Turkish Forum

Month: October 2008

  • Novruz Mammadov: “Medvedev’s initiative on meeting of Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents will be productive”

    Novruz Mammadov: “Medvedev’s initiative on meeting of Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents will be productive”

     

     
     

    [ 21 Oct 2008 19:00 ]
    Baku. Lachin Sultanova–APA. “Russian President’s initiative may be productive”, Novruz Mammadov, Head of International Affairs Department of the President’s Office told APA exclusively, while commenting on statement made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Yerevan on trilateral meeting of Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian Presidents to be held in Russia soon.

    Mammadov stated that Russian President passed such decision after negotiations with Armenian President in Yerevan.
    “If Russian President proposes officially, we will take concrete position. Everybody understood occurrence of conflicts, threat after developments in August in the region and whole world. Everybody understands that the conflicts should be solved to leave all threats behind. I think from this point of view that Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be solved. Armenian side should demonstrate wisdom and decisiveness and take constructive position for the solution to the conflict”, he said.
    Touching upon the Armenian President’s statement “Armenia is ready to continue negotiations on the basis of “Madrid Principles” that allows solving the self-determination of Nagorno Karabakh”, Mr. Mammadov stated that the Armenian president had made a statement meeting his interests: “He made such statement no to be charged by his people, voters and partners. “Madrid Principles” are not the principles forming the international law. If we talk about the international law, territorial integrity of a country is the top issue. Madrid negotiations also envisage this factor. However, the Armenian president talks about these principles as he wants. Of course, we will never consent to this. As President Ilham Aliyev has stated, Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be solved within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity only. And the issue of self-determination of Armenians residing in Nagorno Karabakh can be considered only within this framework. Today, whole world understands it. The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is recognized by all countries of the world, including Russian Federation. This conflict has no other solution variant.”
    Touching upon the information regarding Russian President’s statement on withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and deployment of Russian troops instead, official the President’s Office noted that no discussions were conducted with Azerbaijan in this regard:
    “One cannot even talk about the deployment of any forces in the territory of Azerbaijan without permission of an official Baku”.

  • Kurdistan region president to visit Iran on Wednesday

    Kurdistan region president to visit Iran on Wednesday

    PUKmedia    2008-10-21   19:55:49

    Kurdistan region president Massud Barzani heading a senior political delegation will visit Iran on Wednesday, a close source from the delegation told PUKmedia correspondent.
    The several-day visit is upon an Iranian formal invitation. Reinforcing bilateral relations between both sides and discussing conditions in Iraq and the area would be discussed during the visit.

    Barzani would meet with top Iranian officials including the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Larijani, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, and  Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili.

    The accompanying delegation would include representatives of the Kurdistan region political parties namely: Fadhil Mirani, representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Arsalan Baez, representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Salaheddin Mohamed Bahadin, representative and general secretary of the Kurdistan Islamic Union(KIU), Kadir Aziz, representative and secretary general of the Kurdistan Toilers Party (KTP), and Fouad Husain, head of Kurdistan region presidency office.

  • Arson attack on Turkish embassy in Finland

    Arson attack on Turkish embassy in Finland

    PUKmedia       21-10-2008      19:04:06
     The Turkish Embassy in the Finnish capital of Helsinki was burned in an arson attack, PUKmedia correspondent in the city reported.
    In the early morning attack on Tuesday, the fire spread indoors before it was extinguished by fire fighters and an embassy worker was treated for inhaling smoke, the source added.

    Helsinki Police says they have detained four men on suspicion of the attack, indicating that after investigations with these suspects they are thought to be affiliated with the PKK.  

  • U.S. diplomat in Ankara on Turkish-Kurdish talks

    U.S. diplomat in Ankara on Turkish-Kurdish talks

    PUKmedia       21-10-2008    19:12:55

    A top U.S. diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, has arrived at Turkish capital to hold talks with the country’s officials over the PKK problem and the developments of recent Turkish- Kurdish meetings, Turkish news agencies reported on Tuesday.

    Fried met the undersecretary of the foreign ministry, Ertugrul Apakan, CNNTurk reported.

