Author: Nalchajian Markos

Tert, Armenia
Sept 19 2009

No Preconditions, Says Armenia’s Foreign Minister
12:24 ¢ 19.09.09

Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan responded to Turkey’s
prime minister’s announcement that until the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh
is settled, the Armenian-Turkish border will not open, reports the
Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia’s press office. Nalbandyan
stated:

`The Turkish side has been informed, and we are certain they know,
that we are excluding imposing conditions on the establishment of
Armenian-Turkish relations by resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement issue.

`If we attempt to connect those two processes, it’s possible that we
might fail in one or the other. Many countries take the same approach,
including the countries of the Minsk Group co-chairs, who have
numerously stated that the establishment of relations between Armenia
and Turkey must be without preconditions.

`It is with this mutual understanding that we have begun negotiations
and come to a mutual agreement, which are reflected in the presigned
protocols.

`If Turkey’s leadership has issues connected with the signing of the
documents, it shouldn’t attempt to solve those issues in contradiction
of the spirit, character and objectives of the presigned documents.

`The signing of the agreed-upon documents and their implementation
with [all its] complexities is a huge process. Although Armenia is
ready to respect the agreements, in order to move forward.

`If modern Turkey’s governing authorities are not ready today to
accept the fact of the Genocide, then at least they are obligated to
be respectful toward Genocide survivors and their children.’

Tert.am

ARMENIAN POLICE NEED RETRAINING, AD HOC COMMISSION CHAIRMAN STATES

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Sept 17 2009
Armenia

Summing up the investigation of the March 1 events conducted by the
ad hoc parliamentary commission for the March 1-2, 2008, events,
Commission Chairman, Vice-Speaker of the RA Parliament Samvel Nikoyan
arrived at the conclusion that Armenian law-enforcers need professional
retaining and new skilled personnel.

Presenting the Commission’s final report to the RA Parliament,
Nikoyan stressed that the reason for the conclusion is that the
police used Cheremukha-7 gas against the demonstrators on March 1,
2008, which claimed human lives. On the other hand, Nikoyan stated
that the police actions were, in general, legally acceptable.

He also slated the Opposition member Levon Zurabyann, who did not
allow the demonstrators to leave Myasnikyan Square.

AGREEMENTS SIGNED IN SOVIET YEARS, CAN’T BE BASIS FOR DEMARCATION OF ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN BORDER

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
16.09.2009 16:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Agreements signed in Soviet times between Armenia
and Georgia to determine the border, have no legal force. Today,
Yerevan and Tbilisi cannot determine the Armenian-Georgian border,
relying on these agreements, " Vahe Sargsyan , expert of the analytical
Mitk center told journalists in Yerevan today.

"A question arises: based on which agreement should Armenia and
Georgia agree over the Armenian-Georgian border? On November 6, 1921,
Armenia and Georgia signed an agreement on demarcation of the border,
but since the two countries were not subjects of international law,
contracts and agreements concluded in the Soviet era, including this
contract, have no legal force, " the expert said.

In addition, Vahe Sargsyan recalled that after independence, the
Supreme Council of Georgia declared that did not recognize the
contracts and agreements on the demarcation of borders concluded
in Soviet times. "Today, when the parties negotiate over the
Armenian-Georgian border the treaty of 1921 cannot serve as a basis
for determining the border with Georgia," the expert said.

According to him, Yerevan and Tbilisi, during possible conclusion of
a treaty on border demarcation should take as a basis proposals of the
Paris peace conference. "This report says that if Armenia and Georgia
before signing the Sevres peace treaty are not able to implement
suggestions of the report, the issue of the Armenian-Georgian border
should become a matter of the League of Nations. It turns out there
have been no clearly defined boundaries between Armenia and Georgia
for 20 years.

Since the legal successor of the League of Nations is the UN, the
proposals of the Paris Peace Conference must become the agreement,
defining the Armenian-Georgian border," Vahe Sargsyan said.

The Paris Peace Conference was convened after the First World War
in 1918. The outcome of the conference was the Treaty of Sevres,
accord eceived back western vilayets of Turkey and Kars region. Then,
on the initiative of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson the League of
Nations was established, which formally ended its existence in 1946
in connection with formation of the UN. However, actually the League
of Nations ceased its operations in 1939.

