Gul: A New Strategic Vision Must Be Developed For Caucasian
CihanNews:
6/28/2004
ISTANBUL (CIHAN) – Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gül met with the
foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on Monday and he said that
the region countries must develop a new strategic vision for the
Caucasians.
Gül met with the Azerbaijan Foreign Minister, Elmar Mamadyarov and the
Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskaryan within the framework of
NATO Summit in Istanbul. Gül made a statement after 45-minute talk and
he said that the peace and stability issue in Caucasians drawed
attention of the international community. “EU and NATO is creating a
new strategy for the Southern Caucasian and also a new strategic
vision must be developed.”
Gül stated that, “The sides have met second times and discussed the
collaboration opportunities. We took decision to continue the talks.”
Oskaryan also made a statement and he said that they met with Gül and
discussed the border gate between Turkey and Armenia and the Nagorno
Karabag issue. He said that he was satisfied from this negotiation
but the meaning of thatis not that the border gate will open.

Learning from History
28 June 2004
“Aravot” reports that the Council of Europe’s newly elected secretary
general, Terry Davis, has publicly disagreed with Kocharian’s statement that
Nagorno-Karabakh has never been part of an independent Azerbaijani state.
Davis, the paper says, told the PACE’s Political Committee after Kocharian’s
Strasbourg speech that the international community and the United Nations in
particular do recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Council of Europe: Terry Davis elected Secretary General
CPME publication date: Thursday, June 24, 2004
On 22 June 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elected
Terry Davis, from the United Kingdom, as the new Secretary General. Mr Davis
will enter into office for five years starting in September, 2004. He will
replace Mr Walter Schwimmer, from Austria.
Mr Davis has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe for 12 years and President of the Assembly’s socialist group since
2002.
Quoting from Richard Hovannisian’s “The Republic of Armenia” The first year
1918-1919 copyright 1971 page 157:
“There were, of course, factors other than the legitimacy of Azerbaijan’s
arguments which affected the formulation of British policy. As rulers of an
extensive colonial empire that included millions of Muslim subjects, the
British stood to gain widespread goodwill for supporting the first Muslim
republic in modern history. Moreover, the British strategists maintained
that a politically and economically viable structure would render Azerbaijan
less susceptible to Pan-Islamic or Pan-Turanic agitation and to the
pervasive influences of the Ottoman Empire. At the end of 1918, they also
believed that Armenia would be awarded the Ottoman eastern vilayets. It
seemed reasonable, therefore, to regard Karabagh and Zangezur as
compensation to Azerbaijan, whose aspirations to lands further west would be
disallowed. Several critics have singled out economic exploitation as the
prime determinant in British policy. The reserve of oil at Baku was
apparently inexhaustible, and access to this wealth would naturally be
facilitated through the cooperation of an appreciative, indebted local
government. While officials in London demonstrated that the occupation of
Transcaucasia was imposing great financial strains, Great Britain
nonetheless succeeded in tapping thousands of tons of petroleum products
valued in the millions of pounds sterling. Whether or not “oil imperialism”
dictated British policy in the Caucasus, economic factors could not have
been ignored.”
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline
The BTC partners
The BTC pipeline is being developed by an international consortium of 11
partners, known as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Company (BTC Co).
Those partners are: SOCAR (the state oil company of Azerbaijan); BP (UK);
TPAO (Turkey); Statoil (Norway); Unocal (USA); Itochu (Japan); Amerada Hess
(USA); Eni (Italy); TotalFinaElf (France); INPEX (Japan) and ConocoPhillips
(USA).
BP is the largest stakeholder in the project, and is leading the design and
construction phases.

Anadolu Agency
June 28 2004
Turkish President Sezer Meets With French President Chirac
ISTANBUL – Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer met on Monday with
French President Jacques Chirac, who is currently in Istanbul for the
NATO Summit.
Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier also attended the meeting.
