UNITED STATES AND CAUCASUS ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC STABILITY

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S elec t ed News Fro m C a u c a s u s

- Voices From Free Nations -

September 25

Issue 4

Armenia
September 7, the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian hosted a delegation from the EU headed by the State Minister of Belgium, Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb. Both sides discussed questions concerning creating a unied Europe and assessed 50 years of the working process of the European Movement. In addition, both sides discussed the development process of the EU Eastern Partnership Plan and stressed its importance for multilateral cooperation in the region. Both sides agreed to hold the next European Movement conference in Yerevan. September 8, the Armenian military medical 10-personel unit (ARM AF) left for Budva, Montenegro to take part in the exercise Medceur-2010, organized annually by the US European Command within the framework of PfP. Armenia has been participating in this exercise since 2004. The purpose of this exercise is to help develop the necessary action skills for medical military practitioners and medical units of NATO member states and its partner states for multinational rescue missions. September 9, FM Nalbandian received the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Bernard Fassier, Robert Bradtke, Igor Popov and Andrzej Kasprzyk. The Co-Chairs presented the results of their discussions held with the authorities of the NKR and Azerbaijan in Stepanakert and Baku. FM Nalbandian stated that direct participation of the NKR in the negotiation process would considerably help the settlement process of the NKR issue. Both sides discussed the future steps towards continuation of the negotiations based on the Madrid proposals. September 12, FM Nalbandian received US Deputy Assistant of Secretary of State Tina Kaidanow. During his speech, Nalbandian

Points for Consideration

David vs. Goliath 2nd round
An International Criminal Court began hearing the case Georgia vs. RUSSIA. Will the international community allow precedent where a small country challenges a nuclear super power?

stated that Ar menia gives crucial importance to the process of strengthening cooperation and partnership between the two countries and demonstrated readiness to deepen relations with the United States. Both sides discussed steps to further e n l a rg e A r m e n o - A m e ro re l at i o n s. Kaidanow stated that US is looking forward to continued cooperation with Armenia in the eld of economic development, implementation reforms and fostering stability in the region. In addition, both sides exchanged views over recent developments in the process of peaceful settlement of the NKR issue and regional stability.

Olympic Games + Most Volatile Region = ...

The Olympic symbol, which is the most recognized symbol in the world, is usually held in the place that best represents its symbolic meaning -Peace, Prosperity and Sportsmanship. In Sochi, Northern Caucasus ???

Vision of Caucasus as one

During the 65th session of the UN Gen. Assembly President Saakashvilli spoke on, vision for a free, stable and united Caucasus. What will Russia do if the 7 Northern Caucasus republics follow Saakashvilis vision ?

Temple of Garni
The pagan temple of Garni was constructed in the 1st century AD by King Tiridates I and belongs to the Hellenistic era.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, & Rumania signed $5 billion energy deal.

The deal will allow for the transport of 8 billion cubic meters of liqueed natural gas a year via the Black Sea. Does this deal insure economic gain or political gain? or both together?

Russias military deals in Mideast

Russia formed a strategic military cooperation with Israel and at the same time signed a deal with Syria to supply around 72 P-800 Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles.

September 14, FM Nalbandian received the Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General in Caucasus and Central Asia Ambassador Robert Simmons. During his speech, Nalbandian stressed Ar menias interest in strengthening cooperation with the EuroAtlantic Partnership Council and making all necessary efforts for the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP). Ambassador Simmons stated that the International Exercises on Disaster Response held in Armenia were a very good example of effective cooperation between Ar menia and NATO and expressed hope that the IPAP will create more opportunities to maintain the www.uscadp.org

