Spezzatura

Lifeline for Kars just across the border KARS - If trade is life, one could easily say the province of Kars in the northeast of the country is slowly losing its will to survive. While Turkey shut its border with Armenia as reparations to that country, the declining living standards, bankrupt economy and migration has left the people of Kars thinking they are the ones being punished. Since the closure of the border with Armenia in 1993, an act of solidarity with Azerbaijan, the city’s economic development was arrested just when it was so close to taking off. The collapse of the Soviet Union had opened many opportunities for the city that borders both Armenia and Georgia, that it believed it was destined to be the gateway to the Caucasus and to Central Asia beyond. Whomever one talks to in the city, an overwhelming desire to see the border with Armenia reopened is often followed with a cautious, "but." Once the hospitable people of this city start opening up though, the "but" becomes less intense. Locals want the border to be opened but their desire for the promised economic advantages are tempered by the possibility of them being accused of being "Armenian lackeys" because of the perception towards Armenians and nationalist pressure that has built up over the years. Kars Kafkas University Department of Economics president, Professor Mehmet Dikkaya, said ethnic divisions also played a part in the way people addressed the issue. "There are four main ethnic groups in the province. There are Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Karapalpaks and Turks," he said, Karapalpaks being a Turkic group with close ethnic links to the Kazakhs of Central Asia. "We can say that Azerbaijanis and Karakalpaks are against any border opening while Kurds and Turks welcome the move," Dikkaya said. He said the province was in dire straits in terms of its economic situation. "Kars has no trade potential. Of the 80,000 who live in the city, half have green cards," he said. Green cards provide free healthcare for the poor. The only sector that keeps more or less creeping along is the traditional sector of animal husbandry, he said, with the industry based on dairy products. Its organized industrial zone is dormant. If the border is opened, Kars will become a center on a trade route and its production sector will pick up. The province shares 325 kilometers of border with Armenia and has two border gates. Average annual loss of trade in $700 million since 1993. If the border opens, Turkish exports will increase by $400 million. If only 20 percent of this passes through Kars, this region will be a paradise," said Dikkaya. He said Turkish goods were widely consumed in Armenia. "According to a recent study of ours, Armenia purchases $100 million worth of Turkish goods a year and all of it go via Georgia and Iran. We have also learned that there is no disapproval of Turkish goods there," he said. Petition The former mayor of the city, Naif Alibeyoğlu, who lost in the March 29 local elections after switching allegiances from the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, to the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said he had collected a petition for the opening of the border during his term in office. "I collected 50,000 signatures in a city with a population of 80,000. The economic life of Kars has been suspended since 1993. As a municipality, we can’t even collect taxes from the locals." He said opening the border was the first step after which all bilateral problems between Armenia and Turkey would be resolved with subsequent steps. The prejudice Armenians feel toward Turks dies once they visit Kars, he said. "They told us they thought we were monsters. My granfather’s grandfather was killed by Armenians. There is no reason to keep bitter memories alive. Dialogue solves everything. Let’s open the border and start trading. The real trade embargo is on Kars, not Armenia, says Kars Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Ali Güvensoy, noting that airplanes from Armenia frequently land in Istanbul, Antalya and other regions. "Turkish goods reach Armenia via Iran and Georgia and are sold more expensively. If there is an embargo, it is on Kars," he said. In explaining the industrial decline of the province, Güvensoy said the foundations of 44 factories were laid but only 23 were completed. "Nowadays, only 18 of them are operational and all 18 are focused on dairy products. There are a meat plant and a cement factory but after they were privatized, many workers were laid off. They will soon privatize the sugar factory," he said. The region’s economy is now centered on public servants, said Güvensoy, and added that most locals had begun to pack up and leave in order to make a living elsewhere. Still, he said, peace had to be established before the border was opened, adding, "We want access to Armenia but we need to make sacrifices and Armenia needs to withdraw from Nagorna-Karabakh." Güvensoy gave the neighboring province of Iğdır and its border gate Nahchivan as an example to what trade could accomplish. "Trade there is booming. If the border is opened, ours will too." Zeki Yağcı, a jewelry salesman for the last decade, wants the border to be opened. "Opening the border will attract investment and create opportunities for local businessmen. There is no commerce to speak of in our city. Iğdır used to be a district of Kars. Now it is a separate province and ahead of us. Why? Because there is cross-border trade there," he said. Businessman Özfer Koçal said the local economy thrived when the border with Armenia was open before 1993. "Closed borders help no one. If there is an embargo on Armenia, it should encompass everyone. There are flights to Yerevan from everywhere. There is trade from Trabzon and Hopa. This embargo is a way of punishing Kars," he said. Koçal also admitted that a certain environment was needed before the border could be opened. "Nagorno-Karabakh, genocide claims and demand for land. If Armenia forgoes these, the doors should be opened," he said. Shoe-shiner Hasan Perinçek sees the economic collapse first hand everyday, he said. "We definitely want the border to open. Here, the state is nowhere to be seen. Animal husbandry is the only way people earn a living. Let Armenia and Azerbaijan settle their own differences. The city is constantly shrinking because of all the economic hardship. The city will soon be empty. There are ’for sale’ signs everywhere. It seems like the city itself is for sale," he said. Calls for caution Shopkeeper Seyhan Karadeniz also wants the border to open. "There is no economy here. Winters are long and living is hard. If the border is opened, business will boom," he said. The fact that Armenians could go to Istanbul by plane while they couldn’t cross the border to Kars was a shame. However, he also said the border could not be opened before the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was resolved. Ahmet Sarar, who has been involved in textiles for the past 40 years, said the city was bankrupt but also noted that the historical animosity between Turks and Armenians could prove uncomfortable if the border was opened. "I have my doubts. If the border is opened, the rich there will purchase land here and their demands will increase. If the Armenians over here behaved, those across the border won’t," he said. The head of Kars’ Association for Supporting Contemporary Living, or ÇYDD, Vedat Akçaöz, who is also a journalist, said during his visit to Armenia he had realized that the prejudices there could be ended easily. "There, the elderly welcomed me and my associates as ’Kardaş’ [brother]. Unfortunately, the young are very prejudicial. A dialogue needs to be established as soon as possible," he said. "There is serious trade between Trabzon and Armenia. What kind of embargo is this? And furthermore, what is important for us is the regional Turkic republics beyond Armenia. We don’t want to be the end of a one-way street. We want to be the gateway to the east," he said. The opening of the border was just one part of a complicated matter, noted Akçaöz, adding that the public needed to be ready for what took place. "If an Armenian comes here and something untoward happened, everything could get even worse. There is that kind of potential here which should not be ignored. We cannot ignore Azerbaijan, the Nagorno-Bkarabakh issue and Armenia’s demands. If the border is opened before these problems are resolved, there will be chaos," he said. ссылка

