Author: Karagyozian Lena

7 admit involvement in cigarette scheme
By Jason Kandel, Staff Writer

dailynews.com
Article Published: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 – 12:00:00 AM PST

Seven Glendale men have pleaded guilty to federal charges of operating
a Russian-Armenian organized crime ring that smuggled nearly $9
million in contraband cigarettes from Virginia to Los Angeles.

The men entered their pleas Monday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke,
Va. The pleas cap a four-year investigation by federal, state and
local authorities.

“The message is — you cannot defraud state and federal governments
of taxes that are due,” said John Torres, the special agent in charge
of the Los Angeles Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives.

The men include: Vicken Djeredjian, 31; Akop “Jack” Chichyan, 33;
Mnatsakan “Mike” Grigorian, 39; Serob “Serb” Boyadzhyan, 36; Manvel
Iskandaryan, 47; Albert Asatryan, 47; and Azat Stephanyan, 22.

The 55-count indictment accused the men of purchasing more than 9,000
cases of untaxed cigarettes in Virginia worth about $18.6 million. They
then took them to California without paying taxes.

Chichyan and Grigorian pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge, and
Djeredjian pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of contraband
cigarettes. The remaining defendants pleaded guilty to possession
and transportation of untaxed cigarettes.

Each face up to five years in federal custody and a fine of between
$5,000 and $250,000. Sentencing is set for June.

Jason Kandel, (818) 713-3664 [email protected]

March 02, 2005
Glendale News Press
Published March 3, 2005

Police find, arrest man a day after fire

Antranik Khajarian is suspected of starting Tuesday blaze that caused his
94-year-old grandmother’s death.

By Jackson Bell, News-Press and Leader

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — The grandson of a 94-year-old Glendale woman found
dead inside a torched hillside home has been arrested on suspicion of murder
and starting the blaze, police said Wednesday.
After receiving tips, Glendale Police tracked down Antranik Banos Khajarian,
37, about midnight Tuesday and booked him on suspicion of murder and arson
after detectives interviewed him at the police station, Sgt. Tom Lorenz
said. Khajarian is being held without bail at Glendale City Jail, and his
arraignment is scheduled for Friday at Glendale Superior Court.
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“The investigation is ongoing to determine what precipitated the action,”
Lorenz said. “We will probably release more information when the case is
presented to the D.A.’s office for prosecution.”
The woman was severely burnt in the early morning Tuesday blaze in the 200
block of Wonderview Drive, said Investigator Brenda Shafer, spokeswoman for
the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. But the cause of death is still
under investigation, she said.
Even though police have identified the woman as Khajarian’s grandmother,
Shafer said the coroner’s office is treating her as a “Jane Doe” because her
body had not been examined as of Wednesday. Police also would not confirm
her identity.
Lorenz would not say where they found Khajarian but did say broadcast media
groups that got his information out to the public helped lead to the arrest.
One of the reasons investigators suspected the fire to be arson was because
of its intense heat, Lorenz said.
An officer patrolling the area first noticed the burning house, which the
woman and Khajarian shared, about 3 a.m. Tuesday and tried to rescue the
woman before firefighters arrived. But the flames forced him out of the
one-story house, Lorenz said. The officer was rushed to a local hospital for
treatment of smoke inhalation but was not injured.
Neighbors said Tuesday that they heard a woman’s screams coming from the
house during the blaze.
Glendale firefighters from five stations responded to the blaze and knocked
it down in 10 minutes, Fire Capt. Bill Lynch said. The total damage to the
house was estimated to be $100,000, Lynch said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Glendale Police Department at
(818) 548-3987. Anonymous tips can be made by calling the Crime Stoppers
hotline at (818) 507-7867.

«21st CENTURY WITHOUT GENOCIDES»

A1+
23-02-2005

Today the program of the events dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide was established. A session of the National Committee
of the Events to the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide took
place in the Government presided over by PM Andranik Margaryan, head of
the Committee.

The program will start in April with an international conference with
the motto `21st century without Genocides’ devoted to the Armenian
Genocide and the defense of human rights. Events are foreseen in
Artsakh, communities of the Armenian Diaspora and in several countries
officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.