    Bilateral U.S.- Turkish relations, the fight against PKK, as well as the new process in relations between Turkey and the “Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq” are expected to be among the issues topping the agenda in the contacts, Turkish officials was quoted by the Media sources as saying.

    U.S provides Turkish military intelligence information on the whereabouts of PKK guerrillas in the mountainous Qandil on the border between Kurdistan region and Turkey, where PKK is believed to operate against the Turkish forces.

    Also, U.S has urged Ankara in the past to hold direct talks with KRG and Baghdad to discuss the problem of PKK, a call refused by Turkish government until the recent meeting of Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani with Turkish special representative to Baghdad Murat Ozcelik.

    The visit comes hours after the Turkish foreign minister announced his country would start holding dialogue with U.S and Iraq to draw plans for ending PKK issue in “northern Iraq”

    Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Monday Turkey is considering three-way consultations with Iraq and the United States for fresh measures to purge PKK bases in neighboring Iraq.

    He added this trilateral mechanism is not a format that can substitute bilateral mechanisms Turkey is separately carrying out with the United States and Iraq.

    Fried is expected to depart Turkey later in the day.

    Relevant to the newly building relations between Erbil and Ankara, PUK representative to Turkey on Monday revealed that a high level Turkish delegation would visit Erbil in a near future to hold talks with the Kurdish officials, as a completion to the previous meetings took place in Baghdad.

    Bahroz Gelali, PUK representative told Kurdistani Nwe newspaper the delegation may be headed by Turkish government representative Murat Ozcelik, but did not elaborate.

    -kurdsat.tv-

  • Medvedev in Armenia for economic talks

    Medvedev in Armenia for economic talks

    YEREVAN, Armenia, Oct. 21 (UPI) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Armenia Tuesday as the country struggles with oil infrastructure and energy imports.

    Russia said earlier it had pulled out of development of an oil refinery in Armenia. Igor Levitin, the Russian transport minister, said Moscow investors are no longer interested in developing a 35 million-barrel-per-day refinery because of the high cost of oil processing, Trend Capital News said Tuesday.

    Armenia lacks domestic oil production, leaving the country reliant on Iran and Russia for energy imports. The country imports about 7 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Russia each year and converts Iranian gas to electricity to trade back to the Islamic Republic.

    The U.S. Energy Information Administration said the domestic consumption in Armenia is completely dependent on imports.

    Territorial disputes over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which Armenia occupies, have brought difficulties to the country economically.

    Though Medvedev said his country was interested in brokering an agreement of the territories, his prime objective was to ease regional repercussions from the global economic crisis.

  • Russian, Armenian leaders to talk trade, energy, Caucasus

    Russian, Armenian leaders to talk trade, energy, Caucasus

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will discuss trade, energy and conflict in the South Caucasus with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargisyan (pictured right), at talks in Armenia on October 21, a Kremlin official said.

    Bilateral trade grew 13%, year-on-year, in the first eight months of 2008 to reach $536.5 million, the Kremlin said earlier. Russia is a leading trade partner of Armenia and is one of the biggest investors in the country’s economy, with accrued investment from Russia topping $1.6 billion from 1991 to July 1, 2008.

    The parties will also focus on joint energy projects and the industrial development of uranium deposits in Armenia, the official said earlier.

    At their talks in the capital Yerevan, the presidents will also discuss the situation in the South Caucasus following Russia’s brief war with Georgia, and other pressing international issues.

    In September Armenia and other countries in the post-Soviet alliance Commonwealth of Independent States announced their support for Russia over its conflict with Georgia, but stopped short of recognizing the two provinces.

    Ex-Soviet Armenia is itself locked in a bitter territorial conflict with Azerbaijan.

    Armenia receives most of its gas from Russia.

    The tiny Caucasus nation has high unemployment and widespread poverty. Its economic problems are aggravated by a trade embargo, imposed by neighboring Turkey and ex-Soviet Azerbaijan since the dispute over Nagorny Karabakh.

    Russia has a military base in Gyumri in Armenia.

    Source: RIA Novosti