ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Jan 4 2005

NKR and RA Ministers of Foreign Affairs discuss the issues of
deepening bilateral relations

Robert Kocharyan: The year of 2004 was peaceful, stable and fruitful
for Armenia

Arkadi Ghukasian: the year of 2004 was successful for NKR

Ambassador of Iraq to Azerbaijan: Sending Armenian peacekeeping
forces to Iraq not to change the position of official Baghdad
regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

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NKR AND RA MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DISCUSS THE ISSUES OF
DEEPENING BILATERAL RELATIONS

YEREVAN, January 4. /ARKA/. NKR and RA Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Armen Melikyan and Vartan Oskanian discussed the issues of deepening
relations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs. According to
RA MFA Press Service Department, the parties exchanges opinions about
the issues of bilateral interest. Taking the protocol on cooperation
between the MFAs of NKR and RA as the basis, the Ministers discussed
the issues of even more profound development of relations. Melikyan
who has taken the positions recently, introduced the main directions
and tasks of NKR MFA emphasizing that their activity will mainly
target at achieving international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh. In
particular, the necessity of activation of mutual contacts was
emphasized. The Ministers drew the attention to the current situation
around the conflict settlement and the negotiations process in the
framework of OSCE group. It was noted that the attention of the
international community to the issue enables to more profoundly
introduce tasks targeting at realization of rights to
self-determination of NKR people. A.H. -0–

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ROBERT KOCHARYAN: THE YEAR OF 2004 WAS PEACEFUL, STABLE AND FRUITFUL
FOR ARMENIA

YEREVAN, January 4. /ARKA/. The year of 2004 was peaceful, stable and
fruitful for Armenia, as stated in the RA President Robert
Kocharyan’s New Year greeting, according to RA President’s Press
Service Department. Accomplished works provided for significant
economic growth, which translates into new jobs, according to the
president. This is a difficult but the shortest road toward
prosperity for our country and our people. Kocharyan noted that to
have a qualitatively new country we must work hard. `Social
polarization in our country is still deep. The number of our citizens
living in poverty is still large. It means that the process of
reforms must continue, and the cornerstone of this process is the
rise of living standards and fight against poverty. To achieve these
goals we have developed a mid-term plan of action, which is being
implemented persistently’, he said. According to Kocharyan, results
of the accomplished works in this passing year will be noticeable
already in 2005. In a number of areas we plan a significant increase
of salaries. The state budget has a qualitatively new structure,
where shares allocated to health care and education are substantially
augmented. In the sphere of foreign affairs important has been
involvement of Armenia in the European `New Neighborhood’ initiative,
as the President stated. This fact underlined the readiness of the
European Union to build special relations with our country.
Cooperation with our partner-foreign states has been enhanced, and
Armenia has continued active participation in international
processes.
According to Kocharyan, Armenia-Spjurk relations have been further
advanced and he distinguished `One Nation-One Culture’ first Armenian
festival, which was performed enthusiastically. `Allying with the
`Hayastan’ All-Armenian Fund the Armenians of Diaspora managed to
collect a considerable amount of money to conclude construction of
the Karabagh’s North-South highway. This is an important step in
strengthening the factual independence of Karabagh – independence,
which is nonnegotiable’, he said. The President also emphasized that
our Armed Forces in the passing year have become even stronger and
assured that the year of 2005 will be more productive for Armenia
`and there are all the preconditions for it’. A.H. –0–

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ARKADI GHUKASIAN: THE YEAR OF 2004 WAS SUCCESSFUL FOR NKR

STEPANAKERT, January 4. /ARKA/. The year of 2004 was successful for
NKR, as stated NKR President Arkadi Ghukasian in his New Year
greeting. `We were not affected by political and social upheavals.
Due to the reforms conducted, a stable economic growth is recorded in
the country, and the volume of production has grown’, he noted.
Ghukasian drew the attention to the fact that the economic growth
brought to gradual increase of the welfare of NKR people and to
improvement of their social conditions. Ghukasian reminded that in
2004 the government of NKR managed to increase the salary of
personnel working in budgetary funded organizations and to increase
the volume of aid to most needing strata of the society: families of
missing soldiers and those perished in the Karabakh war, invalids,
war veterans, and large families.
As it was particularly stated in the greeting of the President,
beginning from the next year the government will begin building
apartment blocks for socially unsecured families. `The size of
pensions will increase as well as that of other social payments.
Also, salary of the personnel working in the sphere of healthcare,
education, culture and sport will increase’, he noted.
The state budget of NKR for 2005 envisages 30% growth of expenditures
for social purposes. Ghhukasian noted that in 2004 the basis was put
for rapid completion of the construction of the North -South highway,
which is of high strategic importance for Artsakh for strengthening
its military, economic and national security. `The unprecedented
success of the TV marathon is considered by me as a disposition of
trust by Diaspora in the reforms introduced in social-political and
social-economic spheres, and in the measures taken to build civil
society in Artsakh’, he said.
Ghukasian noted that `for the last year our army became even stronger
and its military efficiency increased’. `The problems of the NKR Army
of Defense, including those of social character, have been and will
remain in the center of attention of the government. The power of our
army enables us to pursue successful foreign policy to advocate our
interests in the international arena. I assure you that any attempts
of Azerbaijan to break the rhythm of our people will be repulsed by
the NKR Army of Defense’, as stated in the greeting of the President.
A.H. -0 –

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AMBASSADOR OF IRAQ TO AZERBAIJAN: SENDING ARMENIAN PEACEKEEPING
FORCES TO IRAQ NOT TO CHANGE THE POSITION OF OFFICIAL BAGHDAD
REGARDING THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

YEREVAN, January 4. /ARKA/. Sending Armenian peacekeeping forces to
Iraq will not change the position of official Baghdad regarding the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as stated by the new Ambassador of Iraq to
Azerbaijan Arshad Omar Ishmael when commenting the decision of the RA
NA to send military contingent to Iraq, according to TREND. “Many
peacekeeping forces may arrive in our country, but it will not
influence of our general policy’, he said. According to him, the
decision of RA NA to send 50 peacekeepers to Iraq was taken after the
military operations. `Armenia is willing to participate only current
processes to restore peace. There is a Surah in the Koran stating
that `those who declare Jihad for the sake of conquesting Mecca are
above those who did it later’. I do not believe that those who got
involved in the struggle to save Iraq and those who did it later
would be treated simultaneously. In any case, those who came first
are important for us’, he said. The diplomat drew the attention to
Iraq’s always supporting the position of Baku in the issue of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. Official Baghdad is for the
solution of the problem only `in the framework of the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan’. `During the last discussions in UNO we
voted for the project of resolution developed by the Azerbaijani
side’, he reminded. The Ambassador noted that that policy would be
pursued in future as well.
To note, so far there is no Embassy of Iraq in Yerevan. `This is a
very important fact and Azerbaijan should take it into account.
Interests of our friends have an important place in our foreign
policy’, he said. A.H. -0 –