran Balayan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, the Azeri
delegation proposed 11 amendments. Over half of them were rejected
thanks to the efforts of the Armenian delegation members. In part,
the Armenian delegation succeeded in excluding the amendments that said
“Kosovo model cannot be used as precedent for the settlement of other
conflicts”. The other rejected amendment said that the territories
should be returned to the state, to which they belonged before the
start of the conflict. There were also some other amendments that
were refused. I should also mention that Armenia supported a number
of technical amendments proposed by Azerbaijan and this was welcomed
by the Assembly,” Balayan said.
He also informed that Armenian MP Artashes Geghamyan addressed the
Assembly with a speech on the destruction of the Armenian historical
and cultural monuments on the territory of Azerbaijan.

TURKEY NOT READY FOR EU
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.07.2006 17:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Following an attack on a French Catholic priest in
Samsun on Sunday, a top Vatican official said yesterday that Turkey
shouldn’t become a member of the European Union until freedom of
religion is guaranteed. Speaking to Italian daily Corriere de la
Sera, Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican’s department
for Christian Unity, said, “We believe that Turkey isn’t ready to
integrate with Europe. If it were a truly secular state, it would be
able to guarantee freedom of religion. Right now the atmosphere in the
country is very tense and hostile towards minorities.” Charging that
freedom of religion in Turkey is restricted by radical nationalism
and fundamentalism, Kasper added he doesn’t think attacks on members
of the clergy and missionaries are personal. Kasper also said that
as freedom of religion isn’t guaranteed, Turkey isn’t ready to join
the EU, reported Yerkir.

ARMENIA DOESN’T GET PREPARED FOR NEW STAGE OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY
By Nana Petrosian
AZG Armenian Daily
06/07/2006
Armenia doesn’t get prepared for the new stage of negotiations with
Turkey. Vladimir Karapetian, Press Secretary of RA Foreign Ministry,
informed about this.
It’s worth mentioning that the press secretary of Turkish Foreign
Ministry spread quite an opposite statement, emphasizing the importance
of shaping a joint commission of the Armenian and Turkish historians
for studying the issue of the Armenian Genocide.
In response, Mr. Karapetian reminded that Ra president has already
responded the relevant letter of the Turkish Prime Minister. He added
that the expected three meetings with the Turkish side at diplomatic
level were not active and fruitful enough.

RA PRESIDENT PAYS TWO DAYS WORKING VISIT TO ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
By Nana Petrosian
AZG Armenian Daily
06/07/2006
RA President Robert Kocharian is currently paying a two days’
working visit to the Islamic republic of Iran. The delegation of
the Armenian statesmen includes RA Foreign and Energy Ministers,
Head of RA President’s Staff, RA Ambassador to Iran and other high
ranked officials. The sides will hold various meetings and sign
documents. After the meeting, RA President Robert Kocharian and Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a press conference. President
visited the memorial of Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Khamenei, Supreme leader
of the Iranian people, and laid a wreath on his grave.
It’s worth mentioning that in the preparation stage of the meeting
Armen Movsisian, RA Energy Minister, met with Vazir Khamanei, Iranian
Oil Minister, and Parviz Fattahi, Iranian Energy Minister, to prepare
the July 5-6 meeting of RA President Robert Kocharian. At the meeting
the sides discussed a number of issues on energy cooperation included
in the agenda of the coming Presidential meeting. In particular, the
sides touched upon the construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline,
as well as other projects for energy cooperation. In his turn,
Arman Kirakosian, RA Deputy Foreign Minister, met with Manouchekhr
Mottaki, Iranian Foreign Minister. In the course of the meeting the
sides touched upon the organization issues for the coming visit of
RA President. They also dwelt on the regional political-economic
cooperation, as well as the implementation of the agreements
signed by the Armenian-Iranian inter-parliamentary commission for
cooperation. Iranian FM represented the current situation around
the nuclear program of Iran and inquired about the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement process.

IN BAKU THEY GET ANGRY AND SURPRISED AT SUGGESTIONS OF OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS
By Nana Petrosian
AZG Armenian Daily
06/07/2006
The Azeries get angry and surprised at the recent statements by the
OSCE MG Co-Chairs. The press Secretary of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
informed that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process is
based on the negotiations of RA and Azeri Foreign Ministers and not
on the statements by the OSCE MG Co-Chairs. “Day.Az” informed that the
co-chairs’ emphasis on the meeting of RA and Azeri Presidents aroused
the surprised of the press secretary. The latter stated that everyone
knows that the settlement process is based on the negotiations of RA
and Azeri Foreign Ministers who should discuss the whole package of
serious issues and prepare the probable meeting of the presidents of
two countries.
By the way, Araz Azimov, RA Foreign Minister, said that there is no
prepared draft for the framework agreement to sign.