KOCHARIAN VISITS GREEK CYPRUS TO BOOST SUPPORT FOR GENOCIDE CLAIMS

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Nov 23 2006

Armenian President Robert Kocharian yesterday began a four-day
visit to Greek Cyprus, where he will participate in an inauguration
ceremony for a monument commemorating the victims of the so-called
Armenian genocide.

During the visit, the Armenian president will hold talks with
Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos and other
high-ranking Greek Cypriot officials to boost bilateral ties. The
visit is likely to draw Turkish criticism since Ankara is at odds with
Yerevan over the country’s campaign for recognition of the Armenian
genocide claims and has no diplomatic ties with the country, while
Turkey doesn’t also recognize the Greek Cypriot administration.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was formed on the island
in response to a Greek coup aimed at enosis, or political union with
Greece, along with Greek attacks on the island’s Turkish population.

According to the Armenian Mediamax news agency, besides attending the
inauguration ceremony of the Armenian "genocide" monument in Larnaka,
Kocharian will also meet representatives of Armenian associations.

The Armenian source stated that the inauguration of the monument
aims at expressing Greek Cypriot support for those who survived the
so-called Armenian genocide.

Co-chairs tight-lipped on possible Kocharian-Aliyev meeting

No announcement has been made about a possible meeting of the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan after Tuesday’s visit by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE9) Minsk
Group co-chairmen to Yerevan.

The delegates from Russia and France, Yuri Merzlyakov and Bernard
Fassier, met on Tuesday with Kocharian and Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian.

In a recent interview with U.S-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) Vartan Oskanian said that during their visit to the region,
the co-chairs will propose a meeting of the two presidents on the
sidelines of next Tuesday’s summit of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS).

The co-chairs left Yerevan for Baku. Analysts have expressed the
opinion that a possible meeting may be announced after the co-chairs’
meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Last week Robert Kocharian said, "Unfortunately, despite the ongoing
active negotiations, there are few grounds for optimism."