Davutoglu Dissatisfied With Azerbaijan’s Absence From Summit

DAVUTOGLU DISSATISFIED WITH AZERBAIJAN’S ABSENCE FROM SUMMIT

Aysor
April 16 2010
Armenia

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has expressed his feelings
of dissatisfaction with the fact, that Azerbaijan hadn’t been invited
to participate in the Nuclear Security summit in Washington, hosted
by U.S. President Barack Obama.

"The absent of Azerbaijan from the Summit was a great omission. We
did our best Azerbaijan to have participated in the Summit; however,
the summit’s hoster is Washington. If Baku would have been participated
in those talks then they would have been more successful. I consider
the absence of Azerbaijan from the summit to be a missed opportunity,"
1News.Az agency quotes Davutoglu as saying, citing state-run Zaman
paper.

According to the source, Davutogly is expected to pay a visit to Baku
next week "to discuss in details results of the Washington talks."

ACNIS Director On Turkey’s Last Chance

ACNIS DIRECTOR ON TURKEY’S LAST CHANCE

news.am
April 16 2010
Armenia

Turkey is mistaken if it thinks it can play a game until April 24,
as even more is being expected from Turkey now, Richard Giragosian,
Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS), told NEWS.am, responding to a question as to whether the
Turkish side has softened its tone on the threshold of April 24,
whereas it will adopt its previous rhetoric afterwards.

Turkey has the last chance to get out of the pit it has dug for
itself. If Turkey promises anything until April 24 and fails to
keep its promise, it will cost her too much. Americans and Russians
want Turkey to act instead of promising. The threat is that it may
give numerous promises at the meetings and fail to keep them later,
Giragosian said.

The problem is that Turkey has not yet made a final decision on
Armenia. It means that Armenia is facing a threat of harming itself or
committing suicide, as Turkey has not yet decided on what it really
wants, the expert said. In this respect, all the negative responses
will be aimed against Turkey rather than Armenia. Armenia can state
with confidence it has done its best and even more, and the whole
responsibility will rest with Turkey, which is a good game of chess.

In this political game Armenia is in the capacity of Gary Kasparov,
he said.

Commenting on Turkey’s sharing the United State’s opinion that
Azerbaijan does not have to be invited to Washington, Giragosian said
that Armenia has got advantage, as Ankara and Baku are facing more
and more serious problems. At present Azerbaijan is trying to get an
invitation to the White House for Ilham Aliyev. They are doing it to
"save their face" and show they are not "feel hurt" they were not
invited to Washington.

BAKU: Phillip Crowley: Historical Moment Has Reached To Implement Ar

PHILLIP CROWLEY: HISTORICAL MOMENT HAS REACHED TO IMPLEMENT ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS

APA
April 14 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. Foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia Ahmet Davutoglu
and Edward Nalbandian held a meeting in Washington on April 13,
APA reports quoting CNN Turk.

Spokesman for Turkish Foreign Ministry Burak Ozugergin said the meeting
was the continuation of the meeting held between Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan a day before.

Official representative of the U.S. Department of State Phillip Crowley
said the negotiations were positive, Turkey-Armenia relations were
the main theme of discussion.

"It is the historical moment to implement Armenia-Turkey protocols,"
he said.

Phillip Crowley added that Washington was not acting in the process
alone and underlined that Russia played a very constructive role.

"Moscow is inside the Minsk process and is working on the same issues
together with Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia," he said.

Asked whether Washington meetings demonstrated any progress, Phillip
Crowley said there was a favorable opportunity.

"We encourage the sides for the process to live and move
constructively. Some in the region want to go back and move away from
this process. We think this is not the way out," he said.

Conversation Between Armenian And Turkish FM

CONVERSATION BETWEEN ARMENIAN AND TURKISH FM

NOYAN TAPAN
APRIL 14, 2010
WASGINGTON

WASHINGTON, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Foreign Ministers of Armenia and
Turkey Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu had a conversation during
a working lunch, hosted by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
in the honor of Foreign Ministers attending Nuclear Security Summit
in Washington.

