Author: Tumanian Talar

RIA Novosti, Russia
Feb 1, 2005

RUSSIAN, IRANIAN, AZERI RAILWAY MINISTERS TO MEET

MOSCOW, February 1, (RIA Novosti) – The Russian, Iranian and Azeri
Railway Ministers will meet in Baku February 6-10, Iran’s Ambassador
to Russia Gholamreza Shafei said at a news conference in Moscow.

Mr. Shafei added that an appropriate agreement was signed last year
and provided for the creation of a branch-line that will link the
Iranian and Azerbaijan railways and, then, the Russian railways.

“The functioning of this railway will contribute to the economic
growth of Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan,” he said.

Mr. Shafei reminded the audience that the railway that existed in the
USSR that linked it to Iran, crossed the territory of Armenia and
Azerbaijan. However, in confrontational conditions between the
Armenian and Azerbaijani sides, that railway “is practically not
functioning now.”

Mr. Shafei also said the head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, Yevgeny Primakov, will visit Iran on February 11-13.

“This visit will contribute to the intensification of trade between
our countries,” Mr. Shafei said.

New parties set up in Karabakh

Arminfo, Yerevan
1 Feb 05

STEPANAKERT

The process of creating parties has been speeded up and the domestic
political life in Nagornyy Karabakh has been revived since the law “On
parties” was adopted.

New parties – Our Home Armenia, Movement-88 and Free Motherland – have
joined the traditional Armenian parties in Nagornyy Karabakh, the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun and Armenakan, an
Arminfo correspondent reported from Stepanakert. The Democratic
Artsakh [Karabakh] Union public and political movement has been
transformed into the Democratic Party of Artsakh.

The political field of the republic has become stronger since the
setting up of new parties, Karabakh observers believe.

RIA Novosti
January 28, 2005

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO DISCUSS KARABAKH PROBLEM IN BAKU

MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov is to discuss the problem of the Nagorny Karabakh settlement
during his visit to Azerbaijan on February 1-2, the information and
press department of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

“Russia hails further Azeri-Armenian dialogue at different levels,
above all, between the two countries’ presidents,” the department
stressed.

Moscow believes that “the conflicting sides should achieve mutual
understanding to settle the old conflict.” “Russia is ready to render
them active assistance at the bilateral level and as the cochairman
of the OSCE Minsk Group and to act as the guarantor of the agreement
achieved,” the Russian Foreign Ministry assured.

The forthcoming Russian-Azeri talks will also focus on the
development of anti-terrorist interaction and economic cooperation,
in particular, in the fuel and energy sphere. Moreover, the sides
will discuss the legal status of the Caspian Sea and prospects to
hold the second summit of the five Caspian states (Russia,
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran).

[The first summit was held in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashkhabad in
April 2002 and ended with a zero result. Tehran was expected to be
the venue of the second summit in January 2005. However, according to
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev, the event was
postponed because the sides have serious problems in connection with
their different approaches to the legal status of the Caspian Sea.]

Relations with Azerbaijan have recently become “strategic partnership
and are characterized by positive development dynamics,” the Foreign
Ministry noted. “It is symbolic that Sergei Lavrov’s first official
visit to Baku is held in the beginning of 2005, Azerbaijan’s Year in
Russia,” the Foreign Ministry said.

PRESS RELEASE
CESS 2005 Annual Conference
c/o Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus
Harvard University
615 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139 U.S.A.
tel.: +1 / 617-496-2643
fax: +1 / 617-495-8319
e-mail: [email protected]

CALL for PAPERS

Central Eurasian Studies Society Sixth Annual Conference (2005)

September 29-October 2, 2005 Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

The Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) invites PAPER and ROUNDTABLE
proposals for the Sixth CESS Annual Conference, September 29-October 2,
2005, in Boston, Massachusetts. The event will be hosted by Boston University.

Please note that this is an abbreviated version of the Call for Papers.
Please visit the CESS website
for full details, or
request a text version of the full Call for Papers by sending an email to
<[email protected]>.