MICHEL LEGRAND IN ARMENIA FOR A CONCERT

HULIQ
Tert.am
Sept 15 2009
SC

French composer Michel Legrand, who today performed a concert in
Armenia’s capital Yerevan, sais ‘I want to express my music in images.’

"Now I compose for the stage," Michel Legrand said in Yerevan, who
during his creative working life has produced more than a hundred
albums and written music for more than 200 films.

The world-renowned composer informed the press that he is currently
working on three theatrical musicals. And in answer to the question
of how he relates to contemporary musicals, such as "Notre Dame de
Paris," he said that "it isn’t a musical at all, but a series of
songs one after another, there is no story there, nothing theatrical,
such works are simply ‘nonsense’."

Michel Legrand is currently writing two more operas, one of which is
to be performed in Paris, and the other, in London.

It turns out that Legrand who has numerous musical talents is also a
stage manager. He is going to release a film called "Blind Love." "I
found a way to use music in film in a way that has never been done
before. And I chose love as the subject [of the film] because in that
way I can use my music at its best. I wanted to express my music in
images," said the composer.

RA PRESIDENT CONGRATULATED HIS RUSSIAN COLLEAGUE ON HIS BIRTHDAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
14.09.2009 17:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In a phone conversation with RF President Dmitry
Medvedev, President Serzh Sargsyan congratulated his Russian colleague
on his birthday.

"I am happy that the current dialogue and friendly ties between our
countries contribute to Armenian-Russian cooperation, elaboration
of coordinated position on international security issues, as well as
dynamic and sustainable development of relations between Armenia and
Russia," says President Sargsyan in his congratulatory address.

President also expresses confidence that Armenian-Russian strategic
partnership has always been and will continue to remain a groundwork
for peace and security in Caucasus.

Besides, Serzh Sargsyan expresses his gratitude to Mr. Medvedev for
contributing to the development of bilateral cooperation in different
spheres, RA President’s press service reports.

ARF INITIATES PROTESTS AGAINST ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS

Yerkir
15.09.2009 16:02
Yerevan

A sit-in demonstration and a hunger strike, organized by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Supreme Body of Armenia, began outside the
buildings housing the Cabinet and the Foreign Ministry this afternoon.

The participants chanted "No to the preconditions" and "Nalbandian
leave" before starting their demonstration.

ARF Supreme Body representative Armen Rustamian told those gathered
outside the House of Government that the sit-in and the hunger strike
will go on until the contents of the Protocols is amended.

"These demonstrations are meant to reject the pre-conditions forced
on us, and demand that the provisions of the document that jeopardize
the Armenian interests are reviewed," Rustamian said. "No matter how
hard the government is trying to say that there are no pre-conditions
in the document, we believe it serves the Turkish interests. The say
the Kars Treaty is not mentioned in the protocols; then why does it
say that we recognize the borders? These borders are described only
in the 1921 Kars Treaty, no other treaty speaks of the borders."

Vahan Hovhannisian, a member of the ARF Bureau and the leader of
the ARF faction in parliament, said the protests will continue as
long as needed. He said he didn’t rule out the possibility of using
force against the participants o f the demonstration, saying, however,
that there will be adequate retaliation. Hovhannisian will also join
the hunger strike.

Kiro Manoyan, the director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political
Affairs Office, said the authorities have no intention to amend
the protocols and that they are trying to impose their opinion on
the people.

"We are not given a chance to present our concerns to the people,"
he said. "There are two key provisions that raise our concerns:
the recognition of the borders and the establishment of a commission
tasked with history issues that would enable Turkey to discuss the
issue of the Genocide."

TURKMENISTAN: MEDVEDEV VISIT MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

s/eav091409c.shtml
9/14/09

Turkmenistan will resume gas exports to Russia but a firm date
has yet to be decided. In other words, not much has changed in the
Turkmen-Russian natural gas row.

Technical issues arising out of an explosion on a key gas
export pipeline in April have been resolved, President Gurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov said following his September 13 meeting with Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev in Ashgabat. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].

