Armenia, Azerbaijan `Close To Karabakh Deal'

[Hovik]

Values

VALUES
Tigran Avetian

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
Nov 29 2005

Liberty announced that during the meeting with NKR President Arkady
Ghukassian and Naira Melkumian, Executive Director of Armenia Fund,
the mayor of the French city of Valence Lena Balsan stated to the
crowd of French Armenians that Valence officially recognized Nagorno
Karabakh Republic. "Nagorno Karabakh demanded independence and
should get it, and I think, as a mayor I must join my voice to the
voice of our fellows in Valence with an Armenian origin to confirm
Nagorno Karabakh's right for independence," said Mrs. Balsan. Let us
try to figure out the impact and response it might have in Armenia
and Azerbaijan. First of all, this is the first time when a foreign
government, though a municipal one, recognizes NKR independence. The
fact itself is interesting and may cause a surge of dissatisfaction
in Azerbaijan on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a surge of
enthusiasm in Armenia. Those moods will be kindled by the circumstance
that Valence forms part of France, a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group. "How about the unbiased mission of a mediator?" will ask the
Azerbaijanis. However, the moods that might occur here, as well as
in Azerbaijan, cannot be considered seriously since these will be the
product of the typical mentality of the people of the region. Unlike
Armenia and Azerbaijan, the local governments in France (as well as
the USA and other countries) are really elected by people and are
responsible before them. Consequently, municipalities are absolutely
free to express their standpoint and do not need to discuss it with
their regional center every five minutes.

[Hovik]

Does Time Favour Optimists Or Pessimists?

DOES TIME FAVOUR OPTIMISTS OR PESSIMISTS?
Alexander Grigorian

Azat Artsakh, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
Nov 29 2005

As long as the heated arguments on discussing the situation in the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the UN and the international
monitoring of these territories seem to have calmed down in Baku,
Yerevan and Stepanakert, we should analyze what happened and
draw conclusions. We regret to report that the cancellation of the
discussion in the UN initiation by Baku was perceived by a number of
politicians and journalists as the "victory of Armenian diplomacy" (or
the "defeat" of the Azerbaijani diplomacy). However, our evaluation
of the recent efforts of the Azerbaijani politicians will not be
so primitive.

Firstly, it should be clear for everyone that by postponing the
vote to the settlement of the occupied territories the UN General
Assembly found a way out of the situation, and neither Armenia,
nor Azerbaijan considered themselves losers. Secondly and most
importantly, the standpoint of the UN General Assembly was determined
by the standpoint of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs the USA, Russia
and France which have great influence on it. The co-chairs were
trying in vain to tell Azerbaijan out of discussing the question of
"occupied territories". They should simply thank God that the interests
of the great powers overlapped with the interests of Armenia. But it
cannot always go on like this. What if tomorrow the interests of the
leading countries of the West and Russia require exercising pressure on
Armenia, and the UN recalls the resolution of Azerbaijan and decides
that the day of discussing the document has come? Consequently,
the very fact of discussing the issue of "occupied territories"
in the UN is a minus for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Recently the
Armenian and Karabakh mass media have stated for a number of times
that unlike Azerbaijan our foreign policy in different international
organizations is extremely passive. Ours cheered up a little when our
opponents made Armenia face another fact requiring defending their
own standpoint. Sometimes the impression was that the Nagorno Karabakh
issue had been solved and the political demarches of Azerbaijan could
be ignored. If any of our politicians think so, they are in great
confusion. In Karabakh resolution the tactical and strategic line
of Azerbaijan is intended to involve international organizations in
drawing up legal political documents in which Armenia will be presented
as an aggressor. Hence, Azerbaijan is determined to set up political
and legal basis for returning Nagorno Karabakh through third countries
and organizations in the future. And the sooner such documents appear,
the easier it will be for Baku to reach their goal. What have Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh initiated recently? Absolutely nothing. Whereas,
we are well aware that peace is maintained owing to the balance of
forces of the conflict parties. At the same time we defy that apart
from the military there should be balance in politics, economy,
information, etc. Otherwise the international community is able to
attack the military balance and change it in favour of the conflict
party which has advantages in the other spheres. We should not
forget about this. For instance, if the Azerbaijani party seeks for
international recognition of Armenia as an aggressor, what prevents
the Armenian side to demand from the same international community
to condemn the military aggression of Azerbaijan against the people
of Nagorno Karabakh at the beginning of the 1990s, which resulted
in today's situation? Don't we have enough ground and facts for
this? We the Armenians raised the issue of Nagorno Karabakh and
not the Azerbaijanis. And if the issue does not have a satisfactory
political settlement yet, where logically the Armenians should be the
initiator of all kinds of steps to enable the de jure independence of
our country. It is impossible to solve the problem through slogans,
such as "Nagorno Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan".

