Author: Nalchajian Markos

RUSSIA AS "GODFATHER" OF THE MOSCOW DECLARATION

armradio.am
07.11.2008 17:45

New developments in the Karabakh conflict settlement are possible
within the coming 10-15 days. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
will be visiting Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. Republican
MP Mkrtich Minasyan predicts that the principles of the main document
of conflict resolution will be determined.

"It does not mean, however, that the document will be signed soon. It
may take several years," the Deputy said. He did not conceal that
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh should be ready for certain concessions.

"Karabakh should be an independent state and should have a security
zone. How broad this zone will be is a different question. It should
certainly have a link with Motherland," he said.

Secretary of the "Heritage" faction Styopa Safaryan says the
Declaration signed in Moscow and all the development in the region are
of Russian origin or are at least approved by the Russian side. It
refers to both the start of the Armenian-Turkish relations and the
Karabakh conflict settlement.

The Deputy reminds that the Armenian-Turkish relations have always
depended on the process of settlement of the Karabakh issue. Styopa
Safaryan notes that the fact that the document has not been signed by
the Karabakhi side, and the Armenian-0Turkish relations have started
developing should prompt that something is wrong.

The Moscow Declaration is risky and includes mines, Styopa Safaryan
is confident. "Russia is actually is a signatory of the delegation,
therefore its "godfather."

RUSSIA TO WORK TO ELIMINATE HOTBEDS OF INSTABILITY IN NEIGHBORING REGIONS – MEDVEDEV

Interfax
Nov 5 2008
Russia

Russia will continue to work to eliminate hotbeds of instability in
the neighboring regions, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in
an annual address to the Federal Assembly on Wednesday.

"The Caucasus crisis has shown once again that the use of force by
one of the conflicting parties cannot bring about a viable solution.

Therefore, we will continue to work to eliminate hotbeds of instability
in the neighboring regions based on international law," Medvedev said.

Out of respect for the existing formats, Russia will help settle the
Transdniestria and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts and cooperate with all
parties concerned, he said.

ELDAR NAMAZOV: "OBAMA’S APPROACH TO SOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL PROBLEMS IS CONSONANT WITH BAKU’S POSITION ON THE KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT"

Today.Az
s/politics/48815.html
Nov 7 2008
Azerbaijan

Obama’s interest to Azerbaijan was demonstrated with the very fact
of his visit to Baku, said political scientist and chairman of the
Public Forum "For Azerbaijan", commenting on Obama’s election as the
US president and his further policy, regarding Azerbaijan.

The political scientist reminded that while being a senator Obama
took not so many foreign trips.

"The visit to our country was taken in the framework of the visit to
Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. The program of the visit to our country
included the visit to the Sangachal terminal, watching trainings on
the Caspian Sea for liberation of the so-called terrorist-captured
ships. At that time Obama was preparing a special disarmament law.

As is known, Azerbaijan is among the countries, which are of strategic
importance for the United States. The same attitude towards our country
was demonstrated both under Clinton’s and Bush’s leadership. I think
this will continue under Obama’s government", said Namazov.

According to him, while being in Baku, Obama displayed interest with
the Karabakh conflict. Namazov said Obama has a general approach
to international problems envisioning close cooperation between
the United States and international community in the framework of
international law.

"This approach is consonant with the Azerbaijani position on
Karabakh. Barak Obama criticizes Bush’s administration for Iraw
invasion as he did not see any legitimate grounds for it and considered
this invasion a mistake.

In most other conflict situation Obama always spoke for the precise
observance of definite rules of games and norms of international
law. I think the new head of the White House will rely on this approach
towards the Karabakh conflict as well", said Namazov.

The political scientist noted regarding Obama’s promises to recognize
the so-called "Armenian genocide" that though this raises concerns
these statements were not made by accident as the state, Obama
represented in the Senate, has a strong Armenian lobby.

"I would like to remind that this state has already adopted its own
resolution on "genocide". But we should be patient and see how the
new US President will act in this direction.

I think no direct parallels should be drawn between this issue and
the Karabakh problem. There are many politicians and diplomats in
the United States who view separately the issues of the so-called
genocide, the events which occurred a century ago and the Karabakh
conflict, the problems of the occupied Azerbaijani lands", concluded
the political scientist.

EU HOSTS SIGNING OF MOSCOW DECLARATION ON GARABAGH CONFLICT

Azerbaijan Business Center
Nov 7 2008
Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The European Union has welcomed signing of the
Moscow Declaration on Nagorno Garabagh conflict by the leaders of
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.

In particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France stated that the
Declaration is a positive move to promote to weakening of tension and
establishing stability in the Caucasus. Determination of the parties
to continue Garabagh negotiation process on the basis of Madrid
principles will ease achievement of balanced settlement of Nagorno
Garabagh conflict in a peaceful way on the basis of negotiations.

On 2 November, following the trilateral meeting at the Russian leader’s
Mayendorf residence in Moscow, Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan,
Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia signed a joint
Declaration on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. The document
stipulates solution of issues on the basis of the principles and norms
of the international law as well as the resolutions and documents
adopted within this framework that will create favorable conditions
for economic development and overall cooperation in the region.

KARABAKH STATUS LEGAL REGISTRATION STILL A LONG WAY OFF

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.11.2008 14:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Non-participation of Nagorno Karabakh representatives
in the talks doesn’t mean that the settlement process is a mere
simulation, an Armenian expert said.

"As to the Moscow declaration, it was conditioned by the Georgian
factor. This document doesn’t contain anything new. It’s neither
positive nor negative for Armenia," Alexander Iskandaryan, director
of Caucasus Istitute, said, adding that registration of Karabakh’s
legal status is still a long way off.

During the November 2 meeting, the Presidents Dmitry Medvedev of
Russia, Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
pledged to intensify negotiations to end the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev instructed their foreign ministers to
activate the negotiation process, in collaboration with the co-chairs
of the OSCE’s Minsk Group.

OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS TO VISIT ARMENIA, KARABAKH, AZERBAIJAN IN NEAR FUTURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.11.2008 14:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ After signing a joint declaration with Presidents
of Russia and Azerbaijan, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had a
constructive meeting with the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
the RA Foreign Minister said.

"The Co-chairs will pay a visit to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno
Karabakh," Edward Nalbandian said.

"The President is currently in Paris to meet with his French
counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy and discuss the outcomes of Moscow
trilateral talks. We are hopeful that intensification of talks will
offer new possibilities for resolution of the Karabakh conflict,"
he said, the RA MFA press office reported.

During the November 2 meeting, the Presidents Dmitry Medvedev of
Russia, Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
pledged to intensify negotiations to end the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The declaration envisages resolution of the conflict on the basis of
principles and norms of the international law as well as agreements
and documents concluded in this framework.

"The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia decided to continue their
work – including at further high-profile talks – to agree on a
political settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Medvedev
said. "They instructed their foreign ministers to activate the
negotiation process, in collaboration with the co-chairs of the OSCE’s
Minsk Group."

KARABAKH SETTLEMENT ENTERS A NEW STAGE

armradio.am
04.11.2008 16:42

The Declaration on Nagorno Karabakh signed between the Presidents
of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia should be considered within the
context of regional events. Head of the "Akunq" research center Ruben
Hakobyan told a press conference today that the Georgian-Ossetian
conflict created a new situation in the region, and the development
of the Nagorno Karabakh issue is linked to it. "The signing of the
declaration has created a new stage in the Karabakh settlement, but
it does not rule out the application of force: history has shown many
of such examples."

Getting involved in the process, Russia manages to keep the region
under its control," he said. According to Ruben Hakobyan, Russia
is somehow trying to please Azerbaijan to have the latter’s serious
economic and political potential pass to its side. According to him,
Nagorno Karabakh is also included in "the basket of this flattery."

Ruben Hakobyan noted that the declaration includes two completely
contradicting principles: territorial integrity and the right of
peoples to self-determination. Involving Nagorno Karabakh as party
to the negotiations is compulsory.

"Russia won in the conflict with Georgia and reconfirmed its dominant
position in the region and reinforced it with the signing of the
declaration of November 2. Russia has its concrete interests in the
region, and its activity shows that it’s ready to defend those at any
cost. The latest developments show that Russia’s role in the region
is gradually reinforcing," Ruben Hakobyan said, adding that Russia
is trying to include the region in its security zone.

ARKA AGENCY PUBLISHES ITS BULLETIN ON CREDIT ORGANIZATIONS OF ARMENIA FOR Q3 2008

ARKA
Nov 3, 2008

YEREVAN, November 3. /ARKA/. ARKA Agency has published the next
issue of its quarterly financial and economic bulletin – "Credit
organizations of Armenia" – for the third quarter of this year.

The bulletin is compiled based on financial reports of credit
organizations published in the press. It consists of about 35 pages on
various indicators of performance of credit organizations in tabular
form and has 12 main chapters – 1. General description of credit
organizations, 2. Assets, 3.