But questions about export volumes and the purchase price remain up
in the air. "We anticipate that over the coming weeks Gazprom and
the relevant Turkmen organizations will coordinate parameters for
continued cooperation. Experts will agree on specific parameters and
volumes," Russian newspapers quoted Medvedev’s aide, Sergei Prikhodko,
as saying on September 14.

Just about the only positive movement in the Russian-Turkmen energy
relationship was the news that Itera, a Russian energy giant, signed
a production-sharing agreement with the Turkmen government to develop
Block 21 in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea.

SERZH SARGSYAN: ESTABLISHMENT OF NORMAL RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO NEIGHBORS IS NOT SUBJECT TO ANY CONDITIONALITY

armradio.am
08.09.2009 10:32

At the invitation of the President of Croatia Stjepan Mesic, the
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan arrived in Croatia for a two-day
official visit.

The delegation headed by the President of Armenia comprises the
Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Economy
Nerses Yeritsian, Chairman of the Armenian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs (Employers) Arsen Ghazarian, President of the Chamber
of Commerce Martin Sargsyan, other officials and businessmen.

After the official ceremony of welcoming the President of Armenia,
which took place in the White Mansion on Veliki Bryn island, Presidents
Serzh Sargsyan and Stjepan Mesic conducted a one-on-one meeting. The
Presidents of two countries hailed the current level of political
dialogue between Armenia and Croatia. At the meeting the parties
discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation, international
topics, and other matters of mutual interest.

Expressing gratitude to Stjepan Masic for warm welcome, the President
of Armenia noted that the agreements reached during the official visit
of the President of Croatia to Armenia, were being implemented. Absence
of any unresolved issues between the two states as well as similarities
in the history of the two peoples encourage further deepening of
cooperation between Armenia and Croati a. The two sides stressed
that there is political will to move that cooperation forward on all
directions. President Sargsyan positively assessed the fact that there
are many businessmen in the Armenian delegation and noted that at
the business forum, which is to open tomorrow, the sides would have
ample opportunities to discuss concrete projects and initiatives on
cooperation in different areas.

The two Presidents spoke in particular about the possibility of
cooperation in the tourism area, noting that it would be supported
by considerable resources. The parties agreed that one of Armenia’s
regions and one of the leading Croatian centers for tourism would
start cooperation, while Armenian students would be provided with
the opportunity to study tourism industry in the Croatian universities.

The two sides discussed also prospects of establishing joint programs
in the area agriculture.

The President of Croatia expressed confidence that deepening
cooperation between Armenia and Croatia would contribute to
the expansion of regional ties between the Balkans and the South
Caucasus region. Noting, that this was his first visit to the Balkan
region, President Sargsyan said that Armenia and Croatia had the
same system of values and that it was necessary to use the existing
great potential for the development of bilateral relations. He also
said that reciprocal visits of the Presidents during this year would
undoubtedly give an imp etus to that process.

President Stjepan Masic spoke about Croatia’s road taken after
independence, country’s current foreign relations agenda, and informed
on the EU accession process. It was also noted that tomorrow the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Croatia would sign a
Protocol on political consultations for European integration, which is
important for putting cooperation in that area on a firm footing. Serzh
Sargsyan stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation in various
EU formats and initiatives.

The parties agreed also to cooperate in different international
structures.

The President of Armenia told his Croatian colleague about the
recent developments in the Armenian-Turkish political dialogue,
presented Armenia’s vision regarding normalization of bilateral
relations, and informed on the current stage of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict resolution process. The President of Croatia hailed the
initiative of the Armenian President aimed at the normalization of
relations with Turkey and expressed confidence that normalization
of the Armenian-Turkish relations would in turn contribute to the
strengthening of regional peace and security.

With regard to the institutionalization of cooperation the two
Presidents stressed the importance of creating the intergovernmental
commission, which will deal with the implementation of the reached
agreements and enhancement of cooperation in new areas on a permanent
basis.

After the one-on-one meeting, negotiations were continues in the
extended format.

In the afternoon, the President of Armenia attended the official
dinner in his honor given by the President of Croatia and visited the
exhibition on Veliki Bryn island dedicated to the renowned political
figure Josip Broz Tito.

