Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Armenian parliament approves bill allowing to conclude agreements with unrecognized states
Armenian parliament approves bill allowing to conclude agreements with unrecognized states
December 8, 2010 - 13:19 AMT 09:19 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - With 88 votes in favor, the Armenian parliament has passed a bill on introduction of amendments to the law on international agreements.
The bill allows to conclude agreements with unrecognized states, PanARMENIAN.Net rsquo;s parliamentary correspondent reported.
Addressing the MPs prior to the voting, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said that the amendments “are meant to guarantee human rights in Artsakh” and said Armenia will do its utmost for international recognition of NKR.
Meanwhile, chairman of Heritage parliamentary group Stepan Safaryan labeled the bill as “not complying with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties” and said that the party will not take part in the voting.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
9,000 families still have no homes in Armenia's earthquake-hit regions
9,000 families still have no homes in Armenia's earthquake-hit regions
13:32 • 07.12.10
Twenty-two years have passed since the 1988 devastating earthquake in Armenia's northern and north-western regions, but there are still 9,000 families whose housing problems have not yet been solved, the head of Shirak Kentron (Centre) NGO told Tert.am.Out of that number, 6,500-7,000 families alone live in Armenia's second-largest city of Gyumri, Vahan Tumasyan said."On the one hand, it is positive that the state is carrying out a housing program. On the other hand, it should not be regarded as a favor, but rather a duty that has been belated for 20 years," he said. The December 7,1988 earthquake left 20,000 people wounded and 25,000 dead, affecting about 40% of Armenia's northern and north-western area that included four towns – Spitak, Gyumri, Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) and Stepanavan, as well as 342 villages.Tumasyan expressed his discontent with the fact that the government has adopted a decree that does not register any homeless people in the earthquake-hit area since December 2008. This, according to him, means that some of the citizens who left Armenia after the earthquake are finding themselves homeless upon their return to Armenia.About 18,000 flats have been built since 1988 in Gyumri, where also1,056 flats were built under a government-sponsored housing program, implemented in 2009-2010. The construction projects in the earthquake-hit regions are due to be completed by 2012. The projects currently underway in 24 villages in Lori region and in 11 villages in Shirak region will cost an estimated 26 billion drams. A total of 39 billion drams is planned to spend for the construction projects carried out in Gyumri.
Tert.am
13:32 • 07.12.10
Twenty-two years have passed since the 1988 devastating earthquake in Armenia's northern and north-western regions, but there are still 9,000 families whose housing problems have not yet been solved, the head of Shirak Kentron (Centre) NGO told Tert.am.Out of that number, 6,500-7,000 families alone live in Armenia's second-largest city of Gyumri, Vahan Tumasyan said."On the one hand, it is positive that the state is carrying out a housing program. On the other hand, it should not be regarded as a favor, but rather a duty that has been belated for 20 years," he said. The December 7,1988 earthquake left 20,000 people wounded and 25,000 dead, affecting about 40% of Armenia's northern and north-western area that included four towns – Spitak, Gyumri, Kirovakan (now Vanadzor) and Stepanavan, as well as 342 villages.Tumasyan expressed his discontent with the fact that the government has adopted a decree that does not register any homeless people in the earthquake-hit area since December 2008. This, according to him, means that some of the citizens who left Armenia after the earthquake are finding themselves homeless upon their return to Armenia.About 18,000 flats have been built since 1988 in Gyumri, where also1,056 flats were built under a government-sponsored housing program, implemented in 2009-2010. The construction projects in the earthquake-hit regions are due to be completed by 2012. The projects currently underway in 24 villages in Lori region and in 11 villages in Shirak region will cost an estimated 26 billion drams. A total of 39 billion drams is planned to spend for the construction projects carried out in Gyumri.
