YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Referring to statements made Wednesday by Turkey’s Army Chief of Staff calling for the simultaneous resolution of the Karabakh conflict and the Armenia-Turkey border opening, the head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Parliamentary bloc Vahan Hovanessian said that Turkey was not going to back away from setting pre-conditions in the negotiations process.
In his remarks [...]

LOS ANGELES–Dan Kimber, a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District, recently authored a commentary piece in the Glendale News Press criticizing the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) for being “un-American,” implying that the organization, with deep roots in the United States, was “out of step with the professed ideals of this country.”
There are several prejudicial, [...]

Reactions inside Turkey to its rapprochement with Armenia have been mixed since the two countries issued a joint announcement on April 22 that they have agreed on a “roadmap” to normalizing their relations, the Turkish Today’s Zaman newspaper reported Thursday, implying that the Turkish-Armenian dialogue may hit a wall due to domestic controversy.

ADELAIDE–South Australia’s Lower House on Wednesday followed the Upper House by passing a motion officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia from the Parliament House.
 
South Australia’s Legislative Assembly passed the motion officially joining “members of the Armenian-Australian, Pontian Greek-Australian and Assyrian-Australian communities in honoring the memory of the innocent men, [...]

Addressing the National Assembly of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Foreign Minister Georgi Petrosian said that the people of Karabakh believe that the details of the so-called “roadmap” signed by Turkey, Armenia and Switzerland last week need to be disclosed.

 
 
 
ANKARA (Combined Sources)–Turkey’s Ambassador to Georgia, Ertan Tezgor, may likely be appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia, reported the tumgazeteler.com website on Wednesday.
But the final decision, as to who is appointed to represent Turkey in Armenia will come after Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian’s visit to Turkey in October, according to Sabina Freizer, the [...]

Gul Says Turkey-Armenia Accord Would Benefit Azerbaijan
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet)–A possible accord to normalize ties between Ankara and Yerevan would benefit Azerbaijan, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said late Wednesday.
The Turkish president told a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus in Prague that the reconciliation efforts are not against Azerbaijan.
The initiatives were also for the [...]

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said Azerbaijan will adapt its policy to the new realities of the region that will be established as a result of the ongoing normalization efforts between Turkey and Armenia, reported the Turkish Today’s Zaman Newspaper.

Russia signed a deal with Georgia’s two breakaway regions Thursday giving Moscow the power to guard their borders–a move sharply criticized by Tbilisi.

ANKARA (Combined Sources)–In a nationally televised address Thursday Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was not possible for Turkey to be involved in any effort that might harm Azerbaijan or its government.
Erdogan said that efforts to normalize relations with Armenian were aimed at establishing peace, confidence and stability in the region, however not [...]

LA CRESCENTA–The Western Prelacy will host a presentation of the recently-published book “Resurrection with Cane and Shoe” by Prof. Harut Barsamian at the Prelacy’s “Dikran and Zarouhie Der Ghazarian” Hall on Sunday, May 3, at 4 p.m. All proceeds from book sales will benefit the “Harut Barsamian Disabled Armenian Students Scholarship Fund” which the [...]