Author: Chakrian Hovsep

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
08/16/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM

1. Armenian Caucus Established in California State Assembly
2. ARF Delegation Visits Southern Lebanon After Cease-Fire
3. Azerbaijan Calls on UN to Reaffirm its ‘Territorial Integrity’
4. Eurasian Scouting Jamboree Kicks Off in Armenia
5. Armenian Soccer Team Gets New Foreign Coach

1. Armenian Caucus Established in California State Assembly

A bipartisan group of legislators Monday formed the Assembly Armenian-American
Legislative Caucus, which is modeled after a similar grouping that has been
addressing Armenian-American issues in Congress, the Glendale News Press
reported.
Co-founded by Assembly majority leader Dario Frommer, a Democrat who
represents Burbank and Glendale, and Stockton Republican Greg Aghazarian, the
caucus aims to address issues of concern to the more than 700,000-strong
California-Armenian community.
"Our intent is for it to be a working caucus and a group of folks who reach
out and educate others," Frommer told the Glendale News Press. "Here in
California we have a large and vibrant Armenian community, not just in my
district, but in Fresno and other places, and we want to bring those folks
together."
Frommer and Aghazarian expressed hope that the California State Senate will
follow suit.
Such a caucus is long overdue, Burbank Unified School Board member and
Democratic candidate for the 43rd Assembly District, Paul Krekorian told the
News Press.
"I’ve been a little surprised that legislators who consider themselves
friends
of the Armenian community did not create one like this years ago," he told the
News Press, adding, "But what matters to most to Armenians is the same that
matters to all Americans: Excellent public schools, good jobs, health care for
seniors and the opportunity to send their kids to college."
Frommer, who currently represents the 43rd District, will vacate his seat
this
year because of term limits

2. ARF Delegation Visits Southern Lebanon After Cease-Fire

BEIRUT (Aztag)–A delegation of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Lebanon
Central Committee visited southern Lebanon Tuesday to assess the damage
following the 30-day old Israeli attack on the country.
Accompanying the delegation were members of parliament Hagop Pakradouni and
Sebouh Hovnanian, who was a former Lebanese minister, as well as members of
the
local Armenian media. The delegation was greeted by the local leadership who
led a tour of the devastated areas.
Also touring the region was Lebanese minister Mohamad Fenaysh, who joined the
delegation in assessing the devastating conditions. Local leaders expressed
their gratitude to the Lebanese-Armenian community–especially the ARF–for
its
efforts in assisting the refugees displaced from the attacks. The Armenian
community also was praised by leaders.
Following a press conference with the Armenian, Lebanese and international
media representatives, the delegation continued to meet with the displaced who
were returning to their homes following the cease-fire.

3. Azerbaijan Calls on UN to Reaffirm its ‘Territorial Integrity’

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–The Azeri government, on August 4, submitted an appeal to
the
United Nations urging the international body to reaffirm that country’s
territorial integrity as it relates to the liberated territories that border
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
Armenia’s representative in the UN Armen Martirosyan told Radio Free Europe
that the document also categorizes Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and
calls on the international community to condemn recent forest fires on the
bordering regions of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
Asbarez has reported that several weeks that, after conducting a full
investigation of allegations that Armenians from Karabakh were setting the
forest fires, the OSCE determined that, in fact, the fires were being set by
Azeris.
Martirosyan announced that Armenia has already submitted its position on the
Azeri appeal and is working with UN-member states. He added that during the
last session of the UN, an agreement was reached that status of
Nagorno-Karabakh would not be addressed with the UN, since OSCE Minsk Group is
continuing its conflict resolution process.
"If Azerbaijan continues to pursue discussions and the matter is placed for a
vote [in the UN] then Armenia has the right to pull itself out of the peace
process," stressed Martirosyan.
The UN representative added that Azerbaijan’s strategy will play a great role
in determining the outcome of this appeal. "If Azerbaijan chooses to push
forward with this matter, it signals that it has reservations about the
conflict resolution process."
In 2004, Azerbaijan attempted–but failed–to address this issue in the
UN, by
alleging that Armenia had adopted a policy to resettle the liberated
territories.
In a November 2004 interview with RFE/RL, Martirosyan said the territories
are
serving as a security belt around Nagorno-Karabakh as a response to what he
called the "war-mongering rhetoric" of the Azeri leadership.
"The issue of those territories cannot be resolved unless there is a
resolution on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and security guarantees are
provided," Martirosyan said.
The then US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Susan Moore said the Minsk
process is the best forum for resolving the dispute. She said efforts
should be
focused on building confidence between the two sides and avoiding divisions in
the General Assembly.
"Azerbaijan is raising specific concerns linked to the situation in
Nagorno-Karabakh," Moore said at the time. "We believe these concerns can be
fully addressed in the existing format. As a first step an OSCE fact-finding
mission could be considered as a means to address this issue."

