Articles from Bloomberg.com, ANP and armtown.com, quoting EuFoA on EU role in Turkey rapprochement.   EU Should Be Guarantor for Armenia-Turkey Ties, Group Says 2009-10-07 09:59:33.950 GMT By Mark Bentley Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union should act as a guarantor for agreements between Armenia and Turkey designed to strengthen the countries' relations, European Friends of Armenia said. The EU "should make sure that the protocols are first ratified by both parliaments, and... Read more

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) is organising a conference in the framework of NATO week in Armenia. The conference, entitled "EU and NATO - how to secure stability for Armenia and the South Caucasus" will take place on Tuesday, 13 October, at 12pm, in Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan - Queen Satenik meeting room (1. Amiryan Street, Yerevan). Registration of participants starts at 11.30am.   The speakers for this event include: H.E. Mr Samvel Mkrtchian, Armenian ambassador to... Read more

The tenth EU-Armenia Cooperation Committee met in Yerevan on 22-23 September, joined by EuFoA's Senior Counsellor, Paruyr Hovhannisyan. The EU delegation was chaired by the European Commission's Director for Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asian Republics, Gunnar Wiegand. A particular focus was the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership initiative, to which both sides confirmed their commitment. The EU pledged an additional €100... Read more

On 17 September Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held discussions on the protocols for the normalisation of relations with Turkey with members of around 50 Armenian political parties. With this the Armenian government wants to fulfil its commitment to publicly debating the protocols.   "By inviting the Turkish President to Armenia and initiating this whole process, my purpose was to open a window of opportunity for the normalization of bilateral relations  between Armenia and... Read more

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) sees a historic window of opportunity in the new roadmap and timeframe for the establishment of diplomatic links and open borders between Turkey and Armenia without precondition. The joint statement released yesterday evening by the two countries reinserts momentum into what could become the first peaceful settlement of a bilateral conflict in the region for many decades.   "If the two governments really manage to pull this through, their Presidents... Read more

Below we provide you with: The joint statement of the Swiss, Armenian and Turkish governments Original protocols agreed during the meeting Statement by Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the CFSP Statement by Lluís-Maria de Puig, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Our press release News articles on the issue Press release by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of... Read more

Azeris who voted for Armenia's Eurovision entry have been questioned by police, accused of being unpatriotic and a potential "threat" to national security.   Below we provide an article from RFERL about the probe.   Azerbaijani Authorities Interrogate Music Fan Over Eurovision Vote For Armenia (Source: Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, http://www.rferl.org/content/feature/1800013.html)   BAKU (RFE/RL) -- It's a simple song competition. Or is... Read more

Today, European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) published its latest policy paper "An EU in change: What effects on relations with Armenia?" on its website www.eufoa.org.   The paper aims at describing and clarifying the role the EU institutions have in shaping EU-Armenia relations. It analyses the current political and institutional changes in Brussels and provides guidance to decision makers and stakeholders on both sides.   "We argue that the train towards an intensified... Read more

An EU troika visit organised by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs concluded its tour of the South Caucasus in Armernia on Monday 20 July, after visiting Georgia and Azerbaijan. The troika was composed of Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister, Karel Kovande, Deputy Director-General and Political Director in the European Commission, John Kjaer, Head of Unit, Peter Semneby, European Union Senior Representative, Paolo Barroso Simoes from the Council Secretariat, as well as Spain's Ambassador... Read more

(Source: http://www.se2009.eu/en/meetings_news/2009/7/18/presidency_statement_on_the_nagorno-karabakh_conflict) The President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, and his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, met in Moscow on the 17 and 18 July to continue negotiations over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev hosted the talks, which aimed at finding a solution for the dispute which has been ongoing since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The discussions are set to... Read more