The Presidents of Armenia and Croatia gave a joint press conference
to sum up the results of the talks

President Sargsyan said "Armenia attaches great importance to the
necessity to deepen relations with Croatia and the Balkan states in
general in all areas – political, economic, and cultural."

"The Armenian and Croatian peoples had similar destinies, the past
full of hardships and today that fact can serve a strong base for
friendship, mutual respect, and trust. The history of our nations also
has amazing interlinks, which testify to the ancient Armenian-Croatian
historical ties and cultural interfusion. I was pleased and amazed to
learn that the patron of your beautiful Dubrovnik and of Dalmatia,
Sveti Vlaho, is actually Armenian bishop of Sebastea, Saint Barsegh
(Saint Blaise).

Even though after independence due to objective reasons the
Armenian-Croatian relations were of somewhat erratic nature, the
situation now is cardinally different and there is an opportunity to
enrich our agenda with various issues. Today, it can be stated that
the reciprocal visits of the two Presidents laid the foundation fo r
the Armenian-Croatian political dialogue. Now, we need to establish
formats for regular contacts and ensure interaction of different
groups of our societies. Establishment of interparliamentary ties,
creation of the intergovernmental commission and contacts between local
authority bodies will become important elements of that dialogue. We
have also spoken about the necessity to deepen our cooperation in
international structures.

Armenia welcomes the opportunity for cooperation with Croatia in all
formats provided by the EU and particularly, in the framework of the
Eastern Partnership and Black Sea Synergy programs. I am confident
that the Memorandum on cooperation for European integration, which
is to be signed between our Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the
framework of this visit, will considerably facilitate that processes,"
Serzh Sargsyan stated.

"We have also spoken about international and regional issues
that present mutual interest. I told my colleague, President of
Croatia about the latest developments in the Nagorno Karabakh peace
process. Croatia, as a country, which gained independence after the
collapse of Yugoslavia, knows only too well the value of the right of
people for self-determination and possible consequences of opposing
that right by military force. Use of force against the people who
strive for self-determination only fortifies that people’s right
– legally, politically, and morally. We reiterated our posi tion
that regional conflicts must be solved through peaceful means and
negotiations, excluding use of force. We expressed shared confidence
that with this regard regional cooperation could play an exceptional
role. I also told President Mesic about the current situation with
the Armenian initiative aimed at normalization of our relations with
Turkey. We agreed that lifting the blockade against Armenia by Turkey
and establishment of normal relations between two neighbors were not
subject to any conditionality. It is the only modus vivendi between two
neighboring states in the 21st century, President Sargsyan concluded.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR, UK
Sept 3 2009

INCHING FORWARD IN ARMENIAN-TURKISH TIES

Football diplomacy: where are we now?

By Tevan Poghosyan

On June 2008, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian invited Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul to watch a match in Yerevan between the
Armenian and Turkish football teams. This triggered heated discussion
in both countries about what really lay behind the invitation.

The pressure to normalise relations increased after the war in Georgia
in August 2008, which demonstrated the vulnerability of all the
countries in the region to a repeat shock. Commentators in both
countries said the peace process would heighten stability in the south
Caucasus.

Turkey failed to maintain momentum, which initially seemed to have
harmed the opportunity for a resolution to the conflict in the south
Caucasus. What was seen in Yerevan as an anti-Armenian policy followed
by Ankara for the last 15 years appears to have cast a shadow over
moves towards peace. Doves argued, however, that the opening of the
border with Armenia and the establishment of diplomatic relations
would, in fact, open the way to addressing every dimension of the
conflict between Armenia and Turkey.

Hopes built again after April 22, 2009, when the two sides signed a
`road map’ detailing measures to open the border, establish diplomatic
relations and set up a forum for considering current disputes.

Finally on August 31, Turkey and Armenia took a new step, and agreed
to start internal political consultations on two protocols ` the
`Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations’ and the
`Protocol on the development of bilateral relations’.

The Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his initiative
for a `Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform’, CSCP, on August
13, 2008 in Moscow. The CSCP cannot come into effect if Turkey has not
established sound relations with all countries in the region. Without
a normalisation of Turkish-Armenian relations, it will be a dead
letter, and this has made Turkey keener to resolve outstanding
disputes.