Following the meeting, President Sezer’s Foreign Policy Chief Adviser
Sermet Atacanli told reporters that Sezer focused on Turkey’s
European Union (EU) membership in his meeting with Chirac.
Atacanli said that Sezer explained once again that Turkey expected
France, which was one of leading countries in the EU, to support
Turkey’s EU membership.
Atacanli quoted Sezer as saying that Turkey fulfilled all political
criteria of EU, noting that Turkey expected to be treated as other
countries which fulfilled those criteria.
Stating that Sezer said in the meeting that he expected the report on
Turkey that would be announced by EU Commission in October to be
positive, Atacanli quoted President Sezer as saying that EU should
set a date for Turkey in December to start its membership
negotiations with the Union.
Noting that Sezer also focused on Cyprus issue in his meeting with
Chirac, Atacanli quoted Sezer as saying that new developments took
place after referenda held in Cyprus on April 24 and Turkish Cypriot
side showed its determination for solution in referendum. Atacanli
said that Sezer noted in the meeting that Greek Cypriot side did not
put forth good will on that issue.
Atacanli stated that Sezer stressed that embargoes imposed on Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should be lifted immediately.
When asked what were the views of Chirac about Cyprus issue, Atacanli
said, ”both Chirac and French Foreign Minister, who also attended
the meeting, said that they are aware of developments in Cyprus and
welcomed the attitude of Turkish side and they noted this. Mr. Chirac
said regarding the EU issue, ‘you know my stance about EU issue. And
you also know that my stance is positive.’ Mr. Chirac said that
Turkey has started its EU trip 40 years ago and the EU has a 40 year
of commitment and this commitment concerns a vision related with the
future of Europe.”
Atacanli said that Chirac also noted that the commission report which
would be presented in October was important.
When asked whether Armenian problem was brought onto agenda during
the meeting, Atacanli said that President Sezer stressed Turkey’s
sensitivity over the so-called Armenian genocide which is
occasionally brought onto agenda of French Parliament.
Atacanli said that Sezer earlier invited Chirac to Turkey and he
repeated this invitation during the meeting. Atacanli added that this
invitation was accepted and the date would be cleared later.

Cihan News, Turkey
June 28 2004
Erdogan: Kurdish Citizens In Turkey Are Not Minority, But One Part Of
The Whole
ISTANBUL (CIHAN) – Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
on Monday that Kurdish citizens in Turkey are not minorities but are
one element of the whole.
Attending the Youth Summit in Istanbul, Erdogan said that as NATO and
the European Union (EU) extend east, Turkey’s geographical distance
is less significant and it plays a more important role. Expressing
the increased importance of Turkey, Erdogan stated that Turkey can
help with its experience that comes from the past and its effort to
engage with the west.
Erdogan noted that, “Turkey is important to the security of Europe.
NATO has fulfilled its mission to provide security and to struggle
against to terror and Turkey is working its align itself in the
direction of this target”.
Responding to a the question concerning the status of Kurdish people
in Turkey, Erdogan said that, “Our Kurdish citizens in Turkey are not
a minority but are one element of the whole. All elements contribute
to the integrity of Turkey. I am from the Black Sea region but my
wife is from the eastern Turkish city of Siirt where the Kurdish
citizens predominate”.
Erdogan said that they have worked to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria
since November 3, 2003 and have completed a large part of the
reforms. The implementation of these reforms has now been started.
Erdogan also evaluated relations with Armenia saying that, “Turkey
aims to be a country that has no problems with its neighbors, but the
problems between Turkey and Armenia result from Armenia’s attitude.
Armenia has problems with Azerbaijan even though it is occupies part
of Azerbaijan. We want to improve relations with Armenia but Armenia
is a fractious country and the Armenian administration has a
difficult attitude. We cannot say why Armenia will not attend NATO
Summit in Istanbul, but the assertion of an Armenian genocide cannot
be accepted”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Anadolu Agency
June 28 2004
Turkish Foreign Minister Gul Meets With Armenian Foreign Minister
Oskanyan
ISTANBUL – Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul met on Monday with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanyan.
