IRAN FOR PEACEFUL END OF KARABAGH DISPUTE, KHATAMI SAYS
ArmenPress
Sept 9 2004
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS: Meeting with students and professors
of Yerevan State University Iranian president Mohammad Khatami said
Iran underscores elimination of tension in the region, “as all nations
need to develop which can be achieved only in peaceful conditions.”
In response to a question about Iran’s position on the Nagorno Karabagh
conflict he said disagreements are natural, “but Iran respects the
territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations and has been
making efforts to help end the Karabagh conflict in a peaceful way
so that the region’s countries could help each other’s development
without exhausting their resources and potential in conflicts.”
Khatami said Iran is for political solutions to all disputable
questions through negotiations. “We have a special respect for our
neighbor and friend Armenia and if the sides to the conflict decide
to make use of Iran’s possibilities and influence we are ready to
meet them halfway,” he said.
Mohammad Khatami also visited today the Genocide Memorial to
commemorate the victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman
Turkey and put flowers at the Memorial. He was accompanied by the
chief of Armenian presidential staff Artashes Tumanian, Yerevan mayor
Yervand Zakharian, Armenian deputy foreign minister Ruben Shugarian,
other high-rank officials.
The museum employees presented Khatami with a research work on 1915
Armenian Genocide, a map of Armenia, Epos of David of Sasun and a
photography album of Mount Ararat.

Azg Armenian Daily
Sept 8 2004
“INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM IS USED BY ONE STATE TO INFLUENCE THE OTHER”
“SHUSHI SHOULD BECOME THE CAPITAL”, CITIZENS ASSURE
ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE TOGETHER WITH THE WORLD’S ARCHITECTURE
131 TREES TO DISAPPEAR IN 10 DAYS OR ANOTHER SYMBOLIC TREE PLANTING
ACTION
BUSINESSMEN BETTER PROTECTED THAN STATE OFFICIALS
*********************************************************************
“INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM IS USED BY ONE STATE TO INFLUENCE THE OTHER”
Turkish Secret Agent Claims
The heinous terrorist act of Beslan shook the world whereas the inept
actions of the Russian military forces for releasing the hostages
aroused peoples’ indignation with president Vladimir Putin not only
in the North Ossetia but also in Russia as a whole.
Any terrorist act with such a number of victims usually appears in
the international spotlight. And the response of different states
depends on the motivations they pursue.
The same was true for the Beslan terrorist act. Vladimir Putin
responded to the American condemnation as regards the number of
killed hostages saying: “No one has the right to tell us to go on
talks with filicides. Why don’t you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him
to Brussels or White House and don’t ask him what he wants and meet
his wishes.” Putin also blamed the USA for holding Russia back from
the fight against Chechen terrorists.
In the last issue of Azg Daily we wrote that Turkey assumes that
coming US elections, the Great Middle East Project and the troubles
that Putin’s visit of Turkey could have caused America could be
enough for the USA to take that step.
The Turkish responses are supplemented with those of the Arabian. The
Jordan Dustur newspaper published an article in its September 6 issue
entitled “Don’t the Jewish bandits stand behind Beslan slaughter?”
George Haddad, author of the article writes that no organization
fighting for high ideas ever held children as a hostage. He reminds
of the Jewish groups that are furious over Putin’s administration and
support the Chechen rebels. He says that those people gained central
positions in Russia during former president Boris Yeltsin’s reign and
were taking key decisions in the government.
Then the author adds: “Those Jewish bandits that gathered wealth on
the Russian money couldn’t avoid taxes anymore with Putin coming to
power. Their Khodorkovsky is in prison at present. The Jewish
Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky are the members of the same gang.”
The former is a citizen of Israel and England, the latter of Israel
and the USA. Both of them are thieves who fled Russia. It’s
interesting that after Putin’s clash with the Jewish gang the
Zionistic mass media of the West began blaming the Russian president
of dictatorship and stalinism. It shows that the primary goal of the
Jewish gang is to defile Putin and make the impression that he is
unable to rule the country and to secure the Russian nation. The
Israeli PM Sharon’s statement that “Israel is ready to support Russia
in its war against terror” is nothing but a cunning step to disorient
president Putin”.