The list of the books to be published in connection with the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide has also been established. A
working group has been formed regulating the preaching works in order to
organize the preaching in reference to the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide,

Asia Pulse
PacNews
February 16, 2005

THERE IS HOPE AND HEALING IN THE FACE OF ALL WANT AND INJURY

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 16 FEBRUARY 2005 SAIPAN (Pacnews) – “Ask the
questions that have no answers. Invest in the millennium. Plant
sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not
plant it and will not live to harvest. Practice resurrection.” This
is a religious poem that would seek to foster some sort of renewed
faith for people who call themselves Christians. It is also one of
many simple and spiritually stirring phrases and expressions of faith
that don the walls of employees of the World Council of Churches
(WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

And everyone talks to PACNEWS about a growing anxiety and uncertainty
marking the dawn of the 21st Century in the world today and how the
Church has had a renewed concern and awareness towards healing as a
major component of its fundamental theological, missiological,
ethical and pastoral duty to humanity.

It’s snowing in Europe, providing a white fleecy blanket over living
and non-living things. It grey and cold and the trees are bare.
Sunshine comes in little rays once in a while. Everyone freezes over
and as one speaks, vapour shoots out of the mouth. There are endless
cups of coffee to keep warm.

At the WCC Geneva headquarters, however, the corridors are abuzz with
fellowship as the annual Central Committee Meeting, a gathering of
150 church leaders from all over the world, commences with a
conviction that the Church in the world today must rediscover its
ministry of healing.

The Central Committee serves as the WCC’s chief governing body
between its assemblies. Meeting every 12 to 18 months, it is
responsible for carrying out policies adopted by the assembly,
reviewing and supervising WCC programmes and adopting the Council’s
budget. The overall theme of this meeting is healing and
reconciliation. It will discuss a range of key ecumenical and public
issues of much concern to the Church today. Opening the meeting at
the WCC Ecumenical Centre on Tuesday morning (local time), Meeting
Moderator, His Holyness Aram I, of the Catholicos of Cilicia,
Armenia, said church leaders all over the world today must discuss
healing as the “transforming, empowering and reconciling missionary
action of the Church”.

“The world in which we live in is broken, a world dominated by evil
forces that are generating a culture of violence and hopelessness,”
he said. “The signs of the times are clear, the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
the genocide in Sudan, the Tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia – to
give a few examples”.

“Conflict, poverty and injustice have deepened the anguish and
despair of many societies. The world is in desperate need of healing
in almost all spheres of human life,” Aram I said.

And using the painful experience of Armenians, Aram I called on the
Church world wide to rediscover healing as a comprehensive ministry
that “transforms, empowers and reconciles”, saying that God’s mission
calls for a healing church in the midst of a broken, fragmented and
alienated world”.

Ninety years ago, the Ottoman Empire killed Armenians within its
borders. Systematic genocide took up to a million and a half Armenian
lives. By 1923, almost the whole Armenian population of Anatolian
Turkey had disappeared. This year’s meeting sees the Pacific
represented fully in a Pacific plenary on critical emerging issues in
the Pacific Islands today.

At the WCC, the Pacific is represented by at least 17 major church
organisations from all over the region, including Cook Islands. The
Pacific delegation, at this level of consultation at the Central
Committee Meeting, will highlight the work of Pacific churches on
critical issues such as the nuclear compensation for those seriously
affected by the bombings on Northern Pacific territories in the
1940s, climate change and its serious implications on the region’s
smaller atolls, HIV/AIDS, globalisation and trade, women and children
and Pacific concerns in general.

“When the Church speaks in the Pacific, basically everyone listens,”
says Feiloakitau Tevi, executive secretary of the Fiji-based WCC
Pacific Office. “These critical issues are being addressed by the
Church in our region and the Church, with all its widely experienced
leaders throughout the region, is in some ways, drawing us together
as never before to highlight human commonality.” “It is a calling to
everyone involved in trying to control some of the world’s more
keenly fought issues and ills that we all work towards a common goal
– to work together and bringing our faith together for the good of
all.” Speaking at the opening later, Rev. Sam Kobia, WCC general
secretary, called on Christians to be authentic in their spirituality
because it connects them to humanity.

He called on church leaders to address young people’s issues fully,
saying he has heard “over and over again” questions by young people
on morality and spirituality.

Rev Kobia, of the Methodist Church of Kenya, said Christians ought to
have a basic desire to relate and share with one another who they are
as human beings because this would prove sense for Christianity.

