21 parties interested in Madneuli

The Messenger, Georgia
June 3 2005

Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Georgia Kakha Damenia stated
after opening privatization bids for the Madneuli mining complex on
Wednesday that it would take one to two months to determine the winner.

According to Damenia, the bid review commission will pay attention
to the price suggested by the companies, perspectives of development
of the company and capital structure.

The companies interested in Madneuli include the Resources Capital Fund
(Australia), Liu in Holdings (Bahamas), Eurasian Mining Corporation
(Britain, Columbia), Armenian Cooper Program (Armenia), Horizon
Resources Incorporated (Canada), Bolnisi Gold NL (Georgia), David
Geo Simen (Bahamas), London International Bank (Great Britain),
Kazreti Mining (Georgia), Deno (Switzerland), Rusinkor (Russia),
Stanford International (USA), Rom Trade Limited (Russia – Switzerland)
and France Group (Dubai).

The sale includes 97.25 percent of Madneuli stocks, 50 percent
Qvartsite Ltd stocks, 51 percent of the Georgian Samtamadno Company
stocks and 50 percent of TransGeorgian Resource stocks.

The Ministry of Development of Georgia expects to sell the package
for at least USD 50 million.

The Messenger, Georgia
June 3 2005

CIS leaders in Tbilisi but not optimistic

Ukrainian PM thanks Georgia for paving the way for Orange Revolution
By Keti Sikharulidze

On the eve of the CIS conference in Tbilisi on Friday, leaders from
organization’s member states have mixed feeling about the future of
the alliance.

Political leaders from throughout the former Soviet Union arrived in
Tbilisi on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for the June 3 CIS
Summit. Nine countries reportedly will send representatives to the
meeting and 34 documents are on the agenda, although Georgia will
participate in just nine of those discussions.

On Thursday the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko arrived and
was met personally by President Mikheil Saakashvili. At the airport,
she thanked the Georgian people, the president and the media for their
support during the revolution. “I cannot imagine the Orange Revolution
without Georgia,” she said before leaving with the president for a
trip to the Tsinandali Wine Factory in Kakheti.

Timoshenko is the only summit guest the president has met at the
airport personally, and he said the attention was protocol and also
a tribute to their countries’ friendship.

“She promised to visit Georgia first as the PM, then I though she
was joking, but as I see she kept her word and visited Georgia,”
said Saakashvili. The Ukrainian prime minister postponed her maiden
trip to Moscow on April 15-16 for unclear reasons though it was
speculated the Russian prosecutor had threatened the prime minister,
who is wanted by Russian law enforcement.

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Uzbekistan all sent representatives
as well.

The Prime Minister of Tajikistan Akil Akilov expressed optimism about
the upcoming meeting. According to him, countries should live with
the hope that everything will be all right, something that included
the cooperation of states. “We should cooperate with each other for
the welfare of our people,” he said.

Other representatives were more pessimistic. “It is too hard to
speak about big results in economical cooperation [when] in a number
of countries there are different positions,” the Prime Minister of
Moldova Vasile Tarlev told journalists. “But to just criticize or
not to meet is not the best decision. [Since] there is no progress
in CIS space, such summits are necessary.”

Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze agreed with Tarlev. “I have never
expressed optimism regarding the CIS Summits, as the best decisions
were too often left on paper,” she said. “Or there were cases, when
issues that needed to be discussed were not discussed or were simply
ignored, which caused the weakening of this organization.” She added
that while there might be some economic agreements during the meetings,
she believes the organization’s days are numbered.

Burjanadze also met with another participant of the CIS Summit,
the Prime Minister of Armenia Andranik Markarian. The two reportedly
discussed important issues for both countries.

The main issue of the negotiations were the living conditions of
residents of Armenians living in Akhalkalaki, the majority of whom rely
on a Russian military base for jobs and work. According to Burjanadze,
the government intends to introduce social and economic projects in
the region.

“We had very constructive negotiations with Markarian regarding this
issue. I explained to him that the situation in Samtkhe-Javakheti
region was much different from the situation in other regions in the
rest of Georgia, but I told him about the plans we intend to develop
in the region,” Burjanadze told journalists after the meeting.

Commenting on the bases Markarian clearly noted that he saw no problem
concerning them. “All issues regarding bases were already solved by
the Georgian side,” he said.