In other words, the Jordan newspaper ascribes the Beslan terrorist
act to Jews with their attempt to besmirch Putin. The Turkish
Terdjuman newspaper’s September 6 issue writes about the response of
Byulent Orakoghlu, former deputy director of the Security
Administration of Turkey.
According to this Turkish publication Orakoghlu traces the terrorist
act back to the Middle East policy of USA, Israel and the UK. In this
case the Chechen terrorists appear as tools in the hands of world
powers. Orakoghlu continues: “The claims that the world is monopolar
proved false by the terrorist act. The 9/11 occurred in the USA.
Beslan terrorist act was Russia’s 9/11. The Chechens could scarcely
be able to carry out such an attack by themselves. Things like
relations between rival states and national interests play important
role in such acts. The international terrorism is used by one state
to influence the other. That was the case with Beslan.”
Orakoghlu closes up saying: “We must be well aware that Turkey is
risking to stir up the USA’s and England’s confrontation in case it
draws closer to Russia. But good ties with America and Israel will
make it a target for the international terrorism”.
By Hakob Chakrian
*********************************************************************
“SHUSHI SHOULD BECOME THE CAPITAL”, CITIZENS ASSURE
The Ruined Shushi
The distance form Stepanakert, capital of Karabakh, to Shushi is only
11 km but the towns are very different. After the lively Stepanakert
Shushi leaves a painful impression. It has been already 12 years that
the war ended but the town still lies in ruins. The gardens and the
forest that covers the town as a web are the only delight. The cool
air and mountains are perfect for health resorts. Before the war
there were 10 resorts in the town but today there is no sign of them.
The bombed out, demolished buildings are everywhere. Some
semi-destroyed buildings are inhabited.
The population of Shushi today reaches 4 thousand. Those are people
of Karabakh that lost their homes during the war, refugees from
Sumgait or Armenians from Armenia. “Those who have nothing they come
to Shushi. If the buildings are rebuilt more people will come”, a
citizen said.
John Tevosian who lost his wife in Sumgait is leading a life of a
vagrant living on his pension. There are many people like him in the
town. John tells that those who came from Azerbaijan are the poorest
here. They are the ones most frequently met at the churchyards
begging and ransacking the litter-bins. The old man was complaining
of the officials who are good at promising but do nothing after being
elected.
Besides the refugees Shushi gives shelter to many outlaws. A teenager
confessed that they hide in Shushi from police. Once famous ancient
Armenian town of Arshakavan was also inhabited with outlaws such as
slaves and debtees by the order of Arshak II. Then Arshakavan became
a big town.
But Shushi is still a dead town. Many of Shushi citizens think that
the town will flourish only if it becomes the capital. The mayor of
Stepanakert Eduard Aghabekian agrees with them. “That would be a
right decision from political point of view. I think that the
parliament or at least one of the ministries must be moved here”, he
explained.
The Armenian Evangelic Church and the Union of Armenian Dentists of
Ottawa are the ones that undertake reconstruction programs. The party
of Dashnaktsutyun is looking forward to building a hotel in Shushi.
The Pan-Armenian Congress declared Shushi reconstruction a primary
issue but there were no concrete suggestions, projects or business
plans.
Sevak Artsruni, head of the Shushi Fund, was the only optimistic
person. He said that investments for Shushi reconstruction are just
starting. A project for Shushi reconstruction should be made to draw
investors’ attention.
Shushi with its natural inaccessibility was a fortress for ancient
Varanda region people and today also it should be viewed a strategic
town for Artsakh’s security.
