Author: Tashjian Arbi

GREEK PM INVITES ERDOGAN TO ATHENS

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.01.2010 12:39 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is going
to invite his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Athens to
discuss a number of issues, specifically, Turkey’s EU bid and the
Cyprus problem.

"We have not decided on the date yet. Our diplomatic service will deal
with it," Mr. Papandreou said after a meeting with Cypriot President
Demetris Christofias.

"We are backing the efforts for a solution built upon the EU
resolutions and values. A solution capable of cementing the operational
of the Cypriot state and its effective participation in the EU. A
solution that will put an end to Turkey’s military occupation,"
Mr. Papandreou said.

The European Union (EU) is the successor of the European Economic
Community (EEC) for whose associate membership Ankara applied in 1959.

In September 1963, the Ankara agreement was signed to include Turkey
to customs union and then to full EEC membership. In the same year
the first financial protocol was signed, followed by the additional
protocol and the second financial protocol in November 1970.

In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus. The military coup d`etat that took
place on 12th September 1980 led to a turmoil in the relationship
between Turkey and the community. After a long gap of 6 years, the
Turkey-EEC association council meeting revived the association process
and just after one year the country applied for full EEC membership.

In 1989, the commission endorsed Turkey`s eligibility as a member
and the agreement came into force on January 1st 1996.

However, in 1997 the candidate status to Turkey was declined which was
reversed in the EU Helsinki council in December 1999. In the year 2001
the EU council of ministers adopted the EU Turkey Accession partnership
whereas the Turkish Government and parliament accommodated over 30
amendments to meet the Copenhagen political criteria for EU membership.

In 2002 also, the Turkish parliament made reforms to meet the EU`s
human rights criteria. In the same year the Copenhagen European council
(EC) decided that if Turkey could fulfill the criteria then in 2004
the EU would open accession negotiations with Turkey. Meanwhile, the EU
leaders decided to extend their cooperation on the EC -Turkey customs
union to provide the enhanced pre-accession financial assistance.

Turkey began EU accession talks in 2005 and has so far opened 12
out of 35 negotiating chapters. Its military occupation of northern
Cyprus, an EU member, has so far proved the main stumbling block to
progress. But the EU commission is also concerned about Turkey’s
respect for human rights, while Germany and France are opposed to
Turkish EU entry on broader political grounds.

Cyprus is a small island in the eastern part of the Mediterranean sea
with 660,000 inhabitants. Turkey invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974. As an
explanation to this brutal act, Turkey offered the restoration of the
constitutional structure of the Republic of Cyprus that was damaged by
a coup d’ etat, and the protection of an 18% Turkish-Cypriot minority
on the island. The international community strongly condemned the
military invasion and rejected Turkey’s explanations. In Resolution 353
that was adopted on the day of the invasion, the United Nations (UN)
Security Council "equally concerned about the necessity to restore
the constitutional structure of the Republic of Cyprus" calls upon
all States to "respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial
integrity of Cyprus" and demands "an immediate end to foreign military
intervention in the Republic of Cyprus". Turkey not only ignored the
international community but launched a second offensive in August,
1974 and managed to seize more than one third of the territory of the
Republic of Cyprus. Currently, 22 years later, 30,000 Turkish troops
are stationed on the occupied part of the island making it "one of
the most highly militarized areas in the world", according to the June
1994 report of the UN Secretary General to the Security Council. The
island is thus still divided, the refugees still away from their homes,
the whereabouts of the missing still unknown. The Turkish-Cypriots
are also victims of this invasion and imposed separation. More than
110,000 Turkish settlers have been transported to the occupied areas,
in an attempt to change the demographic character of the island. These
settlers, while Turks, they are completely different culturally from
the Turkish-Cypriots whose culture is very similar to their Greek
counterparts. The Turkish-Cypriots are becoming a minority in the
occupied areas and are migrating to other western countries. On the
other hand their leaders, under Turkey’s direction, continue to bring
the negotiations in the UN to a deadlock.

THE FRENCH CLASSES FOR THE ARMENIAN OFFICIALS STARTED

Aysor
Jan 18 2010
Armenia

Today launched the program of teaching French to those who are
involved in the RA governmental system, mentioned the RA MFA press
and information department.

