Author: Torgomian Varazdat

WASHINGTON ‘INTERESTED’ IN AZERBAIJAN’S COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT TO TURKEY

news.az
March 17 2010
Azerbaijan

STRATFOR STRATFOR says that Azerbaijan’s place in this situation is an
interesting one, especially the US view of Baku’s support for Ankara.

The resolution that passed the House Foreign Relations Committee was
designed by a handful of Congressmen [Representatives Adam Schiff
(D-Calif.), George Radanovich (R-Calif.), and Congressional Armenian
Caucus co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill)] and
Senators [Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.). The
Senators and Congressmen did consult the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA) on the draft.

It was not prepared by the White House, who is against the vote taking
place in Congress, knowing it will harm current relations with Turkey.

Also, this is simply a non-binding resolution that will be voted
on by Congress in May, according to the report of STRATFOR global
intelligence company.

There are forces in the US government–mainly the handful of Senators
and Congressmen–who are using this resolution as an excuse to put
pressure on Turkey for a number of things: the Armenian protocols,
strengthening relations with Russia and keeping Ankara in line in
negotiations over Iran and Afghanistan. But the White House knows
this is not the way to go about applying such pressure and wants to
try to block the vote actually going to Congress in May.

Turkey’s response has been more symbolic than anything.

It has recalled its ambassador to the US and is rumored to be
re-thinking a few economic deals with the US. But Ankara has not
done much else. There has been the belief that this resolution will
kill the protocols between Ankara and Yerevan, however, STRATFOR had
seen no sign that the protocols were going to pass Turkish parliament
anyway. Any tie between the resolution and the protocols is then

Azerbaijan’s place in this situation is an interesting one, especially
the US view of Baku’s support for Ankara. It is a mixed bag of
responses to Azerbaijan. On the one hand, the US is annoyed that Baku
is supporting the delay on the protocols ratification between Ankara
and Yerevan.

But on the other hand, Washington wants Turkey and Azerbaijan to
re-form their ties which have been broken since Armenia and Turkey
started their talk of the protocols. Turkey is the US’s best response
to a resurging Russia in the Caucasus, so having Baku and Ankara on
the same page is key, even if it means sacrificing any progress with
Armenia. The US is in a tough spot when it comes to keeping Russia
contained in the Caucasus.

TURKEY THREATENS TO DEPORT 100,000 ARMENIANS

MSNBC
247/ns/world_news-europe/
March 17 2010

‘I don’t have to keep them in my country,’ Turkish premier says

ANKARA – Turkey’s prime minister has warned that he might deport
up to 100,000 Armenians living in Turkey without citizenship after
resolutions passed by U.S. and Swedish lawmakers defining World War
One-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Earlier this month, Turkey withdrew its ambassadors to Washington
and Stockholm after a U.S. congressional committee and the Swedish
parliament passed the non-binding resolutions.

It also warned that the resolutions could affect progress in fragile
reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia.

Asked during an interview with the BBC Turkish service in London
on Tuesday what he thought about the resolutions, Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan said: "There are currently 170,000 Armenians living
in our country. Only 70,000 of them are Turkish citizens, but we are
tolerating the remaining 100,000."

He added: "If necessary, I may have to tell these 100,000 to go back
to their country because they are not my citizens. I don’t have to
keep them in my country."

The majority of Armenians in Turkey live and work in Istanbul. Many
came after an earthquake in their homeland in 1988 and work illegally
and send remittances home.

‘Important decision’ for Armenia Erdogan accused the Armenian diaspora
of being behind the resolutions in foreign parliaments, and called
on Armenia and other foreign governments to avoid being swayed by
their lobbying.

"Armenia has an important decision to make. It should free itself from
its attachment to the diaspora. Any country which cares for Armenia,
namely the U.S., France and Russia, should primarily help Armenia to
free itself from the influence of the diaspora."

Erdogan’s comments threaten to strain Turkish-Armenian ties, which
are traumatized by the deportation and killing of Armenians during
the chaotic end of the Ottoman empire nearly a century ago.

Click for related content House panel OKs Armenian genocide measure

The issue of the Armenian massacres is deeply sensitive in Turkey,
which accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman
Turks but vehemently denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it
amounted to genocide — a term employed by many Western historians
and some foreign parliaments.

Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia agreed last year to establish
diplomatic ties and open their border if their parliaments approved
peace accords, but the votes have not taken place and the governments
have accused each other of trying to rewrite the texts.

HEAD OF OSCE OFFICE IN YEREVAN CALLS DOMESTIC POLITICAL SITUATION IN ARMENIA STABLE

ArmInfo
2010-03-15 18:05:00

ArmInfo. The domestic political situation in Armenia is rather stable
and there are no threats of destabilization, Ambassador Sergey Kapinos,
Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, told media when commenting on
the statement by the first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan
who predicted extraordinary parliamentary and presidential elections.

The diplomat believes that economic crisis seriously affected Armenia,
first of all, because of the slump of money transfers from abroad,
where many Armenians work. S. Kapinos believes that economy of Armenia
proved not so effective, modern and dynamics as one could think
on the basis of the GDP growth. "All this, indeed, creates certain
social tension. There are also other factors creating tension, for
instance, normalization of relations with Turkey. However, I do not
predict any high tension that could lead to extraordinary elections,"
Sergey Kapinos said.

Speaker of Armenian Parliament Hovik Abrahamyan thanks Sweden for
Genocide recognition

13.03.2010 13:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Speaker of the RA Parliament Hovik Abrahamyan
addressed a letter of thanks to Per Erik Gunnar Westerberg, Speaker of
the Swedish Riksdag in connection with the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the Swedish Parliament.

In the letter Speaker Abrahamyan, on behalf of the Armenian
Parliament, expressed profound gratitude to the Swedish Parliament for
approving a just resolution on the Armenian Genocide.

`By recognizing the Armenian Genocide you contributed to the
prevention of similar crimes in the future…By its historic decision
the Swedish Parliament also contributed to peace and stability in the
South Caucasus,’ the letter says.

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic
destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during
and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to
lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths
reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.

To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially
recognized the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide
scholars and historians accept this view.

Lilit Galoyan ties against European championship leader

13.03.2010 13:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The 11th European individual men and women’s chess
championship in Croatia, Rijeka hosted 7th tour matches on March 12.

Having gained a victory, Vladimir Hakobyan occupies the leading (8th)
position among Armenian chess players with 5,5 points to his score.
Badur Jobava of Georgia is leading the championship with 6 points.

Lilit Galoyan tied against European championship leader Monika Socko
(Poland), gaining the 5th position with 5,5 points.

Stockholm News, Sweden
March 13 2010

Turkish protests continues

Politics | 2010-03-13 |

The Swedish and Turkish foreign ministers condemned the decision of
the Swedish Parliament to specify the atrocities against Armenians in
1915 as genocide. In Turkey the protests continue – which is now also
hitting trade relations. Swedish Ambassador Christer Asp in Ankara has
received several emails from Turkish businessmen who have business
with Sweden. The business men report that they have got commercial
contracts broken and cancelled.

`In a situation such as this it is to be expected,’ says Asp to news agency TT.

It was on Thursday that the parliament, with one votes margin adopted
a resolution that the atrocities in 1915 against, among others,
Armenians are considered to be genocide. Turkey immediately recalled
its ambassador and denounced the decision. The Swedish-Turkish
relations thus froze to ice.

In Turkey today, there have been protests held against the decision,
both outside the Honorary Consulate in Izmir and the Consulate General
in Istanbul. The mailbox at the Swedish Embassy in Ankara has also
been flooded with protest letters from individuals and organizations.

`Some are worded in a way that I do not want to reproduce it in
public. There is no threat, but no fine words about Sweden, if you
know what I mean," says Asp.

Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who persistently made it clear that the
government’s policy has not changed, and his Turkish colleague Ahmet
Davutoglu, now meet at an informal multi-day meeting in northern
Finland. The two ministers condemned the parliamentary
genocide-resolution today.

David Jonasson

ID=4981

TO FIND BALANCE IN TALKS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: LENNMARKER

news.am
March 12 2010
Armenia

March 12, OSCE Special Representative on Nagorno-Karabakh and Georgia
Goran Lennmarker gave an exclusive interview to NEWS.am correspondent.