According to Burjanadze, they also discussed the building of a new
high-voltage line between Georgia and Armenia.

“We agree and now the working groups will begin implementing the
project,” Armenian PM Andranik Markarian said. “The line is to be
built later this year and will allow Georgia to regularly receive
additional electricity from Armenia,” he added.

The speaker raised the issue regarding the demilitarization of
Russian-Georgian boarder, which Burjanadze said affects both Georgia
and Armenia. “This issue can be used by other forces to [create]
a tense situation between our two countries,” said Burjanadze.

They also discussed the issue of building a railway linking Russia,
Georgia and Armenia via Abkhazia. Burjanadze thinks it possible to
rehabilitate this line, under a guarantee to simultaneously implement
the repatriation of IDPs to Abkhazia.

Markarian raised the problem of protecting Armenian churches in
Georgia. It is has been widely reported that there is controversy
over churches which are currently Georgian Orthodox but Armenia
claims were originally Armenian Apostolic. According to Burjanadze,
the issue will be difficult to resolve without the help of historians.

Diamonds funding Armenian forces
By John Helmer

Mineweb.com
’03-JUN-05 07:39′

MOSCOW (Mineweb.com) — According to a report just issued in Moscow by
the Civil Research Council (CRC), illegal diamond trafficking between
Russia, Armenia, and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is growing fast,
and is the principal source of funding for the armed forces of the
Armenian-based republic in its long-running conflict with neighbouring
Azerbaijan.

Russian researchers, as well as international monitors of the
Kimberley certification process, believe there are links between
Armenians trading in arms and diamonds in the conflict zones of west
and central Africa, diamond manufacturers in Israel, and Armenians
fighting to defend the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

With full control over Shogakn, the largest diamond-polishing
enterprise in Armenia, Lev Leviev, the Israeli diamantaire, says he
is not involved in any diamond cutting operations in the conflict
zone between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The rough for his Armenian plant
comes mainly from Africa through Israel, according to his spokesman.

Leviev acquired Shogakn when the state-owned diamond holding of Amenia
was broken up and privatized. According to his spokesman, he invested
about $3 million in new equipment, and currently employs 1,500 cutters
to produce about 30,000 carats per month. Annual turnover, according
to Leviev’s spokesman, is about $150 million, making Shogakn one of
the largest diamond-cutting plants in the world.

The Shogakn management is constantly on the alert to deter and stop
attempts at running smuggled goods through the cutting works, the
source added.

Potential diamond-cutting capacity for Armenia as a whole, where
about 50 enterprises are reported to employ about 5,000 cutters, is
estimated at 2 million carats per annum. In all, diamonds and diamond
jewellery comprise the single largest export earner of Armenia,
worth about $300 million in 2004.

Without citing its sources by name, the CRC report claims that other
Armenian-based firms are supplying rough to cutting enterprises across
the border in Nagorno-Karabakh. Among these operations, the report
names Lory, which employs about 1,000 cutters and is linked to the
Arslanian group of Antwerp; and DCA, controlled by Gagik and Araik
Abramian, who are linked to De Beers in Moscow. According to the CRC
director, Sergei Goriaenov, the Arslanian and Abramian groups are the
biggest of the diamantaires involved in Nagorno-Karabakkh. Diamondtech,
employing 800 cutters, and funded by Rosy Blue of Antwerp, is also
reported to be operating in Armenia proper.

For stones moving to Nagorno-Karabakh, Kimberley certificates are
provided on the Armenian side of the frontier. But according to the CRC
report, the extent of the processing of diamonds in Nagorno-Karabakh,
and the destination of the goods, are still unclear.

The CRC emerged a few weeks ago in Moscow, identifying itself as
independently funded, with special interest in researching the links
between the diamond industry of Russia and terrorist or criminal
groups in the Caucasus.

Over Half of Armenians Hate Azerbaijan, Poll Says

Baku Today
June 3 2005

54.9% of Armenians hate Azerbaijan, says a recent public opinion
poll conducted within the “Armenia and Azerbaijan as the crossroads
of neither war nor peace: overcoming stereotypes” project, Armenian
media reported. Next to hatred, 51.6% of respondents cited contempt,
48.3% anger, 33.6% indifference and 14% pity. Only 7.5% of respondents
said they fear Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijan.