By Karine Danielian
*********************************************************************
ARMENIAN ARCHITECTURE TOGETHER WITH THE WORLD’S ARCHITECTURE
David Hutson, American Architect from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is
chosen the architect for the edifice of “Gerard Gafeschian” Modern
Art Museum that is to be built in Cascade. He is the author of UN
Office in New York, Museum of African Art in Manhattan, the dwelling
place of the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. By the
initial plan of the museum the main framed sights of the museum will
be the monument Mother Armenia and Ararat. The symbol of the museum a
glass tower will hover over the general view. Gerard Gafeschian’s
glass collection will be exhibited in this tower.
John Waters, Deputy Director of Gafeschian foundation, introduced
David Hutson to the Armenian journalists at one of the halls of
Cascade on September 7. The architect represented the plan of the
building in details. The project will cost $25 million, the
construction works will last about two years. Afterwards, a unique
art museum will open in Yerevan. The museum will include the glass
collection of Gerard Gafeschian, the glass pieces by Stanislav
Libensky and Yaroslav Brikhtova, as well as the pieces by the most
prominent artists of the XX century.
“When being a student I was greatly impressed by Armenian
architecture, by its clear and strong lines. I noticed how carefully
and skillfully the Armenian architects used Armenian tuff. The basis
of the museum will be built of Armenian tuff, while the architectural
forms will resemble the ones of the Armenian architecture,” David
Hutson said.
It’s worth reminding that no Armenian architect participate in the
competition announced by “Gafeschian” museum foundation, as they
don’t master the contemporary technologies applied in the world’s
architecture.
John Waters said that their main goal was to bring the best of the
world to Armenia and to represent the best of Armenia to the world.
By Ruzan Poghosian
*********************************************************************
131 TREES TO DISAPPEAR IN 10 DAYS OR ANOTHER SYMBOLIC TREE PLANTING
ACTION
Alley dedicated to 131 Armenian Catholicoses in the yard of the
Cathedral of St. Grigor the Illuminator’s does not exist any more.
All the 131 trees disappeared in ten days.
The idea of planting an alley in the memory of the Catholicoses
initially occurred to Ara Gevorgian, composer. “I wanted to plant a
park dedicated to our Catholicoses. Karekin II approved my suggestion
and he gave his consent. We chose the territory near St. Gregory
Illuminator’s Cathedral. I began arranging the matter with the
community’s administration, deciding what kind of trees should be
planted and who will take care of them afterwards. The settlement of
all these issues a bit delayed the planting. Then a company decided
to carry out the plan. I have planted a tree myself,” Ara Gevorgian
told.
“Noyan Arg” benevolence ecology company implemented the planting. On
April 17 131 blue spruces were planted on the both sides of the
church’s entrance. The church representatives blessed the spruces and
planted them together with the people. Then all the participants
received references, which pointed out their names, and the names of
the Catholicos the planted tree bore. The mass media shot especially
our Ecology Minister when planting a tree.
“Planting was implemented together with RA Ecology Ministry with
direct assistance of the minister. By they decision we were given
blue spruces and we planted the alley dedicated to the memory of 131
Armenian Catholicoses,” Ghazar Mirzoyan, Chairman of “Noyan Arg”
ecology benevolence company. It is not clear who was to take care of
the trees after planting. According to Ghazar Mirzoyan, in 10-15 days
the alley disappeared as the 80 % of the expensive trees were stolen,
while the rest just got dried. “We didn’t think that one can stole
something from the church’s yard. If we fancied that we would arrange
the issue of preserving the trees,” Mirzoyan says.
In reply to the comments of Mirzoyan, Father Sahak Shakarian, priest
at the Cathedral, insisted: “Not a single tree was stolen. We have a
guard service. The spruces got dried. The company that implemented
the planting of the alley wasn’t responsible enough. We had warned
preliminarily that we have problems with water supply and 131 trees
can’t be easily watered. They said that they will solve the issue, so
the trees were planted. I participated in the planting myself and I
feel shame that no tree survived. Very soon we will have our water
supply network and we will by all means plant the alley again.”