Во время выборов и перевыборов Буша младшего происходило следующее. Избирателям из неимущих районов Флориды (читай:необразованным избирателям) которые традиционно голосуют за демократов звонили домой и говорили: Эй, гражданина ! Ты сюда не езжай, ты туда езжай. Ваш избирательный участок перенесли. Вот новый адрес. Те садились в машину и пилили полтора часа в поисках "нового участка" только обнаружить здание какого-то заброшенного склада. А к тому моменту когда они наконец добирались до действительного участка, тот уже бывал закрыт. Во время перевыборов творилась приблизительно такая же порнуха. В Огайо звонили домой престарелым избирателям-демократам и говорили: Эй, гражданина ! У тебя водительские права есть ? Нет Тогда даже не парься появлятся у избирательного участка. У всех перед голосованием будут проверять идентификационные документы. (Что конечно было ложью) Потом естественно были страсти, мордасти, судебные иски, контр-иски. Тем не менее они не изменили итогов голосования по стране в целом. adabas и партнеры наверное думают что пропускать избирательный процесс через задний проход это изобретение пост-советской Армении. Так что заимствуя фразу у старого еврея спрашиваю всех армянских революционеров: А кому сейчас лекго ? ©

Вот так плавно, без суеты Армения трансформируется в Израиль Где кошки судятся с собаками, дети с родителями и наоборот - а адвокатов в обществе как грязи. При этом все они хотят жрать ! Кстати, я не уловил причину необходимости дистанцировать адвокатов от государства. Сейчас на дворе не совковые времена когда молодежь шла на юрфак в надежде попасть после диплома в прокуратуру или же подобную кормушку. В наши дни адвокаты могут заработать на жизнь и в частном секторе, хвала Будде.

