Author: Tashjian Arbi

ANALYSIS: “ROAD CONSTRUCTION SHOULD NOT BE A POLITICAL GESTURE”

The Messenger, Georgia
April 25 2006

As reported in Svobodnaya Gruzia, political analyst Ramaz Klimiashvili
thinks that the construction of new roads in the Samtskhe-Javakheti
region should simply represent a creation of new infrastructure instead
of the “carrying out of state policy in this region.” According to him,
the construction of roads should not be seen as a political gesture.

Klimiashvili stated that the “Armenian population of Samtskhe-Javakheti
region has been on the verge of starvation and has been completely
neglected by the Georgian government.” He thinks that because of such
a state of affairs, these Georgian Armenians have been forced to look
to Yerevan for support.

“The sad state of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region has raised a number
of problematic issues. It seems that the Georgian authorities have
forgotten that it is necessary to take care of these people and to
show them that they are valued as Georgian citizens,” the article
quotes the political analyst as saying.

TRIBUTE PAID IN LONDON TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
25.04.2006 05:51 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 24 members of the Armenian community of the
UK laid a wreath to memorial to victims of the Armenian Genocide in
Ottoman Turkey in 1915. The monument is a khachkar and it is set in St.

Sargis church in London. The church was built in 30-s of the past
century by famous Armenian patron of art Galust Gyulbenkyan. 2 Armenian
churches function in London at present, another one is in Cardiff,
reports the own source of PanARMENIAN.Net.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY MARKED IN MOSCOW

Yerkir
24.04.2006 12:49

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – A series of events to mark the 91st anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide will be held in the Russian capital Moscow.

In the morning, the representatives of the Armenian Embassy in Moscow,
Armenian Apostolic Church’s Nor Nakhijevan and Russia Diocese and
Armenian organizations wreathed the khachkar (stone cross) at the
St. Harutiun Church of Moscow, followed by a service.

At 13:00, the Moscow Armenians will stage a demonstration outside
the Turkish Embassy in Moscow.

At 19:00, the Belgian “Arax” group will hold a charity concert,
organized by the Russian-Armenian Cooperation Organization. Following
the concert, automobile rally will be held to commemorate the victims
of the Genocide.

ARMENIANS MARK 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF MASS KILLINGS IN OTTOMAN EMPIRE

AP Worldstream
Apr 24, 2006

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians on Monday streamed to a hilltop
memorial in the capital, Yerevan, to mark the 91st anniversary of
mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Armenia accuses Turkey of the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians
between 1915 and 1919, when Armenia was under the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey rejects the claim and says Armenians were killed in civil
unrest during the collapse of the empire.

Crowds of Armenians as well as expatriates living abroad laid flowers
and wreaths at the vast Genocide Victims Memorial overlooking Yerevan.

“Today we are paying tribute to the victims of the genocide of
Armenians,” President Robert Kocharian said in an address to the
nation. “The Ottoman Empire and its successor state bear full
responsibly for this crime.”

The killings began before April 24, but memorial services are held
on this date because it is the anniversary of the day in 1915 when
Turkish authorities executed a large group of Armenian intellectuals
and political leaders, accusing them of helping the invading Russian
army during World War I.

The commemoration events started late Sunday when several hundred
members of youth groups staged a burning of Turkey’s national flag
and then marched through the city with torches and banners reading
“The blood of 2 million Armenians is on Turkey’s conscience” and
“Genocide is the shame of humanity, and first of all of Turkey.”

Armen Tumanyan, a computer programmer in Yerevan, took his 4-year-old
son, Karen, to participate in the commemoration ceremony. “He doesn’t
understand yet what is happening, but I am sure he will come here with
his own children _ he will never forget his visit to the Memorial.”

The former Soviet nation of Armenia has pushed for the United States
and other nations to declare the killings a genocide. Many countries,
including Russia and France, have officially recognized the event as
genocide, along with some U.S. states.

RALLY CALLS FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
Stacy Welkowitz

Daily Free Press , MA
April 24 2006

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) speaks at the launch of
the new coalition kNOw Genocide on Friday afternoon.