Usually, when organizing a planting, one should get arranged all the
issues with the company that is responsible for planting activities
in the given community. “Noyan Arg” company had no arrangements both
with “Planting” CJSC at Yerevan City Administration or with “Kentron
Planting” CJSC. Mirzoyan pointed out that initially they were ready
to take care of the trees until they arrange everything with the
community’s administration. The alley disappeared in that very
initial period. While the chairman of the company merely regrets
about the fact. “We feel so sorry that the alley doesn’t exist any
longer but we will certainly plant new trees and make a new alley.”
By Aghavni Eghiazarian,
*********************************************************************
BUSINESSMEN BETTER PROTECTED THAN STATE OFFICIALS
“Armenia is not the only country where the bodyguards of the state
officials yield in number and qualification to the ones protecting
the private sectors,” Dmitri Fonarov, head the Union of Russian Body
Guards and the International League of Body Guards, said in the
interview to Azg Daily. This happens mainly because of money. “If a
budget is set up for a state official, each citizen can hire as many
body guards as he wishes,” he said.
Robert Nazarian, head of Armenian National League of Body Guards and
Caucasian representative of the International League of Body Guards,
said that 200-300 bodyguards are working in Armenia at present. Mr.
Nazarian said that he doesn’t want to call the amateur bodyguards.
The bodyguards don’t differ from a common citizen in how they look.
The most important thing is that they should be professionally
prepared.
Robert Nazarian evaluated satisfactory the results of the body guard
competition held in Yerevan on September 4-7. Dmitri Fonarov
evaluated less than satisfactory. This was the first competition
organized in Armenia and there were some organizational drawbacks.
By Tamar Minasian
*********************************************************************

PRESS RELEASE
Bible Society of Armenia
Zakiyan 6/26
Yerevan 375015, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 58.55.09, 56.49.06
Fax: (+374 – 1) 54.24.39
E-mail: [email protected]
September 10, 2004
The Children’s Bible to Summer Camps, Armenia
A number of local churches run annual summer camp programs in the
mountains of Armenia, where children converge to get a break from
the sweltering heat of the Armenian summer. Needless to say, these
occasions are a tremendous educational experience as well. The Bible
Society has always been requested to assist with the provision of
scriptures and relevant materials to support the volunteers who
oversee every aspect of the childrens’ lives for an average period
of 2-3 weeks per group of children.
Between August 12 and 19 this summer the Bible Society visited the
summer camps run by the Evangelical, Catholic and Armenian Churches and
provided them with 1500 copies of “Children’s Bible in 565 Stories”
(New Edition, 2004), which is the total capacity (number of beds)
of all the camps combined, and will belong to the camps, remaining
there to serve hundreds of children over a number of years. This
project realized by the generous support and the cooperation of
“New Life Armenia” benevolent association.
The Bible Society Board Secretary Arshavir Kapoudjian and the
representatives of “New Life Armenia” (NLA) Vardan Blboulian and
Vardan Tadevossian from August 12 to August 19, 2004 visited the summer
camps in Yeghegnadzor, Vanadzor, Tsaghkadzor and Hankavan, organized
and sponsored by the Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Evangelical
Church, Armenian Catholic Church, “Solidarite Protestante France
Armenie” and “Entanik” Benevolent Organization. It was pleasant to see
the cooperation of the churches here. We met a priest who frequently
visits “Our Lady of Armenia’s” summer camp, other deacons from Holy
Etchmiadzin serve at the “Solidarite Protestante France Armenie” camp.
The Primates of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Representatives
of the Armenian Evangelical Church and the Sisters of “Our Lady of
Armenia” welcomed the BS and NLA Representatives at their summer
camps, where the guests have the opportunity to meet hundreds of
students. “Vow, what a big book!” exclaimed a nine-year-old boy, while
the representatives were opening the boxes. A group of students from
different ages came out of their seats to see what kind of books will
be distributed. “Shall we read all the content of this book?” asked
another one. “This was our main goal,” stated Kapoudjian, “to meet with
the young people, to bring them the Word and the Light of our Lord. In
this generation do we see the bright future of our people. It’s hard
to work with them, it will take time but it’s encouraging to take
this responsibility.” The majority of the gathered students come from
socially vulnerable families: street children; martyred soldiers’
children. All the Primates highly appreciated the initiatives and the
efforts of the BS, which became a daily presence in our people’s life;
in the churches, in the schools, and now in summer camps.
