Author: Kharatian Ani

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Dec 27 2009

Turkish-Armenian Rapprochement and Disagreements with Azerbaijan: A
View from Baku

Rovshan Ibrahimov
Editor of USAK Energy Review
Sunday, 27 December 2009

The year 2009 will be remembered as a year of disagreements and
misunderstandings on a number of issues between Azerbaijan and Turkey.
It is a very significant event; a few years ago nobody could imagine
that between these two countries there could be differences on any
issue.

The harbinger of disagreement between the two countries was the
unofficial visit of Turkish President Gul to Yerevan for the match
between the teams of the two countries in 2008. After that, the two
countries began to rapidly develop relations, namely, Turkey
unilaterally expressed a determination to open the Turkish-Armenian
border, closed since March 1993, after Armenian troops occupied
Kelbajar, by an Azerbaijani district. Thus far, Ankara has stated that
before the liberation of occupied Azerbaijani territories, Turkey will
not open the border.

However, Turkey’s foreign policy began to change. Adopting a course of
becoming a regional power, Turkey has decided to mend relations with
its neighbors. To improve relations with Armenia, it has elected the
formula: "from zero relationship to zero problems." The main issues
that Turkey wishes to solve with regard to Armenia, is the Armenian
position in relation to "the events of 1915" in the Ottoman Empire,
which they consider the genocide of their people, and the territorial
claims of Armenia towards Turkey.

Turkey believes that in the case of open borders, rapid relations will
develop between the two countries, including economic ones. Over time,
close relations with Armenia are to force that country to reconsider
its demands in relation to Turkey.

This position of Turkey has been badly received in Azerbaijan. In
anticipation, by April 24, the date which is considered a day of
remembrance of victims in 1915, it is assumed that Turkey will open
its borders with Armenia. For this reason, the reaction in Azerbaijan
has been very sharp. It could not help but be noticed in the official
capital Ankara. After that, the prime-minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan visited Baku. He assured Azerbaijan that without progress on
the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkey will not open its
borders with Armenia. The same assurance was made by the Turkish
president, Abdullah Gul.

In September 2009, it became known that between Turkey and Armenia,
they were expected to sign two protocols, according to which,
diplomatic relations should be established between the two countries
and borders would be opened between them. Trusting the statements made
by Turkish officials, the reaction in Azerbaijan has been restrained.

However, the surge of controversy erupted again during the re-match
between Turkey and Armenia in Bursa. At that time, the Azerbaijani
flag was barred from the stadium. Flags gathered at the entrance to
the stadium. On Azerbaijani TV channels, images were shown where Azeri
flags were thrown in a box, which had an image, similar to the toilet.
The reaction in Azerbaijan was acute. In response, in Baku, at the
Martyrs’ Alley, where Turkish soldiers rest who gave their lives for
the liberation of Baku in 1918, Turkish flags were lowered.

The scandal was settled only after the Baku visit of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, and delegations of
deputies in both countries. In Turkey, the culprits who negligently
treated the flag of Azerbaijan,were punished.

On October 10, 2009, the protocol was signed in Zurich by the Foreign
Ministers of Turkey and Armenia, establishing diplomatic relations
between the two countries and creating the possibility of the future
border opening. Both protocols will enter into force two months after
ratification by the legislatures of both states. However, both
parliaments have not ratified the protocols yet. Turkey argues that
the ratification may be possible if in the first stage, Armenia will
release five districts adjacent to the Nagorno-Karabakh districts,
also occupied by Armenia.

In turn, Armenia reacted negatively to the demands of Turkey,
explaining that these conditions shouldn’t be referred to as
requirements. In addition, Armenia believes that the borders were
closed unilaterally, and therefore, Turkey must open them without
additional requirements.

Azerbaijan has shown restraint in relation to the signing of the
protocols, fully trusting in the words, the data from the highest
representatives of the authorities in Turkey. At the moment, there are
no serious disagreements between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

On December 9, 2009, the Turkish Prime Minister visited the United
States. During the meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, the talks
turned to the topic of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh. Prime
Minister Erdogan appealed to President Obama so that the U.S. would
intervene in the situation around Karabakh. Turkey wants the release
of the five occupied areas before the opening of the border with
Armenia.