Their conversation was focused on the continuation of yesterday’s
discussions of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish
Prime-Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan.

Erdogan Points To Indirect Mention Of Azerbaijan In Armenia-Turkey P

ERDOGAN POINTS TO INDIRECT MENTION OF AZERBAIJAN IN ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS

Tert.am
13:11 14.04.10

The Armenia-Turkey border will not open until Armenia and Azerbaijan
reach an agreement over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish
HaberTurk quotes Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.

"There is a very important point next to the expression ‘without
pre-conditions’ in the text of the Protocols signed in Zurich:
to establish regional peace. And can Azerbaijan be ignored in the
context of the thesis of ‘regional peace’? Azerbaijan is part of that
regional peace. For that reason it is necessary that the conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan be resolved, that an agreement be
reached between the sides … First of all, why was the Armenia-Turkey
border closed. That is to say why was it closed in 1993? The border was
closed due to the event that broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

And for the border to be opened now we certainly think it is necessary
that an agreement be reached over this issue so that to pave the way
for the establishment of peace. The US, France and Russia make active
efforts for the purpose, and I suppose that with God’s will they will
reach the desirable results," said Erdogan.

Turkish Prime Minister also expressed hope that the Turkish parliament
might quicken the ratification of the Protocols, should there be any
progress in the Armenian-Turkish normalization.

Azerbaijani MP: We Will Not Allow A Second Armenian State To Be Esta

AZERBAIJANI MP: WE WILL NOT ALLOW A SECOND ARMENIAN STATE TO BE ESTABLISHED IN OUR LANDS

Today
21.html
April 13 2010
Azerbaijan

Modern Armenia has been established in our territories, and we will
not allow second such a state to appear in our lands once again,
Azerbaijani Member of Parliament Aynur Jamalgizi said commenting on
Armenia’s delayed response to the updated Madrid principles.

"This document contains a provision on referendum in Karabakh, which
could not but cause concern. But after Baku announced that referendum
is possible only throughout the country, everything fell into place,"
the MP said.

"If this provision of the Azerbaijani Constitution is observed, the
updated version of the Madrid principles generally meets Azerbaijan’s
interests."

I think we can agree on de-occupation of five regions of Azerbaijan
in the first stage, followed by the return of refugees there and the
restoration of communications. In this case, I believe that if we
agree to provide Armenia with an access to Lachin corridor, then in
return we should get a ground connection with Nakhchivan. Later the
status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved," the MP added.

"The most negative development in the Madrid process is the fact that
the principles of territorial integrity and the right of peoples to
self-determination are taken as equal. Maybe a nation, who has been
deprived of this right, has the right to self-determination, but not
Armenians. Armenians had once determined their destiny and created
their own state on the territories of Azerbaijan. We will not allow a
second Armenian state to be created on our lands. This is impossible,"
Jamalgizi noted.

http://www.today.az/news/politics/660

It Is Unquestionable For Turkey To Leave Azerbaijan Out Of Cycle In

IT IS UNQUESTIONABLE FOR TURKEY TO LEAVE AZERBAIJAN OUT OF CYCLE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS IN ANY MANNER: AHMET DAVUTOGHLU

Tert.am
13.04.10

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Dacutoglu has had an interview with
the Azerbaijani news website APA in Washington in the framework of
the World Nuclear Security Summit. Below is the entire interview.

– Mr. Minister, you have attended Turkish Prime Minister Rejep
Erdogan’s Washington visit, where he discussed many issues today,
especially meeting with Armenian president. What was Azerbaijan’s,
especially Nagorno-Karabakh’s place in the talks?

– As usual, this was a main issue. Our prime minister is very
interested in explaining to the Armenian leaders the sensitive
points of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We believe Azerbaijan is an
integral part of a solution to the problem in the Caucasus and says its
exclusion from the process is out of the question. It is unquestionable
for Turkey to leave Azerbaijan out of the cycle in any manner. Before
the U.S visit, I spoke with Azerbaijani diplomats. Our representative
has been both in Baku and Yerevan. We communicate with them very often.

