Washington hosts conference on “Kurdish Role in New Middle East”October 31, 2013 - 11:56 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Kurdish political leaders from Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq were joined on Oct 28 by a broad cross-section of the Washington foreign policy community at an all-day conference on the “The Kurdish Role in the New Middle East.” The conference, the first ever organized in Washington by the U.S. office of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the leading pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey, was held before a capacity crowd in the National Press Club, Asbarez reports. An Armenian delegation headed by Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Hagop Der Khatchadourian attended the conference and also held consultations regarding prospects for increased cooperation with several political leaders and other key Kurdish stakeholders. “We welcome this inaugural BDP conference in Washington, DC and the opportunity it afforded for meaningful dialogue about Armenian Kurdish cooperation, Western Armenia and Kurdistan, and, more broadly, the realization of the national and democratic aspirations of the Armenian and Kurdish nations,” said Der Khatchadourian. The program covered four panels, and featured a robust exchange of views from a broad array of Kurdish viewpoints. The topics covered were “The Kurds in a Changing Middle East,” “The Kurds of Syria and their Vision for the Future,” “The Imrali Peace Process: Can Turkish-Kurdish Relations be Re-Made?” and “The U.S., Turkey, and the Kurds: Towards a New Vision.” Among those participating were the Co-Chairman of the BDP, Selahattin Demirtas; Nazmi Gur, a prominent BDP Parliamentarian; Karwan Zebari, representing the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq office in Washington, DC, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, James Jeffrey; and prominent journalists Cengiz Candar and Amberin Zaman from Turkey. Related links: Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. |