4. Eurasian Scouting Jamboree Kicks Off in Armenia

YEREVAN–Immediately following the closing ceremonies of the 8th Homenetmen
pan-Armenian Scouting Jamboree in Biurakan, the Homenetmen Regional Executive
of Armenia played host Monday at the opening ceremonies of the Eurasian
Scouting Jamboree, in which 120 scouts from nine countries are represented.
This is the first such jamboree and it is of great significance that it is
being held, for the first time in Armenia.
Represented at the jamboree are scouts from Armenia, Georgia, Russian,
Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Tajikstan, Japan and the United States.
Garbis Kabasakalian, Harout Haroutunian and Vahram Danielian of the
Homenetmen
Central Executive and Manoug Keoshkerian from Syria represented the Homenetmen
at the opening ceremonies. At the close of the event, Kabasakalian presented
Dr. Alexander Bondar, the CIS Representative and a member of the International
Scouting Federation, a memento from the Homenetmen pan-Armenian Jamboree.
In his remarks, Bondar emphasized the important role the Homenetmen Central
Executive and the Homenetmen play in strengthening Armenia and bolstering the
scouting movement there. He added that he always cites Homenetmen as an
example
during his speeches and presentations.
Kabasakalian thanked Bonard and pledged the Homenetmen’s continued
cooperation
with the CIS and International Scouting federations.

5. Armenian Soccer Team Gets New Foreign Coach

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–The Football Federation of Armenia named the new foreign
coach of the national soccer team on Wednesday less than a month before the
start of its qualifying campaign for the 2008 European Championship.
Ian Porterfield, a veteran British tactician, pledged to bring a "good
spirit"
to the team as he was presented to the media after signing an 18-month
contract
with the FFA. "I am looking forward to working here over the next few months,"
he said.
Ruben Hayrapetian, the federation chairman, said Porterfield was chosen
from a
pool of about two dozen foreign specialists that showed interest in the job.
Hayrapetian said the 60-year-old Scot’s experience and track record was
decisive in the selection process. He refused to disclose any financial
details
of the deal.
Porterfield managed the Scottish side Aberdeen in the late 1980s and
England’s
reigning champions Chelsea in the early 1990s before continuing his coaching
career abroad. He has coached the national teams of Zambia, Saudi Arabia, Oman
and Trinidad and Tobago. His last job was with one of South Korea’s leading
football clubs.
Porterfield, who replaces Dutchman Henk Wisman, is the fifth foreigner to
take
the helm of the Armenian team in the last four years. He faces a daunting task
of ending its protracted run of poor results in the European qualifying
competitions. He admitted having little knowledge of the squad, saying that he
last watched its games in 2003.
Armenia is presently only 104th in the worldwide rankings of national teams
that are issued by the game’s governing body, FIFA. It faces Serbia, Belgium,
Finland, Poland, Portugal, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan in Group A of 2008
European Championship qualifying.
The Armenians will open their qualifying campaign against Belgium, one of the
group favorites, in Yerevan on September 6. Few believe that they stand a
chance of qualification.
The competition will see the first-ever games between Armenia and Azerbaijan
that are certain to arouse nationalistic passions in the two countries The FFA
wants the matches, tentatively scheduled for September 2007, to be played in
Baku and Yerevan. The Azeri side, however, is pushing for a neutral venue,
saying that it can not guarantee the security of Armenian players.
A final decision on the issue rests with UEFA, European football’s governing
body. It is expected to be announced later this year or early next.

All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
subscription requests.
(c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.

ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
mass media outlets.

CROP YIELD DECLINES IN KOTAYK MARZ

Noyan Tapan
Aug 16 2006

HRAZDAN, AUGUST 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The harvest is underway in Kotayk
marz. NT correspondent was informed from Karen Margarian, press
secretary of the Kotayk regional administration that this year autumn
sowing was done on 6,000 ha and spring sowing – on 7,000 ha. He said
that in general, this year was not favorable for the agriculture of
Kotayk marz: the crop yield declined, the areas sown with spring
cultured plants decreased by almost half. By rough estimates, in
2006, it is expected to harvest about 11 thousand tons of grain,
7 thousand tons of potato, 8 thousand tons of friut, 500 tons of
grapes and to cut 25 thousand tons of grass. By comparison, in 2005,
the grain harvest made 24 thousand tons, potatoes – 12 thousand tons,
the fruit harvest – 16 thousand tons, grapes – 1.1 thousand tons and
53.59 thousand tons of grass was cut.

Last year, the total amount of agricultural production in Kotayk marz
made 29.4 bln drams. The milk production amounted to 43,750 tons,
meat production – to 8,900 tons and 178.46 mln eggs was produced.

AZERI TV REPORTS MORE FIRES ON ARMENIAN BORDER

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
15 Aug 06

[Presenter] The Armenians who recently started fires in Qazax
[northwest Azerbaijan] have now started fires in several villages in
Tovuz. The fires were extinguished owing to the efforts of the local
population last night. But the danger has not subsided yet.

[Correspondent reporting by telephone] A fire started in Armenia’s
Shamshaddin [Idzhevan] District at about 2000 [1500 gmt] yesterday
evening. The fire soon spread to the neutral territory. After that,
the fire spread to the pastures of the village of Alibayli in Tovuz
District. According to villagers, the fire continued all night. Seven
anti-tank and four anti-personnel mines planted in the neutral zone
exploded during the fire. Valeh Rzayev, a representative of the
Alibayli village executive authorities, said that about 100 ha of
land had burnt.

Along with the pastures belonging to villagers, municipal land plots
have also burnt. The fire has inflicted great damage on villagers. The
representative of the executive authorities said that the fire had
been extinguished by villagers themselves – they did not call fire
engines as the opposite side could open fire at any moment. The fire
has already been put out.

75,689 ARCA PLASTIC CARDS IN CIRCULATION IN ARMENIA BY END OF 2ND QUARTER 2006

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Aug. 10, 2006

YEREVAN, August 10. /ARKA/. In the 2nd quarter pf 2006, the number of
local cards "Armenian Card" (ArCa) in circulation increase by 10,714
or 1.16 times and reached 75,689 at the end of June, 2006.

The Payment and Information System Development Department and the
Settlement System Department, Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) report
that During the period under review, a total of 331,729 transactions
worth AMD 9,828mln were effected by means of ArCa cards – an AMD
2,734mln or 1.31-time increase in volume, and 63,030 or 1.23-time
increase in the number of transactions.

Two transactions were effected a month on the average, with the
average volume of one transaction being AMD 29,000 – an AMD 2,000
increase compared to the 1st quarter of 2006.

The average share of one cash dispenser was 714 ArCa cards. A total
of 106 cash dispensers served ArCa cards.

At the end of the 2nd quarter of 2006, 19 commercial banks issued
and served plastic cards in Armenia, 17 of them were members of the
ArCa system.

During the period under review, the total volume of transactions by
means of all types of plastic cards was AMD 30,944, with the number
reaching 719,878. a total o 176,104 plastic cards were in circulation
at the end of June 2006, 19,430 more than at the beginning of the
2nd quarter of 2006. ($1 – AMD 399.66)

THE LEBANON WAR EXPOSES STRANGE RELIGIOUS BEDFELLOWS

CounterPunch, CA
Aug. 7, 2006

A New Kind of Bigotry
By GEORGE BERES

I’ve not been a target of religious prejudice during my 73 years–
except today, as I identify with growing tragedy in the Middle East.

"Are you Jewish," I’m asked.

No.

"Are you Arabic?"

No.