The Representatives shared their thoughts with the students during the
meetings, stressing the importance of the spirituality. “I was dreaming
to have a Bible in my childhood. You are luckier than us, said Vardan
Blboulian, you are blessed, not only getting the Bible but having
the opportunity to read it every day.” Fr Vahan from the Armenian
Apostolic Church in Vanadzor continued the same idea and concluded,
“Our day has been opened and closed by the Bible. The Bible is our
life.” A twelve-year-old boy ran towards the representatives and
opening up the Bible showed the story # 25 (“Jacob’s Trick,” Genesis
27), which was coinciding his birthday and declared with an excitement:
“My name is also Hakob!” Finally, it was nice to see the crowded
corridors, the halls and the rooms full of joy. After getting their
own copies everyone begun to look at the illustrations, the pictures;
to read different passages; to find out interesting stories. It was
encouraging also to see how some of them are putting their own Bibles
under their pillows.
A week later a lady, who has visited several summer camps, called
the BS office expressing her joy: “What a wonderful job you have
done! During my visits to the camps I noticed a lot of young people
were reading The Children’s Bible.”
The Bible Society of Armenia was established in 1991, when the late
Catholicos Vazgen I and representatives of the United Bible Societies
signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the translation,
publication and dissemination of the Holy Bible in Armenia. The Bible
Society of Armenia is committed to the widest possible meaningful and
effective distribution of the Holy Scriptures in languages and media
which meet the needs of people, at a price they can afford. The Board
of Trustees of The Bible Society of Armenia consists of representatives
of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church and
the Union of Armenian Evangelical and Baptist Churches.
For further information on Bible Society of Armenia and its
activities, call (3741) 58-55-09 or 56-49-06; fax (3741) 54-24-39;
e-mail [email protected]
###

World Bank Warms to Business Climate
By Maria Levitov
The Moscow Times
Friday, September 10, 2004. Page 5.
Staff Writer Russia ranks in the top third of countries in terms of doing
business, according to a report published by the World Bank this week.
Despite acknowledging the country’s need to improve corporate governance and
transparency, the World Bank put Russia in 42nd place in its survey of legal
parameters for businesses in 145 countries. The World Bank made no
comparison to last year because its set of criteria has since changed.
“Russia’s business climate is one of the best in the region,” the World Bank
said in a statement.
The rosy assessment left some Russian entrepreneurs puzzled.
“Our own data and a growing amount of complaints about abuses of
entrepreneurs’ rights in the regions leads us to the opposite conclusion,”
said Sergei Borisov, president of Opora, which supports small business
development.
“It’s possible that compared to Morocco or Haiti, it really is very easy to
do business in Russia,” he said. “But comparing something bad with something
very bad, does not make the bad good.”
The report analyzes governments’ regulations on such things as starting a
business, hiring and firing workers, registering property, enforcing a
contract and filing for bankruptcy.
The World Bank positively appraised Russia’s business climate because of the
country’s flexible employment regulations and improvements in business
administration procedures.
“[The assessment] is based on an analysis of regulations — not the feedback
of entrepreneurs,” Irina Likhachova, the World Bank’s spokeswoman for
Central and Eastern Europe, said by phone from Washington.
It takes 36 days to register a new business in Russia, compared to 123 days
in Azerbaijan. Registering a property takes 37 days in Russia, while in
Croatia it takes more than 2 1/2 years.
Despite such positive factors for entrepreneurs, the country still needs to
improve transparency and corporate governance, the report said.
“If Russia increases its information transparency to the level that exists
in Slovakia or the Czech Republic, [Russia’s] market capitalization could
grow by more than half,” the World Bank said.
Slovakia topped the list of ten best reformers, which Russia did not make.
