Author: Tashjian Arbi

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
July 2, 2004, Friday

NATO COMES TO THE CIS

SOURCE: Novye Izvestia, July 1, 2004, p. 4

by Oleg Kasimov

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s speech at the NATO summit in Istanbul
left no doubts concerning the future of the Russian contingents in
Georgia and the Trans-Dniester region. Moscow does not intend to comply
in the near future with demands from Washington and the West for Russia
to withdraw its troops.

In fact, Washington must have been prepared for this turn of events.
Hence the decision to “activate” military maneuvers around Russia,
without waiting for the pullout. And the United States is not going to
put all its eggs in one basket. On the one hand, busy negotiations are
under way with Moldova and Ukraine in order to speed up their progress
towards NATO membership. From this point of view, observers comment on
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s visit to Chisinau on the eve of the
NATO summit. On the other hand, NATO intends to greatly expand and
intensify its military contacts with countries of the Caucasus and
Central Asia. So it is hardly surprising that the summit declaration
lists these regions as strategically vital for NATO.

Turkey will be placed in charge of this particular mission – in
accordance with what official Washington decided. In fact, Ankara has
already agreed to play by the rules the United States proposes.
Washington will lobby in favor of Turkey being allowed to join the
European Union; and in return, Ankara will play the role of a battering
ram in breaching the defense perimeter Russia established in the
Caucasus and Central Asia. It may lead to a deterioration of
Russian-Turkish relations, but this is the price Ankara agreed to pay
for America’s support.

For the first time in a decade, official Ankara proclaimed its
intention to become much more active as a mediator in the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Turkey’s interest in the matter ebbed in
the wake of the Bishkek accord which Armenia and Azerbaijan signed in
May 1994. Foreign ministers of Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan met
within the framework of the Istanbul summit. Following the talks, a
representative of Ankara announced his country’s plans with regard to
the settlement of the drawn-out Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Armenia
hopes that its dialogue with Ankara will result in establishing
diplomatic relations with Turkey and opening the Armenian-Turkish
border. Azerbaijan sees Turkey’s activization as an indication of the
Caucasus being gradually drawn into NATO’s orbit.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 1, 2004 Thursday

One killed, 7 injured in explosion at Armenian power station

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

A worker was killed and seven others received injuries when a tank
holding sulfuric acid exploded on Wednesday at an Armenian power
station.

One of the injured workers is in critical condition, a spokesman for
the Armenian department for emergency situations told Itar-Tass on
Thursday. Despite the accident, the Razdan power plant, the biggest
in Armenia, keeps operating in a routine regime, Nikolai Grigoryan
said.

The power station accounts for over 20 percent of electricity
produced in Armenia. The station was under construction for ten years
and was commissioned in 1976. In 2002, an agreement was signed under
which a block of shares of the Razdan power plant goes to Russia to
settle part of Armenia’s debt to Russia.

The power plant worth 31 million dollars is now governed by the
International Energy Corporation, which makes part of the Unified
Energy Systems of Russia power utility.

Armenian police chief pleased with achievements

Arminfo
28 Jun 04

YEREVAN

The Armenian president received the chief of the Armenian Police, Ayk
Arutyunyan, today.

Good results have been recorded in all spheres of the police activities,
Arutyunyan told reporters following the meeting. Particularly, success
was recorded in the struggle against human and drug trafficking. Seventy
more criminal cases into drug trafficking were filed this year
compared to last year, Arutyunyan said. The number of solved crimes
related to illegal possession of arms and ammunition has also
increased.

An agency to fight human trafficking has been set up under the
department for fighting organized crime, he said. The agency has
already instituted several criminal cases and arrested people engaged
in human trafficking.

EUbusiness, UK
June 28 2004

Troubled neighbors Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey pledge cooperation

Under pressure by NATO and the European Union, Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Turkey pledged on Monday to seek to resolve their tangled
disputes through trilateral meetings.

The foreign ministers of the three troubled neighbors, Vardan
Oskanian of Armenia, Elmar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan and Abdullah Gul
of Turkey met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Istanbul.

Emphasizing that both NATO and the EU were keen to stabilize the
conflict-torn Caucasian region, Gul told reporters after the meeting
that they had discussed “ways and means of cooperating to achieve
stability through constructive means.”