It is also important for Turkey for the Obama administration to focus
its attention on this topic. I want to reiterate that the liberation
of the occupied Azerbaijani territories was one of the goals of
the Turkish-Armenian protocols, in addition to normalization of the
Turkey-Armenia bilateral relations.

We will maintain our peaceful perspective but we will not let
anyone put pressure on Turkey over issues on which we can give no
concessions. We hope our counterparts on this issue had received the
message The international community must understand that, one-sided
peace is impossible in the South Caucasus.

– What is the next step in the normalization of Armenia-Turkey
relations?

– The fact is that we have been always aware that only Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation is not enough to create peace and stability in the
South Caucasus. Only with a comprehensive solution, we can maintain
the atmosphere of reconciliation and remove the remaining barriers
to dialogue, cooperation and peace in the region.

This, of course, will require political will and courage.

We all want to forget previous hostility and instigate in future
positive aspects of common history. This is very important that we
have common aspiration to build bright future in the South Caucasus.

One of them is signing the Turkish-Armenian protocols in Zurich Oct.

10. However, the decision of the Constitution Court of Armenia in
connection with injecting changes to protocols has been a sudden
obstacle on the way of ratification of protocols.

If all sides -we and they – take a responsibility and try to contribute
in the achievement of comprehensive peace in the South Caucasus,
then the Turkish parliament will ratify the protocols in the nearest
future. This will not only facilitate the rapprochement between
the two nations, but also continue the way to the new future and
establishment of peace, prosperity and cooperation. In this respect,
the urgent need is not to put impediments in the way of establishment
of peace and stability under the veil of fictional juridical problems.

However, as our PM said, we’ll explain to the U.S. administration that
we cannot achieve lasting peace in the region without resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue. We strongly believe that, the occupation of
Azerbaijani lands by Armenia complicated cooperation in the Caucasus
on a regional and global scale. The OSCE Minsk Group is the only
international instrument that can induce parties to take steps to
overcome differences and reach a peaceful settlement.

Recognition of the so-called "Armenian genocide will have a very strong
negative impact on the further establishment of peace in the Caucasus.

– By the way, can US President Obama recognize "Armenian genocide"
thus spoiling strategic relations with Turkey this month? If so, how
will it influence the negotiations over Turkish-Armenian establishment?

– I hope that President Barack Obama will not recognize it Apr.24.

Every spring we wait the threat of a crisis in the U.S-Turkey relations
with fear. The United States has now two options: to turn all the
progress achieved in relations between Turkey and Armenia and in
general in the South Caucasus, to no, or to continue promoting the
peace process in the region. We think they will choose the second path.

Turkey Had Better Not Poke Its Nose Into Karabakh Conflict Settlemen

TURKEY HAD BETTER NOT POKE ITS NOSE INTO KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT: SHARMAZANOV

Tert.am
13.04.10

"I would not like to believe that a Foreign Ministry high-ranking
official has made such a statement. But even if he has said anything
like that, he must have either a stroke or rather a bright and ill
imagination," Press Secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia
Eduard Sharmazanov told Tert.am, commenting on Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu’s interview to the Azerbaijani APA news agency.

According to Sharmazanov the Turkish foreign minister must realize
that the leader of any country cannot explain anything to the leader
of another country or tell him what to do, as "that is not correct."

"Even more, it leaves an impression that it is the first time
that Davutoglu has been familiar with the Zurich Protocols, as
he mentioned that one of their main targets is the liberation of
Armenian territories. There is no mention of it in the Protocols,"
said Sharmazanov, advising Turkey not to intrude in the Karabakh
settlement issue.

"Turkey had better not to poke its nose into the Karabakh conflict
settlement issue as there is an OSCE Minsk Group [in charge]. Turkey
must understand well enough that neither the Minsk Group nor Armenia
will let it partake in the [settlement] process," warned Sharmazanov.

As what concerns the Armenian Genocide, Sharmazanov reminded Turkish FM
Davutoglu that 42 out of the 50 states of USA have recognized it, and
former US President Ronald Reagan even pronounced the word "genocide."