Oskanyan said that they would like to develop relations between
Turkey and Armenia, adding that Armenian government has the political
will in this issue. He also expressed pleasure over flights which
were started from Turkey to Armenia.
Gul, in return, said that Turkey has the same will in development of
relations between two countries.
However, Gul added, there were some issues on which two countries
were sensitive and he noted that a common ground should be
established for this issue.
Noting that time was needed for the solution of problems, Gul stated
Cyprus issue as an example and said that the problem should be
overcome with the same understanding. Both sides said that
rapprochement between the two countries would contribute to the
implementation of the stability plan that NATO elaborated for
Caucasus.
The two sides also agreed in principle to hold
Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia tripartite meetings on foreign ministers
level, on the margin of international summits.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 28 2004
AZERBAIJAN – ARMENIA- TURKEY TRILATERAL MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS
[June 28, 2004, 15:29:29]
Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan, Abdulla Gul of
Turkey and Vartan Oskanyan of Armenia met in the framework of the
Istanbul NATO Summit on 28 June.
After the meeting, the Ministers briefed journalists. Foreign
Minister of Turkey Abdulla Gul described the meeting as very
fruitful, and noted that it had been aimed to assist peace talks in
the framework of the OSCE Minsk group. He pointed out that the
enlarging Europe and NATO are very interested in ensuring stability
and peace in the South Caucasus, including the resolution of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The parties, he
finalized, have decided to continue such meetings.
Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanyan noted they had exchanged
views on providing stability in the region. He pointed out that in
light of enlarging Europe and NATO, it is very important to define
parameters of a new strategy in the South Caucasus. The Minister
confirmed that the parties are going to continue making efforts of
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Turkey, Azerbaijan and
Armenia are interested in stability in the region, he said.
Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov emphasized that the
parties once again expressed their positions in the matter. Special
attention, according to him, was paid to active involvement of Turkey
in the peace process. The Minister noted that they had agreed to
develop a special mechanism for that and continue the trilateral
meeting 1-2 months later. This meeting is another step forward, such
meetings bring us closer to the problem’s resolution, he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ArmenPress
June 28 2004
PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OF 10-TH ANNIVERSARY OF
MILITARY INSTITUTE
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS: On June 27 a ceremony, dedicated to
awarding military ranks and certificates to graduates of the Military
Institute after Vazgen Sarkisian and the 10-th anniversary of the
establishment of the institute was held at Republican Square in
Yerevan. The government press service said prime minister Andranik
Margarian sent a special message on this occasion, which
particulalry, said:
“Dear officers, gentlemen, dear graduates of the Military
Institutes and cadets. I congratulate you all on the occasion of the
10-th anniversary of the Military Institute. Established in an
arduous time for our newly independent state, the first military
academy of the defense ministry succeeded in a very short time not
only in filling the lack of necessary experience and skills, but has
won also a good name, performing with honor its mission of
supplementing the national army with skilled and career officers,
armed with rich knowledge and professional skills in the subsequent
years. The number of its graduates, more than 1,500 who all have
supplemented the army is very impressive.
The contribution of career and seasoned officers of the older
generation to the achievements of the Institute during the ten years
of its existence is great. It were their efforts that in cooperation
with devoted fighters-the squads of the Yerkrapah Union- that formed
the armed forces of Armenia.
Devoted to the hard, but also nation-committed work of building
the army, led by military commander Vazgen Sarkisian, they dreamed
about constant improvement of the armed forces, formation of highly
professional officers. Today with ten years behind, the leadership,
senior officers and professors of the main national military
institute can be proud of having created solid foundations for
carrying out this goal, of having created a military academy that
meets all international standards.
We realize well that the problems and concerns of the army, its
structures, as well as those of the Institute are not solely the
problems and concerns of the armed forces. The government did
everything in its power in the passed years to support the
establishment and strengthening of the armed forces. I am confident
that we shall be able to further strengthen the defense of our
country step by step through our joint efforts in order to ensure the
state’s and the people’s security.
