Armenians refuse to attend regional conference in Azeri capital

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
19 Apr 05

[Presenter] The Armenian delegation will not participate in the TRACECA
[Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia] conference scheduled for
21-22 April. The Armenians have refused to come to Baku. TRACECA’s
national secretary for Azerbaijan, Akif Mustafayev, says that unlike
Armenia, Turkmenistan has not disclosed its position yet.

[Correspondent] The Armenian delegation will not participate in the
conference of the intergovernmental commission of TRACECA member
countries to be held in Baku on 21-22 April. Official Yerevan,
which refused to take part in the event at the last moment, has
sent a relevant note to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, as well as
member states of the organization. TRACECA’s national secretary for
Azerbaijan, Akif Mustafayev, said that this was a deliberate step of
official Yerevan.

[Akif Mustafayev] We are the source [as heard]. We said that they have
not come. I should say openly – maybe their refusal to come is not in
our favour. I do not know that. The future will show. They are setting
conditions, they are discrediting us. Maybe, I should not say something
that runs counter to Azerbaijan’s interests – Armenia has been raising
the issue for several years now in order to close down the permanent
secretariat, i.e. the headquarters in Baku and open it in another city.

They explain this by saying that they cannot visit. They say that they
are full members and still they cannot visit. They have repeatedly
raised this issue and sent official notes. The Armenian Foreign
Ministry sent a note to all states. But they failed.

[Passage omitted: Turkmenistan is tight-lipped about its participation;
details of the conference]