Q.: What is your opinion about the adoption of Armenian Genocide
Resolution by Swedish Parliament?

A.: The decision reflects, of course, the feeling about it. There
is also a balance point there, because we want to see the process
between Turkey and Armenia on this matter to go forward, because that
is perhaps the most important part from the previous panel, important
to this now that the Armenian-Turkish process goes further. So I very
much hope that the relations between Turkey and Sweden will not be
damaged because of this, so that they don’t find an excuse not to go
further with this process.

Q.: Yesterday you stated that the format of Nagorno-Karabakh
negotiations shouldn’t be changed. Don’t you think participation of
Stepanakert or Nagorno-Karabakh will be more fruitful?

A.: I think now we should keep the format, because if we stop for
changing the format, then we talk about delaying the process, years,
because if you try to, if that that should be included I can assure
that there will demand from Azeri side to include representatives from
their occupied territories and you will have negotiations about the
negotiations and I don’t know how long it will take. I am pessimistic
that it will really stop.

Q.: In your opinion, in which principle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
should be resolved — territorial integrity or self-determination?

A.: I think the balance is important and that is what the negotiation
in a way is about — to find the balance and make it acceptable for
Azerbaijan and Armenia. That is the difficulty of it, to find that
balance. I will say to support the negotiation process is extremely
important now, that we support what is going on in Minsk Group. I
will not try to tell how the Minsk Group get out of it and what will
be the result, because that is for your President Serzh Sargsyan and
for Azeri President to decide on.

S. FARMANYAN: THE HEAD OF THE COUNTRY FEELS EXCELLENT

Aysor
March 11 2010
Armenia

The Press Secretary of the RA President Samvel Farmanyan denied the
news in media saying that the health condition of Serzh Sargsyan has
become worse.

As the sources inform S. Farmanyan insisted that the news about it
are falsified and the head of the country feels excellent.

The RA President Serzh Sargsyan is in France on a three day official
visit.

NICOLAS SARKOZY: ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN MUST COME TO COMPROMISE

APA
March 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. "Yerevan and Baku must come to compromise to restore
peace dynamics", said French president Nicolas Sarkozy during his
meeting with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, APA reports.

He noted that an initiative started a year and half ago has weakened.

This was the second meeting between the French and Armenian
presidents. Sargsyan made his first visit to Paris as the president
of Armenia in November, 2008.

BYBLOS BANK ARMENIA TO GET $10MLN SYNTHETIC LOAN FROM EBRD

ArmInfo
09.03.2010

ArmInfo. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
is making financing of private business in Armenia more accessible
by providing Byblos Bank Armenia with $10mln loan, the first credit
in Armenia to have an AMD component.

The press service of Byblos Bank Armenia reports that EBRD’s credit
private business financing program includes a synthetic loan in AMD
equivalent to $5mln, to be used for financing local companies and
floating capital. The other $5mln will be spent on co-financing of
the bank’s bigger loans. In the framework of synthetic lending EBRD
provides money at a fixed USD/AMD exchange rate.

The synthetic loan will help Byblos Bank Armenia to reduce currency
risk, to prolong periods of crediting of national currency and to
enlarge the AMD credit portfolio.

EBRD Financial Director for Central Asia, the Caucasus and Mongolia
Mike Taylor says that this program is supposed to stimulate financial
intermediation in Armenia’s banking system and to create opportunities
for financing the real economy sector in AMD. The money will help
Armenia to further develop its private sector.

CEO of Byblos Bank Armenia George Sfeir welcomes EBRD’s program. He
says that this program proves that EBRD trusts Byblos Bank Armenia
and the Armenian economy. This deal will allow the bank to further
enlarge its strategy on the market.

In early autumn 2007 100% of the shares of ITB were bought by Byblos
Bank SAL (Lebanon), after which the bank was renamed into Byblos
Bank Armenia. Presently, Byblos Bank SAL holds a 65% stake in the
bank with the rest belonging to EBRD (25%) and OFID (10%).

EBRD has so far allocated a total of 335mln EUR for supporting 70
projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructural and energy
sectors of Armenia. This year EBRD’s credit portfolio in Armenia will
grow by $130mln.

The first EBRD synthetic loan in the South Caucasus was given to
Azeri AccessBank in late 2009.