Armenia, Azerbaijan `Close To Karabakh Deal'

[Gavur]

If Azerbaijan Doesn't Change Its Position Concerning Cyprus, It Won't

ARMINFO News Agency
September 24, 2005

IF AZERBAIJAN DOESN'T CHANGE ITS POSITION CONCERNING CYPRUS, IT WON'T
BE INCLUDED IN EU "NEW NEIGHBORS" PROGRAM.


YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24. ARMINFO. "The talks about starting the
European Union's "Extended Europe, New Neighbors" program, arranged
on September 5, were postponed because of Azerbaijan's position
concerning Cyprus," reported the head of the EU Department of the
Armenian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Armen Liloyan on the
"Illustration of International Programs in Armenian Mass Media"
conference, sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert fund.

According to the report, the first time the talks were postponed
because the EU experts required a more detailed study of the programs
presented by the countries of South Caucasus. This time the delay was
caused by the EU's disagreement with Azerbaijan. "If Azerbaijan
doesn't change its position concerning Cyprus, it won't be included
in EU 'New Neighbors' program," said Mr. Liloyan. He also added that
the rest of the Southern Caucasian countries must not suffer because
of contradictions with Azerbaijan and that the EU had already adopted
the 30% of the propositions made by Armenia in the frameworks of the
project.

Besides the "Extended Europe, New Neighbors" program, on the
"Illustration of International Programs in Armenian Mass Media"
conference were also discussed the "Millennium development Goals" and
"Millennium Challenge" programs. -A--

[Gavur]

Tehran: Daily warns Baku against blind support for US

IRNA, Iran
Sept 25 2005

Daily warns Baku against blind support for US


Tehran, Sept 25, IRNA

An Iranian daily here Sunday advised Baku not to act immaturely and
irresponsibly by blindly supporting US aims and interests in this
part of the world.

The English language daily,`Iran News', said Washington has been
using every opportunity to secure its interests in the Caspian Sea
region.

The daily was commenting on recent reports that Baku has agreed with
building a radar station in its border town of Astara by the US.

Noting that the Azeri town of Astara sits right on the border with
Iran, the editorial said, "Together with their massive military
presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, they (Americans) will be in a more
ideal position to apply pressure on Iran, Central Asia and the
Caucasus as well the entire CIS" after building the station.

"Analysts believe, through close cooperation with Baku, Washington
has placed itself in a position to exert influence and flex its
muscles in the Caspian Sea as well as gain access to the vast energy
resources embedded in the Caspian basin," argued the paper.

It stressed that US had left no stone unturned since the collapse of
the former Soviet empire in order to leave its footprint in the
region.

"They have used a wide variety of pretexts - such as provision of
regional security, mediation on Nagorno-Karabakh, oil exploration,
etc - to secure their interests in the Caspian Sea," it said.

The daily then touched on the US intention to establish and maintain
military presence in Azerbaijan as well as other states of the CIS
and said, "Such strategy would also work to curtail the influence of
two rivals - Russia and China - in the region.

"Experts believe that the existing US policy will do nothing but
create more tension and further anger regional powers such as Iran
and Russia."
The paper criticized Baku for acting "immaturely and
irresponsibly by blindly supporting US aims and interests in this
part of the world," warning that the Azeri officials "are playing
with fire".

It warned Baku "to keep in mind that acting as America's regional
lapdog and mole will be detrimental to its long-term interests."


It stressed that Iran and Russia would "forever remain Azerbaijan's
powerful neighbors, but sooner or later, the influence of the United
States will diminish in his part of the world." 1394/1414

[Gavur]

Azeris Claim Yerevan Back

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28. ARMINFO. The Azeri nationalists demand that Yerevan be given back to Azerbaijan.

The "31 March" organization (the day of "the Azeri Genocide") has asked the speaker of the Azeri parliament Murtuz Aleskerov to raise at UN, OSCE and CE the issue of "Armenia's occupation of Zangezour and other Azeri territories."

The Echo newspaper (Baku) reports the chairman of the organization Hagani Ismail as alleging that May 29 1918 the National Council of Muslims decided to grant Irevan (Yerevan) to Armenia.

Ismail says that the Azeri public is concerned over the OSCE's ineffective work in the Karabakh peace process. He personally believes that this is due to the effective work of the Armenian "mafia."

[Pantalaimon]

Azeris also claim Rostov-on-Don and Saint Petersburg are theirs as well.

[Gavur]

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 30 2005

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 30 2005


A 4-member delegation of the Interior Ministry headed by deputy
minister Asgar Alakbarov left for Yerevan on Thursday to attend a
regular meeting of the CIS Council of Interior Ministers.
The Azerbaijani representatives are not expected to hold discussions
with their Armenian counterparts during the visit, the Ministry said.

