Category: Southern Caucasus

Turkey, Azerbaijan have national morale problem

YEREVAN. – Turkey and Azerbaijan have real problems with national morale and political sufficiency, Armenian Deputy FM Shavarsh Kocharyan stated at the presentation of a book on Armenian-Turkish relations.

This is one more piece of evidence that Turkey is not yet ready to meet European standards in politics. Turkey is not taking any steps showing its willingness to establish relations with Armenia.

By failing the dialogue, Turkey missed a real chance to normalize relations with its neighbor and to participate in establishing a civilized dialogue in the region. “Moreover, Ankara prefers the role of regional separator stirring up hatred,” Kocharyan said. By rejecting reconciliation with Armenia, Turkey lost the way to as narrow path to Europe.

via Turkey, Azerbaijan have national morale problem | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

April 23, 2011
Is Armenia’s Nuclear Plant the World’s Most Dangerous?

Marianne Lavelle and Josie Garthwaite
For National Geographic News

Published April 11, 2011

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

Steam rises from the cooling towers of Metsamor nuclear power station in Armenia in September 2010. One of the last old operating Soviet reactors built without containment vessels, its location in a seismic zone has drawn renewed attention since Japan's earthquake-and-tsunami-triggered crisis.

In the shadow of Mount Ararat, the beloved and sorrowful national symbol of Armenia, stands a 31-year-old nuclear plant that is no less an emblem of the country’s resolve and its woe.

The Metsamor power station is one of a mere handful of remaining nuclear reactors of its kind that were built without primary containment structures. All five of these first-generation water-moderated Soviet units are past or near their original retirement ages, but one salient fact sets Armenia’s reactor apart from the four in Russia.

Metsamor lies on some of Earth’s most earthquake-prone terrain.

In the wake of Japan’s quake-and-tsunami-triggered Fukushima Daiichi crisis, Armenia’s government faces renewed questions from those who say the fateful combination of design and location make Metsamor among the most dangerous nuclear plants in the world.

Seven years ago, the European Union’s envoy was quoted as calling the facility “a danger to the entire region,” but Armenia later turned down the EU’s offer of a 200 million euro ($289 million) loan to finance Metsamor’s shutdown. The United States government, which has called the plant “aging and dangerous,” underwrote a study that urged construction of a new one.

Plans to replace Metsamor after 2016—with a new nuclear plant at the same location—are under way. But until then, Armenia has little choice but to keep Metsamor’s turbines turning. As Armenians learned in the bone-chilling cold and dark days when the plant was closed down for several years, Metsamor provides more than 40 percent of power for a nation that is isolated from its neighbors and closed off from other sources of energy.

via Is Armenia’s Nuclear Plant the World’s Most Dangerous?.

April 22, 2011
US supports dialogue between Turkey, Armenia, says Gordon

A senior US official said on Tuesday that the US continues to strongly support direct dialogue and the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Philip Gordon

Turkey and Armenia made a bold move two years ago to normalize relations and establish diplomatic ties after a century of animosity between the two nations, but the process stalled after both sides proposed a number of preconditions before displaying the political will to implement the vision detailed in the documents.

Philip Gordon, US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, when asked if Turkish and American officials are going to discuss the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process in their upcoming meetings as he spoke to foreign reporters in Washington on Thursday, said that as a general rule, when Turkish and American diplomats and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoğlu, meet, the question of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation comes up “because it’s very important to us.”

American officials frequently stress the importance of Turkey and Armenia reconciling amid increasing pressure by Armenian lobbying groups in the US on members of Congress and the administration to use sharp language when referring to mass killings of Armenians in 1915, events Armenians term “genocide.”

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in 2009 to normalize ties. The protocols called for the opening of their shared border within two months if the two countries’ parliaments ratify the protocols. After Azerbaijan, a key ally for Turkey, expressed its dissatisfaction with the process, Turkey pegged the ratification of the process to a real breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenia thus suspended the process on April 22 of last year.

The administration official said there have been efforts over the past several years to improve that relationship, which the US made clear it strongly supports, adding that those efforts have recently stalled, a development he said the US made clear it regrets. “We believe it’s in the interest of both countries to continue the normalization process, re-establish relations and have friendly relations and open trade from which both countries would benefit,” Gordon said. Gordon stated that American officials bring the reconciliation process up very frequently with their counterparts on both the Turkish and Armenian sides.