Paper and roundtable proposals relating to all aspects of humanities and
social science scholarship on Central Eurasia are welcome. The geographic
domain of Central Eurasia extends from the Black Sea and Iranian Plateau to
Mongolia and Siberia, including the Caucasus, Crimea, Middle Volga,
Afghanistan, Tibet, and Central and Inner Asia. Practitioners and scholars
in all humanities and social science disciplines with an interest in
Central Eurasia are encouraged to participate. The language of the
conference is English.

Based on past CESS conferences, we expect the 2005 conference to be lively
and well-attended by scholars from all over the world. The program will
include panels and roundtables on a wide variety of topics related to
Central Eurasia. Please note that due to the high level of interest, and
the fact that the total number of people on the program will be limited to
no more than 400, we anticipate that the selection of papers will be very
competitive. We also welcome attendees who do not wish to participate in a
panel (see the Registration/Pre-registration Form for information:
).

The 2005 conference program will be organized differently than it has been
in the past, so please read the full Call for Papers (located at
) carefully. ROUNDTABLE
proposals will be evaluated by the Conference Committee. PAPER proposals
will be submitted to a particular panel organizer from a list of panels
available on the conference website. The person submitting the paper
proposal will inform CESS which panels the paper should be sent to. Papers
that are not accepted on a particular panel will then be sent back to the
Conference Committee for consideration on another panel. Notifications of
acceptances and rejections will be sent by June 1, 2005.

The Conference Committee accepts ONLY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS — either by
webform (see forms for Individual Papers and for Roundtable Panels at:
), or by an e-mailed form
in MS Word format in the case of those who don’t have web access.

INSTRUCTIONS for INDIVIDUAL PAPER Proposals

Paper authors should review the submission criteria and the participation
and program policies found at
, and then prepare the
following information in order to start the online submission process.

1. Review the list of panels at
and choose 1-2 panels
you would like your paper to be considered for
2. Prepare the following information for online submission:
– Paper title
– Paper abstract of 200-300 words. Please prepare this carefully, as
panel organizers will be making their decision to accept or reject your
proposal based on the quality of your abstract. Be sure to check spelling
and grammar, and clearly state the topic of your paper, the source of your
data, your specific argument and central findings, and the relevance of
your research for the scholarly literature and to Central Eurasia.
– A biographical statement or brief, narrative CV of 300 words describing
your educational and professional background
3. Submit your proposal via the webform located at
or request a submission
form from [email protected]
4. Become a member of CESS, if you have not already done so. While
membership is not required to submit a paper proposal, membership is
required for participation in the conference. You may complete this step
after your proposal has been accepted.

INSTRUCTIONS for ROUNDTABLE Proposals

A roundtable has four to six presenters and a chair/moderator. For
roundtable proposals, the organizer must provide a paragraph describing the
panel objectives and providing justification for use of the roundtable format.

Roundtable organizers should review the submission criteria and the
participation and program policies found at ,
and then prepare the following information in order to start the online
submission process.

1. Prepare the following information for online submission:
– Roundtable title
– Roundtable description of 200-300 words.
– A biographical statement or brief, narrative CV of 300 words describing
your educational and professional background
– The names, institutional affiliations, brief, narrative CVs, and contact
information of each of the presenters who have agreed to be part of your
roundtable
2. Submit your proposal via the webform located at
or request a submission form from [email protected]
3. Become a member of CESS, if you have not already done so, and make sure
that all the roundtable presenters are members, also. While membership is
not required to submit a paper proposal, membership is required for
participation in the conference. You may complete this step after your
proposal has been accepted.

Deadline for Submission of Paper and Roundtable Proposals: April 1, 2005.

Note: Submissions after this date may be accepted only in the case of
special justifying circumstances and at the discretion of the program
committee.

Notification of acceptance: by June 1.

BEST PAPER GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD: There will be an award in the amount of
$500 given to the best graduate student conference paper submitted to the
Awards Committee for consideration. See the CESS awards webpage for
details, or contact the Awards Committee Co-chair, Dr. Uli Schamiloglu
<uschamilwisc.edu>.

