Author: Nalbandian Eduard

MG OSCE COCHAIRMEN TO VISIT BAKU IN LATE MAY
Author: E.Huseynov

TREND, Azerbaijan
May 16 2006

Cochairmen of Minsk Group of OSCE are visiting Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict region some May 25 to 27, Azeri Foreign Ministry officials
told Trend.

According to the preliminary information, first cochairmen from Russia,
France and the US shall visit Armenia (May 25 to 26), and then head
to Azerbaijan. Diplomats are sharing their lat ideas to heads of
the two countries, which had already been revealed in early May by
Bernard Faciet, cochairman from France.

Jonathan Henick, head of US Embassy press service, confirmed the
intention of MG OSCE’s American cochairman Steven Mann to visit Baku
in late May. However, Henick said, terms of visit are still unknown.

FOREIGN POLICY PLAYS NO ROLE

Panorama.am
14:20 16/05/06

The departure of Orinats Yerkir from the ruling coalition was not
conditioned by disagreements in the foreign policy, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanyan told reporters today. “I think that happened
because of accumulated problems and not one,” he said.

He also said that at this point the internal political processes do
not affect Nagorno Karabakh conflict regulation.

TREND Info, Azerbaijan
May 12 2006

Truth about Azerbaijan made public through German MPs, German press –
NAP functionary

Source: Trend
Author: J.Shahverdiyev

12.05.2006

The German public has been informed about the truth on Azerbaijan
through the Bundestag and the German press, the head of the South
Caucasus Initiative Group on Azerbaijan, also Deputy Executive
Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), Siyavush
Novruzov, told Trend.

According to Novruzov, as a result of tough public political
situation in Armenia the delegation of this country did not
participate in the 5th plenary meeting of the group. Armenian
Ambassador was in attendance. `There is resistance between parliament
and President of this country in connection with the integration in
Europe,’ he underlined.

Novruzov stressed that every member of the Azerbaijani delegation
demonstrated serous position on the issue included in the agenda.
`The delegation informed the German public through the Bundestag and
press about damage on the Azerbaijani ecology, threats caused by
Armenian nuclear power station, cut of woods in the Armenian-occupied
Azerbaijani districts Kelbajar and Zangelan,’ he announced.

During the gathering members of meetings were held with members of a
friendship group of Bundestag on South Caucasus. `Next year Germany
will undertake chairmanship at the European Union. One of Germany’s
foreign objectives is integration of the south Caucasus into the EU.
>From this aspect these meetings assume special importance,’ he
stressed. However, he regretted that the group of headed by a
pro-Armenian MP who tries to promote the recognition of the so-called
`Armenian genocide’ by Bundestag. `We tried to explain that it will
complicate the Armenian-Turkish relationships,’ Novruzov underscored.

He also informed about his meeting with the German Minister Ãåðìàíèè,
which mulled the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and development of
Azerbaijan.

An initiative group of the South Caucasus parliament group held its
5th meeting on `Globalization and its impact on South Caucasus’ in
Berlin on 9-11 May with the financial support of Adenaur Fund. The
gathering held an exchange of opinions in impacts on politics,
economy, environment and pubic life of the region of globalization.

ARTUR BAGHDASARIAN:ATMOSPHERE OF FEAR RULES IN ARMENIA

Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The large scale withdrawal of the
deputy-entrepreneurs from “Orinats Yerkir” party is conditioned by the
atmosphere of fear that rules in Armenia. Artur Baghdasarian, leader
of “OY” party, speaker of RA National Assembly, stated this at today’s
press conference.

“I do not blame the deputies who left our party, as their decision was
conditioned by fear. The atmosphere in the republic frightened these
people so much that they hurried to leave our party, as soon as they
heard of the contradictions between me and RA President,” he said.

PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND KOREA MEET IN PRESENCE OF DELEGATIONS

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
May 11 2006

The one-on-one meeting of Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and
Roh Moo-hyun of Korea was continued in presence of the two countries’
delegations.

Greeting once again visiting President Rooh Moo-hyun and members of
his delegation, the Azerbaijani leader expressed confidence that the
visit would contribute to development of bilateral relations in various
fields. “At the meetings we are going to have today and tomorrow, we’ll
have the opportunity to discuss issues of bilateral relations. I am
sure that after this visit, our relations with the Republic of Korea
will be more intensively developed in all spheres,” he said.