Крутой таджик завалил 3-х скинов

Russian, Azerbaijani leaders seek broader gas ties Talks between Russia and Azerbaijan on Friday paved the way for a gas supply agreement that may undermine Western Europe’s efforts to reduce their energy dependence on Russia. “We have a very high chance of entering a full-blown agreement” on gas supplies, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told reporters after a meeting with his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. Last month, the head of Azerbaijan’s national energy company met with officials of Russia’s state gas monopoly Gazprom and gave a preliminary pledge to supply gas to Russia from 2010. But details of a potential supply deal remain scant, as both sides have yet to agree on the terms. There has been no indication of the volumes being considered, prompting some analysts to suggest that a deal between the two countries may be little more than a gesture. “Volumes from 2010 can only be tiny. We are talking about very small, symbolic volumes,” said Jonathan Stern, a gas expert at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. “It lays down a marker, which says, we, Gazprom, are interested in importing Azeri gas.” However, any broadening of the deal could yet undermine Western Europe’s efforts to reduce its dependency on Russian gas supplies by throwing into doubt the viability of the US- and the EU-backed Nabucco project -- a pipeline that would run from the Caspian Sea region to Europe, bypassing Russia. But Azerbaijan has so far given only lukewarm backing to Nabucco, which would source gas from the second phase of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field initially -- scheduled to produce gas in 2014-15 -- with hopes that Turkmenistan will join later. The EU depends on Russia for about one quarter of its gas needs, and has sought to diversify its sources. Concerns over Russian imports intensified after a Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute in January left Europe without gas for nearly two weeks. The Nabucco project, however, has stalled amid concerns over its financial viability and whether there is enough gas to fill the pipe. “Medvedev’s goal here is to prevent Azerbaijan from taking part in any trans-Caspian project,” said Alexander Nazarov, an energy analyst at Moscow-based Metropol Bank. Aliyev noted that a deal with Russia would entail little additional investment, because there are no transit countries to traverse, and the pipelines are already in place. Russia’s overtures to Azerbaijan follow a recent souring of relations between gas-rich Turkmenistan and Russia. Russia, which has a virtual monopoly over Turkmen gas exports, angered Ashgabat recently when it announced it was reducing its intake of Turkmen gas because of a downturn in global demand. Turkmenistan then accused Gazprom of causing a pipeline blast last week on its border with Uzbekistan that shut off the Central Asian country’s gas exports. Earlier this week, Turkmenistan signed an agreement with Germany’s RWE, a member of the Nabucco consortium, inviting the European company into the country to explore gas fields and ship gas to Europe. “It’s a shot across the bows,” Stern said of the RWE deal. “It’s a shot that says ‘we are interested in other markets. And if you don’t take the gas you said you were going to take from us, we are going to become increasingly interested’.” ссылка

Russia, Azerbaijan leaders see progress towards gas deal ISTANBUL -Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Friday to discuss a deal on natural gas sales that could undermine the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline "In my opinion we have a very high chance of entering a full-blown agreement," Medvedev told reporters after meeting Aliyev at the Russian leader’s residence outside Moscow. The meeting came after Russia and Azerbaijan's state-run energy companies last month signed a preliminary deal on natural gas sales from 2010, which could remove a potential source of gas for Nabucco. Aliyev said that Azerbaijan hoped to diversify its gas exports. The country currently exports gas westwards through Turkey. "For us... diversification of deliveries and the opportunity to enter new markets is of significant interest... because today Azerbaijani gas is transported in the Western direction," Aliyev said. He said Russia was a natural partner for Azerbaijan because the countries were neighbors and gas export infrastructure was already in place. "There are no transit countries between our countries. There is no need for additional investment to build a gas pipeline," Aliyev said. But both presidents stressed that it would be up to the two state companies involved, Russian gas giant Gazprom and Azerbaijani national energy firm Socar, to make the final agreement. "I am hoping that the talks being conducted between our companies will be successfully completed," Aliyev said. "There are no, and cannot be, any limits to cooperation in the gas sphere on our part." Such a move could have implications for Nabucco, a pipeline project that the European Union has supported in a bid to lessen its dependency on Russian gas supplies. The Nabucco project is seen as a rival to Russia's South Stream gas pipeline designed to annually pump 31 billion cubic meters of Central Asian and Russian gas to the Balkans and on to other European countries, via Turkey. Azerbaijan, along with Turkmenistan, would be a possible supplier of gas for the pipeline. остальное тут