The questions, natural and obvious, point up the problem: a hidden
religious prejudice. It has less to do with bigotry than with simple
historic and religious illiteracy among Americans. The impact on
me grows because I was born and raised in this country as a Greek
Orthodox Christian. I left the institutional church because of its
patriarchal prejudices. I’ve come to recognize something even more
destructive common to almost all faith-based sects: the belief they
are god’s chosen people– having a direct line to what "god" tells them
(or that they tell him?) is the truth.

Few in the evangelical church are free of such misconceptions. If
they choose to be what I view as delusional, that’s their privilege
in free societies. When it is forced on others, it becomes dangerous
and unjust.

Victims of such attitudes today are vulnerable Christian minorities
in Lebanon and Palestine, where entire societies are being attacked by
Israel armed by the United States. Over the centuries, these minorities
got benign treatment for their religious faith from Ottoman overlords
during a long period of Islamic dominance. There is nothing benign
about their contemporary mistreatment at the hands of what they see
as Western religion: Christianity with a fundamentalist jaundice,
and Judaism colored by Zionist extremism.

It’s a misconception to assume Lebanon and Palestine are exclusively
Islamic. More than 30 percent of Lebanon is Christian, virtually
all of the Eastern Orthodox faith. Most of Palestine’s four million
people are Islamic. 50,000 are Eastern Orthodox, 25,000 Roman Catholic,
25,000 Protestant and 1,000 Armenian Orthodox.

It has reached the point where the normally uninvolved Archbishop
of Greece’s Orthodox Church, Christodoulos, said in early August:
"Israel’s actions within its right to self-defense have long exceeded
any rational limit . . . This is not in Israel’s interest. Fear
God’s wrath."

He failed to acknowledge what makes possible such "excessive" actions
by Israel: unstinting support from the United States. That is what
justifies– in fact, demands– I speak out.

The enmity of Arabic peoples toward Judaism dates from antiquity, the
days of the pharaohs. That with Christianity is more recent, inspired
by the Medieval Crusades, when Knights of Christendon used the cross
as a symbol to justify pillage and rape of Muslims defending Jerusalem.

Islam was not the only victim. Eastern Orthodox clergy were slaughtered
and their churches looted by Western armies identified more with
ambitions of war than goals of Christianity. That does not make it
easier for me to understand how avowed Christians from the U.S., with
their Israeli allies, can today freely victimize Orthodox Christians
as if they did not realize they exist in Islamic lands.

The true tragedy is Israeli policy, approved if not fomented by the
United States, that results in death for Lebanese and Palestinian
civilians, and in retaliation, death for innocent Israelis. Myopia of
the U.S., which identifies itself as Christian, is apparent in many
Christians being killed, even if Americans callously assume targets
are exclusively Muslim.

Though I’m of Greek heritage, I’ve long valued and interacted with
Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians. They were members of St. George
Anticochian Orthodox Church, which my family attended in Oak Park,
suburb of Chicago. Some of those close friends now face each day with
fear for relatives living in Beirut.

Such fear is not rooted in threats from Muslims, although that
reailty grows as civil war begins to engulf Lebanon and Iraq. Its
true source fuels my identity with the victims, and a sense that I
must speak out against actions of my country. My anger and suspicions
are directed toward leaders of my country and of Israel who devastate
many with preemptive war. Their actions suggest bigotry that threatens
me personally.

Irony of this destructive collaboration is that Israel welcomes support
of Christian fundamentalists for short-term advantages it offers. All
the while, Jews are familiar with historic betrayal at the hands of
Christians who have found various ways to disguise their hatred of
the so-called "Christ-killers."

Most Jews know that in the long term, their evangalist benefactors are
interested only in setting the stage for what they see as the second
coming of Christ. That, they believe, can occur only when Israel gains
full control of Jerusalem. On that day of "rapture" in the Christian
lexicon, the church will offer Jews a choice. As a minister of a church
in Eugene, Ore., was quoted earlier this summer (The Register-Guard):

"Jews will have a chance to convert to Christianity and be saved with
us. If they refuse, they will be condemned with all other unbelievers."

Few in America realizes how the Eastern Church, along with innocent
Muslims, is under attack in Lebanon and Palestine by this rare alliance
between Judaism and fundamentalist Christianity. I also am a target,
and am overdue in speaking out.