The country’s ranking was hurt by such considerations as the fact that it is
the only economy among the countries with 40 largest stock markets without
credit bureaus.
Overall, Russia was placed in the second best of five categories, along with
Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Estonia. Belarus, Hungary and Jamaica ranked
in the second to last category.
The top 20 countries included the usual suspects like New Zealand, the
United States and Switzerland, but also transitional economies like Slovakia
and Lithuania, and developing countries like Botswana and Thailand.

Sports Illustrated
Soccer
Wednesday’s International Results
Posted: Wednesday September 8, 2004 6:32PM; Updated: Thursday September 9,
2004 2:52AM
(Home teams first)
World Cup Qualifying
EUROPE: Standings | Analysis
Group 1
Andorra 1, Romania 5
Netherlands 2, Czech Republic 0
Armenia 0, Finland 2
Group 2
Kazakhstan 1, Ukraine 2
Georgia 2, Albania 0
Greece 0, Turkey 0
Group 3
Portugal 4, Estonia 0
Luxembourg 3, Latvia 4
Slovakia 7, Liechtenstein 0
Group 4
Faeroe Islands 0, France 2
Israel 2, Cyprus 1
Switzerland 1, Ireland 1
Group 5
Moldova 0, Italy 1
Scotland 0, Slovenia 0
Norway 1, Belarus 1
Group 6
Poland 1, England 2
Austria 2, Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2, Northern Ireland 2
Group 7
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1, Spain 1
Lithuania 4, San Marino 0
Group 8
Sweden 0, Croatia 1
Hungary 3, Iceland 2
___
ASIA
Second Round: Roundup
Group 1
Laos 1, Qatar 6
Jordan 0, Iran 2
Group 2
Taiwan 1, Iraq 4
Palestine 0, Uzbekistan 3
Group 3
India 0, Japan 4
Singapore 0, Oman 2
Group 4
Malaysia 0, China 1
Hong Kong 0, Kuwait 2
Group 5
North Korea 4, Thailand 1
Yemen 3, United Arab Emirates 1
Group 6
Kyrgyzstan 1, Bahrain 2
Tajikistan 0, Syria 1
Group 7
Vietnam 1, South Korea 2
Maldives 2, Lebanon 5 Group 8
Sri Lanka 2, Indonesia 2
Turkmenistan 0, Saudi Arabia 1
___
CONCACAF
Semifinal Round: Roundup | Standings
Group A
Panama 1, United States 1
El Salvador 0, Jamaica 3
Group B
Costa Rica 1, Canada 0
Honduras 2, Guatemala 2
Group C
St. Vincent-Grenadines vs. St. Kitts and Nevis, postponed, hurricane
Trinidad and Tobago 1, Mexico 3
___
Friendly
Germany 1, Brazil 1
Copyright 2004 Associated Press.

The St. Petersburg Times
#1002, Friday, September 10, 2004
State-Owned Bank to Stock Up
By Sveta Skibinsky, STAFF WRITER
Photo by Alexander Belenky / SPT
An agreement on a two-step purchase deal was signed this week
between the state-owned Vneshtorgbank and the St. Petersburg-based
Promstroibank.
According to an official announcement from Vneshtorgbank, or VTB, this
week, the bank signed a memorandum which provides for its purchase
of 25-percent stock share of Promstroibank, or PSB, by the end of
September. VTB will then look into the possibility of purchasing
another share package of 51 percent of PSB’s shares, which would
bring its holdings to 76 percent.
The second part of the deal should be completed before the end of 2006,
according to a statement from the VTB press office.
VTB’s senior vice-president Vasily Titov said the deal was broken up
into two stages to allow for “additional research of PSB’s financial
position,” business daily Vedomosti reported Tuesday.
Titov said the banks will sign an agreement to define VTB’s rights
during the transitional period. He said that VTB will get a veto
right in questions concerning PSB’s major deals and key appointments.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but price estimates have
ranged from $250 million, from Moody’s Interfax banking department,
to $500 million, from Alfa bank senior economist Natalya Orlova,
Vedomosti reported.