Turkey and Armenia Delay Re-opening the Border On April 16 Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan attended the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Foreign Ministers Council in Yerevan. Following his BSEC meetings, Babacan discussed the recent developments between Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Turkey earlier this month had triggered media speculation that Ankara would deepen its rapprochement with Armenia despite Yerevan's differences with Baku. Some claimed that Turkey might announce the re-opening of its border with Armenia during Babacan's visit to Yerevan (Wall Street Journal, April 2). However, political realities have since diminished expectations for a rapid breakthrough. Concerned that it might lose its leverage on Armenia as a result of any thaw in Ankara-Yerevan relations, Baku raised objections. Moreover, the prospects that Turkey might "betray" Azerbaijan generated domestic uproar against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, with opposition parties and civil society organizations organizing activities to demonstrate support with their Azeri brethren (EDM, April 9). As a result, Ankara took steps to reassure Baku that any Turkish-Armenian normalization would not come at the expense of Azerbaijan (EDM, April 10). After fast-tracking the negotiations with Armenia over the past year, the process has now stalled. Armenia's President Sarksyan further fuelled discussions within Turkey when he reportedly claimed that the border might re-open before his visit to the country in October (www.ntvmsnbc.com, April 10). Responding to Sarksyan's remarks, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan clarified Turkey's position by stating that unless a solution was found on the Karabakh issue, Turkey would not take additional steps toward opening the border (Radikal, April 11). Babacan told reporters on his way to Yerevan, that Turkey was seeking a comprehensive solution to regional problems. He said that efforts to normalize relations must connect the process between Turkey and Armenia with Yerevan's ties with Baku. "We do not say, let's first solve one problem and solve the other later," Babacan added (Today's Zaman, April 17). Babacan's remarks served to reiterate Turkey's position that the re-opening of the border with Armenia must be linked to the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani territorial issues, which he also repeated during his meetings in Yerevan. Babacan held talks with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, part of which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He had separate discussions with Lavrov and Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliev on regional issues (Anadolu Ajansi, April 16). Although the Turkish media claimed that Babacan, Sarksyan, Nalbandian and Lavrov also held a joint meeting, this was denied in an April 17 statement issued by Turkey's Foreign Ministry (www.trt.net.tr, April 17). The Turkish press reported that during his closed talks with Sarksyan, Babacan said that Ankara will not take any steps that might disappoint Baku. The parties also agreed that the Turkish-Armenian negotiations would continue at political and technical levels. Moreover, Babacan reasserted Turkey's continued support for the parallel talks between Sarksyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (Hurriyet, April 17). Speaking to reporters in Yerevan, Guliev repeated Azerbaijan's position that Ankara needs to protect Baku's interests while conducting its rapprochement with Armenia. Any progress, in his view must be conditional, based on Yerevan's cooperation in talks over Karabakh. The Armenian side, however, has resisted attempts to link the two sets of talks. Responding to a question during the BSEC press briefing, although he expressed his hope that the border might be opened soon, Nalbandian noted that no agreement was reached. He also said that the current negotiations for the resolution of the Karabakh dispute was being carried out within the framework of the Minsk process (www.cnnturk.com, April 16). The AKP government places considerable value on Turkish-Armenian diplomacy, which it views as part of its overall policy to resolve problems with its neighbors. The re-opening of the border and the normalization of relations with Armenia will have a symbolic foreign policy meaning for the AKP, showing that its "multi-dimensional" theme justifies closer ties with all of Turkey's neighbors, rather than only prioritizing the Middle East. Indeed, a settlement of the disputes with Armenia will help Ankara remove the Armenian "genocide" claims from the table in its relations with the United States. Despite an internationally favorable environment for the AKP's policies, however, the re-opening of the border will be challenging. Ankara postponed such a politically risky decision, hoping that in the meantime it will alleviate Azerbaijan's concerns. Indeed, since the beginning of the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, Ankara's calculations have hinged on the assumption that it could convince Azerbaijan's government to resolve its own problems with Armenia -removing Baku's veto. However, Azerbaijan appears determined to resist pressures to remove its objections, unless Armenia relaxes its position on Karabakh. Recognizing that both Washington and Moscow remain significant players in the region, Ankara also seeks their support as leverage on Yerevan. Yet, as Turkey attempts to buy time to remove Baku's objections, it risks jeopardizing Armenia's commitment to the talks. The stalling of the process "has left Armenian politicians and pundits questioning the wisdom of further overtures to the Turks" (EDM, April 14). Against this background, the recent agreement between Yerevan and Tehran to construct a railway connecting Armenia to Iran's Persian Gulf was interpreted by the Turkish media as Yerevan's "Plan B" (Hurriyet, April 16). Through such projects Armenia could ease the economic consequences of the Turkish-Azeri embargo, which might undermine one of Ankara's arguments that Yerevan badly needs normalization with Turkey in order to secure access to the outside world. ссылка --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anti-terrorism police raided the Istanbul province headquarters of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) -- Turkey's only legal Kurdish party which is represented in parliament -- in the early hours of Friday morning. The police seized documents and computer hard drives and later detained the chairman of the DTP's regional office, Halil Aksoy. The raid followed a police round-up on Tuesday of about 53 suspected PKK organizers, including three lawyers working for the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The DTP has long been suspected of having ties with the Kurdish separatist group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union. DTP strongly denies the allegations. The sweeping detentions come as Turkey seeks to isolate the rebels, based mainly in northern Iraq. The 25-year-long separatist conflict has claimed over 44,000 lives, leaving a negative impact on Turkey's political and economic development. ссылка

У adabas-а как в той песне: Что нам стоит дом построить Нарисуем, будем жить Есть хорошие законадательные акты. Но к сожалению они только на бумаге. Вот как только заработают механизмы претворения их в жизнь, так Эльдорадо уже будет не загорами.