George Beres, retired in Eugene, Ore., once was executive director
of the Hellenic Foundation in Chicago in the mid-1970s. He can be
reached at: [email protected]

res08072006.html

Azerbaijani soldier killed in fire from Armenians: Baku

Agence France Presse — English
August 4, 2006 Friday 12:38 PM GMT

BAKU, Aug 4 2006 — An Azerbaijani soldier has been killed by fire
from ethnic Armenian forces near the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region,
the defense ministry in Baku said Friday.

The 20-year-old, Babek Mirzaliyev, died Thursday on the Azerbaijani
side of a ceasefire line that has been in place since a temporary
accord was reached between Baku and Yerevan over the disputed region
in 1994.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-year war over the Armenian-majority
enclave of Nagorno Karabakh, which seceded from Soviet Azerbaijan in
the early 1980s.

The conflict claimed 25,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands
of people, ending in the 1994 ceasefire.

Tensions have remained high and incidents occur regularly, with the
Armenian-controlled region’s status still unresolved.

ARTHUR BAGHDASARYAN HAD MEETINGS IN EUROPE

Lragir.am
02 Aug 06

We have learned that the leader of Orinats Yerkir Party has had
a series of meetings in Europe recently. During the meetings with
officials and representatives of different foundations promotion of
democracy in Armenia, free electons and freedom of the media were
discussed. In particular, the problem of A1+ was touched upon. In the
future the leader of Orinats Yerkir Party is going to visit a number
of European countries.

Armenpress

SMSE CONSTITUTE 39.6 PERCENT OF OVERALL GDP

YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS: The share of small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMSE) in Armenia’s
overall GDP in the first half of the year rose 0.4
percent from a year ago to 39.6 percent.
Ishkhan Karapetian, the executive manager of the
National Center for Support of Small and Medium-Sized
Enterprises, said to a news conference today that the
share of small and medium-sized businesses in
Armenia’s exports in the first six months of this year
rose to 16.8 percent from 15.4 percent 12 month ago.
In the first half of the year there were 5,600
officially registered small and medium-sized
enterprises, while some 1,600 enterprises stopped
their activity.
Karapetian said the Center has given around 100
credit guarantees worth 325 million drams ($783,000)
since 2004. Their amount is expected to surge to 850
million in six months.

JAM Showbiz
Live Review: SOAD in Toronto
By Steve Tilley – Toronto Sun

TORONTO – It had to be the biggest, loudest, hardest, brightest, wildest
and (to use the proper vernacular) most completely f—ed up `see ya
later’ in modern metal history.

And if it had been an outright `goodbye’ instead, the Molson
Amphitheatre might have been levelled last night.

On their final visit to Toronto before a self-imposed hiatus that’s
expected to last at least a few years, System Of A Down closed out the
marathon of metal that is Ozzfest in a way that had to be seen and heard
to be fully appreciated. Even if it meant being both temporarily blind
and deaf, which a good portion of last night’s capacity crowd will be
today.
This Ozzy Osbourne-less stop on the tour did not suffer from the
grandpappy of metal’s absence one iota. Even Ozzy might have had
troubJle following System Of A Down’s enthusiastically received (read: A
massive, impromptu mosh pit breaking out on the mid-level concourse
walkway) headlining set, which drew heavily from last year’s Mezmerize.
Blame that giant photo of SOAD’s Serj Tankian to the right, but there
simply isn’t the space to touch on most of the acts that made up
yesterday’s 71/2 hour buffet of molten sonic energy. To try to do so
would do justice to none of them.
So, no disrespect to Norma Jean, Bleeding Through, Unearth, Atreyu,
Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed or especially Avenged Sevenhold and their awesome
giant, winged silver skull. You guys surely rock like the ves foundation
of the earth.
But the reality is the Amphitheatre didn’t get jammed all the way back
to the back of the lawns until Chicago foursome Disturbed took the stage
and unleashed more than an hour of aggressive yet melodic rib
cage-rattling metal, from Guarded to the band’s cover of Genesis’
still-relevant Land of Confusion to, of course, Down With The Sickness.
Uh-WAH-AH-AH-AH!
A bolder man might even say that Disturbed’s bald and barrel-chested
frontman David Draiman injected more raw passion into the evening than
System Of A Down’s Tankian did. Truly, one of the highlights of the
night was Draiman’s near-religious rant against bands who, in his eyes,
dilute the purity of genuine hard metal. It’s probably safe to say he
doesn’t have any posters of The Killers on his bedroom wall.