Contact Information

The Co-chairs of the Conference Committee are:

Dr. Laura Adams (Princeton University; [email protected])
Prof. Thomas Barfield (Boston University; [email protected])

Correspondence should be directed to:

CESS 2005 Annual Conference
c/o Program on Central Asia and the Caucasus
Harvard University
615 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139 U.S.A.
tel.: +1 / 617-496-2643
fax: +1 / 617-495-8319
e-mail: [email protected]

Full information about CESS 2005 in Boston is found on the conference webpages:
Main conference website:
Full information about hosting and location at Boston University:

STATE LABOUR Inspection DEPARTMENT

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
26 Jan 05

By the government decision the NKR State Labour Inspection Department
was established and has been operating since January 1, 2005 within
the NKR Ministry of Social Security. The State Labour Department is a
republic body of the NKR executive power and in accordance with the
law, and also the NKR legislation administers state control on
observation of the NKR labour code and other legal acts containing
articles on labour. According to the code confirmed by the NKR
government, the department fulfils its functions in cooperation with
the federation of the trade unions of the republic, the unions of
employers, the police, local governments, other state and public
organizations. We talked to the acting head of the State Labour
Department Andrey Musaelian for informationon the functions, aims and
problems of the department.

THE REASON FOR ESTABLISHING THE DEPARTMENT

According to Andrey Musaelian, job security is the most important part
in labour relationships. In recent years great attention is paid to
providing security of working conditions, improving professional
skills and increasing the duties of the inspectors. Therefore in many
different countries of the world information centers operate, training
courses on job safety are organized. Referring to international
statistic surveys, annually 2 million people die at places of
work. The number of people who receive injuries while working is also
increasing, and as a result annually 250 million people get injuries
and 160 million people suffer professional diseases. `These numbers
oblige us, especially the employers, to reform jobs in correspondence
with international standards,’ said the acting head of the
department. The role of the inspectors of the State Labour Inspection
Department is to control and check the safety of jobs in the framework
of the labour code. According to A. Musaelian, for already several
months the State Labour Inspection Department of Armenia has been
operating within the RA Ministry of Social Security. Last Decemberhe
left for Yerevan to study the nature of their work and to acquire
necessary information. It should be mentioned that the NKR bill `On
State Labour Inspection Department’ is still being worked out and soon
it will be adopted. The NKR State Labour Inspection Department will
have two sections with separate staffs and directors: legal inspection
and inspection of working conditions.

AIMS, PROBLEMS, FUNCTIONS

The aims of the department are to: a) control the observation of the
NKR Labour Code and other legal acts containing articles on labour; b)
take measures to prevent injuries and diseases caused by work; c)
provide working conditions, defend the rights and freedoms of workers,
including the right for safe working conditions; d) provide employers
and employees with information on effective ways and methods of
observing the NKR Labour Code and other legal acts containing articles
on labour. In correspondence with its aims the department fulfils a
number of functions of which the following is especially important:
control on the use of the social security card when paying salaries to
workers by the employers, improvement of working conditions and job
safety by the employers, analysis of the causes of injuries and
diseases connected with work and their prevention by employers. The
department also deals with cases of keeping illegal workers and not
paying salaries.

NVARD OHANJANIAN.
26-01-2005

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Cultural Foundation
CONTACT: Ara Ghazarians, Curator
441 Mystic Street
Arlington, MA 02474-1108
Tel. (781)-646-3090
Website:

ACF Completes Phase II of Microfilms

Arlington, MA – Ever since its founding in 1945, the Armenian Cultural
Foundation has been recognized as one of the major repositories of
invaluable literary treasures in Armenian, English, Farsi, French,
German, Italian, and Russian. Especially important is its unique
collection of Old and New World Armenian periodicals. In 2000 the
Foundation released its Bibliography of the Armenian Periodicals,
Monographic Series, and Reference Materials. This resource book
includes detailed information about 144 periodicals titles, 35
yearbooks, 193 monographic series and reference materials comprising
51 dictionaries, 44 bibliographies, chronologies, encyclopedias, and
atlases.

