Author: nina hovnanian

TURKISH FM: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN KARABAKH ARE PROVOCATION

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 24 2015

24 February 2015 – 3:30pm

Turkish Republic considers the ‘parliamentary elections’ to take place
on May 3 in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has been under
Armenian occupation for more than 20 years, are part of attempts to
unilaterally legitimize the unlawful situation in those territories,
the Turkish Foreign Ministry said today.

“Such initiatives would mean an apparent violation of international
law, UN Security Council resolutions and OSCE principles. At a time
when the OSCE negotiations, aimed at achieving a peaceful solution to
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, and the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict
are continuing, these illegal ‘elections’ are not going to contribute
to settlement efforts in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region,” the
Turkish Foreign Ministry said, stressing that the country strictly
condemns this act, which is aimed at a new violation of Azerbaijan’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity, and does not recognize any
results of these kinds of illegal initiatives that have nothing to
do with international law.

The separatist Nagorno-Karabakh regime is planning to hold
‘parliamentary elections’ in the occupied Azerbaijani territories on
May 3.

IRAQ TO BEGIN FLIGHTS TO ARMENIA

NRT TV, Iraq
Feb 24 2015

Iraqi Airways announced in a Tuesday statement that they would commence
weekly flights to Armenia beginning on Thursday.

Armenia has agreed to allow Iraqis entrance to the country without
entry visas, the statement from the general director of the company,
Saad al-Khafaji, added.

The “initiative comes in the context of openness to the world in the
field of passenger transport,” Khafaji announced.

Ties between Armenia and the Kurdistan region of Iraq are also being
bolstered, with an Armenian consulate planned to open in Erbil in June.

Meanwhile, Emirates airline also said on Tuesday it would restart
flights to Baghdad, having ceased them after a FlyDubai passenger
plane was fired upon in January.

Beginning March 1, the airline, which is the region’s largest, will
resume its six flights a week to the Iraqi capital.

Although a number of international carriers cancelled flights to
Baghdad following last month’s incident, FlyDubai resumed its flights
to the capital on Sunday.

Bahrain’s Gulf Air announced on Feb. 5 that it would restart flights
to Baghdad as well.

BAGHDAD-YEREVAN DIRECT FLIGHT MAY BE LAUNCHED

17:22 | February 24,2015 | Politics

On February 23 in Iraq RA Ambassador Karen Grigoryan met with the
Minister of Transportation of Iraq Baqer Jabar al-Zubaidi.

During the meeting the prospects of the cooperation between
Armenia and Iraq in the field of transportation were discussed. The
interlocutors stressed the importance of launching Baghdad-Yerevan
direct flights. Ambassador Grigoryan noted that direct flights would
contribute to the development of tourism between two countries and
expansion of business ties.

TO MARK OR NOT TO MARK GALLIPOLI ANNIVERSRAY? TURKEY’S CHOICE BETWEEN THE BAD AND THE WORSE

18:02, 24 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Turkish authorities may have to choose between the bad and the
worse, expert of Turkish studies Andranik Ispiryan told reporters
today. He added that the authorities will refuse from the events
marking Gallipoli anniversary, when they come to understand that they
will lose more if they don’t refuse.

Speaking about the reports on cancellation of the events, Ispiryan
noted that the news was reported by Today’s Zaman and was not reposted
by any other Turkish periodical, something that happens in case of
urgent news.

The expert also called attention to the fact that the report was
written by a young Azerbaijani girl, who has recently moved to
Istanbul. Surprisingly, there was a large reference to the Armenian
Genocide.

“It was very surprising that an extended article presented approaches
on the Armenian Genocide to foreign readers. Sure, no personal opinions
were presented, but the reference was unprecedented for Turkish media,”
Ispiryan said.

What’s the most important is that Today’s Zaman belongs to Fethullah
Gulen, number one enemy of the Turkish authorities, and that’s where
the shoe pinches. He’s now considered even more dangerous than the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK).

“On many occasions the Turkish authorities, including Prime Minister
Davutoglu, have accused Gulen of leading an anti-Erdogan, anti-Turkish
campaign on the international arena. Even the Turkish President
declared that he’s more dangerous that the PKK, as the latter has
done no harm to Turkey on the international arena,” the expert said.

Ispiryan does not rule out that the reports on the cancellation of the
April 24 events could well be a “bait” for the Armenian media outlets.

“Usually this is being done by pro-government media outlets, while
in this case they only refuted the report,” he added.

At the same time, Andranik Ispiryan does not exclude that the issue
of cancellation of the events marking the 100th anniversary of the
Gallipoli Battle is being considered by the Turkish elite, and the
Gulenists used the opportunity to disseminate the information.

The expert concluded that in this case Turkey will have to chose
between the bad and the worse.

