Published since 07.2002
Published on July 04, 2008
DIPLOMATIC RUMBLINGS: MOVEMENTS IN RELATIONS SEEN AS REGIONAL POWERS BECOME MORE ACTIVE
- The past week was marked by a sharp activation of some regional processes in the South Caucasus, in particular along the axes Yerevan-Moscow, Yerevan-Ankara, Baku-Moscow, Baku-Ankara and Moscow-Ankara. The only exception is Yerevan-Baku as relations between the two are largely “being adjusted” by means of the aforementioned axes. Within days, meetings were held between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow, the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan in Baku, the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey in Ankara. It is remarkable that some contacts on the highest level proceeded simultaneously, such as the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Azerbaijani negotiations. The positions of Moscow and Baku are diametrically different on many key issues. It concerns both Azerbaijan’s relations with the West and the challenge connected with NATO’s expansion into the Caucasus. Baku is a convinced advocate of NATO’s stronger presence in the region and the speediest inclusion of Azerbaijan and Georgia into the US-led Alliance. The positions of Russia and Azerbaijan differ strongly also on the question of settling frozen conflicts in the post-Soviet space and on the issue of relations in the energy sphere. It is not a secret that the existing Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was built to counterbalance Russian projects. Officials in Azerbaijan, in particular Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, repeatedly said that the West must immediately start to purchase Asian gas directly from Turkmenistan and give up trade and economic relations in the energy sphere with Russia. Azerbaijan is also lobbying for a number of other projects infringing on Moscow’s interests. It all shows that the prospects for mutual relations between the countries remain vague. It is these prospects that presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Ilham Aliyev discussed in Baku. The week also revealed some new tendencies in the sphere of establishing relations between Armenia and Turkey. Although no direct contacts have taken place yet between official representatives of Yerevan and Ankara, it became known that the leaders of Armenia and Turkey would participate in celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Astana as Kazakhstan’s modern capital. According to some sources, a meeting between Serzh Sargsyan and Abdullah Gul is not excluded on the sidelines of the event. Besides Armenia and Turkey, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan will also be present in Astana, as well as King of Jordan Abdullah II. Any meeting of the Armenian and Turkish presidents against the background of active regional developments would hardly be a coincidence. Sargsyan has made several statements concerning Armenian-Turkish relations recently. In particular, he said that Yerevan was not opposed to Ankara’s proposal to set up a joint commission of historians to study the 1915 Genocide, but only after diplomatic relations had been established and the border opened between the two countries. His statement was received positively by the Turkish press and a number of international experts, in particular by Matthew Bryza, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs who is the American co-chair of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an international format seeking a negotiated peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. In early June, during congressional hearings, US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried noted that Armenia should recognize the current border with Turkey and that Turkey should accept the heavy pages of its history. It is not excluded that these points will come up for discussion if the two presidents meet in Astana.
- Aris Ghazinyan
Headlines for July 04, 2008
UP AND ABOUT: OPPOSITION REACHES GYUMRI FOR ITS FIRST ‘AUTHORIZED’ RALLY AFTER POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE
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Thousands of Levon Ter-Petrosyan supporters braved rainy weather and government-imposed “working day” conditions to stage a rally in Armenia’s second largest city last weekend in what proved to be the ...TIPTOEING THE TURKISH TIGHTROPE: SARGSYAN SEES MIXED REACTION AT HOME AFTER MOSCOW STATEMENTS
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President Serzh Sargsyan’s statements on Armenia’s relations with Turkey made while on a recent official visit to Russia elicited a negative reaction from the opposition and at least one pro-government ...POLITICAL INTRIGUE: IS ARMENIA ON THE AGENDA FOR VISIT OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO TURKEY?