Delegations from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have also arrived in Yerevan, according to
Armenian press reports. Ways of fighting organized crime will be
discussed at the two-day meeting attended by CIS executive director
Vladimir Rushaylo and Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble.*


A 4-member delegation of the Interior Ministry headed by deputy
minister Asgar Alakbarov left for Yerevan on Thursday to attend a
regular meeting of the CIS Council of Interior Ministers.
The Azerbaijani representatives are not expected to hold discussions
with their Armenian counterparts during the visit, the Ministry said.

Delegations from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have also arrived in Yerevan, according to
Armenian press reports. Ways of fighting organized crime will be
discussed at the two-day meeting attended by CIS executive director
Vladimir Rushaylo and Secretary General of Interpol Ronald Noble.*

[Gavur]

"LET THE ENEMY KNOW"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 30, 2005, Friday


SOURCE: Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kurier, No 36, September 28 - October 4,
2005, p. 3

by Aleksei Matveev

KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT IS DELAYED

Attention of the international community is once again centered on
Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the self-declared states in the post-Soviet
zone denied international recognition. President of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Robert Kocharjan and Ilham Aliyev, met in Kazan
(Tatarstan, Russia) in late April and discussed conflict settlement
with nothing to show for it. Even official press releases indicate
that the failure did not become a breakthrough. As a matter of fact,
many analysts predicted it. The dialogue has been under way for a
long time now without, however, a single accomplishment in over a
decade. Practically all meetings of the leaders of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh result in vague declarations on how
negotiations continue and how progress is made towards peace and
stability when in fact absolutely no progress worth mentioning is
ever made.

In the meantime, Nagorno-Karabakh exists as a de facto republic. The
Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh celebrated its 14th anniversary of
independence on September 2. Kocharjan attended the festivities.
Kocharjan mentioned in his speech that the negotiations had "positive
tendencies" and said that he had never implied that "Armenia might
change its stand on the matter of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement." In
fact, the Armenian president was refuting himself. What positive
trends are possible when Armenia would not even hear of a compromise?
Ditto Azerbaijan, for that matter.

Aliyev of Azerbaijan is criticizing Nagorno-Karabakh openly. "Let the
enemy know that the Azerbaijani national army can liberate our lands
at any moment," he was quoted as saying not long ago (at the opening
of a monument to former president Heydar Aliyev in Lenkoran on
September 8). Aliyev had arguments to substantiate his threats. "Arms
spending amounted to $175 million in 2004, and to $300 million in
2005. They will amount to $600 million next year," he said. Stripped
of diplomatic finesse, it means that Azerbaijan will stop at nothing
to accomplish its goals.

The president of Azerbaijan may be understood. A six-day joint
exercise of the Russian Army Group in the Caucasus and Armenian Armed
Forces began in Armenia the day before, on September 7. Aliyev could
not let it go without comments. There are no doubts that the
maneuvers were planned, but official Baku took them for
muscle-flexing on the part of Yerevan backed by a foreign power.
Indeed, the legend of the exercise was really something. An enemy
makes a forced march 15-20 kilometers into Armenia across the border
with Turkey. Armenian and Russian servicemen check the enemy advance
and use artillery and aviation to force the enemy to fall back. Sure,
no implications with regard to Azerbaijan were intended, but in the
light of the situation with Nagorno-Karabakh the ambivalence is
certainly undeniable. Aliyev could not help condemning the exercise.
He did so obliquely - speaking about combat readiness and increased
arms spending as a certain counterweight to Armenia's military
preparations. It is a different matter altogether that Baku was
fairly rude and openly resorted to threats...

Azerbaijani leaders are critical of Russia too. Conference Parallel
CIS: Abkhazia, Trans-Dniester, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh As
Realities Of The Post-Soviet Zone in Moscow on September 14-15 (here
CIS stood for the Commonwealth of Ignored States), was taken in
Azerbaijan as a provocation. Addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh
Provisional Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly in Paris the
other day, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov announced
that his country had waged a war on two foreign powers at once -
Russia and Armenia. Azimov also said that Russia had transferred a
great deal of weapons to Armenia. Shavarsh Kocharjan of the Armenian
delegation in return cited chapter and verse on what weapons and
ordnance Armenia had received from Russia before 1993. He said that
all arms deals were then suspended in honor of the Tashkent Accord
(May 1992). Kocharjan added that even according to official reports
Azerbaijan had received twice as many tanks from Russia, 2.5 times
more armored personnel carriers, 1.5 times more artillery pieces, and
twice as many helicopters. Armenia did not receive a single aircraft
from Russia while Azerbaijan received 53. "Armenia has more reasons
to begrudge Russian military assistance to Azerbaijan," Kocharjan
said. "And yet, Armenia recognizes the role Russia has been playing
in connection with the truce made in 1994, because there would have
been no truce without Russia."

In any case, Russia finds itself between the frying pan and the fire
in the Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute. Generally speaking, settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is delayed...