Zaman

April 21, 2011
Russian tourists will prefer Armenia for Turkey and Egypt

YEREVAN. – Armenia has great chances to increase influx of Russian tourists considerably, said Russian official during round-table discussions on tourism held in Yerevan.

Head of Federal Agency on Tourism Alexander Radkov said Egypt and Turkey, traditional directions preferred by Russians, experience hard times. Therefore, Russians show stronger interest in cultural tourism.

“Due to cold climate in Russia, the sun and the sea are always in demand, but people do not want to visit the same places every time. Nowadays, Russians have become more interested in cultural tourism and Armenia has a good chance to receive more Russian tourists,” he said.

Armenia is interesting for its religious monuments, skiing resorts and cultural directions. He stressed there should be “an Armenian brand” to attract Russians. Alexander Radkov promised to lobby Armenia’s interests in Russia.

via Russian tourists will prefer Armenia for Turkey and Egypt | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

April 20, 2011
Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan strengthen ties

Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN – The two-day Iran-Turkey-Azerbaijan trilateral forum, which was attended by the foreign ministers of the three countries, concluded in Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held separate talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on the sidelines of the meeting on Sunday.

Salehi and Mammadyarov stated that providing customs facilities, increasing the volume of trade between Iran and Azerbaijan, and expanding cooperation in various areas must be put on the agenda.

They also emphasized the necessity of implementing the agreements signed by the two countries.

Mammadyarov also extended an invitation to Salehi to visit Azerbaijan.

In another meeting, Salehi and Davutoglu explored ways to increase the volume of trade between Tehran and Ankara.

Salehi stated that Iran and Turkey have good cooperation in the regional and international arenas and called for closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Davutoglu said that the trilateral meeting of Iranian, Turkish, and Azerbaijani foreign ministers paved the way for the expansion of regional cooperation.

And Turkey is keen to increase cooperation with Iran, particularly in economic interactions and the area of transportation, he added.

Iran, Turkey open new border crossing

Iran and Turkey opened a new border crossing during a ceremony held in Urmia on Saturday.

The Razi-Kapikoy border crossing is the third border crossing between Iran and Turkey, connecting Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province and Turkey’s Van Province.

Salehi, Davutoglu, and Mammadyarov attended the opening ceremony, which was held on the sidelines of their trilateral meeting.

The Turkish foreign minister delivered a speech during the ceremony, in which he said that the opening of the third border crossing between Iran and Turkey will mark a turning point in the relations between the two countries.

“Today (Saturday) the border crossing will be opened for the traffic of passengers and light vehicles, and will be ready for the passage of heavy vehicles on September 11,” Davutoglu stated.

Strengthening ties with neighboring states in all areas has been a foreign policy priority of Turkey over the past eight years, he added.

Davutoglu also stated that the volume of trade between Iran and Turkey is currently $10 billion and will reach $30 billion in the near future given the fact that a new border crossing has been opened between the two countries.

The Iranian foreign minister also delivered a speech at the ceremony, in which he said that the inauguration of the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing will help increase cooperation between Iran and Turkey.

Tehran and Ankara should make every effort to strengthen their relations, Salehi added.

April 18, 2011
Turkey expects Azerbaijan to lift visas for businesspeople

Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan has said his government expects Azerbaijan to remove visa requirements for Turkish businesspeople to further increase trade between the two brotherly nations.

Speaking at the Turkey-Azerbaijan Business Forum organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in Ankara on Friday, Çağlayan said Turkish businesspeople should be able to travel visa-free to Azerbaijan just as their Azerbaijani counterparts can to Turkey. “We are one nation in two states. Our history, culture, brotherhood, holy book and prophet are the same. Looking from that framework, there is nothing that separates us,” the minister said, adding that the trade volume between the two countries, however, is not reflective of those strong bonds. Last year, Turkish-Azerbaijani trade was recorded at $2.5 billion. Çağlayan said it should be easy to bring this number up to $10 billion. For him, a free-trade agreement between the two nations is a must to that end. In his speech, Çağlayan also gave political messages and underlined that Turkey will never approve any rapprochement with Armenia — which currently occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territories, including Nagorno-Karabakh — before the ongoing issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia is resolved.

Also speaking at the same event, Azerbaijani Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev drew attention to opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy. He also urged businesspeople from both countries to cooperate in third countries.

April 16, 2011