Беда не только в том что крутят даунские сериалы на которых менты с харощи тхэрк почему то коммуникируют гракан лезвов (и смех и слёзы), сколько в том что этот идиотизм бездумно копируется с рашн ТВ 10-летней давности. Можно подумать Ерку Астх (ещё один россиский самопал) намного лучше. Групповое изнасилование полюбившихся международных хитов которые звучат как будто их исполняют в Тандзашенском доме культуры местные сельчане. Ну и ещё Култур-Мултур Форева. Я конечно понимаю что у них напряг с бюджетом, и что вести передачи в студийном формате намного дешевле. Но ведь и меру надо знать. Ё мoё - в Греции, Италии и Испании вместе взятых не наберешь такого количества культурных програм в ежедневной сетке !

За 35 штук в месяц

Дедок жжет не по децки (где-то в Париже)

Дайте нам эфективную как в Японии исполнительную власть Дайте нам работающие выборные механизмы Дайте нам вежливых как в Люксембурге полицейских Дайте нам предпринимателей-душелюбов, азгасеров, еркри теров которые последнюю почку отдадут конкуренту Дайте нам мудрых, продвинутых, смекалистых политиков/лидеров которых не стыдно показывать вне стен Вартуш тотаи пончиканоца Дайте нам профессионалов в сферу образования которые имеют элементарное понятие о предмете который преподают Дайте нам компетентных врачей/дантистов которые лечат, а не калечат Дайте нам талантливых сценаристов, режисеров, актеров на телевидение. Богатых продюсеров тоже не забудьте дать Дайте, дайте, дайте !!! А откуда их из взять то ? Кто-нибудь задавал себе этот вопрос ?

О чем тогда вообще идут переговоры ? Ильюша и Ко. не видят Карабах вне Азербайджана. Все остальное сотрясение воздуха и разговоры в пользу сирот индонезийского наводнения. А эксперементы с самой большой афтафой автономией пусть проводит в своем родном Нахцыване.

Может он там безуспешно афтафу искал ? По родине, так сказать, затоскавал.

Алтайский чобан под названием Эрдоган грозится вынести на совбез ООН вопрос оккупации Арменией 20 пирасентов. Тем из вас кто не в курсе, в прошлом году Турция была избрана в совбез как не постоянный её член. Страна которая более 30 лет незаконно содержит многотысячный оккупационный контингент на Кипре выдвигает требование вывода армянских частей из Карабаха как предусловие для установления каких-либо отношений с Арменией. Почему бы Нлбо в ответ не потребовать безоговорочного вывода башибузуков с Кипра прежде чем Армения рассмотрит вопрос передислокации своих войск. У Армении глубокое чувство приязни к братскому народу Кипра, автохонам этой земли (в отличие от кое каких монгольских барбаросов). Воть. Сказать, а потом посмореть на рожу министра ИД Турции Бадминтонджaна. Как грица - right back at cha !

К сожалению это дети городского плебса и деревенского быдла кто служат на границе. А дети картвац, заргацац и вообще супер дупер каких продвинутых родителей нередко находятся в бегах от призыва. Знаю одного такого хмыря. Папа доктор/профессор. А половозрелый сынок ждет разменять 3 червонца прежде чем он покажет нос в Ереване. Зато за время пребывания в отарлэндии он сделал себе докторскую степень. Кстати, говорю все это без сарказма. Просто если дети этих людей будут погибать первыми, то нe кто не в праве отказывать им в голосе у избирательной урны.

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, has reported a 90% fall in profits for the first quarter of 2009 The company said net profits sank to 122m euros ($160m; £108m) in the quarter, down from 1.2bn euros in the same period a year ago. The main reason for the slump was a dramatic fall in sales, which were down by almost a third. Nokia is implementing a cost-cutting drive during the economic downturn and announced 1,700 job cuts last month. Sales were down by 27% to 9.28bn euros in the quarter from 12.7bn euros a year ago, Nokia said. This included the proceeds from the sale of 93 million phones. "The macro [economic] environment is causing many people to trade down and purchase lower priced handsets," Nokia boss Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said. 'Getting started' Financial analysts said the results were not as bad as some had feared and Nokia's share price rose almost 9%. "Although their performance was bad, it wasn't as bad as expected," said Neil Mawston at Strategy Analytics. "Everyone talked Nokia down, so there was general relief that things weren't that bad after all," he added. Nokia's share of the global handset market was 37%, down from 39% in the same quarter a year ago, but stable from the fourth quarter. The company has come under increased pressure from smart-phones such as the Blackberry and Apple's iPhone. In fact, Nokia has been criticised for being slow in developing more advanced phones. "Clearly we are just getting started," said Mr Kallavuso, before saying that Nokia aimed to gain a 20% market share in touch-screen handsets. He did not, however, give a timeframe to achieve this goal. Looking forward, the company said the outlook for the mobile phone market was improving. "It is too early to say that end-consumer demand has hit the bottom," said Mr Kallavuso. "But we believe the market is no longer falling in an uncontrolled manner." He did, however, predict that the global mobile phone market would contract by 10% in 2009. ссылка

