United States Congressional Armenian Caucus leaders hail Armenia’s peaceful, democratic transition

May 12, 2018 By administrator

Congressional Armenian Caucus leaders congratulated the people of Armenia on the nation’s democratic transition this week, joining legislators from around the world in congratulating newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and pledging support for closer US-Armenia ties,

“Over the past several weeks, Armenia has overseen a remarkable change in government through peaceful and democratic means,” said Congressional Armenian Caucus Founder and Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ). “The Armenian people strongly expressed their desire for a free, open and fair democracy and it is imperative that the United States stand with Armenian people and the newly formed government. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to provide whatever support is necessary to our friends in Armenia during this transition and to strengthen the ties between our nations.

Fellow Caucus Democratic Co-Chair Jackie Speier (D-CA), who is of Armenian American descent, concurred, noting, “The Armenian people should be congratulated for their successful and peaceful Velvet Revolution. They have shown the world that they can demand less corruption and more accountability from their government and win. I look forward to working with Armenia’s new prime minister to strengthen US-Armenian ties and help make Armenia’s government fairer, more just, and more democratic.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) hailed the May 8th parliamentary vote for Prime Minister, noting, “I am gratified by the peaceful transition of power in Armenia and look forward to strengthening US-Armenian relations with the new government.”

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff (D-CA), who also serves as Vice-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, congratulated Prime Minister Pashinyan and noted, “After a turbulent period of mass protests and political upheaval, Armenia has emerged with a new government and new hopes for the future. While Armenia continues to face many threats and challenges, this peaceful revolution gives Armenia the opportunity to tap the full talents of its people and chart a promising new course. I will continue doing everything I can in Congress to help Armenia succeed in its remarkable reformation.”

Central Valley Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) explained that “With the peaceful and democratic transition of power in Armenia, we see that the Armenian people have spoken and demonstrated which direction they want to move their nation — onwards. I am hopeful and look forward to continuing to develop and strengthen the relationship between the United States and Armenia. When the time is appropriate, I believe we should extend an invitation to the new Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, to come to the US and meet with Congress.”

Earlier in the week, US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert congratulated Nikol Pashinyan as the new Prime Minister of Armenia and stated that the US “look forward to working closely with the new government and with the people of Armenia on the many areas of shared interest between our countries, including increasing trade, working in support of democracy and rule of law, and safeguarding regional and global security.”

Deepening ties with the United States will remain among the fundamental directions of our foreign policy – Artsakh president

March 15, 2018 By administrator

Deepening ties with the United States and Artsakh

Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. As the Information department at the President’s Office reported, the President met with a group of members of the foreign affairs committee, discussed issues related to the Artsakh-US relations, the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict settlement and regional trends.

Subsequently, a reception devoted to the 30th anniversary of the Artsakh Movement was held in the Congress.

In his speech the President highlighted the meetings organised in the supreme legislative body of the United States, noting that they too enhanced the degree of responsibility in the course of carrying out hard and painstaking work, further deepening and developing bilateral relations.

“I am optimistic – it will be definitely so, for we consider the United States a friendly country, a state which has become second homeland for millions of Armenians. I am optimistic because we have here devoted, sincere and honest friends, who have been standing by Artsakh for many years, supporting our people, providing objective information about our country worldwide. We rate high our friendly ties, considering them precious assets”, stressed the Artsakh Republic President in his speech.

Bako Sahakyan noted that the support rendered by the American people to Artsakh was greatly acknowledged in the Republic of Artsakh, with the House of Representatives, the Senate, our congressman and senator friends having a special place and role in this process.

The President accentuated Washington’s considerable contribution in maintaining peace and stability in our region, in peaceful and just solution of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict.

“Cementing and deepening ties with the United States of America have always been and will remain among the fundamental directions of our foreign policy”, underlined President Sahakyan.

The President handed in Artsakh Republic high state awards to a group of U.S. congressmen and senators for supporting Artsakh and their tangible contribution to the development of Artsakh-the USA relations.