Korean President Roh Moo-hyun first expressed deep gratitude to
the President and people of Azerbaijan for the hospitality shown to
him and his delegation. “I am the first President of the Republic
of Korea to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan since our counties
established diplomatic relations. Today’s political and economic
development of Azerbaijan creates additional opportunities to enhance
our cooperation. Both countries’ potential is huge, and must be used
in full measure. This is why I am accompanied by four ministers. Mr.

President, taking this chance, I would like to invite you and your
ministers to our country,” he said.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Korean counterpart for the
invitation, and said: “You came to Azerbaijan with so representative
delegation. I share your opinion that the huge economic potential of
the two countries will serve development of our bilateral relations.”

He noted that Azerbaijan is already capable to make investments itself,
and stressed the necessity of taking advantage of not only Korean
investment opportunities but also the country’s personnel potential
and experience in economic sphere.

President Roh Moo-hyun pointed to importance of restoration of the
historic Silk Road and other transport corridors, noting that his
country is interested in the global projects being implemented in
the region, as well as in opening of an embassy in Baku.

President Ilham Aliyev noted in his turn that Azerbaijan’s rich natural
resources, the global energy projects implemented in the country and
the attention paid to the non-oil sector and regional development on
the one hand, and high technology and great experience of the Republic
of Korea on the other hand, could balance trade relations between
the two countries. “They (relations) do not meet today’s potential;
there are great opportunities for their expanding,” he said.

The Azerbaijani leader also highly appreciated the Republic of
Korea’s position with regard to settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

President Roh Moo-hyun said Korea will continue the international
and regional cooperation with Azerbaijan and to support its fair
position in the conflict. He also expressed his county’s readiness to
cooperation with Azerbaijan in the fields of air transport, sea ports
construction and applying high technology in chemical and engineering
industries.

TURKEY WARNS OF DIPLOMATIC DAMAGE OVER ARMENIAN ISSUE
By Andrew Borowiec

Washington Times, DC
May 11 2006

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Turkey this week summoned its ambassadors to France
and Canada for consultation in an escalating row over the World War
I massacres of more than 1 million Armenians.

The government in Ankara has warned of “irreparable damage” to its
relations with France if the National Assembly approved law to make
any denial of the massacre a criminal offense.

In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently referred to the
deaths of Turkish Armenians as genocide, drawing Turkish ire.

In an unusual move, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has suggested that
the French government should prevent the adoption of the denial bill
by the lower house of parliament.

“Accepting this draft law would cause irreparable damage to
Turkish-French relations. It should not be permitted,” the ministry
said.

Unlike Germany, which has acknowledged the Holocaust of the Nazi era
and compensated some of the survivors, Turkey dismisses the massive
documentation of the Armenian massacres by the Ottomans.

The European Parliament has already approved a nonbinding resolution
requiring Turkey to recognize the death of Armenians as genocide
before it is admitted to the European Union.

The draft bill before the French National Assembly was strongly
influenced by the presence in France of some 400,000 Armenians,
the largest Armenian diaspora in Europe. Many are active in French
political life.

Turkish authorities continue to oppose any public discussion of
the Armenian problem. Several journalists have been charged with
violating the code on “insulting Turkishness” for writing about the
90-year-old massacres.

However, under strong EU pressure, similar charges were dropped
against Orhan Pamuk, an internationally known Turkish novelist who
had called on Turkey to admit its guilt.

According to the prevailing Turkish version, Armenians living in
Turkey had to be resettled in the desert areas of the Ottoman Empire
because they were “the fifth column” on behalf of Russia and the
Western Allies.

Turkey fought on the side of Germany and Austria in World War I.

According to the version of the London-based Minority Rights Group,
in the spring of 1915, less than a year after the start of the war,
“Turkish Armenians in the Ottoman army were disarmed and herded into
labor battalions where they were starved, beaten or machine-gunned.

“A ‘resettlement campaign’ followed in which most Armenian men were
summarily executed while women and children were “forced to walk
southward in huge convoys to the burning desert of northern Syria.

Few survived the privations of these terrible death marches.”

The Minority Rights Group concluded that before 1914 over 2 million
Armenians lived under the Ottomans, but the figure has hardly exceeded
100,000 since World War I.

“Thus the number of Armenian dead may safely be put at around
1,500,000. Another half a million became homeless refugees whose
descendants, with their tragic memories, can be found today in a
score of countries.”

Agence France Presse
9 mai 2006 mardi

Génocide arménien et emploi des jeunes au programme des “niches” PS

PARIS

Des propositions de loi sur l’emploi des jeunes et le génocide
arménien sont notamment à l’ordre du jour des séances réservées
(“niches”) au groupe PS le 16 et le 18 mai, a-t-on appris mardi à
l’issue de la conférence des présidents de l’Assemblée nationale.