The international community does not care that Karabakh never used to
be part of independent Azerbaijan. For the international community it
is important to understand why Karabakh cannot be part of independent
Azerbaijan. In order for the international community to understand
and make this perception match their geopolitical and geo-strategic
interests, our politicians should diligently work in Western (and
not only) relevant organizations. In addition, we should not confine
ourselves to oral explanations on our standpoint. We should aspire
to achieve the adoption of the documents we need by the international
organizations instead of waiting until the world comes to understand
us only because we are Armenians. Let us recall the idea of Levon
Ter-Petrossian, former president of Armenia, on the reaction of
the Azerbaijani mass media to the prospects of settlement of the
Karabakh issue. Naturally, our Azerbaijani colleagues reported
L. Ter-Petrossian's pessimism with satisfaction. They agreed with
the president that the Armenians would not even get what they were
offered in 1997. Even after resigning Levon Ter-Petrossian insisted on
this viewpoint. However, after he had quitted politics the concept
of the common state proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,
which matched the interests of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh best of
all the other proposals of the mediators, mentioned by the former
president of Armenia. I am not speaking about the arrangements
of Paris and Key West which shocked Azerbaijan with its "genius"
President Heidar Aliev. Most probably, Levon Ter-Petrossian trembled
with the same horror during the OSCE summit in Lisbon where Armenia
was alone during the discussion of the Karabakh issue. However,
no one had asked them to falsify the presidential election in 1996,
which became one of the main reasons for the negative attitude of the
participants of the summit in Lisbon towards the standpoint of Armenia
on the Karabakh issue. In politics it is not always possible to deny
one's mistakes and to seek for meaningless excuses for failure to
act according to the global plans of the world powers, which do not
favour the interests of Armenia in the Karabakh issue. Of course,
if we go on to passively follow the steps of Azerbaijan and to fail
to adopt the European democratic standards, the predictions of Levon
Ter-Petrossian may come true. In that case, however, the international
community will not be guilty. In the long run, the international
community is not to blame that Nagorno Karabakh has been left out of
the talks. What is more, it is not because of the consideration of
the tendencies of geopolitical developments that Armenia has begun
to threaten Baku with the prospect of direct dialogue with Stepanakert.

Several years ago it would not occur to anybody that the participation
of the Karabakh side in the talks would be perceived as a mechanism of
scaring Azerbaijan. Who will agree to have a dialogue with Stepanakert
after all this? One need not be a political expert to understand
this. In the meantime, Azerbaijan is also pessimistic. Vafa Guluzadeh,
former advisor, thinks Azerbaijan will never bring back its territories
through talks. Zardusht Alizadeh shares his opinion. Whereas, Ali
Naghiev, Minister of Labour and Social Security, made a shocking
statement in the parliament. He announced that Nagorno Karabakh would
never become part of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis have already got
used to the loss of Borchalu in Georgia and Zangezur in Armenia, they
will get used to the loss of Azerbaijan as well. The neighbouring state
has such moods. By the way there too, people keep talking geopolitics,
relying on their oil to help them return Karabakh. However, as we can
see, not all our neighbours think that time works on Azerbaijan. After
all, who does time work on, optimists or pessimists? Though people
say a pessimist is a learned optimist, we think time works on those
who are used to work together, consulting dependent and independent
experts instead of showing off their knowledge of geopolitics, and
yielding easily to challenges.

[Hovik]

Kocharian Appoints New Commander Of Border Guard Service

KOCHARIAN APPOINTS NEW COMMANDER OF BORDER GUARD SERVICE

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
November 30, 2005, Wednesday

President Robert Kocharyan, of Armenia, signed the decree to appoint
Armen Abramyan as commander of the border guard service of the National
security service on Monday. This report comes from the press service
of the Armenian president.

[Hovik]

Pressure Group Protests Outside Three Embassies

PRESSURE GROUP PROTESTS OUTSIDE THREE EMBASSIES

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec. 1, 2005

Baku, November 30, AssA-Irada
Around 30 members of the hard-line Garabagh Liberation Organization
(GLO) protested outside the French, US and Russian embassies in Baku
on Wednesday.

The protesters demanded member states of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict settlement to stop providing any kind
of assistance to invader Armenia and its separatist regime in Upper
Garabagh, prevent fundraising by separatists and terrorists there
and impose a ban on visits by separatists to the United States.

GLO earlier castigated the authorities of the Montebello city of
California for their move to make it a sister city of Khankandi, the
center of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic, and condemned
a statement on recognition of the republic made by the mayor of the
French city of Valence during the separatist leader Arkadi Gukasian's
recent visit to France.

