Author: Chaltikian Arsine

TRIPARTITE MEETING OF PRESIDENTS OF ARMENIA, RUSSIA AND AZERBAIJAN HELD IN SOCHI

Noyan Tapan
Jan 25, 2010

SOCHI, JANUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. A regular tripartite meeting of
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement took place at the Russian president’s residence
in Sochi on January 25. The foreign ministers of the three countries
participated in the second part of the meeting.

The press service of the RA president reports that the Sochi meeting
is the first meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
in 2010 and the fourth one in such a format – with the participation
of the Russian president.

The meeting, at which the sides discussed issues related to the current
stage and the prospects of the negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement, then continued in an informal atmosphere: the
three presidents had dinner together.

A separate meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents with
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov, Bernard Fassier and
Robert Bradtke is also scheduled to take place in Sochi.

Later on the same day Serzh Sargsyan will return to Yerevan.

Iranian Press Reported Inaccurate Details on Kocharian’s Iran Visit

Tert.am
13:18 – 23.01.10

During his recent visit to Iran, second president of the Republic of
Armenia Robert Kocharian did not make any statements, said Kocharian’s
press director Viktor Soghomonyan.

`As it is known, upon an invitation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Islamic Republic of Iran, Manouchehr Muttaki, second president Robert
Kocharian, with his wife, went to Iran from January 20-21. During the
visit, the print and online publication Tehran Times, as well as other
Iranian media, reported inaccurate details on Kocharian’s meetings; in
particular, reporting on statements made by the RA second president
during his meetings with the Iranian president and minister of foreign
affairs,’reads the release issued by Kocharian’s press office.

Soghomonyan notes that `during the entire visit, which was amicable
and informal in nature, as well as during the mentioned meetings,
Robert Kocharian didn’t make any [official] statements.’

`All things considered, what took place is a result of
misunderstanding or inaccurate translation by the press,’ said
Kocharian’s press director.

URGENT APPEAL

Lragir.am
23/01/10

To the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

We are appealing to you in regards to recent changes in the
composition of the Armenian delegation to the PACE imposed by the
chairman of the Armenian Parliament. Those changes are in clear and
blatant violation of the principles set out in Rule 6.2 of the PACE
Rules of Procedure, according to which national parliamentary
delegations must be composed of membership that ensures a fair
representation of the political parties or groups represented in their
respective parliaments.

The ultimate aim of this hypocritically formulated reshuffle is to
deprive the representative of the only real opposition party
represented in the Armenian parliament, the unequivocally opposition
`Heritage’ party, which has consistently condemning the ongoing
violations by the Armenian authorities of basic human rights and
fundamental freedoms and further weakening of the principles of
democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Armenia, of the right
to voice in the PACE the genuine concerns of the Armenian people, to
deprive `Heritage’ party of the possibility to reveal to you the truth
about the real situation in Armenia. The basic cause of this
reshuffle is the fact that the active participation of the
representative of `Heritage’ party in the sessions of the PACE, in the
sittings of the Bureau of the Group of the European People’s Party
and, particularly, in the meetings of the Monitoring Committee of the
Assembly, was becoming dangerous for Armenian authorities.

The possible ratification by the Assembly of the credentials of the
recently reconstituted Armenian delegation will only contribute to the
further deterioration of the internal human rights situation in
Armenia, and will only encourage and deepen the sense of impunity
among the Armenian authorities. The first signs of this are already
evident, as one of the more blatant cases of falsified elections,
marred by unprovoked violence against journalists, observers and
proxies, occurred on January 10, and has been only followed by the
unjust conviction of prominent independent journalist and opposition
political figure Nikol Pashinyan on January 19, 2010.

Sixty years ago, the founding states endowed the Council of Europe
with the task of achieving a greater unity between its members for the
purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles of
personal and political freedoms and the rule of law, which are our
common heritage and on which true democracy is founded.

Today we call upon you to challenge the still unratified credentials
of the parliamentary delegation of Armenia and to send a clear message
to the Armenian authorities that any such decision to unfairly deny
the sole opposition party a voice and fair representation within the
official delegation to PACE stands in blatant contradiction of each of
our common values and principles, including the principle of
separation of powers. Thus, we call on PACE to affirm that the
patience of the Council of Europe is limited regarding continued
violations by the Armenian authorities and that any further delay in
compliance with their commitments and obligations is not acceptable
any more and is fraught with severe consequences.

Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office
Transparency International Anti-corruption Center NGO
Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Armenian Committee NGO
Zartonk 89
Journalists for human rights
‘Asparez’ Journalists’ Club
Menk plus
‘Huys’ NGO
Lawyers for human rights
National citizens’ initiative
Ecoera NGO

VARDAN BOSTANNJYAN: DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE WILL INCREASE TO AMD 400 IN 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.01.2010 17:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Dollar exchange rate in Armenia is expected to
increase during the current year, according to Vardan Bostanjyan,
Vice Chair of RA National Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs.

"Given the rapid increase of per Dollar price from AMD 300 to AMD
380, the exchange rate may soar to AMD 400 in the nearest future,"
he told a news conference in Yerevan.

At that, he noted that such increase will boost export, creating
favorable conditions for Armenian entrepreneurs.

Vice Chair of NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Vardan
Bostannjyan (Prosperous Armenia faction) was born on September 9,
1949 in Yerevan.

In 1977-1993, he worked at Armenian Economic Planning and Research
Institute in the position of senior research worker, head of sector,
head of the division and deputy director on scientific works. In
1994-1996 he was elected member RA CBA board. On May 12, 2007, he
was elected as MP from Prosperous Armenia Party’s proportional list.

Bostannjyan is the author of over 130 publications.

He is married, has three children.

ARMENIA SHOULD TO TAKE CLEAR STANCE ON PROTOCOLS BEFORE APRIL 24

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.01.2010 19:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Having signed and publicized the so-called "road
map" on April 22, the Armenian side simply allowed U.S. President
to avoid legal responsibility, by using the term "Metz Yeghern",
says Edward Abrahamyan, leader of Neo-Conservative Movement.

"If Armenia quits the Turkish-initiated games before April 24, the
U.S. President will not avoid using the term ‘genocide’ in his annual
address," he told PanARMENIAN.Net in an interview.

At that, he noted that Armenian authorities’ deeds will enable the
world’s countries to further their towards international recognition
of Armenian Genocide, a process that was disrupted following the
signature of ill-fated Protocols.

The Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire (1915-23) was the deliberate
and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman
Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by
massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions
designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number
of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be
April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250
Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople.

Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes
and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of
food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria. Massacres were
indiscriminate of age or gender, with rape and other sexual abuse
commonplace. The Armenian Genocide is the second most-studied case
of genocide after the Holocaust.

The Republic of Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire,
denies the word genocide is an accurate description of the events. In
recent years, it has faced repeated calls to accept the events as
genocide.

To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially recognized
the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars
and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also
recognized by influential media including The New York Times, BBC,
The Washington Post and The Associated Press.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

TRILATERAL MEETING BETWEEN PRESIDENTS MAY END IN SUCCESSIVE MAINDORF DECLARATION

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.01.2010 13:36 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The upcoming trilateral meeting between Armenian,
Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents will probably focus on serious
issues, with Russia trying to make out Armenia and Azerbaijan’s
maneuvers, Armenia’s ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanyan finds.

"I don’t think the Presidents will sign any document in Sochi. But even
a document is signed, it will be equivalent to Maindorf Declaration
not essentially impacting Karabakh settlement process," he told a
news conference in Yerevan.

At that, he noted that such development will not push Turkey to sign
Protocols, considering that there is serious progress in conflict
settlement process.

The trilateral meeting between Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani
leaders in due in Sochi on January 25.

The Artsakh ( Nagorno Karabakh Republic) (NKR) is a de facto
independent republic located in the South Caucasus, bordering by
Azerbaijan to the north and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to
the west.

After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923
it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the
Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan
launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that
was fought from 1991 to 1994.

Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several
regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the
control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated
by the OSCE Minsk Group.

Maindorf Declaration: an interstate agreement signed by Presidents
of Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia and Russian Federation
on November 2, 2008 in Maindorf (outskirts of Moscow).

Under the document, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan took
commitment "to contribute to enhancing the situation in South Caucasus
and ensuring peace, stability and security via political settlement
of Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the principles and norms of
international law and decisions and documents deriving thereof."

Parties reiterated the significant role of continuing Minsk Group’s
mediatory efforts in the frameworks of Madrid Document (dated Nov. 29,
2007).

They also agreed that "peaceful conflict settlement should be
accompanied by legally binding international guarantees."

