Author: Topchian Jane

TURKEY "MAY DEPORT ILLEGAL ARMENIA CITIZENS" OVER HARMFUL BILLS

March 17 2010
Turkey

Turkish PM Erdogan said that the crisis which took place due to
Armenian resolutions would harm Armenia.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the
crisis which took place due to Armenian resolutions would harm Armenia.

Erdogan replied to questions of Huseyin Alkan from BBC Turkish service
in British capital of London, Anadolu news agency said.

Erdogan said nearly 170,000 Armenians lived in Turkey currently and
100,000 of them were living in Turkey illegally. "We are ignoring
the situation of them now. But if it is needed, I will tell them that
you should go back to your country. They are not my citizens. I don’t
have to keep them in my country," he said.

"The current developments are not our problem. It is the problem of
Armenia. This country must make a very important decision. Armenia
should be saved from diaspora’s control," he said.

"No rush"

Erdogan also met with his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London.

Following the gathering, the two officials held a joint press
conference and replied to questions of reporters.

Upon a question on his recent remarks in an interview regarding
the status of illegal Armenian migrants in Turkey, Erdogan said,
"We will not decide on such matter immediately. These people have been
living in our country for more than 10 years. However, if developments
continue like this, we will definitely make an assessment and take
the necessary steps," he said.

Replying to another question, Erdogan said Armenia should be rescued
from the diaspora’s control.

"At this point, the Minsk Group has an important duty. It should
fulfill such task. Once it is fulfilled, all the problems will
naturally vanish and there will not be any problems between Turkey
and Armenia, or between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

"EU promises"

In regard to relations between Turkey and EU, Erdogan said the EU
should keep its promise regarding the country’s EU accession process.

A revision should be brought up in regard to the chapters which were
not opened, he said. "There are four chapters on which we can talk. We
are working on these four chapters. I think that Spain’s presidency
term will be like a signal flare," he said.

Replying to a question on opening of ports to Greek Cypriot ships,
Erdogan said, "if both parties open their ports mutually, we are
ready for that. We want the EU to keep its words."

When asked whether tension with the United States (caused by Armenian
resolution) will overshadow the role that Turkey wants to play in the
Middle East, Erdogan said, "we will do what we can. We are exerting
efforts with goodwill. We are working to contribute to world peace."

PHILELEFTHEROS TO INCLUDE VAHAN BEDELIAN IN LIST OF 12 "GREAT CYPRIOTS"

Gibrahayer
March 16, 2010

Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra for Gibrahayer e-magazine – Gibrahayer,
and indeed all Gibratsi, should buy this Sunday’s "Phileleftheros",
as with it will come out a periodical titled "Pages of Cyprus",
dedicated to 12 "Great Cypriots", amongst which is Armenian-Cypriot
Vahan Bedelian, together with one Turkish-Cypriot, one Latin-Cypriot,
and nine Greek-Cypriots. It is a great honour for the Armenian-Cypriot
community to be included in this list through the great musician and
composer Vahan Bedelian. I have personally contacted the persons
responsible for this list, and suggested that in the future more
Armenian-Cypriots are included, such as photographers, journalists,
political personalities, researchers and writers.

ARMENTEL REDUCES TARIFFS FOR CALLS TO RUSSIA, USA AND CANADA

ArmInfo
2010-03-15 18:14:00

ArmInfo. ArmenTel CJSC (Beeline) announces reduction of international
calls to Russia, USA and Canada as a part of Armenians’ World service.

Starting March 15 the per-minute price of a call to the fixed-line
and mobile network in the USA and Canada is 13.99 drams instead of 24
drams, whereas the call to Russia will cost 29.99 drams per -minute
instead of 49 drams, exclusive of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The
calls to those cities will cost 24 drams per minute.

"Tariffs are reduced thanks to the effective tariff policy of the
company and our subscribers have got an opportunity to use high-quality
and accessible connection in the countries and outside it," Igor
Klimko, ArmenTel Director General, says. The service "Armenians’
World" makes it possible for private subscribers of the fixed-line
and Beeline mobile networks to make VoIP international calls. They
just need to dial 88 (00) (country code) (subscriber’s number). The
bill for international calls will be transferred on the telephone
account of the subscriber. All the calls via the given service will
be available for subscribers in details if necessary.

ArmenTel CJSC (Beeline brand) is the subsidiary of VimpelCom Group.

The VimpelCom Group consists of telecommunications operators
providing voice and data services through a range of wireless, fixed
and broadband technologies. The Group includes companies operating
in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and
Armeniaas well as Vietnam and Cambodia, in territories with a total
population of about 340 million. The Group companies provide services
under the "Beeline" brand. VimpelCom was the first Russian company
to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE").

VimpelCom’s ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbol "VIP".