Taking the advantage I wish also to congratulate around 300
graduates of this year, who will soon be dispatched to army units. I
congratulated also senior officers of the Institute, professors, who,
having imparted their knowledge and experience to the cadets in the
course of tuition, have the right to anticipate brilliant results in
the near future.
Once again I congratulate you all on the occasion of the 10-th
anniversary of the establishment of the Military Institute, I wish
you all good health and good service for the sake of strengthening of
our national army, for the sake of our state’s and people’s
prosperity.

ArmenPress
June 28 2004
ARMENIA ELECTED TO ECOSOC COMMISSION
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS: During a June 23 session of the UN
Economic and Social Council (known as ECOSOC) Armenia was elected
unanimously to ECOSOC commission on population and development,
receiving the accord of the East European countries. Armenia will be
member of the commission from 2005 to 2007.
Armenia is already a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights.
ECOSOC is the principal organ to coordinate the economic and social
work of the UN and the specialized agencies and institutions. The
council has 54 members who serve for three-year terms. The main
function of the is to serve as the central forum for discussing
international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy
recommendations addressed to member states and to the UN system.

ArmenPress
June 28 2004
AZERBAIJAN LAUNCHED DIPLOMATIC FIGHT AGAINST ARTSAKHTELECOM
BAKU, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijan continues its the diplomatic
fight against Artsakhtelecom (Karabagh Telecom), which has developed
international ties and is cooperating with about 63 companies now,
including AS EMT(Estonia), CosmOTE – Mobile Telecommunications S.A.
(Greece), ETISALAT (UAE), Globe Telecom (Filippins) GSM Kazakhstan
Ltd (Kazakhstan), H3G-A (Italy), Megaphone (Russia), OMNITEL
(Lithuania), Orange A/S-A (Denmark), SwissCom Mobile Ltd.-A
(Switzerland), T-Mobile Limited-A (Great Britain), AT&T Wireless PCS
LLC (USA) and several others.
According to Azeri Ekho daily, Azerbaijani diplomats working in
several CIS countries are instructed to press for annulment of
contracts with Artsakhtelecom. Particularly, Azeri Ambassador to
Ukraine Taliat Aliyev told Ekho that he has held meetings at the
Ukrainian ministry of foreign affairs where he expressed his
dissatisfaction about the contracts between Artsakhtelecom and
Kievstar. The ambassador has also met with Kievstar authorities and
explained that “Nagorno Karabagh is part of Azerbaijan and no one is
authorized to enter into relation with it without the permission of
Azerbaijan.” Azeri diplomat told Ekho that Kievstar assured that they
will annul the contract with Artsakhtelecom. Azeri diplomats are
taking similar actions in other countries.

ArmenPress
June 28 2004
BRITISH AMBASSADOR HELPS BUILD HABITAT HOUSE IN ARAGATSOTN MARZ
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS: On Tuesday 29 June Thorda
Abbott-Watt, British Ambassador, will join Habitat for Humanity
Armenia local and international women volunteers, Lise Grande, UN
Resident Coordinator and other women officials to help build a house
for the Tononyan family in Voskhehat village, Aragatsotn marz. The
group will lay insulation on the roof and make floors for the
Tononyan family.
Habitat for Humanity is a charitable organization, which supports
community development by assisting the building and renovation of
simple, decent and affordable homes for families in need. Targeting
poor families living in bad housing, in cramped conditions with
limited water and heat, Habitat for Humanity offers no-interest loans
and the assistance of volunteers to make affordable improvements to
their living conditions. Since January 2004 Habitat for Humanity has
completed or renovated 82 homes housing more than 400 people. Each
one costs about $10,000.
The Women Build program nurtures, recruits and trains women in the
skills needed to build and maintain these houses which they might
otherwise not learn. This gives them more independence as heads of
households. It enables women from all walks of live to work together
and use their skills to address the problems of poverty in simple
ways that can transform the lives of families and communities.