The GLO members said they will demand withdrawal of the three countries
from the OSCE MG and closure of their embassies in Azerbaijan if
their demands are not met.

The police clashed with the protesters, who subjected the French
embassy to an "egg attack". Four GLO members were detained and
taken to a police precinct, but were released later after providing
explanations, the pressure group said.

[Hovik]

Co-chairs' Regular Visits Essential To Achieve Progress In Peace Talks - Us Mediator

CO-CHAIRS' REGULAR VISITS ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVE PROGRESS IN PEACE TALKS - US MEDIATOR

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec. 1, 2005

Baku, November 30, AssA-Irada
The US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Garabagh conflict settlement has said regular
visits by the mediators to the region are important.

"Without knowing the state of things on the spot and meeting with
people directly dealing with the problem, it is impossible to achieve
success", Steven Mann told Azeri ANS TV channel in Washington.

The mediator said peace talks have considerably deepened over the past
half-year and reached a high level, which necessitates the co-chairs'
regular visits.

Commenting on the stunning statements made prior to the referendum in
Armenia by this country's president and foreign minister that Upper
Garabagh is allegedly 'an integral part of Armenia that will never
belong to Azerbaijanis', Mann said such utterances have a negative
impact, "but the main issue is to carry out specific work".

The American co-chair said the parliament election in Azerbaijan and
the referendum held in Armenia will affect the negotiating process.

"The presidents [of the two countries] are not able to devote all
of their energy to the talks at a time of major internal political
processes. But this has been left behind. The co-chairs will therefore
appeal to the presidents and ask them to lay out specific views on
the direction of the peace process and making the negotiations more
productive."

The mediators' next visit to the region is scheduled for mid-December.

[Hovik]

Armenia's 'nk Independence' Claim Threatens Peace Talks

ARMENIA'S 'NK INDEPENDENCE' CLAIM THREATENS PEACE TALKS

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Dec. 1, 2005

Armenian officials made stunning statements last week that may harm
the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks, amid hopes that 2006 will
see a breakthrough in the settlement of the long-standing dispute
over Upper Garabagh, an Azeri region under occupation.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian said he does not rule out
the possibility of "recognition by official Yerevan of the Upper
Garabagh republic or its annexation to Armenia" if the peace talks
are exhausted. "The actual recognition took place long time ago...The
republic is using Armenian currency - Dram, and there is a single
customs area", he said in an interview with Armenian public television
channel. It is astonishing that Kocharian said in the Slovenian
capital Ljubljana early last week that progress may be achieved in
the conflict settlement next year.

Azeri political analyst Vafa Guluzada dismissed the statement as
groundless. "Armenia will not dare to recognize independence of Upper
Garabagh." Guluzada said that by making this statement, Kocharian,
backed by Russia, is trying to put pressure on Azerbaijan. "Official
Moscow has a hand in this. Since Russia failed to force Azerbaijan
into the same situation as Uzbekistan, it is using Kocharian. But they
won't achieve this", the analyst said. Another outrageous statement
came from Armenian foreign minister, who said Upper Garabagh is
allegedly 'an integral part of Armenia that will never be transferred
to Azerbaijan's jurisdiction'. "It will never belong to Azerbaijanis,
as Armenians in Garabagh and all over the world won't allow this,"
Vardan Oskanian said. "In 1990s, the residents of Garabagh fought for
their lands with bare hands. Garabagh is a part of Armenia, a land
where Armenians' forefathers have lived for centuries. It ended up
within Azerbaijan only during the Soviet Union times." Azeri officials
condemned the statement, saying it could harm the peace process. The
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada said it is common knowledge
that military action that took place was not between Azerbaijan and
Garabagh, which is an integral part of Azerbaijan. "Its seven districts
were occupied as a result of aggression by Armenian armed forces,"
he said. "Such statements amid regular meetings of Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents and foreign ministers within the Prague peace
talks are based exclusively on Armenia's domestic policy." Taghizada
added that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs mediating the conflict
resolution will adequately assess Oskanian's statement. Peace accord
'not expected' No document on the conflict settlement will be signed
next year, a political analyst has said. "There is currently no
solution to the problem suitable for Azerbaijan", head of the Center
for Political Innovation and Technology Mubariz Ahmadoghlu told a news
conference last week. Ahmadoghlu said, however, that the Azeri and
Armenian public hope for progress in the conflict resolution process.

[Hovik]

Armenian Embassies To Be Picketed

ARMENIAN EMBASSIES TO BE PICKETED

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Dec. 1, 2005

The Movement for Azerbaijan is bracing up to protest outside Armenian
embassies in eight countries, its chairman said.

"Representations of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic are
operating within these embassies and we will demand to close them",
Ilgar Gasymov told journalists Thursday.