Calling for Massachusetts residents to formally recognize genocide,
approximately 175 people gathered in front of the Statehouse Friday
afternoon to witness the launch of a new coalition, kNOw Genocide,
following an assembly in the House Chamber for Armenian Genocide
Commemoration Day in honor of those who died in the Armenian genocide
of 1915.

According to their website, kNOw Genocide is a group founded in
opposition to those who deny cases of genocide, calling denial a
crime in itself. The group also organized the support of 12 coalition
members, including the Armenian Assembly of America, Irish Immigration,
the Jewish Community Relations Council, Rwanda Outlook and Genocide
Intervention Network.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said politicians today and throughout
history have neglected to recognize the events of 1915, calling upon
President George W. Bush to publicly acknowledge the Armenian as
well as present-day genocide. Although President Woodrow Wilson’s
administration condemned the Armenia genocide as it was occurring,
Markey said Bush has not publicly called for the Turkish government
to label the 1915 atrocities as “genocide.”

“It is time, President Bush, for you to stand up and to say that there
was a genocide that occurred in Armenia,” Markey said. “It is time,
President Bush, for you to stand up and to do something about the
genocide in Darfur.”

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, Attorney General Thomas Reilly and Sen. Steven
Tolman (D-Boston) all publicly pledged their support for the new
coalition. As the grandson of Armenian genocide survivors, Rep. Peter
Koutoujian (D-Newton) with Rep. Rachel Kaprielian (D-Watertown) —
the granddaughter of Armenian genocide survivors — and Tolman will
file “landmark” legislation calling for Massachusetts to divest
in companies that have holdings in Sudan where the Janjaweed, a
government-sponsored militia, have been massacring residents of the
Darfur region since 2003. In September 2004, the State Department
labeled the massacre in Darfur as “genocide.”

“This piece of legislation would force our divestment in business
interests in Sudan and anywhere else where genocide occurs, even if
it forces us to bury our heads in our hands,” Koutoujian said. “It
is first in the nation and I hope and believe it will become a model
for every other state in this nation and for this nation itself to
model itself after it.”

Jerusalem police stop Armenian pilgrims from attending Easter ceremony
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press

Ha’aretz, English Edition
23/04/2006

Police prevented hundreds of Armenian worshipers from taking part
in a sacred pre-Easter ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Saturday.

Armenian church officials said the police behaved rudely to church
members and senior clergy and arrested four Armenians near the Old
City police station, releasing them only after the Armenians stopped
the festive procession to the church in protest.

Armenian Archbishop Nourhan Manougian told Haaretz that the police
only allowed 400 of 700 Armenian pilgrims to enter the church for
the Ceremony of the Holy Fire, despite the fact that all had entry
permits, as required by police, he said.

“Israel always declares that it allows free access to the holy places
but in fact the police acted like a despot to the pilgrims. There
were some who had come especially for the ceremony from the U.S.,
from Canada and from Australia who were not allowed in,” continued
Manougian.

During the ceremony, a flame, believed by some faithful to be
miraculously ignited, illuminated thousands of worshipers’ torches
and candles at the church, as tense hours of waiting and shoving
culminated in the celebration of the rite.

Believers see the passage of the flame among worshipers as connecting
many of the 200 million Orthodox Christians worldwide to their
spiritual roots.

The ritual dates back at least 1,200 years. The precise details of
the flame’s source are a closely guarded secret, but some believe it
appears spontaneously from the burial area, as a message from Jesus on
the eve of the Orthodox Easter that he has not forgotten his followers.

Some 3,000 police were involved in security at the ceremony, which
was attended by approximately 15,000 pilgrims.

Manougian met on the eve of the ceremony with the commander of the
Jerusalem district of the police, Major General Ilan Franko, and
asked him to treat the pilgrims politely. However he said Franko
“spoke to me as if I were a student of his, and hinted all the time
that if we did not abide by the agreements…”

The Jerusalem police responded that officers had detained a number of
intoxicated individuals who had joined the Armenian procession and were
behaving wildly. They were released when they calmed down, police said.

With regard to complaints that Armenian worshipers were pushed,
police said it was Armenian clergy who had pushed Russian pilgrims
trying to join the procession, and that officers had intervened only
to separate the two sides.

Police also said Franko had conducted talks in recent weeks with
all sides involved in the ceremony, and had reached an agreement
acceptable to all. “The meeting ended with embraces and kisses,
and so Archbishop Manougian’s claims are surprising,” police said.

