PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA HAD A WORKING DINNER WITH EU AMBASSADORS
armradio.am
06.05.2009 15:46
The President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, had a
working dinner with the Ambassadors of member states of the European
Union accredited in Armenia and the Head of the European Commission
Delegation to Armenia, President’s Press Office reported.
TURKEY’S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER EASES AZERI CONCERNS OVER KARABAKH
2041_5/4/2009_1
Monday, May 4, 2009
ANKARA (Reuters)–Turkey’s new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu sought
on Monday to ease Azerbaijan’s concerns over efforts by Turkey and
Armenia to establish diplomatic relations.
Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally and a key supplier of gas, has reacted
angrily to those talks because it fears losing leverage over Armenia
in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.
Davutoglu, appointed to the post in a wide cabinet reshuffle on Friday,
met Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov in Ankara on Monday to
discuss Azeri concerns over the roadmap, a Turkish Foreign Ministry
spokesman said.
"It is not coincidental that the minister is holding his first meeting
with the Azeri deputy minister", the spokesman told Reuters.
"We have not had any disruption in relations with Azerbaijan but you
can expect reciprocal high level contacts to intensify in the coming
period," the spokesman said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Azeri President
Ilham Aliyev in the Azeri capital Baku on May 13, the state-run
Anatolian news agency said. Erdogan will also meet Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin on May 16, Anatolian said.
Turkey closed its frontier with Armenia in solidarity with Azerbaijan
in its war with Armenian-backed separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku
has said Turkey should make peace with Armenia only after the conflict
is resolved.
Davutoglu, the architect of Turkey’s expanded foreign policy beyond
its traditional Western-oriented focus, said over the weekend that
Turkey now had a stronger foreign policy vision with regards to the
Middle East and Caucasus.
"We should be trying to turn the zero-problem policy with neighbors
into a policy of maximum interest," he said after taking office on
Saturday from Ali Babacan.
Escaping a vile past
A move towards detente with Armenia will lift the taboo and ease
Turkey’s path to EU membership
Christopher de Ballaigue
guardian.co.uk,
Sunday 3 May 2009 23.00 BST
During the past week, 10 Turkish soldiers have been killed in fighting
with militants from the Kurdish – nationalist PKK, the country’s top
soldier has – denied involvement in a – conspiracy to overthrow the
mildly Islamist government of Recep Tayyip – Erdogan and the prime
minister has talked down the prospect of better relations with Armenia,
Turkey’s old foe to the east. If this looks like a snapshot from the
bad old days, look again: Turkey’s demons, militarism and ethnic
hatred, wear a – ragged air.
That’s the hope that brought President Barack Obama to Turkey at the
end of his European tour, and which emboldened him to urge Turkey’s
admission into the European Union, meet a top Kurdish nationalist and
advocate a concession to the country’s Greek minority. Most important,
Obama endorsed a process of negotiations with Armenia. On 23 April, the
Turks and the Armenians announced agreement on a plan to normalise
relations. The small print will need to address the restoration of
formal ties and the reopening of the land border. Progress could snag
on a parallel, territorial dispute, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a
Turkic nation supported by Ankara. The Turkish and Armenian governments
are vulnerable to hawks. But the main obstacle is the past.
Turkey has abandoned its insistence that there is no such thing as a
Kurd ` only a "mountain Turk". The Greeks, old Aegean rivals, are now
friends. But a taboo remains: the suffering of Anatolia’s Armenian
inhabitants when, in 1915, fearful they would act as a fifth column for
invading Russians, the Ottoman Turks deported them south. The process
led to the death of at least a million Armenians, in what much of the
world considers a genocide. As successor state to the Ottomans, modern
Turkey denies the charge, but at a heavy cost.
Until recently, this process had been distinguished by revenge attacks
by Armenian terrorists on Turkish diplomats, anti-Armenian tirades in
Turkey and, most galling for the Turks, an effective Armenian campaign
to persuade several countries to recognise the genocide. As recently as
2007, Hrant Dink, a prominent member of Istanbul’s small Armenian
minority, was gunned down by a Turkish nationalist and Turkey’s
Nobel-prizewinning novelist, Orhan Pamuk, was forced into exile for
speaking his mind about the Armenian tragedy. It seemed that Turkey
would retreat into isolation.
That has not happened. Turkey is a nation of commerce and a regional
power. What could be more natural than detente with its neighbour? This
is what many Turks want; 30,000 have signed a petition apologising for
1915, for which act of atonement they may be investigated legally. So
the present, and the future, line up against the vile past.