ARMENIA MUST OFFICIALLY RESPOND TO US CALLS -LARISA ALAVERDYAN

16:21 * 24.02.15

Now that the relations between the West, particularly the United
States, and Russia are strained space exploration and Nagorno-Karabakh
(Artsakh) are the only areas of bilateral cooperation, Larisa
Alaverdyan, Executive Director of the Foundation against the Violation
of Law, told reporters on Tuesday as she commented on the US Department
of State’s call to the Armenian side “return the two prisoners to
the Government of Azerbaijan.”

According to Ms Alaverdyan, the US is not going to reject its parity
policy.

“The United States is closely following the format of the Madrid
principles,” she said.

Despite criticism, the OSCE Minsk Group remains the key factor
preventing large-scale activities. In response, Azerbaijan commits
acts of sabotage.

“I think that society is expecting an official response. After all,
the United States has made a proposal that needs to be answered. No
matter how weak we are within, we are on the frontline of another
confrontation between civilizations,” Ms Alaverdyan said.

The United State is urging Armenia to make “a humanitarian gesture”
because it expects Armenia to make such a gesture. On the other hand,
the US does not urge Azerbaijan to do the same because it does not
expect Azerbaijan to do it.

“I think we must specify the saboteurs’ status and which points of the
relevant international convention allow their transfer to Azerbaijan
and whether it will be viewed as return of a hostage or extradition
of a prisoner,” Ms Alaverdyan.

HOVIK ABRAHAMYAN CORNERED

Lragir.am
Country – 24 February 2015, 15:36

Yesterday Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan met with the USAID Acting
Assistant Administrator Susan Fritz and USAID Mission Director Karen
Hilliard. They discussed cooperation between Armenia and USAID.

Currently Armenia solely relies on the U.S. financial and economic
assistance. The USAID officials and the new U.S. Ambassador have
announced that the United States is willing to help Armenia but
Armenia has to improve the climate for investments. In particular,
Armenia must fight money laundering and corruption.

After these statements Hovik Abrahamyan formed some Anti-Corruption
Council which will be coordinated by him. And now USAID wants to
corner Hovik Abrahamyan. According to the press release, USAID has
provided flow-meters to the Ministry of Nature Protection to improve
monitoring of groundwater resources in the Ararat Valley.

Hovik Abrahamyan is known to be closely related to the issue of
thoughtless use of groundwater resources of the Ararat Valley. During
the ex-prime minister’s office some investigation of unauthorized
water wells was carried out. A corruption episode was revealed
featuring Hovik Abrahamyan. Some wells were closed until the end of
the investigation.

However, as soon as Hovik Abrahamyan became prime minister, the issue
of water wells was closed, and water wells were re-opened. Moreover,
Hovik Abrahamyan allocated money from the state budget to “modernize”
these wells.

Apparently, the American government has a humorous attitude to Hovik
Abrahamyan’s anti-corruption initiative and has given the flow-meters
to find out how far the prime minister can go.

SOUTH CAUCASUS RAILWAY LAUNCHES GEORGIA SIGHTSEEING SERVICE IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, February 24. /ARKA/. The South Caucasus Railway offers a
new tour service to its passengers, sightseeing tours to Georgia,
the company’s press office reported.

Both group tours (from 14 to 17 people) and jeep tours (for 4-6
people) are arranged. Tourists will have the chance to take any of
the sightseeing tours to Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Borjomi, Kakhetia,
Svanetia, Megrelia.

Trains will start from Yerevan at 21:30 on even days and be back at
20:20 on uneven days. Passengers will travel in sleeping cars with
Wi-Fi available.

As part of its service expansion policy, the company has already
started establishing legal contacts with tour companies in Yerevan
and Tbilisi, according to the report.

The staff of the company, service and department chiefs in particular,
have successfully tested the trip and reported high standard of
comfort and safety.

Additional information about the tours is available on

South Caucasus Railway, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, runs
Armenian Railway, which was handed over to the South Caucasus Railway
on February 13, 2008 for 30-year concession management with a right
to prolong the management term for other 10 years. –0–

POLITICAL ANALYST: SERZH SARGSYAN’S STATEMENT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO BLAME SITUATION ON ANOTHER PERSON

13:27 | February 23,2015 | Politics

Political analyst Andrias Ghukasyan says Serzh Sargsyan cannot unite
Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora around the Pan-Armenian Declaration on
the Armenian Genocide Centennial. He came to the conclusion following
the recent political developments in Armenia.

The political analyst says Serzh Sargsyan’s statement describing
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) Leader Gagik Tsarukyan as “an evil”
for the country was merely an attempt to shift the responsibility
for the current situation onto another person.

