Author: Tevosiants Janik

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
March 8 2004

ATMOSPHERE OF MUTUAL TRUST IS NECESSARY

On March 5 the NKR minister of foreign affairs met with the director
of the Stepanakert office of the International Committee of the Red
Cross Charlotte Hardford whose term of duties in NKR has expired.
Charlotte Hardford introduced to the minister Mireille Benare who
will take up the duties of the director of the ICRC representation in
Nagorni Karabakh, and expressed hope that the cooperation between the
international mission and the Karabakh authorities will go on under
the new director. Ms. Hardford thanked the NKR government for
providing favourable working conditions and for the assistance to the
ICRC for effective implementation of its mission. The NKR minister of
foreign affairs thanked Charlotte Hardford for fruitful activities
and also expressed hope that the tradition of cooperation of the NKR
government and especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the
ICRC will have further development. Ashot Ghulian emphasized that it
will be possible to settle all the problems of the conflict parties
only if an atmosphere of mutual trust is maintained, efforts are
united and the humanitarian issues are not politicized, which greatly
hinders their solution. The participants of the meeting discussed a
number of humanitarian problems and the far-reaching programs of the
ICRC in Nagorni Karabakh concerning health care, aid to the citizens
suffered in the conflict, foundation of children’s safe playgrounds.

AA

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 12 2004

Georgian leader goes to Yerevan for talks on cooperation

YEREVAN, March 12 (Itar-Tass) – Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili arrives on Friday in Yerevan for a two-day official visit
aimed at discussing bilateral cooperation.

That is Saakashvili’s first visit to the Armenian capital after he
was elected president. The main agenda of his talks with Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan is cooperation in the sphere of transport
and the energy sector, as well as cultural cooperation, the press
secretary of the Armenian leader told Itar-Tass.

Armenia supplies the neighboring republic with electricity.
Meanwhile, the Armenian economy almost fully depends on the transit
or cargoes via Georgia, and Yerevan puts much emphasis on the issue
concerning the organization of and payment for those shipping
operations.

Kocharyan hails the level of relations with Georgia. Good personal
relations between the leaders of the two countries give an impetus to
a better development of good-neighborly relations, he stressed.

The programme of the visit includes tete-a-tete talks of the two
presidents, talks in an extended format, Saakashvili’s talks with the
parliament speaker, with the prime minister, as well as with
representatives of the Georgian diaspora in Armenia.

Catholicos Garegin II will also receive the new Georgian leader.