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The situation in the South Caucasus is on the agenda of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov when he begins a visit to Turkey on Wednesday, official sources confirmed. According to unofficial reports, ...SPORT: ALL EYES ON SPAIN AS ARMENIA PREPARES FOR AN ENCOUNTER WITH EUROPE’S BEST
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Football Armenia will be tested by another reigning champion in the forthcoming World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. This became clear after Spain managed to pull off the European title by beating the ...CLEANING HOUSE?: PRIME MINISTER INTENT ON SWEEPING OUT CORRUPTION
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The first three months Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan’s leadership have seen the former Central Bank chairman emerge as a new voice against Armenia’s old problem of corruption. Amid praise from the progressively ...AIR APPARENT?: PACE DECISION NO GUARANTEE FOR A1PLUS
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Point 6 of the original text of PACE Resolution 1620 on Armenia adopted in Strasbourg last week concerned A1 plus television and according to it, the Armenian authorities must immediately provide a broadcasting ...TARGET OF CONVENIENCE: ANTI-SEMITISM ON INCREASE AS PROVOCATION AGAINST TER-PETROSYAN
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Rimma Varzhapetyan, chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Armenia, says there is no anti-Semitism in Armenia as such, however, sometimes anti-Semitic materials appear in the press and their number has ...STATED TASK: GOVERNMENT SHOWS WILL TO MAKE CUSTOMS SERVICE TRANSPARENT BODY
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For the last two months the State Customs Committee (SCC) of Armenia has been the focus of government efforts to fight corruption. Many Armenian residents say they have already seen the positive changes ...CHILDBIRTH IN ARMENIA: PROMOTE POPULATION, IMPOVERISH FAMILIES
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To promote childbirth and encourage large families the Armenian government has increased the one-time amount paid to families for the birth of a child. Since 2007 for each child families get for 100,000 ...PUPPET SHOW: A GROUP OF ENTHUSIASTS KEEP IDEA ALIVE WITHOUT A THEATRE
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The southern Armenian town of Kapan has a puppet troupe, but its fate is in limbo. The seven-member puppeteers perform only occasionally by invitation. They have no and no support. Nine years ago Vahe ...DIPLOMATIC RUMBLINGS: MOVEMENTS IN RELATIONS SEEN AS REGIONAL POWERS BECOME MORE ACTIVE
Aris GhazinyanThe past week was marked by a sharp activation of some regional processes in the South Caucasus, in particular along the axes Yerevan-Moscow, Yerevan-Ankara, Baku-Moscow, Baku-Ankara and Moscow-Ankara. ...POLITICIANS ABOUT PROTECTION: KARABAKH EXPERTS SHARE THEIR OPINION ON THE ISSUE OF NKR SECURITY
Naira Hayrumyan
Security of the Armenian population is a key issue in the Karabakh conflict settlement. In February of 1988 Armenians of the Autonomous Region of Nagorno Karabakh (ARNK) declared their will to become ...AZERIS TO ADD DRONES TO THEIR MILITARY ARSENAL
Internet has carried headlines from Baku and Yerevan on the latest in military buildup . . . “Azeris May Buy Drones From Israel” “Azerbaijan to Buy UAVs to Watch Over Occupied Areas” “Armenia Takes ...ACCUSATIONS CONTINUE: TER-PETROSYAN DOCUMENT SAYS OPPOSITION WAS METHODICALLY PERSECUTED
Marianna Grigoryan
Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan this week turned up the heat in the country’s continuously volatile internal political situation as he published a document that he described as ‘diabolic’. The ...ON THE MOVE: TER-PETROSYAN-LED OPPOSITION ANNOUNCES LENGTHY SIT-IN BEFORE ITS NEXT RALLY
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Armenia’s opposition on Friday signaled the start of a 28-day sit-in of about 50 of its supporters in Northern Avenue as a heavy cordon of police and water cannons was raised to surround the nearby Opera ...
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Today in Armenian history- 1762 The first publication of Yeznik Koghbatsi's "Yeghts Aghandots" by the Markos Publishing House, in Smyrna.
- 1818 The inhabitants of Zeytoon (Western Armenia) rebel against the exactions of the Pasha of Marash.
- 1823 Birth of Grigor Aghatonyan in Constantinople. He died in 1868.
- 1839 Death of Papa Hambardzoomian, composer and author of Armenian phonographs.
- 1847 Death of Hakob Chelepi Tyoozian, the imperial goldsmith. The "Europe" periodical was published by his initiative. He was born on 1793 01 03.
- 1902 International Meeting of Patriots takes place in Brussels. French public-political figure Jean Jaures (amongst others) devotes his speech to the Armenian Cause.
- 1902 An International Conference on the Armenian Question takes place in Brussels.
- 1908 Death of Armenian writer Missak Metsarents. He was born in 1886.
- 1930 Birth of Mher Mkrtchyan (actor). He died in 1993.
- 1992 Artsakh forces leave Martakert (Artsakh).
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