Author: nina hovnanian

TURKEY ADHERES TO PEACEFUL POSITION

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 19 2015

19 March 2015, 18:44 (GMT+04:00)

By Laman Sadigova

“Armenia’s goal is not to find out the truth about the events of
1915 but to continue the feud between two nations,” declared Turkish
President Receb Tayyip Erdogan.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that the predecessor of Turkey –
the Ottoman Empire – committed “genocide” against Armenians living
in Anatolia in 1915.

Through an active campaign of disinformation Armenia has managed to
convince several world countries that its so-called genocide really
took place.

As for Turkey it has always expressed its willingness to inspect all
historical archives to find out the truth about Armenia’s claims,
in view of settling the issue once and for all.

Turkey recently announced that it would consider normalizing relations
with Armenia should Yerevan prove reasonable.

The president noted that his country has more reasons to complain
about Armenia than vice versa.

Erdogan also noted that the Armenian lobby is using the events of
1915 to promote its anti-Turkish campaign. As a result, some countries
recognize the so-called Armenian “genocide”.

The Armenian-Turkish borders have been completely closed after Armenia
called for the recognition of the so-called “Armenian genocide” .

There are no road and rail connections and no economic ties between
the two countries.

Turkey has put forward a number of requirements related to the Karabakh
conflict as a precondition for the normalization of relations with
Armenia.

Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory
was turned into a battlefield and zone of aggravated tensions after
Armenia sent its troops to occupy Azerbaijan’s lands. As a result,
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory stands
under military occupation. For the past two decades, and despite calls
from the international community, Armenia has refused to withdraw
its troops and retreat within its national borders.

SIXTEEN ARMENIAN ORGANIZATIONS ADDRESS LETTER TO US PRESIDENT

15:49 * 19.03.15

Sixteen Armenian organizations in the United States addressed a letter
to US President Barack Obama.

The letter reads:

H.E. Mr. Barack OBAMA The President of the United States of America
Your Excellency:

We are writing to encourage you to participate in Armenian Genocide
Centennial remembrance ceremonies, both in Armenia and here in the
United States.

We would be honored by your participation, in Yerevan, in the April
22nd and 23rd global forum, “Against the Crime of Genocide,” as well
as the solemn April 24th ceremony at Armenia’s Tsitsernakaberd Armenian
Genocide Memorial.

Here in the United States, we urge you to take part in the May 7th
special service at the National Cathedral organized by the Conference
of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Churches of Christ.

As you know, your predecessor, President Woodrow Wilson, alerted by
Ambassador Henry Morgenthau’s urgent cables warning of a “campaign
of race extermination” against the Armenian people, authorized an
American Military Mission to Armenia, led by Major General James
Harbord, who submitted his report to Congress.

The report read in part: “mutilation, violation, torture and death have
left their haunting memories in a hundred beautiful Armenian valleys,
and the traveler in that region is seldom free from the evidence of
this most colossal crime of all the ages.”

With an outcry of support for the suffering of the Armenian people and
with widespread coverage in major newspapers, including the New York
Times and Washington Post, Congress chartered the Near East Relief,
which raised over $116 million to help aid survivors of the Armenian
Genocide, including 132,000 orphans.

Mr. President, the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide presents
a unique opportunity for the United States to honor our nation’s
proud role in protesting this crime against humanity and in bringing
relief to its survivors. Your unequivocal affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide will send a powerful message regarding America’s principled
stand against all genocides – past, present, and future.

In addition, your visit to Armenia can have a tremendous impact
on peace and stability in the South Caucasus region. As leaders
of organizations and faith-based groups representing our nation’s
citizens of Armenian heritage, we thank you for your consideration
of our request and look forward to hearing from you on this matter
of profound meaning for our community and all humanity.

Sincerely,

Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America Armenian
Apostolic Church of America Eastern Prelacy Western Diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church of America Armenian Apostolic Church of
America Western Prelacy Armenian Missionary Association of America,
Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, Armenian Assembly
of America, Armenian National Committee of America, Armenian
Democratic-Liberal Party, Social Democratic Hunchagian Party,
Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Armenia Fund USA Inc., Armenian
General Benevolent Union, Armenian Relief Society of Eastern USA,
Armenian Bar Association, The Knights and Daughters of Vartan.

CHINA CONFIRMS SALE OF AIR DEFENSE MISSILE SYSTEM TO TURKEY

16:28, 19 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

China confirmed an agreement to sell the HQ-9 air defense missile
system to Turkey on Tuesday, during the Langkawi International Maritime
and Aerospace exhibition in Malaysia, China Daily reports.