Tert.am
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Serzh Sargsyan: Nagorno Karabagh has no future within Azerbaijan
Serzh Sargsyan: Nagorno Karabagh has no future within Azerbaijan
In this phase Azerbaijan isn’t interested in settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Serzh Sargsyan declared at OSCE Summit plenary session. President made his remarks stating that its sole objective is to inflict as much damage as possible on Armenia.
“Armenia categorically refuses to accept the resumption of military hostilities in Nagorno Karabagh as an option,” President declared adding in case Azerbaijan resorts to military aggression, Armenia would not have any other choice but to recognize the Nagorno Karabagh Republic de jure and to invest all its capabilities into ensuring the security of the people of Artsakh.“Nagorno Karabagh has no future within Azerbaijan and, whatever the solution, it should emanate from the will of the people of Karabagh. This is the axis of the right of people to self-determination. Azerbaijan has neither legal, nor political, nor moral grounds for its claims over Nagorno Karabagh.”
Source: Panorama.am
In this phase Azerbaijan isn’t interested in settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Serzh Sargsyan declared at OSCE Summit plenary session. President made his remarks stating that its sole objective is to inflict as much damage as possible on Armenia.
“Armenia categorically refuses to accept the resumption of military hostilities in Nagorno Karabagh as an option,” President declared adding in case Azerbaijan resorts to military aggression, Armenia would not have any other choice but to recognize the Nagorno Karabagh Republic de jure and to invest all its capabilities into ensuring the security of the people of Artsakh.“Nagorno Karabagh has no future within Azerbaijan and, whatever the solution, it should emanate from the will of the people of Karabagh. This is the axis of the right of people to self-determination. Azerbaijan has neither legal, nor political, nor moral grounds for its claims over Nagorno Karabagh.”
Source: Panorama.am
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Turkey may stop using Karabakh conflict as precondition after WikiLeaks' publications: Hurriyet
Turkey may stop using Karabakh conflict as precondition after WikiLeaks' publications: Hurriyet
13:10 • 01.12.10
Turkey may eventually stop using the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as precondition for the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation due to an examination of the recent secret documents made public by WikiLeaks website, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported. In that sense, according to the paper, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's meetings with American diplomats and the rude statements he made about Turkey during the meetings - and especially about the policy pursued by the Turkish government- would play a crucial role. "Ankara will definitely examine all that in detail, and after that it is quite possible that the Turkish authorities will cease to be as resolute over using the Karabakh conflict as precondition in relations with Armenia as before."
Tert.am
13:10 • 01.12.10
Turkey may eventually stop using the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as precondition for the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation due to an examination of the recent secret documents made public by WikiLeaks website, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported. In that sense, according to the paper, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's meetings with American diplomats and the rude statements he made about Turkey during the meetings - and especially about the policy pursued by the Turkish government- would play a crucial role. "Ankara will definitely examine all that in detail, and after that it is quite possible that the Turkish authorities will cease to be as resolute over using the Karabakh conflict as precondition in relations with Armenia as before."
Tert.am
Turkey and Azerbaijan: One nation, two states of affairs
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
BARÇIN YİNANÇ
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Critical remarks about Turkey by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are likely to make relations between the two neighboring countries a lot less cozy. Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show that Aliyev is distrustful of Turkey and tried to condition energy deals on Ankara backing away from reconciliation with Yerevan
This file photo shows Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev (L) and Turkish PM Erdoğan shaking hands after inking a deal to form a strategic partnership council. AA photo
The much-touted idea that Turkey and Azerbaijan are “one nation, two states” may be a casualty of classified documents released Sunday by the website WikiLeaks that show relations between the two neighbors are fraught with tension.
The leaked diplomatic cables reveal that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is resentful of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation efforts and distrustful of Turkey, a lack of confidence that is known within Turkish foreign policy circles.
In one cable, Turkish Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioğlu is asked about the prospect for progress on a natural gas deal between Turkey and Azerbaijan. In his response, the Turkish diplomat implies that Aliyev is holding an agreement hostage to Ankara’s handling of the protocols between Turkey and Armenia.
