Armenian Bread Price Set For Further Rise

The price of bread in Armenia looked set on Friday to soar further following the Russian government’s decision to ban all grain exports because of a severe drought that has devastated crops across Russia.

I Believe You Will: Mammadyarov and Davutoglu Discussed Karabakh Conflict

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov hopes that his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu will take very useful initiatives in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reports Azerbaijani news agency Trend.

“Turkey is highly respected in the international arena, and therefore I believe that Ahmet Davutoglu will take very useful initiatives in the Karabakh settlement”, Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference following a summit of Turkic-speaking countries.

The summit was held in Bodrum town in western Turkish province of Mugla on Thursday bringing together foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Armenian Firefighters Leave For Russia

On August 4, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had a phone conversation with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The Armenian President once again conveyed condolences over human losses as a result of large-scale fires on Russia’s territory.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that the Armenian people is well aware of the importance of friendly countries’ support in such situations and offered assistance of the RA emergency response services in extinguishing fires and elimination of their consequences.

The two Presidents agreed on involvement of an Armenian emergency response group in the struggle against natural disaster, the RA President’s press service reported.

Turkish Ambassador To Russia Reaffirms Karabakh Pre-Condition

Ankara will take relevant steps to normalize relations with Yerevan as soon as there is progress in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and as soon as the situation is changed, said Turkish Ambassador to Russia Khalil Akinji, reported by Azerbaijani news website 1news.az.

“In 1993 Turkey decided to close the border with Armenia due to the Karabakh issue. If we understand today why the border was closed, then it will be clear why it cannot be opened,” said he.

Further Mr Akinji said that Ankara would not normalize relations with Yerevan unless the Karabakh pre-condition is met.  Read more... (143 words)

Belarus Promises To Recognize Abkhazia, South Ossetia: Medvedev

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has promised to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.

Mr Medvedev was cited by RIA Novosti news agency saying that Lukashenko made the promise in the presence of several Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders,

He told media in Sochi that Russia would like other countries to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia but this will “not be a goal in itself.”

“We are interested in their recognition. But this is not a goal in itself. No such task has ever been set,” Medvedev said.

On Minsk’s position on this issue, Medvedev said Lukashenko had earlier declared plans to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia “very shortly.”  Read more... (142 words)

Russia Vague On Missile Sale To Azerbaijan

Russian defense officials made on Monday conflicting statements about reports that Moscow plans to sell sophisticated air-defense systems to Azerbaijan that could affect the balance of forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Interfax news agency quoted on Monday an unnamed “high-ranking source” from the Russian Defense Ministry as calling the report “nonsense.” “Today, the supply of Russian S-300s to Azerbaijan is impossible for primarily political reasons,” he said, pointing to the unresolved Karabakh dispute.  Read more... (573 words)

Armenia-Iran: Common Goals, National Interests

In light of international sanctions imposed on Iran as well as speculations about a possible preemptive strike on the Islamic Republic, it is in the national interests of Armenia not to allow a war in the region. It is this interest that might explain a boost in Iranian-Armenian relations.

While a number of Iranian-Armenian economic projects, such as ambitious plans for a railway construction project, construction of large processing enterprises and others, appear to be stalling, political cooperation is becoming more and more tangible.

Experts attribute the new wave of Iranian-Armenian warming primarily to the Karabakh subject.  Read more... (545 words)

Advise to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman: Don’t Aggravate The Situation With Irresponsible Military Statements

Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan’s June 20th interview to “Interfax” has brought about indignation among Azeri media, Armenian Defense Ministry reported.

“The reason is clear. Seyran Ohanyan spoke about Armenia-CSTO, Armenia-NATO and Armenia-Russia military-political and military-technical cooperation, about everything that troubles the authorities of the neighbor country. In his interview Minister Ohanyan spoke about the advantages in the field of military production Armenia enjoys as a CSTO member.

Seyran Ohanyan criticized the policy of the neighbor country targeted at disturbing the military balance in the region and arms race. He noted also that the bellicose statements of Azerbiajan pose a real threat to regional stability and peace.  Read more... (422 words)

Would Azerbaijan Give Up Oil in Exchange For Karabakh?

Despite the statements quite frequently voiced by the Azeri authorities on the possibility of resuming hostilities against Armenia, it is yet extremely premature to speak about prospects of a new war. There are no objective prerequisites in current circumstances that would indicate launch of war in the near future.

Azerbaijan is building its statehood on oil, and oil tariffs nowadays reflect quite positively on main economic indicators. In that view it is highly unlikely that Azerbaijan would go for a cardinal change of situation, especially with most indefinite outcome prospects.

What tangible loss would Azerbaijan suffer in case of resuming the war over Karabakh?

First of all it is Azerbaijan’s appeal for investors in the oil sector, in other words – the only stable base for state construction.  Read more... (723 words)