“If post-modernity is threatening to rob us of our capacity to be
human, then how can we even claim to be Christians?” he asked. Both
leaders expressed a hope that the Church would maintain its work in
reaching a common understanding of what it means to be human, and
from there move towards consensus on ethical issues.

The WCC’s Mission and Evangelism Programme, one of five main themes
of the organisation, is one great example of the work of the Church
today, and prepares church leaders from throughout the world for a
major “reconciliation and healing conference in Greece in May 2005.

Preparations for the conference include a study of what constitutes
an ecumenical healing and reconciling ministry today, helping
churches to reflect on the way they do evangelism, networks with
evangelicals, Pentecostals and others involved in the evangelistic
aspect of mission, helping poor and marginalised communities to
reflect on reconciling mission and share their insights with churches
and also enabling churches to address the challenge of HIV/AIDS as
part of holistic approach to health and healing.

The Central Committee Meeting ends on Friday.

The WCC is a fellowship and community of churches that brings
together more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships
in over 100 countries and territories throughout the world,
representing some 400 million Christians and including most of the
world’s Orthodox churches, scores of denominations from historic
traditions of the Protestant Reformation as Anglican, Baptist,
Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed, as well as many united and
independent churches.

While most of the WCC’s founding churches were European and North
American, most are today in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin
America, the Middle East and the Pacific. (ENDS) (THROUGH ASIA PULSE)

AzerTag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Feb 15 2005

SESSION OF COMMITTEES OF MANAGEMENT OF SCAD PROGRAM HELD
[February 15, 2005, 13:46:30]

On February 10-12, in Tbilisi, with participation of official
representatives of the government of the countries of Southern
Caucasus, management of the Commission on assistance of the European
Union and UNDP representations in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, was
held the session of Committees of political and technical management
of the Program of the regional assistance “South Caucasus Anti-Drug”
(SCAD) Program. The program is financed by the European Union.

The deputy interior minister Zahid Dunyamaliyev, the vice-president of
the State Customs Committee Rafael Mirzoyev, the national coordinator
of SCAD Program Mazahir Efendiyev and other officials represented
the Azerbaijan Republic.

At the session, was analyzed the work done in each three republics
on IV SCAD project in 2004, also discussed plans for 2005.

The head of delegation of Azerbaijan, the deputy interior minister
Zahid Dunyamaliyev spoke of questions of methods of combat
against illegal circulation of drugs, the organized crime and
international terrorism, money laundering, has expressed gratitude
to the international organizations, the SCAD Program for the help in
carrying out reforms by the government of Azerbaijan in this field.

AZERI MF CONSIDERS BAKU CAN RETURN “SEIZED TERRITORIES” THIS YEAR

PanArmenian News
Feb 10 2005

10.02.2005 14:56

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov holds the
opinion that official Baku will have the possibility to return the
“occupied territories” this year. “However, favorable attitude of the
other conflicting party is necessary for it”, he said

SERGE SARGSIAN MEETING IRANIAN PRESIDENT

Azg/arm
10 Feb 05

Serge Sargsian, minister of defense of Armenia, met with the President
of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, within the framework of a three-day official
visit. According to official IRNA agency, President Khatami assured
that Iran is supporting the neighboring Armenia.

Khatami stated that the countries of the region may settle their
problems without help from outside if high-level negotiations
conducted. The Iranian President underscored the importance of
opening Iran-Armenia railroad for fostering bilateral ties. Serge
Sargsian noted that the railway communication will be efficient as
a North-South corridor.

Hosan Rohani, secretary of Security Council of Iran, received
Sargsian on February 8. IRNA agency reports that Rohani considered
the direct dialogue between Yerevan and Baku a productive way for
settling Karabakh conflict. Rohani excluded the military solution. He
noted that only a solution beneficial for both sides and considering
Karabakh peopleâ~@~Ys wish can be just. Serge Sargsian in his turn
excluded the possibility of step-by-step solution.

Rohani said that neither Tehran nor Yerevan will allow foreign agents
to intervene in Armenian-Iranian relations.

The Armenian defense minister was hosted by former president, Ali
Akbar Rafsanjan, who is currently running the Defense Council of Iran.