VOICES FROM FREE NATIONS

CAUCASUS NEWS LETTER cooperation between Armenia and NATO. September 15, FM Nalbandian paid an ofcial visit to Iran to discuss ongoing and prospective bilateral relations between the two countries. The Pr of Iran, Ahmadinejad, and Nalbandian expressed their satisfaction with the developing comprehensive cooperation between their countries. In addition, both sides discussed the process of implementing the bilateral agreements reached during the ofcial visit of the Pr. of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to Tehran in April 2009. Both sides emphasized that the agreements reached during that visit and the signed documents gave a new stimulus to the cooperation between their countries. In the course of the meeting, both sides discussed issues of bilateral relations between their countries and the working process of the Ar menian-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission. During his speech about NKR issue, Nalbandian emphasized the importance of Irans balanced and constructive position. their fresh round of regional shuttle diplomacy in Baku. The mediators said they will remain "particularly active" in the months leading up to the OSCE summit in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, scheduled for December. September 20, Azerbaijan started computer-based military staff exercises. The exercises have been rotated between Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia for more than 10 years. This year they took place at the Simulation Center of the military Academy of the Azerbaijan Armed forces f r o m 2 0 t o 2 3 S e p t e m b e r. 1 2 representatives participated from Turkey, 12 from Georgia and 20 from Azerbaijan. September 22, a meeting between Azerbaijan and Georgian delegations took place in the boundary region of Balakan. The aim of the meeting was to discuss border delimitation. Azerbaijans foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Canada, Dimitris Droutsas and Lawrence Cannon, during his visit to New York. Ministers took interest in the process of the negotiations on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conict, according to infor mation provided by Elmar Mammadyarov. September 24, Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev met with Barack Obama on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The two presidents emphasized the importance of bilateral ties in the elds of economy, energy and security in terms of strengthening the regional cooperation. They also touched upon joint activities of Azerbaijan and the United States in international anti-terror operations. Aliyev reiterated the importance of solving the NagornoKarabakh conict based on the principle of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity. September 28, the Azerbaijani General Prosecutors Ofce and the Investigative Committee of the Prosecution Service of the Russian Federation have signed an

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Georgia
September 6, Speaker of the Georgian parliament Davit Bakradze hosted representatives from the US Congress. Both sides discussed ongoing democratic and constitutional reforms, economic policy and the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia. During his ofcial speech, Mr. Bakradze spoke about the importance of both the US Senate as well the US C o n g re s s l e g a l i z i n g t h e t e r m occupation. September 7, The president of Kyrgizstan, Roza Otumbaeva, praised reforms in Georgia and declared that she would consider Georgian style reforms as a model for her country to follow. She signed an amnesty decree allowing people to return embezzled money from economic crimes with out penalty - the very method president of Georgia Michael Saakashvili used when he came into leadership. September 8, UN Gen, Assembly adopted resolution A/62/L.45, recognizing the right of return for all internally displaced persons and refugees and their descendants. In addition, resolution A/62/L.45 states an urgent need for humanitarian activities in all conict-affected regions in Georgia. The resolution was adopted with 50 votes to 17; compared to a similar resolution in 2008, which had only 14 in favor and 11 against. Later, Secretary General of the OSCE, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, commented on the resolution saying the issue regarding IDPs is important within any international organization, because each refugee should have the opportunity to return to his/her home. September 13, the International Criminal Court in the Hague started hearing the lawsuit Georgia vs. Russia www.uscadp.org

Azerbaijan
September 7, Azerbaijan hosted a national workshop about creating a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity issues, which was organized by the OSCE Baku Ofce. The workshop lasted two days. According to the representative of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, Bakhtiyar Mammadov, Azerbaijan has committed itself to combating the use of the Internet by terrorists. September 9, the US, Russian, and French mediators with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group were in Karabakh on the second leg of a tour of the conict zone. The mediators also attended a monitoring of the cease-re conducted by OSCE eld ofcers. They called for "additional actions necessary to strengthen the cease-re" as they began VOICES FROM FREE NATIONS