Liabilities, 4. Capital, 5. Profit/Losses, 6. Money flow information,
7.

performance standards for credit organizations, 8. Capitalization
indicators, 9.

profitability and income, 10. Composite indicators of credit
organizations (summary), 11. Composite efficiency indicators of credit
organizations and 12. Basic services provided by credit organizations.

The information the bulletin contains provides a view of the financial
state of Armenia’s credit organizations and an opportunity to make
comparative analysis of their performance. The bulletin also contains
technical and methodological explanations on the tables.

The ARKA News Agency founded on May 1 1996 specializes in financial,
economic and political information. ARKA started publishing quarterly
bulletin "Basic indicators of Armenian banks" in 1999, the bulletin
"Credit organizations of Armenia" in March 2005 and the quarterly
bulletin "Financial indicators of banks" in May 2006. The bulletins
are made based on independent annual audits.

MEDVEDEV BROKERS ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN DISPUTE

International Herald Tribune
Nov 2 2008
France

MOSCOW: President Dmitri Medvedev sought Sunday to underline
Russia’s influence in the Caucasus by bringing together the leaders
of Azerbaijan and Armenia for talks on the breakaway region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which has a mostly ethnic Armenian population, broke
away from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s as the Soviet Union
collapsed. It now runs its own affairs, with support from Armenia.

The Armenian president, Serzh Sargsian, and his Azeri counterpart,
Ilham Aliyev, shook hands before Medvedev opened talks at Meiendorf
Castle, the official residence outside Moscow.

After the talks, all three presidents signed a declaration, which
was read out by Medvedev and said that Aliyev and Sargsian had agreed
to continue work on "a political resolution of the conflict." Aliyev
and Sargsian made no comment.

The war between Russia and Georgia in August appears to have lent
new impetus to diplomatic efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
situation, with Russia trying to show it can act as a broker for
"frozen conflicts" in the former Soviet Union.

Georgia sent troops and tanks in August to retake the pro-Russian rebel
region of South Ossetia, which threw off Georgian rule in 1991-92.

Russia responded with a powerful counterstrike that drove the Georgian
Army out of South Ossetia and continued into Georgia proper. Moscow
then recognized South Ossetia and another of Georgia’s rebel regions,
Abkhazia, as independent states.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of
Azerbaijan. Armenia provides assistance to the breakaway region,
though no government, including Armenia’s, has recognized it as an
independent state.

Fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the area ended in 1994
when a cease-fire was signed. The two sides are still technically at
war because no peace treaty has been signed.

About 35,000 people on both sides were killed in the fighting. More
than a million people were forced to flee their homes, and almost
all are still unable to return.

Along with France and the United States, Russia is one of the co-chairs
of the Minsk Group, which is mandated to act as an intermediary in
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But it is unusual for a head of state
to act directly as mediator.

The presidents, the joint declaration said, "discussed the perspectives
for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict via political
means, through the continuation of direct dialogue between Azerbaijan
and Armenia with the mediation of Russia, the United States and France
as the co-chairmen of the Minsk group."

Armenia is considered Russia’s strongest ally in the Caucasus, but
it is also being courted by the United States and the European Union
in a struggle with Moscow for influence over a transit route for oil
and gas from the Caspian Sea area.

Winston Churchill, Sophia Loren portraits on display
Portraits of the 20th century’s most famous faces, from Winston
Churchill to Sophia Loren, are to go on display in an exhibition of
works by the legendary photographer Yousuf Karsh.

By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor

Daily Telegraph/UK
Last Updated: 1:32PM GMT 02 Nov 2008

The Armenian-born Karsh died in 2002 after a career which spanned more
than 70 years.

It was Karsh who took the iconic and much-reproduced image of Churchill
in 1941. The Prime Minister had just addressed the Canadian Parliament
and Karsh recalled: "He was in no mood for portraiture and two minutes
were all that he would allow me as he passed from the House of Commons
chamber to an ante-room. Two niggardly minutes in which I must try to
put on film a man who had already written or inspired a library of
books, baffled all his biographers, filled the world with his fame, and
me, on this occasion, with dread."

Churchill posed wih a cigar and stared at the camera "as he might
regard the German enemy", Karsh said. When the photographer told him to
remove the cigar "the Churchillian scowl deepened, the head was thrust
forward belligerently, and the hand placed on the hip in an attitude of
anger."

However, the Prime Minister was impressed and later told Karsh: "You
can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed." The
photographer titled the portrait The Roaring Lion.

Karsh photographed the likes of Fidel Castro, Nikita Krushchev and Pope
John Paul II, but also understood how to capture glamour and beauty on
camera. His subjects included Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte
Bardot and a young Jacqueline Kennedy.

The exhibition opens at the Camera Press Gallery in central London on
November 7.