–Boundary_(ID_/WsO2Z/Nk5hcKAyJjlerWQ)–

Lawyers for Azeri officer in Hungarian trial challenge forensic evidence

Ekho, Baku
9 Feb 05

Excerpt from report by L. Nuri in Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho on 9
February headlined “‘I believe that a fair verdict will be passed,’
said the senior lieutenant of the Azerbaijani armed forces, Ramil
Safarov, in an interview with Ekho”

The trial into the case of the senior lieutenant of the Azerbaijani
armed forces, Ramil Safarov, opened in the Budapest city court
yesterday [8 February].

[Passage omitted: reported details]

All the staff of the Azerbaijani embassy in Hungary, and Azerbaijani
students and professors at Budapest Central European University were
in the courtroom. The head of the centre to protect the rights
of Azerbaijani refugees and displaced persons, Tatyana Chaladze,
independent Azerbaijani journalist Israfil Babayev and an Ekho
newspaper correspondent attended the trial.

For the Armenian side, apart from the [Armenian] embassy’s employees,
representatives of Hungary’s large Armenian community were present
in the courtroom. No representatives of the Azerbaijani community
were present.

At the very beginning of the trial, the Azerbaijani side’s lawyer,
(?Georgiy Madjar), asked the judge to allow Azerbaijani experts to
carry out a second forensic examination of Safarov. The chairman
agreed to the second examination but the Azerbaijani experts will
only be allowed to observe it. Hungarian law bans intervention of
experts from another state in a trial. In this case, experts from
the Budapest Institute for Forensic Research will examine Safarov.

[Passage omitted: examination due on 10 May 2005; Azerbaijani lawyers
unhappy with original forensic evidence.]

The atmosphere in the courtroom was tense from the very beginning. For
instance, the judge did not disturb the Hungarian journalists and
press photographers (who seemed to be ethnic Armenians) attending
the trial. As for the Azerbaijani journalists, judge Andrash Voskuti
asked for their identification cards as soon as the trial opened. The
journalists were allowed to film and take photos of the trial after
their documents were checked and lawyer Adil Ismayilov submitted a
request to the judge.

Despite protests of the Armenian lawyers, the chairwoman of the centre
to protect the rights of Azerbaijani refugees and displaced persons,
Tatyana Chaladze, managed to submit to the judge documents about
the Xocali tragedy and videotapes demonstrating its horrors. The
Azerbaijani embassy in Hungary repeatedly presented the judge with
materials on the Nagornyy Karabakh problem, the Xocali tragedy and
the occupation of Cabrayil District (where Safarov comes from).

The Ekho correspondent managed to talk to the Azerbaijani serviceman
during the 10-minute break in the trial.

[Correspondent] How do you feel?

[Safarov] Well.

[Correspondent] Have you been in touch with your relatives?

[Safarov] Yes.

[Correspondent] Do you have any problems?

[Safarov] No.

[Correspondent] Are you being put under pressure?

[Safarov] No pressure is being exerted on me. I have no complaints. The
conditions in which I am being held and the attitude towards me
are normal.

[Correspondent] You have an opportunity to say some words for people
back home.

[Safarov] I would not like to take advantage of this, since it would
be an indirect intervention in the course of the trial.

[Correspondent] Still, some words at least… [ellipses as published]

[Safarov] I am grateful to everybody. I believe that a fair verdict
will be passed.

[Passage omitted: Safarov’s lawyer from Hungary, Peter Zalay, says
they will do their best for Safarov to avoid life imprisonment]

All American Patriot, Sweden
Feb 9 2005

U.S. Seeks Peaceful Settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh
State Department fact sheet provides background on conflict, U.S.
policy
08 February 2005

The U.S. Department of State issued the following fact sheet February
7, 2005, which updates a January 25, 2005, fact sheet:

ADVERTISING

(begin fact sheet)

U.S. Department of State

Fact Sheet
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Washington, DC
February 7, 2005

THE UNITED STATES AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Background

The armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K) lasted from 1990 to
1994. By the time a cease-fire went into effect in 1994, Armenian
forces controlled most of N-K, as well as large swaths of adjacent
Azerbaijani territory. The fighting, plus the expulsion of Armenians
from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis from Armenia, produced more than a
million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Approximately 100,000 Azerbaijanis remain in refugee camps today,
where they face desperate living conditions. Turkey closed its land
border with Armenia during the conflict to show solidarity with
Azerbaijan and has not reopened it. The United States provides
humanitarian assistance to the victims of the conflict, which
includes support for housing and school repairs, primary health care,
irrigation, potable water and sanitation, subsistence agriculture,
micro-finance, and demining.

