Armenia, Azerbaijan `Close To Karabakh Deal'

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Secretary’s Phone Calls: Upcoming Kazan Talks

Taken Question
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 25, 2005
Question Taken at the August 25, 2005 Daily Press Briefing


Secretary’s Phone Calls: Upcoming Kazan Talks


Question: What did Secretary Rice discuss during her phone calls to Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian?


Answer: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke briefly this morning with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Robert Kocharian of Armenia. She did so in order to stress to them the importance that the United States attaches to their upcoming meeting in Kazan, and to express our hope that the two Presidents will make the compromises necessary in order to reach a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.


Both leaders were upbeat about the prospects for making progress.


The Secretary stressed to President Aliyev the importance of free and fair parliamentary elections this November in Azerbaijan, and noted his important role in this.


The Secretary also told President Kocharian she hoped Armenia would make progress toward enacting a package of constitutional reforms now before the parliament.

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AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS CALLS FOR ERADICATION OF "ARMENIAN PROBLEM"

AZERBAIJANI JOURNALISTS CALLS FOR ERADICATION OF "ARMENIAN PROBLEM"

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25. ARMINFO. Armenians and Azerbaijanis cannot live
as neighbors in Nagorny Karabakh, writes a certain A.Asalyati in
an article on the web-site MiK "Country is me, you and all us!" The
article was not so against Armenia as against their own authorities.

He says that as wise people Armenians are well aware that co-residence
in Karabakh in impossible that is why they do not yield in the issue of
separation from Azerbaijan, and will never do. He calls the authorities
to stop feeding the people with false promises and primitive lie. "Now
the authorities decided to do the same with Karabakhi Armenians, open
your eyes wider, it won't work with Armenians!" "Karabakh problem has
become a chewing gum for repeated use for our deserving the title of
politicos at the best. Unfortunately, chewing of the problem will not
put an end to the historical caries of our dignity!" The journalists
writes: "the only way out is to eradicate this disease which has not
allowed us to live calmly for over 200 hundred years."

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Armenia says meeting with Aliyev on Karabakh was “positive”

Armenia says meeting with Aliyev on Karabakh was “positive”



27.08.2005, 17.54



KAZAN, August 27 (Itar-Tass) -- Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev conferred for about two hours in Kazan on Saturday in a bid to find a solution to the Karabakh conflict that has been the cause of confrontation between the two countries since the beginning of the 1990s.

Confidentiality is one of the conditions of the Karabakh talks, and neither side has disclosed the details of the negotiations or agreements.

However Kocharyan’s spokesman, Viktor Sogomonyan, said, “The Armenian side assesses the meeting in Kazan positively and considers it a positive development in the negotiating process.”

He said the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, who also took part in the meeting, will “continue the work based on the agreements reached in Kazan”.

Also participating in the meeting were the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia, Bernar Facier of France, and Thoman Mann of the United States.

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No major progress between Azeri, Armenian leaders - minister

No major progress between Azeri, Armenian leaders - minister

ANS TV, Baku
27 Aug 05



[Presenter] The last meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan on the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem has been held in Kazan. The presidents first had a
tete-a-tete meeting and then were joined by the co-chairmen of the
OSCE Minsk Group.

During the talks which lasted for about an hour, an exchange of
opinions was also held on some issues agreed upon at a meeting between
the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Elmar Mammadyarov and
Vardan Oskanyan, in Moscow on 24 August.

Tatarstan's Kazan-inform news agency says that both Ilham Aliyev and
Robert Kocharyan, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen,
positively assessed the talks. President Ilham Aliyev's plane landed
at Heydar Aliyev airport about 30 minutes ago, which marks the end of
his visit to Tatarstan.

In an interview with ANS, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov positively assessed this meeting.

[Mammadyarov] We should now analyse the results. In general, I cannot
say that there has been any major progress or breakthrough. We did not
reach any agreement. But, in general, certainly, talks between the two
presidents are always important and they try to make their positions
correspond each other. I think that we, both Armenia and Azerbaijan,
need a couple of weeks to analyse the thoughts voiced by the two sides
and think what the results may be and whether we are prepared for any
progress or not.

[Passage omitted: Kazan-inform says all official meetings at the CIS
summit have ended]

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No Karabakh Accord Announced After Armenian-Azeri Summit

No Karabakh Accord Announced After Armenian-Azeri Summit

Radio Free Europe 29/08/2005 21:36

Armenia and Azerbaijan have made contradictory statements on their presidents’ weekend meeting in Russia which international mediators hoped will mark a turning point in their protracted search for a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.




Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliev did not speak to journalists after their talks in the Russian city of Kazan on Saturday and it is not known if they reached any formal or informal agreements on Karabakh. Reports from Kazan said the two leaders conferred in a tête-à-tête format for an hour before being joined by French, Russian and U.S. diplomats spearheading the peace process.

Kocharian, according to his spokesman Victor Soghomonian, came away satisfied from the meeting held on the sidelines of a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. “The Armenian side assesses the meeting in Kazan positively and considers it a positive development in the negotiating process,” the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Soghomonian as saying.

The official added that Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan and Vartan Oskanian of Armenia will continue that process “based on the agreements reached in Kazan.” He did not say what those agreements are.

“In general, I cannot say that there has been any major progress or breakthrough,” Mammadyarov said for his part, according to the Azerbaijani ANS television. “We did not reach any agreement.”

“I think that we, both Armenia and Azerbaijan, need a couple of weeks to analyze the thoughts voiced by the two sides and think what the results may be and whether we are prepared for any progress or not,” he added.

Mammadyarov and Oskanian held talks in Moscow earlier in the week to prepare for the Armenian-Azerbaijani summit and appeared satisfied with their results. Highlighting the importance of the Kazan meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Aliev and Kocharian on Thursday to urge them to make mutual concessions that will pave the way for a Karabakh peace deal.

Diplomatic sources in Yerevan told RFE/RL last month that the parties have already agreed on the key points of a peace deal that could be formalized as early as this year or at the beginning of next. They said it is based on the idea of a referendum in which the Karabakh Armenians will decide whether they want to be independent, become a part of Armenia or return under Azerbaijani rule. Speaking to RFE/RL in Moscow last week, Mammadyarov admitted that such a peace formula is being discussed by the parties.

Regional observers believe that Aliev and Kocharian will not announce any compromise deals until November which will see parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan and a constitutional referendum in Armenia. It is widely assumed that opposition groups in both countries would exploit unpopular concessions on Karabakh in their struggle against the ruling regimes.

The Karabakh peace process has always been highly confidential. Kocharian and Aliev’s late predecessor and father Heydar, for example, did not announce any agreements after a meeting in Paris in March 2001. But Armenian officials claimed afterward that the two presidents agreed on the key principles of a peace accord that nearly ended the bitter dispute.

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Azerbaijani president satisfied with Karabakh settlement talks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jun 30 2005 5:07PM
Azerbaijani president satisfied with Karabakh settlement talks
BAKU. June 30 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said he is satisfied with the progress of Karabakh settlement negotiations.

"Negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are developing well," he told a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Baku on Thursday.

"The recent boost in negotiations gives us hope. Negotiations would have been unnecessary without this hope," he said.

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PACE commission on Karabakh to meet on September 12

PACE commission on Karabakh to meet on September 12

24.08.2005 17:28

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) ad hoc commission on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is to hold its meeting in Paris on September 12, Armenpress reported.

The ad hoc commission was established following PACE 1416 resolution in this January and calls on the OSCE Minsk Group states to apply more efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The commission is comprised of the heads of the OSCE Minsk Group countries in the PACE as well as heads of the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations, chairmen of political and monitoring commissions, members of Armenian and Azerbaijani opposition parties.

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Baku Demands Karabakh In Exchange

BAKU DEMANDS KARABAKH IN EXCHANGE FOR DEPLOYING
AMERICAN BASES IN ITS TERRITORY

By David Petrosyan

August 30, 2005


The position of Azerbaijan in the forming system of political
co-ordinates is fairly ambiguous. On the one hand, the country started
operating the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, conducts negotiations
for joint projects with Ukraine and is a member of GUAM (Georgia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova), i.e. Azerbaijan is actually considered
to be part of the "orange belt." On the other hand, it is quite
obvious that Baku has not evidently reached the level of democratic
development achieved by Ukraine, Moldova or Georgia.

The next parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan in
November, during which the Azerbaijani opposition hopes to strengthen
its position at the minimum and to make the Heydar Aliyev-founded clan
leave the political scene at the maximum. At the same time, it should
be noted that the current leadership of the country is under quite
strong pressure of European structures, which in the person of the
PACE President Rene van der Linden made it quite clear that Baku will
face strict sanctions in the event that facts of rigging or other
serious violations are revealed at the forthcoming parliamentary
elections. As for the US, the American Ambassador in Baku Reno Harnish
paid a series of visits to regions and had meetings with
representatives of the opposition. Now, it can be said that during the
parliamentary elections in the autumn, the Azerbaijani authorities
will have to withstand far more serious pressure of the internal
opposition supported by a pressure from outside. There is an impression
that the matter will not necessarily end in toppling Ilham Aliyev's
regime from power.

