Author: Karakhanian Suren

AZERBAIJANI-TURKISH ‘FLAG CONFLICT’ GOES ON

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Oct 19 2009
Armenia

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Azerbaijani
Ambassador Zakir Hashimov for political consultations over removal
of Turkish flags in the Shahid alley in Baku, Turkish Zaman daily
reports. "The details of this meeting have not yet made public,"
the source says.

"Removal of foreign flags, including Turkish, in Baku and other
places of Azerbaijan recently has not been related to the repair or
any other works", the Chief of the Public Policy Department of the
Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov told Azerbaijani
APA news agency.

According to him, "the lowering of flags was related to the
implementation of law on using of flags of foreign countries and
international organizations in the Republic of Azerbaijan".

Azerbaijani Musavat oppositional party made a statement, that
Azerbaijani authorities’ policy on state flags of neighboring country
is a political blunder. "The present tension between the countries
does not give Azerbaijani leadership enough ground for these actions.

The step is directed not against Ankara, but the whole Turkish state."

he information on Turkish flags’ removal was spread October 17.

According to the security guard, the flags were taken off the
flagstaffs October 15. The guard, who didn’t want to be identified,
underlining that before the flags’ removal some "governmental
officials" visited the spot. Earlier scandal on the ban of Azeri
flags in Bursa where Armenia-Turkey football match took place.

ARMENIA’S EXPECTATIONS POST-PROTOCOLS SIGNING: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RESPONDS

Tert
Oct 19 2009
Armenia

"What expectations does Armenia have after the establishment process of
the now-signed Armenian-Turkish Protocols?" asked Tert.am to Armenia’s
Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan.

"In the first place, our expectations are those which are outlined in
the Protocols, the establishment of diplomatic relations, opening the
border and a regular schedule of goods transportation, as is accepted
in the case of an open border," responded the deputy foreign minister.

Asked if it’s possible that there might be obstacles in ratifying
the Protocols, particularly from Turkey’s side, Kocharian responded,
"Of course, I’m not excluding that."

At the same time, he noted that he doesn’t wish to forestall events.

In the deputy foreign minister’s words, a difficult process began one
year ago when Turkey’s president visited Armenia to attend a football
match, the result of which is today’s signed Protocols.

Armenia’s deputy foreign minister, however, particularly highlighted
that the change neither places the fact of the Armenian Genocide
into doubt nor hinders the process of international recognition of
the Genocide.

SECURITY IN THE CAUCASUS WILL BRING STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT TO THE REGION, TURKEY’S PRESIDENT SAYS

armradio.am
19.10.2009 15:22

In an interview with French magazine L’Express, President Abdullah
Gul said that if there was security in the Caucasus, there could be
stability, development and prosperity in the region.

Gul said there was no foreign pressure on Turkey to sign the protocols
with Armenia. "Our policy is to bring stability and security to the
region, maintain good relations with our neighbors, and solve problems
that were left on the shelf. Having said that, we are grateful to
those who helped us establish this process."

Instead of international pressure, Gul said the driving force behind
the singing of the protocol was to bring stability and development
to the region.

"If security is introduced to the Caucasus, there will also be
stability and, hence, development and prosperity. The Cold War is
over. Everyone wants to satisfy his own people and take the path of
cooperation," said Gul. "Dormant wars can heat up any time. We have
seen this happen between Russia and Georgia. Issues in the Caucasus
should be resolved."

Gul said the border between Turkey and Armenia would open once the
protocols are approved by each country’s parliament and signed by the
foreign ministers. He said the process foresees normalization in all
fields and the project for peace, cooperation, and stabilization in
the Caucasus also includes Armenia.

Gul said dwelling constantly on the recollection of past hostilities
would not allow for peace and cooperation. "If we lived constantly on
the recollection of past hostilities, never would France and Germany
have reconciled. And Europe would not have advanced toward unity as
it has today."

He said Turkey did not have its European Union accession bid in mind
in its relations with Armenia. "While conducting our policy vis-a-vis
Armenia, we absolutely do not have the European Union in mind,"
said Gul.