It is worth examining the reasons for disagreement between Azerbaijan
and Turkey’s policy in the region. It’s no secret that for Turkey, it
was unexpected. The reasons for this were several. First and foremost,
Azerbaijan believes that the process of rapprochement between Turkey
and Armenia should be taking into account the Nagorno-Karabakh
process. Since 1993, the condition for opening the border was
liberating territories. In 2008, this situation has somewhat changed.
That is why in April 2008, in different layers of society in
Azerbaijan, there were protests against possible action by Turkey. In
Baku, it is believed that public outcry stopped Turkey in April, that
it was ready to open the border. This was followed by Erdogan’s pledge
not to open the border until there is progress in the Karabakh issue.

The second misunderstanding between the parties was held on the thesis
of Turkey, that Azerbaijan has no clear policy in the settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, and that is why Turkey is taking steps
to change the status quo in the region. In turn, the Azerbaijani side
expressed the view that the proposal is based on the fact that Turkey
itself is not clearly represented on the situation around
Nagorno-Karabakh and the region as a whole.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly tried to change the situation in a military
way, until 1994, as by negotiation. In 1999, some agreement could have
been reached. However, the terrorist act in the Armenian parliament
stopped the process; key actors were shot. It became clear that the
only pressure on Armenia to solve the problem of Karabakh was
impossible. The third party countries, primarily Russia, are
interested in the Karabakh problem. This country does not want
conflict resolution in favor of one party or another. Russia tries to
maintain the current state of affairs, thus able to pressure both
Azerbaijan and Armenia. That is why Azerbaijan is unable to resolve
the conflict in its favor at the moment. Therefore, Azerbaijan has
chosen a tactic of economic weakening for Armenia, namely the
maintenance of the embargo against the country and the implementation
of regional projects, in which Armenia would not be permitted. It was
such with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas
pipeline. The next project on the stage is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars.
However, the possible opening of borders with Turkey would lead to the
fact that the economic pressure on Armenia by Azerbaijan would be
weakened.

In addition, is Azerbaijan skeptical considering the possibility of
improving relations between Turkey and Armenia in the case of opening
borders? The reason is that Armenia is heavily dependent on Russia, as
well as from its Diaspora, and they determine the strategy of its
foreign policy.

Recent events show that to understand in Turkey, to change relations
with Armenia, as well as make progress in the Karabakh problem, it is
necessary to negotiate with Russia. That is why at the meeting with
Obama, Erdogan insisted on the active U.S. action against Russia and
Armenia. Time will tell if that lies in the best interests of the
United States. However, we can see that if there is no progress in the
Karabakh problem, the protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia will
not be ratified.

Sunday, 27 December 2009

"Statements of facts or opinions appearing in the pages of Journal of
Turkish Weekly (JTW) are not necessarily by the editors of JTW nor do
they necessarily reflect the opinions of JTW or ISRO. The opinions
published here are held by the authors themselves and not necessarily
those of JTW or ISRO.

/turkish-armenian-rapprochement-and-disagreements- with-azerbaijan-a-view-from-baku.html

Daily News & Analysis, India
Dec 26 2009

For three families in the city, Christmas falls on January 6

Vaishalli Chandra / DNA
Saturday, December 26, 2009 8:39

Bangalore: Michael Stephen will be visiting St Mary’s Armenian Church
in Chennai on January 6, where he will decorate the altar with
flowers, light candles and ring the bell to commemorate the birth of
the King, Jesus Christ.

The Stephens, living on the HAL Airport Road, will not be the only
ones in the city to celebrate Christmas on January 6. With them will
be two more families, the Minases and Eknayans. They are the three
Armenian families settled in Bangalore.

The Armenian Orthodox Church still reckons its year by the Julian
Calendar and celebrates the birth of Christ on January 6 (also known
as Old Christmas).

Though they are set to celebrate Christmas next month, the three
families here were
very much part of the festivities happening around them. Here in the
city, these families celebrate Christmas twice. So do their friends
and neighbours.