On the whole, Ilham Aliyev and his political team have to work out
a political line in a pretty complex system of co-ordinates connected
with:

- the upcoming elections to parliament, i.e, the issue related to
the direct retaining of power;

- the Karabakh conflict settlement;

- a possible exacerbation of contradictions between the US and
Iran (the well-known tough statements of President Bush about the
possibility of solving "the problem of Iran" also by force), which
makes the issue of a possible repetition of the Iraqi scenario in the
immediate vicinity of Azerbaijan's borders (and Armenia's as well) a
topical one. In light of this, there is an issue of deploying American
military bases in the territory of Azerbaijan (in mobile or some other
version), including the bases which are likely to be withdrawn from
Uzbekistan.

Exceeding the time permitted for a move, Ilham Aliyev finally
voiced his position in an interview to the British television company
Sky News on August 24. From the above mentioned list, I. Aliyev
undoubtedly considers the issues related to keeping his power as the
most important ones. In view of this, his theses are quite obvious:

- Baku intends to solve the Nagorno Karabakh problem only by
peaceful means,

- Azerbaijan's aspiration to settle the Karabakh conflict by
peaceful means gives it the right to address other countries (for
example, the US - our remark) with the proposal to also "refrain from
any violence" (including against Iran).

It follows from the context of I. Aliyev's statement that the
Azerbaijani leadership is connecting the possiblity of its military
cooperation with the US with the position of the Bush Administration
on the issue of Nagorno Karabakh. To put it simply, if Washington
makes the Armenians leave the territories under their control in the
"security zone" around Nagorno Karabakh, Baku will allow to establish
American military bases in its territory and will take sides with the
US in the conflict with Iran.

Thus, in response to the blackmail of the West, and first of all
the US, frightening the Azerbaijani leadership with an "orange
revolution," Ilham Aliyev steers the conversation into an entirely
different plane, as if brushes aside the possibility of any
revolutions and combines in one package the issue of deploying
American military bases in Azerbaijan, the Nagorno Karabakh problem
and the conflict around Iran's nuclear program.

One should assume that such a strict stance on the part of
I. Aliyev became possible after President Islam Karimov had demanded
that the US withdraw its air base from Uzbekistan within 180 days.

Washington evidently believes that like in the case of
Kyrghyzstan, whose leaders accepted the help offered by Washington and
kept the military base in Gansi, the old trick - dollars - will play
its role in Azerbaijan: the US has already announced that it intends
to spend in the coming decade over 100 million dollars on the "Caspian
Guard Program" aimed at establishing police and special purpose forces
(SpetsNaz) capable of reacting efficiently to "various emergencies" in
the Caspian region. This program is only for Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan
where America intends not only to build command-and-staff centers but
also to establish centers for air force and navy secret operations.
Prior to it, in 2003-2004, the US already held with Baku two joint
military trainings. In this situation, Russia is making an attempt to
seize the initiative from the US and proposes estalishing Joint Rapid
Reaction Forces in order to ensure security in the Caspian Sea basin.
(Kazakhstan and Iran support the Russian proposal).

Until now the official Baku avoided giving a direct answer to the
question about American military bases, and some Azerbaijani officials
deny the very fact of negotiations around this subject, although the
number of mutual visits paid by American and Azerbaijani military men
to each other leaves no doubt that they have a subject to discuss.

The demonstrative support of the Azeri opposition leaders is
becoming more pronounced with the approach of the parliamentary
elections, with Washington maintaining at the same time good relations
with Ilham Aliyev. Everything possible is done so than he can feel "a
breath at the back." Yet Aliyev, however strong his desire to be on
friendly terms with the US is, avoids giving his consent for the
full-fledged military bases to be deployed, since, quite naturally,
Russia and Iran are displeased with the activity shown by Americans in
the Caspian Sea.

For the time being, the region, as last year, is being shaken by
military trainings. In August, a military training - the most
large-scale one since the end of the war, was held in Abkhazia. Now
the August maneuvers are taking place in the Caspian region under the
leadership of Russia, and the command-and-staff training
"Eternity-2005" was in Tbilisi (during which the Georgian, Azeri and
Turkish sub-units were working out on maps and computers their
cooperation activities to protect the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline). September will open with the already traditional
Armenian-Russian training in Armenia. All this is indicative of tha
fact that the situation in the region continues to be difficult and
complicated. In parallel with the intention to tie up the issues of
keeping his power and the solution of the Karabakh problem with the
deployment of American military bases in the territory of Azerbaijan,
Ilham Aliyev is engaged in another game connected with the
Kremlin. The Kremlin does not promise to solve the Karabakh problem
but Moscow promises another thing: in case of refusal to deploy
American military bases in its territory, Ilham Aliyev's regime will
be provided the maximum support. Retention of power is a priority
task for the ruling clan, whereas solving the Karabakh problem is a
secondary one. We suppose the Azerbaijani leadership will most
probably accept the Kremlin proposals, especially as Ilham Aliyev's
entourage obviously believes that the official Baku does not lack
resources to put down the post-election confrontations with the
opposition.
"The Noyan Tapan Highlights" N33 , August, 2005

