PAPER CALLS FOR ARMENIAN PRESENCE AT BAKU-HOSTED NATO SEMINAR

Hayots Ashkarh, Yerevan
23 Oct 04 p5

As it is known on 25-26 November the Rose-Roth seminar will take place
in Baku. NATO member-countries as well as the associated members and
invited countries will send their delegations to it. The seminar will
discuss regional security issues. Our country has not yet decided
whether to send its parliamentary delegation to Baku, but in
Azerbaijan threats have already been made in connection with the
Armenian visit. The deputy chairman of the National Assembly, Vaan
Ovanesyan, comments on this situation.

(Passage omitted: Ovanesyan explains that NATO Parliamentary Assembly
organizers such seminars and recaps the agenda of the Rose-Roth
seminar in 2000 in Romania, attended by Armenia)

(Hayots Ashkarh correspondent) Mr Ovanesyan, are you aware of the issues
that will be discussed at the seminar in Baku? Can we miss out on
anything important if our delegation does not take part in the
seminar?

(Ovanesyan) I know that the seminar will discuss security issues in
the South Caucasus region. Very significant issues for our country
will be on the agenda of the seminar. In particular, the role of the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen in finding a peaceful solution to the
Karabakh issue will be discussed. The participants in the seminar will
also discuss regional stability. It is obvious that in Baku any
discussion regarding regional problems cannot but touch on the
Karabakh issue. For this reason I don’t quite see how the Armenian
parliamentary delegation can be absent from it. I think that it is
early to talk about the details, but it is probably time to make a
decision at the National Assembly level on whether to send a
delegation to the seminar. As an associated member-country, Armenia
should have a permanent delegation. I don’t think that we should not
take part in the seminar or that something could thwart us.

And if Azerbaijan, as the host-country, thinks that it is the one to
decide whether Armenia or any other country should participate in the
seminar, it is very much mistaken. When an Armenian military
delegation was not allowed to take part in the Azerbaijani-hosted NATO
exercises, NATO cancelled them, despite all the expenditure. I think
that any Azerbaijani attempt to thwart our participation in the
Rose-Roth seminar will again meet NATO’s harsh counteraction.

(Passage omitted: reiterates the point)