He said he and his counterparts had agreed to hold further trilateral
meetings later in the year.

“We need to shape a new strategic vision for the Caucasus so that we
can keep pace with the developments around us,” Oskanian said,
referring to the enlargement of the EU and NATO.

Mamedyarov added: “We will try to do our best to bring peace and
stability to the region.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan are divided by a long-standing territorial
dispute over the enclave of Nagorny-Karabakh, for which they fought
in the early 1990s.

A close ally of Azerbaijan, Turkey has declined to establish
diplomatic ties with Armenia and remains bitter at Yerevan’s efforts
to secure international condemnation of the killings of Armenians
under the Ottoman Empire during World War I as “genocide.”

Ankara is under pressure by the EU, which it seeks to join, to
re-open its border with Armenia, which it closed in 1993 in a show of
solidarity with Baku.

Oskanian told reporters he had discussed the issue with Gul in a
bilateral meeting earlier in the day.

He said he was “very satisfied,” with the meeting, but added that it
would be premature to expect an immediate re-opening of the border.

Anadolu Agency
June 28 2004

Turkish Foreign Minister Gul Meets With Armenian Foreign Minister
Oskanyan

ISTANBUL – Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul met on Monday with Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanyan.

Oskanyan said that they would like to develop relations between
Turkey and Armenia, adding that Armenian government has the political
will in this issue. He also expressed pleasure over flights which
were started from Turkey to Armenia.

Gul, in return, said that Turkey has the same will in development of
relations between two countries.

However, Gul added, there were some issues on which two countries
were sensitive and he noted that a common ground should be
established for this issue.

Noting that time was needed for the solution of problems, Gul stated
Cyprus issue as an example and said that the problem should be
overcome with the same understanding. Both sides said that
rapprochement between the two countries would contribute to the
implementation of the stability plan that NATO elaborated for
Caucasus.

The two sides also agreed in principle to hold
Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia tripartite meetings on foreign ministers
level, on the margin of international summits.

Azer News, Azerbaijan
June 17 2004

Iranian journalists unwilling to visit Armenia until Azerbaijani
lands liberated

Jalal Mahammad, head of the Iranian group of journalists visiting
Baku, told a news conference at the International Press Center on
Thursday that the goal of the visit was to expand relations between
the two countries’ journalists and to inform the Iranian people of
the real political, economic and cultural situation in Azerbaijan.

He said that over the past 10 days spent in Baku, the Iranian
journalists met with employees of both pro-government and opposition
newspapers. The Iranian journalists said that if they were invited to
visit Armenia, they would not do so until the occupied Azerbaijani
lands are liberated.

Asked about the way the Upper Garabagh conflict is covered in Iranian
media, they said they referred to Upper Garabagh as Azerbaijan’s
territory. Touching upon the Iranian-Armenian relations, Iranian
reporters said Armenia has been overstating the issue in an effort to
hurt the relations between Iran and Azerbaijan.

Georgia: International Donors Conference Opens In Brussels
By Ahto Lobjakas

RFE/RL Feature Article
June 16, 2004

Brussels, 16 June 2004 (RFE/RL) — An international donors conference
for Georgia opened this morning in Brussels.

Held under the aegis of the World Bank and hosted by the European
Union, the event brings together potential donors from dozens of
nations, among them EU member states, the United States, Japan,
and Russia.

The Georgian government has said it expects pledges to reach 485
million euros for the period 2004 to 2006.

Opening the event, the EU’s external relations commissioner, Chris
Patten, said the international community must seize the opportunity
to assist Georgia.

“We cannot afford to await the success of the reforms before offering
our support,” he said. “We should commit ourselves now to assisting
Georgia, since the next three years will be crucial in determining
the future course of the country.”

The European Commission has said it will pledge 125 million euros ($150
million), which officials say is likely to be the largest contribution.
It will also double the bloc’s previous assistance to the country.

However, Patten warned that the support will be conditional on
continued reforms. He also underlined the EU’s strengthening engagement
with regard to Georgia.

Referring to the two remaining South Caucasus countries, Armenia
and Azerbaijan, Patten said the EU will treat each country “on its
individual merits” within its European Neighborhood Policy.

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania promised his country will
consolidate the reform policies launched by President Mikheil
Saakashvili in the wake of the “Rose Revolution” seven months ago.