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

AGO GROUP REPORT ON ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO BE DISCUSSED IN COE

news.am
Jan 20 2010
Armenia

Council of Europe AGO Monitoring group will present a report on
Armenia and Azerbaijan at the January 20 session.

The information report contains outcomes of the meetings in Armenia and
Azerbaijan. It outlines certain progress achieved in both countries
as well as recommendations on further reforms in a number of crucial
fields.

One of the report items refers to Karabakh conflict settlement.

November 20-25, 2009 monitoring group members visited Armenia and
Azerbaijan.

ARMENIAN-CAPTURED AZERBAIJANI CITIZEN’S SON: "MY FATHER TALKED TO TELEVISION UNDER PRESSURE"

APA
Jan 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Kamala Guliyeva – APA. Armenian-captured Azerbaijani citizen
Eldar Tagiyev’s family thinks that he was interviewed by Armenian
Public Television under pressure.

His son Elmar Tagiyev told APA that their social condition is not
hard. "My father told Armenian television as if he was jobless in
Azerbaijan, lived in poor condition and faced with water problem to
keep a farm. But he never worked in agriculture and we had not water
problems because we are living in the bank of river".

Tagiyev said that his father couldn’t think not to return to
Azerbaijan. "He had secondary education. He couldn’t use such phrases.

We think my father was under pressure when he said that didn’t want
to return home and planned to go to the third country".

Eldar Tagiyev was taken hostage by Armenians when he was under fire
as a result of ceasefire violation by Armenians at about 18.00 on
December 28, 2009 near the line of contact in direction of Alibeyli
village of Tovuz region.

Tagiyev was interviewed by the Armenian Public Television. News
Armenia agency reports that Tagiyev said he didn’t intend to return
to Azerbaijan and would like to move to third country if Armenian
government wouldn’t allow him to be there. He said he would like to
inform his family about his plans.

Tagiyev said he was unemployed and lived in poor conditions and
couldn’t keep a farm because of water problem.

Eldar Tagiyev said earlier Armenia supplied his hometown – Alibeyli
village of Tovuz region with water.

AZERBAIJAN’S MILITARY POTENTIAL HAS POSITIVE IMPACT ON TALKS WITH ARMENIA

news.az
Jan 19 2010
Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan’s improved military capacity has helped
create a positive dynamic in the talks with Armenia over Karabakh,
President Aliyev said yesterday.

"Huge work has been done in the sphere of defence and Azerbaijan is
largely self-sufficient in military equipment," Aliyev said on Monday
at a Cabinet of Ministers’ session on the country’s socioeconomic
development in 2009. He said that a large volume of hardware and
equipment had been purchased abroad in 2009.

"Our military expenditure is $2bn and we should make more effort
in this regard. We should deal with this issue every day. The
strengthening of the military potential plays one of the most
important roles in the negotiation process and I think that the
positive dynamics observed in the negotiation process are the result
of the consolidation of the economic, political and military potential
of Azerbaijan," the president said.

Although no practical results were attained in the Karabakh conflict
settlement last year "there is progress", the president said. He
recalled that the document adopted at the OSCE Ministerial Council
in Athens at the end of 2009 reflects the need to settle the Karabakh
conflict on the basis of the principle of territorial integrity.

"I consider it important that for the first time Armenia joined such
a document, thereby recognizing the need to settle the issue within
the framework of territorial integrity," the president said. As for
the right of peoples to self-determination, the president said it
can be exercised within the framework of territorial integrity and
all international documents prove that. This is also set out in the
Moscow declaration adopted in 2008, the president said.

"The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been a subject of
discussion. It is recognized by the whole world and all member states
of the Minsk Group dealing with this problem," the head of state said.

Azerbaijan will continue to strengthen its position in future by
increasing its economic and defence potential, the president said.

There can be no political or legal question mark over the rightness
of Azerbaijan’s position.

AZERBAIJANI AMBASSADOR: RUSSIAN FM HAS NOT YET RESPONDED TO AZERBAIJAN’S NOTE

Trend
Jan 19 2010
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia has not yet received a response to
the note sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection to State
Duma Deputy Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s statement on the need for
Russia’s recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence.

The embassy is still waiting for an official response, Polad
Bulbuloglu, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, told Trend News today.

In an interview for Latvian newspaper Neatkarigas Rita Avize,
Zhirinovsky said that "if the Nagorno-Karabakh proclaims its
independence, Russia should recognize it."

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. General Assembly’s resolutions
concerning the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.