"Our president has clearly stated that no one can speak with Armenia
with pre-conditions," concluded Sharmazanov, advising Turkey ratify
the Protocols instead of talking an empty talk.

Baku Disagrees To Hold A Concert Featuring Armenian Composers’ Works

BAKU DISAGREES TO HOLD A CONCERT FEATURING ARMENIAN COMPOSERS’ WORKS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 8, 2010 AMT

Yerevan’s National Academic Theater theaters resumed "Musa Ler"
performance. It was attended by over 900 school students in one day
and over 3000 in a month, proving students’ increased interest to
the theater.

The opening ceremony of an exhibition of works by finalists of 2009
Armenian President’s Youth Prizes competition in Fine Arts and Cinema
took place in the Artists’ Union of Armenia on Tuesday, March 30.

"We organize this competition jointly with Boghossian Foundation for
the third year. In 2010, 53 young people participated in it with 250
works, out of which the jury selected 19. 63 works were presented for
the final stage. During the exhibition, the jury will select the best
works, the authors of which will take part in the awarding ceremony
due on May 13, 2010," Aida Khachatryan, assistant to the director of
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, said in her opening remarks.

"It is too important to gain such an honorable prize in youth.

Besides, the competition has another positive aspect, i.e. the
participants can submit their works on a theme and in a style they
choose themselves, there aren’t any restraints," added Galents Saro,
a member of the competition’s jury and lecturer of Yerevan State
Art Academy.

There were nine participants in the painting competition, three in
graphics, four in sculpture and photography, design and cinema sectors
were represented by one participant in each.

* "The feature film "Anton Chekhov" should become a film which will
represent Armenia abroad: in Russia, Europe, and may be in America,"
the film director Armen Ronov told a press conference on April 1.

According to him, representatives of 4 countries Armenia, Russia,
France and Ukraine work on the film.

"We have been working on the project half a year. This subject is
very interesting for both Armenia and Russia, Europe and the world,"
Vladimir Msryan, People’s Artist of Armenia, who plays the role of
Anton Chekhov said. He said the original script of the film tells
the life story of the Russian classics.

Armen Ronov also stressed that apart from cultural values, the film
can also be a cash and profits for Armenia, as well as above it will
work producers from four countries.

The shooting of "Anton Chekhov" will begin in September and October
2010 and will last about a year, post-production will take another
year, and then the audience will see the final result.

"We expect support from the governments of Armenia, Russia, France,
patrons, cinema and other companies,"Armen Ronov said. * "Performance
of Azerbaijani composer in Armenia would be an affront to national
dignity of the Armenian people, since no organization in Azerbaijan
agreed to organize the same concert in Baku. Aquatuor and pre-art
groups agreed to submit the program without the work of Azerbaijani
composer, since convergence implies willingness of all parties,
general manager of Perspectives XXI festival Sona Hovhannisyan told
to Pan.ARMENIAN.NET. The Convergence project is held in frames
of Perspectives XXI International Music Festival on April 2. The
project organizes concerts of contemporary classical music from 10
countries: Armenia, Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Latvia, Macedonia,
Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan performed by Aquatuor
and pre-art Swiss groups. In Yerevan the concert will be held at
the House of Chamber Music after Komitas. * Armenian duduk virtuoso
Jivan Gasparyan is ready to represent Armenia at Eurovision 2010 with
Eva Rivas . As Jivan Gasparyan told a news conference in Yerevan,
the final decision depends on the singer and her team. "On May 22,
I contracted a concert in Italy with the famous composer, however,
if the singer and my country will benefit from my participation,
I am ready to go to Norway," he said.

Following the national selection of Eurovision Song Contest in Armenia,
22-year-old singer Eva Rivas from Rostov-on-Don with the song "Apricot
stone" (music by Armen Martirosyan, words by Karen Kavaleryan) will
represent Armenia at Eurovision 2010. According to the draw, Armenia,
Turkey, Ukraine, Denmark, Israel, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland,
Georgia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Jordan, Netherlands, Romania,
Azerbaijan and Slovenia will perform in the second semifinal of the
Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, which will be held on May 27. The
first semifinal of the musical contest will be held on May 25 and
the finals are scheduled for May 29. * People, capable of forming
mentalities of generations with their work, live beyond their
time. To Armenian people, famous actor Khoren Abrahamyan is one of
those persons. On April 1, Khoren Abrahamyan’s family, colleagues,
friends and admirers mark 80th birth anniversary of the actor.