EuroNews, France
Oct 10 2009

Distrust mars Turkey-Armenia deal

Turkey and Armenia sign a deal today in Zurich normalising relations,
but in the Armenian capital Yerevan thousands of people have taken to
the streets to condemn the protocol.

The president of Azerbaijan has called for a resolution in Armenia’s
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh before relations with
Turkey, an Azeri ally, can be normalised. Many Armenians agree with
him:

"We are against these protocols, these so-called protocols that are as
good as signed already, because they fulfil all of Turkey’s demands,"
said an opposition leader, Armen Rostomyan.

A year ago a handshake between the Turkish and Armenian leaders when
their nations met on the football field signalled a thawing of
relations that have been bitter since the first world war.

But this week’s talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan on resolving
their two-decades long conflict floundered on Friday. The Azeri
president put the failure down to the deal reached with Turkey.

Relations between Turkey and Armenia have been soured for so long
mainly because of Armenian accusations they suffered a genocide at the
hands of Turkish troops as the Ottoman empire collapsed. Turkey has
always denied the genocide took place.

UNEQUAL SITUATION WITHIN COMMISSION OF HISTORIANS, SAYS SHAHNAZARYAN

Tert.am
16:43 16.10.09

"I myself greatly doubt that the Protocols will come into effect,"
said opposition Armenian National Congress representative Davit
Shahnazaryan during a press conference today adding that he bears in
mind the clauses which refer to and are advantageous for Armenia,
"since they have certainly already begun to work on the clauses
referring to Turkey."

"Let me state that Armenian leadership’s positions and their
perspectives have essentially changed, because over the last few
weeks they too are saying it’s very difficult and there could be
serious problems," Shahnazaryan said. According to him, two serious
problems are obvious. He stated the subcommission of historians as
the first problem.

"I myself am convinced, this is an institute which is a serious risk
for Armenian-Turkish relations," Shahnazaryan emphasized and added
that Turkey is already saying that they need the subcommission "at the
very least, to put the Genocide issue to doubt, and, if successful,
to deny it in general."

Touching upon the second, but not less important, issue for Armenia,
Shahnazaryan said that as much as the country’s governing authorities
may refute it, the Protocols’ ratification is directly connected with
essential changes in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Speaking on the possibilities if not of the absolute elimination
of then at least the significant reduction of risks these two
issues include, Shahnazaryan stated, "I think there are [such
possibilities]. And it will be surprising at the least if the
leadership don’t take those steps now."

Referring to the subcommission, he stated that the sides will be in
an unequal situation within the commission, recalling Article 301 of
the Turkish Criminal Code, which states that one who even tries to
hint that the 1915 events were Genocide will be criminally liable.

That is to say, Shahnazaryan explains, Turkish representatives are
limited in such discuss yan thinks that the Armenian National Assembly,
before signing the Protocols, must pass a law which prohibits any
Armenian official from participating in discussions which place the
fact of the Genocide into doubt.

"Thus the situation in that commission will become equal to some extent
and the discussion of the issue will already be prohibited by law."

POLAND SUPPORTS SIMPLIFICATION OF VISA REGIME IN FRAMES OF "EASTERN PARTNERSHIP"

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.10.2009 13:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland supports
to liberalize the visa regime for participants of European Eastern
Partnership program with EU countries with a view to completely abolish
visas for citizens of those states, Jaroslav Dziedzice, adviser to the
Polish Foreign Minister, Head of "Eastern Partnership" Department of
the ministry of foreign affairs, speaking at a conference in Warsaw
on cooperation between Poland and Germany.

He also stated that Warsaw supports political and economic integration
of the states – participants of "Eastern Partnership" with the EU
and is ready to share its experience of European integration, agency
UNIAN reports.

AZERBAIJAN HAS NO HOPES OF TURKEY

Aysor.am
Saturday, October 17

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said at Government that unresolved
issue of transit between Azerbaijan and Turkey makes Azerbaijan look
for new markets, report Russian media sources.

President Aliyev says the county cannot export gas to Europe because
Turkey’s transit-price exceeded market prices by 70%. Herewith
Azerbaijan sells its gas to Turkey at a one-third price of world
standards. Besides, says the President, failed transit issues led
to delay of the second stage of the project of world’s largest gas
condensate fields of Shah Deniz field in the Caspian shelf, which
requires injections of $20 billion.