The Reaction from Azerbaijan

The prospect of an open Turkish-Armenian frontier triggered panic in
Azerbaijan, both in government and at large. Many people felt that
Turkey would be abandoning its ally by opening the border with Armenia
before Armenia had pulled troops out of western Azerbaijan and the
breakaway republic of Nagorny-Karabakh.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have been close since the early 1990s, so
Turkey’s talks with Armenia shocked Baku. Azerbaijan has, however,
also engaged in talks with Russia, which has traditionally been an
Armenian ally, and even used the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement as an
excuse.

The Nagorny-Karabakh issue

A decision to open the border with Armenia would mean that Turkey had
largely abandoned its symbolic support for Azerbaijan over
Nagorny-Karabakh. However, commentators in Turkey have long questioned
the efficacy of the closed border as a means to force Armenia to
negotiate over Karabakh, since it has failed to work for the last 15
years.

The settlement of the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict and the normalisation
of Turkish-Armenian relations should be seen as distinct processes.

Turkish-Armenian affairs

The Turkish-Armenian talks were kept low profile. Many meetings were
held in a very short time, but no substantial statements were made.

In the run-up to April 24, 2009, Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, the
media covered the process closely and the road map, published on April
23, massively raised expectations. However, the disappointment was
widespread after the talks failed to progress rapidly. In Armenia,
there was a general perception that Turkey had not been negotiating in
good faith.

The Turkish prime minister’s visit to Baku in May 2009 led to
substantial discomfort in Armenia. Erdogan spoke emotionally of his
support of Azerbaijan, which harmed the Armenian perception of
progress made. An enlarged role for Turkey in the south Caucasus
became less welcome and the expression "Turks never change" was
frequently heard in Yerevan.

Turkey’s hesitation left Armenians thinking that its foreign policy in
the south Caucasus was entirely hostage to Azerbaijan.

The Protocols

On August 31, 2009 the foreign ministries of Armenia, Turkey and
mediator Switzerland announced that Yerevan and Ankara had agreed to
start internal political consultations on establishing relations
between them. The two protocols provide a framework for normalising
their bilateral relations within a reasonable timeframe. The political
consultations will be completed within six weeks, following which the
two protocols will be signed and submitted to the respective
parliaments for ratification by each side.

The protocols make clear that the process of Armenian-Turkish
rapprochement is not dependent on any preconditions related to
Nagorny-Karabakh or the recognition of the genocide.

`For the first time in the history of independent Armenia, the signing
of a most important international document will follow public
discussions. They will allow the hearing of all opinions and
approaches,’ Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said.

What Next?

Whether Turkey and Armenia can overcome their internal issues and
proceed to normalise the bilateral relationship will become clear
during the next two months.

Tevan Poghosyan is executive director of the International Centre for
Human Development, ICHD, in Yerevan.

TURKEY AND ARMENIA: CAN THEY SHAKE THAT HAND?

Forbes
Sept 4 2009

On television they look just like my people–cynical, gloomy and
forever complaining.

I am talking about Armenians–street interviews with residents of
Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, who sound just as skeptical as Turks about
this week’s sudden announcement by the two neighbors to "normalize"
relations.

That normalcy, of course, is arriving about a century after the
two peoples faced each other in a brutal civil war. Hundreds of
thousands of Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire were deported
and massacred in 1915 in what is now eastern Turkey, in a period of
turmoil and violence that Armenians call "genocide" and Turks insist
was "killing by both sides."

Anatolia was "ethnically cleansed" of its Armenian heritage early
last century, but the ghosts of unspeakable deeds have never quite
left the crime scene. Since the founding of modern Turkey in 1923 by
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turks have been grappling with "the Armenian
issue" one way or another, facing in recent years an ever-widening
international campaign to recognize and condemn.

For Turks and Armenians, the issue has always been semantics–whether
or not to use the g-word in describing 1915. The majority of Turks
believe, and were taught in school, that the killings were not
officially sanctioned and do not amount to genocide. To Armenians on
the other hand, 1915 is what the Holocaust is to Jews–the single most
defining moment in establishing a national identity and a nation-state.

So it made great sense this week for the official announcement to
avoid the question of genocide altogether. Similarly left out was the
issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave that Armenians seized
from Turkey’s close ally Azerbaijan.