29 February 2012 — Stop NATO
- Attacks On Syria, Iran Would Overwhelm Armenia With Refugees
- Russian Expert: Azerbaijan’s Territory May Be Used To Strike Iran
- “Nightmare For Invader”: Georgia Is NATO States’ Window To Caucasus
- Georgian Foreign Minister In Israel To Discuss “Regional Security Issues”
- Saakashvili: NATO Afghan Operation Provides Training For Local Conflicts
- Labor Party Calls On Opposition To Demand Georgia’s Afghan Withdrawal
Attacks On Syria, Iran Would Overwhelm Armenia With Refugees
Times.am February 24, 2012
Expert: “Armenia should support stability in Iran”
Armenia will not manage to overcome the flow of the refuges from Iran and Syria if a military struggle is started, Gagik Harutyunyan, head of the scientific-educational foundation Noravanq, announced concerning the issue during a press-conference today.
“Our economy is not ready to accept 50-60 thousand refugees from those countries”, Harutyunyan said during the meeting with journalists.
According to him, Armenians in Iran feel they are treated well and have official protection. Armenian cultural values are protected in Iran and this speaks about the Iranian good attitude towards Armenia.
In this context the politician underlined that Armenia should support stability and be against military actions.
At the same time the expert is sure that the key of the Iranian problem is in Syria. He considers that Iran will lose if the West manages to repeat the Libyan scenario also in Syria.
Harutyunyan underlined that Iran is also able to pursue a flexible policy despite insufficient resources.
Speaking about Azerbaijani actions in case of a war in Iran, Harutyunyan noted that official Baku would first of all think how to save itself and would leave the Karabakh conflict alone.
The expert also underlined that Azerbaijani calls for Iran to mediate in the NK issue are just propaganda as everyone knows the strained relations between Tehran and Baku.
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Russian Expert: Azerbaijan’s Territory May Be Used To Strike Iran
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/95896/
PanArmenian.net February 27, 2012
Russian expert: Azerbaijan’s territory may be used for striking Iran
Azerbaijan’s Milli Mejlis held debates on amending the Constitution and renaming the country the Republic of Northern Azerbaijan, a Russian expert says.
“Supporters of this idea insist that today’s Azerbaijan is just a part of the Azerbaijani state that used to exist before and was divided by Russia and Iran in the 19th century; they claim two thirds of this state still remain within Iran’s territory, and this is historic injustice,” said Alexander Krylov, chairman of the Scientific Society of Caucasian studies experts, leading research scientist of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations according to Analitika.at.ua.
“Apparently, Tehran views such statement as a bellicose action and a direct challenge to Iran…”
According to the expert, in case of a military resolution of the Iranian issue U.S. and Israeli politicians are insisting on for many years, Azerbaijan’s territory may be used for striking Iran.
“In this case, the current propaganda against Iran is likely to be a part of preparation for this scenario. The U.S. may attempt to use Azerbaijan as a new version of the Afghan “Northern Alliance”; also, in case of large-scale changes in the borders and establishment of new countries in the regions (i.e. Kurdistan), Azerbaijan may receive vast territories,” the Russian expert stated.
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“Nightmare For Invader”: Georgia Is NATO States’ Window To Caucasus
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24497
Civil Georgia February 29, 2012
Saakashvili: ‘Georgia Window to Europe for Caucasus’
Tbilisi: President Saakashvili said in his annual state of the nation address on February 28, that Georgia was “a locomotive to the future” and “window to Europe” for the Caucasus region.
“Georgia’s historic choice is the West, but the Caucasus is also our region. There is no long-term security for Georgia without security in the Caucasus. So we will continue active efforts for common Caucasian development and we will always be actively engaged with the Caucasian people,” Saakashvili said.
“Georgia firmly supports the principle of inviolability of borders, however we see the Caucasus undoubtedly as a single united region,” Saakashvili said.