Russia angered by Nato exercises Russia has asked Nato to cancel or postpone military exercises that it plans to hold in Georgia next month. Moscow's envoy to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, described the exercises, expected to involve 1,300 troops from 19 countries, as "absurd and a provocation". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the exercises would not help develop stability in the Caucasus. Nato says the exercises were planned before last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia. Georgia hopes eventually to join Nato, a move strongly opposed by Russia, which says the alliance's eastward expansion is a threat to its security. 'Impossible' Nato said the exercises, to be held some 20km (12 miles) east of Georgia's capital Tbilisi from 6 May to 1 June, would be non-aggressive and based on a fictitious UN-mandated, Nato-led crisis response operation. "There should really be no element of surprise for anyone," Nato spokesman Robert Pszczel said. "There is no heavy armour involved at all, it's just people." But Russia's ambassador to the military alliance dismissed the claim. "This is absurd and a provocation," Mr Rogozin told the Reuters news agency. "I have asked the Nato Secretary General [Jaap de Hoop Scheffer]... to postpone these exercises or to cancel them." Mr Rogozin said military co-operation between Russia and Nato was still frozen as a result of last summer's South Ossetia conflict and that Moscow's position would not change before a forthcoming ministerial meeting in May. He also rejected Nato's argument that the exercises had been planned last year. "A war is a 'force majeure'," he said. "To hold military exercises in a country where a war has just ended is impossible." The ambassador also said the exercises could be exploited by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in his stand-off with opposition parties, which have recently held a series of mass protests. The opposition accuses him of mishandling the war with Russia, during which Georgia's attempts to regain control of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia were repelled by Russian forces. Under an EU-sponsored ceasefire, monitors were sent to Georgia. But thousands of Russian troops remain in both breakaway regions. ссылка

Хороший такой, незатейливый слив перед визитом Азатыча в Москву. Пускай продают Ильюше все на что покажет пальцем. Посмотрим кто первым моргнет...

Turkey Begins Dig for Missing Kurds By Dorian Jones Diyarbakir, Turkey State prosecutors in Turkey have ordered the excavation of several sites around Turkey that they say may hold Kurdish victims of state death squads from the 1980s and 1990s, a step ahead in efforts to force the country's security establishment to come clean about past abuses. Local human rights groups accuse the security forces of being responsible for more than 1,500 disappearances. There is growing hope that the missing will be found. A search is taking place on land owned by a state oil company for the remains of people believed to be victims of a war waged by the Turkish state against the Kurdistan Workers party, the PKK. For people living in the region they are simply known as the missing. The region's main city of Diyarbakir is where many families of those who disappeared live. Muhlise Adiguzel and her three children moved here from their village after her husband Vehdettin, an activist in Kurdish politics, disappeared one wintry night 15 years ago. "Late one late night we were sitting with relatives then there was banging on the door, and shooting," she said. "Soldiers came in, blindfolded and tied my husband's hands and took him to another room. They then burned plastic on him. Then they took him away. My family petitioned the courts, but they said they have not seen him." Muhlise says a man once did approach her from the state, offering her financial support for her family, if she agreed to be an informer. His advice was chilling: Your husband chose the wrong way, don't make the same mistake. She refused. Instead she, like so many others looking for their loved ones, ended up at the Diyarbakir Human Rights Association. When I visit, another family is waiting to hear if there is any news of their missing husband and father. Despite the office being bombed and numerous police raids and court cases against its members, the association has been at the forefront of searching for the missing for the last 15 years. At present it has 275 open cases. But as its head Mumharem Erbey explains, their search continues to grow. "As far as we know there are 1,500 people missing, but there can be far more. Many people were too frightened to report missing people, and just left the area. But now we are hearing from them because for all these people it is so important to find their loved ones," he said. "In our culture it is so important to have a ceremony to bury your dead. Without it, these people can't mourn. They live in a limbo, unable to move on." The conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish separatists reached its peak in the 1990s, claiming thousands of lives. Retired brigadier general Haldun Solmazturk served for much of the 1990s fighting the PKK. "You have to understand the situation. The very existence of the Turkish state was challenged. You know in the military you are either aggressive or you are losing. So under such circumstances such things - missing persons - could of happened, I can imagine," he said. "If such things happened in the region not only as a former member of the Turkish army but as a Turkish citizen, I would like the Turkish government to use every measure to make sure these cases are fully solved and understood and the perpetrators found. Who ever committed to these crimes, this was not part of a military conflict it cannot not be, as a former professional soldier I cannot never accept that." Solmazturk's hopes could one day be realized. Human rights groups have long claimed that many of the excesses committed in the conflict were carried out by Jitem, an arm of Turkey's military police that human rights groups and local residents in southeastern Turkey blame for many of the killings of Kurds. The Turkish military denies the existence of Jitem, or any role related to the disappearance and extrajudicial murder of Kurds. Now its activities have to come to light as part of a court case. Several of the leading suspects in the case are believed to be former members of Jitem. The 68 suspects are on trial in Istanbul on charges of participating in an ultranationalist network known as Ergenekon that attempted to overthrow the West-leaning government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The ultranationalists oppose efforts by Mr. Erdogan and his government to pursue membership in the European Union. To join the bloc, Turkey is expected to revamp its legal system and make its once-untouchable security forces more accountable, lending impetus to government efforts to resolve claims relating to Kurdish disappearances. Abdurmann Kurt represents the region in the Turkish parliament, and is a member of the ruling AK party. He says the investigation is key to bringing peace to the region. "For giving this feeling that the state is trying to create a justice in society, we need to find things that happened in the past times to find the responsible people of these kind of actions, who behaved not according to the laws and they had done lots of crimes against the society," he said. "If we find the responsible people of these kind of actions, I think this will really give a deep justice feeling to the Kurdish society especially and this will help to solve the Kurdish question, too, I think." The search for the victims has been aided by information in a book published in 2004, by a former member of Jitem, Abdulkadir Aygan, that gave details of 28 murders and the locations of remains. Families of the missing also contributed information to aid the excavations. ссылка