The parties have observed a cease-fire agreement since 1994. Although
cease-fire violations and cross-border sniping occur, all sides
insist on their continued commitment to a peaceful settlement reached
through negotiation.

Peace Process

In 1992, the CSCE (now the OSCE) created the Minsk Group, a coalition
of member states dedicated to facilitating a peaceful resolution of
the conflict. The Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group (Russia, France, and
the U.S.) serve as mediators, working in close and effective
cooperation with the parties. In 1997-98, Co-Chair shuttle diplomacy
generated three separate peace proposals. Each of these proposals was
rejected by one or another of the parties.

Beginning in 1999, Presidents Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Robert
Kocharian of Armenia began a direct dialogue through a series of
bilateral meetings. Positive developments during a March 2001 Paris
meeting among Presidents Aliyev, Kocharian, and Chirac inspired then
Secretary of State Colin Powell to invite both Presidents to continue
their dialogue in the United States. Aliyev and Kocharian met with
the Co-Chairs in Key West in April 2001. The sides made significant
progress but failed to reach a comprehensive settlement. Presidents
Aliyev and Kocharian met on the margins of multilateral meetings in
late 2001 and on the border between the two countries in August 2002
but failed to narrow their differences. President Heydar Aliyev died
in 2003, and negotiations slowed as both countries held presidential
elections that year.

In 2004, the Co-Chairs initiated a series of meetings in Prague
between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The “Prague
Process” was designed to reinvigorate dialogue between the sides.
Following a series of meetings between the Foreign Ministers, as well
as meetings in Warsaw and Astana between Presidents Ilham Aliyev and
Robert Kocharian, the Co-Chairs and the parties agreed the Prague
Process should continue in 2005, with a focus on advancing
negotiations towards a settlement.

The U.S. as Mediator

The U.S. remains actively engaged in advancing a peaceful settlement
of the conflict. Cooperation among the U.S., Russian, and French
mediators is excellent. The United States does not recognize
Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent country, and its leadership is not
recognized internationally or by the United States. The United States
supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the
future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiation between
the parties. The United States remains committed to finding a
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the
Minsk Group process. We are encouraged by the continuing talks
between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

(end fact sheet)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: )

KREMLIN REDEFINING POLICY IN “POST-SOVIET SPACE”
by Vladimir Socor

Eurasia Daily Monitor
Tuesday, February 8, 2005 — Volume 2, Issue 27

In a marathon-length press conference on February 3, Kremlin political
consultant Gleb Pavlovsky laid certain Russian markers in Eurasia ahead of
the George W. Bush-Vladimir Putin summit and, by the same token, seized the
moment to announce a major redefinition of Russia’s policy in the
“post-Soviet space.”

Pavlovsky warned at the outset: “One should be aware that, at least until
the end of President Putin’s tenure and probably until the end of the
presidency of his immediate successors, Russia’s foreign policy priority
will be to turn Russia into a 21st century world power. This despite the
fact that we are presently a weak regional power with a weak commodity-based
economy.”

Linking Russia’s global ambitions for the future to the projection of its
influence in the “post-Soviet space” at present, Pavlovsky defined Russia’s
“near abroad” doctrine as inherently assuming Western cooperation with this
Russian design. He faulted Russia’s policy for this “primitive” expectation,
noting that Western non-acceptance “naturally weakens the CIS, which emerged
as part of that doctrine.” In that sense, “The concept of the ‘near abroad’
is dead.” Consequently, Pavlovsky announced, “Russia is currently revising
its policy in the post-Soviet space and the mechanisms of its
implementation.” As a general principle, “any country [that would] promote
the doctrine of Russia’s rollback will certainly create a conflict in the
relations with this country. This must be clearly understood.”

As part of that reassessment, Pavlovsky advanced three salient ideas:

1) Belarus represents an optimal model of integration with Russia, whereby
the regime’s ultimate political reliability will override other issues. “We
are totally satisfied with the level of our relations with Belarus. Russia
will clearly distinguish between certain characteristics of a political
regime in a neighboring country and its observance of allied commitments.
Belarus is a model ally.”

2) As a major departure from Russian policy since 1992, Moscow reserves the
right from now on to pursue its goals by establishing relations with
political forces, opposition as well as governing, in post-Soviet countries.
“Russia will certainly interact with the entire political spectrum in the
neighboring [sic] countries, both official and opposition, including
nongovernmental organizations, democratic organizations, and in-system
political groups,” other than the “extremist, radical, or underground
groups.” “The president of our partner country or ally country, while
preserving the role of our central interlocutor, will not be regarded by
Russia as the one and only representative of the society.” Moscow intends to
use its NGOs as well as its government agencies to link up with political
forces in post-Soviet countries.

Inspired by the defeat of the Moscow-supported presidential candidate in
Ukraine, this policy shift also means explicitly that Moscow reserves the
right to work with the opposition in that country during Viktor Yushchenko’s
presidency. “During the electoral campaign in Ukraine there was an
underestimation [by Russia] and low level of cooperation between Russian
society and Ukrainian NGOs. We will try to avoid such an underestimation in
the future. . . . Mr. Yushchenko will certainly not be regarded by us as a
person with exclusive rights to interpret the position of Ukrainian society,
political, and nongovernmental organizations.”

Indeed, until now, Moscow has almost always supported or worked with the
incumbent regimes in CIS countries, keeping the opposition at arm’s length.
Support for secessionist enclaves in Moldova and Georgia were the major
exceptions to that rule of Moscow’s conduct. Pavlovsky is now signaling that
Moscow will no longer feel inhibited to seek tactical alliances with
opposition groups against incumbents. Moreover, his remarks suggest that
Russian authorities intend to compete in the civil-society arena by using
their tame or government-created NGOs to offset the genuine ones, which are
usually Western-supported and promote representative democracy as distinct
from the “managed-democracy” model associated with Putin and Pavlovsky.

The Kremlin’s intervention in the Ukrainian electoral campaign may have been
the high-water mark as well as the last egregious case of massive uncritical
support to an incumbent regime. However, even as that effort was in
progress, the Kremlin’s policy in Moldova marked a first departure from its
general pro-incumbent policy. Responding to overtures from the centrist
opposition’s Democratic Moldova Bloc, the Kremlin decided by mid-2004 to
support the DMB against President Vladimir Voronin, who had reoriented his
policy toward the West. In Chisinau it is assumed that Pavlovsky and his
team played a major role in Moscow’s decision. Apparently sobered up by the
defeat in Ukraine, however, Pavlovsky implied during his press conference
that the Kremlin has now adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward Moldova’s
upcoming general elections.

Citing Kyrgyzstan as another case study, Pavlovsky signaled support to the
incumbent authorities in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential
elections, on the grounds that the opposition has not committed itself to
using non-violent methods. However, he left open the possibility of
political deals with the opposition: “Explain to us what goals you pursue,
what means you will use, and then we will decide on the level of our
interaction with this political force.”

3) Russia does not accept the proposition that Euro-Atlantic integration
provides a shelter against Russian influence in post-Soviet countries.
“Russia will become a world power again, and will have a global area of
interests. Now, however . . . there are certain countries where we have our
interests. Even the admission of some of these countries to the European
Union and NATO does not mean that they fall out of the area of our
interests. The Baltic states are certainly within this area of interests,
particularly on such issues as transit, or the status of the Russian
language and Russian community. We will certainly use their accession to the
new organizations in order to intensify monitoring of what concerns our
interests and to influence these countries.”

This stated goal transcends the Baltic states as such, reflecting more
far-reaching ambitions to corrode NATO’s and the EU’s political cohesion by
trying to extract concessions at the expense of Baltic states on the issues
that Pavlovsky named. The tactic at this stage consists of trying to
introduce those issues on the agenda of Russia’s discussions with the EU,
NATO, and some major West European capitals. Any success in doing so would
encourage Moscow to expand the range of internal EU and NATO issues on which
Moscow seeks to obtain a voice and a say.

(fednews.ru, RIA-Novosti, February 3).

Tuesday, February 8, 2005 — Volume 2, Issue 27

IN THIS ISSUE:
*Moscow asserts right to work with opposition groups in CIS countries
*Speculation grows over Zhvania’s death, successor
*Armenian currency continues to soar against euro, dollar
*China denies financing Yuganskneftgaz acquisition