A representative of China National Precision Machinery Import & Export
Corporation said it was well-known that the Chinese FD-2000 system, a
HQ-9 model for export, was chosen for the contract with Turkey in 2013.

The representative said in an interview with China Central Television
that the FD-2000 is one of the most important products the corporation
brought to the LIMA, Asia’s largest defense and security exhibition.

Besides the FD-2000, Chinese military industry businesses also brought
the F-22P frigate and LPD dock landing ship to the exhibition.

When Turkey chose the China National Precision Machinery Import &
Export Corporation to co-produce a $4 billion long-range air and
missile defense system in September 2013, China sold air defense
weapons to a NATO member for the first time.

According to a report from CCTV’s website, the winning Chinese FD-2000
system beat the US Patriot, the Russian S-400 and the French-Italian
Eurosam Samp-T.

Turkish analysts said their choice of a Chinese firm was for
technological reasons as well as cost effectiveness. The contract
enables Turkey to have its own long-range missile defense system for
the first time, according to CCTV.

UKRAINE’S FOREIGN OFFICE MUST PRESENT OFFICIAL POSITION ON BORIS TARASYUK’S STATEMENT – ARMENIAN MP

14:11 * 19.03.15

Boris Tarastyuk, Ukraine’s representative at Euronest, who was
critical of Armenia’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
has completed his mission as chairman and handed the office over to
Georgia’s representative Viktor Dolidze.

In an interview with Tert.am, Tevan Poghosyan, an MP of the Heritage
party, noted that the Ukrainian ex-FM has always had a pro-Azerbaijani
position. At a meeting with reporters in Armenia’s Parliament on
Wednesday Mr Tarasyuk made an insulting remark that Armenia is wrong
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“We have a clear position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: we believe
Armenia is wrong,” he said.

The Armenian community in Ukraine must respond to Mr Tarasyuk’s
statement, and Ukraine’s foreign office must present Ukraine’s official
position n the basis of relevant reports by Armenia’s mass media.

“It should be realized who says and what are the circumstances.

Tarasyuk is a member of a small group in the Ukrainian Rada now. He is
ex-minister of foreign affairs, who has always had a pro-Azerbaijani
stance. This may have been a particularly sad day in his life because
he lost the post co-chairman at Euronest in rotation.” Mr Poghosyan
said.

OF CONGRESS CALL FOR OBAMA TO RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Washington, March 18, 2015 (AFP) – With the approach of the centenary
commemorations of the Armenian Genocide, more than 40 US lawmakers
Wednesday filed a resolution calling on Barack Obama to recognize
the genocide, a term that he never used as president.

The text, tabled in the House of Representatives by Democrats and
Republicans, called Obama to help improve relations between Armenia
and Turkey on the basis of “full recognition of the facts and ongoing
consequences of Armenian genocide “.

US President when he was campaigning for the White House in 2008,
pledged to recognize the genocide, but as president he never uttered
the word, especially in the press releases issued every year around
April 24 . In 2014, he spoke of “one of the worst atrocities of the
twentieth century” and called for a “full recognition, frank and just
the facts.”

Congress recognized the genocide with the adoption of resolutions by
the House in 1975 and 1984. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan issued
a proclamation also cited the Armenian genocide. Turkey has always
refused to admit any planned disposal, evoking the death of about
500,000 Armenians (against 1.5 million according to Armenia), who
had sided with his enemy side Russia in fighting or cause of famines.

Twenty-one countries recognize the genocide, according to the Armenian
National Institute, which includes the United States in its list.

“During this important anniversary, and while there are still survivors
among us, the Congress and the president have the opportunity and
the obligation to send a strong message that we will never forget
the dead, and we call this crime against humanity that is genocide,
“said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, one of the signatories,
who had already filed a similar text in 2007.

At this stage, the Speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner,
has not indicated whether the text would be submitted to a vote.

Thursday, March 19, 2015, Ara © armenews.com

COUP D’ENVOI EN TURQUIE DE LA CONSTRUCTION DU GAZODUC TRANSANATOLIEN TANAP

TURQUIE

La Turquie a officiellement lance mardi près de Kars (est) la
construction du gazoduc transanatolien (Tanap), un projet de 10
milliards d’euros qui doit permettre a terme d’acheminer le gaz
azerbaïdjanais vers l’Union europeenne (UE).

