The Caucasus press review (October 28 – November 4)

By Vestnik Kavkaza

In anticipation of the Vilnius summit of "Eastern Partnership" of the European Union, which, among other countries, officially invited Azerbaijan, it is of particular relevance for the country to understand its foreign policy priorities. On the basis of current political realities,they were described by the editor of the newspaper "Baku Worker,” Rahman Hajiyev.

Azerbaijan, the author writes, never stated that its ultimate goals were joining the European Union or any further European political and economic union; however, the priority for the country has always been the achievement of European standards in many areas where Europe has succeeded. Back in the 1990s, Azerbaijan has acceded to a number of institutions (such as the Council of Europe), taking on clear commitments; the country is systematically implementing European standards. This is done not for the sake of some promised benefits, but simply because it is in the interest of the country, and it reflects its deliberate choice .

However, the journalist continues, the country faces serious challenges of geopolitical and economic natures which remain unresolved, and the main problem is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia. Today, Azerbaijan without any association agreements quite successfully implements an energy strategy to diversify its supplies of hydrocarbons to the world , including the European markets. The country continues to cooperate with the United States and the international security forces to combat terrorism, simultaneouslymodernizing the army in line with NATO standards.

However, this should not be regarded by some politicians in Brussels and other European capitals as an invitation to intervene in the internal affairs of the country. Any creation of supranational forms of management or union of states implies reciprocity. Still, it is hard to believe, the author writes, that Europe is ready for this kind of "sacrifice" for the countries of the former Soviet Union, the purely didactic tone with some blackmail notes, which in recent years has increasingly been used by politicians and some business corporations with interests in the area of the "Eastern Partnership," which makes one wonder about the benefits of accelerated economic integration of the Ukrainian scenario.

The author acknowledges that there are still few alternatives to this process, but political developments in Eurasia all the time open up new opportunities. For example, the Customs Union in the format in which it exists today can hardly be seen as a real alternative to the European model, but recent events surrounding this association mean a serious rethinking of the role, criteria and the prospects of this institution. If today the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko does not hesitate to declare that, as for Armenia entering the CU, its members will have to reckon with the opinion of Azerbaijan, and in Russia, there are loud voices saying that, in its relations with its neighbors, it is time to move from "imposing" and thinking of "besieged fortress" to equal partnership , we can expect some changes in the scenarios of regional development initiated by Moscow.

According to the publication's editor, whether the West likes it or not, this possibility cannot be completely disregarded. It is necessary to take into account the fact that the Azerbaijani exports to Russia are quite significant , and any economic preferences in this matter arealways relevant. In addition, Russia is linked with Azerbaijan, besides the common past, by quite noticeable present situation- Russia is home to the largest Azerbaijani Diaspora .

Finally, as for the issue of Nagorno- Karabakh, as it is considered to be in Azerbaijan, it is very much dependent on Russia. The issue, according to theauthor , could turn out from a stumbling block to a new driver of the development of both bilateral and integration processes in the Eurasian format . The main thing is to help "find the key" to its solution, the author concludes .

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Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus Allahshukur Pashazade met with Hakob Indzhigulyan, the Armenian servicemen who crossed the line of contact in the Aghdam section of the front and was captured in August of this year. According to the newspaper "Yeni Musavat" and "Echo", the spiritual leader met with the prisoner at the request of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II. The sheikh asked about the confinement conditions of the prisoner of war and treatment in the prison. Indzhigulyan told that he found himself in the territory of Azerbaijan not because he was lost; he did it deliberately, because in his homeland he was beaten and forced to work during the holidays.

It is reported that the meeting was also attended by the Archbishop of the Diocese of Baku and Azerbaijan's Russian Orthodox Church Alexander Ishein, head of the Community of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan Melik Evdayev and leader of the Catholic community in Baku Vladimir Fekete . Because of a lack of authorization from the International Committee of the Red Cross, journalists were not allowed to attend the meeting.

Looking back, at the signing of the declaration on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2010 in Baku at the World Summit of Religious Leaders "Globalization, Religion ,Traditional Values", the head of the clergy of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia undertook to provide mutual assistance in solving the problems of the prisoners of war.

Earlier, Secretary of the State Commission on prisoners of war, missing in action and the hostages Shaheen Sailov said that Hagop Indzhigulyan had appealed to the Azerbaijani government for the transfer to a third country .

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The Armenian newspaper "New Times" reported that the Armenian MPs after a heated discussion adopted in the first reading the draft law "On Employment", which proposes to abolish the granting of unemployment benefits in the amount of 18 million drams (approx. $ 44) sending these funds to the creation of jobs and programs to retrain those who are really looking for a job.

The publication reports that the views of parliamentarians on this point were quite different. Some believe that the scrapping of unemployment benefits would be a radical, but correct move, which marks the transition to the creation of jobs. Others believe that it was necessary to first create jobs, and then only to cut unemployment benefits. As for programs of retraining, it 's not a hindrance, logically, a person can receive benefits and at the same time retrain. However, in the course of the discussion it became clear that in practice the situation is much more complicated , people sometimes attend courses for retraining only for the sake of scholarship not to to use the fruits of the courses.

