President Aliyev to leave for Astana
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004
President Ilham Aliyev is expected to leave for Astana, Kazakhstan on
Wednesday to attend the summit of the CIS heads of state. During the
two-day visit, a trilateral meeting of the Russian, Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents will be held. President Aliyev is also expected
to hold talks with his Armenian counterpart to be attended by the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
This will be a third meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents. The first meeting took place in Geneva, Switzerland on
December 11, 2003 within the World Information Society summit, while
the second one in Warsaw, Poland on April 28, 2004.*

Foreign Ministry disappointed by cancellation of NATO exercises in Baku
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its
disappointment with the cancellation of NATO’s “Cooperative Best
Effort-2004” exercises.
Azerbaijan regards the exercises as an important step in its
integration into the Euro-Atlantic community and created all the
suitable conditions to hold the exercises, the statement says.
The document also outlines the reasons for the Azeri public’s protest
against the planned visit by Armenian military men to Baku.
“As a result of Armenia’s aggression, 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory
was occupied and more than one million people became refugees and
internally displaced persons. The government of Armenia is taking a
non-constructive position in peace talks. In this case, the Armenian
officers’ participation in military exercises in Baku is impossible,”
the statement says. The statement also expressed Azerbaijan’s adherence
to Euro-Atlantic values and principles, its commitment to cooperation
with the North Atlantic Alliance, and a hope for further development
of long-term and fruitful partnership.*

Cancellation of NATO exercises in Baku not to damage bilateral cooperation
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004
The United States is ‘deeply disappointed’ by the failure of Armenian
officers, who were expected to participate in NATO’s «Cooperative
Best Effort-2004» exercises initially scheduled to be held in Baku,
in getting visas.
This statement was made by the US Department of State spokesman while
commenting on the cancellation of the NATO exercises. nveiling his
stance towards the US spokesman’s statement, Azerbaijani Ambassador
to USA Hafiz Pashayev expressed his disappointment with the fact
that the United States has not taken into account the reasons for the
Azerbaijani public’s protests against the planned visit by Armenian
officers to Baku and the impact that these protests may cause on
talks over the settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict.
Ambassador Pashayev stressed that the cancellation of NATO exercises
will not cause any damage to long-term cooperation between the Alliance
and Azerbaijan within the Partnership for Peace program.*

EU-Azerbaijan co-op committee meets in Brussels
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004
The 6th meeting of the European Union (EU)-Azerbaijan Cooperation
Committee was held in Brussels on Tuesday. The gathering was chaired
by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
Cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan over the past year was
discussed at the meeting attended by the Azerbaijani delegation
comprising representatives of the ministries of Foreign Affairs and
Economic Development, State Oil Company and Azerbaijani delegation
at EU.
During the meeting the Azerbaijani side elaborated on political,
economic and social reforms ongoing in the country, as well as on
the latest novelty in the transport and energy sectors.
Azerbaijan’s inclusion in the EU’s «Neighborhood Policy in Europe»
was appraised and a hope was expressed for further expansion of
bilateral relations.
Foreign Minister Mammadyarov, who arrived in Brussels on Monday, met
with the EU special envoy on South Caucasus Heikki Talvitie to exchange
views on the role of EU in the solution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper Garabagh.
Later in the day, Mammadyarov attended a dinner party arranged by Dutch
Foreign Minister B. Bot in honor of his counterparts from Azerbaijan,
Georgia and Armenia. The event was also attended by EU Secretary
General Xavier Solana and the European Commission member K. Patten.
The situation in the region, conflicts and their settlement was the
topic of the party.*

Washington supports S. Caucasus development – U.S. ambassador
Interfax
Sept 15 2004
YEREVAN. Sept 15 (Interfax) – Washington supports further democratic
development of the South Caucasus republics, newly-appointed U.S.
Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, said at a press conference in
Yerevan on Wednesday.
The ambassador said stability and security, economic growth,
and development of democratic institutions are the main areas of
Washington’s activity in South Caucasus, and Armenia has made certain
success in all of them.
The ambassador admitted that some difficulties remain in the
stability and security sphere, which results from the fact that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has still not been resolved.
Evans maintained that the final resolution of the problem is for the
conflicting parties to achieve, while the U.S., Russia, and France,
as the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, are continuing their
mediating efforts to help settle the conflict.
Evans said the U.S. is also continuing to work on opening the
Armenian-Turkish border, which is in the focus of the U.S. attention
and which is in the interests of both Yerevan and Ankara.
The ambassador also welcomed an initiative by the Armenian government
to send a team of military doctors, drivers, and sappers to Iraq.