[Gavur]

Armenian and Azeri delegations met in Strasbourg

PACE Karabakh Committee to Meet in December


06.10.2005 09:02

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yesterday PACE Armenian and Azeri delegations met in Strasbourg. Chairman of the PACE Ad-Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh Lord Russell-Johnston was also present at the meeting held behind closed doors. Matters of arranging the Subcommittee third session scheduled for December, ways of activation of efforts of the Subcommittee to settle the Armenian-Azeri conflict were discussed at the meeting.

[Gavur]

EU Official Issues Caution Over Ties With Azerbaijan

(RFE/RL)
5 October 2005 -- The European Union's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, warned today that Azerbaijan risks delaying its participation in the EU's European Neighborhood Program by pursuing ties with Northern Cyprus.


"I told the Azeris clearly: 'If they do not change their attitude, if they do not find a solution, we will start moving ahead with Armenia and Georgia,'" Ferrero-Waldner said. "We're hoping now that the Azeris will find a solution, but this is going to be a matter of some weeks after I must give the go-ahead to the others [Armenia and Georgia] because I cannot let them wait."

The EU only recognizes the Greek-community government of the divided island, which joined the EU in 2004.

Cyprus is now blocking Azerbaijan's progress in the European neighborhood program -- also known as the wider Europe initiative -- over Baku's links to the Turkish part of Cyprus, having specifically complained about commercial flight activity.

Ferrero-Waldner, who was speaking before the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in Brussels, said she had warned Azerbaijan of the risk.

[Gavur]

Tension in Samtskhe-Javakheti increases

Representatives of Tax Service arrived in Akhalkalaki region of Samtskhe-Javakheti region from Tbilisi. By a decision of Service representatives some ten shops were closed. Today some 300 citizens gathered in front of the building of Regional Prefecture to voice protest against the Georgian authorities' decision. In response Akhalkalaki gendarmerie soldiers starting dispersing those gathered, beating them with rubber batons. The gendarmes also fired in the air with submachine-guns. Several peoples suffered from the beating and were taken to hospital. Citizens and residents of neighboring villages are now gathering in the city center. The situation is tense in the city. Javakheti NGO leaders are sure that the mass closure of shops owned by Armenians and the cruel dispersal of the peace rally are an attempt by Georgian authorities to put pressure upon Javakheti after the Javakheti NGO Council urging Georgian authorities on September 24, 2005 to provide status of autonomous federal subject of Georgia to Samtskhe-Javakheti region mostly populated by Armenians. Aggressive actions of Georgian authorities do not leave other choice to Armenian population of the region, but using force to defend their rights, leaders of Javakheti NGOs suppose, reported Javakhk.Info.
© PanArmenian

[Gavur]

'nk Conflict Has No Settlement That All Sides Would Be Happy With'

Armenian President Repeats That Karabakh's Independence Has Nothing to Do With Azerbaijan's Territorial Integrity

At a joint press conference with his Latvian counterpart, President Robert Kocharian said that there is no settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh issue that will make all sides happy. To a Latvian journalist's question "How is that possible to find a solution that would satisfy all parties?", the Armenian President said that first of all the people of Karabakh should be asked with whom and how they want to live.

The officials in Yerevan have been stating in recent years that Nagorno Karabakh never was within Azerbaijan's structure and will never be or else Karabakh's independence has nothing to do with Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. These statements from Armenian President's mouth yesterday came in very handy.

Allegedly, president Kocharian made this statement especially in the presence of President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia who said in Baku a few days ago that "violation of a sovereign state's territorial integrity is a worrisome factor". Besides, Nagorno Karabakh was forced into Azerbaijan like Latvia was once annexed to the Soviet empire. At the press conference following the president's meeting, Kocharian said that it is incomprehensible speaking about territorial integrity in this case when we deal with collapse of an empire. "I see no contradiction in the principle of territorial wholeness and peoples' right for self-determination. Karabakh's independence has nothing in common with Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. After the collapse of the USSR, Karabakh declared its independence through a referendum and Azerbaijan declared of revival of its independence lost in 1918. Nagorno Karabakh has never been in the structure of independent Azerbaijan", the leader of Armenia said.

Vike-Freiberga has previously introduced her state's position on NK issue as that of the EU which places a country's territorial integrity first. "When an empire crumbles there is no question of territorial integrity. The collapse of the Soviet Union gave birth to 15 new states, the map of Europe changed, 5 new states emerged on the Balkans and 6th one is in the process of formation (perhaps he meant Kosovo - ed.), two separate states were formed in the place of Czechoslovakia... The issue of territorial integrity is out of question", President Kocharian said.

Asked by another Latvian journalist whether the fact of Armenian-Russian close ties is not an obstacle for deeper Armenian-Latvian relations, Kocharian said that Armenia implements policy of complementarism: "We have very good relations with Iran, NATO, USA and Russia. If we managed to maintain good relations with Iran and the US in the same time why should we have problems in cooperating with Latvia maintaining meanwhile good relations with Russia?", Robert Kocharian said.

By Tatoul Hakobian
AZG Armenian Daily #181, 08/10/2005