Parajanov-Vartanov Awards

Parajanov-Vartanov Institute
POB 17257
Beverly Hills, California 90209 USA

Beverly Hills Film Festival:
Hollywood Reporter:
ent_display/awards/news/e3id9db7bed8e9402cb8919dc2 e7eaac134

HOLLYWOOD, CA — To recognize the underappreciated role women play in
the lives of artists, the first annual Parajanov-Vartanov Awards will
be presented to the spouses of the late influential filmmakers Sergei
Parajanov (1924-1990) and Mikhail Vartanov (1937-2009).

For his commitment to the independent and underrated cinema, the
founder of the Beverly Hills Film Festival, Nino Simone, will also be
honored with the Parajanov-Vartanov Award. The awards will be handed
out by the Parajanov-Vartanov Institute during the gala awards
ceremony of the 10th Annual Beverly Hills Film Festival on April 18,
2010 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills,
California.

The awards ceremony will be preceded at 3pm by a rare showing of
Vartanov’s `Parajanov: The Last Spring’ at UCLA in the James Bridges
Theater, Melnitz Hall, located at 235 Charles E. Young Drive, Los
Angeles, CA 90095. The screening will be accompanied by a short
classical music concert and a photography exhibition, I Will Wear Your
Beret Papa, from the last month’s showing at the Condestable Palace in
Navarra, Spain.

Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) is widely regarded as one of the greatest
masters of cinema and has been called a genius, a master and a
magician by legends like Fellini, Antonioni, Godard, and Tarkovsky.
Paradjanov’s masterpieces, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964), and
Sayat Nova or The Color of Pomegranates (1968), often turn up on the
lists of the best motion pictures of all time.

Mikhail Vartanov (1937-2009) developed a method of documentary
filmmaking termed the ‘direction of undirected action’ and his
reputation as one of the most important cinematographers,
documentarians and intellectuals of his generation was cemented by
such influential documentary films as The Seasons of the Year (1975),
Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992), and a series of essays including
The Unmailed Letters.

Mrs. Parajanov and Mrs. Vartanov – the Ukrainian pedagogue Svetlana
Sherbatiuk and the Armenian film editor Svetlana Manucharian – have
stood by their husbands in the difficult times of persecutions and
significantly contributed to the preservation of these masters’
oeuvres. Nino Simone founded the Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2001
and resurrected such important forgotten films as D.W. Griffith’s `In
Old California’ (1910), Mikhail Vartanov’s `Parajanov: The Last
Spring’ (1992), and Eugenio Cappuccio’s `Towards the Moon with
Fellini’ (2006).

"To me…besides…Griffith and Eisenstein, the world cinema has not
discovered anything revolutionarily new until (Parajanov’s) Color of
Pomegranates" wrote Mikhail Vartanov in 1968. "Vartanov…you posses
everything an artist needs – mind, kindness, principles, freedom…
Create… perhaps you’re the only friend who compels me to live" said
Sergei Parajanov in a 1974 letter from Soviet prisons.

The Parajanov-Vartanov Award presentation and the UCLA screening are
held in the framework of the 2010 Beverly Hills Film Festival. The
screening is cosponsored by the UCLA Armenian Studies Program, the
Friends of UCLA Armenian Language and Culture Studies, the Center for
Near Eastern Studies, and the Center for European and Eurasian
Studies.

Parajanov-Vartanov Institute promotes the artistic legacies of the
late influential filmmakers Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990) and Mikhail
Vartanov (1937-2009). Beverly Hills Film Festival was founded in 2001
to showcase the independent cinema in the renowned city of Beverly
Hills.

# # #

For more information, photographs and interviews please contact the
[email protected].

http://institute.parajanov.com
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/cont
www.beverlyhillsfilmfestival.com