Sur fond de bande originale du film Pirates des Caraïbes, le
president islamo-conservateur turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan, flanque
de ses homologues azerbaïdjanais Ilham Aliev et georgien Guiorgui
Margvelachvili, a donne en grande pompe le coup d’envoi symbolique
des travaux du gazoduc sur le site de Selim.

Au nom de Dieu, a lance le pieux M. Erdogan en appuyant sur un bouton.

Le projet Tanap, qui doit etre operationnel a partir de 2018, doit
relier sur 1.850 km la frontière georgienne de la Turquie a sa
frontière grecque en traversant toute l’Anatolie.

Connecte a l’est au pipeline deja existant du Caucase Sud (SCP) et
a l’ouest au projet de pipeline transadriatique (Tap) a travers la
Grèce, l’Albanie et l’Italie, il doit constituer le Corridor sud,
qui vise a transporter le gaz naturel du gisement azerbaïdjanais
geant de Shad Deniz, sur la Caspienne, jusqu’au coeur de l’Europe.

Le petrole et le gaz naturel sont malheureusement lies dans le
monde aux conflits, aux querelles, aux combats, aux guerres et a
l’exploitation. Je pense que ce projet sera associe dans nos souvenirs
a la paix et au bien-etre, a declare M. Erdogan.

Une fois en service, (ce projet) creera un lien très fort entre
l’Europe et la region de la Mer Caspienne, s’est-il rejoui lors d’un
discours televise.

D’un coût affiche de 10 milliards de dollars, selon M. Erdogan,
le futur gazoduc affiche une capacite initiale de 16 milliards de
mètres cubes de gaz par an, qui doit etre portee a 23 milliards en
2023 puis 31 milliards en 2026.

La societe en charge de sa construction et de son exploitation est
detenue a 58% par la compagnie nationale azerbaïdjanaise d’energie
Socar, a 30% par l’entreprise nationale turque Botas et a 12% par le
geant petrolier britannique BP.

Importance vitale –

Soutenu depuis des annees par Bruxelles, il permettrait a terme,
selon la Commission, de satisfaire 20% des besoins en gaz de l’UE,
qui souhaite reduire sa dependance energetique vis-a-vis du gaz russe.

Tanap revet une importance vitale pour la securite de
l’approvisionnement energetique de l’UE et de la Turquie, ainsi que
pour la realisation du projet dit de +Corridor sud+, ont declare
Bruxelles et Ankara dans un communique publie a Kars.

Le developpement (du gisement) Shad Deniz 2 depend de la construction
d’une liaison entre la Mer Caspienne et l’Italie. Tanap en est une
partie importante, a souligne Laurent Ruseckas, specialiste du dossier
a la societe d’analyses IHS Energy.

Le coup d’envoi des travaux de ce gazoduc intervient trois mois après
l’abandon officiel par Moscou du projet russo-italien concurrent
South Stream, auquel l’UE s’etait opposee.

Après ce renoncement, la Turquie et la Russie ont toutefois annonce
travailler a un nouveau projet baptise Turkish Stream destine a
acheminer le gaz russe vers l’Europe via la Turquie, en passant sous
la mer Noire.

Le ministre turc de l’Energie Taner Yildiz a assure que ce futur
gazoduc, dont les details restent a preciser, ne serait pas concurrent
de Tanap.

Mais l’ambassadeur russe auprès de l’UE Vladimir Chizov a, lui,
clairement mis en competition les deux initiatives, jugeant l’ouvrage
lance mardi d’un coût exorbitant et très complique d’un point de
vue technique.

Tanap ne devrait pas etre en contradiction avec Turkish Stream
parce que ces deux projets ont pour objectif d’acheminer du gaz en
provenance de deux sources differentes, la Russie et l’Azerbaïdjan,
a estime Chi-Kong, analyste au Conseil europeen sur les relations
internationales.

jeudi 19 mars 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

KARABAKH MFA TO CONTINUE EFFORTS ON ENSURING NKR’S FULL PARTICIPATION IN ALL STAGES OF NEGOTIATION PROCESS

16:36, 18 March, 2015

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. On March 18, an annual meeting
chaired by Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan took place at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The activities
of the Foreign Ministry in 2014 were summarized at the meeting.

The Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Armenia informed “Armenpress” that Karen Mirzoyan noted
that in the previous year the NKR MFA had continued its consistent
activities on the consolidation and development of the positive trends
in the process of international recognition of the NKR.

