Erdogan assumes the role of Arab reconcilerAnkara openly funds the militants of Syrian opposition and trains them in camps allegedly established for the refugees. October 6, 2012  The recent 4th session of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) became the final one for the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Being re-elected the leader of the party for the third and last time, the PM is heading for the 2014 presidential campaign now. Since the current president Abdullah Gül cannot participate in the presidential race due to health problems, Erdoğan will face almost no real rivals. This is what “entitles” Erdoğan to interfere with affairs of other regional countries and seriously dream of reviving the Ottoman Empire. Non-existent Hungarian economyWill Aliyev's money save Hungarian economy? Or maybe Azerbaijan just teased it with a carrot instead of paying? September 29, 2012  Starting August 31, Hungary has become a target for Armenia's close attention. For quite a while, Armenians wondered how they could sell the murderer, even for a large sum of money. The media reports, blogs and the official website of the Hungarian government and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán present quite a dismal picture of Hungary's economic situation. Iranian-Azerbaijani ties: road to nowhereIlham Aliyev’s hope for U.S. support in case of inadequate moves towards neighbouring Armenia and Iran is quite illusive. September 19, 2012  A number of Iranian opposition activists which have so far been unknown and will perhaps further remain undisclosed, addressed a letter to the U.S. Congress and Department of State saying that they, namely the Iranians, “have realized the great role of Azerbaijanis in the history of their country”. This information was provided by some political scientist, head of Crimean Azerbaijani community Ragim Gumbatov. “Azerbaijani culture is part of the Iranian identity,” the message says. Baku has made it a rule to cite some “political experts”, presenting their statements as the ultimate truth. Ankara gets another “surprise” from FranceFrench students will hardly miss the opportunity to learn true history of Ottoman Empire, while Ankara again compromised itself. September 1, 2012  Poor knowledge on legislation and governmental system of other countries played a mean trick on Turkey and, unfortunately, on Armenian media as well. The decision of the French ministry of education, which has nothing to do with the country’s president, to include study of the Armenian Genocide into the secondary school curriculum, sparked a new splash of hatred towards France in Ankara. Turkey met this move with an immediate rebuff, and this is not the first case. The Turks seem to be just busy finding fault with the whole world over the Armenian Genocide. Summit amidst looming war and economic crisisIn view of Egypt’s key status in the Arab world and Iran’s position in the region, the warming ties between the two states will indeed influence the general geopolitical situation in West Asia and North Africa. August 29, 2012  The 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement kicked off in Tehran. The summit is interesting enough since it is being held amid global instability worldwide and especially in the Near East. The situation in Syria will be perhaps the key issue of the summit; Iran supports Assad’s government and believes that Western intervention into Syrian affairs will detonate the region - actually, this is almost true.  Adjara: another fake project of SaakashviliHowever good-looking Batumi’s downtown may seem, it falls short of the tourism center president Saakashvili keeps talking about. August 24, 2012  Adjara, like the whole Georgia, is perfect evidence showing that the Armenian-Turkish border should not be opened. Actually, Georgia always lacked developed light industry, and the available industries are now privatized by Turkish and Azerbaijani businessmen. Egypt as mirror of “Arab spring”Being a Copt in Egypt, a Druze in Syria and just a Christian in Tunisia, Algeria and Libya is quite dangerous. August 15, 2012  Christians have never been welcomed in Egypt, and in other Near Eastern countries either. Commonly, this is not the case with Armenian communities, except for Egypt, perhaps. Still, with Islamists coming to power, the Armenian communities may face serious problems. “Kurdish spring” looming over Near EastIndependent Kurdistan won’t consider Ankara, Baghdad or Damascus; it has everything it needs – the oil, the key advantage in the Near East. August 13, 2012  The “Arab spring” is gradually transforming into the “Kurdish spring”; at least this is what the recent frequent clashes between the Turkish regular army and the Kurdish population of Syria, and, to some extent, Iran, resemble now. Apparently, the Kurds realized that the current mess in the Near East may aid them in creating independent Kurdistan and thus taking control over oil flows not only from Iraq but Syria as well. Azerbaijan may pay too much for opposing IranAzerbaijan made the first move by sidelining the Iranian NIco company, participant of Shah Deniz consortium from the planned pipeline projects. August 11, 2012  Baku is playing with fire, in the firm belief that the West will back Ilham Aliyev if the latter openly confronts Iran, and may even turn a blind eye to the lawlessness prevailing in Azerbaijan – “the most tolerant and democratic country of the region”. Azerbaijan has recently declared itself the strategic partner of the U.S., with certain encouragement by the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Baku Richard Morningstar who mostly engages in advocating U.S. interests in the Caspian region. International Arbitration Court to consider Iran’s claim over S-300 missiles against RussiaIran’s lawsuit just aims to “provide Russia with judicial grounds to resume cooperation”. August 4, 2012  Russian analysts believe that Iran’s almost $4 bln claim against Russia, to be considered in the International Court of Arbitration shortly, is a vivid example of the incompetence of the Russian officials who form the foreign policy in the East. |  Most popular Switzerland being filled with wealthy citizens of Kazakh origin  One of the most prominent Kazakh citizens, who found refuge on the shores of Lake Geneva - Victor Khrapunov and his family.Catholics of the world awaiting new Pope Current state of Catholic Church is not enviable: pedophilia and homosexualism accusations, banking machinations are not adding to people’s respect.Azerbaijani-Turkish gas ambitions In the light of deteriorating Russian-Azeri ties TANAP might be viewed as an attempt to be turned into a Nabucco project. Other articlesSociety: Armenia’s stance on anti-tobacco law Arts & Showbiz: Golden Apricot: festivities for Yerevan and its guests IT & Telecom: Employers and job seekers: how to find each other  Interviews News from the sectionUN chief hails China's peacekeeping efforts Ban said China has provided more peacekeepers than all the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council.Iran's Guardian Council approves presidential election result Hassan Rouhani won the election by taking nearly 51% of votes. Since he won more than half, that eliminated the need for a runoff.Friends of Syria to meet in Doha on June 22: French official Assad's forces aim to retake Aleppo, where they have been mired in a bloody stalemate with rebels for nearly a year. |