CAUCASUS NEWS LETTER that was led on August 12, 2008. In this lawsuit, Georgia alleges Russia conducted, encouraged and supported racial discrimination of ethnic Georgians and facilitated their ethnic deportation from Abkhazia & S. Ossetia. September 15, a gas deal was signed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Romania. This deal would create a new transit rute that will bypass Russia by using pre-existing pipelines as well as tankers via the Black Sea. The deal will cost around $5 billion and would produce 8 billion cubic meters of liqueed natural gas a year. September 20-23, President of Georgia, Saakashvili, left for the 65th session of UN Gen. Assembly. During his speech Saakashvili spoke about his vision - a vision for a free, stable and united Caucasus. In addition he met with the US Secretary of State and leaders of a number of other states including Finland, Lithuania, Croatia, Kyrgyzstan, Honduras. While visiting NY he met with US real estate billionaire Donald Trump to discuss potential investment opportunities in Georgia. As a result, The Trump Organization decided to invest in Georgia and construct a copy of the NYs Trump Tower in Batumi, Georgia. September 5, Grigol Vashadze, the Georgian foreign minister, met with t h e I r a n i a n f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r, Manouchehr Mottaki, in New York on the sideline of UN Gen. Assembly. The meeting was one among a series of other bilateral meetings held in New York by Vashadze. The two ministers discussed bilateral relations and planned a visa-free agreement between the two countries. Other meetings of Vashadze on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly included those with his counterparts from Armenia, Cuba, Bulgaria, Estonia, Japan, Jordan and Uruguay. VOICES FROM FREE NATIONS agreement of cooperation in Baku. The agreement envisages the agencies' cooperation on specic criminal cases and the exchange of experiences and law enforcement activities, including trends in crime and the protection of the rights of Azerbaijani and Russian citizens, as well as regular exchanges of information about domestic legislation.

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resolved their 40 year old maritime border dispute on Wednesday. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the treaty should increase bilateral relations and boost cooperation in the sectors of energy and shing. The importance of this agreement lays in the fact that it will allow for extraction of oil and gas in the region.
Disputed territory of Russia & Norway

Russia
September 9, India and Russia agreed to set up a joint venture to manufacture a military transport plane called MTA. Each side agreed to invest $300.35 million. MTA is expected to make its rst ight some time between 2016-18. The joint venture will ensure continued good relations between Russia and India and will foster binding relations between the two countries. September 6, Russia signed a military agreement with Israel to use joint efforts to combat terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Following the signing of the treaty, Russias Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, announced that Russia will work closely with its partners to produce military drones. His counterpart, Ehud Barak, stated that his country is very pleased that Russia promised not to deliver s-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran while new UN sanctions over its nuclear program are in place. Later this month Russia made another deal with Syria to supply them with 72 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles. Se ptember 9, A suicide bomber detonated an explosive in Vladikavkaz, the capital of N. Ossetia. This was one amongst dozens of other deadly terrorist explosions in the N. Caucasus (Dagstan, Chechnya, N. Ossetia, etc.) in last 2-3 weeks (killing over 100 and injuring over 200 people), the same region where the Russian government is planing on constructing ski resorts to host the 2014 Winter Olympic games. September 15, Russia and Norway

Following the agreement the disputed territory (175,000 sq/klm.) will be divided into two equal parts (RIANOVOSTI)

September 15, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates held a 4-hour meeting to discuss bilateral military cooperation. One of the agreements was the establishment of the US-Russian Defense Relations Working Group which should help achieve transparency in military cooperation between the two countries. This is another important marker on the shift in positions that Moscow and DC have taken towards each other since US President Barack Obama came into ofce. However, issues over the missile defense system in Easter Europe continue to be a source of disagreement. September 21, President of the Russian Federation Dimitry Medvedev and his American counterpart Barack Obama concluded talks concrning Russia-WTO relations. For 17 years Russia has been trying to become a member of the WTO. Russia is the only major economy outside of the WTO. Later, PM Putin made a comment saying that Russia would not concede to any of the WTO demands until after Russia gained admittance into the organization. www.uscadp.org