In this context, the question arose about the interest of recipients to find work. The view was expressed that the availability of benefits deprives a person of motivation to find work. One would agree with this statement, the author believes, not considering the amount of the benefit far from the subsistence level. Engaging in parasitism with the money without risk to life and health is almost impossible.

Moreover, it turned out that 90 % of those who got benefits actually do not need them. Responding to a question by radio "Liberty" about who is responsible for the dissipation of resources allocated to unemployment benefits, whether there was an investigation and whether anyone was punished for it, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that, in his opinion, there is no need to search for the guilty,and it is needed only to replace the inefficient mechanisms by the effective ones. The problem, he said, is that social security institutions borrowed from western countries do not always work in the Armenian reality. "We had our institutions , which , in addition to the vulnerable sections of the population, were used by financially affluent segments, and we have to introduce the institutions which primarily would be aimed at addressing the issue of protecting the poor and socially vulnerable people", the Prime Minister said.

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"The Voice of Armenia" newspaper published in Yerevan in the article “Diaspora helps us" tells how in 2003 the members of the Armenian Association of Marseille and located in the same city Euro-Caucasian Congress of Cardiologe, which unites doctors ofArmenian descent working in cardiology clinics in different countries, though of the idea to create a new cardiac center in their homeland.

Both organizations have been cooperating with Armenia a long time. The publication says that after the establishment of "Nork -Marash" clinics in Yerevan in 1993 , the doctors of these associations have started to help the new medical center with the organization of advanced training and equipping with modern equipment But the organization of modern cardiac surgery at the medical center as well as the emergence of new cardiac clinics in Yerevan, could not solve the problem of emergency cardiac care for the whole of the republic, as in case of a heart attack a patient needs surgery within the first 6 hours, and the delivery of the patient to the capital, especially in complex roads and in winter, could be prohibitively long .

Therefore it was decided jointly with the Armenian national fund to build a cardiac surgery center in the city of Goris in the Zangezourarea, equipping it with modern equipment. The physicians of the center with the assistance of the Association of Armenian Cardiologists have been trained in the best cardiac centers in France .

Today, the article says, the cardiac center is fully functional . It provides all the necessary operations which cardiac patients are in dire need of in the nearby areas.

Cooperation with foreign nationals after the creation of the Goris Medical Center has not stopped. French cardiologists, members of the Diaspora, frequently visit the clinic in Goris, consult people, assist with further technical equipment and create conditions for continuous professional development of specialists.

In addition, every two years, the association holds in Armenia the Armenian Congress of Cardiology. This year, the forum was attended by 220 cardiologists from Armenia, France, Russia and other countries. The organizers of this congress were the Ministry of Diaspora and the Ministry of Health.

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As it was said in an interview with the newspaper "Kabardino -Balkarian Pravda" by the head of the republic Arsen Kanokov, the tourism and leisure are considered by the authorities of the region as an important and high-grade sector of the modern economy able to give a powerful impetus to the development of the republic, and, just as importantly, to create a positive image of the region. Elbrus area is a mecca of tourism since the Soviet era, and the wealth of the republic is spas and healing waters known far beyond the republic. A.Kanokov said that in accordance with the concept of the development of tourist and recreational complex of the republic, 11 zones with different levels of development promising from this point of view were identified. Recreation complex "Elbrus" was considered to be the most promising one, in connection with which almost 80 % of all funds allocated from the federal budget of Kabardino - Balkaria in the framework of the federal target program "South of Russia" were sent to the implementation of infrastructure projects here .

Looking ahead, A.Kanokov also reported that in the Zolsky region of the republic on the northern slope of Mount Elbrus it is planned to develop ski tourism - there will be a new ski resort there - and healing, using the Narzan springs. They are already working on the creation of modern system of coordination of tourism activities and developing long-term programs for the development of tourism.

The area of Gil- su on the northeast slope of Mount Elbrus is also considered to be promising for the development of the leisure industry. Its advantages include proximity to the resorts of the Caucasian mineral waters (85 km to the Kislovodsk ), the ability to create up to 200 km of slopes with a large difference in altitude and a long winter season with good snow cover. The attractiveness of the area is also due to the presence here of unique mineral springs, which will enable creation of spa resort which has no analogues in the world.

For the development of tourism infrastructure in this year, the construction of the road Kislovodsk — the Narzan valley - Gil- su - Elbrus will be completed, which will connect the ski area with the popular health resorts of the Caucasian mineral waters and become a kind of axis of travel. The cost of the road by the federal target program "South of Russia (2008-2013) " amounted to 2.1 billion rubles. The plans include the construction of the road Malka - Ingushli , which will rise even higher in the mountains.