Cognizant of the value of these priceless items, their advance age and
rapidly deteriorating conditions, the Foundation, after conducting a
survey of microfilms of Armenian periodicals available in various
academic centers and institutions, decided to undertake the
preservation of its Armenian periodical titles. The first phase of the
projects, a total of 43 volumes, includes Biwzandion (Constantinople,
1896-1916), Azg (Boston, 1907-1921) , Azg-Pahak (Boston, 1921-1922),
Azatamart (Constantinople, 1909-1914), and Dzayn Hayreneats’ (New
York, Worcester, Boston, 1899-1907). The selection of the above titles
has been based on their fragile condition and on the research requests
submitted by a number of scholars.

Last month, the Foundation completed the second phase of the project,
Comprised of 61 reels, it includes the periodicals Hayrenik’
[Fatherland] (Constantinople, 1891-1896, 1909-1910), Arewelk’ [East]
(Constantinople, 1884-93, 1898-1912), Chakatamart [Battle]
(Constantinople, 1920-1923), Surhandak [Messenger] (Constantinople,
1889-1900, 1910), Marmara (Istanbul, 1924-1925), Armenia (Marseille,
France, 1904-1923), Masis (Constantinople, 1878-1884, 1896-1898), and
Arawot [Morning] (Constantinople, 1924). This set is available for
purchase, as individual reels, titles or a complete sets.

The third phase of this project is scheduled for the Spring of 2006.
For more information and details please contact the Foundation office
during office hours Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST.

Armenian youth protest against US official’s Karabakh remarks

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
19 Jan 05

Representatives of several youth and student organizations of Armenia
staged a protest rally outside the US embassy in Armenia today.

They expressed their indignation at the statement by US Assistant
State Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Elizabeth Jones that
it is necessary to stop corruption in Nagornyy Karabakh and remove the
ruling criminal links [as heard].

[Passage omitted: Details of statement by Elizabeth Jones]

[Video showed demonstrators with placards “Shame on Elizabeth Jones”,
“No to double standards”, “Karabakh, democracy, peace and freedom”]

Turkish daily reports Armenian-Turkish meeting cancelled

Hurriyet web site, Istanbul
19 Jan 05

The Spring 2005 meeting of the Turkish Armenian Platform, at which the
genocide allegations were on the table, has been cancelled after the
Armenian side failed to send the necessary documents. This attitude of
the Armenians has meant that the hottest meeting set up in connection
with the events of 1915 has been thrown away.

The Viennese Armenian-Turkish Platform, an international body set up
to solve the problems that exist between Turkey and Armenia, including
the tragedy alleged to have happened in 1915, announced that with the
failure of the Armenian side to send the documents it promised the
round table meeting scheduled for spring 2005 has been cancelled. In
the statement made to the world and signed by platform members Dr Wolf
Dieter, Kerstin Tomenendal and Dr Inanc Atilgan, it said that the
Armenian side had failed to hand over the documents it had promised to
get to the platform by last August.

In the statement it also said that the platform’s Turkish members were
in favour of continuing the dialogue and that they had submitted their
own documents regarding 1915 to the platform. In the announcement by
the Viennese Armenian-Turkish Platform it was noted that at the first
Turkish-Armenian round table meeting held in June 2004 the mutual
exchange of almost 100 documents was made thus initiating the dialogue
between both parties. The official statement maintained that this was
the closest contact established between Turkey and Armenia in 90
years, and said that continuation of the process would be a major step
towards solving the problem.

Stating that Armenian scholar had first objected to the Ottoman
language documents being read the announcement noted that the
situation was then made known to the Turkish side, which then
suggested that the documents be handed over with the Ottoman script
transliterated into Latin script. The statement said that this
proposal was put to the Armenians, but that the Armenians did not
reply. It was stated that in this situation the meeting scheduled for
2005 had been cancelled and that such an opportunity as this giving
both sides the means to present their views had been missed because of
Armenia’s attitude.