On June 9 in 2009 between the RA Foreign Ministry, the francophone
international organization, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy
of Luxembourg and the governances of Belgium French communities was
signed a memorandum on realizing a program for teaching the RA state
officers French language. According to that memorandum since today
launch the classes conducted by Alliance Francaise-Arménie on which
participate more than 70 state officials.

The classes are mainly for the RA Ministries’, National Assembly’s
Constitutional Court’s and Yerevan Municipality’s staff.

This program is aimed at improving the level of language perception
of the RA diplomats and state officers involved in the area of the
international cooperation.

L’Express, France
13 Jan 2010

Poutine déconseille de lier normalisation turco-arménienne et Karabakh
Par AFP, publié le 13/01/2010 à 19:21 – mis à jour le 13/01/2010 à 17:03

MOSCOU РLe Premier ministre russe Vladimir Poutine a estim̩ mercredi
qu’il ne fallait pas lier la normalisation turco-arménienne à la
résolution du problème du Karabakh, territoire séparatiste
d’Azerbaïdjan contrôlé par les Arméniens.

"Les deux problèmes sont compliqués en soi et je ne juge pas opportun
de les mettre dans un paquet", a déclaré M. Poutine devant la presse Ã
l’issue d’un entretien avec son homologue turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Si on décide de les traiter en bloc, on ne fera que retarder leur
règlement", a-t-il poursuivi.

M. Poutine qui était président entre 2000 et 2008 et reste l’homme
fort du pays a également promis que la Russie soutiendrait "chaque
mesure positive visant à résoudre ces problèmes très compliqués".

Le rapprochement turco-arménien a suscité la colère de l’Azerbaïdjan
musulman et turcophone, allié traditionnel d’Ankara, qui a menacé la
Turquie de représailles, notamment dans le domaine énergétique.

La Turquie et l’Arménie ont signé le 10 octobre des accords
historiques de réconciliation qui prévoient l’ouverture de leur
frontière commune.

Cette frontière avait été fermée en 1993 par la Turquie en soutien Ã
l’Azerbaïdjan, après la prise de contrôle par l’Arménie, à l’issue
d’un conflit armé, d’une enclave arménienne en territoire
azerbaïdjanais, le Nagorny-Karabakh.

es/1/poutine-deconseille-de-lier-normalisation-tur co-armenienne-et-karabakh_841865.html

Andrey Khachaturyan: BATE is my chance
16.01.2010 15:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ BATE FC has signed a contract with a 22-year-old
central midfielder Andrey Khachaturyan on January 15 As the official
website of the club reported, Khachaturyan considers that contract as
a significant advance in his career. `This opens opportunities for
further growth…I believe this is my chance,’ the footballer said.

”My dad was born in Yerevan, when he was a child he left Armenia with
his parents. ital of Armenia. I don’t know the Armenian language, my
father knows a little,” he said.

Andrey Khachaturyan, born on September 2, 1987 in Minsk, is a
Belarusian professional footballer of Armenian origin. His first coach
was Alexander Gegenya. Khachaturyan played for six years (2004-2009)
in "Minsk" in 141 games as part of the core team and scored 19 goals.
The 2009 season was the best in the career of a young football
player. Khachaturyan is one of two players of "Minsk", who
participated in all 26 games of the last championship of Belarus. In
2010, he signed a contract with BATE.

FC BATE – FC BATE Borisov is a Belarusian football team playing in the
city of Barysaw. They compete in the Belarusian Premier League and are
the reigning champions. BATE are the only Belarusian team to have
qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, having
done so in 2008-09. Their home stadium is the Borisov City Stadium.
The team was founded in 1973, reconstituted in 1996. The first
Belarusian club passed the group stage of the Champions League and the
League of Europe.

ADL Concerned about Anti-Jewish Climate in Turkey, Maintains Position
on Genocide
By Armenian Weekly Staff
January 17, 2010

WASHINGTON (A.W)-As diplomatic row between Israel and Turkey
continues, attempts are being made by the Israel lobby in the U.S. to
infuse some calm. On Jan. 16, The Jerusalem Post reported that the
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found the appointment of Namik Tan as
ambassador to the United States a welcome move, since Tan is a former
ambassador to Israel and, before that, has served as a liaison with
the Jewish community in Washington. Tan replaced Nabi Sensoy as
ambassador when the latter abruptly resigned in December.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Jess Hordes, the director of ADL’s
Washington office said, `I would like to think there was a certain
calculation in sending him. The fact that he’s known in Washington, on
the Hill, and that he’s worked with the Jewish community, which he
served in Israel, I would like to think that that’s [one] way of
sending a positive signal.’