"We are celebrating Christmas today, but the actual celebration will
be on January 6, the day it is Christmas for us," said Paul Minas, a
third generation Armenian in the city. Apart from the difference in
dates, the festivities are the same. Minas will hold a special service
at his home in Banaswadi on January 6. His Christian friends will also
attend the service.

On Friday, Minas also joined the celebrations. "It is Christmas, and
we celebrated with our Roman Catholic and Protestant friends," he
said, adding that for them it is a double celebration as they exchange
gifts on December 25 as well as on January 6.

For Maureen Eknayan, Christmas gives an opportunity to stroll down
memory lane. "My husband and I will go to Bombay (now Mumbai). After
the service, the families will get together for a grand meal," she
said, recalling that the service lasted three hours and was in
Armenian, the language spoken by 97.7% of the population in her
Motherland.

Maureen’s father was part of the choir in Kolkata, the city with the
most number of Armenians. Besides Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore are
home to the 125-odd Armenians in the country.

Stephen, who had been to Armenia during Christmas, spoke about the
difference in celebrations. "Eighty percent of the congregation there
stand during the service at the main Cathedral. We are so used to the
pews here."

For Armenians, the week preceding January 6 is one of fasting. They
avoid meat (seafood not included), and eat a light meal a day.
Stephen, however, added that only 15% of the Armenians observe the
fast these days.

On January 5, families attend church and celebrate the Christmas Eve
Divine Liturgy. They do the same on the morning of January 6, and
observe that day as the Feast of the Theophany (the Manifestation of
God).

Minas said he will have dolma – minced meat and baked potato pudding
served with brown rice – for Christmas. The spices and herbs, he said,
are available at Thom’s Bakery in Frazer Town.

"My mother-in-law sends some of the herbs to us," said Maureen. She
said that earlier in Mumbai, they used to have lavash, a bread similar
to naan, and delicacies like kuku pilaf – rice cooked with greens and
omelette.

report_for-three-families-in-the-city-christmas-fa lls-on-january-6_1327642

VEPKHVADZE: GEORGIA IS READY TO HELP ARMENIAN FRIENDS

Aysor
Dec 25 2009
Armenia

Vice-Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, a member of the Christian
Democrats Faction Levan Vepkhvadze welcomed the renewed contacts
between Russia and Georgia in connection with Upper Lars checkpoint’s
reopening. He pointed that the negotiations were held with Armenian
part’s mediation, who initiated the talks between the sides.

"Georgia is ready to help our Armenian friends and open the Upper Lars
checkpoint," said Levan Vepkhvadze on the phone interview with Voice of
America. In his opinion, firstly, third country’s freights should pass
the UL checkpoint, and above all things, those of Armenia. "I think,
at the beginning the passage for civilians should be closed," he said.

However, Levan Vepkhvadze is at the same time worried about possible
provocations. In particular, he voiced concern over invasion by
Russian troops.

Population of the region of Kazbegi argues against opening the border
with Russia, according to the politician. "People here have a dread
of the repeat of what happened in region of Alhagori where the Russian
troops entered. Georgian population had to leave their homes then. And
now local residents are afraid those people from South Osetia who
lived here in the region of Kazbegi would return and provoke some
acts of quazi-cleaning up."

PRESIDENT OBAMA KEPT HIS PROMISE TO ARMENIANS, AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL SCIENTIST

news.az
Dec 25 2009
Azerbaijan

Rasim Musabeyov If Turkey does not ratify the protocols with Armenia,
the US will not recognize the so-called Armenian "genocide", said
Rasim Musabeyov.

Serious Armenian politicians understand that in case Turkey does
not ratify the protocols with Armenia, the United States will not
recognize the so-called Armenian "genocide", political scientist
Rasim Musabeyov told.

"The matter is that President Obama has already kept his promise to
Armenians and called the 1915 events in Osman Turkey "mets yegern"
in Armenian in April this year. He called it the way Armenians
call these events. So, they should not expect anything more from
Obama in this direction. Naturally, the United States need Turkey
on different vitally important issues of the US policy in the Near
East, Central Asia, therefore, I do not think Armenia will be able to
interest Washington so much that the latter will worsen its relations
with Ankara. The situation is different and West’s interests are
directed into a different area, therefore, they do not need Armenians
"services", the political scientist said.