[Passage omitted]

Maintaining that relations between Turkey and Armenia needed to be
corrected Moscow Radio announced that Russia was prepared to act as
mediator and guarantor of any agreements. In the commentary broadcast
on state radio it was stated that Russia’s President Putin and
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had attended a
Russian-Turkish summit recently and that Armenia’s relations with both
Russia and Turkey had been discussed during the talks. The radio
station noted that during the talks Putin had said they were ready to
put in the effort needed to solve thorny issues between regional
countries. “Russia will do this as a mediator and guarantor of any
agreements made,” commented the radio.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
01/19/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) ARF Bureau Member Hovannisian Slams Jones’s MKR Statement
2) Youth Demonstration Vocalizes Concern about US Remarks on Karabagh
3) Vatican Unveils Monument of Saint Gregory the Illuminator
4) ARS Annual Christmas Party Honors Longtime Volunteer Sarkissian

1) ARF Bureau Member Hovannisian Slams Jones’s MKR Statement

YEREVAN (Yerkir)–Responding to the outgoing US Assistant Secretary of State
Elizabeth Jones’s incendiary statement about the Mountainous Karabagh
Republic,
Armenian National Assembly vice speaker and Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF) Bureau member Vahan Hovannisian told Yerkir media on Wednesday that the
American official’s stated opinions were the result of Turkish and Azeri
lobbying efforts.
As reported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) on
Wednesday,
Jones, during a January 13 video conference discussing US bilateral relations
with Russia, called for increased US engagement in resolving regional
conflicts
in the former Soviet Union, stating: “It is in Russia’s interest for these
areas–for Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Mountainous Karabagh–to be
stable, for corruption to end there, for the criminal secessionists who rule
there to be removed. It is not appropriate for this kind of instability and
criminality to exist right in the middle of Europe.”
Hovhannisian said that Jones’s statements are both obnoxious and baseless.
“Jones is an outgoing official, and had never made similar comments during her
tenure as assistant secretary of state.” This fact, according to Hovhannisian,
indicates that high ranking American officials had not authorized her to
express such statements. He added that Jones’s stance does not actually
reflect
official US policy.
“Don’t forget former Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur on
Karabagh, Terry Davis, who issued a report after leaving the post. The same
goes for the next rapporteur, David Atkinson,” Hovhannisian said.
On Wednesday, the US embassy in Yerevan issued a statement in response to
situation, noting, “US policy with respect to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
has
not changed. 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 in the Minsk Group process,” continued the statement. “The United
States remains actively engaged in advancing 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.
“Assistant Secretary Jones’s comment quoted in the Moscow Times was directed
at the need for the US and Russia to work together to resolve the conflicts
and
advance transparency and rule of law in the conflict areas. We recognize that
the circumstances of each conflict are unique.”

2) Youth Demonstration Vocalizes Concern about US Remarks on Karabagh

YEREVAN–Representatives of several youth organizations in Armenia expressed
their indignation with US Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones’s
recent
statement referring to Mountainous Karabagh’s leaders as “criminal
secessionists” and calling for their removal from power.
Organized by the “Baze” youth group, demonstrators gathered in front of
the US
embassy in Armenia on Wednesday. Participants included representatives of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Republican, and Orinats Yerkir youth
groups,
as well as non-governmental organizations.
The demonstration closed down Bagramyan Avenue, while police protected
them by
forming a chain and controlling the traffic. Carrying posters that read “Shame
on Elizabeth Jones” and “No to double standards,” the youth expressed their
outrage at Jones’s remarks on January 13 during a digital video-conference
with
journalists in US Embassies in Moscow, Rome, and Bratislava.
Expressing the Armenian American community’s shock and outrage at Assistant
Secretary Jones’s remarks, the ANCA, on Tuesday, also condemned her statements
“as counter to the long-standing US policy of helping the parties reach a
negotiated settlement.” The ANCA also called on the Administration to begin
repairing this damage by immediately and clearly renouncing the unfair and
inaccurate remarks.