OSCE PA DELEGATION TO HOLD TALKS ON KARABAKH IN BAKU

Aysor
March 15 2010
Armenia

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation with president Joao
Soares and Special Representative on Nagorno-Karabakh and Special
Envoy on Georgia Goran Lennmarker on the head will hold talks with
Azerbaijani officials on Monday, focusing on items of cooperation
between Azerbaijan’s administration and OSCE.

Within the framework of the working visits to the region of the South
Caucasus, the OSCE delegation is reported has arrived in Azerbaijani
capital and will meet with country’s President Ilham Aliev and
Parliament’s Speaker Oktai Asadov. Ahead of the visit to Azerbaijan,
which is reported to end on March 16, delegates had paid a visit to
Armenia and Georgia.

It’s worth mentioning that these visits are the first ones, paid by
Joao Soares at the post of OSCE PA president. The agenda for talks
with authorities of the three countries are the situation in Georgia
after war and the Karabakh conflict, said in the statement, released
on the official pages of the organisation.

The Nagorno-Karabakh (armed) conflict broke out back in 1991, when,
subsequent to the demand for self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh
people, Azerbaijani authorities attempted to resolve the issue
through ethnic cleansings, carried out by Soviet security forces
(KGB special units) under the pretext of the implementation of the
passport regime and by launching of large-scale military operations,
which left thousands dead and caused considerable material damage.

A cease-fire agreement was established in 1994. Negotiations on the
settlement of the conflict are being conducted under the mediation
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen (Russia, USA, and France) and on
the basis of their Madrid Document, presented in November, 2007.

Azerbaijan hasn’t yet implemented the 4 resolutions of the UN
Security Council adopted in 1993, by continuing to provoke arms race
in the region and openly violating on of the basic principles of the
international law non-use of force or threat of force.

APA, Azerbaijan
March 12 2010

Alaattin Büyükkaya: Parliaments’ decision on made-up `Armenian
genocide’ is harmful for Armenia itself

[ 13 Mar 2010 00:21 ]
Istanbul. Mais Alizade ` APA. Decision related to the made-up
`Armenian genocide’, which the parliaments of some countries made, is
harmful for Armenia itself.

According to APA Istanbul reporter, deputy of Grand National Assembly
of Turkey representing of the ruling Justice and Developemt Party,
head of Turkish parliamntary delegation in OSCE Alaattin Büyükkaya
said.

`First of all, I reprobate Swedish parliament’s decision with outrage.
This is purely political decision. 56 countries, which gathered in
OSCE Astana meeting, unanimously came to the agreement and decided
that the historians are eligible to make decisions related to the
historical events, but not the parliaments. However, regretfully we
keep on witnessing how the parliaments make political decisions
related to the historical events. This decision doesn’t matter to
Turkey. I’d like to underline that this decision is more harmful to
Armenia then to Turkey. Because, Armenian economy is very weak and
Armenian people are very poor. Therefore, peace in the region first of
all will be more useful to Armenia. I am confident, such kind of
decisions will strengthen relationships between Turkey and
Azerbaijan’, – said Turkish deputy.

Edward Nalbandian to Visit Berlin, then Paris

11:03 – 13.03.10

On March 15, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will be in
Berlin for an official visit.

On March 16, Nalbandian will visit Paris, where he will meet with the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, according to a statement released by the
RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Tert.am

Monsters and Critics.com
March 13 2010

Swedish-Turkish "genocide" vote row overshadows ministers’ meeting

DPA

Saariselka, Finland – The row between Turkey and Sweden over the
Swedish parliament’s decision to label the killing of Armenians in
1915 as genocide overshadowed a meeting between the two countries’
foreign ministers on Saturday.

Sweden’s Carl Bildt and Turkey’s Ahmet Davutoglu met in northern
Finland to discuss European Union foreign policy with a small,
informal group of EU ministers, but Thursday’s Swedish parliament vote
forced itself onto the agenda of their bilateral meeting.

Davutoglu said that the resolution was a ‘shocking development’ for
Turkey, calling it ‘unjust for those who do not know anything about
the history to decide what happened and to judge a nation.’

The ‘unacceptable’ parliamentary decision was ‘related to Swedish
domestic politics more than to Turkish-Swedish relations or
Turkish-Armenian relations,’ Davutoglu said. Sweden faces
parliamentary elections in September.

However, at the same time Davutoglu stressed that his government’s
relationship with the Swedish administration had been ‘excellent’ and
‘exemplary’ over the last six years, and that Sweden was still
supporting his country’s EU membership bid.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt called the vote ‘regrettable,
because the politicization of history serves no useful purpose.

‘We have to move on … We are a close strategic partner of Turkey
when it comes to European accession, and we’re a close strategic
partner of Turkey on quite a number of other issues as well,’ Bildt
said.

Turkey initially reacted to the late Thursday vote by recalling its
ambassador to Stockholm and cancelling a planned trip by Turkish
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sweden.