"I think the reason of most problems of Armenians lies in their
ambitions and political appetites that exceed the potential of their
digestion. Armenians have a good grasp reflex but after seizing a large
peace, like it often happened, Armenians suffered from indigestion and
started to shift the blame on others from outside. The same happened
with Karabakh, after seizing the Azerbaijani lands, Armenians were not
able to cut them off or digest what stuck in their teeth", Musabeyov.

"The population of Armenia reduced from 3 to 2 million people in
the past 15 years, migration process continues and has recently
intensified. In the result, there will be no one to support and
maintain the functionality of the Armenian state. Therefore, today it
would be easier for Armenians to give the piece that they could not
swallow back and get the comprehensive support of the world community
and neighbor states in the development of their country in exchange",
Musabeyov said.

SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT: "IF ANKARA DELAYS RATIFICATION PROCESS, IT WILL FACE WITH ADEQUATE RESPONSE FROM YEREVAN"

APA
Dec 24 2009
Azerbaijan

Yerevan – APA. "Ankara is doing wrong, but it was agreed
beforehand that Armenian-Turkish relations will be restored without
pre-conditions", speaker of the Armenian parliament Ovik Abramyan
told journalists, APA reports quoting Armenia Today.

The speaker expressed his opinion about the Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu’s statement that "ratification of the Turkish-Armenian
protocols depends on the progress in Nagorno Karabakh issue".

"Armenian parliament will announce its final position after the
Turkey’s action toward that. If Ankara delays ratification process,
it will face with adequate response from Yerevan".

POSITIVE MOVE OBSERVED IN THE WORK OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT THIS YEAR, RA NA SPEAKER BELIEVES

PanARMENIAN.Net
24.12.2009 17:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Positive move has been observed in the work of
Armenian parliament this year, RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan said
a press conference in Yerevan. Standing Committees have become more
active and for the first time by the end of the year chairpersons of
all committees of the National Assembly will make an annual report.

National Assembly should become an important venue for political debate
and discussions to strengthen political pluralism and democracy in
the country. "Among the most important task of the National Assembly
is activation of parliamentary diplomacy, active and effective
participation of parliamentary delegations in the international
structures," speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia said.

According to Mr. Abrahamyan, the work of the Parliament should be
more public and open.

He said that a youth parliament will be formed in 2010 from 131 youth
representatives. They will be convened once a month to discuss bills
and put forward proposals, Hovik Abrahamyan said.

IMF PREDICTS SIX-PERCENT BUDGET DEFICIT TO ARMENIA FOR 2010

ARKA
Dec 22, 2009

YEREVAN, December 22. /ARKA/. The budget deficit in percent of GDP
is expected to be around 7.5% in 2009, and 6% in 2010. In our view,
having a 6% deficit in 2010 is reasonable and feasible, IMF Resident
Representative to Armenia Nienke Oomes said in an interview with ARKA
News Agency.

"On the one hand, it is important for the government to gradually
reduce the deficit, because at some point of time it will have to repay
its debts. On the other hand, the IMF advices most countries not to
reduce the deficit too sharply, because this could risk delaying or
even preventing the economic recovery," she said.

Oomes thinks that during recession periods, it is especially important
not to cut social expenditures, because in such circumstances poor
people tend to suffer more than others.

"We also think that it would make sense for the government to continue
to spend money on infrastructure and other types of investments that
will in turn stimulate the economic recovery and economic growth."

"Furthermore, we think it is appropriate that the government is using
the loans from international donors to provide financing to small and
medium enterprises, because SMEs play an important role in ensuring
future growth and in fostering the diversification of the economy,"
she said in her interview.

Armenia’s state budget revenue is planned to be AMD 742 billion and
expenses to total AMD 935.5 billion.

The budget deficit is planned at AMD 193.4 billion.

ARMENIA APPOINTS AMBASSADORS TO AFGHANISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN

armradio.am
22.12.2009 12:46

President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on appointing Armenia’s
Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Vasili Ghazaryan, as
Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan (seat in Astana).