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SEPTEMBER 2010 counterpart in Ankara. Adm. Mullen praised the Turkish role in Afghanistan and welcomed any additional steps Turkey would like to make towards safeguarding the Afghan capital. Currently, Turkey holds the rotating command over coalition forces in Afghanistan and trains the Afghan army and police force. September 29, during his speech at John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in Boston, FM of Turkey Ahmet Davutolu expressed Turkys condence in the new world order and his countrys foreign policy priorities in that order. He stressed Turkeys interest in normalized relations with Armenia as it did with Syria and Greece. He highlighted several signed protocols in 2009 to emphasize the positive development of the negotiation process started in Switzerland in 2007. Davutolu summarized his speech saying There is need for a new Caucasus based on mutual respect and territorial integrity, and relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be normalized for lasting sound relations" September 16, Istanbul hosted a summit of Turkic-speaking countries (Azerbaijan,

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Turkey
September 2, During an ofcial interview the ambassador of Turkey to the UN, Erturul Apakan, spoke about Turkys rotating council presidency. During his speech he emphasized the importance of the upcoming September 23rd and 27th annual ministerial session meetings. He stressed Turkys primary focus on playing a stronger role in the political settlement of disputes and in implementing peace agreements. In addition, Turkey will also preside over the Security Council meetings on Afghanistan, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and the Middle East region. September 4, The Foreign Ministry of Greece released a statement concerning Turkeys Casus Belli, threat of war in case Greece decides to legally extend its countrys territorial waters from 6 to 12 nautical miles. T his decision came after Greeces parliament adopted a resolution extending its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea to 12 miles, which is legal under both maritime and European laws. September 6, The United States top military ofcer Adm. Michael Mullen held an ofcial meeting with his Turkish

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan). At the summit participants declared their rm will towards promoting peace, stability and welfare within the newly-established framework of the Turkic Cooperation Council (TCC). TCC also provided as an opportunity for t a l k s b e t we e n p a r t i e s ove r e n e rg y cooperation in the Caspian Sea basin (BakuT b i l i s i - C ey h a n c r u d e o i l p i p e l i n e, NABUCCO, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline and a natural gas pipeline crossing over the Caspian Sea). These major energy related projects are essential for stability in the Euro-Asian region. They provide an alternative route for Asian wealth (oil & natural gas) into Europe. In addition, they also serve as an effective tool to unify regional economies.

Turkic Cooperation Council (TCC)

The Turkish Speaking Countries Heads of State and Government Summit began in Istanbul under the auspices of Turkey's President Abdullah Gul. (World Bulletin)

United States and Caucasus

ASSOCIATION

Selected News from CAUCASUS Voices From Free Nations is designed by the Caucasus News Letter Project (CNL) at the Georgian branch of the United States and Caucasus Association for Democracy and Peace (USCA). Reporting news is a privilege and great responsibility that must not be exploited but to be held to the highest standards. CNL intents to present unvarnished news about Caucasus region to the world, because it is a vital key for Caucasus to continue exist in peace while maintaining its cultural uniqueness. USCA is an American independent, nonpartisan nonprofit 501 (c) (3) corporation, dedicated to promoting democracy and economic stability in the Caucasus region. All contributions are tax deductible. USCAs Analysts at CNL Project, daily observe political and economic developments in North and South Caucasus and other peripheries. SPECIAL THANK YOU Tariel Putkaradze, Khatuna Javakhadze, Irakli Silagadze, Teona Alavize, Natalya

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Phone: 904-237-5118 Fax: 904-358-3095 E-mail: infousca@me.com

Chubabria, Roman Giorgobiani, Khatia Jangavadze, Keti Svanidze, Nino Saldadze, Ana Ushveridze for assisting in creating previous News Letters and being part of the USCA team.

CNL Editorial Board: Shota Mkheidze - Author and Project Manager; Joshua M. Cook - Analyst and Editor, Colyn Newton, - Analyst and Editor; and Vaso Kuchukhidze - Analyst and Editor.

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