The participants of the poll, conducted among 1,000 Armenian residents
in October-December 2004, mostly cited negative personality traits
inherent to Azerbaijanis, calling them ‘cunning, insidious, vile,
hypocritical, aggressive, impudent, warlike, nationalistic and
lazy’. 40.8% of respondents said ‘there are no forces’ in Armenia
that have a positive attitude toward Azerbaijan.

The mentioned project was implemented by the Armenian “Region” research
center of investigative journalists and the Azerbaijan Institute for
Peace and Democracy, with the support of the European Commission.

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An injustice abroad
By RUBEN ROSARIO

Pioneer Press, MN
June 3 2005

Attending church has lost its appeal for a Shoreview mother marking
the first year since her world-traveling son’s still-unsolved slaying
in Armenia. ‘I feel that God has turned his back on my son.’

Beaten and dying from three stab wounds to his chest, Joshua Haglund
mumbled something in English and raised three fingers to the landlady
who discovered him outside his apartment building in Yerevan, the
capital of Armenia.

Whether “three” meant his third-floor apartment or three assailants or
something else, no one knows. Even now, more than a year after the May
17, 2004, slaying, family members of the 33-year-old Shoreview native
and globe-trotting English teacher still don’t know who killed him,
or why.

And they have been frustrated and stymied at every step in finding out
even the most bare-bone facts, in spite of an exhaustive letter-writing
and lobbying campaign by friends and family to Armenian and American
government officials.

The list includes ambassadors and embassy officials, Minnesota’s two
senators, U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum and even New York Sen. Hillary
Clinton. President Bush is next on the list.

“One of the Armenian officials told us to our face that it would be
an honor to solve our son’s murder,” Maxine Haglund-Blommer said of
her family’s trip last October to the former Soviet republic. “Then
I found out through other people there that it was just lip service.”

Seeking justice in America can be a tough go at times. But I will stack
our police against any other country’s when it comes to cracking a
case as well as responding to the needs of crime victims and survivors.

In Armenia, the Haglund slaying, whether by accident, neglect or
design, seems to have been treated like a cold case from the start
and put on ice awhile back.

“There has been no progress, and no apparent interest in
resolving the Haglund case,” John Hughes, writer and co-founder of
, an English language online weekly in Yerevan,
wrote Thursday in an e-mail.

Haglund’s mother has found that out the hard way the past year. The
emotional impact of her son’s death was bad enough. The impact of not
knowing what happened has shaken her faith and continues to fester
and irritate like a wound that won’t heal.

“This has been the worst year of our lives,” says Haglund-Blommer,
who has three other grown children – James, a teacher in Hawaii; John,
who runs the Top Dog hockey school; and Barb McKenzie, a Robbinsdale
school volunteer coordinator.

“I used to go to church several times a week,” Haglund-Blommer said
this week on the one-year anniversary of her son’s funeral. “But I
feel that God has turned his back on my son. Who do I pray to now?”

Joshua Haglund, a Mounds View High School and University of Minnesota
graduate, taught English in Japan, Tibet, India, Thailand and Puerto
Rico.

He went to Armenia in 2003 to teach English for a year at a university
as part of a U.S. State Department-funded exchange program.

His mother said Haglund had accepted an offer to teach English in
Saudi Arabia and planned to return to Minnesota before the assignment,
following a backpack trip through Iran.

According to published reports, it appeared Haglund was stabbed
inside his apartment and struggled outside following the deadly
assault. Authorities reported finding an open bottle of wine and
three glasses inside the apartment.

The family says U.S. Embassy and State Department officials were
initially helpful, working to transport Haglund’s body to Minnesota
and arranging for his mother’s October trip.

But there has been no word about the investigation or its progress –
no police report, no calls at all from Armenian police.

Haglund-Blommer says she does not even know if an autopsy was performed
on her son.

It is tough playing sleuth more than 6,000 miles from the scene of the
crime. But the wall of silence has led to speculation among relatives
and close friends that Haglund, who was gay, was a victim of a hate
crime in a country that considered homosexuality a crime against the
state until two years ago.

Others surmise Haglund was a fair but tough grader whose principles
ran afoul of a culture where it is acceptable to pay or receive bribes
for favors like a better grade.

A few wonder – because of his frequent travels – whether Haglund was
a covert CIA operative. His mother readily dismisses such a thought.