According to another presidential decree, Armenian Ambassador to
Turkmenistan Vladimir Badalyan was appointed Armenia’s Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Tajikistan
(seat in Ashgabat).

Robert Fisk’s World: If you think we can ignore these linguistic
crimes, think again

My favourite is ‘any’, as in ‘any passengers who may have been inconvenienced’

Saturday, 19 December 2009
Independent/uk

Still scribble, scribble, scribble, eh Mr Gibbon? Or so the king is
said to have enraged the odiferous man who described the rise and fall
of the Roman hegemon.

Yes, I use this word advisedly since we are at the mercy of those who
will misuse language for their own advantage or because laptops have
made them sloppy or because they think it chic to befuddle us with
psycho-crap. For the latter, I draw your attention to a new publisher
– Corvus – whose "publishing director", one Nicolas Cheetham, was
stupid enough to send me his "launch catalogue" the other day.

Corvus, he informs me, is the Latin for raven. No problem there. But
then he goes on: "Our books are diverse in setting, tone and genre …
Corvus takes a particular delight in patrolling those fertile zones of
convergence at genre borders, where the best stories are to be
found…" Ye gods, where do people like young Cheetham – for young he
must be to write such twaddle – come from? "Patrolling … fertile
zones of convergence at genre borders" simply means nothing on this
earth.

But it is intended to impress, isn’t it? To make us believe that
Master Cheetham is clever, nuanced, even – heaven spare us – literate.
It is meant to make us believe that he is a Deep Thinker, that Corvus
is appealing to the super-educated, those who "push the envelope", who
talk the non-language of BBC management and New Labour; it was, after
all, not surprising that the BBC’s top crap-talk specialist ended up
working for Tony Blair.

Then there’s what I call the give-away word – the one word in a
sentence that reveals the unwillingness of the writer or speaker to
own up to a fault. My favourite just now is "any". As in British
Airways’ apology to "any passengers who may have been inconvenienced"
by having their baggage lost at Terminal 5. The key word is "any".
After tens of thousands of passengers did actually lose their
checked-in baggage, BA simply referred to "any" passengers – in other
words, that there might be one or two or perhaps none at all.

An identical linguistic swindle was perpetrated by yet another airline
a few weeks ago when easyJet’s in-flight magazine depicted models
posing in Berlin’s Jewish Holocaust memorial. The text of the article
actually refers to Berlin’s "turbulent past" – a weasel way of
covering up the evils of Nazism – but what caught my eye was the
airline’s admission that "easyJet profusely apologises to anyone who
may be offended by the inappropriate (sic) fashion shoot…". Anyone?
I say it again: ANYONE? Jewish groups and even passengers en route to
Tel Aviv were very much offended. And rightly so. Yet it’s the old
cowardly "any" passengers once more. If they don’t know of any
passengers – which of course they do – why did easyJet apologise in
the first place? Similarly, the publishing house which produced this
nauseous article regretted "any offence caused". Do they really
believe that the "offence" might not exist? That it was all made up?

And so I move on to the phrase which is now becoming a cliché:
anti-Semitism. It is not a cliché – it was certainly never intended to
be – but those who use this phrase to assault any decent person who
dares to criticise Israel are turning it into one. They are making
anti-Semitism respectable – and shame upon them for it.

The latest idiot to assist the anti-Semites is Labour MP Denis
MacShane who last month condemned Channel 4’s Dispatches programme on
Britain’s Israel lobby with the words: "anti-Semitic politics is
back". I should perhaps add that this is the same man who, as Minister
for Europe, defended Blair’s criminal intention to go to war in Iraq
with the admonition to fellow European politicians that sometimes
people were in need of "a guide". He had obviously forgotten that the
German for "guide" is Führer.

But while we’re on the subject of Holocausts, let’s turn to the
unmentionable one, the Armenian Holocaust – yes, also a capital "H" –
which our Foreign Office still claims to believe doesn’t qualify as a
genocide. A million and a half Armenian Christians were murdered or
sent on death marches in 1915 by the Muslim Ottoman Turks, but the
British Government doesn’t want to upset the present-day Turks.