Yes and no. Ираном в данном случае движет скорее прагматичный и долгосрочный застрел. Поскольку они совсем не в восторге от перспективы исчезновения Армении с карты южного Кавказа. Что по дефолту даст возможность для бирмилятчиков наконец слится в икидовлятном экстазе. А это кино персы уже видели по окончании Второй Мировой когда в образовавшемся властном ваакуме иранские гагаши вонзили ножвспину ® своим соотечественникам с кем до недавнего времени ели долма и пили арах. Но недолго музыка играла, Недолго Тофик танцевал Пресловутое Azərbaycan Demokratik Firqəsi продержалось всего 1 год поскольку персы весь их байрам быстренько закруглили. Всю турецкую литературу собрали и прилюдно сожгли. Турецкие радиостанции заглушили. Турецких сексотов захамутали и увезли в неизвестном направлении. В процессе восстановления территориальной целостности несколько десятков тысяч тофиков утромбовали в грунт. И что было совсем предсказуемо, когда иранские танки вошли в Табриз совсем недавние революционеры из местных гагашев уже их встречали с пях пяхами

В продолжение темы визита парламентских джян из Бяки да в Анкяри 'Armenia should leave Azerbaijani territory before Turkey opens its border' A group of Azerbaijani deputies visiting Ankara have stated that before Turkey opens its border with Armenia, Yerevan should withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani territory it is occupying. Emphasizing the notion of "one nation with two states" to highlight the ethnic and strategic links between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the deputies, speaking at a press conference, said, "What Armenia did on Azerbaijani soil should not be forgotten." Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev's advisor Rena Mirzazade said: "We once again recalled here how Armenia occupied Azerbaijani soil and committed massacres in Khocali. We know that Turkey is on our side in our rightful quest and will never abandon us. We met with many people from the government and opposition while in Ankara and believe we were able to convey our message." The delegation of deputies came to Turkey upon an invitation from Şenol Bal, a deputy from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). They were supported at the press conference by Canan Arıtman, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). The deputies, accompanied by Bal, met with President Abdullah Gül yesterday. Their meeting lasted for 45 minutes. ссылка