Gasymov also said the movement plans to launch protests against
international organizations providing financial aid to aggressor
Armenia within the series of events entitled "Garabagh Worldwide
Protest Actions".

[Hovik]

Concern Mounts Over Us Town Authorities' Move

CONCERN MOUNTS OVER US TOWN AUTHORITIES' MOVE

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Dec. 1, 2005

Azeri officials have aired discontent to the US government over the
recent 'fraternization' of the California town of Montebello with
Khankandi, the center of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic.

The authorities voiced their objection to the US Department of State,
warning that the move may negatively affect the ongoing talks on
settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. "The initiative to make this
town a sister city of Khankandi, which is under Armenian occupation,
is not in line with the United States' activity as a co-chair of the
OSCE Minsk Group [mediating the conflict resolution]", the Foreign
Ministry official Tahir Taghizada said.

"Although this step was not a state level, the Azeri government is
concerned over this." But Taghizada dismissed the reports suggesting
that the step was approved of by the California governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger. "This was the initiative of the numerous ethnically
Armenian citizens living in Montebello and their efforts were approved
on a municipal level." The Azeri ambassador to the U.S. Hafiz Pashayev
earlier severely criticized Schwarzenegger and sent letters expressing
his objection both to the governor and the Montebello mayor Bill
Molinari. In its reply, the California administration said the measure
did not bear any political importance.

U.S. accused of 'supporting terror' The hard-line Garabagh Liberation
Organization (GLO) lambasted the Montebello authorities after its
move. "The decision of the mayor's office to make the town fraternal
to Khankandi, which has turned into a nest of terror, means support
by the U.S. government to aggressor Armenia and its separatist regime
in Upper Garabagh", the GLO said in its letter to the US embassy
in Baku. The organization demanded to scrutinize the issue and if
confirmed, stop the 'fraternity', and warned it will launch protests
outside the embassy otherwise. The pressure group also sent an appeal
denouncing the recent statement on recognition of the self-proclaimed
republic by the mayor of Valence to the French embassy. It termed the
decision by the city mayor's office as the French government's support
to Armenian aggression and terrorism. The GLO warned it will also
protest in front of the French embassy if no urgent steps are taken
over this. In response to the allegations, the French ambassador in
Baku wrote in a letter to the GLO that France "backs the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and doesn't recognize the independence of the
self-proclaimed republic". In the letter, Ambassador Roland Blatman
replied that his country, as a co-chair of the OSCE MG is actively
involved in the peaceful conflict settlement. "The persons, who take
posts in France through elections, are not subordinate to the state
and their statements neither affect nor change the official position
of the French government. No countries, even Armenia, have recognized
the independence of Upper Garabagh. My country's position on the
conflict settlement is unequivocal and I hope you will believe this,"
the letter says. The GLO welcomed the speedy reply to its appeal,
but said it was discontent with the ambassador's saying the French
government is not responsible for the actions by elected officials,
calling this position 'insincere'.

[Gavur]

Oskanian And Mammadyarov Met Osce Minsk Group Co-chairs

Pan Armenian
05.12.2005 19:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs with
Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan Vartan Oskanian and Elmar
Mammadyarov was held in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana on December
4. The Minsk Group mediators pin their hopes on the post-election
situation in both countries.

"In 2006, in the countries involved in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
there will be no major political events and elections, and we
should use it," said U.S. Co-Chair Steven Mann. He also added that
"the negotiation process has become more profound and has come to a
higher level." In January 2006, another meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents is expected, reported IA Regnum.

[Gavur]

Azerbaijani Minister: War Could Resume If Armenia Recognizes Independent Karabagh

AP Worldstream
Dec 06, 2005

Azerbaijan's defense minister warned Tuesday that war could resume
if Armenia recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh's independence.

At a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Jim
MacDougall, Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said that the long-standing
conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave posed a threat to the
security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which is soon set to
start delivering Caspian Sea oil to the Mediterranean.

"The Armenian leadership declares that it could recognize the
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh," Abiyev said, according to a
Defense Ministry statement. "If that will be so, it could lead to
the resumption of fighting."

Armenian President Robert Kocharian said last month that Yerevan could
officially recognize the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
if negotiations on its status reach a dead end.

A 1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war that left Nagorno-Karabakh, a
mainly ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, in Armenian hands. Some
30,000 people were killed and 1 million displaced. The lack of a
resolution of the enclave's status has impeded economic development
in the region.

The region's self-declared independence is not recognized
internationally.

Russian, French and U.S. envoys from the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe are trying find a solution to the dispute
over the mountainous region, which was seized by ethnic Armenian
forces in a war with Azerbaijan in the 1990s.