United States warns Turkey against S-400 purchase from Russia: Report

February 27, 2018 By administrator

This picture taken on May 7, 2017 shows the Russian S-400 air defense missile systems driving during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by AP)

The United States has reportedly warned Turkey against the consequences of its decision to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries from Russia, saying Washington could slap Ankara with sanctions over such a purchase.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an American official expressed concerns over Turkey’s plan to buy the Russian S-400 missile system, saying the purchase would potentially expose Turkey to a new sanctions law recently passed by Congress, according to the Turkish daily Haberturk.

Moscow and Ankara finalized an agreement on the delivery of the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems on December 2017. The deal has drawn concerns among some of Turkey’s NATO allies who claim the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

The US official further said that the potential acquisition of the missile systems would “negatively influence the interoperability of NATO,” the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization to which Turkey is a member.

The official also said that Washington was seeking to “help Turkey find a better alternative to meet its air defense needs.”

Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke out against the language of threats regarding its purchase of the S-400 systems.

“We do not use and will not accept the language of threats. Yes, the US Congress adopted a law [on anti-Russia sanctions]. But we need to ensure our national security. We would like to purchase the means to ensure it from our allies,” Cavusoglu said during a press conference with his American counterpart Rex Tillerson on February 16.

The US State Department has previously threatened to apply “appropriate measures” against countries willing to purchase advanced weaponry, particularly the S-400 missile defense systems.

On August 2, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) that imposed sanctions on Iran, Russia and North Korea.

The latest threat of sanctions come amid tense relations between the US and Turkey over Washington’s support for the Kurdish militants in northern Syria. Ankara views those militants as terrorists linked with the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has been fighting for autonomy.

Ankara launched a military campaign against US-backed Kurdish militants on Syrian soil after the US said it would set up a 30,000-strong militant force at Turkey’s doorstep.

Armenian defense minister to attend the UN peacekeeping conference in Vancouver

November 12, 2017 By administrator

Armenian defense minister Vigen Sargsyan

Armenian defense minister to attend the UN peacekeeping conference in Vancouver

The delegation headed by Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan will pay working visit to the United States and Canada on November 12.

As the press department at the ministry reported, Minister Sargsyan will first visit Los Angeles to hold meetings with representatives of the Armenian communities and Diaspora structures. The Armenian delegation will next visit Vancouver, Canada to attend the 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial conference slated for November 14-15

10-Year Journey of Deepening Radicalism Turned Paris Brothers Into Hardened Killers

January 17, 2015 By administrator

New York Times Special Report,

In the year after the United States’ invasion of Iraq, a 22-year-old pizza delivery man here couldn’t take it anymore. Sickened by images of American soldiers humiliating Muslims at the Abu Ghraib prison, he made plans to fight United States forces in Iraq. He studied a virtual AK-47 on a website. Then he took lessons from a man, using a hand-drawn picture of a gun.
It was an almost laughable attempt at jihad, and as the day of his departure approached, the delivery man, Chérif Kouachi, felt increasingly unsure of himself.
“Several times, I felt like pulling out,” he later told investigators. “I didn’t want to die there.”
A decade later, Chérif Kouachi, flanked by his older brother Saïd, no longer had any reservations, as the two black-clad jihadists, sheathed in body armor, gave a global audience a ruthless demonstration in terror.
Walking with military precision into the guarded Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, they killed 12 people in the name of Allah. Then in the hours before the brothers died in a gunfight with police, Chérif took a call from a reporter, to make sure the world knew they carried out the attack on behalf of Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen.
Much remains unclear about the brothers’ lives. But thousands of pages of legal documents obtained by The New York Times, including minutes of interrogations, summaries of phone taps, intercepted jailhouse letters and a catalog of images and religious texts found on the laptops of Chérif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly, an associate who would later synchronize his own terror attack with the Kouachi brothers, reveal an arc of radicalization that saw them become steadily more professional and more discreet.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/world/europe/paris-terrorism-brothers-said-cherif-kouachi-charlie-hebdo.html?emc=edit_na_20150117

Turkey and United States Conspire to Issue April 24 Statements

June 11, 2014 By administrator

By Harut Sassounian
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

While it is not surprising to learn that Turkey and the United States have coordinated their official declarations on the Armenian Genocide, recent revelations have confirmed their shameful behind-the-scenes schemes.