`1915 was a genocide, but…’

Hordes added that the ADL’s position on the Armenian Genocide had not
changed. `We continue to believe that there was a genocide, but
there’s no useful purpose in the House or the Senate passing a
resolution on it at this time. It’s a principled post that the better
way of addressing this issue is for the Armenians and the Turks to
move forward with this through the historical commission,’ Hordes
said.

Concern about `anti-Jewish climate’

On Jan. 13, the ADL issued a statement renewing `its concern that
Turkish society is becoming increasingly and openly hostile to Jews
and Israel – with harmful statements by government officials and hateful
depictions in the mass media.’

`We continue to be concerned about a new environment in Turkey which
permits and even encourages extreme expressions regarding Jews and
Israel,’ said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. `We cannot
ignore this new atmosphere in which distorted views of Israel and Jews
are freely expressed and made to seem acceptable.’

The ADL wrote a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan citing
his government’s `harshly critical statements’ – and his own remarks
during a recent a visit to Lebanon – as a case in point. Erdogan had
condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, accused the Jewish State of
threatening to undermine `global peace,’ and called for the U.N.
Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel.

The ADL’s letter also pointed to two recent television dramas which
portrayed Israelis and the Israeli military as inherently evil and
conniving. The recent television series `Valley of the Wolves’
reportedly featured Israeli agents as baby snatchers.

`While we have celebrated Turkey’s history of coexistence with Jews
and the protection Turkish society provides for its Jewish community,
we cannot ignore this new atmosphere and its potential consequences,’
said Foxman. `We respectfully urge the Turkish government to speak out
directly to reject anti-Semitism and incendiary demonizing depictions
of Israel and Israelis, and to reiterate Turkey’s support for its
Jewish community.’

OpEdNews.com: The Myth of Nabucco: Greed, Delusion and $11.4 Billion
17.01.2010 16:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nabucco is a complex skein of greed, European
foreign policy agendas and the ongoing belief, a delusional legacy of
the Bush administration, that somehow Caspian energy "belongs" to the
West, and furthermore, that both Russia and Iran will complacently
stand back while Western capitalism pulls off another energy
initiative dwarfing BTC, OpEdNews.com says in an article.

Further complicating the picture are the differing proposed transit
and pricing policies of the countries that Nabucco will pass through.
The biggest geographical hurdle impacting the bottom line is the fact
that, if as some Nabucco boosters aver, Turkmenistan can be persuaded
to contribute natural gas, the seabed of the Caspian has yet to
definitively be delineated amongst the sea’s five riparian states, the
author of the publication finds.

According to him, the European interest in Nabucco is underpinned by
the unpleasant realization that since 1991 it has become more and more
dependent upon Russia for natural gas imports, with Russia’s state
monopoly Gazprom now supplying 40% of Europe’s imports.

As the author further notes, there is one potential supplier that
could step into the supply void, but for Washington, it is a country
too far: Iran.

Moscow still largely relies on its Eastern European Soviet-era
pipeline network, the annual winter spats between Moscow and Kiev over
payment rates and transit have deeply traumatized Brussels to conduct
a frantic search for alternatives in a desperate attempt to achieve
energy security. Nabucco is designed to carry Caspian and Central
Asian natural gas via Turkey and the Balkan states to Austria while
bypassing both Russia and Ukraine, says the article.

Nabucco agreement was signed in mid-July 2009 by Turkey, Austria and
Romania. The estimated cost of the project is $ 7.9 billion. The
pipeline will serve for transporting natural gas to European countries
via Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and
Austria. Nabucco will form the continuation of Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum
pipeline, annually transporting 31 billion cubic meters of gas.
Construction activities are due in 2010. The pipeline is to be
launched in 2014.

news.am, Armenia
Jan 15 2010

Armenians wish to have Surb Khach open once a year

18:22 / 01/15/2010Armenians of Turkey wish Surb Khach church on
Akhtamar Island (church functions as museum) to be open for services
once a year, Agos daily editor Serkis Seropyan told NEWS.am.