“He doesn’t trust us,” Sinirlioğlu is quoted as saying in the cable sent from Ankara, which deals with Feb. 18 talks between the Turkish undersecretary and U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns.
A separate cable sent Feb. 25 from the embassy in Baku quotes Aliyev as saying that if the Turks demonstrate “constructive behavior” this year, then a gas transit deal can be made. “He was clear, however, that nothing would be signed before April 24,” the cable said. April 24 is the day Armenians commemorate what they see as the “genocide” of their people at Ottoman hands in the early 1900s.
“Azerbaijan’s resentment of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation does not come as a surprise. We knew from open information that Aliyev reacted to the government’s opening to Armenia and that this would have negative implications on the energy cooperation between the two countries,” said Necdet Pamir, an energy expert, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
In the same Feb. 25 cable, diplomats say Aliyev confided that the real reason for Azerbaijan to sell gas to Russia was to illustrate “to ‘our Turkish friends’ that they will not be allowed to create a gas distribution hub.”
The fact that Azerbaijan sold gas to Russia as a message to Turkey was well known, Pamir said. “In this sense, the information in the cable is consistent with facts.”
The transit deal with Turkey discussed in the Feb. 25 cable was signed in June following the suspension of the ratification of the protocols with Armenia.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül said Aliyev denied the claims made in the leaks and told him during a bilateral meeting Wednesday in Astana that he was very saddened about them. “Why should he [Aliyev] be against the energy lines crossing through Turkey? I told him, ‘Don’t worry, we did not believe it,’” Gül told Turkish journalists in Kazakhstan, where he is attending an international conference.
Aliyev’s rhetoric against Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, became especially bitter after Turkey signed protocols with Armenia in August 2009 to normalize relations. Although the Azerbaijani president was always careful in his public statements, he made clear his discontent about the reconciliation process, something that was often downplayed by Ankara. The cable from Baku also shows Aliyev has a strong dislike of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Aliyev made clear his distaste for the Erdoğan government in Turkey, underscoring the ‘naivete’ of their foreign policy and the failure of their initiatives,” the cable read.
“The Turkish leadership might already know Aliyev’s sentiments, but knowing about them is one thing; the fact that he talks about his dislike to others is another,” said Mensur Akgün from Istanbul’s Kültür University. Though he said he thought Turkish-Azerbaijani relations would not be strained by the leaks, it said they could cause resentment among Turkish officials.
Though Aliyev expressed anger with Turkey for moving ahead to normalize relations with Yerevan without seeing progress on Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory under Armenian occupation, the classified documents also show that Turkey conditioned its ratification of the protocols on progress on this issue.
During his meeting with Burns, Sinirlioğlu appealed for “simultaneity” between the ratification of the Armenian protocols and the efforts to solve the Karabakh issue. “He said if something acceptable to Azerbaijani President Aliyev can be found, then ‘we can move’ the protocols forward,” the cable quotes Sinirlioğlu as saying.
It is unclear, however, whether this stance by Turkey was a result of Aliyev’s negative reaction or something Ankara had pursued since the beginning of the process.
Turkey’s argument that progress toward withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijani provinces surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh is a pre-condition to ratifying the protocols “was not part of the agreement and [is] not a position the U.S. supports,” then-U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey wrote in a cable dated January 2010.
BARÇIN YİNANÇ
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Critical remarks about Turkey by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are likely to make relations between the two neighboring countries a lot less cozy. Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show that Aliyev is distrustful of Turkey and tried to condition energy deals on Ankara backing away from reconciliation with Yerevan
This file photo shows Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev (L) and Turkish PM Erdoğan shaking hands after inking a deal to form a strategic partnership council. AA photo
The much-touted idea that Turkey and Azerbaijan are “one nation, two states” may be a casualty of classified documents released Sunday by the website WikiLeaks that show relations between the two neighbors are fraught with tension.
The leaked diplomatic cables reveal that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is resentful of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation efforts and distrustful of Turkey, a lack of confidence that is known within Turkish foreign policy circles.