For the last three years this vileness has been my companion as I
tramped around the remote district of Varto in eastern Turkey. Home to
Kurds, Turks, Armenians and Alevis (a religious minority), Varto was
not only the scene of an appalling massacre of Armenians in 1915; its
Alevi population was ravaged by Armenian revenge squads and locals have
since been active in the Kurdish nationalist movement. History had been
silenced, and it took me months to extract information from a
distrustful people. But this process needs to be replicated across
Anatolia. And it is Turks, not foreigners, who must lead the way.
That would make Turkey, already a strong contender for EU membership,
difficult to resist. Obama has done his bit. For the people of this
conflicted part of the world, knowing the past may prove the best way
of escaping it.
DOES TURKEY DEMAND ITS SHARE IN FUTURE NUCLEAR POWER STATION?
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.04.2009 20:58 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today, a discussion entitled "Current state of
Armenian-Turkish intergovernmental relations and route map" was held,
initiated by Ararat Strategic Studies Center. Representatives of
social organizations and intelligentsia participated in the discussion.
According to public opinion poll conducted by our center, Armenians
all over the world are greatly concerned about Armenian-Turkish
intergovernmental negotiations dubbed football diplomacy, Ararat
Strategic Studies Center Manger Armen Ayvazyan stated. According
to him, RA authorities’ anti-Armenian policy resulted in Armenia’s
accepting preconditions bound upon them by Turkish authorities. Armen
Ayvazyan dwelled on creation of Armenian and Turkish historians
joint committee, acknowledgement of present borders with Turkey and
stresses Turkey’s particular interest to new Armenian Nuclear Power
Station construction.
Turkey aspiring to become the new NPS shareholder is very dangerous
to Armenia. This threatens national security of our country. He also
emphasized that signing of Armenian -Turkish agreement on the eve
of Apr. 24, when Armenians all over the worlds commemorated Armenian
Genocide victims, was unacceptable.
Representatives of intelligentsia, social organizations and youth
also expressed their opinions on the issue.
TURKEY SUMMONS US AMBASSADOR OVER OBAMA SPEECH ON ARMENIA
Southeast European Times
April 28 2009
ANKARA, Turkey — The foreign ministry has summoned US Ambassador to
Ankara James Jeffrey over last week’s speech by US President Barack
Obama, marking the Armenian Remembrance Day of 1915, media reported
on Monday (April 27th). In his speech last Friday, Obama did not use
the word "genocide" to describe the killings of 1.5 million Armenian
civilians by Ottoman Turks in 1915-1917. Instead, he branded the
events as "one of the great atrocities of the 20th century". That
stirred angry reactions from Turkey’s political leaders. President
Abdullah Gul told reporters that hundreds of thousands of Turks also
lost their lives in the 1915 events. (Anadolu news agency, Hurriyet,
Zaman – 27/04/09)
ARMENIA TAKES SAFETY PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT SWINE FLUE FROM ENTERING THE COUNTRY
PanARMENIAN.Net
29.04.2009 17:23 GMT+04:00
Swine flue is spreading throughout the world. Armenia, like other
countries, takes safety precautions. Upon receiving WHO warning about
swine flu outbreaks, inbound international passengers are being
screened in Zvartnots quarantine points. "Inbound passengers from
countries where the flue has been discovered, as well as passengers
from developing countries are being screened," Leading Specialist of
Epidemiology and Infectious/ Non-infectious Diseases Department at
RA Ministry of Health told a PanARMENIAN.NET reporter.
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused
by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks of swine flu happen regularly
in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections
can and do happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in
people who are around pigs but it’s possible for swine flu viruses
to spread from person to person also.
There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine
flu. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of
germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these
everyday steps to protect your health: cover your nose and mouth
with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the
trash after you use it, wash your hands often with soap and water,
especially after you cough or sneeze.
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of
regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches,
headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea
and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness
(pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported
with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may
cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.
Last outbreak of a new strain of influenza virus, the "Spanish"
influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 caused 50 million deaths worldwide.
ALIEV MADE IT CLEAR
Karine Asatryan
A1+
08:42 pm | April 28, 2009 | Politics
"My Armenian counterpart Armen Rustamyan did not come to Strasbourg,"
said Head of Azerbaijan’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe Samad Seidov in response to the question
why the Azeri complain about the developments in Turkish-Armenian
relations. But that was after the sound recorder had turned off.
Samad Seidov gave an interview to "A1+" today:
How would you assess the latest developments in Turkish-Armenian
relations?
-It is no secret that we are interested in the establishing of normal,
friendly relations with all countries of the region, which will
contribute to regional development. But if we really want to establish
those relations, we must take into consideration the realities, such
as Nagorno-Karabakh and the occupation of Azeri territories. If not,
it will be impossible to develop friendly ties.
Don’t you think that Azerbaijan is causing a threat to Turkey?