Touching upon the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Karabakh, the NKR Foreign Minister noted that
real progress failed to be achieved in this issue in 2014, due to
the destructive policy of the Azerbaijani authorities.

Karen Mirzoyan reaffirmed that the MFA would continue its efforts on
ensuring the full participation of the NKR in all the stages of the
negotiation process – from the exchange of views on the philosophy of
settlement to the elaboration and implementation of specific measures
and arrangements.

The necessity of presentation of unbiased information on Artsakh to the
international community, as well as future development of bilateral
cooperation with different countries and the Armenian Diaspora was
also stressed.

During the meeting, the process of fulfilling the tasks set up before
the Foreign Ministry by the President of the Republic was discussed.

The NKR Foreign Minister gave corresponding instructions to the
heads of departments and emphasized the necessity of conducting more
initiative diplomacy.

PUTIN AND ERDOGAN DISCUSS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ISSUE: ANADOLU

09:51, 18 March, 2015

YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin late
Tuesday. At the course of the conversation, held on the initiative of
the Turkish side, the interlocutors discussed the Armenian Genocide
issue as well. As reports “Armenpress”, the Turkish Anadolu agency
stated about this.

During the 30-minute conversation, the two leaders exchanged opinions
on finding a solution to the Ukraine crisis as well as the problems
faced by the Crimean Tatars, sources said.

The sides also briefly reflected on the Armenian Genocide issue, and
Erdogan said that “Turkey preferred that this topic and the history
be approached from a fair perspective.” Erdogan again accused Armenia
for “not heeding calls for peace, and being not keen on the Turkish
proposal to establish a joint history commission.” Notwithstanding,
there is no information on the discussion of the Armenian Genocide
issue on the official website of the President of the Russian
Federation.

Both leaders also expressed their willingness to further bilateral
ties. The phone call comes ahead of the Turkish president’s visit to
Ukraine on Friday.

ARMENIA’S PREMIER RECEIVES EU DELEGATION

19:53 * 18.03.15

Armenia’s Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan received in Wednesday
delegation led by Mr Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European
Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.

Mr Abrahamyan welcomed the guests and emphasized further development
of Armenia-EU cooperation. Armenia is willing to promote cooperation
with the European Union (EU) by ensuring consistent reforms, expanding
trade and economic ties, improving the business environment, raising
management efficiency, protecting democracy and human rights.

On his part, Mr Hann noted that the EU is interested in deepening
and strengthening relations with Armenia. He expressed hope that his
visit will give new impetus to bilateral cooperation. Armenia has
made serious progress in human rights, democratic development and
freedom of speech. Mr Hann highlighted further relevant programs. He
is sure that Armenia and the EU will continue implementing mutually
beneficial projects.

The sides exchanged views on drafting a new agenda of the Armenia-EU
relations, development of cooperation in energy, agriculture,
infrastructures and aviation, possibility of visa facilitation.

ARMENIAN DELEGATE PROPOSES EURONEST PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY TO ESTABLISH TIES WITH EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION COUNTRIES VIA ARMENIA

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the Armenian
delegation in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and a member of
the National Assembly of Armenia from the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation/Dashnaktsutyun party, speaking at the Euronest Parliamentary
Assembly’s fourth session in Yerevan, proposed the Assembly to
establish ties with the Eurasian Economic Union countries.

He was quoted by Novosti-Armenia as saying that Armenia’s membership
in the Eurasian Economic Union shouldn’t be considered as an adverse
phenomenon.

Quite the opposite – it is necessary to take advantage of Armenia’s
membership in the union and to start a dialogue with the Eurasian
Economic Union countries.

In his opinion, Armenia has all chances to develop into a model of
democracy in the Eurasian Economic Union space.

He believes Armenia is able to become a good example for other
countries forcing them to take the road of democracy. Minasyan also
thinks constitutional reforms can produce substantial effect.

The Eurasian Economic Union treaty, signed by Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan on May 29 in Astana, took force on January 2, 2015.

Kyrgyzstan is expected to join the union in May.

The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly’s fourth session took place in
Yerevan on March 17 and 18. It was the Assembly’s first session in
this city.

Prospects for cooperation in 2014-2020 as part of European Neighborhood
and Eastern Partnership policies as well as communications, cultural
dialogue, energy security and alternative energy sources were discussed
at the session.

The Armenian Genocide Resolution and some other documents were adopted
at the session as well. —0—-