In one cable, Turkish Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioğlu is asked about the prospect for progress on a natural gas deal between Turkey and Azerbaijan. In his response, the Turkish diplomat implies that Aliyev is holding an agreement hostage to Ankara’s handling of the protocols between Turkey and Armenia.
“He doesn’t trust us,” Sinirlioğlu is quoted as saying in the cable sent from Ankara, which deals with Feb. 18 talks between the Turkish undersecretary and U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns.
A separate cable sent Feb. 25 from the embassy in Baku quotes Aliyev as saying that if the Turks demonstrate “constructive behavior” this year, then a gas transit deal can be made. “He was clear, however, that nothing would be signed before April 24,” the cable said. April 24 is the day Armenians commemorate what they see as the “genocide” of their people at Ottoman hands in the early 1900s.
“Azerbaijan’s resentment of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation does not come as a surprise. We knew from open information that Aliyev reacted to the government’s opening to Armenia and that this would have negative implications on the energy cooperation between the two countries,” said Necdet Pamir, an energy expert, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
In the same Feb. 25 cable, diplomats say Aliyev confided that the real reason for Azerbaijan to sell gas to Russia was to illustrate “to ‘our Turkish friends’ that they will not be allowed to create a gas distribution hub.”
The fact that Azerbaijan sold gas to Russia as a message to Turkey was well known, Pamir said. “In this sense, the information in the cable is consistent with facts.”
The transit deal with Turkey discussed in the Feb. 25 cable was signed in June following the suspension of the ratification of the protocols with Armenia.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül said Aliyev denied the claims made in the leaks and told him during a bilateral meeting Wednesday in Astana that he was very saddened about them. “Why should he [Aliyev] be against the energy lines crossing through Turkey? I told him, ‘Don’t worry, we did not believe it,’” Gül told Turkish journalists in Kazakhstan, where he is attending an international conference.
Aliyev’s rhetoric against Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, became especially bitter after Turkey signed protocols with Armenia in August 2009 to normalize relations. Although the Azerbaijani president was always careful in his public statements, he made clear his discontent about the reconciliation process, something that was often downplayed by Ankara. The cable from Baku also shows Aliyev has a strong dislike of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Aliyev made clear his distaste for the Erdoğan government in Turkey, underscoring the ‘naivete’ of their foreign policy and the failure of their initiatives,” the cable read.
“The Turkish leadership might already know Aliyev’s sentiments, but knowing about them is one thing; the fact that he talks about his dislike to others is another,” said Mensur Akgün from Istanbul’s Kültür University. Though he said he thought Turkish-Azerbaijani relations would not be strained by the leaks, it said they could cause resentment among Turkish officials.
Though Aliyev expressed anger with Turkey for moving ahead to normalize relations with Yerevan without seeing progress on Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory under Armenian occupation, the classified documents also show that Turkey conditioned its ratification of the protocols on progress on this issue.
During his meeting with Burns, Sinirlioğlu appealed for “simultaneity” between the ratification of the Armenian protocols and the efforts to solve the Karabakh issue. “He said if something acceptable to Azerbaijani President Aliyev can be found, then ‘we can move’ the protocols forward,” the cable quotes Sinirlioğlu as saying.
It is unclear, however, whether this stance by Turkey was a result of Aliyev’s negative reaction or something Ankara had pursued since the beginning of the process.
Turkey’s argument that progress toward withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijani provinces surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh is a pre-condition to ratifying the protocols “was not part of the agreement and [is] not a position the U.S. supports,” then-U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey wrote in a cable dated January 2010.
WikiLeaks: Nicolas Sarkozy dislikes Turkish flag
WikiLeaks: Nicolas Sarkozy dislikes Turkish flag
December 01, 2010 13:43
Secret files published by WikiLeaks presented interesting details of an incident involving French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The letter sent by U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentions that Sarkozy’s team does everything to make him happy, Milliyet reported.