La “niche” du mardi matin, 16 mai, est consacrée à deux textes du
groupe socialiste : une proposition de loi de Jean-Marc Ayrault sur
l’insertion des jeunes dans l’emploi, et une proposition de loi
constitutionnelle présentée par Paul Quilès tendant à modifier
l’article 34 de la Constitution sur le pouvoir du Parlement.

Selon l’ordre du jour rendu public mardi, la séance du jeudi matin,
18 mai, est réservée à la proposition de loi PS qui vise à compléter
le texte de janvier 2001 par laquelle l’Etat français reconnaît le
génocide arménien de 1915. La proposition de loi PS, présentée à
l’initiative de Didier Migaud, vise notamment à “sanctionner
pénalement non seulement l’apologie (…) mais aussi et surtout la
négation du génocide arménien”.

Search operation continues at Airbus-320 crash scene in Sochi

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 6 2006

06.05.2006, 02.04

MOSCOW, May 6 (Itar-Tass) — The search operation is continuing on
the Black Sea where an Armenian Airbus-320 passenger plane crashed
on May 3.

Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived at the scene on Friday
evening.

So far 42 bodies of victims have been identified, an official at the
Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said.

“Forensic tests on the victims’ bodies are nearing completion,”
the prosecutor said, adding that samples had been obtained for DNA
analysis of body fragments.

Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said 53 bodies had been
recovered. The remains of 26 passengers were flown to Yerevan earlier
on Friday.

Investigators from the Prosecutor-General’s Office have questioned
air traffic controllers as witnesses in the case.

Sources at the Prosecutor-General’s Office said “the investigators
keep studying a large amount of retrieved documents, including
technical ones.”

“The available fragments of the plane are being examined in cooperation
with specialists. All information collected so far is being checked on,
verified and summarised. The crew’s verbal exchanges with the ground
services are being studied and witnesses questioned, including the
personnel of air traffic control services,” the sources said.

Earlier, Georgia handed over to Armenia important materials that
may help to investigate the A-320 airliner crash, an official at the
Armenian Embassy in Georgia told Itar-Tass.

Members of the investigating group were in Tbilisi for two days and
left Georgia on Friday.

On Thursday, the Georgian air traffic control service provided
investigators and reporters with the recording of the conversation
with the plane crew when the aircraft was in the area controlled by
Georgia and expressed readiness to cooperate with Russian and Armenian
specialists in the investigation.

The search operation involves 23 ships, two Ka-32 and Mi-8 helicopters,
the research ship “Katran”, which has an automatic bathyscaphe,
an underwater “Kalmar” device with a multi-ray sonar, and a Be-200
amphibious plane.

The recovery of the Airbus A-320 flight recorders is crucial for
finding out the cause of the crash. French specialists detected the
flight recorders emitting radio signals at a depth of 680 meters.

The Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia plunged into the
Black Sea as it was making a landing manoeuvre in the early hours of
May 3. The accident claimed the lives of 113 people.

Religious services for the crash victims were held in Russian and
Armenian churches on Friday.

AMBASSADOR WAS UNREACHABLE FOR GEORGIA

Lragir.am
5 May 06

Reliable sources report that the Armenian ambassador to Georgia
was unreachable both on the phone and physically after the Georgian
government had announced to the representative of the Armenian state
that they would willingly provide the recording of the conversation
of the Georgian dispatchers and the pilots of the Armenian plane,
which had crashed near Sochi. The air line Yerevan-Sochi mostly runs
via Georgia and naturally not without cooperation with the Georgian
dispatchers.

The recording of the conversation of the Armenian pilots and the
Georgian dispatchers may help to reveal the circumstances and causes
of the crash.

UKRAINE IS INTERESTED IN IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE

Lragir.am
04 May 06

Ukraine is still interested in the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, said
Ukrainian Ambassador to Armenia Alexander Bojko to news reporters
May 4, at the National Press Club in Yerevan.

When still preliminary talks about the pipeline were going on,
Ukraine said it was likely to become involved in the project. The
ambassador says his country is taking steps in this direction. “It
is important for us to have different resources, and we are working
on this, we are working in Iran, negotiating,” says the ambassador
of Ukraine. But he says the issue that interests Ukraine required
billions, and it will not come true unless Europe is interested,
and the European banks fund the project.