In a speech delivered in Australia late last year, former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans revealed for the first time that the State Department regularly conferred with the Turkish Embassy in Washington on the content of the US President’s annual April 24 statement on the Armenian Genocide.

This clearly reflects the degree of collaboration between Turkey and the United States on the genocide issue, and even more appalling, American officials’ succumbing to the gag rule imposed by a denialist regime!

The American-Turkish collusion on the Armenian Genocide issue was recently corroborated by Deniz Kahraman in the Aydinlik Turkish newspaper, revealing that the two governments jointly drafted the statement that Prime Minister Erdogan issued on April 23, 2014. He offered condolences to Armenians, Turks, and others who died from various causes during World War I, thus equating the deaths of Turkish soldiers with Armenian Genocide victims.

Basing his information on unnamed diplomatic sources, Kahraman wrote that the White House had been fully aware of the content of Erdogan’s statement in advance of its release. In fact, the Turkish Prime Minister’s text was prepared with U.S. input and finalized by officials in both countries. It appears that the initial text was prepared by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, after which the White House made some modifications, “based on U.S. sensitivities” on this issue. On April 21, the Turkish Foreign Ministry forwarded the final text to Prime Minister Erdogan’s office which released it to the public on April 23.

Kahraman also revealed that in return for accepting U.S. modifications of Erdogan’s statement, Washington offered to block the pending Armenian Genocide resolution in the Senate, after its adoption by the Foreign Relations Committee in early April.

Aydinlik reported that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has personally followed since last year the Armenian Diaspora’s preparations for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey is reportedly evaluating its countermoves, which include convincing the Armenian government to revive the comatose Armenian-Turkish protocols, while simultaneously energizing the mediating efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group to resolve the Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict through public diplomacy.

According to Aydinlik, Ankara is evaluating its plans on how best to counter Armenians who are pursuing their demands from Turkey through three separate channels: “legal, political, and public opinion.” Kahraman reported that a serious political rift emerged last June between Turkey and the US, after which Washington started pressuring Turkey to take more resolute steps on the Armenian Genocide issue and normalize relations with Israel. To appease the United States, the Turkish Prime Minister issued a statement on April 23, on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Aydinlik also reported that the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in favor of Turkish denialist Dogu Perincek had strengthened Ankara’s hand in international circles. However, Washington wanted Turkey to be more accommodating on the Armenian Genocide issue. That is why Turkish and US officials orchestrated the release of a public statement by Erdogan on April 23, right before Pres. Obama’s own statement on April 24.

It is therefore not surprising that State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki had high praise for Erdogan’s April 23 statement, describing it as a positive step that would pave the way for improved relations between Armenia and Turkey. Unbeknownst to the public, the State Department was in fact praising a statement that it had helped draft.

While Turkey and the United States are playing a dishonest game of publicly supporting each other’s privately orchestrated statements on the Armenian Genocide, Foreign Minister Davutoglu let the cat out of the bag by announcing in Parliament that Erdogan’s April 23 message of condolences was part of the Turkish campaign to undermine Armenian efforts to commemorate the Centennial of the Genocide.

Finally, I wish to remind all those who have wrongly claimed that Erdogan’s April 23 message was an unprecedented pronouncement by a Turkish leader, almost 90 years ago, on June 22, 1926, Pres. Kemal Ataturk made a truly bold statement in an interview with the Los Angeles Examiner: “These leftovers of the Young Turk Party who should have been made to account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly driven en masse from their homes and massacred….”