3) Vatican Unveils Monument of Saint Gregory the Illuminator

(VATICAN CITY)–Pope John-Paul II, along with Armenian Church officials,
attended the official inauguration of the statue of Saint Gregory the
Illuminator in the Vatican on January 19.
The almost 18 feet high statue was placed in the last remaining empty niche
along the walls leading to St. Peter’s Basilica, which house the statues of
famous saints. It is situated at the site where visitors wait to climb the
cupola.
An almost two-foot gilt bronze Armenian Cross is situated in the right
hand of
the statue, and a Holy Bible in the left. Two Armenian crosses and Saint
Gregory’s adorn the statue’s vestment.
The Latin and Armenian inscription on the pedestal reads, “Saint Gregory
Illuminator of Armenia 301.”
On his trip to Armenia to mark the 1700th anniversary of the conversion of
the
Armenian nation to Christianity, Pope John-Paul II became inspired by a visit
to Khor-Virab where Saint Gregory was confined, crouched in the dark for 13
years.
Thus, at the urging of the Armenian catholic Patriarch Nerses-Bedros XIX, the
Pope pledged to do his utmost to erect, in the Vatican, a statue of the Saint
Illuminator of the first Christian nation.
In 2001, the Vatican Launched an international design contest for a marble
statue of the Founder of the Armenian Church.
The winner was artist Khachik Kazandjian from Paris, who recently created
a 30
feet high monument of Alfred Nobel. That statue is in the center of the
city of
Sevran where Nobel lived and worked. Kazandjian is also a founding member and
the First President of the Society of Armenian Artists of France.

4) ARS Annual Christmas Party Honors Longtime Volunteer Sarkissian

GLENDALE–The Armenian Relief Society Western Region (ARS-WR) annual Christmas
party took on a special celebratory mood on January 4, not only because 350
ARS
members from San Diego to the San Fernando Valley, representing three
generations, gathered to celebrate, but also because one of its finest members
was honored.
ARS social services worker Annig Sarkissian was honored for her dedicated
volunteer work throughout the years. As Santa escorted Sarkissian, who was a
little shy, from her seat to the stage, ARS members were ready to speak of her
efforts and present a commemorative plaque.
Explaining that volunteer work lies at the heart of the ARS, ARS-WR Social
Services Director Sona Zinzalian explained Sarkissian’s work as incomparable.
Zinzalian described her as the kind of volunteer who does not stop when her
work is done, but asks if other committees need help. ARS-WR Regional
Executive
Chair Angela Savoian expressed the Regional Executive’s appreciation of
Sarkissian’s presence within the office saying, “We are so happy that we have
someone like you among us.” In her turn, the honoree, who is in her eighties,
promised to volunteer until she turns 100.
Members of the ARS Central Executive (CE) and ARF Central Committee
representative were among the attendees. An east coast transplant, Yeretzgin
Habeshian, officiated the prayers. Speaking on behalf of the ARS-CE, Anahid
Meymarian urged the membership to stay physically and mentally healthy in
order
to carry on the name and reputation of the ARS–an organization which will
celebrate its centennial in 5 years.
Savoian invited the Regional Executive members to join her for a toast,
expressing her appreciation for being surrounded by like-minded board members
who make the meetings an enjoyable place to discuss serious issues for the
ARS.
She also announced the start of a campaign to assist the tsunami victims. On
January 15, the ARS-WR Regional headquarters were open to accept donations.
ARS General Accountant Jassik Jarahian, party coordinator, had arranging for
performances by Razmig Mansourian and Alen Aghajanian, as well as a cappuccino
service, and a uniquely decorated fruit table donated by Arthur Hamedi.
For a brief few hours, the ARS enjoyed the company of fellow members in a
happy and carefree atmosphere, only to return to their chapters and continue
working for their communities.

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Russian foreign minister to visit Azerbaijan on 18-20 February

Trend news agency
18 Jan 05

Baku, 18 January, Trend correspondent A. Raufoglu: Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan on
18-20 February, Trend news agency has found out from diplomatic
sources.

The visit will take places as part of the Russian minister’s regional
tour. Lavrov will come to Bake from Tbilisi and will then head for
Yerevan. “Russia has sent an official note about the visit to Baku,”
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s press centre told Trend. The exact
schedule of the visit and technical aspects are being sorted out
through diplomatic channels, the press centre said.

During his stay in Baku, Lavrov will meet Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev, Milli Maclis parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov, Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and other officials. Regional cooperation,
prospects for developing Russian-Azerbaijani relations, the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict and the status of the Caspian Sea will be priority
topics during the talks.