That is why Azerbaijan signed an agreement with Russia’s Gazprom to
export gas to Russia. He also said that the country can provide gas
to Iran as well as to EU-countries bypassing Turkey via the Black Sea.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

PONTIFICAL VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS ARAM I TO SYRIA

On Friday 16 October 2009, His Holiness Aram I and his entourage left for
Syria on an official visit. The visit will begin in Latakia and then His
Holiness will go to Kessab. In Latakia Catholicos Aram will preside over
events organized in his honour by the community, and he will address them
through his pastoral message. In Kessab he will consecrate the new church in
the village of Karaduran, which will serve the whole region. Kessab and its
surrounding villages have been inhabited by Armenians since very early
times. Here too His Holiness Aram I will address the people through a
spiritual and pastoral message.

##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

ATHENS TO HOST OSCE MG LEADERS’ ANNUAL SUMMIT ON DECEMBER 1-2

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.10.2009 14:14 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On December 1-2, OSCE MG leaders will meet in
Athens to conduct their annual summit, OSCE Yerevan Office reported
to a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent. Summit work will bring together
Foreign Ministers from 56 member states, including Armenian FM Edward
Nalnandyan.

EC: MACEDONIA READY FOR ENTRY TALKS

Southeast European Times
15/10/2009

While noting that the Western Balkan countries and Turkey have still a
lot more to do, the European Commission said Wednesday that Macedonia
had made "convincing progress" and is ready to begin entry talks
with Brussels.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn speaks during a press
conference on the progress reports Wednesday (October 14th). [Getty
Images]

Four years after joining Croatia and Turkey as an official EU candidate
country, the European Commission (EC) told Macedonia on Wednesday
(October 14th) that it is ready to begin its accession talks with
Brussels.

"The country has made convincing progress and substantially addressed
the key reform priorities," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said,
as he presented the EC’s annual reports on candidate and potential
candidate countries’ accession progress.

On the basis of that conclusion, the commission recommended that
the 27-nation bloc open accession negotiations with Skopje. EU
member-state leaders will take a decision on that matter during their
summit in December.

However, the long-running name dispute between Greece and Macedonia
remains a major obstacle to Skopje’s EU bid. Insisting that its
northern neighbour’s name implies potential territorial claims on its
own province of Macedonia, Greece has threatened to block membership
until a solution is reached.

Rehn voiced hope that the EC’s recommendation will serve "as a very
strong encouragement to settle the name issue and thus remove this
from the agenda, and I trust that the government in Skopje gets this
message as well".

While Macedonia is still awaiting a starting date for its entry
talks, Croatia’s are nearing the final phase, with only seven out
of 35 negotiation chapters yet to be opened, Brussels said. But it
also urged Zagreb to continue implementing the EU-required reforms,
particularly in the areas of judicial and public administration reform,
the fight against corruption, minority rights and refugee retur Croatia
meets all outstanding benchmarks in time, the accession negotiations
could be concluded next year," the EC said.

Turkey, which began its membership talks along with Croatia back
in 2005, is further behind in the process, with only a third of its
negotiating chapters opened to date.

While praising Ankara for its efforts to normalise relations with
Armenia, as well as for its recently announced initiative aimed at
resolving the Kurdish question, the EC criticised Turkey for failing
to make progress towards normalising relations with Cyprus.

"We call on the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus to bring
the settlement talks to a successful end as soon as possible, and
on Turkey to contribute in concrete terms to such a comprehensive
settlement of the Cyprus issue," Rehn said Wednesday.

Potential EU candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo,
Montenegro and Serbia are making uneven progress and have a lot more
to do to meet EU requirements, according to the commission.

"The rule of law, in particular the fight against corruption and
organised crime, remains a major challenge which the enlargement
countries need to address at an early stage," Rehn said. "Plenty of
reform work is going [to be needed] to address the problem, and the
commission will continue to use all instruments of the enlargement
process to help them in this endeavour."

The EU executive arm voiced particular concern about the continuing
nationalist rhetoric in BiH and the deteriorating political situation
in the country, which "urgently needs to speed up key reforms".

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com