Andrias Ghukasyan says the use of leverages against its political
opponents by the ruling party is viewed as repression. “This is a
political revenge and violence unleashed against BHK Leader Gagik
Tsarukyan and it only refers to the supporters of [former president]
Robert Kocharyan,” he said adding that there is a problem of violation
of the constitutional order in the country.

The political analyst says the political arena in Armenia is dead
today: all parties are ‘political corpses’ and after April 24 the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktustyun will appear in a
situation that the BHK is today.

Political analyst Shushan Khatlamajyan added, in turn, that in his
letter addressed to Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia’s first President Levon
Ter-Petrosyan did not sharply criticize Sargsyan since he behaved in
the same way with the Dashnaktustyun during his presidency.

SYRIE : LES KURDES LANCENT UNE OFFENSIVE CONTRE LES JIHADISTES DANS LE NORD-EST

SYRIE

Des combattants kurdes syriens ont lance une offensive contre les
jihadistes du groupe Etat islamique (EI) dans la province d’Hassake
(nord-est), et les ont deloges de plusieurs zones, ont rapporte
dimanche l’Observatoire syrien des droits de l’Homme et un parti
politique kurde.

Les Unites de protection du peuple (YPG, milices kurdes de Syrie)
ont lance l’offensive samedi soir, en coordination avec la coalition
internationale anti-jihadiste qui mène des frappes aeriennes en Syrie
depuis septembre, selon l’OSDH. Elle a pour but de reprendre la ville
de Tal Hamis et des zones aux environs aux mains de l’EI.

Les YPG sont “parvenus a avancer et a reprendre une vingtaine de
villages, fermes et hameaux dans la region”, a explique l’OSDH.

Au moins 12 jihadistes sont morts dans les combats — qui se
poursuivaient en fin d’après-midi– et l’on ignore si les Kurdes ont
perdu des hommes, a ajoute l’OSDH, base en Grande-Bretagne et qui
s’appuie sur un vaste reseau de sources a travers la Syrie.

“C’est l’une des plus grandes operations des YPG ces derniers temps”,
a declare a l’AFP Newaf Khalil, porte-parole de l’Union democratique
kurde (PYD, principal parti kurde de Syrie). Ils sont prets a combattre
l’EI ou qu’il soit, “de Rojava (region majoritairement kurde) au
reste de la Syrie”, a-t-il ajoute.

L’EI a profite de la guerre civile qui ravage la Syrie depuis près
de quatre ans pour prendre de vastes zones du pays, comme de l’Irak
voisin, sur lesquelles il a instaure un “califat”.

lundi 23 fevrier 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

SARKISSIAN ET ALIEV PRETS A EXAMINER LES PROPOSITIONS DES MEDIATEURS

Diplomatie

Les presidents de l’Armenie et de l’Azerbaïdjan, Serge Sarkissian et
Ilham Aliev, sont convenu d’examiner les propositions des mediateurs
internationaux visant a renforcer le cessez-le-feu dans la zone
du conflit du Haut-Karabagh, selon un communique publie par les
co-presidents americain, russe et francais du Groupe de Minsk de
l’OSCE vendredi.

Les ambassadeurs James Warlick (Etats-Unis), Igor Popov (Russie)
et Pierre Andrieu (France) ont declare, après s’etre rendus dans
la region du 16 au 19 fevrier, que le but principal de leur visite
etait de faire appel aux deux pays pour qu’ils “adherent strictement
au cessez-le-feu”.

Les co-presidents, qui ont ete rejoints par le representant personnel
du president de l’OSCE, l’Ambassadeur Andrzej Kasprzyk, ont dit qu’ils
ont rencontre les presidents, les ministres des Affaires etrangères
et de la Defense de l’Azerbaïdjan et de l’Armenie, ainsi que les
autorites de facto du Haut-Karabagh.

“Lors de ces discussions, les deux pays ont confirme leur engagement
a la resolution pacifique du conflit du Haut-Karabagh. Les presidents
ont egalement convenu d’examiner les propositions des copresidents
qui pourraient renforcer le cessez-le-feu “, a-t-il ete dit dans une
declaration. “Les copresidents ont discute avec les presidents et les
ministres des Affaires etrangères concernant les prochaines etapes
vers un règlement, ainsi que la preparation d’une future reunion
presidentielle plus tard dans l’annee.”

Selon la declaration, les copresidents ont egalement rencontre des
representants du Comite international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) pour
discuter des questions relatives aux personnes disparues a la suite du
conflit du Haut-Karabagh. Ils ont note l’importance de l’accord conclu
lors du Sommet presidentiel a Paris en octobre 2014 pour echanger des
informations sur les personnes manquantes sous les auspices du CICR.

lundi 23 fevrier 2015, Claire (c)armenews.com