According to him, for instance the Holy Cross of Varag holiday
celebrated September 12 can be set on a day when the church opens.
`However, nothing has been specified yet,’ he said, commenting on
statement by Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay.
Earlier, Gunay stated that cross will not be placed on the top, ruling
out possibility of services’ conduction.

Seropyan underlined that a while ago authorities pledged to place a
cross and invited Armenian experts. However, it remained in name not
in deed. The journalist recalled that the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul
closed for both Muslim and Christian services. Meanwhile, editor did
not rule out the possibility that Armenians will be allowed to conduct
services once a year.

A.G.

RUSSIA URGES ARMENIA, TURKEY TO MOVE QUICKLY ON TIES

Hurriyet
Jan 14 2010
Turkey

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. AP photo

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday called on Armenia
and Turkey to move forward quickly on stalled efforts to ratify a
landmark deal to establish full diplomatic relations.

"We are interested in ties being normalized…. The quicker this
happens, the better it is for the entire region," Lavrov said during a
joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian.

Lavrov said Russia was ready to assist both countries with
infrastructure projects, including electricity and rail links, once
they agree to establish ties and open their border.

He also backed the Armenian stance on the territorial dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh and rejected any links between the normalization
process and the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a Turkish ally,
over the breakaway region.

"We see no connections between the process of normalizing
Turkish-Armenian relations and resolving Nagorno-Karabakh," Lavrov
said. "In my opinion, it is not correct to try to artificially link
these two processes."

Historic deals

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October to establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border, a move hailed as a
historic step toward ending decades of hostility stemming from the
World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

But Armenia has expressed growing frustration in recent weeks over
the Turkish Parliament’s failure to ratify the protocols. The Armenian
parliament has not yet done so either.

Turkish officials have repeatedly said the agreements will not be
ratified without progress in the dispute over Karabakh. Backed by
Yerevan, ethnic Armenian separatists seized control of Karabakh and
seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan during a war in the early
1990s that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity
with Azerbaijan – with which it has strong ethnic, trade and energy
links – against Yerevan’s support for the enclave’s separatists.

EDWARD NALBANDIAN ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO RUSSIA’S SUPPORT TO ARMENIA’S STEPS AIMED AT ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

NoyanTapan
Jan 14, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. RA and RF Foreign Ministers Edward
Nalbandian and Sergey Lavrov, at a January 14 meeting spoke about
dynamically developing relations between Armenia and Russia, South
Caucasian regional problems, as well as cooperation between RA and
RF regions in political, military, trade and economic, humanitarian
spheres and confrontation of positions within the framework of
international organizations.

They expressed satisfaction that the active and regular political
dialogue between the two countries’ heads serves as a firm basis for
further development of mutually beneficial relations and discussed
the fulfillment process of high-level agreements. The sides expressed
satisfaction with efficient cooperation established between RA and
RF Foreign Ministries.

According to the RA Foreign Ministry Press and Information Department,
at the meeting the Ministers exchanged thoughts over the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement process proceeding within the framework of the
OSCE Minsk Group. E. Nalbandian attached importance to Russia’s support
to Armenia’s steps aimed at establishment of relations with Turkey.

The implementation of bilateral economic projects and the possibilities
of their expansion were discussed at the negotiations.

E. Nalbandian expressed Armenian side’s gratitude to Russia for
providing a stabilization credit of 500m USD in 2009.

Ministers’ joint press conference was held after their meeting.

SATIRE ‘ARMENICUM UPSA’ IN YEREVAN’S CHAMBER THEATER

Tert.am
14:50 ~U 15.01.10

Apart from the performances listed in Yerevan Camera (Chamber)
Theatre’s 2010 program, the satirical film "Armenicum UPSA" (1999)
will be screened on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The film’s director
is the theatre’s arts director, Ara Yernjakian, and its cast includes
Hrant Tokhatyan, Ashot Ghazaryan, Georgy Amiragyan, Yervand Manaryan,
Zara Aramyan, Samson Stepanyan, Arshaluys Harutyunyan and many others.

The film depicts secret service agents of foreign states wish to steal
the remedy against AIDS (Armenicum) that Armenians have discovered,
and how Armenia’s secret services fight against them.

On Camera’s stage in this new theatre season will be names already
well-known to Yerevan audiences: January’s line-up includes "Arm
Yourselves","Looking for a Man," and "What difference is it with whom?"