Babacan: We want Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to win Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said Turkey sees relations between it and Armenia from a broad perspective and that Ankara is looking for a solution in which Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan will all be winners. "As Turkey, we want a solution in which everybody is a winner. We want Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to win," he said on his way to the 20th Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Foreign Ministers Council in Yerevan yesterday. He also said Turkey is seeking "comprehensive and complete normalization." "We don't say, 'Let's first solve one problem and solve the other later.' We want a similar process to start between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We are closely watching the talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he added. Turkish and Armenian officials have been attempting to create a formula for normalizing relations between their countries, but Armenia's dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh looms in the background as a potential deal breaker. Azerbaijan, Turkey's strategic and ethnic ally, has been uneasy with prospects of a rapprochement between Ankara and Yerevan, fearing it will lose key leverage in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute if Turkey opens its border and restarts diplomatic ties with Armenia. Ankara has previously said normalization with Armenia is contingent on a resolution in the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been under Armenian occupation since 1991. A high-level diplomatic source said, "Turkey cares about Azerbaijan's problems at least as much as the Azerbaijanis themselves." The two countries have long boasted of their relationship as exemplary, describing themselves as "one nation with two states" to highlight their ethnic and strategic ties. Azerbaijan's concerns have been fueled by media reports indicating that Turkey and Armenia could reach a deal to open their border as early as this month. But Turkish officials, dismissing such reports, have said the Turkish-Armenian border could be opened in October, when Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan is due to visit Turkey to watch a World Cup qualifying match between the national teams of the two countries. Sources say Ankara will use the time until then to ease Azerbaijan's concerns and insist on progress in international efforts for the resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue before proceeding with efforts to normalize ties with Armenia, even though Armenia rejects any link between the issues. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said yesterday at a BSEC press conference, "Turkey and Armenia have gone a long way toward opening the Turkey-Armenia border, and they will come closer to opening it soon." He said there had been no agreement yet between the two sides regarding opening of the border. Asked about the potential opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliev said the solution to the two countries' problems should be tied to the solution of the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Nalbandian, on the other hand, said the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is being handled through the Minsk Group, created to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1992 and co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France. Asked if Azerbaijan has reservations about Turkey's ongoing talks with Armenia, Guliev said Azerbaijanis believe Turkey will protect their interests. Just as there is ongoing dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, there is also a parallel and ongoing process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Sarksyan and Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev have met three times over the last year. Yesterday Babacan met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Guliev before leaving Yerevan. He also had talks with Sarksyan and Nalbandian. Meanwhile, Russian officials expressed a desire for better neighborly relations between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Through a statement from their embassy in Ankara, Russian officials said, "Russia has been astonished to see media reports about Russia attempting to persuade Baku that normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan is aimed at marginalizing Baku." Russian officials said these allegations are baseless and that they have not changed their foreign policy of promoting stability and peace in the region. ссылка

Mulling Nagorno-Karabakh knot YEREVAN - Ongoing talks between Turkey and Armenia to establish diplomatic ties and open the sealed border will unlikely produce an "immanent breakthrough," according to reports from the foreign minister’s meetings in Yerevan yesterday. This is in contrast to expectations that a major step would be taken ahead of April 24, the day that commemorates the mass killings of Armenians 1915. The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenia in 1993, bore its full weight upon prospects of improved ties between Yerevan and Ankara. At a critical time, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan went to Yerevan to participate in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC, ministerial meeting, where he had bilateral talks with Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani officials. "A negotiation is underway, we are very close to a solution but works are still going on," Armenain Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan stressed at a joint press conference with Babacan and Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliyev at the end of the meeting. Babacan also met with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian before leaving Yerevan late yesterday in a spontaneous meeting where Nalbandian and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ertuğrul Apakan were also present. According to diplomats, Turkish and Armenian officials reviewed the current situation in the talks between the two countries and exchanged goodwill messages to one another. Babacan's message was not only aimed at easing Azerbaijan's concerns but also to reflect the fact that "there would be no an imminent agreement between Turkey and Armenia." Azerbaijan made it clear that they would accept no solution without resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Guliyev said that while Armenia-Turkey relations are those countries’ affairs, talks between the two must be related to the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani problems. "Turkish-Armenian relations had been cut because of Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories," Guliyev said. Turkey had sealed its borders with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan after Armenia’s occupation of mainly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijani territories that link the region to its soil in 1993. Guliyev said he did not discuss the claims that the Turkish-Armenian border would be opened during his meeting with Babacan. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan last week said he hoped that a major agreement could be signed with Turkey before a European cup football game between Turkey and Armenia on Oct. 7. Recognizing the need to match the speed of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations with bilateral talks between Turkey and Armenia, Babacan spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during the conference and urged him to speed up the Minsk Process, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, initiative launched in 1993 to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. "We want a comprehensive solution and full normalization in our relations with Armenia. We want a solution that can make Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia happy," Babacan told reporters on his way to Yerevan. Guliyev said he was expecting developments in Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. "But the process has lasted for so long and we do not have any concrete results. The deadline for us is as soon as possible," he said. Tracing the framework of an acceptable solution for Azerbaijan, Guliyev said that Armenians should eventually withdraw from all occupied territories if an agreement is to be finalized. "Babacan said that in the context of BSEC, these meetings are like 90-minute football matches. But without a goal there is no result. Though we should do the same with our wishes in the context of BSEC," Guliyev said, referring to his bilateral talks with Babacan. "The match is going on for Nagorno-Karabakh, but there is no goal and there is no result," Guliyev said. During Obama’s Turkey visit, the Turkish side conveyed Azerbaijani concerns and introduced the importance of Azerbaijan, he said. Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Ankara said that Russia is committed to the development of a good neighborhood between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms in a written statement released yesterday, the day when Russian President Dimity Medvedev spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. ссылка