Addressing donors this morning, Zhvania said Georgia aims to become
self-sustainable and that it will make a clean break with the “donor
addiction” prevalent before.

“We want to change completely this philosophy. And the first thing
I want to convey as the main message from President Saakashvili,
from myself, from our cabinet, is that we want to use this degree of
your support to stop these practices and move towards a situation when
Georgia will not any longer be dependent on international assistance,”
Zhvania said.

Zhvania said his government wants donors to support projects aimed at
reforming Georgia’s administration, cutting law-enforcement personnel,
rehabilitating the country’s energy sector and infrastructure, and
funding social benefits.

He said Georgia also expects donors to prioritize the reintegration
of regions such as Adjara. The European Commission has said that —
in addition to today’s pledge — another grant for 12 million euros
will go for the rehabilitation of areas affected by the conflicts in
Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Calling on donors to contribute generously, the World Bank’s regional
vice president, Shigeo Katsu, said Georgia has all the preconditions
necessary for success.

“Georgia is blessed with abundant natural resources, geographical
advantage as a major transit route, and most importantly, a talented,
energetic and engaging population with a rich history and diverse
cultural heritage,” he said.

Katsu said that, in the light of the reforms undertaken by the
Georgian government, the World Bank is “optimistic about the outlook
for economic growth” in the country.

Azeri official warns against attempts to confine NATO ties to Karabakh issue

Trend news agency
14 Jun 04

Baku, 14 June: Azerbaijan should not confine its relations with NATO
only to the conflict with Armenia, Trend quoted Deputy Foreign Minister
Araz Azimov as telling journalists today.

“Any restriction would be wrong because Azerbaijan’s relations
with NATO are more significant and strategically important than
that. I don’t think we can afford to sacrifice these ties for mere
speculation,” Azimov said.

Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said recently that there
were no apparent problems with the participation of Armenian officers
in the NATO Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises due to be held in
Azerbaijan. Moreover, he said that even the date has been set when
the Armenian officers can receive entry visas at the Azerbaijani
consulate in Tbilisi.

The multinational exercises Cooperative Best Effort-2004 will be held
within the Partnership for Peace programme in Baku in September. The
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry is not against the Armenian presence but
a number of public organizations intend to prevent this from happening.

BY-ELECTION TO BE HELD IN 44th CONSTITUENCY

A1 Plus | 18:29:01 | 10-06-2004 | Politics |

Armenian Central Electoral Commission made a decision Thursday to
hold by-election in 44th constituency.

MP Aram Harutyunyan was appointed to Urban Planning Minister post on
June 9 and his seat in National Assembly is vacant now.

Candidates can run for by-election till June 20. The election is
scheduled for August 29.

Azeri leader, Turkish-American lobbyist discuss Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
9 Jun 04

Presenter Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev touched on the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem during his meeting with a delegation led by the
president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations, Ercument
Kilic, and indirectly asked his interlocutors to help express
Azerbaijan’s fair position in the world.

Correspondent over video of the reception President Ilham Aliyev
touched on the Nagornyy Karabakh problem at the meeting with
the president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations,
Ercument Kilic. The president said that all steps taken to solve the
Nagornyy Karabakh have been fruitless and stressed the importance of
expressing Azerbaijan’s fair position in the world. Aliyev also said
that everybody, including the US public, should know that Azerbaijan is
the victim in this conflict. Our lands are under occupation, he said.

Aliyev However, this is a temporary situation. We want international
legal norms to be observed, Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity to
be restored and the Armenian occupying army to be withdrawn from
our lands.

Correspondent According to him, Section 907 to the Freedom Support
Act banning direct US government assistance to Azerbaijan has still
not been suspended. This shows once again that the Turks should close
ranks in solving important issues.

The president of the assembly, Ercument Kilic, who listed the
assembly’s services in the sphere of developing Turkish-American
relations over the 25 years of their work, explained the purpose of
their visit to Baku.

We play the role of a bridge for developing joint Turkish-American
cooperation in the USA. This bridge is healthy. But we want this
bridge to exist not only between Turkey and the USA, but also with
Azerbaijan, end quote. On behalf of the 300,000 Turks living in the
USA, Kilic promised to speed up their activities to create the right
idea of the essence of the Karabakh problem.

Parvana Sabirqizi, ANS.