Turkey’s further policy ‘depends how the Swedish government and
parliamentarians act in the future,’ Davutoglu said.

And the country ‘hopes that this mistake will not be repeated,’ he stressed.

Turkey is currently eyeing events in the United States, where a
congressional committee a week ago voted to label the Armenian killing
‘genocide,’ but where the White House is trying to keep the motion
away from a vote in Congress.

The EU’s foreign-policy director, Catherine Ashton, who also attended
the meeting in the ski resort of Saariselka, said that ‘as countries
develop and look to their future, they also have to reflect on their
past.’

ARMENIA AND POLAND SIGN ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT

ARKA
March 12, 2010

YEREVAN, March 12, /ARKA/. Speaking to reporters after talks
with visiting prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, Armenian
prime minister Tigran Sarkisian said both countries have signed
an agreement on economic cooperation, which he said, will create
a favorable atmosphere for both to step up their cooperation and
make reciprocal investments. He said the agreement provides also for
protection of reciprocal investments and support for private sector
by both governments.

Donald Tusk said the agreement marks the beginning of a closer
cooperation between the two countries. He has arrived in Yerevan
today morning on a one-day working visit and was scheduled to meet
also with president Serzh Sargsyan, parliament speaker and head of
the Armenian Church.

According to the Armenian National Statistical Service, Armenia’s
trade with Poland dropped last year by 6.3% from 2008 to $34.6
million. Armenian exports to Poland totaled $656,800 ( (0.1% of all
exports). But import of Polish goods grew by 8.3% to $34 million.

Armenia sells to Poland synthetic rubber, iron and molybdenum and
imports foodstuff, beverages, tobacco goods, furniture, chemical
goods and equipment.

ARMENIA, POLAND OPEN NEW PAGE IN RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
12.03.2010 13:40 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia and Poland are opening a new page in
relations, according to RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

"We discussed ways to strengthen economic cooperation and set
priorities," PM Sargsyan said Friday during a joint news conference
with his visiting Polish counterpart Donald Tusk.

"An agreement on economic cooperation has been already signed. This
document will ensure favorable conditions for investments. A bilateral
governmental commission will be formed to deal with economic,
financial and cultural issues. Agreement was also reached on joint
business projects," he said.

For his part, Mr. Tusk said it’s his first visit to Armenia which
marks the beginning of close cooperation between the two countries
on both political and public levels.

IS ARMENIA READY FOR DEAL? – ASKS AZERBAIJANI MINISTER

news.az
March 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Elmar Mammadyarov The Karabakh peace process is working to secure
Armenia’s agreement to the updated Madrid principles for a settlement.

‘As far as I know, during the meeting of Presidents Sargsyan and
Sarkozy, the French president reiterated his full support for
the updated Madrid principles. Let’s see what news comes from the
Armenian side,’ Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said
today at a meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian
coastal countries in Baku.

He said that no meeting was scheduled for the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents at present.

‘The Azerbaijani side has already announced that it accepts the updated
Madrid principles. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will invite
the foreign ministers to Paris to discuss the updated guidelines. Then
we will define the direction of our further work with the co-chairs,’
the minister said.

‘We believe that the updated version of the Madrid principles creates
an opportunity for the discussion of a comprehensive agreement. In my
opinion, first of all, it should be accepted by the Armenian side. But
the Armenian side claims that there are some points that they cannot
accept. We are now working on it,’ he said, without elaborating on
the matters in question.

Mammadyarov said that the entire international community expected
and wanted progress in resolving the Karabakh conflict with the
liberation of the occupied lands and the return home of internally
displaced persons.

‘The only question to the leadership of Armenia is whether they are
ready or not,’ Mammadyarov said.

The Madrid principles include the return of the territories surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, an interim status for Karabakh
providing guarantees for security and self-governance, and the future
determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a
legally binding expression of will. The status of Karabakh is thought
to be the key sticking point in the negotiations. Azerbaijan insists
that Karabakh should remain within Azerbaijan, as is recognized by
international law, while Armenia wants a different status for the
territory.

Commenting on the resolution of the US House of Representatives
Foreign Affairs Committee, recognizing the killings of Armenians in
1915 as ‘genocide’, Mammadyarov said the resolution was harmful to
the Karabakh settlement.

‘If members of Congress discuss the events of 100 years ago, they
should also assess the recent genocide of 20 years ago that happened
in Khojaly. In this sense, I do not believe that such an action would
promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus,’ Mammadyarov said.

He said that the decision had a negative impact on the Karabakh
settlement.

‘On the whole, the action has a negative impact because we believe
that if the Congress adopts one-sided resolutions, despite the fact
that Armenia occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijani land resulting in
one million refugees and internally displaced persons, this poses the
greatest threat to security in the region. Therefore, we consider that
the issue of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, if discussed
in Congress, should address not only the historical aspect, but also
the current situation,’ the minister said