CONCESSIONS CANNOT BE ONE-SIDED, NKR PRESIDENT SAYS

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 20, NOYAN TAPAN. It is impossible to solve any issue
without NKR and everybody understands this. The more NKR takes part
in the negotiations process the more efficient these negotiations
will be”. NKR President Arkadi Ghukasian declared this on April
19. Meanwhile he said that the Karabakh party’s participation in
the negotiations does not depend on NKR. Touching upon the issue
of concessions, NKR President said that “they should be spoken
about at the negotiations table”. But, according to A.Ghukasian,
NKR’s concessions depend on those of Azerbaijan. “There will not be
one-sided concessions. We are ready for concessions and this means
concessions on both sides,” he emphasized. In connection with possible
holding of a new referendum on Nagorno Karabakh’s self-determination
A.Ghukasian said that NKR has established its self-determination
long ago. According to him, Karabakh has held a referendum but the
world did not recognize the results of this referendum. “If today
we have an opportunity for the world and Azerbaijan to recognize the
referendum results, I think that this is a subject for discussion,”
NKR President said.

DON’T BELIEVE THE DENIALISTS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Rep. Peter Koutoujian and Sona Petrossian

Newton TAB, MA
April 19 2006

For those of us who are Armenian Americans, April 24 is an important
day: it was on that date in 1915 that the Ottoman Turkish Empire
began its slaughter of Armenians. Over the next several years, more
than a million Armenians were murdered in a calculated campaign to
rid Turkey of all Armenians. In other words, the so-called Young Turk
government committed genocide against the Armenian people.

Among scholars and genocide experts, there is no doubt about this
issue. The International Association of Genocide Scholars (the
definitive group of scholars on the subject), the Institute on the
Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, and the Institute for the Study
of Genocide have repeatedly affirmed the historical facts of the
Armenian genocide, as has Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel and Pulitzer
Prize Winner Samantha Power.

For those of us who are relatives of survivors there can be no
doubt about this crime. Yet, sometime in the next several weeks,
a federal judge in Boston will hear arguments in a suit brought by
the Association of Turkish American Assemblies and others that seeks
introduce materials into Massachusetts classrooms denying that the
Armenian genocide occurred.

How, after all these years, can this still be open to debate?

Because the Turkish government and its American affiliate continue
to deny that the Young Turks committed this grave crime. And they
continue to seek forums to push their denialist point of view.

Now they’re bringing this campaign to Massachusetts, home to one of
the largest Armenian populations in the nation. They claim that the
Massachusetts Department of Education trampled on the First Amendment
when it decided not to teach “the other side” of the Armenian genocide,
i.e., that the slaughter was just the unfortunate byproduct of civil
war between the Turks and the Armenians.

This claim, refuted by every reputable genocide scholar in the world,
is an affront to thousands of Armenian-Americans living here in
Massachusetts whose families were victims of the Turkish government’s
murderous campaign. And it is particularly offensive for people like
99 year-old John Kasparian of Worcester and 93 year-old Armine Dedikian
of Watertown, two survivors of the slaughter.

For anyone interested in ascertaining the truth about this genocide,
they need merely to hear stories like Mr. Kasparian’s, whose family
left its home the night before the Turkish attack that took 200 of
their fellow villagers and whose brother died of starvation while the
family fled. Or that of Mrs. Dedikian, whose father was killed just
before she was born and who was separated from her mother soon after.

(Mother and daughter were eventually reunited when 15 year-old Armine
arrived alone at Ellis Island to meet her mother, whom she had tracked
down in the U.S., using newspaper ads and family connections.)

Unfortunately, the U.S. government, afraid to offend Turkey, its
military ally, has not taken a stand on this issue. But all 12 members
of our state’s congressional delegation – Senators Kennedy and Kerry
and the 10 representatives in the House – have signed a resolution
calling on the president to recognize the atrocity.

Now we in Massachusetts find ourselves being pulled backwards into
this debilitating debate over whether a genocide, long confirmed by
victims and historians, ever existed. It is more than ironic that this
court case was filed in a year when genocide has once again reared
its ugly head in Darfur, where thousands have died at the hands of
the Sudanese army, and in a year when the Iranian president has once
again put Holocaust denials on the front page. As unfathomable as the
crime of genocide is, it continues to occur in all its savagery. And
as offensive as the official denials are, they also continue, not
only when the crimes occur but for years afterward.