Denis MacShane, to his great credit, has long demanded an independent
international commission to inquire into the massacres. Documents
unearthed by Geoffrey Robertson QC under the Freedom of Information
Act, however, show not only the hypocrisy and cynicism of the Foreign
Office – cutting Armenians out of Holocaust Memorial Day and denying
that there is "unequivocal evidence" of genocide (which of course
there is), but admitting that "HMG is open to criticism in terms of
the ethical question (sic)" in denying the Armenian Holocaust but
should do so "given the importance of our relations (political,
strategic and commercial) with Turkey…".

For the correspondence between "researcher analysts", "draftpersons"
and ministers also betrays what I believe is a growing and hateful
practice: sloppy grammar and spelling in emails. For some reason, we
would never accept such a practice in a typewritten note. But here’s a
classic example of a letter to a minister which includes not only
political dishonesty but also an inability even to reread and correct
a printed communication.

The note, dated 21 January last year, refers to the Foreign Office’s
habit of dredging up three of Turkey’s favourite historians – who,
needless, to say, deny the Armenian Holocaust – and of the public’s
demand for a full list of historians consulted by the FO’s
"researchers". I leave it to readers to groan at the inadequacy of the
text, let alone the mistakes of FO "draftsperson" Sofka Brown:

"We’ve had a response (which has taken its time getting round to u)s
which very specifically requests a detailed list of all the evidence
looked at wich leads us to believe that the evidence is not
sufficiently unequivocal. We do not propose to provide a list is
reply…" The misplaced closing of brackets, the mis-spelling of
"which" (as "wich") and "in" (as "is") would be regarded as poor
English at an average school. But what are we to make of it when it’s
contained in a Foreign Office note to a minister?

I guess HMG’s civil servant was just patrolling fertile zones of
convergence at genre borders between Armenia and Turkey. I apologise
for "any" offence caused to Sofka Brown.

ACADEMIC COMMITTEE ON DEFENSE OF DOCTORAL THESES IS LAUNCHED AT THE INSTITUE FOR NATIONAL STRATEGIC STUDIES, MOD, REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

p;p=0&id=1089&y=2009&m=12&d=14
10. 12.09

On December 10, 2009 the session of the newly-established Academic
Committee of the Supreme Certifying Commission, Republic of Armenia,
conferring Academic Degrees in "Political Institutions and Processes"
and "International Relations" specializations, took place at the
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS). The public defense
of "The Conflict Communications and Central Issues of Information
Security" Doctoral Thesis presented for the Doctoral Academic Degree
in Political Sciences in "Political Institutions and Processes"
specialization by Arthur Atanesyan, Fulbright Scholar, Head of the
Chair of Applied Sociology, Yerevan State University, Candidate
of Political Sciences, was on the session’s agenda. The Members of
the Academic Committee are Major General Hayk Kotanjian (Chairman),
Doctor of Political Sciences (RF), Counterterrorism Fellow (USA);
Arman Kirakosyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Armenia; Aram Simonyan, Doctor of
Historical Sciences, Rector of Yerevan State University; Nikolay
Hovhannisyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Founder of the Arabic
Studies in Armenia, President of the Armenian Atlantic Association;
Mariam Margaryan (Deputy Chairman), Doctor of Political Sciences,
Head of the Chair of Public Administration and Political Analysis
of the Public Administration Academy, Republic of Armenia, and other
distinguished experts in Political Science and History.

The development of security and defense oriented political science
in Armenia is entering a qualitatively new level. The INSS has
performed a very important step towards the academic progress being
transformed into an academic educational body conferring Academic
Degrees. This progress is approved by conferring the Doctoral Degree
in Political Sciences in the specialization of information security by
the Institute’s Academic Committee. The INSS step by step continues
its valuable and unique contribution to the development of Armenia’s
security oriented political science. By these efforts the INSS under
the auspices of Defense Minister Mr. Seyran Ohanyan, implements its
mission to gather Armenia’s intellectual potential in defense and
security fields, and especially unite the Armenian smart power youth
under the patronage of the Defense Ministry’s Institute for National
Strategic Studies, as it was planned by the former Defense Minister,
incumbent President Mr. Serzh Sargsyan.

RA MoD Department of Information and Public Affairs