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Anca Sets Record Straight

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.anca.org

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 30, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA SETS RECORD STRAIGHT IN FACE OF CONTINUED AZERBAIJANI
MISINFORMATION ABOUT NAGORNO KARABAGH

"At the heart of this issue is Nagorno Karabagh - a
democracy defending itself against a corrupt monarchy
that blockades its neighbors and abuses its own
citizens." - ANCA Memo to Congress, August 26, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC - In letters sent last week to every Member of Congress,
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) responded to the
recent escalation of Azerbaijani Embassy's misinformation campaign
by outlining the long-standing United States record in support of
Nagorno Karabagh.

In an August 26th memo to Congressional offices, ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian explained that, "the Azerbaijan government -
on the defensive about its own record on democracy and freedom - is
again resorting to misstatements and outright falsehood to advance its
agenda." The ANCA letter came in response to an August 17th letter
by Azerbaijani Ambassador Hafez Pashayev, which misrepresented
the progress of democracy and free elections Nagorno Karabagh.
Erroneous statements in the letter included false assertions that
"Nagorno Karabagh was never independent nor a part of Armenia,"
as well as untrue charges about Armenian aggression.

The ANCA memo highlighted several key points concerning United
States support for Nagorno Karabagh:

* Declassified CIA reports from the seventies, eighties, and
nineties reveal a pattern of official -although confidential-
acknowledgement that Nagorno Karabagh is a historic part of
Armenia. (www.anca.org/docs/cia1-website.pdf)

* In the late 1980's, the United States welcomed Nagorno
Karabagh's historic challenge to the Soviet system and its leadership
in sparking democratic movements in the Baltics and throughout the
Soviet empire.

* The U.S. Senate, in November of 1989, adopted S.J.Res.178,
recognizing that "Nagorno-Karabagh has continually
expressed its desire for self-determination and freedom."

* The U.S. State Department's representative to the OSCE
"Minsk Group" regularly visits Nagorno Karabagh, which is
an official party to the peace process, and consults with its
democratically elected leaders.

* The U.S. Government, since 1992, has been on record
officially condemning Azerbaijan's blockades and other uses
of force against both Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh
(Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act).

* The U.S. Government, over Azerbaijan's protests, has
provided direct humanitarian assistance to Nagorno
Karabagh since 1998.

On August 3rd, Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) initiated a Congressional
letter to President Bush, drawing attention to "the important
progress being made by the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,
Artsakh, towards freedom, peace and prosperity." This letter,
which is currently gaining signatures during the Congressional
recess, notes that, just as, the U.S. champions "freedom for all
peoples around the world, we should also continue supporting the
aspirations of the people of Artsakh to live in freedom,
particularly in the strategically important South Caucasus."

ANCA chapters and activists have been contacting their legislators
over the past month in support of the Congressional letter to
President Bush, set to delivered to the White House on September
30th.

#####

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Nkr President: Behavior Of Baku Authorities More And More Postpone Day Of Karabakh Co

NKR PRESIDENT: BEHAVIOR OF BAKU AUTHORITIES MORE AND MORE POSTPONE DAY OF KARABAKH CONFLICT'S RESOLUTION

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 2. ARMINFO. Baku authorities try to conceal the successes of Nagorny Karabakh in construction of a legal and democratic state from Azerbaijani people by all means possible, not allowing their citizens to visit NKR and communicate with Karabakh people. It is not accidental, however, such behavior has no prospects, a it is even more postpones the day of full and mutually advantageous resolution of the conflict. NKR Presiden Arkady Ghouakssyan made such an address on the occasion of the 14th Anniversary of NKR Independence.

According to ARMINFO's special correspondent to Stepanakert, in his address NKR President said that such acts by the Azerbaijani leadership as well as its unwillingness to negotiate with the Karabakh conflict cast a serious doubt on the prospects of the conflict's settlement by civil methods on the basis of reasonable compromises. That is why the fact of the unsettled conflict remains a factor threatening with new destabilization in the region, Arkady Ghoukassyan thinks. He once more assured all those present that NKR leadership adheres exclusively to the peace settlement of the conflict. "At the same time our people must be sure that no one will be able to deprive us from the independence gained by means of irreplaceable losses. The All National NKR Defense Army is able to give a proper counteraction to all those who will dare to encroach upon our Motherland. We have all the necessary means and possibilities for it," NKR President says.