-We are not saying anything. Turkey is an independent, sovereign
state like Armenia. Azerbaijan is not causing threats to either
side. If you mean the protests in Turkey and Baku, that is public
opinion, democracy. But nobody has undertaken or will undertake any
initiative on the state level. This is an issue that concerns Armenia
and Turkey. But it is also a domestic issue for Azerbaijan to think
about its national interests. I claim and am certain that it will be
difficult to establish friendly relations without the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement, which is very important for regional development.
Do you see a possible settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
-Of course.
When?
-I don’t know and probably nobody knows. But the sooner, the
better. The people will no longer be filled with hatred towards each
other. The faster international law is applied for Karabakh, the
better it will be for Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Azeri and Armenian
presidents were recently in Moscow. Geopolitical developments in the
region are currently on the move and meetings are scheduled to take
place in order to finally find a solution to the issue that is standing
in the way of regional development and the establishing of relations.
Do you believe it is possible for Turkey to become an intermediary
country in the OSCE Minsk Group?
-I don’t know. You should ask Turkey.
Would you like that?
-As far as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement is concerned,
it seems to me that our president made his position clear during his
visit to Moscow. We approach the Lachin passage issue with caution
and find that the refugees must return to the regions from where they
were evacuated. We find that it is possible to determine the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh in the future, but it is not an issue today.
Will it be an issue fifteen years later?
-Let politicians decide. But I consider that as a great basis for
establishing relations.
Do you know that Armenians think differently?
-I don’t know how Armenians think about the issue. If so, Armenian
politicians and the Armenian people must decide what to do and how
to do it.
CONTRACTS SIGNED BETWEEN MCA-ARMENIA AND BANKS AND UNIVERSAL CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS
armradio.am
30.04.2009 17:52
Millennium Challenge Account – Armenia SNCO announced the award of
contracts to "Ameriabank" CJSC, "Ardshininvestbank" CJSC, "Converse
Bank" CJSC, "Armbusinessbank" CJSC, and the following Universal Credit
Organizations – "Aniv" UCO LLC, "Farm Credit Armenia" UCO CC, "Nor
Horizon" UCO LLC, "GFC General Financial and Credit Company" UCO CJSC,
"CARD AgroCredit" UCO CJSC and "SEF International Credit Organization"
LLC – to implement the MCA-Armenia credit component. It will provide
loans to MCA-Armenia beneficiaries living in rural areas to enlarge
agricultural production and apply effective technologies. The contracts
were signed by MCA-Armenia CEO and the directors of the above mentioned
financial organizations.
Credit component is a part of MCA-Armenia Water-to-Market project
which aims to provide technical assistance to farmers by transition
of knowledge and new technologies, as well as to provide agricultural
loans to beneficiary farmers and technical assistance to financial
institutions selected for the implementation of credit component.
The credits are being provided only to beneficiaries living outside
of Yerevan with the purpose of intensifying primary agricultural
production, modernizing equipment, expanding orchards and=2 0vineyards,
purchasing tree stock and root stock, purchasing livestock,
developing machinery contracting and other service businesses that
support smallholders, agri-business marketing and export services,
establishing or expanding consolidation centers and developing or
expanding small-agro processing factories or processor out-grower
schemes. The loans are being disbursed among the farmers who have
completed the Water-to-Market project classroom training, and attended
practical, on-farm demonstration to implement the gained knowledge
with the borrowed money.
The total amount of credit resources being provided to banks and
credit organizations is equal to USD 8.5 million for 5 years, with
maturity period of up to 7 years, and up to 12 percent of annual
interest rate. The first tranche – USD 1.5 million – has already
been disbursed to the rural stakeholders by September 30, 2008. It
is planned to provide USD 5.5 million by September 2009 and the final
tranche of USD 1.5 million in 2010.
NERSES YERITSYAN: ARMENIA’S ECONOMY WILL ONLY BENEFIT FROM THE OPENING OF THE BORDER
Marianna Gyurjyan
"Radiolur"
29.04.2009 19:12
A conference on the influence oft the global economic crisis on
Armenia’s economy will be held in Yerevan in July, the Minister of
Economy of Armenia, Nerses Yeritsyan told a press conference today.
According to the Minister, the crisis will reach its peak by the end of
this year. What will the situation be like in Armenia? Nerses Yeritsyan
considers that no matter how great the economic collapse, the economic
activeness in our country is not going to be worse than in 2007.
Since the crisis has a short history and there are no completed
researches in international economy on the crisis, the conference
in July is a brilliant opportunity for experienced specialists to
present scenarios for resisting the consequences of the global crisis
and work out joint programs.
Turning to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, the Minister
of Economy predicted only positive results from the economic point
of view. The transport expenses will considerably decrease, he said.