“Our enemy is irritated by Georgia because for the first time in hundreds of years Georgia has created an example of modern statehood in the Caucasus, which amounts to a nightmare for the invader, because it could never imagine it happening; that’s why it is choking up with anger,” he said.
“Not only Georgia is a locomotive for the Caucasus into the future, but we are also a window to Europe for the Caucasus, because the modern, non-corrupt, fast-developing state has emerged in the Caucasus, the state which will have free trade with the U.S. and the EU and visa-free travel with the EU,” he said.
He also added that Georgia would be “the example of development” for the Caucasus, which will share all of its achievement with the rest of the region. “That’s something that Georgia’s enemy can’t swallow,” Saakashvili said.
After that he spoke of Tbilisi’s willingness to improve ties with Moscow, offering to unilaterally lift visa rules for the Russian citizens.
In 2010 Georgia introduced 45-day visa free travel rules for those Russian citizens who reside in Russia’s North Caucasus republics.
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Georgian Foreign Minister In Israel To Discuss “Regional Security Issues”
http://rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=44771&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=
Rustavi 2 February 28, 2012
Foreign Minister pays official visit to Israel
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia is paying an official visit to Israel. Grigol Vashadze has already been hosted by President of Israel Shimon Peres and discussed bilateral relations, and the political and the economic situation in two partner countries.
The sides also discussed regional security issues.
Within the visit, Georgian Minister will also hold meetings with the speaker of the Knesset and the foreign minister of Israel.
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Saakashvili: NATO Afghan Operation Provides Training For Local Conflicts
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1997878.html
Trend News Agency February 28, 2012
Georgian Parliament honor memory of victims of war in Afghanistan N. Kirtzkhalia
Tbilisi: The annual address of the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili in Parliament began with a minute of silence in honor of 15 Georgian military killed in Afghanistan. Saakashvili suggested that MPs, members of the government, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia to commemorate the victims by standing.
“The names of the military will be inscribed in golden letters in the history of Georgia,” Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili noted that participation of the military in the operation of NATO in Afghanistan is strengthening Georgia and its armed forces.
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Labor Party Calls On Opposition To Demand Georgia’s Afghan Withdrawal
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24493
Civil Georgia February 28, 2012
Labor Party Calls on Opposition to Demand Georgia’s Afghan Withdrawal
Tbilisi: The opposition Labor Party called on political parties in Georgia to sign a declaration that would demand withdrawal of 935-strong Georgian force from Afghanistan, which the authorities plan to further increase by sending an additional battalion this year.
“The parties, which will not sign this declaration and will be in favor of presence of Georgian troops in Afghanistan, will be worse than Saakashvili is and the blood of Georgian soldiers will be on their hands,” Giorgi Gugava, political secretary of the Labor Party, said on February 28.
The declaration says that President Saakashvili’s administration uses the large contribution to the ISAF for its own political purposes trying to secure the support of the West “to maintain his authoritarian rule” in Georgia, which is “discrediting Western values among the population.”
Georgia has lost fifteen of its soldiers in Afghanistan – all of them in the Helmand province in the south of the country.
The most recent fatalities were reported last week when three Georgian soldiers died as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on February 21.
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President Saakashvili said on February 25 that those who were against of Georgia’s contribution to the NATO-led operations in Afghanistan “are footmen of Putin and of Russia.”
Asked whether he would downscale or increase Georgia’s ISAF contribution in case of coming into power, Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the Georgian Dream opposition coalition, responded in his recent interview published on February 27: “We should be proud of being partners of such states like the U.S. and other NATO members. This partnership requires our country to fulfill this mission in dignity.”
“The necessity of whether to decrease or increase our military contingent [in Afghanistan] will be considered, but we will not stop aspiring towards the Euro-Atlantic space. On the contrary, we will intensify and accelerate it,” Ivanishvili said.
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One of the parties, which is likely to join the Labor Party’s declaration, is Free Georgia, led by former Conservative Party co-leader Kakha Kukava, which says that Georgia’s military presence in Afghanistan is “absolutely unjustified”.
The New Dark Age 