In 1939, when announcing his decision to begin killing Polish men,
women, and children, Hitler infamously uttered “Who, after all,
speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” He was counting
on the world to forget his atrocities, as he believed the world had
already forgotten the Turkish murders.

Fortunately, the world has not forgotten either the Nazi crimes or
the Turkish slaughter. But denialists continue to try to spread their
peculiar amnesia. We in Massachusetts, home to a significant Jewish
population and one of the largest Armenian-American populations in
the country, must never forget.

Peter Koutoujian is a state representative who lives in Waltham and
Sona Petrossian is a Waban resident.

on/view.bg?articleid=474484&format=&page=1

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

OVER 200 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE PRESIDENT TO
PROPERLY CHARACTERIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

— Thirty U.S. Senators Join 178 Representatives
in Sending Strong Message to White House

WASHINGTON, DC – Two hundred and eight U.S. legislators today
called on President Bush to reaffirm the U.S. record on the
Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

In separate letters, 178 Representatives and 30 Senators
specifically asked the President to properly characterize the
atrocities as “genocide,” in his annual April 24th remarks. In
February of 2000, during Michigan’s hotly contested Republican
primary, then Governor Bush promised to properly recognize the
Armenian Genocide if elected president. Since taking office in
2001, the President has retreated from this pledge, issuing a
succession of April 24th statements that use evasive and
euphemistic terminology to diminish the full historical, moral, and
contemporary legal implications of Ottoman Turkey’s genocide
against the Armenian nation.

The House letter, organized by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-
Chairmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), stressed
that, “the United States must never allow crimes against humanity
to pass without remembrance and condemnation. As U.S. efforts to
aid victims of genocide continue, it is imperative that we pay
tribute to the memory of others who have suffered and never forget
the past. By commemorating the Armenian Genocide, we renew our
commitment to prevent future atrocities and therefore negate the
dictum that history is condemned to repeat itself.”

The Senate letter, led by Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Richard
Durbin (D-IL), noted that, “The memory of the Armenian Genocide
underscores our responsibility to speak forcefully about our
respect for fundamental human rights and opposition to mass
slaughters. It is in the best interests of our nation and the
entire global community to remember the past and learn from these
crimes against humanity to ensure that they are never repeated. We
respectfully request that you refer to the mass slaughter of
Armenians as genocide in your commemorative statement.”

“The Armenian Genocide is incontrovertible, of which the
U.S. Archives is replete with thousands of pages documenting this
horrific crime,” said Co-Chairmen Joe Knollenberg and Frank
Pallone. “The President has employed a textbook definition of
genocide to describe the events that occurred from 1915-1923, but a
full and irrevocable U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide is
necessary to prevent such crimes from happening in the future.”

“We are very gratified by the strong, bipartisan message from
Congress encouraging the President to properly recognize the
Armenian Genocide in his April 24th remarks,” said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA. “We join with our Congressional
friends – most notably Senators John Ensign and Dick Durbin and
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg – in
calling for moral clarity in our nation’s response to genocide.”