Still, there was no eclipsing the totality of System Of A Down’s
performance, from the hypnotizing lights aimed at the crowd to the
creative rearrangement of familiar hits (Violent Pornography started out
sounding suspiciously like a power ballad) to the fans’ rabid and
rapturous response.

Enjoy your time off, gentlemen. And if you think `so long’ was insane,
wait until you see `welcome back.’

l

Elmar Mammadyarov: "We are rather speaking of a poll"

Today, Azerbaijan
July 27, 2006

Elmar Mammadyarov comments the Minsk Group member countries’ positions.

Basic elements suggested by the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs and
discussed during the last negotiations "are acceptable if the basics’
essence is preserved that the conflict should be resolved gradually,
based on the principles and norms of international law," Day.Az quotes
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov to comment
on the Minsk group member countries’ positions.

According to Mammadyarov, the international community has a clear
understanding that "when we speak of international law, the factor
of territorial integrity is primary," whereas "the self-determination
principle does not imply breaking territorial integrity." He brought
in this regard a number of examples of state structures where
nations determine themselves in the framework of states’ territorial
integrity. "I have continually spoken out of the examples of Tatarstan,
Bashkiria; there is Trieste and other instances," Mammadyarov said.

As regards the acceptability of the Trieste model in solving the
Nagorno Karabakh issue, Mammadyarov was told that the model presumes
the existence of many elements that had been at some points offered to
the official Baku and were rejected, particularly, the availability
of an autonomy’s own army, state symbols, passports, currency,
etc. Azerbaijani minister said that there is a huge difference between
the Trieste in 1950s and in the 21st century.

Mammadyarov said that "thanks to the economic development and
normalization of the everyday life, the Trieste society starts to
react differently to sensitive issues. In this context, the problem
of Nagorno Karabakh was perhaps a problem of the Soviet totalitarian
regime under which all the population of the Soviet Union was in a
grave state."

Mammadyarov says that in this context, taking into account Azerbaijan’s
building a law-abiding society, democracy, and market economy, the
situation changes drastically, therefore, one should look at the
prospect. On the first stage, it is necessary, of course, to solve
the issue of displaced persons, for the problem is serious enough,
as well as issues of security, economy, and communications.

Azerbaijan, co-chair countries, and EU member countries "explain
to the Armenian side that prolonging the destructive policy in the
region will make it difficult for them to expect a lively development
in the future." "If they in Armenia think that they will be able
to preserve control over the occupied territories, this, I suppose,
would be equal to a suicide," Mammadyarov claimed.

"We will persist in continuing our policy of developing Azerbaijani
economic and political systems, all its institutions, including
military ones," Mammadyarov says. "To move forward, one needs to
understand the situation in the region, which will come at some point."

Speaking of the possibility of holding in Nagorno Karabakh referendum
on its status, the minister said: "We are rather speaking of a poll."

He specified that "this will become possible after the life of both
Azerbaijani and Armenian communities is normalized in Nagorno Karabakh
itself, after the Azerbaijani displaced persons have returned."

What questions are to be asked in the poll, is, in his words, still a
matter of negotiations, "for if a question posed disputes territorial
integrity, the question can only be solved based on the Constitution
of Azerbaijan."

Touching upon the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry position on journalists’
visits to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, the minister said; "Considering
that Nagorno Karabakh is an inseparable part of Azerbaijan, I do
not see a problem in the country’s representatives’ visiting the
region. But naturally, this depends on the level of cooperation. If
a need arises for citizens to visit journalists, NGO workers, even
official representatives we have no objection to it."

"I think we have to overcome the barrier of hatred that exists between
Azerbaijan and Armenia on some issues. We are neighbors, and we will
have to deal with each other," Elmar Mammadyarov concluded.

/Regnum/

URL: