Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

PRESS RELEASE
The Eurasia Foundation
1350 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20036
Contact: William Grant
Tel: 202-234-7370
Fax: 202-234-7377
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:

Eurasia Foundation and the Izmirlian Foundation Launch Armenian Credit
Company

September 21, 2004 – The Eurasia Foundation and Izmirlian Foundation
announce the establishment of the Izmirlian – Eurasia Universal Credit
Company LLC. On July 22, 2004 the Central Bank of Armenia issued a
credit organization license to the company that will provide financing
to small businesses in Armenia.

This is the next step in the evolution of the existing small business
loan partnership program of the two foundations, establishing a
permanent, locally registered and operated credit company that will
provide medium term financing directly to small businesses. Zakar
Boyajyan has been appointed the credit company’s director; he has served
as director of the small business loan program for five years. In its
first two months of existence the Izmirlian – Eurasia Universal Credit
Company has approved loans to 11 businesses for a total of $730,000.

The Eurasia Foundation launched its small business loan program in
Armenia in 1995 with funding from USAID. Over time the program became
recognized as successfully contributing to the development of small
businesses. Based on this success, the Eurasia Foundation attracted
significant additional funding from the Lincy Foundation. In 1999, the
Izmirlian Foundation became a full partner in the program and provided a
grant that substantially increased its loan pool. The program has lent
to businesses across a wide range of sectors and in all 11 marzes
(regions) of Armenia. Through August 2004, the loan program had
disbursed $10.4 million to 294 businesses.
*****

Privately managed with support from the U.S. Agency for International
Development and other sponsors, the Eurasia Foundation has made over
7,000 grants totaling more than $143 million to support democratic and
economic reform in 12 countries of the former Soviet Union since 1993.
For more information, please visit or

The Izmirlian Foundation is a charitable organization established in
1995, aimed to assist economic and social development in Armenia.

Agency reports clash between Georgians, ethnic Armenians in southern district

A-Info news agency
13 Sep 04

AKHALKALAKI

Members of the Kmara [Georgian: Enough] youth movement did not take
part in the clash between Georgians and ethnic Armenians in
Ninotsminda, southern Georgia, on 6 September, a reliable source
reported.

The same source did not rule out that the Georgian State Security
Ministry could have sent the latter to Javakhetia [Georgia’s
Armenian-populated Samtskhe-Javakheti Region] on a special mission to
cause provocation there.

To recap, several employees of the Georgian State Security Ministry,
including the head of the Ninotsminda District council, brutally beat
up some people and policemen on 6 September. As a result, three
persons were rushed to hospital.

Police seek public’s aid in finding missing man
By Daily News

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
September 17 2004

GLENDALE — Detectives on Thursday were seeking the public’s help
in locating Grigor “Vrej” Adamyan for questioning in the 2003
disappearance of 33-year-old Martin Pogosian.

Pogosian, a medical clinic manager, was last seen in Los Angeles
on Jan. 23, 2003, at 3:30 p.m. after leaving a business meeting
in Glendale.

“He was in a dispute over the telephone and went downtown to handle
that,” said Sgt. Steven Davey of the Glendale Police Department. “He
was missing after that.”

Police believe Adamyan had some sort of dealings with the victim.

Pogosian’s family had last talked to him by cell phone Jan. 24, 2003,
a few hours before a large kidnap-ransom request was delivered to an
unknown Armenian in Los Angeles. The family has helped police identify
business associates and friends. He is described as a family man who
always was in contact with his family.

The Glendale Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit has
developed new leads in the case and is asking for the community’s help.

Anyone with information is asked to call Davey at (818) 548-6485.

Baku made mistake by denying Armenians entry to Azerbaijan – pundit

Ekho, Baku
16 Sep 04

Azerbaijan’s refusal to entertain Armenian officers at the NATO
Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises in Baku has been stirring the
Azerbaijani public for several days now.

[Passage omitted: reported statement by the US ambassador about
Washington regretting that Armenian officers were denied visas]

The ambassador is right that earlier Baku, namely its president,
gave assurances that it would ensure the security of the Armenian
officers, should they take part in the NATO exercises. It happened in
summer. Let’s also recall that after their latest meeting in Prague
on 30 August, Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanyan
gave very high assessments of the talks, saying that their results
were reassuring and could lead to progress in the negotiations between
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan.

>>From this standpoint, the following excerpt from the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry’s statement made after the NATO decision to cancel the
exercises looks quite strange: “In the circumstances of the ongoing
occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory and the presence
of 1m refugees, the leadership of the Republic of Armenia is taking
an increasingly non-constructive position in the negotiations.”

The former head of the Azerbaijani presidential secretariat and
currently the chairman of the public forum In the name of Azerbaijan,
Eldar Namazov, believes that the Azerbaijani leadership is to blame
for the tension that has taken shape.

“This is totally wrong when such an important event, which had been
planned for a long time, is called off hours before it is scheduled
to start. And this was done for a reason which, as it was clear
from the very beginning, could bring about serious consequences. The
Azerbaijani authorities should have raised the issue at an earlier
stage and shouldn’t have waited for visitors to arrive from a number
of countries and, with only several hours left till the start of
the exercises, made a hasty decision which will obviously affect our
relations with NATO,” Namazov said.

The political analyst thinks this is a “serious mistake by the
Azerbaijani authorities”.

“As for the implications of the decision, I think there will
probably be a pause in our relations now. But I think this will
first of all concern the NATO administration’s assessment of the
Azerbaijani leadership’s actions, while Azerbaijan as a state will
continue to attract the alliance’s interest. Because we are located
at a very important strategic junction between Europe and Asia,
the South-West and North-South corridors go through Azerbaijan,
Caspian oil resources will be transported to the world market through
Azerbaijan. All this causes permanent interest in our country on the
part of world superpowers and leading international organizations,
and this interest is unlikely to lessen because of such short-sighted
actions by the Azerbaijani leadership,” he said.

“I am unhappy with the way international bodies are handling the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, but from the standpoint of the state we
have to bear in mind that Azerbaijan’s national security is threatened
by dozens of international challenges. The Armenian aggression is the
main, but not the only one of these challenges. And if NATO can help
us avert other threats, then cooperation with NATO represents great
value for us,” Namazov added.

Namazov does not believe that things will reach a point when relations
with NATO will be terminated, “but further steps will be taken with
a view to how consistent the Azerbaijani authorities will be”.

Aliyev, Kocharian negotiate Nagorno-Karabakh

Interfax
Sept 16 2004

Astana. (Interfax) – A Wednesday one-on-one meeting between Azerbaijani
and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in the Kazakh
capital city of Astana, which they had following a tripartite meeting
with Russian President Vladimir Putin, lasted for over four hours.

“The presidents have clarified certain positions and standpoints,
and now we have to take time to find where we stand” after this round
of negotiations, Kocharian told the press.

The negotiating process concerning the resolution of the Nagorno-
Karabakh problem is “underway,” Kocharian said. He admitted, however,
“We can’t boast of anything special.”

Both parties treat the dialogue “with patience,” he said. “We are
discussing very difficult problems that we have inherited,” he said.

Aliyev assessed the meeting positively. “I deem it positive that
meetings between the foreign ministers, with the co-chairmen of the
[OSCE] Minsk Group involved, are held regularly,” he said.

The Azerbaijani leader admitted that the two presidents cannot say
anything specific as to what they had discussed behind closed doors.
“We always have to confine ourselves to very general phrases, and
there will be no exception today, because the process is extremely
important,” Aliyev said.

He said the two presidents had summarized outcomes of previous
negotiations between the two foreign ministers.

Aliyev and Kocharian once again thanked President Vladimir Putin
for willingness to mediate in their dialogue. “We thank the Russian
president for understanding,” Kocharian said.

Azerbaijan, Armenia Hold Talks On Nagorno-Karabakh

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Sept 16 2004

15 September 2004 — The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan held talks
today on the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham
Aliyev held two-way talks before joining Russian President Vladimir
Putin to discuss the ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan over which
the two neighboring states fought a five-year war in the early 1990s.

The talks were held on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders of
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries in the
Kazakh capital Astana.

The OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by Russia, France, and the
United States, has been mediating between Armenia and Azerbaijan in
the past decade.

Some 35,000 people were killed and about 1 million displaced by the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which erupted during the breakup of
the Soviet Union.

NEXT US-ARMENIA JOINT TASK FORCE TO MEET IN WASHINGTON OCTOBER 4

ArmenPress
Sept 15 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: US ambassador to Armenia, John
Evans, told a news conference today that the 9-th meeting of the
US-Armenia Joint Task Force will take place in Washington on October
4 and will discuss bilateral strategic approaches towards boosting
economic growth, improvement of business environment, ways to make US
assistance to Armenia more addressed as well as security, agricultural
and nature protection issues.

John Evans said the meeting will discuss also Armenia’s proposals for
the Millennium Challenges Account program. The Armenian delegation
to Washington will be headed by finance and economy minister Vartan
Khachatrian, who is also the Armenian co-chairman of the Task Force.

ARMENIAN AND CHINESE COOPERATION YIELDS TANGIBLE RESULTS

ArmenPress
Sept 13 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: “Economic cooperation between
Armenia and China is set to go on developing,” Chinese ambassador Zho
Xiulian told reporters on the sidelines of the Chinese Business Day
within Armenia Expo-2 2004. “Economic cooperation between our countries
yield tangible results, especially in the fields of agriculture and
energy,” he said.

Responding to the question of Armenpress on the current pace of
Armenian-Chinese economic relations, the ambassador said that a mixed
commission is working to steer economic cooperation but there are no
visible outcomes yet. According to the ambassador, distance between
the countries and transport difficulties hinder the enlargement of
economic cooperation between the two. He also said that Armenian and
Chinese businessmen know little about each other. However, he said
certain steps are taken in that direction. Chinese business partners
have submitted written information about their companies to Armenian
counterparts. Armenian companies filled out questionnaires and send
them to Chinese side offering cooperation proposals.

According to International Integration Cooperation Center expert
Helena Nazinian, Armenian and Chinese businessmen are attentively
following cooperation opportunities in almost all fields of economy.

US Backs NATO Cancellation of Exercises in Azerbaijan
By David Gollust

State Department
13 Sep 2004, 21:44 UTC

VOA

The United States criticized Azerbaijan Monday for excluding Armenia
from NATO partnership exercises planned this week in Baku. The
Azerbajani action prompted NATO to cancel the maneuvers. The State
Department says it supports NATO’s decision to cancel the exercises
and says it “deeply regrets” Azerbaijan’s decision not to issue visas
for Armenian participants.

Armenia was to have been among more than 20 countries, NATO members
and aspiring members of the alliance, who were to have taken part
in two weeks of exercises in Azerbaijan opening Tuesday under NATO’s
Partnership for Peace.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said late last week he did not want
officers from his country’s neighbor and political rival Armenia to
come to Baku and said he was taking the “necessary measures” to keep
them out.

On Monday, NATO’s Supreme Command decided to cancel the long-planned
exercise because of the Azerbaijani stance, which a spokesman in
Brussels said violated the principle of “inclusiveness” under which
all NATO exercises are agreed upon and conducted.

There was a similar statement from a State Department spokesman, who
backed the NATO decision and said the United States does not believe
the action by Mr. Aliyev is consistent with Azerbaijan’s often-stated
desire to cooperate and work toward closer partnership with NATO.

The Partnership for Peace was founded by NATO in 1994 as a vehicle
for helping the formerly communist countries of central and eastern
Europe meet the criteria for joining the alliance.

The exercises planned for Baku, called “Cooperative Best Effort,”
were to have involved mock peacekeeping-support operations by small
military units from 22 countries.

An official here said Azerbaijan boycotted the same partnership
exercise last year, which was held in Armenia.

The two countries fought a five-year war in the early 1990’s
over Nagorno-Karabakh, a largely Armenian-populated region within
Azerbaijan.

The conflict ended with Armenian forces in control of the enclave,
though it is recognized internationally as being part of Azerbaijan.

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 10 2004

AZERBAIJAN PEOPLE CATEGORICALLY AGAINST PARTICIPATION OF THE ARMENIAN
OFFICERS IN EXERCISES FORTHCOMING IN BAKU
[September 10, 2004, 22:52:39]

This idea has been stated by Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan,
colonel-general Safar Abiyev at the meeting with the ambassador of
the Russian Federation in our country Nikolay Ryabov that took place
on September 10 in connection with end of his diplomatic mission.

Especially having emphasized that during his activity Nikolay Ryabov
actively helped further improvement of the Azerbaijan-Russian
relations, having noted his merits that today connections between our
countries on all directions, including in the field of military
cooperation, are at a desirable level, colonel-general Safar Abiyev
has expressed to the ambassador condolence in connection with
numerous human loss as a result of the act of terrorism accomplished
in the city of Beslan of Northern Ossetia.

Having touched the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the Minister has
noted that Azerbaijan also is the state undergone to terror.
Aggressive Armenia has made 32 acts of terrorism as a result of which
was lost more than 2 thousand innocent citizens of Azerbaijan in our
territory. Khojali tragedy is the most monstrous act of terrorism
accomplished in the territory of Azerbaijan.

Having expressed gratitude for reception, ambassador Nikolay Ryabov
has stated that the national leader of Azerbaijan people Heydar
Aliyev is the architect of independent Azerbaijan, and has noted:
”Due to efforts of this ingenious person, the Russian – Azerbaijan
relations have reached a high level. The President of Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev successfully continues this policy. I believe, that the
Russian – Azerbaijan relations in all areas achieve the highest
level.

Having stated that Azerbaijan people expects much from the meeting of
Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia during summit of the heads of CIS
states forthcoming in Astana, and having emphasized, that this
meeting renders positive influence on settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, colonel-general Safar Abiyev has told:
”Within the next few days, the field exercises will be carried out
in Baku within the framework of the NATO ”Partnership for Peace”
program ”Cooperative Best Effort-04 ”. The aspiration of Armenia,
grasping the Azerbaijan territories, supporting terror and separatism
at the level of state policy to take part in these exercises
forthcoming in Baku surprises us. Armenia does not recognize
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Besides, does not refuse
territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Between Azerbaijan and Armenia
there are no diplomatic ties. In this case, participation of officers
of the Armed Forces of Armenia in exercises forthcoming in Baku is
impossible. The people of Azerbaijan are categorically against
participation of the Armenian officers in these exercises. We
consider that diligence for the sake of participation in the
mentioned exercises, shown by Armenia before summit of the heads of
CIS states forthcoming in Astana and the meeting of Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia during this action, serves the even greater
strain of relations between two states and to failure of
negotiations. The Ministry of Defense states that Armenia covered by
a veil of the international cooperation and occasionally
participating in actions of the NATO should refuse participation in
the exercises forthcoming in Baku.

Ambassador Nikolay Ryabov has told: ”It is your position. I think
that it is necessary to intensify even more process of negotiations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We wish the further improvement of
the Russian – Azerbaijan military cooperation in the name of national
interests of both states”.

Minister Safar Abiyev has reminded, that Azerbaijan has refused
participation in the in the last year exercises conducted in Armenia,
has expressed to the Russian diplomat gratitude in connection with
end of his mission in Azerbaijan, has wished him successes on new
work.

Military attaché ¯f the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in
Azerbaijan Republic, rear admiral Vladimir Lomakin took part at the
meeting.