Members of Congress joining Reps. Pallone and Knollenberg in co-
signing the letter included: Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Gary
Ackerman (D-NY), Tom Allen (D-ME), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Joe Baca
(D-CA), Brian Baird (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Gresham Barrett
(R-SC), Charles Bass (R-NH), Melissa Bean (D-IL), Bob Beauprez (R-
CO), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Howard Berman
(D-CA), Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Earl
Blumenauer (D-OR), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Mary Bono (R-CA), Jeb
Bradley (R-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ken Calvert (R-CA), Dave Camp
(R-MI), Lois Capps (D-CA), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Benjamin Cardin
(D-MD), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), William Clay (D-MO), Emanuel Cleaver
(D-MO), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Jerry Costello (D-
IL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), Susan Davis (D-CA),
Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Diana DeGette (D-CO), William Delahunt (D-
MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Charles Dent (R-PA), Lincoln Diaz-Balart
(R-FL), John Dingell (D-MI), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), John Doolittle
(R-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), David Dreier (R-CA), Vernon Ehlers (R-
MI), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Lane Evans (D-IL),
Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), Bob Filner (D-CA), Mike
Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mark Foley (R-FL), Vito Fossella (R-NY), Barney
Frank (D-MA), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Scott Garrett (R-NJ),
Jim Gibbons (R-NV), Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX), Al Green (D-TX), Gene
Green (D-TX), Mark Green (R-WI), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Luis
Gutierrez (D-IL), Stephanie Herseth (D-SD), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY),
Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Michael Honda (D-CA),
Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Steve Israel (D-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Jesse
Jackson (D-IL), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Nancy Johnson (R-CT),
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Sue Kelly (R-NY), Mark Kennedy (R-MN), Patrick
Kennedy (D-RI), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Dennis
Kucinich (D-OH), John R. Randy, Jr. Kuhl (R-NY), James Langevin (D-
RI), John Larson (D-CT), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Sander Levin (D-MI),
John Lewis (D-GA), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ),
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Stephen
Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Edward Markey (D-MA), Doris
Matsui (D-CA), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Betty McCollum (D-MN),
Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Jim McDermott (D-WA), James McGovern (D-
MA), John McHugh (R-NY), Buck McKeon (R-CA), Cynthia McKinney (D-
GA), Cathy McMorris (R-WA), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Martin Meehan
(D-MA), Michael Michaud (D-ME), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA),
Candice Miller (R-MI), Gwen Moore (D-WI), James Moran (D-VA), Jerry
Moran (R-KS), Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), Grace Napolitano (D-CA),
Richard Neal (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Devin Nunes (R-
CA), John Olver (D-MA), C. L. Butch Otter (R-ID), William Pascrell
(D-NJ), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Collin Peterson
(D-MN), Richard Pombo (R-CA), Jon Porter (R-NV), George Radanovich
(R-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Mike Rogers (R-MI), Mike Ross (D-
AR), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Edward
Royce (R-CA), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Paul Ryan (R-WI), John Salazar (D-
CO), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Bernard Sanders
I VT), H. James Saxton (R-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam
Schiff (D-CA), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Joe Schwarz (R-MI), David
Scott (D-GA), E. Clay Shaw (R-FL), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Brad
Sherman (D-CA), John Shimkus (R-IL), Rob Simmons (R-CT),
Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Mark Souder (R-IN),
Pete Stark (D-CA), Ted Strickland (D-OH), John Sweeney (R-NY),
Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA),
Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Mark Udall (D-CO), Christopher Van Hollen
(D-MD), Peter Visclosky (D-IN), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Diane Watson
(D-CA), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Curt Weldon (R-
PA), Dave Weldon (R-FL), Gerald Weller (R-IL), Joe Wilson (R-SC),
Frank Wolf (R-VA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

Senators cosigning the letter to President Bush along with Senators
Ensign and Durbin were: Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Wayne Allard (R-CO),
George Allen (R-VA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) , Lincoln Chafee (R-RI),
Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME),
Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Dianne Feinstein (D-
CA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA),
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (D-
CT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barak Obama (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI),
Harry Reid (D-NV), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Paul
Sarbanes (D-MD), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Debbie
Stabenow (D-MI), and John Sununu (R-NH).

#####

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

20-04-2006

Delegation of EU Troika Visits Armenia

On April 20, Minister Oskanian received a delegation of the EU Troika, in
Yerevan on the first leg of a regional visit. Hans Winkler, Austria’s State
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, led the delegation.

The delegation included the ambassadors of the Republics of Austria and
Finland to Armenia, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, as
well as representatives of the European Commission and the Council of the
European Union.

After stressing that the Republic of Armenia shares the European Union’s
values, the State Secretary noted that the EU attaches great importance to
the progress already achieved, and to democratic developments in the
Caucasus region generally.

Further, the interlocutors discussed issues related to the European
Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan negotiations with Armenia.

They also exchanged views on regional and energy issues, as well as issues
having to do with democratic development. Special emphasis was placed on the
need for holding free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections.

Minister Oskanian and the members of the delegation discussed the present
state of Armenia-Turkey relations, as well as the prospects for these
relations in the context of Turkey’s EU accession talks. They also exchanged
views on the present phase and the prospects for the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement process.