VTB’s official statement said that purchasing the controlling
package in PSB “will allow the bank to strengthen its position in the
Northwest, allowing further development of the VTB group to become
a European-level bank chain.”
Business daily Delovoi Peterburg said that by allocating resources
for the acquisition of private retail banks, the state is trying to
create a second monopoly, similar to state-owned Sberbank.
Meanwhile, VTB, which has its main offices in St. Petersburg on
Bolshaya Morskaya ulitsa, has been looking for another location for
its regional branch because it needs more space to accommodate its
expanding activities.
VTB is the largest bank in the country, with a base capital of about
42.1 billion rubles or $1.4 billion. It has a wide chain of subsidiary
branches, with five branches abroad – in Switzerland, Cyprus, Austria,
Luxembourg and Armenia. VTB is also an associated bank in Germany
and has representative offices in Italy, China, Ukraine and Belarus.

Armenian president appoints new head of mission to NATO
Mediamax news agency
10 Sep 04
Yerevan, 10 September: The Armenian president has appointed Samvel
Lazarian head of the Armenian mission to NATO.
Mediamax news agency reported that by another decree of the Armenian
president, the Armenian ambassador to the Benelux countries and the
European Union, Vigen Chitechyan, has been dismissed from the post
of head of the Armenian mission to NATO.
Samvel Lazarian headed the European department of the Armenian
Foreign Ministry until his appointment to the post of head of the
mission to NATO.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian premier pleased with results of Iranian leader’s visit
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
9 Sep 04
[Correspondent over video of meeting] Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II received the Iranian president [Mohammad Khatami] at the
Holy See of Echmiadzin today. The visit to this holy place lends a
meaning to our official visit to Armenia, Khatami said.
The Armenian catholicos expressed gratitude to the Iranian authorities
for their attention to and care about the Armenian community and
outlined that relations between Armenia and Iran are developing
and progressing.
The Iranian president’s first official visit to Armenia has ended. As
the Armenian side stressed, the two-day visit was very useful and
important in the political, as well as in the economic spheres.
[Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan, seeing off Mohammad
Khatami at the airport] The agreements signed during the visit showed
once again how serious our relations are. The documents signed not only
in the political, but also in the economic spheres laid the foundations
for the implementation of these programmes in the near future.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian official denies Azeri statement on OSCE’s new Karabakh proposal
Mediamax news agency
10 Sep 04
Yerevan, 10 September: Official Yerevan has denied the Azerbaijani
foreign minister’s statement that the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group will submit an idea to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
for consideration. According to the idea, the status of Nagornyy
Karabakh will be discussed only after the return of the occupied
territories and refugees.
“If the Azerbaijani media has not exaggerated Mr Mammadyarov’s words
and he has really made such a statement, then I am obliged to declare
that this is wishful thinking on the part of Azerbaijan,” the spokesman
for the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, said.
On 9 September, Baku’s Trend agency quoted Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov as saying that an idea according to which
the occupied territories must be liberated and the displaced persons
must be returned to their places of residence will be submitted
to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents for consideration. Only
after this, can the status of Nagornyy Karabakh be discussed, the
Azerbaijani foreign minister said.

Discrimination causes terrorism: Iranian president
Xinhua, China
Sept 9 2004
MOSCOW, Sept. 8 (Xinhuanet) — Iranian President Mohammad Khatami
on Wednesday condemned the Beslan hostage tragedy and said the root
causes of terror could be found in the “discrimination” of peoples,
according to reports reaching here.
“Without looking at the roots it is impossible to fight terrorism. The
roots can be found in the same places where security forces impose
a discriminatory policy and people suffer from this,” Khatami said
following talks with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian in
Armenia’s capital Yerevan.
“Unable to find an adequate response to this fight they (discriminated
people) take harsh steps. This is why when you condemn terrorism you
must also condemn violence,” he added.
Khatami also spoke out against the way certain terrorists want to
present their acts under the mask of religion. “They besmirch the
religions that preach peace and humanism.” Enditem