Meanwhile, she says she will continue to write, beg and implore for
help. “This has become a full-time job for me.”

Haglund-Blommer remembers her son as a bright and curious child with
an insatiable passion for learning about the world.

“It came to the point that our mailbox was often full of travel books,”
she recalled. “They were addressed to the Haglund Travel Agency. They
thought my son was a travel agency.”

The family released 33 yellow balloons at Haglund’s gravesite on the
one-year anniversary of his murder.

“Joshua liked the color yellow,” his mother said.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc’s Washington Visit
View: Ali H. Aslan

Zaman, Turkey
June 3 2005

A visit by Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc to Washington,
before Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rendezvous with
President Bush next week, was first received with a little caution
among circles which consider the improvement of Turkish-American
relations important. We even heard rumors that Prime Minister Erdogan
and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul were not thrilled about
this visit. But worriers can be at ease, because Arinc’s engagements
last week were quite successful and contributed to the Washington
landing of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) administration,
which seems willing to renew the friendship with the US.

Before the visit, the question, “What kind of a welcome would the
Speaker of a Parliament that rejected the deployment motion get from
Washington?” was crossing the minds of many. First of all, Arinc
receiving an invitation from his American counterpart, House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, showed the determination of the American side to
focus on the dimensions of positive relations, from now on. Moreover,
without waiting for Arinc to defend the Turkish Parliament’s decision
against the motion, Hastert made a nice gesture by saying that
the differences of approach between the legislative and executive
bodies should be considered as normal in democracies. Another sign of
respect and goodwill was that Hastert, the No. 3 man in the official
US hierarchy, had a long meeting with Arinc that lasted for an hour.

These were not the only nice gestures. The real surprise came at the
White House. Vice President Richard Cheney took part in Arinc’s meeting
with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. It is a tradition in the
White House for superiors to step into the room and say “welcome” as a
gesture and chat for a few minutes when valued guests are there. But,
as if this gesture was not enough, Cheney participated in the greater
part of the 45-minute talk.

>>From what Arinc told us at the press conference, we understand
there were no different topics of discussion on the agenda other
than what we already know and no progress was made on the disputed
issues. But high-level dialogues, especially if they are held in a
warm and constructive atmosphere, are generally useful. Hence, Turkish
diplomats, including Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington Faruk Lologlu,
all had smiling faces.

It was a very wise thing on the part of Arinc to have brought one of
the best simultaneous translators in Turkey along with him. Moreover,
his clear talk with a soft tone, decorated with cheerful jokes, left
a positive impression on even listeners who do not know Turkish.
Besides, straightforwardness and honesty are virtues even enemies
would appreciate. I hope, as a result of this performance by Arinc
in Washington, some circles that see or try to portray JDP leaders
as fundamentalist monsters have learned their lessons as well.

Surely, the content of a dialogue at least is as important as its
style. One of my American friends, whom I asked how he liked the speech
Arinc made at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
and the Q&A session, responded, “Not bad,” adding, “Looks like they got
the message particularly about the support for the democratic reforms
in the region.” Within the circles I am in contact with, Arinc’s
presentation was described as more successful than that of Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador Ali Tuygan. A US administration
official told me that they very much appreciated Arinc choosing a
position in favor of the freedom of speech and thought, regarding
the controversial Armenian Conference at the Bogazici University.

So, why was there so much interest in Arinc in Washington? Is he
well liked? Or are American-Turkish relations, which were problematic
until yesterday, back on track? The answer to the questions above is
“No.” The Washington administration would have contradicted itself if
it had not shown the necessary respect to the Parliament Speaker of
Turkey, which is one of the most democratic states within the Islamic
world, when they have declared that they have launched a campaign
for freedom and democracy in the world and are pursuing an urgent
reform policy in our region. Moreover, the Grand National Assembly of
Turkey is an institution, which has proven its commitment to Turkey’s
European Union (EU) membership process, one of the most important
strategic goals of the US, by enacting a record number of reform bills.

Americans would like to open a new chapter in ties with Turkey by
leaving aside the deep disappointment and resentment as a result
of March 1 motion period, in which they could not match Ankara in
terms of administrative style or outcome, and the rhetoric from the
government’s and Parliament’s most authoritative mouthpieces, which
escalated the anti-Americanism among the public, in short, attitudes
they were not expecting from a friend and ally. They seem pleased with
the recent public statements from the government, which highlight the
importance of Turkish-American relations, Incirlik Base permission,
goodwill gestures like the Lockheed Martin bid and attempts to increase
dialogue. However, they think that there wasn’t enough time to narrate
these positive developments to prove continuity. In short, they have
the view that more time is needed for relations to fully recover.