ARF QUITS GOVERNING COALITION
41876_4/28/2009_1
Monday, April 27, 2009
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)–The Armenian Revolutionary Federation on
Monday announced that it is quitting Armenia’s ruling coalition and
cited "insurmountable, fundamental disagreements" over the government’s
approach toward normalizing relations with Turkey
In a written statement presented by ARF Supreme Council of Armenia
chairman Armen Rustamian Monday, the party condemned and called
unacceptable the joint statement issued on April 22–less than two days
before Armenian Genocide commemoration day–by the foreign ministries
of Turkey and Armenia, announcing an agreement on a "roadmap" for
normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations. The party also cited serious
disagreements on some of the issues that are under discussion between
Turkish and Armenian officials.
"Henceforth, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation will work as a
new opposition force in Armenia’s political landscape," said the
statement, underlining that the party will present alternatives to
the current government’s policies, and will aim at "counterbalancing
and restraining" the actions of the authorities.
Rustamian explained that all party members holding senior positions
in the executive and legislative branches will tender their
resignations. The ARF was represented in the cabinet by three minister
and several deputy ministers, two governors, as well as the deputy
speaker post in the National Assembly.
The ARF stressed that it will be dealing with Turkey-Armenia relations
and the Karabakh issue based, exclusively, on national interests.
The decision to pull out of the coalition government followed a
meeting Saturday between President Serzh Sarkisian and two ARF leaders,
Rustamian and ARF Bureau chairman, Hrant Markarian.
Rustamian said Sarkisian briefed them on the essence of the still
unpublicized "roadmap" agreement. "The president’s explanations did
not satisfy us," Rustamian said on Monday.
The ARF strongly condemned the roadmap agreement, which was
announced by the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries on
April 22 and 23. Earlier last week, Markarian criticized the
Sarkisian-administration’s policies on Turkey, saying that Yerevan
has made major concessions to Ankara while failing to secure the
lifting of the Turkish economic blockade of Armenia.
Rustamian on Monday reiterated the criticism, saying that Armenia has
effectively ended its long-standing insistence on an unconditional
establishment of diplomatic relations and reopening of the border
between the two estranged nations. He said that Ankara continues
to make that conditional on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and an end to the campaign for international recognition of
the Armenian Genocide.
"The Turks are now trying to turn those preconditions into conditions
and include them into a package [deal with Armenia]," said Rustamian,
"For them the key thing is to exploit the process of normalization
and they are doing that very well. We must realize that."
Rustamian said that the Turkish-Armenian agreement could deter more
countries from officially recognizing the Armenian genocide.
"We must never allow the replacement of the process of international
recognition by efforts to force Turkey to recognize the Armenian
genocide," he said. "One process should not suspend the other."
"Nobody here doubts that Turkey will do everything to avoid recognizing
the Armenian genocide," added Rustamian.
ARF Bureau member Dr. Viken Hovsepian will discuss this and other
issues during the 8 o’clock hour of Monday’s Horizon 180. Watch live
Below is the full text of the ARF’s statement:
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation announces the cessation of its
participation in the governing coalition.
We deem it necessary to explain this step in view of its political
significance and consequences, and the public’s interest.
First of all, the ARF joined the coalition in order to overcome,
through uniting of forces, the crisis facing the country following
the presidential elections and the threats to the independence and
security of the two Armenian states, and with the aim of making
coordinated reforms.
During this period there were certain achievements, but insurmountable
disagreements on matters of principle emerged with respect to the
direction of the foreign policy.
It has always been our conviction that one of the main directions of
the state’s national security strategy is the universal recognition and
condemnation, especially by Turkey, of the Armenian Genocide. This is
seen not only in the context of the restoration of historical justice,
but also as a way to improve the overall environment of mutual trust
in the region, while also preventing similar crimes in the future. In
this sense, as we have already announced, we find unacceptable and
condemn the agreement by Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
join the April 22 joint statement with Turkey, on the eve of April 24
and when the leaders of Turkey are making anti-Armenian announcements
and restating preconditions for the normalization of relations.
We also have principled disagreements with the position of the
authorities of Armenia on certain issues being discussed in the
Armenia-Turkey negotiations. We will publicize our positions regarding
those issues when they are discussed in public.
Henceforth, in the political landscape of Armenia the ARF will assume
a new role, that of an opposition force.
Our main priorities will be:
1. To become a full-fledged alternative to the authorities, proposing
our own programs and solutions on all major issues.
2. As opposition to assume the role of effectively counterbalancing
and restraining the authorities.
3. To take the necessary actions to heal and refine the political
landscape, to form civilized relations between the authorities and the
opposition, to establish social justice and to strengthen democracy.
4. To carry on comprehensive programs emanating from electoral
promises, showcasing the ARF’s ideological and political convictions.
5. In the processes of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations
and the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, to be guided exclusively
by our state-national interests and goals.
We appreciate the work carried out jointly with our coalition partners
and we wish them success in their endeavors in the interest of our
state and people.