MPs unveil stance towards cancellation of NATO exercises
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 15 2004
MPs unveiled their attitude towards the cancellation of NATO exercises
in Baku in a Tuesday meeting of the Milli Majlis (parliament).
Although most of the parliamentarians assessed the cancellation of
the exercises as Azerbaijan’s victory, some of them expressed their
disappointment.
Sattar Safarov said that the matter is that the Azerbaijani public
has protested against the planned visit by Armenian officers to Baku
but not against holding NATO exercises. «NATO was to hold exercises
in Baku without the participation of Armenian military men who have
occupied Azerbaijan’s lands,» Safarov stressed.
Expressing his attitude to the issue, Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov
underlined that Azerbaijan succeeded in the failure of the criminal
Armenian officers, who fought in Upper Garabagh, to visit Baku.
Noting that Azerbaijan won’t make any compromises to Armenians on the
settlement of the Garabagh conflict, Alasgarov said that his country
was adherent to peaceful resolution of the conflict.*

GO ON WITH KARABAKH DIALOGUE, CALLS PUTIN
RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 15 2004
ASTANA, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – It is essential for the Armenian
and Azeri presidents to carry on a dialogue on the Karabakh issue,
said Russia’s President Vladimir Putin while opening a tripartite
summit with his counterparts of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“Whatever you may agree upon today, leaders’ personal meetings always
come as a stride forward,” he pointed out.
Mr. Putin highlighted a determination of Armenia’s President Robert
Kocharyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilkham Aliev to go on with their dialogue,
and eventually settle the Karabakh issue through it. “I am glad to
see you carrying on the dialogue, however involved the problem might
be. A top-level dialogue is on, and that is essential. I am sure
this conference will not be fruitless, and will promote settlement,”
he said reassuringly.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OFFICIAL BAKU REGRETS CANCELLATION OF NATO EXERCISES COOPERATIVE BEST
EFFORT-2004
RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 15 2004
BAKU, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan
has circulated a statement in which “deep regret was expressed in
connection with the cancellation of NATO’ exercises Cooperative Best
Effort-2004 which were slated for September 14-26 in Azerbaijan
within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.
The statement, which says that Azerbaijan viewed these exercises “as
a remarkable and significant event on the way of integration into the
Euro-Atlantic space and created all the necessary conditions for
their holding” stresses at the same time that during the peace talks
on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict “the
leadership of Armenia has been taking ever more non-constructive and
tougher stance.” “In this situation the participation of the Armenian
military in the exercises held in Azerbaijani territory was
unacceptable for Azerbaijan,” the statement says.
The foreign ministry’s statement also stresses that the Azerbaijani
side confirms its adherence to the Euro-Atlantic values and
partnership with NATO and expresses the hope that the relations of
effective partnership which were established between NATO and
Azerbaijan will dynamically develop in future.”
The unwillingness of the Azerbaijani authorities to see
representatives of Armenia whose “occupation troops” as it is alleged
in Baku continue to retain a considerable part of the country’s
territory has led to the cancellation of the exercises. It is also
assumed in Baku, that the support rendered by Yerevan to the
authorities of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorny Karabakh – an
Armenian enclave on the territory of Azerbaijan – is conducive to the
strengthening of the “separatist regime in Stepanakert” and hinders
the returning of Nagorny Karabakh under the jurisdiction of
Azerbaijan.

INTEGRATION WILL HELP REGIONAL SECURITY
RIA Novosti, Russia
Sept 15 2004
YEREVAN, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – In an interview with RIA
Novosti, Director of the Institute of Civil Society and Regional
Development Agavni Karakhanyan said that as convinced supporter of
regional cooperation, Yerevan thought that deepening the integration
processes within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent
States(CIS) would, in many respects, help ensure regional security,
stability and the resolution of existing conflicts.
Speaking about the positions Armenia would take at the summit in
Astana, Ms. Karakhanyan said that her country, whose economy is at
the stage of a stable development, was pursuing qualitatively new
goals, primarily connected with the necessity of integrating regional
structures, especially in the energy industry and transportation.
“In Astana,” she said, “CIS countries will in principle uphold
common issues: the fulfillment of the most important measures for
developing economic cooperation, which presupposes the formation of
a common legal space oriented toward international standards in the
sphere of interstate relations in the economy and aimed at creating
an efficient mechanism for implementing the decisions and agreements
within the framework of the CIS, firstly, concerning security.”
In her opinion, overall, the goal of the summit will be to search
for ways to effectively use the strong intellectual base, the CIS
countries’ economic potential and their joint efforts for strengthening
both internal and external security.
At the same time, Ms. Karakhanyan said the opinions of the CIS
countries differ with regard to some of the political and economic
problems related to strengthening the CIS.
These differences in economic ideologies have resulted in lessening
cooperation in the real sphere of the economy, which is the basis of
integration. “The need has arisen to revive this basis and jointly
work out,” she said, “and then consistently carry out a common policy,
which is advantageous foreveryone, on gaining access to world markets
and also utilize the strong transit potential and energy resources.”
She said the argument for overcoming all differences in the CIS was
the threat of terrorism and the solving of common security problem,
which can only be accomplished through joint efforts.

NATO DELEGATE REMARKS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
A1 Plus TV, Armenia
Sept 15 2004
YEREVAN, 15.09.04. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday after
meeting with Armenia`s officials, head of Germany`s NATO delegation
Markus Meckel, said Armenia plays a key role in the stability of the
South Caucasus, adding that neighbors should maintain good relations
for common security. A visiting delegation of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the NATO member states arrived Monday in Yerevan. Meckel
acknowledged the Armenian genocide, and maintained it must be
recognized by the international community. Meckel, a lawmaker, is a
member of Germany`s Social Democrat party, and a former East German
Foreign Minister.