In this context, Arinc’s visit was helpful. If the bilaterals of
the executive body also go well next week, and the will to hold
friendship and cooperation tight perseveres, we might look to the
future of Turkish-American relations with a little bit more hope…

Brussels ‘Genocide’ Bill Shelved, Armenians Angry

Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 3 2005

The Armenian lobby was disappointed on Wednesday when Belgian
politicians withdrew their support for a bill that would have
criminalized denying the so-called Armenian genocide.

Discussions over how the bill would be applied were on the agenda of
the Belgian Senate’s Justice Commission. After a heated discussion,
the Valon Liberal Party (MR) and the Greens, who had both supported
the bill, found themselves outvoted and withdrew their support.

Following this disappointment, the Armenian lobby called on the
Brussels to establish an “international court,” since it had become
clear that the bill would not be approved by Parliament. The law aims
to punish those who deny the Armenian genocide claims with eight days
to one year of imprisonment, or with a fine of 26 to 5,000 euros.

Swiss Say No Warrant for TTK Head Halacoglu
By Kemal Balci, TNA Parliamentary Bureau/ Ankara

The New Anatolian
June 3 2005

Switzerland’s govt officially announces that there’s no international
warrant for Professor Halacoglu and that there are no restrictions
on his international travel, including Switzerland

A document from the Swiss government submitted to the Justice Ministry
earlier this week revealed that there is no international arrest
warrant for Turkish Historical Society (TTK) Yusuf Halacoglu.
Switzerland’s government submitted the document, which can be
interpreted as an official guarantee to the ministry.

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek confirmed that Swiss Ambassador to Ankara
Walter B. Gyger paid a visit to his office to present the official
document, revealing that there are no restrictions on Halacoglu’s
international travel.

Cicek told The New Anatolian that Halacoglu had made a speech at an
international conference held a year ago in Winterthur, Switzerland
where he denied the Armenian genocide allegations.

“According to the information the ambassador conveyed, a Swiss citizen
present at the conference filed a complaint against Halacoglu. The
Prosecutors’ Office launched an investigation against him following
the complaint. But this investigation did not include a demand from
the Swiss government that Interpol issue a warrant for Halacoglu,”
said the justice minister.

The document from the Swiss government confirms that there are no
restrictions against Halacoglu in terms of international travel,
including travel to Switzerland itself.

The document includes the following information:

There is no international arrest warrant for Professor Halacoglu in
the context of the current investigation by the public prosecutor
in Winterthur. Therefore, there are no restrictions on Halacoglu’s
international travel.

There is also no national arrest warrant for Halacoglu in
Switzerland. Therefore, Halacoglu is free to enter and leave
Switzerland at any time.

It is in the competency of the public prosecutor’s office in Winterthur
to give further information about the state of their investigation
if deemed appropriate.

Turkey still refuses to confront its past
By FATMA MUGE GOCEK

Globe and Mail, Canada
June 3 2005

Friday, June 3, 2005 Page A21

Last week was supposed to mark the opening of an unprecedented Turkish
conference on the issues surrounding the killing of Armenians during
the First World War. Organized at Istanbul’s Bosporus University,
the three-day event was intended to provide a platform to academics
to question Turkey’s official view of the 1915 killings. It also
would have showcased a new open approach by Turkish authorities,
eager to show the kind of freedom of expression that the European
Union expects of prospective members.

The conference never took place.

In the days leading up to the event, pressure was put on organizers
to include scholars who would defend Turkey’s official state view —
which denies that the killings were genocide and rejects estimates
that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred.

The more the university organizers resisted any such intervention,
the more the pressure mounted, with the conference ultimately being
described as “detrimental to the interests of the Turkish state
and nation.”

Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek condemned the gathering as
“treason” and “a stab in the back of the Turkish people.” University
officials had little choice but to “postpone” the event.

It is apparent that the government feels threatened by the significant
segment of the Turkish population who are increasingly determined to
face the long-standing issue of the Armenian question in a way that
counters the official Turkish thesis.

