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State Department
August 25, 2005
Secretary’s Phone Calls: Upcoming Kazan Talks (Taken Question)
Taken Question
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 25, 2005
Question Taken at the August 25, 2005 Daily Press Briefing
Secretary’s Phone Calls: Upcoming Kazan Talks
Question: What did Secretary Rice discuss during her phone calls to
Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian?
Answer: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke briefly this
morning with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President
Robert Kocharian of Armenia.
She did so in order to stress to them the importance that the United
States attaches to their upcoming meeting in Kazan, and to express
our hope that the two Presidents will make the compromises necessary
in order to reach a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Both leaders were upbeat about the prospects for making progress.
The Secretary stressed to President Aliyev the importance of free and
fair parliamentary elections this November in Azerbaijan, and noted
his important role in this.
The Secretary also told President Kocharian she hoped Armenia would
make progress toward enacting a package of constitutional reforms now
before the parliament.
2005/810
Released on August 25, 2005