Rivkin recalls that on the occasion of Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to France, the Eiffel tower was illuminated with colors of the Turkish flag. According to him, being aware of Sarkozy’s anti-Turkish mood pilots of his aircraft changed the direction for him not to see the Eiffel tower in red and white.
December 01, 2010 13:43
Secret files published by WikiLeaks presented interesting details of an incident involving French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The letter sent by U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentions that Sarkozy’s team does everything to make him happy, Milliyet reported.
Rivkin recalls that on the occasion of Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to France, the Eiffel tower was illuminated with colors of the Turkish flag. According to him, being aware of Sarkozy’s anti-Turkish mood pilots of his aircraft changed the direction for him not to see the Eiffel tower in red and white.
Azerbaijan -TURKISH COUSIN fails at OSCE Summit
Azerbaijan fails at OSCE Summit
December 01, 2010 17:31
The first day of the OSCE Summit in Astana is over. Many of the participants focused on the protracted conflicts in the territory of the OSCE member-states, particularly in Georgia, Transdniestria, and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Many of the heads of delegations pointed out the importance of peaceful settlement of conflicts.
Interestingly, in contrast to Moldova and Georgia, members of the delegations never mentioned Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement proved a cold shower for the Azerbaijani delegation, which was now and then mentioning Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. She stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be settled on the principles of nonuse of force or threat of force, territorial integrity and peoples’ right to self-determination.
The U.S. Secretary of State emphasized that the principles are a single whole, and any attempt to present one of them as superior to the others will not contribute to the peace process.
Mrs. Clinton underlined the importance of simultaneous application of the principles, which rules out any exceptions.
Observers account for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s emotional speech by the aforementioned. According to them, the first day proved a failure for the Azerbaijani delegation. Even before the summit, Azeri political analysts made numerous appeals to the international community for pressing Armenia into agreeing to the basic principles.
However, in their statements, the leaders of the OSCE member-states only pointed out some problems in the process.
An Azerbaijani-Armenian presidential meeting, the Azeri side had hoped for so much, was not held either.
“In his speech, president Aliyev, who ignored Hillary Clinton’s statements, stressed only one principle and found himself in an awkward situation,” a foreign diplomat told NEWS.am.
The Armenian and Turkish Presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and Abdullah Gul, are to deliver speeches on December 2, when a final document is to be adopted.
News from Armenia - NEWS.am
December 01, 2010 17:31
The first day of the OSCE Summit in Astana is over. Many of the participants focused on the protracted conflicts in the territory of the OSCE member-states, particularly in Georgia, Transdniestria, and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Many of the heads of delegations pointed out the importance of peaceful settlement of conflicts.
Interestingly, in contrast to Moldova and Georgia, members of the delegations never mentioned Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement proved a cold shower for the Azerbaijani delegation, which was now and then mentioning Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. She stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be settled on the principles of nonuse of force or threat of force, territorial integrity and peoples’ right to self-determination.
The U.S. Secretary of State emphasized that the principles are a single whole, and any attempt to present one of them as superior to the others will not contribute to the peace process.
Mrs. Clinton underlined the importance of simultaneous application of the principles, which rules out any exceptions.
Observers account for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s emotional speech by the aforementioned. According to them, the first day proved a failure for the Azerbaijani delegation. Even before the summit, Azeri political analysts made numerous appeals to the international community for pressing Armenia into agreeing to the basic principles.
However, in their statements, the leaders of the OSCE member-states only pointed out some problems in the process.
An Azerbaijani-Armenian presidential meeting, the Azeri side had hoped for so much, was not held either.
“In his speech, president Aliyev, who ignored Hillary Clinton’s statements, stressed only one principle and found himself in an awkward situation,” a foreign diplomat told NEWS.am.
The Armenian and Turkish Presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and Abdullah Gul, are to deliver speeches on December 2, when a final document is to be adopted.
News from Armenia - NEWS.am
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