This official view is predicated on a Turkish nationalism that
perceives all existing interpretations of the Armenian issue as either
for, or against, the interests of Turkey. Because the conference
participants did not sanction the official thesis, the Turkish
government characterized the participants as rabble-rousers.

The Turkish state is unable to come to terms with its past because its
national identity is predicated upon the rejection of that particular
past. Advocating the nationalist ideology that the contemporary Turkish
state was built upon the ashes of the Ottoman Empire through the War
of Independence fought between 1919-1922, the Turkish state has always
argued that the nation had to look forward and not back into its past,
especially not into the period before 1919 that is considered to be
the birth year of the Turkish nation.

The alphabet reform in 1928, when the official script was changed
from Arabic to the Latin script, further alienated the Turks from
their own history. Given the dearth of historical knowledge, Turkish
society could not help but accept the official thesis on the Armenian
issue as historical reality.

With more scholars delving into that past to generate their own
interpretations, the state thesis began to lose ground. The state
efforts to cancel the Istanbul conference comprise what I hope is
the last attempt to salvage the dominance of the Turkish official
state thesis.

Turkey’s possible membership in the European Union is an underlying
reason why debate of the Armenian issue is becoming increasingly
prominent. The EU advocates the recognition and protection of the
rights of all minorities. Among such minorities that currently exist
in Turkey, the tragedy that befell the Armenians before, during
and after 1915, is the most dramatic, and the one that needs to be
most addressed and recognized by Turkish society and the state. Such
recognition necessitates an awareness of minority rights and a public
commitment to protect them.

Yet, such a recognition would undermine the Turkish state’s control
over the public sphere. The unwillingness of the Turkish state in
general, and the military and the political parties in particular, to
relinquish that control over society has generated this crisis. This
state unwillingness translates into a nationalist stand that portrays
European standards of human rights as inherently destructive and
debilitating. All advocates of such rights within Turkish society
likewise end up branded as subversive elements in service of either
Europe or the United States or both.

The chances of Turkey joining the European Union are diminished
without a state commitment to protect the rights of its citizens. In
the meanwhile, however, recent developments in Turkish society such
as the liberalization of the economy and the privatization of mass
communication have generated an increasingly conscious and vocal public
sphere that is willing to take issue with the current nationalist
stand of the state. If the current government utilizes its enhanced
communication with Turkish society — if it forms, in particular,
alliances with the liberal academics and public intellectuals to
develop a new democratic, multicultural vision for Turkey — then
the Turkish state could overcome this quagmire.

Fatma Muge Gocek, associate professor of sociology at the University of
Michigan, was an organizer of the cancelled Turkish-Armenia conference.

Armenian head, US delegation discuss redeployment of Russian bases

Mediamax news agency
2 Jun 05

Yerevan, 2 June: US Senator Chuck Hagel said in Yerevan today that
he and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan had discussed issues
pertaining to the pullout of Russian military bases from Georgia.

“I discussed good news with President Kocharyan which concerns the
start of withdrawal of Russian bases from Georgia,” Chuck Hagel said
addressing a briefing in Yerevan today.

In reply to Mediamax’s question on whether the presence of a Russian
military base in Armenia can in the course of time hamper the
expansion of Armenian-US cooperation, the senator said that “Armenia
is a sovereign state and can make its own decisions to secure its
interests”. As for the Russian military presence in Armenia, Chuck
Hagel said, “the Armenian and Russian governments should discuss this
issue in the future”.

Commenting on reports about the redeployment of part of Russian
hardware from Georgia to Armenia, the senator said that this issue
is within the scope of jurisdiction of Moscow and Yerevan. Moreover,
Hagel noted, “the USA thinks that foreign military presence in the
regions with unsettled conflicts does not facilitate their settlement”.

Chuck Hagel stated that he and Armenian Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan discussed bilateral Armenian-US defence cooperation, the
fight against international terrorism and Armenia-NATO cooperation.
The senator also visited the peacekeeping battalion of Armenia.

“The US government is thankful to Armenia for its participation in
the peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Iraq,” Chuck Hagel said.

In his visit to Yerevan, Senator Chuck Hagel is being accompanied
by the deputy commander of US European Command Gen Charles Wald; US
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Eurasia James McDougal and
the director for Operations Directorate EUCOM Plans and Operations
Centre, Rear Admiral Hamlin Tallent.